Merry, Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful holiday and were able to visit with both sides of the family over the course of the week.

New toys were played with by all:

Visiting, opening gifts, and playing games with family is always fun:

Of course, it wouldn't be the holidays without a delicious meal or two:

Going on a walk to get some 80 degree fresh air is a perk of celebrating Christmas in South Carolina:
Preparing for Santa's arrival with reindeer food is a must:

Being silly in the stores while doing some last minute shopping is always fun:

And, some of us even caught a nap when the festivities got to be too much:

Peace and Quiet.....finally!

I have mentioned in past blogs that Madeline is not too keen on napping. She desperately needs them and has the potential to make everyone around her wish she had taken her naps. Today started out lovely with her eating her 7 AM bottle, and she then ate again at 9:30 AM. Lots of cooing, giggling, smiling, and talking this morning. As I said a very lovely start to my day. I put her in her carseat in hopes that she would doze off by 10 AM while I got ready to go to the gym. She did, so I did a few things around the house before I left for the gym in hopes that she'd be good and asleep by the time we got there. The ladies at the gym are pretty good about finding a quiet spot to put her in when she's sacked out upon arrival. Unfortunately, she was wide awake by the time I got to the gym, but a little catnap is better than nothing. They fed her the lunch bottle I packed in her bag, and she fell asleep on the way home. I brought her into the house and found a nice quiet spot to put her strapped in the carseat and all. I went about my business. Of course when I checked on her, she was wide eyed, but still sleepy, so I transferred her to the swing. The swing never fails when she's groggy. Oh, never say never! She played and fussed and fussed louder and fussed extremely loud and fought sleep like nobody's business. I then realized that it was close to 3 PM, and since she was asleep when I brought her home, she didn't have her bowl of rice cereal at lunch, so I thought, "Duh, she's tired AND hungry that's why she's fussing so badly. She's used to having a bottle and a little bowl of cereal." Silly me, I made a bottle and tried to feed her....I did nothing out of the ordinary! We were on our normal schedule with the exception of not having the cereal at lunch, but seriously, that can't be what caused the following events! Oh, the screaming, arched back, stiff legged, red faced little demon took over Madeline's body. I gave her a minute to settle down, but the awfulness continued. I changed her diaper and tried one more time to feed her. This really made her mad, so I kissed her hot, angry cheek, placed her in her crib, and walked out. I hadn't showered from the gym yet, so I took this opportunity to shower. I checked on her after my shower, and she's fast asleep. I'm not sure what her behavior was all about today, but I feel victorious in the sense that I did not get sucked into trying to comfort her when clearly there was nothing I could do for her. I tried to meet any needs that could've been unmet, and I was met with an angry baby. So, I simply put her down in a safe place and went about my business. I know this won't be the last time something like this happens, but I am happy to know that I can calmly handle a fit of that nature without fretting about it. As I told my husband later, she was the unhappy one, not me. Now, I have some peace and quiet to pack for our trip to Greenville tomorrow (and of course, create this blog entry).

We've Started

RICE CEREAL, that is. Yep, Madeline just seemed hungry all the time, and she was eating between 6 and 8 oz. of milk at a sitting every 2-3 hours during the day. I realize that she has to "store up" since she sleeps 10-12 hours at night, but I just felt like the poor girl was hungry during the day. And, who wants to be hungry all the time? Did I mention at dinner, she's eaten up to 14 oz. before!? So, I went ahead and started her on rice cereal for lunch and dinner. At first, she wasn't so sure about the whole idea, but once she caught on, she really seems to dig it. My first batch was too runny, so I think she might have been wondering why I was pouring lumpy liquid into her mouth with a spoon. Not to mention, she seemed famished at her normal 3 PM feeding time. My dinner batch was much thicker, and she seemed to really like it eagerly opening her mouth for the next bite. Let's hope this helps with fussiness, more regular naps, and the growling belly!

(I'll post the pictures later. My husband took our camara deer hunting this morning, and I can't seem to locate where he put it to upload the pictures from yesterday's big rice cereal event! So rice cereal pictures are coming soon...)

Madeline -- Four Months Part Two

Oops, I forgot to post the monthly update pose! And, yes, I am getting the most possible use out of Madeline's Christmas clothes. She has worn this outfit on several occasions, and it just so happens that I took lots of pictures on the days that she's worn this "I heart Santa" outfit.

These expressions are typical Madeline. Isn't she cute? :)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Madeline -- Four Months

I love the Bumbo seat!

Wow, has it been a month already? Our little girl is certainly growing and changing so much these days. I'd have to say the fourth month has brought us a few exciting things:

• completely sleeping through the night (going to bed between 7-7:30 PM and not waking until at least 6:00 AM --lately it's been closer to 7 AM!)
• lots of "talking", smiling, & giggling

• swatting AND grabbing at hanging mobiles/toys/whatever is above her or near her
• a MUCH increased appetite
• arching of her back and turning sideways as if she wants to roll over (but she's yet to do it)
• LOTS of drooling and chewing on things
• sitting upright in her Bumbo seat for periods of time without her neck giving out
• sitting in our lap and looking up at us -- yay for the neck strength -- I was getting worried because she really hasn't figured out to push with her arms during tummy time.
• "standing" in our lap -- She LOVES to do this and gets mad when her legs give out.



• LOVING the ladies at the gym that keep her -- She flashes them smiles and giggles with them the entire two hours she's there!


• one incident of projectile vomit -- I'd always heard about the distance it can go, but never really thought much of it until Madeline showed me her abilities. Wow, is all I can say, and it was not a good start to my day.
• she HATES to take a nap even though she's exhausted -- It's her New Year's resolution to nap more regularly! -- Really, I was just waiting on the go ahead for rice cereal to deal with daytime naps since I know her schedule will change a bit, and I only want to fight the nap battle once. I'm prepared for lots of angry crying....my social butterfly really doesn't want to miss a thing! To steal a quote from my friend Nancy, "I am a serious opponent." This is a battle I plan to pick, fight, and win. Mommy needs naptime just as much as Madeline.

Does my breath smell?

We went to Dr. Kapp for our 16 week appointment as well. She received a clean bill of health & developmentally hitting her "milestones". Poor Madeline did NOT like the shots -- she cried much louder and harder this time. Not that we laugh at our child while she's crying, but her reaction was so funny to us this time. She most certainly wanted us to know that she was MAD about her shots. Here are her stats:

• head--41.5 cm (80 %tile)
• weight--15 lbs. 9 oz. (95 %tile)
• length--25 in (90 %tile)

She's our punkin', and we love her dearly!

Christmas 2008

The Stewart household is feeling quite festive these days. The mistletoe candles are burning, the tree is trimmed, the Christmas music is on, and the stockings have all been hung with care!

Eric and I usually scour the Christmas tree farms looking for the perfect tree, but the last couple of years, we have not had much luck finding either the perfect tree and/or the perfect price. Last year after a day of riding around from farm to farm looking for the perfect tree, we became more and more frustrated that the farms had no decent trees to cut down, and the Frasier furs were insanely expensive! So, we ended up making our Christmas tree purchase at the grocery store down the street on the way home from our frustrating day. We laughed all season about our beautiful tree from the neighborhood Food Lion. It really was a beautiful Frasier fur for $30! So this year since we had Madeline, we decided not to put ourselves through that frustration again. We loaded up to drive 5 minutes to the "Lion" to get our tree. Apparently the word spread that their trees were perfect and reasonably priced because there was not one tree on the sidewalk!! A few little bristles were all that remained. Off we go to the Lowes, and wow, did they have a fantastic selection of Frasier furs for reasonable prices. Again, we walked out with a beautiful tree for $35! (Next year, we'll have to have a new plan for purchasing our tree since Madeline will be more into the holidays. We do want her to experience the whole tree farm thing complete with blow up Santa and snowmen, rows and rows of trees from which to select that perfect tree, and maybe even some hot chocolate!)

We got our tree home and in the stand on Saturday afternoon. Earlier that morning, we had pulled out all the Christmas boxes. I love how our house turns into a complete and utter disaster before and during the Christmas decorating, and then afterwards the final product is a cozy, festive place.

Madeline enjoyed the decorating from her perch.

Just a few photos of the chaos:

Boxes were EVERYWHERE. It really does amaze me how we manage to pull out all this stuff in no order, cover most surfaces with something festive, and somehow the house gets put back together. The after shots:

YOU'RE HOW OLD, MOM???

HAPPY 33rd Birthday to me!

About me at Christmas:

I got this over my email, but instead of putting it on email, I thought I would just put it here.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real tree
3. When do you put up the tree? Weekend after Thanksgiving usually
4. When do you take the tree down? sometime after New Year's
5. Do you like eggnog? Ugh, yuck.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? ANYTHING BARBIE!
7. Hardest person to buy for? Mom and Dad, Eric
8. Easiest person to buy for? my nephews, Drew and Ryan
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Don't think I've ever gotten a bad one
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown Christmas--Not really a movie, but oh well...it's my favorite--I watch it every year!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I see something for someone on my list
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Never
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's homemade candy
16. Lights on the tree? Yes…clear only for now until we decided to have a more kid-like tree (colored lights and kid-made ornaments) instead of a "pretty" tree
17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel or stay at home depending on the year
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither--a bow
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? busy traffic in the mall area
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No themes for me...it's a little of everything
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham and something sweet to top it off at the end
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Nothing really

Interesting...

As a follow up to the nightmarish day we had yesterday:

First a little background--Since Eric is in sales, his "office" is the house, so in order to have our pictures made at 11:00 AM on a Thursday, he was able to arrange his appointments, etc. around the whole day not knowing how long the photos would take. Basically, he was taking phone calls, emails, orders, etc. all day yesterday and never went out to the field. This is VERY rare for him to take an office day. Therefore, Daddy doesn't always get to experience the day-to-day routines and ups & downs that go along with taking care of Madeline. Since he's a very hands-on Daddy, he took over most of Madeline's care yesterday in between phone calls. After all, he doesn't get to normally spend so much time with her during the week in the daytime. So it's safe to say, I sort-of got a break yesterday.

Here's where the "Interesting" title comes from -- After we got Madeline into bed last night, Eric flopped down on the sofa, and said, "I'm SO GLAD I don't have your job. I'm exhausted."

Hmmm, I think he now truly understands why some days I am about to pull my hair out by the time he gets home from work. Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE being home, but like any job, it definitely has its moments, and Eric definitely saw those moments in full action yesterday!

Smile!


We went for our first family photo shoot today. Wow, what a nightmare!!

To start the day off, Madeline woke up at 6 AM as usual and had slept through the whole night with no cry-outs!! She ate her breakfast bottle as usual and "talked" to us for a little bit. Off to a good start, BUT normally around 7:15 or 7:30 the fussy monster takes over, and she's ready for a nap. She typically naps until about 9:00 or 10:00 and is ready to eat again. So, I strategically made our appointment for 11:00 AM thinking she'll have just eaten and be in a great mood. Like I said this is NORMALLY what happens. Not today!! Miss Priss decided she was wide awake after her first breakfast and NEVER took a nap. When I say she never does this, I mean that. You could set your watch by her. She was all smiles, cooing, babbling, etc. all morning long, and the more I fretted about her not taking her morning nap, the more wound up she became. We regrouped and decided to feed her a hearty bottle at 9:00 AM thinking she'll eat her bottle, and then she'll take a short power nap before our picture appointment. Silly us...that's way to logical and easy. Nope she promptly fell fast asleep without eating much of her bottle. Great, so now she'll be tired AND hungry by 11:00 AM. Well, her sleeping lasted all of 30 minutes. We tried to shovel in the rest of her bottle and get ready to leave all at the same time. Those of you that know me well probably can envision the mood I am in at this point...I was nearing tears and about lose my mind. (Probably the only reason I didn't was that I was having a good hair day, so at least something was working in my favor!) Afterall this was our very first family photo taken by a real photographer, and it was not what I had planned out. Shouldn't I know by now that when kids/babies are involved, stuff like this happens?? I did teach 10 year olds for 10 years, but I digress... So we manage to get out the door and to our appointment relatively on time. (Not to mention, I HATE being late for appointments, and we were late.) Meanwhile, my relaxed, levelheaded husband is probably about to kill me at this point because I am just in a tizzy. (Hindsight, why was I in such a tizzy?? I couldn't control what was happening, so I needed to let it go.) So we get there and begin the family photos. Madeline amazingly was cooperative. BUT, then it was time for the solo shots of Madeline, and this first time Mommy decided it would be a great idea to do a wardrobe change with an already volatile 3 month old. UMMM, not such a great idea, and I immediately regretted my grandiose plan of having a couple of different outfits planned for this photography session. So, we subject Madeline to several more clicks of the camera, and it took lots, I mean LOTS, of prompting to get half smiles out of her. And, to top it off, I wasn't happy with what she was wearing for the solo shots, but I decided that I'd keep that to myself since I was already testing exactly how patient Eric (and the photographer for that matter) really is at this point. So finally the photographer decided he had enough shots to make it work. Off we go to feed our tired, hungry, and cranky baby who falls fast asleep on the way home.

A couple of hours later after we regrouped, had lunch, and Madeline took a slight nap, we went back this afternoon to view our shots and choose our pictures. We allowed ourselves an hour and a half before Madeline's next feeding. Who knew the indecision that would come over us? Yikes...again we push the envelope and are still at the photographer at 3:45 clearly missing the 3 PM bottle. We get out of there unscathed with a relatively happy baby and an armful of great photos!


So Eric mentioned he wanted to go hunting Friday afternoon, and on the way home, I said to him, "With all I put you through today, perhaps a hunting excursion is exactly what you deserve and NEED!" He just smiled and said, "Thanks babe!"


How do people do this more than once a year? I'm not sure I can go through this again until Madeline hits the one year mark. I'll just have to do better with my own picture taking to document the remaining months of Madeline's first year. But in the end, our nightmare wasn't really a nightmare because we do have some great photos of our family of three and Madeline.

Thanksgiving 2008 - A first for us as a family of three, and we took no pictures! I've got to get better with my picture taking!

Thanksgiving was a whirlwind for us this year! We traveled to Eric's family near Winston Salem, NC to share in the festivities. It was Madeline's first road trip, and she did so well! We were all set to leave on Thanksgiving morning thinking we would miss most of the holiday traffic. Well, we certainly didn't miss most of the traffic as we arrived about an hour and a half later than we expected. Oh well...we arrived safe and sound with a happy baby!

We enjoyed our time together with Eric's extended family on Thanksgiving day eating lots of yummy food and spent the rest of the weekend spending time with Eric's mom and dad. They sure did enjoy their Madeline time--even getting up with her in the early 6 AM hour. It's safe to say I indeed got a break from being Mommy even though I was there.

Eric was able to go hunting with his older brother, and he shot his first deer! He was so excited that he could hardly stand it, and I will spare the blog of the pictures taken. His text message to me (from the woods) read, "Bambi is down! I got my first deer!"

The Thanksgiving weekend ended on a good note with Clemson beating the Gamecocks, and the Steelers making a winning comeback against the Patriots.

How can I not be thankful this year with all that I've been blessed with -- good family and friends, a healthy, happy baby girl, and an adorable husband who takes such good care of us?

Weekend Fun

We had a relaxing weekend and just enjoyed all the latest tricks Madeline does. She's always loved her swing, but now she loves to "talk" to her fish as they go by on the mobile. We were very entertained by her enthusiasm for her swing and fish mobile. She was quite the chatterbox!

Remember Delaney and Rutledge from a prior post? Well, their mom and dad attended UNC, so they are huge UNC fans. They invited us over to their house to watch the UNC vs. NCSU football game on Saturday. Madeline, of course, had to show her support for her Daddy's alma mater. (Her blood really runs orange, but we made an exception for this outing.)

Madeline: "Dad, I'm not so sure that the Wolfpack is going to get a W, but I'll cheer for your boys anyways!" Madeline: "Dad!!! The Pack won!!! Go Pack!"

And, lastly, Madeline's daddy is always doing something silly, so here's the latest silliness....

Madeline: "Are you serious? Can you take your picture and be done with this nonsense?"

Three Months Old--Posted a few days late

Wow, it's been 3 months since this little precious baby entered our lives! Madeline's little personality is really starting to come out, and I'm happy to report that she seems to have such a sweet, lighthearted personality. I think she may take after her daddy with her laid back personality which is probably a good thing. This household can probably only handle one type A woman at a time! She's all smiles when you talk to her, and she's found her voicebox with her little coos and babbles. It's so cute to make her smile and talk back to you! She's very predictable with her routine, and she's trying to sleep through the night without waking up at all. We've decided to help her along with her sleeping through the night by just going in her room if she fusses and plug her paci in her mouth and sneak back out. Gradually she has fussed later and later, and this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up at 6 AM and realize we didn't hear a peep from her all night. When I went to her room about 6:15 AM to feed her, she was wide awake just kicking and looking at her mobile. Hopefully we're onto something permanent here. She goes down at 7:30 PM after a last feeding, and it's so nice to have the rest of the evening to make dinner and visit with my husband. Otherwise, she eats about every 3 hours during the day starting at 6 AM. Madeline seems to enjoy getting out each morning to take a trip to the gym, and I'm sure all the action in the kids care is intriguing to her. One part of our day that I cannot let slide is her naps. This little one loves to nap, and she can be quite a bear if she doesn't get her sleep. Not to mention, she can just about sleep anywhere or in any position.
Madeline LOVES her swing, bouncy seat, and activity mat. She just kicks, looks at the mobiles and lights, and makes small, delightful giggles at the squeaks and music that each one has to offer. She's an independent little lady as she is content to be on one of those "stations" or propped up on the sofa to look out the window rather than be held. I enjoy those independent moments when I have Mommy chores to do around the house. Of course, she loves to be "talked" to, and I think bathtime is one of her most favorite activities of the day. I still read to her just about everyday even though she's probably not really listening.

She's getting much stronger in her neck and legs. She much prefers to be "sitting" or "standing" upright rather than flat on her back if you are holding her. Her neck control has improved dramatically since last month, and I call this the "jello stage" because she sits up (assisted of course) weeble wobbling around like a big bowl of jello. Tummy time is still not her favorite thing to do, but I do believe it is helping her learn to pull her head up, so we do it a few minutes several times a day. Madeline has really started to lose all that newborn hair, and there is just a slight amount of white blond fuzz underneath it all. I'm not sure she'll be blessed with a gracious amount of hair at an early age, but I'll figure some way to attach bows to my girly girl. She still looks to be a combination of both of us (at this point the verdict is still out as to who she favors), but I am starting to think she's got my husband's fair skin. Now, I'll have two fair skinned sweeties to lube up at any outdoor activity! I'd better invest in large quantities of sunscreen and aloe vera lotion!
Over the last month, Madeline has been babysat by my parents in the evenings, and just recently, Madeline had her first weekend free of Mommy and Daddy!! Eric and I went to Clemson homecoming, and Madeline was left with her Nana and Papa (Eric's mom and dad). All went well, and I'm sure Madeline loved her snuggles and caretaking from her Nana and Papa. We are happy to know that "she was an angel!" Eric and I sure appreciated our adults only weekend away, and we only called one time to check in!

We love this little girl with all our hearts, and we are definitely looking forward to sharing her first Thanksgiving and Christmas with her in the very near future.

Loot!



Aren't grandparents the best? Madeline's Nana, Papa, and Aunt Brittany came to visit today, and they came loaded with treats for her. We can't say thank you enough, and we certainly can't wait to wear all these ADORABLE outfits in the very near future!



In a few small coos & smiles, and with sleepy eyes Madeline told me the following as I was putting her to bed tonight:

Dear Nana, Papa, and Aunt Brittany,

Thanks for coming to see me today. THANK YOU for my new clothes, snuggles, and silly noises that made me smile. Sorry I was such a pill while you were here. I'm not always that grumpy, I promise.

Hugs and Kisses,

Madeline

PS--Aunt Brittany, Happy Veteran's Day! You're one of my most favorite veterans! I hope your windshield gets fixed really soon!

Caught Napping



While this is NOT the most flattering picture of me, I thought it was a sweet moment captured on camera! Rarely do I settle in for a nap with Madeline, but on this particular day, it was just too snuggly to resist.

The only thing missing was the Tostitos and Dip!

Left to Right: Rutledge, Delaney, & Madeline

Madeline and I had our first playdates with my friend Jenny and her twins, Delaney and Rutledge. (Jenny had her babies about three weeks after Madeline was born, and they spent some time in the NICU.) Since Jenny and the babies have to stick close to the house, Madeline and I decided to take lunch to Jenny and visit those sweet babies once a week for the last three weeks.

What fun we had--mommies talking, eating lunch, more mommies talking, feeding babies, even more mommies talking, changing babies & trading tips, and LOTS of mommies talking. I got to Jenny's house around 12:30 thinking we would eat lunch, visit with the babies, and commiserate for a bit. Before Jenny and I knew it, it was 2 feedings later and almost 6 PM!!! Wow, we really needed a playdate where the mommies could socialize about any and everything. We had so much fun the first Monday that we went back the next Monday for a second playdate (read: LOTS MORE mommies talking)! And, yesterday, we went back for a third playdate. I think this may become a weekly adventure for us! I'm so excited that our children are so close in age, and they can grow up together! Jenny and I have already started planning our trip to Disney World together when the 3 kids are old enough to enjoy the magic of it all.

Delaney and Madeline on the sofa. These two little girls are going to be the best of friends!

Next time, I am going to convince Jenny that she needs to be a stay-at-home mommy instead of going back to work in a few weeks! Thanks Jenny, Delaney, and Rutledge for hosting such a wonderful and much needed playdate! Madeline and I had a glorious time!