Okay...I know I'm supposed to be on a bloggy break, but we were just in the club yesterday and I had to shoot the greatest video of Jeff and Maddox. It's a little grainy because I took the video on a cell phone. Technology these days!
Resume bloggy break...
I am going to be taking a little break from the blogging because the next few weeks are very busy for us.
This weekend, we are moving to Thornton (near Denver) and then Monday morning, we leave for southern California! After our trip to California, Jerry and Kelly Gash & Greg, Becky and Jaxon Young will be coming back to Colorado with us to spend the New Year holiday! Needless to say, I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done over the holidays.
So...Merry Christmas to all of our friends and loved ones. We love you all very much, and we can't wait to see most of you next week!
Well, it's been months of trying different foods and being very creative, but we have figured out how to get Maddox to eat! He hates baby food and will send baby cereal flying across the room. But, he likes real people food, especially avocado! Enjoy these yummy photos of the little man sampling the goods...
It's my birthday!!! Exactly 28 years ago today, my mom was in a lot of pain...and it hasn't let up since!
Maddox is a very good helper in the kitchen! For instance, he likes to stand at the tupperware drawer and make sure that all the tupperware and lids get sufficiently slobbered and thrown on the floor. Maddox's favorite way to help is to dump the dog's water bowl, but we have put a stop to that, much to his dismay.
Another skill mastery that puts Mommy on edge. Why do all of Maddox's current discoveries risk serious injury?
Here are photos of us decorating the Christmas tree, or (more specifically), decorating the top half of the Christmas tree.
Maddox can find something to play with anywhere!
This is the new game we call "leg surfing." Oh, the things we do to entertain a baby!
Maddox and I used to have a deal...bedtime at 8:00, up twice during the night. This was okay with me because I got stretches of sleep about three hours long. Then, about a month ago, Maddox decided to default on our deal, waking up anywhere between 5 and 10 times per night. (I'm not kidding!) One night, when he woke up for the eighth time at 4:00 am, I went in to nurse him back to sleep, and he giggled when he saw me. It was then and there that I realized that the little turkey has me wrapped around his fat little finger.
Fortunately, my knight in shining pajamas came to my rescue! For three nights now, my wonderful husband has slept in Maddox's room, and helped him fall back to sleep when he wakes. At first, Maddox was furious that it was Dad, not Mom, who was there. But, after three nights of this, he is sleeping through the night!!!! And do you know what that means?! It means that after 9 months of interrupted sleep, I sleep through the night too!!!!!
Maddox can crawl...and he does...sometimes. He's just not a big fan of crawling, although he can crawl fast when he really wants to get somewhere. Forget crawling; this kid wants to walk!
I know this picture is hard to see, but it was so cool, I just had to post it. We were feeding sting rays at the Aquarium. A sting ray came to eat the fish Jeff was holding and Maddox reached out and touched it! He loved it!
Maddox wasn't too sure what to think about this tiger, but he couldn't keep his eyes off it either!We had a great visit with my mom over the weekend, although it was just too short! Here are some photos of Maddox in one of his favorite spots...firmly planted in Marmie's lap. The video below is the new trick he mastered while Marmie was visiting! Sorry the video's so dark, but you'll get the idea. (My life just got a lot busier with this new discovery.) Enjoy!
We took Maddox and Marmie to the zoo yesterday to see all the animals and feed the giraffes. This particular giraffe's name is Becky... no relation to a certain family friend. Everyone loved feeding the giraffes crackers, especially Jeff, who also got a little smooch from Becky!
Maddox got his first look at gorillas, who made sure to show off for him. One gorilla kept bringing her new baby by the glass to show off her little one. Another smeared his own vomit on the glass and then ate it for our amusement. The hambone in the photo below put a bandana on her head to get some laughs. Maddox thoroughly enjoyed all of it!
Check out the video below to see Maddox feeding our new friend, Becky.
My mom came to visit us this weekend, and we are having a blast! Maddox giggles when Marmie gets him up from his nap, and loves to play chase with her.
Maddox has been taking swim lessons for 5 weeks now, and he has loved every second of it! He has learned to jump in and hang from the wall, float on his back, and swim under the water. Maddox was the only baby in class who never fussed, no matter what we asked him to do! I think we have a future Olympic swimmer on our hands. Check out these videos to see how much progress he has made in swim lessons.
The Sea Monkey returned for Halloween! Although, I must admit, he looked a little different than he did in the ultrasound picture when he first got that nickname. We had a fantastic Halloween, spent enjoying two Fall Carnivals. The little Sea Monkey especially loved watching the big kids jump in the bounce house. Daddy even helped him bounce some too! 
Mommy Lesson #48,592...
When giving your wallet to your baby to play with, always remember to take the book of stamps out first.
We had our first snow!! And just for the record, it took longer to get ready to play in the snow than it did to actually play in the snow.
Among the millions of lessons we have learned having a baby, God decided to throw in a little lesson on patience for us. It's called the car seat. Any of you who have ridden in the car with us know all too well that Maddox screams uncontrollably in the car seat. Not just when he's tired or grumpy...all the time!
Well, he has finally gotten big enough to ditch the infant car seat and move on to something a little more comfortable. (It's still rear-facing...we can't turn it around until he's a year old.)
I'm hoping this is the end of this particular lesson in patience, although I know there are about a million more ahead of me!
Friday was Jeff's 33rd birthday! (Wow...33!) We went on an Old Navy shopping spree (don't be too impressed, he desperately needed warm winter clothes anyway), and enjoyed an awesome dinner at a Brazilian BBQ with our friends, Derek and Valerie. Later that evening, we went to a party with the Fitness 19 folks. All in all, it was a few more gray hairs for Jeff, and another great year!
Jeff and Maddox with our friend Tammy, who made that adorable winter hat for Maddox.
Our new church offers a "Cradle Roll" class for babies. So, Maddox and his friend, Katelyn attended their first Bible Class! Maddox's favorite parts were ringing the bell, playing with the pig, and sitting in the boat while the teacher sang the Noah's Ark song. She also spent a lot of time singing about how God gave us farm animals because Maddox loved the pig so much.
This was a special "first" for me because I know how much I loved Bible Classes growing up, and I know Maddox will too! Someday, he'll be running out of class with his newest craft dying to tell me what he learned about in class...
