First Family Vacation

I hope going to Tulsa for one night counts as a vacation! Because last weekend thats what we did and I'm counting it as a vaca. The point is, all three of us had a great time together over our Labor Day weekend.

The fun started Sunday afternoon, we took advantage of Mady's afternoon nap time and drove to Enterprise to see Michael's Grandma Sandy. She had relatives in so we got a lot of visiting done in a short amount of time. Then, we drove an hour to my grandma's house. There, Mady learned to say 'Joyce' and had a great time trying to pick up Grandma's large living room rung. I don't know why she wanted to pick it up so badly but she kept grunting and struggling with the thing. Pretty funny.

The next morning was Labor Day so we all drove to Owasso for a yearly get together at Michael's Aunt and Uncle's house. We had a good time. Mady wouldn't nap, but Aunt Sara helped keep Mady's attitude positive. They played and watched cartoons on Sara's computer (thank goodness for that).

Next we went to my friend Tre's house for dinner. He lives in Tulsa and we NEVER see him so we made plans! Mady loved playing with Tre's dog and running around the backyard. In full Mady tradition, since this was the first time she had met Tre, she had to have a massive dirty diaper that left her shorts unwearable. She spent the last 30 minutes running around in a tank top and diaper...how redneck did we look?! She tends to have blowouts every time we visit someone new. The worst was our friends from church, Beth and Joe. Poor little Beth was holding sweet Mady who was only a few weeks old at the time. All of a sudden, Beth shrieks and I'm mortified to find that a 'leak' had sprung. I won't go into details, but Beth had to wash her hands and Mady had to change her clothes. (Note to new mom's, leaking means the diapers are too small...no one graced us with this knowledge...which seems obvious now but what did we know?)

We stayed in a hotel Monday night and decided to visit the Oklahoma Aquarium on Tuesday. We didn't really know what to expect. Michael and I had both wanted to go, but never had. I'm not going to lie, the morning was a little rough. At first, Michael and I had to try to be in good moods, but after we got into the Aquarium, everyone had a great time.

We didn't take in the stroller...which could go one of two ways: 1) Mady runs wild and we have to chase her, get onto her or carry her, or 2) We take the stroller and Mady screams the whole time because she'd rather be walking (thats code for running). We decided to give it a shot and wen't stroller-less. Once we got past the parking lot, and Mady didn't have to hold our hands, she was thrilled to have the freedom.

The Aquarium was great. We fed shrimp, stingrays and turtles. Mady loved watching as Michael and I did the majority of the feeding. But the whole time, she was pointing, giggling and squealing. We also got to pet fish, crabs and stingrays. By we I mean Michael and I did...don't get me wrong, we wanted Mady to experience petting the animals too, but she was more interested in splashing in the water. We were covered in fish by the time we left, it was gross, but fun. It was Mady's favorite part. Michael's favorite part was the shark display. You walk through a glass tunnel into a room with a glass dome, so, all around you are sharks swimming. He giggled nervously while looking at the all the scary fish that surrounded us. My favorite part was showing Mady the fish. We would stand her on the ledge next to the display and she would say, "Whoa" and then ask to get down so she could run to the next display. She wasn't still for 2 seconds while we were there, but we didn't mind. She was loving it and her excitement spread to us too.

We also took our first family picture in a photo booth. The first 3 takes we were just trying to figure out how to get Mady to show up in the picture. She had this concerned look on her face like, "What are you two doing...its worrying me". Finally, we got her in place and just before the camera took the final pose, I yelled, 'Make a face!" Mady knew exactly what that meant and immediately stuck out her tongue. Its a really cute picture, I will try to post it sometime. On the way out of the Aquarium, Michael and I just laughed to ourselves...we had such a great time. Not necessarily because the trip was exciting, or because fish are amazing, but because we were together as a family, experiencing something new. No time constraints, no worry about money or cleaning the house or making decisions...just being together and having fun.

After a quick lunch in Tulsa we were on our way home again, with Mady asleep in the backseat. It was a great first family vacation. I look forward to many more (and hopefully longer) trips with my awesome family. God did a good thing when He created families...and when he created fish. :)

Hi Pa...

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Red Oak where Mady got to do one of her favorite things...hang out with Ma and Pa (Michael's grandparents for those of you outside of the family). I'm pretty sure she loves everything about them and thier house.

In past visits, she has played outside, which she LOVES. She spends her time sitting in rocks and dirt and moving them from one area to the next. We're not really sure why these rocks need moved, but its very important to Mady that they not stay where they are. I think she spent a solid hour moving rocks during our visit in May. Ma also has decorative rocks inside. Mady will move them to different places in the house too. I told her it was good that she had a skill and she just laughed to herself.

Also in May, and to Mady's delight, Michael unpacked a weedeater and left a nice big box for Mady to play with. Michael and I walked into the house this weekend after Mady had been there playing with Ma, and there was the box. Mady had moved in...all of her toys were sitting in it like decorations in a living room.

Other wonders at Ma and Pa's house include a drawer full of plastic containers. Mady will open the drawer, choose a container apparently based on a very strategic plan, and then bring it to me to open... 'Opeee peas' was my que. After the container was open, she would then exclaim with much excitement, 'icsh screem'. "Thats right Mady, ice cream, yummm!" Then everyone would take turnes eating the imaginary ice cream from the container.

She also loves the grandfather clock. Months ago when it would chime, she would run to it and say, 'cluck, cluck, cluck'. Now, its a little more recognizable as 'clock'. Her talking has really improved the last few weeks. I think she thrilled Pa when he walked in this weekend. She said very clearly, "Hi Pa". He nearly squeeled.

She really enjoys her time at Ma and Pa's. She helps Ma cook, sits on the window seal and has learned to open all the doors in the house. Its perfect.

Last night Mady wanted another Garner Dance Party. So, after dinner she came up to me and Michael and said, "Dance". Michael turned up the music and we all danced. This time, Mady wanted us to dance a certain way. Every 10 seconds or so, she would throw herself onto the floor and put her legs in the air...of course Mom and Dad needed to do the same thing! If we took too long to get up and start dancing again, Madalyn would try to pick us up and say, "Sta Up". After about the 15th time pulling ourselves off the floor, we were a little tired. But it was so much fun. Its so interesting to see what she comes up with in her cute little head.

Dance Party at the Garners!

I have wanted to write for a while but I haven't found the time. I'm awake at 7am for NO REASON...so I'm writing.

Mady is doing so much! She's practically an adult! Well, maybe not quite. She is making small sentences and everyday it seems like she is better able to communicate with us what she wants...or doesn't want. If you offer her a snack or toy that doesn't meet her expectations, she shakes her head and responds with a loud and long, "Noooooo". We get the point. Other times, she is very enthusiastic about getting something that she does want. By enthusiastic, I mean persistent..."more peas, more peas, more peas, more peas" and by 'more peas', she's really saying 'more please'. Don't let her cute voice fool you...she will continue to say 'more' until you give her more...even if ten minutes pass...she's still asking. She is pretty good at following it up with a nice 'Dank You' though. So at least she's courteous.

She has also been better at singing songs with us. The other day she melted my heart by singing Skina Mer Ink A Dink (from the Elephant Show) with me. She joined in on the 'I love you' parts. Her sweet little voice sang along with mine and all of a sudden, bed time wasn't all that important. She also enjoys singing Old McDonald (she sings the OOOOhhhh part of Ei Ei Ohhh) and she will do the motions of every song that has motions. Twinkle Twinkle was her song of choice last night. At the end, she would point to the sky and shake her hips with every point.

She knows her ABCs and I've caught her counting to 10 also. I give credit to amazing genes and Sesame Street. She is obsessed with Sesame Street by the way. Yesterday morning she woke up saying 'Elmo'. The other night she must have been dreaming on Sesame Street because at 1am she was yelling, 'Abby...Elmo'. It was too funny. I wish I could have seen what she was thinking. She was probably making the season's change with Abby or riding tricycles with her monster friends.

Last night was classic though. It might have been a perfect evening. I was making dinner and Michael put on some music. Mady was standing at the fridge and just started dancing. She announced with great joy, "I dance!" over and over. We moved the dance party to the living room where Mady instructed Michael to incorporate more jumping into his dance. She pointed at him and said "Jump". He did...11 times...because she kept pointing and yelling at him. I don't know if she was just feeling the music or if she has decided to whip us into shape. It was really fun though. It was one of those moments where you're aware you're making a sweet memory.

I couldn't be more proud of her or more excited about the future. Right now, everyone is doing back to school shopping and enrolling in classes. I cant wait to buy Mady new clothes and backpacks for school. I already have plans to make breakfast for her every morning so she can start the day off well, and pack her lunches with notes and maybe sneak some chocolate in there so I can be the cool mom. I guess because I had such a great childhood and great parents, I want her to have an even better version of that. I pray every day that I'm the best mom God can make me. And the best wife...(I think the two are directly related.)

Anyway, I guess I'll try to go back to sleep...I will try to write more later. Getting things written as the happen would be great, wouldn't it!?

I Love You

I know! I know! I haven't written in forever! I got to the point where I hadn't written in so long that I didn't know how to catch up. But, tonight...Mady said 'I love you' for the first time! I was taking a shower and Michael was getting Mady ready for bed. He brought her in (she was in her I <3 Hot CoCo pajamas) and she said it! I just knew that I would want to remember that moment forever so I had to write it down.

Mady has been talking so much lately. We can't understand half of what she's saying but the part that we can understand is really coming along. She says: shapes, hi, bye bye, bite, more, juice, no, diaper...and much more.

I know there is a lot more that I should write but I have zero attention span tonight. I'll try to write more soon!

Mastering New Skills

Mady is growing so fast and seems to be mastering a new skill every week. This week she has discovered throwing. She throws blocks, pacifiers, dog toys, food...if you hand it to her expect her to throw it. She received a bouncy ball in a goodie bag from Lexi's birthday party, the next day she would throw it across the living room and giggle to herself. Lately her giggle has been low and from her belly. Her giggle makes me giggle.

Last week she figured out how to make huge messes. Thanks to my Granny Wanda for giving her a huge box of legos (the big ones). She dumps those things out of their box and then makes sure they are coving every inch of the living room floor. She's also discovered certain toys that mommy keeps under the bathroom cabinet...feminine products. So, mixed in with the blocks are pads and tampons. Nice. Silly me for thinking I would get my privacy back after the birth experience. Now she shares my personal belongings with anyone who walks in the door.

There are still some things that she hasn't mastered. For instance climbing...she can get off of the bed and couch really well but struggles, thank goodness, with getting into chairs and on top of larger toys. So here's how it goes: pick Mady up...watch Mady squirm feet first off of the couch...listen to Mady grunt while she reaches for you to pick her up and put her back on the couch. And Michael thinks I need to go to the gym to lift weights...I've got my own kind of weights system.

Singing and dancing are another thing we are improving on. She loves to dance and is dabbling in singing. And, on a rare occasion, will do both at the same time. Usually her singing is quiet, if it has any sound at all. Sometimes its just her whispering, 'Bob, bob, bob'. We'll get there. We are also working on our animals. Everyday we read 'Spot's Animal Friends' and watch 'Baby MacDonald' (Which we stole from Target by the way. It was under Mady in the basket and I discovered it as I was loading the car. I paid for it the next time we went to the store so no judging me!) So, today, when we went to storytime, I was thrilled that the theme was 'Farm Animals'. We are destined to learn that a cow says 'Moo'!

Other things Mady wants to learn:
-How to use a computer (note the picture above)
-How to ride a bike (also pictured)
-How to go to sleep on her own (well, mom wants her to learn this one, she's been giving me fits every time its nap or bed time. Grrr...I depend on nap time...without it I get very grumpy, and so does Mady. Bad combination.)
-How to cover her sippy cup with noodles (She was trying last night...pretty funny. It looked like a mummy with strips of noodle here and there.)
-How to eat noodles.
-How to get Dakota to play with her
-How to get certain kitchen cabinets open. With the ones that have locks on them, she opens them as far as she can and then peeks inside.

Other things Mady is able to do quite well:
-Get on the internet on Mom's phone
-Destroy a stack of newly folded laundry while Mom types a blog
-Put on necklaces
-Turn on her loudest toys...thanks ball popper and dancing kangaroo
-Throw a fit when Mom takes something away
-Tear apart magazines
-Take off her socks
-Lose one ponytail holder on the way to Chic-Fil-A (so we only have one pigtail when we get there)



Even now she's learning...she just found a bib and put it on backwards like a cape. I love her so much!

Back in the Swing of Things

A lot has happened this past month. The biggest event is when Mady started walking! I can't give you a specific date or even a story about her first steps...it seems like she just decided one morning to walk and there she went! Its so cute to see her walking around. More than before, she looks like a little grown up. Michael keeps commenting on how weird it is when she just walks into the room. I love it! The other night, Michael couldn't get her to go to sleep so he comes walking out of her room in a huff...and Mady came trailing behind him smiling and pointing to her nose.

Thats something else that she's taken to...she keeps pointing to her nose. She has a Baby Einstein video that sings 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. It also features kids dancing to the song...so when she sees the kids dancing and pointing to their nose, I think she thinks its a dance move. Whenever she dances she bobs up and down and points at her nose...so cute!

Hmmm....I guess we can catch up on Christmas. As Michael told you, Madalyn got sick shortly before Christmas. It turns out that she had strep throat. She never really acted like she was in pain or anything, it just kind of slowed her down. Since she was contagious, we stayed at a hotel in McAlester so Mady wouldn't get my grandpa sick. It was so sad, she was watching tv with Michael and would reach for his arm, which was under the pillow, so she could hold his hand. Poor little thing! The next day her fever broke as I was putting her down for a nap. It was weird because I noticed how clammy she was and then the fever was gone.

After her medicine took care of the strep, Mady got a horrible rash. It covered her from her head to her toes and looked awful! She didn't even notice that she had it while it was breaking my heart to see her with red bumps all over her body. I took her back to the pediatrician but they said it would just go away on its own. I kept bugging them about giving her something to help and the PA finally told me I could give her some Benadryl if I saw her scratching. I think she told me that just so I would leave her alone. I was that mom freaking out in the doctors office and Mady was playing in the mirror ignoring my concern.

Since Christmas we have just been trying to get back into the swing of things. Michael's parents came down for his ordination service. We all had a good time and Vivian got lots of babysitting time. Today we were back to our routine. Breakfast, nap, lunch, nap, playtime then bath...then bed. Tomorrow is Storytime!