Best 365 Days

Today our baby turns one. ONE! It seems just like yesterday we picked up our new car and a few hours later were on our way to South Carolina. It's hard to believe that just a year ago we met Devon and her family. They opened up their home to us immediately and we felt like we had always known them. Considering the three days before baby was born we had spent an evening getting our nails done, watching the new Twilight movie and having a beautiful Sunday dinner together, I can't help but consider their home a happy part of our story.

This past year has been full of family and personal development. It hasn't been all peaches and cream but it has been an incredible journey. Learning to become parents and working together has been my favorite part. Besides watching Cony love being a dad. I've pinched myself numerous times to make sure this wasn't a dream. I let myself forget too easily what an amazing man I get to spend my life with but when I do remind myself... I can't help but feel like I'm the luckiest girl around.

Since this is our blog and today is about our Madelyn, I'm going to gloat about her. She is an angel. Her personality and countenance makes anyone fall in love with her. We may not live close to our blood relatives but it's been such a sweet blessing to have our CT family love her just like their own. We get asked a lot "how did you get such a good, beautiful baby?" and my response is always, "we paid a lot of money for her!". It's a terrible joke, I know, but what's life without a little sense of humor? People we have met and don't know she's adopted find it hard to believe she's not our blood. A close friend always jokes: "Why don't you stop lying all ready... I believe you went to South Carolina to birth her secretly".

The motor skills of this child amaze me. She taught herself how to get down from our bed and loves to now climb on anything or anyone. Just last night she figured out how to climb onto the arm of her rocking chair while balancing herself on the rod of her faux closet. A few minutes later in the living room I turned around to find that she had climbed on top of her piano onto her play kitchen. She was so proud of herself. Cony thinks she's so girly because she likes shoes and purses, but I know better.... she plays hard and promise she can keep up with any boy and possibly take him down.

Madelyn is a light in our life and we are humbled we get to be her parents. We have learned more in the last year than we have in all the years we've been together. We are grateful we have an awesome tummy mummy and we get to consider her part of our family.

Growth Spurt

The last two nights MMM has slept twelve + hours each night. She's a great sleeper but won't usually sleep past her 6:45 am wake up call. When I picked her up yesterday out of the crib she really was bigger than she was the night before. I was shocked. She spent some time with me in the office yesterday morning and loved every second. She would wonder into one co-workers office for about 45 seconds and move on to the next office. She kept herself busy doing that most of the morning. Thankfully I have amazing co-workers who didn't mind and loved having her with us. 

It's so easy to forget how smart babies are because she is constantly amazing me and the things she does. Cony fixed her some boiled eggs yesterday and she decided she didn't like them after two small bites and just threw them on the floor for Gracie to eat. Now that the bottom shelf of her armoire is empty she is always in there with a book or some sort of stuffed animal. She gets out by either going head first or holding on to the shelf above and placing both feet on the floor. 

Cony was talking to his Nana the other night and I overheard him say "I didn't know babies could be so much fun!". It's true. I love watching their relationship and how much he adores being her father. He's working really hard on making her a daddy's girl. I feel truly blessed he loves this role as much as I do.

 

I didn't realize I looked so awful when Cony does something to annoy me. I should probably work on that....

Nor'Easter

Never a dull moment around here with the hurricane last week and the Nor'Easter this week- we've been busy! I'm actually listening to Christmas. I can't help myself. I'm a child at heart I guess and when I see snow I still relate it to Christmas time. I'm listening to Bing Crosby's Christmas on Pandora. It's amazing. 

Last Friday night we attended a UConn Women's Basketball game. I've been wanting to check that off my list since the day we stepped foot in Connecticut. We couldn't pass up $5 tickets and knowing someone on the team makes it more exciting! Baby was getting restless so we took a walk and she is a ham. She wasn't shy and waved to everyone and even examined the Husky mascot until she realized it wasn't a real dog and wanted nothing to do with him. Wearing her UConn dress she was the cutest, smallest Husky fan ever!

Cony flew home during the Nor'Easter and I'm thankful he made it and was only 30 minutes late. I had a good practice run driving in the storm earlier when a friend and I took dinner to a momma with a new baby. We passed dozens of cars that were stuck and could not move. At one point when we were stopped, we got out to help a few cars up the hill. All while a few "men" sat in their big trucks and just watched us. I truly can't imagine that happening in the South. I realize that not all Southern men are gentlemen but......... I've never been more grateful for a car, particularly a 4WD. 

The next day we had a great Snow Day and loved rolling (literally) in the snow. Baby loved the snow too but hated she couldn't move the way she wanted in her snow outfit. Which was sent just in time by grandparents! 

This morning before I left for work, I noticed baby playing in our room. She was picking up all the books next to Cony's side of the bed. Then all the sudden she decided to pick up a book that is easily over 1200 pages. It's heavy for me to pick up. My first thought was "she shouldn't be able to pick that book up!" and then I realized how amazing it must be to be a baby.... everything so new and fresh and the mindset of being able to accomplish anything. Nothing holding her back... including herself.

Halloween & Hurricane, Oh My!

It was a big weekend around these here parts... Cony's birthday, Madelyn turned 11 months and Hurricane Sandy came our way. We were expecting a lot worse in our area and thankful we weren't effected as dramatically as the news warned. Clark came in town for business and it's been lovely having him around. Especially since MMM hasn't had a lot of time with family. We celebrated Cony's birthday with good food and no school. Doesn't get much better than that...

My mummy made her adorable costume...

Our Praying Angel...

with our Little Devil Dog. 

Trick or Treating at a good friend's house...

Helping hand out candy..

 

Head of the Charles

There was a time when rowing did my body good. Now rowing does my heart good. I'm a little embarrassed to say that this is our third autumn here in New England and this is the first year we've made it to the Head of the Charles. It was exactly five years ago that Cony and I visited Boston for the first time and yesterday was Madelyn's first time visiting. Hearing the coxswains yell, watching the shells swiftly move across the water brought us back to a time in our life that we cherish. We cherish it for many reasons but mostly because that's when we fell in love and gained lifetime relationships. 

I've had on my mind a lot the last week about Madelyn and how I want her to know without a doubt Heavenly Father knows her and loves her and hope she strives to have a relationship with Him. So I taught the Young Women yesterday at church and we talked about prayer because I know that's the best way to gain that relationship. Although we have experienced our very own miracle, we still go through times when we just say words and have no feeling behind those words. We've been patiently waiting for confirmation on a few things and it's been a struggle waiting. We feel our life is in complete limbo. However, I was reminded yesterday that sometimes the Lord allows us to struggle for our own good and we should be thankful for the struggling moments. That hit me pretty hard because dang it- haven't we struggled long enough all ready??? It was a humbling experience... I got most of my lesson from this talk and video.