Christmas girl

I found this Santa hat in our box of Christmas decorations so I decided to see if Maddy would play with it.  She was even so kind to let me put it on her for some pictures.  Now it stays on the changing table to distract her from the inevitable.  

I also let her roll around this ornament for a bit to see if any cute pictures came about.  It rolled away from her mostly and I kept a good eye on her during the process.  I promise she smiles all the time until I take the camera out.  

Here is a shot of our finished Christmas tree.  I'm still searching for a topper...we'll see.  Maybe I can get Logan to smile for a family picture this week.  I"ll probably have to work on some kind of bribe.  Hmmm? 

Mommy for a day

Last night on "Jon and Kate Plus Eight", Mady and Cara asked Kate if they could be mommy for the day. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I would volunteer to take care of six four year-olds on any given day. Either way, I sometimes feel like I am just volunteering to be a mother for the day and that our Maddy's real parents are going to take her home at the end of the day. Logan and I both sometimes get this feeling that we're just babysitting and can't really believe that she is ours still. Today Maddy is five months old and I'm assuming no other parents are going to wisk her away. This morning she woke up at 5:30 after I got out of the shower. We cuddled for a bit and then she slept for another hour with Logan until it was time to go. I think I'll keep volunteering to be Maddy's mommy for the day.

Busy Weekend

This weekend we have been busy.  Well, somewhat.  On Friday we saw our camp friends Trevor and Lauren from Austin.  They were in town babysitting Lauren's niece while Lauren's sister and husband went to a Christmas party.  Ainsley just celebrated her first birthday this weekend!  She was very interested in Maddy and wanted to steal her pacifier just like Noah.  Seems to be a recurring theme for our girl! 

Saturday I bought our first real (well, real as in an artificial tree taller than three feet) Christmas tree.  I searched for cute green and blue ornaments, but didn't seem to find any I liked.  I settled on red and white for now until something better comes along.  We have all of our family ornaments on a wreath hanging up on the wall. 

Today, after a junior high parent meeting, I made one of Logan's favorite treats that his mom makes during Christmas time, Peanut Butter Blossoms.  (He has another name for them.  If you want to know what it is, I'll tell you after a drink sometime.)  Now, Logan is making his famous chili.  He only makes it about once a year so to me it's a treat.  I even convinced him to use turkey instead of ground beef!  

Maddy will be 5 months on Tuesday!  She is currently working on sitting up without support.  She can last about a second, but after that she's on the floor again.  I will have her four month wrap up and Facebook album up on Tuesday!  

Fingers and Toes

Maddy has had control of her fingers for a while, but today she finally found her toes.  I tried to capture a picture of her grabbing those little piggies, but she wasn't really cooperating with tonight's photo session.

Lord, I pray these little feet carry sweet Madeleine far in life.  Not by the world's standards, of course, but that you will guide her along a path that is full and rich in your abundant blessings.  I pray her hands help others around her so that she can share your love with anyone she meets.  

  

Little Turkey

 

This week Maddy has not slept well.  She has been up at night crying from pain of teeth coming in and keeping us awake.  When my kids at school are ornery, I call them turkeys.  I continually have my little "turkeys" all around me no matter what holiday it is.  

Thanksgiving was a blast yesterday.  Mom and I were up early cooking and getting ready for everyone, while the boys burned brush piles and Maddy played on the floor.  At one point she baked pies with me in her sling before crashing for a nap.  We ate tons of food, cleaned lots of dishes and ended the night with turkey sandwiches and TV.  It was a wonderful day full of family, food and great memories.  Our next Walker/Taylor gathering is going to be celebrating Mama Joyce's 100th birthday!   I can't wait to see her face on the Today show.  

Friends

This week we have gotten to see so many friends while visiting our family.  When we found out we were pregnant and our due date was close to our friends' Mike and Sarah's delivery as well, we started dreaming of little Noah and Maddy being childhood friends and high school sweethearts.  Well, with the move our little love birds have yet to meet until last night.  Noah was very curious with our squirmy Maddy Bug, mostly with removing her pacifier and chewing on her toys.  Unfortunately, our crystal ball can not tell us whether Noah and Maddy will ever be anything more than friends, but there is always hope.  

Thanks

The past few weeks have brought so many changes to our small world. Maddy is now rolling over, eating real baby food and sleeping through the night! It's amazing how so many small things can happen so suddenly that stop you in your tracks and force you to marvel in God's handywork all over again. Next week we are going to Mineral Wells and Fort Worth to see family and friends for Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for as always, but this year especially.

Thank you God for my amazing husband and his love for you, our daughter and for me. Thank you for our beautiful daughter and the way she is growing before our eyes. Thank you for loving us and showing us love through her sweet smile. Thank you for giving us the opportunitity to be completely dependent upon you when we can't quite see the future. Thank you for challenging us through frustration, confusion and just life in general. Thank you for providing for us jobs we are passionate about (even though we complain occassionally about them), friends who love us, family who misses us, and a place to call home. Thank you for your son Jesus and his amazing sacrifice on the cross. Thank you.

Mr. Potato Head

When the Speech Department at Sunshine Cottage does Halloween, they don't mess around.  We started planning our Halloween costumes for the battle of the departments (Speech vs. Audiology) as soon as school started and decided on Toy Story.  Our fearless leader would be Buzz, her son's favorite until just a year ago or so.  I took on the role of Woody and my co-workers were Jessie (from TS 2) and Bo Peep.  Maddy, of course, was going to play a role in all of Al's Toy Barn creatures so we decided on Mr. Potato Head.  My mom volunteered to make the costume and did an amazing job.  Logan said it looked like a giant....well, you can figure it out.  But to me she was the most precious Mr. Potato Head ever.  The head never quite would stay on, but it was perfect.  My cousin, Cari, also gave me some of her children's past costumes so I just had to dress her up in all of them since they won't fit her in about a week.  She is growing so much! 

Old and New

We visited Logan's family in Tennessee a few weeks during my fall break. Only Logan's brother and mother had met Maddy so it was so much fun to see their faces light up as her Tennessee family loved on her.

The best part was getting to see Logan's grandparents with Maddy.  Their beautiful aged hands explain it all in these pictures I took.  Hands that have held many children, grandchildren and great grandchild, but still just as excited to love the Baker clan's newest addition.  Luckily, she behaved well for the most part.  She was passed around quite a bit and had her moments.  I can't wait to go back during Christmas to see her interact more with the family.  

Hear and Now

Our lives are so different now. Madeleine Louise came into the world on July 9th and has completely changed how I view life. Fortunately, I have known God's love for almost 15 years now. Never in a million years though would I have thought how much deeper my understanding of His never ending love for us as a father would multiply exponentially when this little girl was first laid in my arms. "If I love her this much, just think about how much God...my Lord and Savior, loves little ol' me?" I never really knew about how God "delights" in us either until now. Each day I can not wait to find out how Maddy is changing and growing and what new trick she has developed magically. Yet, again, God does the same thing everyday, twenty thee years later waiting and watching, delighting in me. I am dumbfounded by this simple, yet awesome revelation.

Now I am praying each day to try to take in as much as I can, while remembering to not stress over the small stuff. Will my amazing husband be the merry maid I so desire? Probably not. Will I get to be on the cover of Good Housekeeping? Sources say...not likely. But each day I can think about how God has truly blessed me and my family to be here now.