Houdini Child

OK, this story has to be told from Mommy's perspective....

Our daughter has magical powers.....True story....I was sitting on the couch holding Maddie last night. Tony had fed her, changed her, and put her in jammies. We were just getting in one last cuddle before bed. All of the sudden I felt a warm, wet feeling on my legs. I handed Maddie to Tony and looked down and she had peed over my entire lap! I chided Tony, assuming he had not securely fastened her diaper. So, he went in to change her again, while I cleaned myself off. As it turns out, the diaper was on securely, and was completely dry. So, somehow our talented daugher soaked me, (thankfully getting it all in my lap and none on the couch) without getting any on her except one tiny wet spot on her jammies. I think Tony was beginning to wonder if maybe I was the one who had an accident.

I usually like to encourage Maddie to develop her skills, but maybe not this one. Oh, this is what being a Mommy is all about! This was not the first time nor the last that she will get me, and I couldn't love her any more!
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On a side note, Maddie slept for 8 straight hours last night!!! I am dancing for joy and praying it continues. This will go down in her baby book. Yay!!

On the go go

We continue our routine of always being on the go. Mommy and I get up and go to Jazzercise in the morning. We come home for lunch and a nap, and then we do an afternoon activity until Daddy gets home. My favorite things these days are being read to and sung to. I got a new Elmo toy that sings about body parts and I love it!

We spent a couple of days in Corvallis last week visiting Grammy while Daddy was on a business trip. Then on Thursday Mommy and I went blueberry picking. I loved being outside and "helping" pick the berries. At one point I grabbed the bucket out of Mommy's hand and it dropped to the ground. I can't wait until I can actually eat the berries!

On Friday Mommy took me to her company picnic which was Luau theme. All the people from her office were excited to see me and how much I have grown.

On Saturday night M & D and I went to the "Milwaukie Daze" which was a live music festival and fireworks on the riverfront. I loved people watching and listening to the music. M & D were prepared to leave if the fireworks scared me, but I slept right through them!


Last night I slept from 10 PM until 5 AM---7 hours! That is my longest stretch of sleep ever. M & D really hope we are on a new trend. Maybe I slept so well because I knew I was being watched. Daddy installed a baby monitor over my crib that has audio and video!!

Upcoming events:

We are hosting a play date for 3 other Mommies and babies tomorrow....should be fun!!

Friday is Daddy's birthday. The big 3-1! We are going to celebrate in Eugene in conjunction with my baptism!!! We can't wait to visit with Daddy's family! I am certain we will get lots of good pictures to post on the blog.

Love to all,

Maddie

Big Girl!!

Look at what a big girl I am in my high chair!!! Mommy and Daddy set it up for me on Friday night and we had our first family meal. Well, I didn't eat anything, but I did sit and play with toys and let them enjoy the meal together. Mommy actually teared up at what a big girl I am becoming!

Other big girl activities that I have been doing are play dates. Here is a picture of me with my friends Saffron and Aoife. They were both born in March as well. It was fun to get together. We did some baby yoga!

Here is me and Daddy with Nate and Ruby. Ruby is one month younger than me, but she is taller! We had a BBQ at their house on Saturday.

It is good for both me and Mommy that we are able to get out more and visit with other friends and Mommies. Last week Mommy and I walked all the way to the library in downtown Milwaukie and listened to a noontime concert in the amphitheater. I like the blues! And, on Monday we will start "Baby Booktime" at the library. What a busy social calendar!

I am outgrowing some of my baby items too--Mommy just put away all my 0-3 months clothes. I also no longer use my bassinet or my bouncy seat. I am fully sleeping all naps and bedtime in the crib. My new favorite toy is the exersaucer, or anything else that lets me sit up and look at the world. Mommy says I am growing up fast!

Smell the roses

When I first came home from the hospital, I was given a special gift of two rose bushes. They both have pink blooms, and are brand new varietals that are unique for 2008.

Thank you to Grammy, Aunt Kris, and Great Grandma Connie for my roses! Thank you to Daddy for planting them.

The first rose bush has lots of blooms!

The second bush does not have as many blooms. Oops, are you not supposed to pull the petals off?

4 months

Last Saturday (7/12) was my 4 month birthday !!! We took a family trip to Lost Lake, up in the Mount Hood forest land. It was the second annual Fox Family trip, although obviously it was only my first time. Last year M & D went to plant flowers to remember Peanut. Last year it was a beautiful sunny day, and they planted the flowers along the trail that goes around the lake. This year it was also a beautiful sunny day, but many parts of the trail were covered in many feet of snow!! Unfortunately the flowers were not blooming this year, but we did find the same spot and said a little prayer for Peanut. The other thing that was different this year is that M & D did not rent a boat and go out on the lake. Apparently they don't trust me to be a good girl and not fall out of the boat! But, they did take me to the water's edge and let me dip my toes in.

Fox Family at Lost Lake

Mmm. I like that cool lake water on my toes!

See the snow that we had to hike through. It was my first snow!!

On Monday I had my four month check up at the doctor's office. It was so nice to get a clean bill of health! All of my metabolic tests are now normal, and my follow up kidney ultrasound was also normal. Therefore, it seems like all the bad stuff that happened when I was first born is now over! I am just a normal, healthy 4 month old baby. I got an A+ from the doctor in terms of meeting all my developmental milestones. I gave her quite the show--smiling, talking and laughing with her. Unfortunately, though, I did have to get my 4 month vaccinations and that made me cry!

So, my latest stats are: 14 pounds, 9 oz weight and 2 ft 1 inch height. I am in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. Also I have a big head--17 inch diameter! But boy am I cute! I get lots of compliments from everyone we see, but sometimes if I am not wearing pink they say what a cute boy I am. We should have asked the doctor when my hair is going to grow in!!!

M&D can't believe how fast the last four months have gone by! They keep saying how cute I am and how fun I am getting. They like how I put things in my mouth now and will mimic their noises. I am learning how to laugh too! But don't worry, I still know how to cry with the best of them!

Much love from the Foxes!

Fun on the 4th

Can you believe Mommy stole my outfit?!

We had a fun family day on the 4th of July. Grammy was in town still (she watched me overnight for M & D's date night!) for breakfast and then she left for The Dalles. We spent the afternoon and evening at our friend Becca, Dan and Jack's house. They had a yummy BBQ, we played board games (boy are M & D competitive!), and we watched fireworks. I liked some of the earlier fireworks ok, but by the time that the whole neighborhood were lighting off fireworks all around, I got scared and started to cry. So, M & D took me home. It was cool though because we drove over the bridge as the Portland fireworks were going off!

Fox fam' on the 4th!


When should my hair come in???

The rest of the weekend we pretty much did nothing but relaaaaxxxx! We rented some movies and spent many hours in our pajamas. It was good bonding time.

Since we got the good news of my test results, I have been working on sleeping through the night. Sometimes I make it 6 hours, but sometimes only 3-4. It just depends on my mood. But, I am trying to get into a schedule of sleeping more at night and having more routine naps during the day. Also, I have completely outgrown my bassinet, so I made the move into my own room in my big-girl crib to sleep for naps and bedtime.

Uncle J came to visit me and brought me a new outfit from the concert festival he went to in San Francisco. I liked it so much look at how I drooled all over it! Also see my new trick is eating my fingers...sometimes I can fit my whole fist in my mouth!

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July as well!

GREAT NEWS!!!

We got a call last night from the doctor about my test results, but we just got the voice mail. M&D called in this morning and we received the results of my skin biopsy to determine if I had the fatty acid disorder we had been worried about. But, the results were exactly what the doctor wanted to see! The results were completely normal!!! They said that we no longer have to worry about the VLCAD and that I can lead a normal life!!! We are SO EXCITED!!!

Now I get to learn how to sleep longer than 2 hours and go without eating every 3 hours. I am going to learn to eat bigger meals less often. I also get to start sleeping in my very own crib rather than in the bassinet next to M&D's bed. We are so happy to hear the news!

It is very interesting we got the news today - July 3. July 3 was "Peanut's" due date last year. It was a very sad time for M&D last year when this day rolled around. However, it might not have been all sad because according to the calendar and calculations I was likely conceived on or around July 3. As they say, the Lord works in mysterious ways and July 3 has a lot of emotions connected to it for our family from now on!

Thank you to all of our friends, family members and co-workers for their prayers, thoughts and well-wishes. We are excited to "move on" and see how life goes without this hanging over our heads.

Have a great weekend.

PS - There is a post below that is new as well.

Catching Up

It has been too long since we have updated the blog! As you know we are always on the go and we have been super busy since Mommy got back from Sunriver.

Last weekend was another busy weekend. We spent Saturday at "Noah's Quest", which is annual walk/run for "Brief Encounters". Brief Encounters is an organization that works with families who have lost a child through miscarriage, still birth, early childhood loss, etc. We have been part of that organization since last January when we lost my big sibling "Peanut". I was able to join M&D this year to walk in remembrance of Peanut. It was a SUPER HOT day, but I managed to do just fine.

We love you Peanut!!!

Whew! It is HOT outside!

I have been growing up so much and getting more and more active. Mommy has gotten a lot of my toys out of the box and I am learning to play by myself a lot more. Daddy got super adventurous and put me in my exercauser (or however you spell that) and I actually liked it. I could hold my head up pretty well even if I couldn't spin around.

I am growing up so fast!

On Sunday we went to a BBQ with all of the families from our prenatal birthing classes. This was the second time we all got together. There was a bit of a thunderstorm, but the food and camaraderie were good. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, so you will have to take my word for it that we are the cutest quartet of babies ever.

On Monday Mommy and I went to The Dalles to see O'Pa and O'Ma with my cousins Emma and Ethan and Mommy's cousin Erica. We got to spend a lot of time with them and some of my other cousins. We had a really nice time and I took a long nap in O'Pa's arms!

Ahhh...grandfathers are the best!

Me, Dakota, Alexa, Ethan and Emma

Last night our friends the Murray's came though town and visited us while they were driving to Eugene for the Olympic Trials. M&D hadn't seen them since their wedding two years ago! The kids have grown up really fast and tall! Mommy used to babysit Carson and Alexa when she was in college. It was really fun meeting them!

Alexa feeding me while Carson observes...

Thanks for stopping by!!

This weekend is the 4th of July obviously. We are looking forward to a BBQ at a friends house and some relaxation. Grammy is on her way up tonight to watch me while M&D have a date night. It will be girls night in while the parents are out on the town (until 8:30 or so when they get exhausted and come home).

We hope everyone has a great 4th of July!