Thursday, July 23, 2009

Fun with Grady

This is probably the first time they've actually played "together".

Monday, July 20, 2009

Aunt Shelby & Grandma Barb visit

Grandma Barb and Aunt Shelby came to visit for a week. Early in the week we went to Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury. We rode the little train: Maddox really enjoyed the petting barn! You'll also notice in these pictures her first pony tail on top of her head thanks to Aunt Shelby.
She took her first ride on a peddle boat. She sat very still for it on the hump between shelby and I, I think wondering what we were doing.
Then we had a picnic lunch where she got very lovey with Grandma, giving kisses right and left.
She kept wanting to clap Grandma's hands and thought it was great fun.
The latter part of the week we went up to West Virginia to Pipestem Resort State Park for a couple of nights. We had to waste some time before we could check in. Maddox spent a bit of it chasing Grandma around the parking lot. She was laughing and laughing! It was so funny!

Then we played some frisbee golf. Again, I think she wondered "huh?"
Walking with Grandma and Aunt Shelby.
We did a few hikes up there. M loves being outdoors so hiking was okay with her. She got tired on this one though and fell asleep before we made it back to our room.
One evening we went on a short hay ride which was a dud of an activity, but at least it was something to do for only a buck. Maddox wasn't so sure about the poky hay she had to sit on.
A view of the blue ridge mts. from one of the overlooks.
We weren't able to check into our room until 4 so maddox went all day until then without a nap. Here's a cute video of delirously tired maddox playing with Grandma through the balcony window:

We had a great time with the family and a little vacation! It was so nice for me because before they came Maddox was getting really clingy and wouldn't let me do ANYTHING without me holding her or she would scream and cry. Having other people around to take care of her helped a lot with that! Now, when she gets that way again who is coming out???

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Corn on the cob

A whole blog dedicated to Maddox's first ear of corn. This was actually a couple days before we left for FL but just now getting around to it. Somewhere there's a picture of me about the same age with my first ear of corn.At first she made us hold it for her while she gnawed at it. After a few attempts she took charge.

FL trip-Summer 09

On Jun 26 Jeremy's best friend Brent got married back in MO/KS but he asked us not to come to the wedding, but to their honeymoon! Crazy people! They stayed in my parents condo for the week. So we went down and spent a few days at the house and then a few days at the condo. Maddox's trip started off pretty bad as she had had a fever for 3 days, and when we got there on Saturday developed a rash. By Sunday the rash was worse but no fever for the past 2 days but I figured we better take her to Urgent Care to find out of she had strep or something that needed treatment. After 2 hours in a very empty office we found out she just had a virus that had to run it's course. She was pretty grumpy for a couple of days though. Her throat was very red (so the doc said), and she slept a ton and wouldn't eat. By Tuesday she was all better. Some lizards snuck into the pool area at the house so of course I had to catch them to freak Jeremy out. Maddox is like me, she couldn't have cared less about them.
On Monday Jeremy, Papa, Maddox and I went to the Naples zoo. She was pretty subdued about it, but her throat still really hurt that day and wouldn't eat. But she enjoyed checking out some of the animals.
Daddy's artistic picture, or so he thinks. I posted this one just for him.
Feeding the ducks. I'm feeding them cheerios, not Maddox.
On Tuesday Maddox stayed home with her Grandma and Papa the whole day while J and I went to the Everglades and Miami with Brent and Heather. That was the first time I've left her that long (left in the am and got home about midnight). She of course did great and was feeling much better. She got to go to the imaginarium with Grandma but she didn't take pictures. She also learned to love key lime pie while with Grandma. So here's the 4 of us on an airboat in the Everglades. . . .
. . .where they attract wild alligators right up to your boat. Made us a bit nervous.
Then we drove on over to Miami, did some shopping and went to a Marlins game where the attendance is absolutely terrible! It was crazy! The game got called in the 7th because rain moved in and it poured. But we saw a Marlins win!
We moved down to the condo on Thursday and spent some time at the beach. Maddox was aboslutely terrified of the rough water cried and insisted we hold her. After about 30 minutes of acclimation she was better and willing to go near it but still nervous. By the end of the week the water was much calmer and so was she. She was walking around in it, playing in the surf.
The day the water was so rough Brent and I threw the net but didn't catch tiny fish, we caught big fish! He caught a baby tarpin (adults get about 230 lbs), 2 black drums, and this one is a pompano. We threw them all back. We hoped we wouldn't catch a shark, it's been known to happen! Little ones, but still sharks.
Heather and I walking with Maddox along the beach.
Maddox and her Dad dug a big hole in the sand.
When we were in Miami I bought Maddox her first baby doll. I couldn't leave her all day and come home empty handed could I? So she's started getting into that, feeding the baby and things. Here she is with her baby and her baby's baby.
We put Maddox to bed and the guys made some adult beverages for Brent and Heather's last night there. Oh yeah, the girls also kicked the guys butt at Catch Phrase . . . AGAIN. It makes them so mad. Especially when they lose on the sports/games category.
On the fourth of July we left Maddox at home with Grandma and Papa so Jeremy and I could go to Naples for a 7am race. It was a 5K, finish time of 18:22, and 2nd in his age division.
They met us in Naples later for the parade. Maddox was quite a cutie there and got lots of candy. She was popular. It was her first parade and she sort of figured out that she was to gather the candy from the street and put it in the bag. Organizer that she is, she was good at that. She was very cute waving her little flag around.
On float gave her new sunglasses.
After we went back to the condo for naps we went out for dinner then back down to Naples to the beach to watch fireworks. She loved the beach by now and played in the surf.
Family time at the beach at sunset.
M watched some of the fireworks from Grandma's lap. The beach was full of people for miles and a local radio station played patriotic music so people brought their radios out. It was a lot of fun. Next time we'll make an evening of it with swimming suits for all and a picnic.
Sunday the gulf was really calm so I put Maddox in the floaty and let her ride the waves. She enjoyed it and even got a wave over her head when she got too close to the shore and didn't really care.
I took Jessi to the dog beach in the afternoons during Maddox's nap. It's not really a great place for 1 yr olds with all the dogs and their excrements. Jessi loves it, running around with the dogs and swimming in the water. It's pretty fun to take a chair and watch everything going on. The amount of beach there depends on the tide. Sometimes there's just a slim strip of land that you have to wade to and sometimes there's a very wide strip at low tide. Of course, because of the holiday weekend, it was a really fun place with lots of boats and music and drinks. Isn't this a nice pic of Jessi and Jeremy?

Cuddled up with her baby for the long drive home.
Maddox woke up around 9am after sleeping almost all night. She was awake about an hour from 3-4 but just sat there watching. She woke up with a smile on her face . . . not the same look from her parents who drove all night.
When Maddox is feeling silly she has this crazy inhaling laugh. We laugh at her when she does it so she does it more. She's a goofball. I finally caught it on tape, I was playing peekaboo behind the camera to get her to laugh.


Maddox definitely found her voice on this trip. She has started talking like crazy! Still jibberish but tons of it and most of the time. It's so cute to listen to. I guess it's just the next step before that jbberish starts turning into real words. She did add "baby" to her vocabulary and a couple other words. She also found a bit of independence and has started throwing tantrums. If she doesn't get her way she'll sit down right where she is and lay down on the floor and scream. I just let her until she's done. Yesterday I changed her diaper (which she hates) and she started a tantrum so I left her sitting in her room and told her to come eat lunch when she was done. She came to eat lunch but wasn't quite done. Let's shorten this by saying she threw her cup of peaches on the wall and she ended up in bed for a nap with no lunch.
We had a great time in FL. It's so nice to get up and just head to the beach or the pool with Maddox, and show her new things. The 3 day turn around before the FL trip was a bit short but I'd rather have that than not go at all! Now I have about a 4 day turn around before Jeremy's mom and sister come for a week! Busy summer! I love it!