Shutterfly spreads a little cheer during my favorite time of year!!!

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is receiving everyone’s cards in the mail!! Usually checking the mail is all about bills and junk mail but not this time of year!! I get so excited to go and see who’s cards have arrived. Matt and I also love sending out cards to everyone. This year even more than usual because we have an addition to our card….our sweet Madelynn Frances!

This year is important for two reasons we want to show off our little angel and make sure everyone has our new address and what better way than a photo card. When I think of printing and creating photos I always think of Shutterfly!!! Hands down the easiest website with the biggest selection and they are always precise and quick!!! Love that especially this time of year when you have a gazillion other things to worry about on the calendar! It is nice to sit in my pj’s with a warm cup of coffee and still be able to design our Christmas card, proof it, order it, and receive them in the mail without ever leaving my house!! BONUS..this year they are doing a promotion for bloggers that blog about Shutterfly..want details check it out: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Shutterfly has so much to choose from that it’s hard to narrow down….I love them all.

These are the few that I am trying to decide between:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/pretty-poinsettia-print-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/peppermint-gift-wrap-christmas-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/royal-elegance-christmas-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

Y'all know I love black and white photos but I just can't decide this year!! We had family pictures taken in the heart of Savannah with a beautiful back drop and I can't wait to see how it looks in a picture!!

Shutterfly offers more than just photo cards!!! This being Madelynn's first Christmas makes it very special so quite a few of our gifts are going to revolve around sweet pictures of her and capturing her beautiful personality. Shutterfly makes my christmas shopping so easy because these are some of the other ideas they have:

Calendar of my sweet princess, yes please!!! Wouldn't you want to look at that sweet face every month!! http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

Who wouldn't want to drink out of a mug with sweet Maddie's face on it...another way to show her off at the office!!! http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

Throwing a holiday party?!?! So easy to make invitations and never have to leave the house. Once they arrive just address them and pop them in the mailbox. Make sure to send us one!!! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

You will just have to wait and see what we chose for our cards!!! Check your mailbox daily....it will be on it's way soon!!! Wishing all our family and friends a wonderful holiday season!!

Our Savior gave Matt and I the greatest gift on May 11, 2010!! We can't wait to share with Madelynn the Christmas story each and every year!! To God be the Glory!

War Eagle!!!!

Matt and I have waited for football season ALL year and been so excited for Maddie to be decked out in Auburn gear. We can't wait to take her to the campus and take pictures and experience a football game once she gets a little older. But for now....watching with Daddy at home is a lot of fun too!!

S-O-R-R-Y...for the lack of posts...we have been very busy!!

We have been staying very busy with a little girl that never stops growing and amazing us with all that she can do. We have traveled some, stayed home some weekends, and just started to enjoy a little bit of the cooler weather and football. I will just post a bunch of pictures to share rather than writing a lot. We are looking forward to cooler weather and the upcoming holidays with our family and friends.

I promise not to wait so long for another post!!

3 months already....good-bye newborn, hello infant!!!

Hard to believe that our sweet girl is 3 months old today!! Wow how she has changed. Here is a list of the things that she does now:

• laughs all the time
• smiles constantly
• the chunky thighs NEVER stop moving
• coos and vocalizes vowels (Momma the speech therapist is proud)
• supports her head all the time
• lifts her head about 90 degrees when she is on her tummy
• "stands" on her legs when you hold her up
• sits up assisted
• sucks on her fists and fingers often
• melts our hearts more EVERYDAY!!!

We love her to pieces and we are looking forward to the fun months ahead!

Support Groups!!!

How young is too young to send Maddie to some support groups. The two that I had in mind were M.A. (Milkaholic Anonymous) and P.A. (Paciholic Anonymous)!!!

Maddie loves to eat (as evidenced by the pot belly she is getting in the picture) and to say she loves her paci would be an understatement!!!! So much so that it has impeded some sleep lately. Unfortunately she cannot put it back in herself yet so EVERY time it falls out she wakes up and expects me the Paci Fairy to put it back in....no lie...every.single.hour!!!! I spoke with the pediatricians office today and they did not recommend that I go cold turkey with the paci because since she is only 3 months old (today) she doesn't have a lot of self soothing techniques yet!! UGH...really!?!?!? She is beginning to suck on her hands and fists but cannot seem to find them in the middle of the night when she is already enraged!! Here's to hoping that she goes back to sleeping for longer stretches soon!!!

Wanted to share this picture that my sister-in-law gave me!! Like father, like daughter!! Can we say too old for a paci!!! Maddie will not have the paci as long as her dad did I can assure you of that!! I think he might have already started growing arm pit hair when he still had his paci!!

First trip to the beach!!!

We went to Hilton Head last weekend when the Ingerson's were here and took Miss Maddie for the day!! Well we only lasted about 2 hours and then she was ready for a nap and we wanted to get her out of the heat!! The rest of the family stayed longer to enjoy the beach and waves but I must say that Madelynn did so well and seemed to like the wind blowing and all that was going on. First time that I have ever been to the beach where I spent the entire time under the umbrella...no sun, no good book, no swimming.....oh how things have changed.

Neither Matt nor I wanted to put on sunscreen to go out in the sun because we didn't want it to rub off on Maddie so we decided to both huddle under the umbrella with her!! The one time that Matt wore sunscreen at the lake and then held her later she got a rash on her thigh from where he was holding her!! We have a little girl with sensitive skin just like her momma!!! So we had to be careful!! Next summer we will be fine because we can put sunscreen on her and enjoy all that the beach has to offer!!

We L-O-V-E our flip!!!

We got a flip video camera from Eric and Nora for Christmas in hopes that we could use it a lot with a little one on the way!!! We LOVE the flip...it is so easy to use and just as easy to save on your computer and share with others. Hope you enjoy the little video of Maddie. Hope to put up some more videos soon. We have now started carrying the flip in the diaper bag so that we can take some more!!

Smiles, smiles, and more smiles!!!

Just like everyone has said..it keeps getting better and better!!! She melts our hearts more every day. About two and a half weeks ago I got the first "real" purposeful smile and it was so cute. Now we get smiles very regularly and it never gets old!!! Madelynn is very happy in the mornings when she wakes up for the day and that is when she smiles the most!! Enjoy the photos!!

Next stop...Lake Norman, NC

We also went to visit my Dad and stepmom for the 4th of July weekend!! We had a great time and enjoyed the sun and the lake. Maddie even had her first boat ride (with a life jacket of course...that she preferred to suck on) and she thoroughly enjoyed it. The hum of the motor and movement of the boat put her to sleep both times we went out on it. Maddie enjoyed her time with Granddaddy and Grandma DeeDee!! They ate up any chance they could get to hold her, kiss her, feed her, rock her, and love on her. I am still very much a daddy's girl and it was very special for me to watch my dad with Madelynn and know that she will most likely grow up to be Granddaddy's little girl too!! I hope that she has a relationship with Matt silimar to what I have with my dad because words couldn't describe the closeness or how special our bond is and always has been. My mom is also my best friend so I hope that Maddie and I have a relationship that mirrors that too!!

We even took the boat out to watch fireworks and Maddie slept right through them. The sound did not bother her at all but I think she was exhausted and would have slept through WWIII starting!!!

Traveling all around!!!

We have been traveling like crazy lately it seems and Miss Maddie has done so well with it all. She is a great car rider and seems to not mind that we have been constantly on the go. First stop was Charleston and Folly Beach so that she could meet Grandad and Noni (Matt's dad and stepmom)!! They were able to be at the hospital for a little bit while I was in labor but had to catch a flight and missed her delivery by only 4 hours!! They were so excited to meet her and as you can imagine they loved on her the whole time!!!

Not quite a beach bum yet...

Well I can't go swimming yet or even get out in the sun but when I can....I am READY!!! This is my first bikini (compliments of my Great Aunt Renee)!!! Mommy and Daddy think I look so cute in it!!

Would you like fries with that????

You would think Peanut is eating cheeseburgers rather than breast milk the way she is gaining weight. We went to the pediatrician today and Miss Madelynn went from 8 lbs, 120z. two weeks ago to 10 1/2 lbs today!! She also grew from 21" at birth to 22 1/4" today!!

The doctor is very pleased with her weight gain and growth!! We are too!! We are all three doing really well and couldn't ask for better!! We love her to pieces and love watching her grow!!

One month old today!!!

Hard to believe that our sweet peanut is already one month old today!! We love her more and more every day!! She is growing so fast and already changing. She loves to look and watch the ceiling fan and really studies any face that is holding her. She doesn't miss a single meal..girlfriend loves to eat!! She is beginning to sleep for 3 and sometimes 4 hour stretches and of course mommy loves that!

We had newborn photos taken at our house and the photographer was awesome. This picture is a sneak peek and I can't wait to see all the other poses that she took.

It has been a good month and we are looking forward to all the months ahead!! We go back to the doctor this Friday for the month check up..can't wait to see how much she has grown!!

Don't you want to kiss all over this face??? We do!!!

Visitors, visitors, and more visitors...Maddie is one popular girl!!

We have had lots of visitors....