A Week of Firsts

Last week was full of firsts for Ms. Madelyn Paige. She found her thumb for the first time. Of course, it went right in her mouth. Although she was using it to soothe herself, she has not found it again. Thank goodness! She took her first road trip to grandma and grandpa's house in VA. Maddie did quite well...sleeping most of the time. Alex, on the other hand, only slept an hour or less and needed to be entertained the rest of the trip. She met her Auntie Lindsay for the first time who has already spoiled her and is loving her to death! Maddie also got her first professional pictures taken. She was a very happy and adorable baby during the whole thing. We are so proud of her! Alex had to have his pacifier during his first pictures at 6 weeks old. But the most important one of all...Maddie slept in her crib for the first time on Monday night. Shawn, Maddie, and myself had been cramped in a small bedroom while staying with my parents and felt it was definitely time for Maddie to sleep somewhere else. We are extremely happy to report that she is sleeping well for 5-7 hours at a time and we are sleeping much better as well! Yes, we do realize that we are very lucky parents at the moment. Alex never slept this well for us. Of course, we still have a night or so that she doesn't comply but at least, she's trying to keep mommy and daddy less sleep deprived.
Maddie has experienced a lot of firsts this past week. Along with her have been two very proud parents and a big brother who still acts like it's no big deal. Now if we could only remember to record these moments. It was so much easier to remember these things with just one.

Madelyn's Baptism

Madelyn was baptized on Sunday, February 15, 2009. It was almost exactly 3 years after Alex's baptism (same holiday weekend). Not planned but pretty amazing, huh? Alicia's family gathered together and enjoyed the day with Miss Madelyn Paige. She didn't let mommy and daddy sleep the night before, but she did a beautiful job during her baptism. No tears or cries! Hard to do either when you sleep through all of it! That's right...Madelyn didn't sleep much the night before, so she slept during the baptism and all through the church service. Her baptism was followed by a family outing to Ruby Tuesday (just like Alex's baptism). And then off to nap for mom, dad, and big brother Alex. Thank goodness for grandparents (who watched Maddie mostly sleep while they napped)!
We are thankful for the many blessings our family has received in the past few months and look forward to many more with our two kids!

On the Other Side

Today was our first parent-teacher conference for Alex. It felt very odd to be on the other side of things...as a parent and not a teacher. I was actually nervous, especially when Alex's teacher pulled out his progress report. I didn't expect to see a progress report for a 3-year old! Of course, there was nothing to worry about. Alex has mastered all the skills expected at his age, except for the 2 he has partially mastered. 1-cutting with scissors (which I have not let him do since he cut a stuffed animal with scissors) and 2-using glue...not too much (again, I don't let him use glue most of the time; I usually give him foam pieces with sticky stuff on the back or he uses Q-tips dipped in glue). At this point, you are either thinking I don't like my son to get messy or you are remembering that I was once an elementary school teacher. Either way, both reasons are correct. But for the most part, my days as a teacher have left me free to allow his teachers to let him explore with the scissors and glue. Alex's teacher also mentioned that he is usually attached to a friend in his class and likewise, this girl is usually attached to him. Yes, I said a girl & her name is Mary West. The days of Alex having a "girl friend" have only begun.

Overall, our first experience at a parent-teacher conference was pleasant. Shawn and I (with Maddie asleep) left feeling like proud parents of a wonderful 3-year old boy!