Special delivery to our nest...

As you can see in the picture above, Maddie received a special delivery on Friday. She had been checking the mail on a daily basis with both Mom and Dad for quite some time (very worth it) in eager anticipation of this package. A while back I saw the cutest thing on one of my favorite blogs "Bring the Rain" by Angie. It was a custom handmade doll with a personalized bible verse on its tummy called a "Baby Be Blessed." We ordered one for Maddie with the verse: "Let your light shine." (Matthew 5:16) She is already a light to the world with her smile, and I know she is going to be a light for the Lord!

While we ordered the doll quite some time ago, we were assured that the company was very busy (not a bad sign, right), and they were sending it soon. They also assured us that they would include a tiara (which is also very cute) for free, because it had taken so long. Believe me, it was worth the wait. I am sure this will be a doll Maddie uses as show and tell sometime in her life. It is sooo cute! Here is how the story goes, then you can see pics of Maddie loving her baby...

Jeff and Maddie checked the mail on Friday while I was at work. The running line is, "did we get the big key?" Our mailbox is locked, so if anyone gets a package that doesn't fit in their individual box, we get a "big key" to unlock the community larger box. THE BIG KEY HAD ARRIVED! Now, before Jeff got his hopes up (really my hopes, I am sure at this point he could care less, but really knew we were excited...he played the part) he checked the big box. We have been faked out before. About two weeks ago, I got the big key and much to my chagrin it was a 6 pack of formula samples. I won't complain, because that stuff is liquid gold, but really...that was a big key fake-out. On to the story...so Jeff and Maddie grabbed the package and put it on the dining room table. I called Jeff on my way home from work and debriefed the day and as always asked what we got in the mail (call me OCD). He replied with the standard, "some bills, some junk, and a couple of magazines." As I walked into the house, the first thing I saw was Maddie giving me a huge grin. Then Jeff was giving me a huge grin. Maddie always gives me a huge grin, but Jeff had a grin like something was up...then he opened his arms like Vanna White (not necessarily a pretty picture with Jeff:) and there on the table was a box. We went over to the couch to look inside...before I did, I checked a few things: was the return label from Enfamil or BabyBeBlessed and did it feel like 6 huge cans of formula or a little "rag doll." The rest is in the pictures...as I type right now, Maddie is sleeping with her little baby...



Sorry for being long winded all for that...maybe you had to be there. Really, thanks BabyBeBlessed and thanks Angie for the great idea. It is something that Maddie will treasure always.

Steamroller...

Being 1st time parents, we are always looking for new things and worried when they seem to be a bit behind "schedule." Maddie gets plenty of tummy time, but really didn't find any interest in rolling over...until the last couple of weeks. Now, she has realized that by rolling, she can travel the world. She started with the occasional roll, which came at the least expected times. However, her steamrolling happened at about the most opportune time one can imagine. Here is a quick version of the story:

Jeff was sitting at the breakfast bar in our kitchen working at the laptop (a MacBook Pro, which we love!) grading National History Day projects. I was working a 12 (7:00-19:30), and because I was finishing my orientation at the NICU, I was still on days. Jeff tends to listen to more mellow music while working on schoolwork, so James Taylor happened to be playing...specifically, "Steamroller Blues." Apparently very inspired, Maddie heard the following lyrics while playing on a blanket:

"Well, I'm a steamroller, baby
I'm bound to roll all over you
Yes, I'm a steamroller, baby
I'm bound to roll all over you"

AND started to roll STEAMROLL across the blanket she was playing on! Ok, so Jeff tells this story, and while I am sure he was playing James Taylor, Steamroller Blues may have been clicked after the fact. For Maddie's sake...we will just go with it:) Check out some of her rolling escapades pics below:

She has blessed our nest...

She is a SASSY girl!

We had to get her a cell phone because she loves playing with ours...however, a fake one just never seems to be as much fun.

We've got a "drooler" on our hands.

Maddie is 5 1/2 months...it is crazy to believe! She is eating fruits and veggies and loving it. Ok, mostly just loving the fruits :) Her two new things this week are talking screaming in a deep man voice, and sticking her tongue out. I am pretty sure she got my tongue genes, because it doesn't look like she will be able to roll it. Poor girl, I always got get made fun of...still. Oh, and yes her hair is coming in SLOWLY but surely :)

Sign up now for Kari's Dream Team...

Click on the picture above and it will direct you to the registration page for the Eastern Washington Race for the Cure 2009. Please join "Kari's Dream Team." Thank you so much for your support. I will keep in touch with the blog and email for updates about our team. We are creating T-shirts, so not only will you get T-shirts for the race but also T-shirts to support Kari! If you would like to help with the T-shirt effort, let me know. It is still a work in progress :)