Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving we traveled to Michigan to be with Paul's family. I was a bit nervous making the trip with a 4 month old, but Madden proved to be a perfect little traveler. He rarely cried on any of the flights (and we had 1 connection on the way there and one on the way back). Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving week in Michigan.

First stop was to see Paul's Birth Mom. Dawn holding Kylie and Madden.
Madden playing in the walker. I love the pictures of babies from behind...so sweet.


Eating his first veggies and loving it.

Kylie and her silly cousins.



Lighthouse in Charlevoix. Um...it was freezing by the lake.

Santa Baby

Paul and I had some fun taking pictures of Madden in his diaper and new Santa hat. He is so darn cute. Please ignore the bad picture taking....we couldn't seem to get him to sit up so we had to support him, thus my hands and legs make it into a lot of the pictures.







Tomorrow Kylie and Madden are going to Nanny and Papa's house for the day so Paul and I can get our Christmas shopping done. As you can see, we have ZERO presents under our tree. I am so excited for Madden's first Christmas. He is our little miracle baby and we are so thankful to have him here with us this year.

I Have No Excuse

Let's face it....I am a bad blogger. (Um...not sure why my writing is being underlined, but I don't have time to deal with it now. I do take tons of pictures, I just rarely find the energy to go upstairs and load them on the computer and blog. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

Madden trying to rollover. Poor baby is so big that he isn't really strong enough to support rolling over his 18 lbs.

Sitting up with Mommy.

Kylie and Summer before their Halloween dance and sleepover. Yes, they are 10 and went to a dance, and yes there was boy drama!

Madden and Paul's shoulder. Paul had just had his appendix out. Wednesday night we had to go to the ER for Paul to have an emergency appendectomy. Luckily everything went beautifully and by Tuesday of the next week he was back to work.

Crazy hair day at school. She wore pigtails and then one other random pony in the back. :)

Little M in his highchair playing with his teething rings. Love this picture and the lil guy in it :)

Reading a book and playing on his glider....he is trying to tell me something in this picture.

Sitting in the bumbo staring at his busy ball popper...that toy is a HIT.

Mommy, Madden and Daddy before trick or treating.

Pumpkin Patch

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We finally made it out to the pumpkin patch near our house on Friday night. Needless to say it was a short but sweet trip. We dressed Madden in his new Tigger Halloween costume (thanks to a 50% off sale at Babies R Us) and got Kylie in her Halloween shirt and then we were off. Madden was tired but was a trooper. We were able to get a couple pictures before we were off to dinner at Casa Ole. I just realized that we cut the head off of the scarecrow in most all of the pictures, but Oh, well the cute kids make up for that, right?

We will definately post more pictures of the real Halloween night. Madden will be Tigger and Kylie is going to be a Skeleton Bride..oh and did I mention that she has a party Friday night that she will get dressed up for....too cute :)

My Monkey Man

Madden is definately my little Monkey Man. This was him at 8 weeks in his Halloween Costume, which Nanny and Papa gave him. It is either a 3 or 6 month costume, but somehow doesn't fit his little 4 month 18 lb body. My monkey is definately a big boy. He is really more long and solid than he is just baby fat. Madden is such a good little baby and I miss him every day that I have to work, but atleast I only have to work 3 days a week :)

We have started giving him a little bit of rice cereal with his night feeding and he has done pretty well with it. Most of the time he sleeps from 9ish to about 5 or 6, but this morning it was almost 7 and he was still snoozing. We got out his highchair and he sits in that while we eat dinner. He looks so cute in it..I will post pictures of that when I get home and can download the pictures.

His laugh is hilarious! He sometimes cracks himself up so much that he can't stop. I just love that baby....I can't believe its almost been a year since we found out that we were having our little miracle baby. Time flies when you are having fun :)

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More Pictures..and He's Rolling Over...What??

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On Saturday, Sept 6th, we went to the mall and had these pictures taken since I had a coupon to picture people. I didn't know this before, but we were in for a treat when we got our pictures. Not only did they turn out GREAT (especially the ones of the kids), but my baby boy rolled over 5 times from belly to back while we were having our pictures made. He is such a strong little stud. It makes me sad becuase he is growing up right before my eyes. He changes daily. Here is a list of some of the things that my little man is doing these days:

1. Smiling when smiled out.

2. Talking (or trying to talk to us by cooing)

3. Rolling over

4. Gaining weight like a champ...at 8 weeks he was 14 lbs 2 oz...what a CHUNK!

5. Sleeping 5-7 hours straight during the night

6. Holding his keys or other rattles...if only for a brief moment

7. Growing out of ALL of his clothes...I think we are in some 3-6 month clothes..and depending on the brand and what it is some 6 month clothes...YIKES

Tomorrow I have to take him for his 2 month shots and I am dreading it so much! I DO NOT want to see my baby in pain. Luckily Daddy will be there to soothe both of us. :)

Kylie is in her 3rd week of 5th grade and loving it. She is such a little diva these days...wanting to do her own hair and pick out her own clothes and making her own lunch. Its so sad...she is getting so big right along with Madden. How do parents do this??

We have also posted more pictures on our shutterfly site at

thewakulatfamily.shutterfly.com

Check them out!

Updates

I haven't been able to post in a while.....Madden is keeping me busy and on my toes 24/7. I wouldn't change that for the world though. I thought I would give updates on everyone in this post. To see our July pictures...go to thewakulatfamily.shutterfly.com .

Paul - Paul went back to work yesterday, and needless to say his help during the day is dearly missed. He is so great with Madden! We all miss him when he is at work.

Me - Well, some of you know that I was hospitalized for three days last week with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. My blood pressures continue to be high, but not SCARY high like they were when I was in the hospital. As a result of this high BPs, I have been getting these terrible headaches..I am managing those with meds though. Hopefully I will be better soon :)

Kylie - This week Kylie went to Volleyball camp at our community center. She loved it. We are going to sign her up for the junior v-ball league. We also got invitations sent out to her 10th Luau themed birthday party. On August 16th, I am taking Kylie to see Wicked...we are very excited about that.

Madden - Still eating, sleeping, and pooping tons. He continues to be a joy. We love him more and more everyday! He has the biggest blue eyes and he has a baby mohawk that will not lay down no matter what I do. He is taking almost 6 ounces each time he eats, which is ALOT for a 3 week old. He took his first trip to Nanny and Papa's house today. He is so glad that they live so close :)

That is all I got for now...gotta run and tend to a baby with hiccups :)

Madden Joseph - Our Little Miracle Baby

Madden was born on Thursday, July 9th at 3:40 PM. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz and was 20.25 inches in length. Our lil guy turned out to be our future linebacker. My sister calls him Bruiser...she is so great with him. I am so thankful that she was able to be there with me in recovery after our c-section, even though she did back way up when I felt nauseated.We spent three nights in the hospital and I must say the whole process of having a c-section was not as bad or scary as I thought it would be. The doctors and nurses were all great and I was in very little or no pain during my stay.

Madden stayed with us the entire time in our room and I am so glad he did. The day we welcomed him into our family was the best day of my life. He is such a little joy to have around. I love getting up to his little noises at night and believe it or not I love changing his diaper and talking to him. His little eyes just melt my heart and I have found myself just crying becuase I am so happy and thankful to have him here in my arms. He has captured all of our hearts. Paul is just in love with him and Kylie can't wait to get home from her morning camp to hold and feed him.

So to the fun things..here is one of our first pictures of Mr. Madden at home. Big sister Kylie took this of him in his swing. We love you little buddy! We also have tons of pictures up on our shutterfly website. You can view all of our albums and look at videos we have. We are updating this site a lot because we are taking so many pictures of Mr. Man.

thewakulatfamily.shutterfly.com

The Day We Have All Been Waiting For.....

Is finally here. We are SOOOOO excited that we can barely contain ourselves because today is our little Madden's birthday. Some of you are probably wondering why I am not resting...well the reason for that is we are being delivered via c-section today at 3PM, and since that is a major surgery I can't eat or drink anything past 7am this morning. My sweet husband is was so nice to wake up at 5:45 this morning to make me my favorite breakfast tacos so I can get nice and full. I am also having some watermelon (something I have craved during the latter part of my pregnancy). Oh, and I have just rediscovered Tang. I LOVE that stuff. It reminds me of my uncle Jason because we used to drink this stuff when we were little at my Nanny and Papa's house. I can hear him sipping it now.....he was always a loud sipper when it came to drinking Tang and Ovaltine :) Funny how we remember little things like that.

Last night we did a lot of last minute things to get ready for Madden. Paul brought down the diapers, set up the wipe warmer, set up the video monitor over the pack and play in our room, and we set up a shutterfly account so we can easily upload video for Paul's family in Michigan and my family who is in Texas but won't be in Austin for the birth. I never thought I would be good at technical things like that, but it was really easy to do. To see our videos go to: www.thewakulatfamily.shutterfly.com.

Yesterday Paul and I also did some last minute shopping and let Madden pick out a gift for big sister Kylie. Here are some pictures of the gifts he got her and the note he wrote her...so sweet. She is really excited to meet him today.

Kylie opening the silver heart necklace from baby brother Madden.
Sweet little note that Madden wrote Kylie. I think you can read it if you click on it and make it big.
Well, Paul is off to the store to get today's paper so we can save that in his baby book and of course some HEB coffee. I am not a fan of the smell of that coffee these days, but maybe that will be over soon :)

Check back later for more updates on our little guy's birthday.

Madden...we are so ready to meet you. We love you and Happy Birthday!

Can't Sleep....So Why Not Blog

Well, I guess since I have been getting up every two hours anyway, I might as well be productive and catch up on my blogging. I am way too lazy to make the trek upstairs to get the camera so I will post recent pics in later blogs. Its about 4:30am right now and I have been up for about an hour watching old episodes of Threes Company and now I am watching coverage of Michael Jackson's Death. He reminds me of my uncle Jason...he used to dress like him when we were growing up...so funny.

Last night I went to dinner and a movie with my friend Amy. We ate Olive Garden and I ate way too much. It was good to catch up with her. Then, we went to see My Sister's Keeper. LOVED IT. It was sad and was a little different than the book, but it was still a great movie. Thanks Amy, for taking me to the movies for my 30th b-day (which is the 4th). There was this girl in the movie that was hysterically crying, which I guess was good because it made us laugh and not cry as much.

Paul took Kylie on a Daddy/Daughter date last night..they went to Fuddruckers and to see the Hannah Montana Movie...how sweet is that. If I can peel myself up tomorrow, we plan on taking Kylie to Main Event to bowl and play games and just spend time with her before Mr. Madden makes his entrance into the world.

Madden is still making us wait for his debut. Little TOOT! I can't wait to meet him and can picture his lil cheeks and feet. I am just at the point that I want him here. I know he is developed and big and healthy so now I am just selfish and want to hold him. I am going to talk to my dr. on Monday to see when we can induce...I am so sore and swollen and miserable with this heat. I am sure he will say no or say that everything is good so I need to wait, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Oh well, I don't know much else right now. Maybe I should try to get some sleep.

38 Week Appointment- Still Nothing

I have made absolutely no progress from 37 weeks to 38 weeks. Madden is continuing to grow and is weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 2 oz now. The dr. assured us that everything looks great with the lil man and that I should probably be expecting to go to my due date, which is the 10th of July. I really really hope to not go that far, especially since he is already so big, but only time will tell. I have daily talks with him and I try to bribe him to kick me to break my water, but no such luck so far. We had the appt on Tuesday the 23rd and go back again on the 29th (Monday..I know I am late at posting this update). Until then......

37 Week Appointment

Well, I am convinced....Madden is definately going to be a STINKER. He is now 7lbs 2 oz and is in the ready position to be born. However, I am not dilated or effaced AT ALL. The dr. says I can handle an 8lb baby, but gees, I never thought he would ever get that big. Shows what I know.

We go back on Tuesday to see how big he is and if I have made any progress. Until then, wish me luck staying comfortable in this 100 degree weather we are having in Austin. Its miserable!!!!

Too Cute For Words

36 Week Appointment

Madden is as happy as can be and apparently doesn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Looks like he will be stubborn like both his mommy and daddy :) Little STINKER!

Stats:

Head down
Approx 6lbs 2 oz
0 cm dilated
0% effaced
heartrate: 152 BPM

Oh yeah, and he has one big ole head on his shoulders. That should be fun for me!

Will update you again next week :)

A Little Bit of Everything

Warning: Pictures are first this time and not labeled...Let's face it..most people just look at this pics anyway, right?

Well, its been a while since I have posted! That's probably because I am EXHAUSTED!! Little Madden is sucking the life right out of me. Tomorrow we go back to the doctor for our first weekly visit, so needless to say it is downhill from here. Lots of fun (NOT) pregnancy things are happening to my body now...Nuff Said on that subject.

So school ended on June 3rd....Kylie starts camp at the Twin Lakes YMCA tomorrow. She is only going to go there for a month since I will be home on Maternity leave in early July. Oh but don't you worry....we have her signed up for so much stuff this summer that she is going to be one tired little girl. Here is a preview of her summer schedule.

Camp Schedule:

Week 1: Swim Lessons, Karate....rest of day regular camp

Week 2: Regular Camp

Week 3: Swim Lessons, Culinary Class....rest of day regular camp

Week 4: Regular Camp

Week of July 13th: Culinary Class 9-12...rest of day home with us.

Week of August 17th: Volleyball Camp 9-12...rest of day home with us.

Sometime (undecided as of now): Splash camp (swimming, water games) 9-12 with rest of the day at home.

PLUS:

Luau B-day party at the pool on 08/09

Going to see the musical Wicked with me on 08/16

Grandparents in town 07/21-08/01

Other Grandparents in town for a long weekend sometime in early August.

This makes me tired just looking at it. She has deserved a fun summer since she did so well at school this year. She made mostly the A/B honor roll the first half of the year, but the second half she got straight A's. Also, she was commended on ALL parts of her TAKS test this year. Her teacher and of course Paul and I were very proud of her. So proud, that Paul took Kylie to Sea World last Friday. They had lots of fun there. See some of the pics from their trip below. I hope she liked it because we have season tickets so I am sure she will be going back plenty this summer.

Let's see...what else...Mason came to Austin to spend the week with his Nanny and Papa and of course Aunt Jenny visited each day after work and one day during lunch I took him to Build A Bear at the Mall. It was really sweet. See those pics below as well. He is such a handsome and smart lil guy. He definately knows what he wants and his vocabulary has just grown and grown since I saw him last. He LOVES his cousin Kykee so they got to spend some good quality time together. The only thing missing that week was lil Miss Madelyn. She is such a pretty baby girl and I can't wait to see her and hold her again :)

Well, I guess I had better get to folding clothes or deciding on dinner....so much to do and so little time. Well, I did make time to get a manicure, pedicure, and eyebrow wax today. Paul went with me and he got a pedicure and Kylie got a manicure. It was a mini spa day for our growing family.

Madden in 3-D Take 2

Today Paul and I went to see the lil (or not so lil) man today in 3-D. Last time he face planted and we didn't see his face a lot, but this time we saw his face, but he either had a foot or a hand/arm in his face the whole time. He has lots of hair, chubby cheeks, and yawned a lot during this sono.

Enjoy the pics!

Madden, we can't wait until your birthday!

So Spoiled....Already

Well, we put most of the final touches on Madden's room this weekend. We still need a couple of odds and ends for shelves, but other than that, the clothes are washed and hung and the pictures are hung...now all we do is wait.

All of his full drawers...

We have the wreath that my mom and sister made for him on his bedroom door.

Valance

Shelves...need some sports books for the bookends and a couple more things to complete this part of his room.

Football lamp I found at Hobby Lobby...they were having a great sale this weekend...AS ALWAYS.

Clothes and items for Madden we won't need for a while.

Dresser/Changing Table

Crib and rocker.