Riverwalk, Tummy Time, and Smiles

I don't really have much to report on, but I'll try to squeeze as much out as I can....

Garrett had to go to Kerrville last week for work. He was only going to have to be there for an hour or two, but we figured we should make a trip out of it since he was having to drive there anyway. Madelyn and I hopped in the car and followed Garrett up the road. (We are not allowed to ride in his government vehicle!) We stopped in San Antonio and Madelyn and I checked into the hotel which was right on the Riverwalk! Garrett went to Kerrville for his work business and then came back to San Antonio that evening. My dad just happened to be in San Antonio for work as well, so he met up with us for dinner that night. This was Madelyn's first trip to the Riverwalk! She absolutely loved looking at all of the scenery and listening to the many noises all around! She is a very attentive and alert baby. The next day, Madelyn and I went to Waco with my dad and Garrett came back to McAllen. We had a wonderful time in Waco with my family for a few days.

Other than our trip to San Antonio, there has not been too much going on around here. Madelyn is growing and reaching new milestones everyday. She absolutely LOVES tummy time! We opened up her new tummy time mat the other night and she played for a good 45 minutes. There is a little bear that lights up on the mat and she loves to stare at it and smile! She smiles so much now and has started "cooing" quite a bit. She makes the funniest noises sometimes. We are loving every minute with our precious little girl!

It's been awhile

As I signed on to begin typing this blog, I realized that it's been almost a month since my last post! I guess having a newborn around doesn't allow for as much blog posting as I would like! A lot has happened in the past month....

We took Madelyn on her first road trip and headed to Waco for a few days, then we drove to San Angelo and stayed there for a few days and then headed back home to McAllen. We were so surprised with how well Madelyn did in the car! She was an absolute angel! We only had to stop once on the way to Waco, she slept the entire time on the way to San Angelo, and we only stopped once on the long 7 hour drive from San Angelo to McAllen. It was such a wonderful trip and we truly enjoyed getting to see all of our family!

Last weekend we took Madelyn to the beach for the first time! She loved it! Madelyn absolutely loves being outside. Our friends Chad, Jill, Wade and Angela came down and went with us. We had a great time at the beach, swimming in the pool at our condo and just hanging out and spending time with such great friends. I'm sure there will be many more beach trips in our future!

Today is Madelyn's 2 month birthday! I can't believe she is already 2 months old....time really does fly! We went to the doctor this morning for her check up. She weighs 10 lbs, 11 oz and is 22 1/2 inches long. Dr. Naylor says Madelyn is in the 50th percentile in both weight and height. Everything is right on track and we have a beautiful and healthy baby girl!

Hope this post helps to catch you up on what's been going on in our lives lately. I'll try not to go so long before my next one!

1 Month Check Up

Madelyn went to the doctor this morning for her 1 month check up. She weighs 9 lbs and is 22 inches long. (She only weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz just 12 days ago!) She is growing so fast! The doctor said she is in the 50th percentile in weight and the 75th percentile in length. Everything is right on track! She had to get her second round of Hepatitis B shots....I think mommy cried more than Madelyn did :(
Dr. Naylor said that Madelyn is ready to be put on an official schedule so we are attempting to begin that today. I'm supposed to feed her every 2 1/2- 3 hours during the day and let her sleep as long as she wants throughout the night. We'll see how the new feeding schedule goes...she's been wanting to eat every hour lately, so we might have a fussy baby until she gets used to longer periods between feedings.

That's all I've got for now! 4 days 'till our trip home!!!

Happy 1 month birthday!

Yesterday was Madelyn's 1 month birthday...can you believe it??? It seems like this past month just flew by! Wow!

We woke up and started our morning off by singing happy birthday to our little princess. She proceeded to thank us with a major blow out in her diaper! Believe me....it was NOT pretty! So, mommy and daddy gave her a bath and then let her enjoy her new giraffe bouncer in her "birthday suit". She absolutely loved it!

Once we had Madelyn all cleaned up and ready to go, we headed to Cheddars for lunch. Yum! Then we ran errands at Target and Babies-R-Us (Mommy's new favorite store)! Madelyn was sleeping like an angel when we got home, so mommy decided to make her a birthday cake. Strawberry pink cake with vanilla icing...YUM!

As I think back over this past month, I can't help but smile. God has blessed our famliy in so many ways. We are so happy to have our health, happiness, our beautiful new baby and eachother. What an adventure we have begun...!

Catching Up

Well, my plan to write at least every other day has not panned out as well as I planned. Madelyn is keeping me very busy these days, but I am by no means complaining! She is such a good baby! I thought I'd post a quick blog while she is sleeping to catch everyone up on what we've been doing lately:

July 1st- We went to have our first official family photos taken. We wanted them to resemble Anne Geddes pictures and we definitely got what we asked for. They are amazing! Madelyn did so well during the photo session, minus a few "accidents". She was naked for the entire shoot and we defintiely left our mark at the photo studio! Oh well, I guess that's to be expected when you are dealing with a naked newborn. Jenny Hollis, the photographer, was so wonderful and could not be happier with our pictures!!! Here are a few...

July 2nd- We took Madelyn to the doctor today for a weight check. She weighs 7lbs., 13 oz!!! Wow, our little girl is growing fast! I don't really know why I was surprised...she eats ALL THE TIME!!! I'm sure she will be well over 8lbs. at our next appointment. The doctor also assured us that the jaundice is completely gone and we have a healthy and thriving baby on our hands. What great news!

July 8th- Today was our 3rd wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 3 years

already. Our wedding seems just like yesterday in some ways and it seems like a century ago in others! We have been through many trials and tribulations these past few years. We've moved 5 times and have had 4 job changes between the two of us. Nevertheless, I am so happy to be happily married to my best friend and I couldn't have chosen anyone better to go through this journey with. We are truly blessed!

Events coming up-

July 13th- Madelyn's 1 month check up! Mommy is NOT looking forward to her getting her

shots, but I know it has to be done :(

July 16th- Mommy's 1 month check up!

July 17th- We are going on our first road trip since Madelyn was born! We leave for Waco
today! We will be in Waco from July 17th - 22nd and then we head to San Angelo

and will be there July 22nd - 26th. This might be quite an adventure with a

newborn baby on board! Wish us luck!

Madelyn Caroline

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post and as all of you already know, a LOT has changed since then....

I gave birth to Madelyn Caroline Huling on June 11th at 3:03pm!!! She weighed 6 lbs, 8.6 oz and was 19 inches long. The labor and delivery went exceptionally well! I was a little scared going into everything, but it was actually a piece of cake (with the help of an epidural...of course!) We had lots of family and friends here to help welcome Madelyn into the world. It was so wonderful having so much love and support around us. Everyone left on the Sunday after Madelyn was born, except my mom. She stayed the entire week afterwards and Garrett and I could not have been more thankful! She cooked, cleaned, did laundry, helped with the baby and sooooo much more! I don't know what we would have done without her!

We took Madelyn in for her first doctors appointment on Tuesday, June 16th which was a day earlier than her normally scheduled appointment. We were concerned because she had a rash all over her body that looked like hives or mosquito bites. The doctor said it was just a "newborn rash" and we shouldn't be concerned. Luckily, the rash disappeared a few days later, but we do have a baby with sensitive skin!!! She has to be bathed in Dove Sensitive soap and has to wear Pampers Sensitive diapers. Garrett says she's "high maintenance" already :)

On Saturday, June 20th, we took Madelyn in to the doctor AGAIN because her umbilical cord was bleeding pretty bad. The doctor put some ointment on it and it fell off two days later :) While we were there, the doctor went ahead and weighed and measured her. She weighed 7 lbs and was already 21 inches long. Our little girl is growing fast!

On Sunday, June 21st my Mom and Dad left to go back to Waco. That evening we celebrated Garrett's first Father's Day! Madelyn and I took him out to eat at Olive Garden for dinner and then Madelyn gave him his father's day gift...a new iPod! This was something daddy had been wanting for a long time now! We made sure to put lots of good songs on it and loaded it with plenty of pictures of Madelyn so that he could show her off wherever he goes! It was such a special day, one that Garrett will definitely never forget!

We are so happy to be parents! Having a child is the most amazing feeling in the world. God has blessed us with a beautiful little girl and we can't wait for all of the memories to be made with our precious angel.

Getting Excited!

Well, I am almost scared to say it (don't want to jinx anything), but I think we finally have air conditioning! After 7 long days in the heat Garrett and I decided to take matters into our own hands and call someone we knew was reliable. The person our landlord thought was qualified to do the job was obviously NOT! You wouldn't believe what a horrible job he did....It would take me hours to explain it all. Just imagine what a newly installed a/c unit would look like if a little kid installed it. That's what ours looked like! Come to find out, the guy is not even licensed to work on air conditioners!!! It's really sad what people do to try to save money around here! Anyway, I think our guy got it fixed today....just in time.....because we go in tomorrow night at midnight to induce labor!!!! I can't believe it's finally here! All of our family will be coming into town throughout the day tomorrow. Garrett's Dad, Crystal, Grant, Missy, Ava, and Grayson should be here by 5 or 6pm and my parents, my sister and Garrett's Mom and Bill should be here sometime after midnight since they can't leave Waco and San Angelo until they get off of work. If all goes right, we will have the baby sometime late afternoon or early evening on Thursday, June 11th! YEA!!!!

I will try to post some pictures as soon as possible, but be patient with me.....I think I'll be a little busy :)

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, cards, and phone calls! WE ARE TRULY LOVED AND VERY BLESSED!!!