Christmas

Just a quick family pic, more will follow soon!

Real SNOW & Christmas with the Wades

The last few days....

We left New Orleans on Thursday, and it was snowing! We got

 like 2 inches in 3

 hours, we pulled Maddy out of bed and forced her

 outside, she was a little confused.  It

 was fun while it lasted and after the car was packed, we hit the road to south GA.

I'm sure most of you are aware that Keith has a huge family.  So far, there are 24 of us, and it is always crazy when the

 whole bunch gets together.  We had our big Christmas celebration this past weekend and it was so fun.  

Since Keith's twin brother & fam were not able to come down for

 Thanksgiving, this is the first time Madison has seen him since early July. (aka, she didn't

 remember him)  The poor child was traumatized :(  We aren't

 really sure why she got so upset, but when Kevin walked in the room she started screaming....she eventually warmed up to him (thank goodness), but the story is fun to tell nonetheless.   

Saturday afternoon was

 the present opening extravaganza.  We drew numbers this year, so everyone got to watch one person opening their gifts.  I thought it turned out great, I really enjoyed it.  We got just a few pics! 

After everyone else went home, we got Ashton (Kevin & Amy's son) and Madison in their PJ's and took some pics in front of the tree.  We had a GREAT time, chaos and all!

Bath time

Just a short post about the 'not so fun anymore' bath time.  I've been using the baby tub inside the big tub for a while, but it's just too small for Madison now.  Since we moved to the big tub and she can sit up, she LOVES bath time even more.  She kicks her legs and splashes in the water, however, the down side is this: Every time we take her out of the tub she screams like we've just ended her whole world.  It's really pretty funny. 

Whirlwind

Hello blogger world. We have been traveling fools lately.  The Thursday before Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad flew Maddy and me home for a few days, Keith had to stay behind for school :( He was missed.   

We hung out with the family. Christie & Erin came up on Saturday, and Jess and Tatum (long time friends) even came all the way to Cleveland to visit! We had a great time catching up!  

Later on Saturday, Jeff and Courtney (his girlfriend) came from NGU for a surprise visit.  I'm so glad we got to see them...it's hard to coordinate a weekend where everyone is home at once.  We decided while there that Madison loves to read, as you can see by the picture below. I think she looked at that book for like 30 minutes, which made my arms hurt. 

Last Monday, Mom and Dad took us to Macon to meet Keith's Mom.  Keith joined us late Monday night, or should I say early Tuesday morning? We had so much fun with his family for the week.  This is Keith's niece Shelby, she looks almost exactly like him...it's scary. 

On Thanksgiving, we got to see almost everyone in the family at some time or another.  And during our off time, we had fun perfecting our Wii skills :)  Keith's Mom has a Wii Fit, so here is the yoga portion. haha.

Mema had a doctor appt. one day so we went to the park while we waited and Maddy was thrilled with the swing and slide.  She also tried her hand at driving. (make sure you notice Daddy's expression!)

We came back to NOLA on Sunday and Keith started his last week of class before finals.  So the next couple of weeks promise stress.  We are leaving again in 9 days for the Christmas rounds.  Whew! Hopefully I'll get this blogging thing under my belt soon and start a consistent routine! 

PS. The bath picture is to show how long her hair is! I don't think most 8 month olds have to worry about getting their hair caught in bibs, clothes, etc. 

Look Mom I can Sew! :)

After making many many burp cloths, I decided I was going to attempt a purse.  However, I also decided before tackling that project I would make a diaper bag first, as a kind of "it's okay if this messes up" project.  But I am very pleased with how it turned out and it was pretty much easy to make.  So thanks Mom for trying to make me learn to sew in high school, but I guess it's one of those things you don't have to learn until you actually want to make something :) I think I'll wait until next week to start the purse, which I'm sure Keith will be happy about b/c sewing causes a lot of mess in our tiny space.  I'm including some pics of the diaper bag and some others of course.  The grandparents can't get enough pictures of Maddyo.  

It's been a while!

Life has a way of going by way too fast.  Since the last time I posted, we traveled home and back.  Keith's parents were here before we left and after we got back (they stopped on the way to and back from Texas)!  We had a great time being with them, just hanging out! Our trip home was absolutely crazy.  Every single day we had something going on, so it was no vacation.  However, we had a great time seeing everyone!  The pics are a mix of all mentioned. 








 

Shoes!

Well, I think I might have made a mistake going shoe-less all summer for Maddy.  It's not really necessary to wear them (or socks for that matter) in this weather.  So I broke out her hot pink converse high tops the other day and she practically had a fit when I put them on.  I think part of that is that they don't fit well b/c her foot is so fat.   Anyway, she was fascinated with them the whole time they were on.  We also bought her 2 more pairs of shoes for fall/winter at Target. They are adorable little shoes, I love them! They really do have the cutest stuff there.  Anyway, here are some pics of Maddy in her shoes, hopefully we won't have a hard time when we go home tomorrow b/c she will have to wear socks and shoes when it's 39 degrees on Monday morning! Yikes.  I think the coldest it's been here is like 68. Keith's parents were here this past week and we had a great time with them.  They took me out to a nice dinner for my birthday :)  I'm going to have to get some more pics from my mother in law b/c mine didn't turn out to well.  All for now, and I'm totally excited that I'll be in my beloved mountains in 35 hrs. yay!

Wordless Wednesday

My baby sister turns 17 today!

I remember a certain night in October 17 years ago when I was waiting anxiously to receive a phone call from the hospital.  Mom and Dad had promised me they would call 

me first to tell me what the new baby was.  Around 7:30pm the call came and I remember standing on the time-out chair in the kitchen when Mom broke the news to me: "It's a girl"! I really can't tell you the elation that washed over my soon to be 9 year old self.  I ran down the hall in our house and began jumping on all the beds with joy.  I finally had a sister.  I have to say that because of our age difference I have definitely been mini-mom most of her life (sorry about that Jo).  However, I am totally enjoying this new grown up side to Jo and our friendship that has been growing for some time.  

I have spent the last few weeks sending Jo 17 cards, each containing one reason why I love her. I'd thought in her honor I'd share them with the blogging world too! 

1) She can always make me laugh or smile 

2) She is super talented (musically, taking pictures, etc.)

3) She is affectionate (who in our family isn't?)

4) She's growing up and impressing me every day with who she is becoming

5) She understands all the inside jokes from our childhood. I won't mention the one including a certain brother in a robe b/c he might kill me.  No one but us thinks it's funny anyway! haha.

6) She is a fabulous aunt to Maddy!

7) She's honest.  If you ask her what she thinks, she'll tell you. 

8) She laughs at the same things I do and we are both way too easily entertained

9) Wherever we go, whatever we do, we'll always go through it together

10) She is responsible

11) She spared me from having three brothers (no offense Al & Jeff, love you both a lot, but I wouldn't trade my Jo Jo for ANYTHING)

12) She's loves Jesus and maintains integrity

13) She is beautiful, inside and out!

14) She is committed to work in school, sports, piano, church, etc. 

15) She is one of my best friends

16) She cares about our family.  It's a testament to our parents (and the Lord) that we all actually like spending time with each other.  We always have a good time!

And,

17) She is the best sister in the world! And she's mine :)

Jo I'll love you always, Jenn

Look I'm Sitting Up!

Maddy had her 6 month dr. appointment yesterday.  She weighed in at 17 lbs. 13 oz. and 26.25 inches long.  She's getting big :)  It's amazing to see how much they grow in the first year! She's rolling over and learning to sit up! Keith put these wrist rattles on her and she was trying her hardest to get them off.  It was so funny!

Family Time :)

Mom and Dad came to visit earlier this week, we had a great time!  After we picked them up from the airport, we went to eat at Landry's. Yum! On Monday morning we went down to the French Quarter and shopped at the market and in a few stores.  It was actually enjoyable! All of my previous experiences there haven't been.  So, I've discovered morning is a good time :)  Mom & Dad brought their camera, so we decided to take some 6 month pictures.  I think they turned out good, and don't worry, Mom was standing with her hands up when Maddy was on the window sill.  On Tuesday night we went to a steakhouse that was amazing.  They have only been re-opened for 6 weeks due to hurricane Katrina.  For a while, Maddy has been watching with great interest what we eat and drink.  Last week I tried to give her some water out of my bottle and 

ran out of her mouth down her shirt!  But, Keith gave her some water out of a glass and she drank it, proud to be a big girl :)

We had a great time with Mom and Dad and are looking forward to Keith's parents coming in a few weeks hopefully!