Fall pumpkins!

Look now tall she is getting!!! We had such a great time at Sutherland Farms. We had to go back to the Dr. on Monday and she has gained 19oz in 2 weeks!! I guess formula packs on the pounds. So, she weighs 10lbs 4oz. It will be fun to stand her up to the same sign next year and see how much bigger she is.
Aww, cousins. Grady and Cassidy had such a good time together. They so so good with her. Both of them fed her a bottle. It was so cute.

Mommy and baby...I just love her so much!

Chillin' in the pumpkins...what a day!

4 months and going strong

I can't believe she is already 4 months old. Time is going so fast. She only weighs 9lbs. The Doctor wasn't concerned with how small she was just that she hadn't gained any weight in the last 6 weeks. We are having to supplement with a little formula, but she seems to like it. She loves this rattle my friend Katie bought her. I think it is cold on her gums. She smiles all the time (except at 3:00 this morning when she was very angry and didn't feel good). She loves to play on the floor and look at the TV. She really is a happy baby.

We have to take her back in in 2 weeks to see if she gained any weight. The Dr. wasn't really concerned but he wants to see her putting on some weight. She was right on track with everything else (well on her track at the 5%)

It will be Thanksgiving before we know it. I can't believe it was just a year ago we were finding out about her and now she is just a normal part of our life. We are very blessed!

Pass the Diet Coke please...

Madelynn thought the coke can was very fun to play with and we couldn't resist some pictures. Don't worry, she didn't drink any --- we are that bad.
She looks as big as the can here. She really is bigger, but not by much.

Take a roll please...

Madelynn's 1st roll. Ok, so it really wasn't her 1st. We missed it the first time. Bruce and I were even standing there talking about the fact that she was on her stomach and then all of a sudden she was on her back. So this is a staged one. We just kept putting her on her stomach to perform for us. Isn't that what kids are for?

Wow, this has been a big week for us. 1st time having cereal and now rolling over. She is getting so big!

Sitting in the Bumbo

Just chillin' and sittin' in the Bumbo. She looks like such a big girl. I can't believe how big she is getting. I told her she could pick up good habits from Kennedy only...like rolling over and sitting up. They were really into sympathy crying. It was funny.

Best Friends x2

Madelynn (3.5 months) and Kennedy (almost 7 months) just hanging out. I guess Madelynn will have to learn to defend herself. Well, Kennedy comes by it naturally! Her mom has been beating me up and knocking me off beds for years.
Oh, look at those innocent eyes!!! You better keep your eye on her Madelynn. Good times!!

In the Fall....

I drove up to Colorado Springs this week for Madelynn's 3 month pictures. What a great time of year to drive in through this area. When we were going up we were always so busy and there would be different things my mom would want to do, like going to Bosque del Apache (I think that is what is was called), but there was never time for it all. So she would say she wanted to do it in the fall. We would seldom get all these things done so it became a joke. When there was something we wanted to do we would say, "Sure, in the fall, in the fall...". One thing we wanted to do was drive up north and look at the leaves changing.

Well, I got to see them on this drive and they were amazing. It was raining like crazy on my way up there, but you could see these golden ribbons intertwined in the evergreens as they worked their way up the mountain. It was breathtaking.

I pulled over to take some pictures, and as I did I took a deep breath and mixed in with the rain, was the faint, sweet smell of the train that had just past. And in that moment I could feel a huge hug from my dad. I could hear him saying, "Hey kido, what's up? How have you been? I've missed you." My mind began to flip through all the memories I had of chasing that train up the mountain, laying coins on the tracks, and spending the day on a drive as a family and I was so thankful for those memories.
Right there in that moment I knew my dad was with me, in the smell of the train, the golden trees and the memories. As I felt the warm tears roll down my cheeks I began to drive up the mountain just enjoying these memories.

Then I turned a corner to see... Then I could hear my dad laughing, "Miss me kid?" We never could stay too serious in our family. It was just too funny, and the timing was perfect. Looking for dad in the little things in life keeps him alive in my heart.