Jon, Leah & Madelyn

Short Bursts of Blogging!

2011-12-27T11:22:00.003-05:00

So, I should be trying to recover my house from company and Christmas and be getting ready for the next round of company and Christmas but instead here I am - but just for one short little bursts at a time.

P.S. these are older non Christmasy pictures.

Sending Love and Joy to you this Christmas season. . . (she didn't want to be Joy OR Love!) :-)

Just conked in her pack-n-play one evening

Goober is what we call this!

she was in this stage where if you squinted at her she'd squint back.

Pretty girl in her pretty dress from Uncle Brad and Aunt Melissa. It's funny how we got all these dresses when she was born and they seemed soooo big I thought she'd never wear them. . .

we're officially done with the baby tub because this was how that worked out the few last times. :/

This, I admit, was a set up. She is not allowed to stand up like this in the tub because she can easily slip and bonk her chin on the edge. Maybe it makes me a bad parent, but. . . I purposely left the room just long enough for her to pull herself up like this then sneaked back in and took a picture before I made her sit back down. :-)

Deck the Halls...

2011-12-27T08:34:00.007-05:00

The tree as it's supposed to be. . .

the tree as it is a lot of the time (not as bad since gifts were added)

This year's new ornaments. This one from Lynette

Don't get excited! This is NOT an announcement of any sort it was just too late to make it on last year. (P.S. the due date is off by one day but doesn't really matter anyway since she was SIX days late!)

From Beck

On top of a gift this year. He's like wooden

And my all-time favorite new ornament this year!

I added a bell up by the bow, because bells seem to be one of her favorite things about Christmas this year.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-26T16:38:00.003-05:00

I have lots and lots of pictures but I'm trying to decide how best to post them... I may end up uploading to an album and posting a link. For now though, Merry Christmas to you all (a day late)!

I Challenge You...

2011-12-14T11:41:00.005-05:00

Go to http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/give-a-gift-change-a-life?open?open&campaign=1193519&cmp=KNC-1193519&gccode=animals Spend just a couple minutes looking and tell me you don't want to buy one of everything! It's not a selfish thing in this case. I just did a little "Christmas shopping" there myself. And just for the record... if anyone is stuck as to what to get for me??... Lots of options here! And I can guarantee it'll fit, I don't already have it, and I really will love it! You just can't go wrong!

Women of Faith Pix as promised

2011-12-13T12:11:00.005-05:00

First stop Cracker Barrel - Watertown

Just thought it was funny that Heidi was sitting right under a light so when she got her food it was like "WAAA!" right on her plate. You might have had to be there. . .

It was Joy's 16th B-day so she said it was OK if we had them sing to her as long as she got a free dessert. :-)

Madelyn's first hotel stay. . . She was waving at me.

a box lunch for both days was included with the ticket price.

I told Beck she should know better than to take these pictures on my camera because they WILL ALWAYS come back to haunt her!

taking a little down time.

Madelyn was sooooo good the whole time but she just needed to move a little so we found an out of the way corner and letter her down. Yes her white shirt DID come clean.

Olive garden for dinner Friday night. No wait whatsoever it was amazing!

sleeping beauty. (no, she didn't sleep here all night just a little in the morning when she went back to sleep.)

Great picture of everyone but me - go figure!

The end! :/

Mommies Can't Take Sick Days. . .

2011-12-12T12:34:00.003-05:00

So how's your day? Mine? You really wanna know? Well, since you asked. . .

Madelyn slept in just a bit this morning (right around an hour longer than usual) then got up with a very wet diaper and wet jammies (pretty common. . . no biggy). I cleaned her up and put clothes on her and put her in her pack n play where she played/fussed because her teeth hurt and she was ready for breakfast. I made her breakfast, fed her (she was pretty good in spite of being pretty hungry), cleaned her face, then gave her Tylenol for her teeth and took a

Sudefedrine myself. i put her down to crawl around and play while I got started on some house straightening and grabbed something to eat (yes she officially crawls a majority of the time now). I had gone in her room to get something when i heard her coughing, so I came out to check on

her and apparently she had eaten something off the floor (my child seems to feel an urgency to get her pound of dirt in before her first birthday!). This, sadly is a normal thing so I didn't stress about it. Most things she figures out on her own are not edible and pulls/spits them back out. This particular item apparently she couldn't get back out though, so she started coughing and eventually threw up part of her breakfast on the floor and her clothes. I tried to grab her carefully and quickly but she still manage to get one hand in it and tried to get the other hand and her feet in it as I picked her up. anyway, I put her, clothes and all, in the tub (no water)and gave her toys to play with while I cleaned the floor.

A couple small bumps to the head later (those bath tubs are slippery!), I had cleaned up the worst of the mess, sprayed the spots, and bathed and dressed and read to a sleepy baby.

And THAT was all before her morning nap! After I rocked her and put her down for her nap I still had to find something to eat and attempt to straighten the house. I know it's not truly a bad day, it's just that, well my energy is low and my head so stuffy it feels like if I blow my nose one more time it'll explode and my nose is getting sore and I need a shower cause I know it'll probably make me feel better but. . . (reference the part about lack of energy above) But alas, she's been sleeping for two hours, which means she'll be up soon, so I MUST go do SOMEthing before then! In the meantime, feel free to offer your sympa. . . er, I mean support. No, I really am not complaining. There is some odd sense of fulfillment even in the midst of just wanting to go to bed and sleep for a week straight. I truly love every minute of being Madelyn's mommy and I find the daily challenges give me a strange thrill. I just wish my head didn't hurt so bad!

Hope Everyone is having a good Monday!

2011-12-05T10:50:00.002-05:00

Here are just a few of my favorites from my phone. They wont be very big or high quality, but I thought they were too cute not to share.

Hammin' it up for Mom and the camera! (this is rare cause she usually gets all distracted with my phone.)

First time I walked in and found her STANDING in her bed! 'Bout had a heart attack! Luckily I had my phone in my hand. Se how pleased she is with herself?

One Wednesday before church

Just trying on her new hat that a friend at church made for her.

She thinks she's big stuff looking out the window. She watches cars, snow falling (not much lately) and the neighbor's Christmas lights.

Nap Time at Our House. . .

2011-11-18T10:37:00.003-05:00

OK, honestly most days nap time goes really well. this particular day she was all out of sorts and acting extra sleepy before nap time so i rocked her and she went to sleep then I put her down in her bed like usual. . . apparently she wasn't THAT tired!

The day we headed to Women of Faith she slept a lot of the day (which was really helpful for me trying to get around to leave!)

Every now and again she's extra sleepy even with her normal naps and I'll find her conked in her pack-n-play.

another unsuccessful nap. she got quiet and when i checked on her to see if she was asleep, this is what i found.

Just lots of Pix...

2011-11-15T08:31:00.004-05:00

My personal favorite lately.

She was doing this with her leg quite a bit for a while... I think it must have been part of the pre-sitting herself up thing.

"Me? I'm not doing anything."

"HA! You caught me!"

"Is this OK mom? Am I in trouble?" For the record, she IS allowed to get her toys. There are a few things she struggles with temptation on (mostly it wins) and gets in trouble for but most things that she's not sure about if she doesn't get a big response then she loses interest. :-)

Excuse the drool! :-) I thought it was cute anyway.

Scary I know, but something about this picture reminded me of younger pix of Aunt Becky and I can't quite place it.

Pretty girl but. . .

Happier this way...

In other news, we're getting excited for the holidays! I've been in a project frenzy trying to get some household projects and organization finished up before the holidays hit. . . I love how I haven't worried about it all year, but now with the "threat" of the holidays. . . Jon has taken up radio control helicopters and has been a member of the men's group board at church for a while now, besides playing on Sundays (which means practice once a week) so he keeps pretty busy. Madelyn has 2 1/2 teeth (front bottom 2 and a molar she's been working on for a while), seems to have subtly grown into the next size (she's still pretty much just hitting 6-9mo [well except for pants. she's leggy] at 8 1/2mo, so...), and she can eat!! She's still eating baby food, but she downs a LOT and in only a few minutes every meal! She also continues to scoot - not crawl and we're pretty sure she's just gonna skip the crawl stage altogether. Now she's moved on to sitting herself up and pulling herself up. (had to move her mattress down 2 notches a week ago) She likes to stand or walk holding onto my hands and sometimes thinks she's too big to hold on with both hands (doesn't take her long to realize she's not THAT big yet).

And now, I'm gonna go. I have more pictures still on my camera, but... Madelyn and I were able to go to Women of Faith at the beginning of the month and I have a few fun pictures from that. but for now, ta ta!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T09:32:00.005-04:00

Not this past weekend but the one before we had our annual pumpkin carving with Jon's family. The pumpkin's are (from left to right) Melissa's Grandma's, Brad's (I think... they did it a day or so before), Logan's (mom & dad helped!), mine, Ruth's, Ralph's, and Jon's.

Cousins - Madelyn, Sydney, and Logan

More of our little Ballerina. She was full of it and would NOT sit still and look at me so...

Thought the pumpkin was really something!

Good plan Mom, move the pumpkin out of the picture but still within view! ...

And to the mall to see other kids (she LOVES little kids!)

Playin' with Aunt Joy.

Papa shared his vanilla shake and they became buddies! :-)

Of COURSE I'd rather have my pictures turned the wrong way! Thanks Blogger! Grrr!

Daddy worked late but surprised us and came to see us at the mall anyway. Madelyn was so happy to see him! It was so cute when she saw him she grinned great big and started kicking her legs.

Jon was fresh from work and I wasn't really thinking pictures of ME when I left the house, but I still think it turned out nice.

Kids these days. . . The tooth fairy used to leave a quarter and for Halloween you got a few pieces of candy! This is Madelyn's Halloween loot and not from Mommy and Daddy either - who needs parents when you have GRANDparents??

Trick or Treat?

2011-10-31T21:24:00.002-04:00

Just a little teaser for tonight. . .

Just Cute

2011-10-13T12:29:00.004-04:00

Love LOVE this one! It makes me laugh every time! She does this wrinkle her nose and sniff thing when she's being silly and I just happened to catch it on camera by accident.

Playing with one of the balls Nana got her.

She scoots all over the floor chasing it. She'll get it and the accidentally knock it away from herself so she has to scoot after it again. She also enjoys playing ball with Mommy. :-)

Another Sunday. . .

2011-10-13T12:23:00.003-04:00

Another photo shoot. . . :-)

She loves shoes. . . but only to chew on!

Not sure the hat fits right or maybe I just don't know how to put it on her but. . . I'm not a huge fan.

Just some random pictures

2011-10-13T11:53:00.004-04:00

Shhhh. . . Angel sleeping! :-)

Favorite new playmate

Just thought this was interesting. Apparently this particular plant sheds water if it gets too much. See the drop of water on the tip of the leaf? Just looking out the window one day and noticed it.

Silly girl is so obsessed with buckles! she sits in her highchair and plays with the buckle. She can be all bent out of shape wanting out of her car seat but as soon as you unbuckle her she gets all distracted with that and will sit there for a long time just playing with it! I thought these were funny with her legs up and her so intent on that buckle!

Big girl PJs! AND cute slippers from Great Grama Ermina :-)

Unfortunately I have to return the PJs cause they were part of a set and one piece had problems.

So far NOT a huge fan of dress-up. . .

Flower butt... :-)

Playing guitar with Pop pop

Chillin' with Daddy

Someone's Been Sitting in My Seat. . .

2011-10-13T11:27:00.003-04:00

And he's still there! :-)

She was so delighted to meet her new friend Pooh Bear! We haven't gotten him out til just a few days ago because I thought he may be too big for her but. . . She LOVES him! She jabbers at him and loves on him and we're beginning to wonder if we should have introduced her to a smaller version (more portable) but then Daddy says "you can't help who you fall in love with." so. . .

Honest to goodness none of these are posed! I LOVE them though!

What Happens at Nana's. . .

2011-10-13T10:54:00.004-04:00

Stays at Nana's. . .

UnLESS. . . Mommy shows up with a camera! :-)

Helping Nana with the dishes

All done! Well all but the bowl Nana had to re-wash because someone thought they needed it. :-)

A New Friend!

2011-09-21T14:38:00.003-04:00

This is WAY late, but I wanted to post it anyway. In July, our good friends had a baby and lucky for Madelyn, it's a girl! So they kinda have built in friends. Here are some pictured from when we went to see baby Ali in the hospital and some from the first time Madelyn got to meet her. I really thought Madelyn would be too little to care, but she has been very interested in Ali from the beginning.

Alianna Elyse

Hate this picture of me, but. . . It's the only one I have.

On the Move. . .

2011-09-21T14:34:00.003-04:00

I left her here. . .

I found her HERE!

This has been almost a month. . . Now I know better! She doesn't crawl really but she scoots VERY effectively anywhere she wants to go!

Visiting the New Cousin

2011-09-21T14:29:00.002-04:00

So I'm behind posting this, but. . . In August, the Catton family added another member - Sydney Elaine. We went up to see her when she was a week old. Here are a couple pictures at the park that day.

2011-09-21T14:24:00.000-04:00

Just had to post all these cause I love the different expressions.

And. . . MORE Pictures!

2011-09-21T14:02:00.004-04:00

Saturday at Grama and PopPop's house. (couple weeks ago)

First encounter with a ball. She loved it! Nana just bought her not one but TWO (different sizes).

Six Months. . .

2011-09-21T13:54:00.002-04:00

No comments. . . Just a few tears. :-)

Older pictures. . .

2011-09-21T13:47:00.003-04:00

Aww! Love Papa!

Meeting Uncle Bud for the first time. (and they were nervous she'd have a fit! :-)

More Random Pictures

2011-09-21T13:17:00.004-04:00

Helping Mommy organize her (Madelyn's) closet and get clothes out for the next size/season.

First bonfire... She was mesmerized!

Just being cute

Sorry. . . Apparently I don't get to choose which direction the pictures go.

Big girl sitting up. (notice her fuzzy slippers from Ermina)

Silly excited face! Love it!

Look close you might see her tooth.

Again. . . sorry!

Relay for Life 2011

2011-09-21T13:11:00.003-04:00

Relay for Life in Lake Placid was this past Saturday. Here are the only three pictures I took that day. (backwards, because blogger can't make up its mind which way it wants to post pictures these days)

Madelyn's first Relay. Mom and Dad put in SIX miles. Madelyn (or should I say the stroller) did about five. It always gets sooo cold by the end of the day - hence the lovely borrowed jackets.

It was a long day but she was good anyway.

Madelyn the Olympic speed skater!

Pictures. . . LOTS and LOTS of pictures!

2011-09-01T14:48:00.006-04:00

And this is just the beginning! I have a few more posts worth but alas not the time to post them. . . stay tuned!

OK, pix are backwards again but not many matter. Again, no editing. . . enjoy!

Thanks for the other cute outfit Aunt Deb and Uncle Ken!

She liked her new shoes better this way. . . :-)

Had a fix on Dad

He had to move behind me to get her to look my way for a picture and make no mistake, that smile isn't for me! :-)

Love this outfit! Thanks Aunt June and Uncle Dale!

The athletic baby :-)

Love this! Checkin' out her new sneaks. . . (all shoes pictured are thanks to Aunt Rachel and Uncle John. . . Thanks!)

Found her like this when I checked on her one day. . . silly girl!

Thanks for the cool toy Aunt Becky! It's getting a lot of use these days!

Mommy and Madelyn. Don't get many of these because I'm always the one with the camera so self portraits have to do.

Pretty girl.

Really like this dress Net!

You never know how you'll find her when she's sleeping. . .

5 Months - already??

silly hair! :-)

She's been staring at these things for months and can finally stretch to reach them!

almost always a happy camper!

Love her little piggies stickin' out below the tray.

Fun Firsts. . .

2011-09-01T14:32:00.003-04:00

I skipped editing to try to get things posted sooner. Also after all this time blogger decided to post pictures in the right order (which actually makes them backwards now because I've been posting backwards to get them in the right order... anyway so if you want them in order you have to start at the bottom.)

First "play-date" :-) Madelyn seems to really like Ali (she reaches for her and gets concerned when she fusses) and Ali was amused by Madelyn's squeals. She even grinned at her a couple times!

Not really a first. . . sometimes she feels like holding it sometimes she doesn't but she did really well this time and I thought the legs in the air was funny.

First time down a slide (actually 3rd but all in the same day). She seemed to think it was fun but of course anything's fun with Daddy! :-)

First successful spoon feeding - carrots if you can't tell. :-)

First wedding - lifelong friend of Jon's got married in July.

Update Coming Soon!

2011-09-01T14:16:00.002-04:00

I'm in the process of cleaning off my camera and organizing photos, so hopefully soon I'll have a blogathon but for now I just HAD to share this one. I LOVE it! (even if the angle makes her look like she has club feet) It just so shows our Madelyn. . . We really are blessed with an extremely happy baby!

2011-07-12T09:58:00.001-04:00

This is another part of my excuse for not blogging for a while. I made this for Tandy and Andrew's Alianna.

Back tracking just a bit. . .

2011-07-11T09:31:00.002-04:00

Back to last weekend. . . Courtney and Madelyn first meet. (not a great picture, but have you ever tried to get a good picture of an 11mo. old and a 4mo. old?)

Madelyn meets Aunt Lynette

And just a fun picture of a literal "shop til you drop". Both our little ones dropped and we had my stroller and Lynette's car seat piled full of the day's loot!

And Sunday the 3rd we were feeling patriotic.

This I just thought was cool. There was a full double rainbow Wed. (guess the double was too faint to show in the picture) and I thought it'd be a neat picture over this barn across from church.

Madelyn Gets Dedicated. . .

2011-07-10T20:27:00.008-04:00

We had a beautiful day, a good turn out, and an angel of a baby for Madelyn's dedication.

Nana & Papa

Honorary Great Grandma Ermina

Ermina and her son David came up from downstate

The entire Ralph Catton family

cousins

Uncle Brad, Aunt Melissa, and Logan

Grama and Grampa

Pretty Girl! (sorry blogger decided what pictures got to be posted at the correct orientation)

Long day for a little girl!

A Year Ago Today. . .

2011-07-08T16:34:00.002-04:00

A year ago today we discovered we were expecting our little bundle of joy.

Little did we know. . .

More random catch up pictures

2011-07-06T13:16:00.004-04:00

Not so little feet...

LOVE this one!

These are backwards. This is without the jacket.

The little matching shoes (they don't really stay on that great)

and with the jacket

this is an old one from when she was just starting to really focus and grab at things. Now it's old news and she tries to grab 1 in one hand and 2 in the other (she almost can too!). She readily pulls down on the toys that play music (she's got it all figured out) and we're on to new things like the bumbo seat and a walker because she loves to stand or sit up but can't quite do it without being held and... well that gets tiring!

Pretty dress from Aunt Ellen

Sleepy girl

All clean and in her bath robe/sack. She's too long for it now.

Correction...

2011-07-06T13:09:00.001-04:00

Apparently the issue was with my crazy internet NOT blogger! Crazy me I thought the new updates would make things work BETTER. . . Anyway, I'm up and running again hopefully.

MIA

2011-07-06T12:39:00.004-04:00

Sorry I've been missing so long. . . Partly I've just been busy with being a Mommy and with all the summer activities and partly blogger has decided NOT to let me post anything (at least anything with pictures and I guess we'll see if this even posts). Sooooo..... I'm either going to figure out how to get blogger working or find another form of social networking (no not facebook). Possibly something like flickr so I can just share all the many many pictures I have taken lately. Anyway, that's why you haven't heard from me lately. It hasn't been for lack of trying!

Quick Catch Up (not in order at all)

2011-06-28T16:39:00.007-04:00

Happy Little Girl!

Sleepy Morning...

She sucks on her arm (always the same one) if she's hungry or occasionally if she's sleepy)

guess it's a stage but it's very difficult to get a picture without her hands in her mouth. It's funny cause I don't notice her chewing on her hands THAT much when you're not trying to get a picture.

Her outfit says "Our Little Sunshine". She is too! I bought the outfit before we found out she was a girl (we were hoping!).

This just makes me laugh! Sometimes she wakes up in the morning just already having a bad hair day! I promise this is NOT staged and the look on her face makes it even better!

Madelyn meets her cousin Kaelyn.

and Aunt Becky

pretty girl in an outfit from Aunt Rachel.

First day she rolled over. Daddy thought it was cute that she just lay there with her hands folded like this.

we didn't get a picture the first time she rolled because we were too excited, but this is the second time. She was sooo pleased with herself after working all week to get all the way over!

Just more sweet smiles

Daddy's day! He changed to quick so we didn't get any pictures while they were both dressed up for church, but here they are snuggling at the end of the day.

So here's what we've been up to. . .

2011-06-01T16:01:00.003-04:00

We've had two baby showers for our good friends Tandy and Andrew. 1 at church and 1 that was family and friends. They are expecting a baby girl today actually! They're at the hospital as I type this and we're just trying to keep busy while we wait for news! Here are some pictures from the shower at church.

I made the cake (with a little decorating help from my mom and a girl at church wrote on it). It's hard to see the real colors but it was bright pink around the edges and bright orange in the center.

Mommy-to-be and me! :-)

Fun gifts!

Tandy with a long-time friend and her mom.

I can't remember if there was a threat on my life for posting this. . . :-)

Big Girl (Again)

2011-05-20T09:06:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple better ones of her holding herself up.

Saturday. . .

2011-05-17T10:04:00.001-04:00

Just found this unpublished post. . .

The day before Mother's day we attempted our first Mother/Daughter banquet with Grama Catton. . . Madelyn didn't think much of that idea, so we kinda left early and didn't get any good pictures but here are some taken at Grama and Grampa Catton's house after. (admittedly I stole several pix from Grama's camera [figured why have multiple cameras going when I could just steal pix], but some ARE mine).

Just a random, kinda funny one (check out her leg. . .). I think she was still trying to wake up when Daddy sat her up to greet Uncle Brad, Aunt Melissa, and Logan. Having a chat with Grampa. . . She had been sleeping on the couch but apparently woke up while we were all in the kitchen, so Grampa sat her up and they talked and she grinned and just had a high ol' time.

Thought this was cute. They were just trying to get the kids together, but I thought it was nice with all four of them.

Summer! . . . Finally

2011-05-13T14:23:00.001-04:00

Yesterday way sooo nice that we got around, lugged the stroller (baby and all) down three flights of stairs, and went for a walk. She seems to really enjoy being outside. She was very content the whole time and would just occasionally exclaim.

Of course we had to get pictures of her looking cute in her outfit before we could go.

attempting to sit up - always just ends in a forward slump. Our stroller only has two settings, sitting straight up or laying almost flat. She of course would have none of laying flat, so I sat it up. She thought she was so big, but she's not quite as big as she thought so she kept slumping over. I ended up laying it back down and putting a folded blanket under her so she was propped up a little. . . that worked just fine.

This is a favorite past time lately. No, she's not sleeping, she's watching at her hands. :-)

All tired out from all that sunlight and fresh air.

2011-05-13T14:07:00.000-04:00

Where's Madelyn? . . .

There she is! :-)

Randomness Again. . .

2011-05-11T18:13:00.000-04:00

Monday. . . (had a spit up incident and it was warm enough - hence no clothes)

Tuesday. . . (note hair clip) Thought this was funny. . . She didn't think much of the hair things Nana got her for Easter. When she wasn't fussing about it she sat there with her eyes rolled up like she was trying to see what exactly was pulling her hair. :-)

Got the clip out and got her calmed down.

Wednesday. . . Every few days she has a day where she doesn't want to wake up and she just wants to eat and sleep most of the day. Today has been one of those days.

And now we're all caught up. It seems I forget to get pictures of other things when she's around. We had another bowling night with the young adult group from church. We had a better turn out this time, but took her because Nana, Papa and Aunt Joy were away, so. . . No pix. I'd like to say it was because I didn't have a free hand, but truth be told I made sure I had my camera before we went and she got passed around, so I have to just own up to the fact that it completely slipped my mind until we were getting ready to leave! We also went to opening day of our favorite summertime eatery, Riverside. Usually this is an anual thing with at least Joy if not my mom, but. . . Again they were gone, so we went with friends and they didn't know to expect pictures of the event and I didn't want to be obnoxious about picture taking, so. . . Maybe we'll make it up with Joy and Mama later. Also new in Madelyn's world. . . Appendages. . . Seriously! She has been watching her hands and fingers - which is pretty funny most of the time because she'll stare for a loooong time at them and move them around but she eventually gets them close to her face and goes cross-eyed. Like I said funny. . .

Mother's Day Sunday. . .

2011-05-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

Funny face, I know, but she is apparently now too big to just lean in the corner of the chair. . . I sat her there Sunday to take her picture and she promptly sat up away from the chair - just enough that she wasn't leaning on it!

tired out after all that sitting up like a big girl!

Laid her on the bed for a few minutes after taking pictures. . . She was just perfectly happy there (notice the tongue. . . She's had that thing going from the minute she was born!)

Took this picture, walked out for a few minutes, and then she started fussing. I thought she was just not happy to be left alone but when I went to check on her. . .

I saw this! :-) I of course stood and laughed at her and took a picture before I helped her out of her predicament. . .

Then Daddy took some pictures of the two of us together. unfortunately we were already wind blown and little one had already lost her socks, but. . . guess it's more real that way.

Kisses

Close up

2011-05-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

Last Friday. . . in a cute polo dress from Aunt Rachel

Not feelin' picture time.

Random. . .

2011-05-11T15:54:00.000-04:00

Two Sunday's ago now. . . I think it's amazing the natural "dress lift" reflex in a little girl! :-) It's not the first time it's happened and I know won't be the last.

For the record. . . Not really my style dress, but a couple dear ladies from church thought for sure I'd like to have it for her and admittedly she just looks cute in anything, so. . . (unfortunately they were both gone that Sunday and didn't see her in it)

For Aunt Deborah & Uncle Ken. . . Thanks for the cute outfits!

Hold On To Your Hats!

2011-05-11T15:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted and now I'm waaaay behind - not only in posting but in editing as well (which for pictures of our blue eyed girl requires at LEAST red eye correction!), sooo... I'm gonna try to do a mass catch up in the next couple days so keep watching and make sure you see all new posts because there will probably be more than one page worth.

First Bath. . .

2011-04-30T17:33:00.001-04:00

. . . Yes almost 2 months later our child got her first real bath (still a bit of overkill for one so small - to my way of thinking - but we did it anyway). When we first sat her in the tub she was NOT impressed! She cried like her heart was gonna break (maybe the water temp wasn't quite right?? Who knows.), we adjusted the temp a little and tried again and she was mostly OK - just a little shook up from the first attempt (see picture #2). The lotion after the bath was another bad experience (we've only used it in a few extra dry spots before today). All in all. . . A rough day! :-)

2011-04-28T14:55:00.000-04:00

I'm really not intentionally trying to get pictures of her in EVERY outfit, but she just looks so cute in them all! :-)

AND. . . One More

2011-04-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

dressed down and comfy for the rest of the day.

More Easter

2011-04-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

Couple more family pix with her awake (but the sun in our eyes)

Pretty little girl!

Dinner at Nana & Papa's

2011-04-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

Nana showing off for her company

Having a little chat (she was very vocal Sunday)

She normally likes Aunt Joy just fine, but she was getting hungry.

Papa's normally fine too

Life's much better with a full belly (look how she's watching him! She doesn't miss much.)

Easter Sunday at Church

2011-04-25T11:11:00.001-04:00

Madelyn fell asleep right at the end of church, so picture time was. . . well, it was what it was.

Couple More Random Ones...

2011-04-24T15:40:00.000-04:00

Just thought it was cute how she had her knee up and her hands resting on it.

Little ballerina One more wear out of a winter outfit

More Strawberries

2011-04-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

These are from two different days. Our big girl is wearing a 3mo. outfit and it fits her good! Not all of what she wears is that big, but she DOES seem to be too long for a lot of smaller things.

So cute!

Love the socks!! Off to the mall :-) She wasn't all that impressed. Guess it's an acquired thing. :-)

Visited Grandma & Grandpa Catton's house for the first time this past Saturday.

Just More Random Pictures

2011-04-11T13:18:00.000-04:00

I think she's doomed to wearing a lot of yellow! I may be partial, but I think she looks especially pretty in yellow.

Daddy's Girl

2011-04-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

I'm in love with these two (and of course pictures of the two of them together!)!

Spring Fever

2011-04-11T13:01:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a nice sunny day and we were ready to get out of the house, so we headed to the park with friends. The park has a nice walking trail, so we took the stroller out. This was the extent of Madelyn's first time to the park and her first stroller ride.

Awesome Aunts. . .

2011-04-09T14:12:00.000-04:00

Thanks Aunt Lynette!

Not really into pictures at the moment.

Much happier! Love this one! Like this look. It looks like she's half amused when you're talking to her.

Nobody ever accused her of being particularly scrawny! :-)

Like this one too, but wish I hadn't cut off her other hand. I was trying to get a good close up of her shirt and she was getting restless.

Big Girl

2011-04-09T14:04:00.001-04:00

From the day she was born she's had pretty good control of her head. You hold her up on your shoulder and she'll almost always lift her head back to look at you or whatever else is around to look at. A couple weeks ago now, she added pushing off more with her arms. I was trying to catch it on camera the other day, but it's hard to see this way. Maybe I'll catch her when someone is holding her.

Tummy time - Just resting (Mommy thought it was cute)

Big girl with her head up off the mat shortly before she decided she was no longer having fun on her belly. :-)

Another Beautiful Sunday

2011-04-07T15:22:00.000-04:00

= more pictures of our little one all dressed up.

No Words. . .

2011-04-07T14:45:00.000-04:00

More Random Pictures

2011-03-31T16:19:00.000-04:00

Love the froggies (and the "ruffle butt" - not pictured :-)

funny faces actually not a smile just the end of a yawn but I thought it was cute. wide awake

and. . . Not so wide awake just that fast!

For Aunt Gladys. . .

2011-03-31T12:35:00.001-04:00

It seems our tiny baby has sprouted in the last couple days. Actually I'm pretty sure it happened over night Sunday night, but. . . :-) Anyway, we've moved up from NB clothes to 0-3mo or just 3mo. this week. It's such a sudden change too! Things that fit the end of last week - there's no squeezing into them this week! The scary part is that some of the bigger stuff fits perfectly, so I'm not sure how long it'll last. Apparently she runs long, so most sleepers and footed outfits she fills out all the way already. Anyway, as for the title, Great Aunt Gladys got her this little strawberry outfit. The hat was a gift from someone at church. Unfortunately we didn't make it out of the house before we had an accident and had to change. Maybe next time. . . :-)

I'm getting hungry! I warned you!

Full belly. . . Much better!

And for Uncle Dave. . . The food coma! :-)

Mommy & Daddy time!

2011-03-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

For whatever I thought I would and wouldn't do regarding parting with my baby for a little break. . . We've been blessed with family and amazing friends close by to relieve us (yes already!) for a few hours at a time. Friday night Nana, Papa, and Aunt Joy kept Madelyn for us while we went out to a nice dinner (kinda a make up thing for both Valentine's and my birthday since I wasn't up to it either time.) at East Side Mario's in Cornwall. We had a great dinner and a relaxing evening just the two of us!

Sunday Best

2011-03-27T14:05:00.000-04:00

Third Sunday to church and we finally got pictures. Actually this is the first Sunday we've been up to getting all dressed up in a dress.

Before church

After church (add hat) Didn't want to cooperate! Not very ladylike already. . .

Cropped version

Car ride home from church. . . LOVE this one!

For the Long Distance Aunts (and any other interested parties)

2011-03-25T14:25:00.000-04:00

I know. . . It's either feast or famine - feast in this case! So here are just a bunch of random pictures from the last few days.

silly faces...

smiles for Mommy

sleepy little snuggle bug

She does this all the time! Creepy I know!

Sweet Dreams - Apparently!

So sleepy - which is often a crisis (yep, she fights sleep!)

full length (for not being extremely long, the NB sleepers don't work anymore.)

ENOUGH with the pictures already!

Lots of Love for Baby

2011-03-25T13:54:00.001-04:00

Some of the gifts brought to the hospital. I didn't get pictures of everything. We got frilly dresses, cute socks that look like shoes, candy, and puzzle books. We've also received several fun cards and packages in the mail since we've been home.

"aunt" Tandy & "uncle" Andrew were the first to meet Maddie in the hospital. They brought these pretty flowers for us to enjoy.

Nana & Aunt Joy brought these, the balloons, & a bag of goodies to keep us busy while we sat in the hospital. (all from my family collectively) There were 6 balloons - a welcome gift from her 6 cousins on the Montgomery side.

Pastor Aaron and his son Michael stopped by and brought these (notice the "vase" is actually like a parmesan shaker - thought that was cool!)

Gama & Grampa Catton Brought these from themselves & Uncle Brad, Aunt Melissa, & cousin Logan

A VERY Long Day at the Hospital - Finally!

2011-03-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry some of these pictures are awkward because I had to crop them all vertically because blogger still won't upload right. . . So just real quick for those who haven't heard and care to. . . SIX days AFTER my due date (yes, I am the first of my family to NOT go early!) on the fateful Wednesday morning right around 2:30 A.M., I was just getting ready to make yet another bathroom run when. . . You guessed it. My water broke. Both the midwife and the birthing class instructor had said wait, sleep, eat, etc. until contractions get close together. . . What a joke! We DID wait a few hours while we got things together (what wasn't already together since I had been packed and ready to go for like TWO months!). We finally headed for the hospital around 6 (this was with contractions 2-3min. apart like they said). We thought maybe by noon we'd have a baby. . . Ha! Well anyway, long story short, we got to the hospital and contractions slowed up (guess that's common) so, we spent the day at the hospital just hanging out (since they won't send you home with your water broken) until early evening when the nurse accidentally finished breaking my water! After that things sped up and by 9:38 that night we had a baby (nurse had speculated 11:00 based on progress until then). I guess considering no meds and a first baby, things went really well and quicker than the average, so. . . That's that. The exciting story. . . Enjoy the pix!

In the car getting ready to head to the hospital

Nurse said Dad should put on the first diaper Daddy's first official time holding her

Again. . . And you have to give kudos to Mommy for laying in bed taking pictures with the zoom! Talk about dedicated! :-)

The midwife that delivered since our regular one was tied up with another delivery (can't begrudge the poor other mom! She was at it waaaaay longer and delivered just a little before we did!). Oh, this picture is from the next morning when she came to check on us.

Our regular midwife - we saw her all but like two times during the pregnancy. Also the next day.

The amazing nurses during delivery. One in light blue is the nursery nurse (she was sooo helpful for the next few days too!). The one in darker blue is the regular nurse (also great when we had her the next few days.)

Another great nurse! She was on all day but shift change was at 7. She was back the next day too.

Finally home 3 days later (her late evening birth made her 48hr. after hours for the Dr. to discharge her, so we spent an extra night).

Home. . . (also first picture of the three of us together since we didn't get one at the hospital)

Are parents supposed to blackmail? . . .

2011-03-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

This is just how her hair ended up after her bath. Daddy disappeared and reappeared with the camera - he felt certain she'd be proud of this look in a few years. . . :-)

As Promised. . .

2011-03-24T12:33:00.000-04:00

I have so much trouble catching her on camers (as apposed to my phone). I don't know if it's the delay or the bright light or what, but I can't catch cute expressions and she always ends up scouling at me, but anyway, Here she is all dressed to go to Daddy's eye appt. and then church yesterday.

I'm still here. . .

2011-03-21T19:48:00.000-04:00

I AM still here and I still have pictures from our long day at the hospital, etc. I have tried several times to post them but blogger was having issues uploading my pictures oriented the right way, so. . . Hopefully it'll work next time I get a chance to try, but for now just a little teaser. . .

We Are Pleased to Present. . .

2011-03-07T16:34:00.000-05:00

Madelyn Ann Catton

Who finally made her appearance at 9:38 P.M. on Wednesday, March 2, 2011

She weighed in at 7lb. 11.5oz. and measured 20.75"

2011-03-01T14:30:00.002-05:00

K, that's it for February, and honestly this is getting depressing, so. . . We'll let you know when (IF) she finally arrives.

2011-03-01T14:30:00.001-05:00

2011-02-27T12:59:00.002-05:00

2011-02-27T12:59:00.001-05:00

2011-02-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

Well now what? Do we start counting up? Lucky for me the midwife says she (the baby) doesn't seem to be a big one. Another appt. today then if everything is still good, more waiting!

2011-02-24T08:43:00.001-05:00

2011-02-23T11:04:00.000-05:00

2011-02-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

2011-02-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

2011-02-19T21:48:00.000-05:00

2011-02-19T00:17:00.000-05:00

2011-02-17T20:22:00.001-05:00

2011-02-17T20:21:00.001-05:00

2011-02-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

Count Down. . .

2011-02-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

I don't know when the official countdown is supposed to start, but I thought since we're down to 10 days. . .

Caught up!

2011-02-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

And now you're all caught up. . . just like that! If you've just tuned in, be sure you scroll down and probably even go to older posts to see everything new. So, now we've (well I say we. . . mostly I've) almost gotten everything washed and put away and spent part of the gift money putting the finishing touches one the nursery and are eagerly awaiting her arrival - surprisingly maybe Daddy more than Mommy. I'm excited too, but you know the To Do list is endless, so I'll keep working away until she decides to make her appearance! :-)

Baby Shower #3

2011-02-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

This shower was Jan. 29th with family and friends on the Catton side.

Me dodging the balloons!

The yummy cake Lillian made! Cute tricycle diaper cake Melissa made!

FOOD!

Lots of nice gifts for Baby!

Baby Shower #2

2011-02-06T15:13:00.001-05:00

This shower was small (just my mom, sisters, and nieces). There were some fun decorations, a few gifts, and then we spent time together cooking (well they cooked) meals to freeze for after Baby is born - to help mommy and daddy out since they (the clever aunts) wont be around to help (they almost all live far away).

The cute snow girl diaper cake!

Gifts.

Snowflake sandwiches.

A few random pictures from our house before Christmas. . .

2011-02-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

I already posted a few pictures from my family Christmas and pictures of our tree and some ornaments, but here are a couple of all the gifts under the tree and another blanket I made for a gift this year. We have a blanket just like this only in different colors and our friend has admired and enjoyed it for quite a while, so I made her her own for Christmas.

Catton Christmas

2011-02-06T14:57:00.000-05:00

Pretty self explanatory. . . This is all the pictures I took!

Stocking "ritual"

LWC Christmas Cantata

2011-02-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Dec. 19th was our church Christmas cantata. Jon played Joseph and of course did a great job!

Baby Shower #1 - LWC

2011-02-06T14:28:00.001-05:00

The shower at church was Dec. 18th. It was a relaxed Saturday brunch.

Love the fun colors on the tables!

Yummy brownie!

Gifts for Baby! - Lots of handmade things!

My gift opening throne. . .

Express Plumbing & Heat Service Christmas Party

2011-02-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

In short, we (my mom & I) decided it would be fun to plan a Christmas party for "the company" (i.e. ourselves, Joy, my dad, and Jon.). It may have been small, but we wanted to do it up nice. We were pleased with the way it all turned out and everyone had a nice time!

Actually ended up a week later than the original invitation. . .

Lots of food and quite a bit of left overs, but not much went to waste!

Note the bow tie! :-) He took semi-formal a little seriously.

Catch up!

2011-02-06T14:11:00.001-05:00

K, hold on to your hats. . . I'm sitting here at my computer and finally took the time to clean off all the pictures on my camera and get them all organized in folders, etc. (admittedly NOT a long task for as long as I put it off) so I will be attempting to make a massive catch up effort on my blogging now.

Christmas

2011-01-20T15:30:00.001-05:00

Sorry, this goes against my very OCD nature (to post things out of order), but I finally sat down to go through some pictures and found these from someone else's camera and just had to share.

My big brother and I waiting patiently to open our stockings! :-)

Sisters!

This one makes me giggle every time! I think he was feeling left out of the sister pictures, so he came out to make sure people knew there was food ready and just stood right in front of us. I LOVE the look on his face!

The Halls are Decked!

2010-12-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

We put our tree up the Sat. after Thanksgiving and I've been fooling with other decorations since then. I think we're finally done. Here are just a few of our Christmas/Winter decorations.

New this year (well sort of. I had them last year, but already had hooks and things packed away so I didn't use them last year)

We haven't had a topper because nothing struck our fancy - then we found this. The finished product! We're very pleased! (notice we added colored lights this year. We have the colored and white lights on different switches so we can have one or the other, but so far we've just had both.)

Be-Lated Costume Party Pictures

2010-11-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

HAPPY Harvest!

2010-11-04T13:28:00.000-04:00

A little be-lated Halloween fun. . . You have to excuse the me part of this picture! It was the end of a long day - that's my only excuse!