Too Cute

Macie bounced herself into a coma earlier. She was bouncing away and I looked over and she was asleep. I have to admit I was a little worried since she went from Miss Bounce Alot to Sleeping Beauty in a matter of seconds. She just bounced in it so much she wore herself out. Too cute for words I must say!

Bouncy Bouncin' in my Rainforest Jumparoo!!!

This Rainforst Jumparoo is the best, Macie just loves it. She now bounces on command!!!

Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Cousins

Macie loves her cousins. Phil and I babysat Kate and Ryan two weekends ago and she had such a good time. Kate and Ryan talk to her and hug and kiss her all day long!!! I was actually able to get a picture with the whole gang, including Sadie, the 190lb Mastiff!!!


Macie is in there, I swear!

This was so cute. Ryan loves his Uncle Phil. Phil was outside walking Otis and Ryan stood at the window and kept saying "hi Uncle Phil".

This past weekend we went to Kim and Mike's house to celebrate David's Birthday. Macie got to hang out with her other cousins (David, Dean and Joey).

5 Months

Macie Face,

Wow, what a month this has been! You have grown so much and have done so many new things, you never cease to amaze your Daddy and I. As I sit here typing this you are "talking" away and I would love to know what you are thinking and saying. You have such determination in your face and you get so serious that it has to be very important. You are so close to rolling from your back to your tummy and you get so frustrated when you can't get the bottom half of. your body to follow the top half. You have sprouted your first two teeth, one on Superbowl Sunday and the other exactly two weeks later. They have caused you some pain, but you are quite a trooper since I would imagine it's not a good feeling when they bust through your gums.

Helps the pain when you stick both hands in your mouth at the same time. Poor baby!

We have finally realized when you wake up in the middle of the night that we just need to go in and put your binky back in your mouth and you fall right back asleep. You are so close to finding it yourself and getting it back in your mouth. This had made for some good sleeps for Mommy and Daddy and we appreciate that very much. You have really taken quite a liking to your bedtime stories and your favorite book right now is Goodnight Moon. You listen to every word I read to you and you look back and forth at the pages when I point to things, it's so cute. My favorite part is our cuddle time after we read books. You are so active now that our cuddle time gets cut short, but at night you nuzzle up to me and grab a hold of my hand and we rock until you fall asleep. It is the best thing in the world to me and I love having that time with you. Any stresses from the day are instantly gone and I can just sit there and stare at you forever.

You are even active in your sleep. We put you down in one position and you immediately start wiggling yourself sideways and by the morning you are usually turned completely around. I love going in and getting you in the morning. I am always greeted with the biggest smile and a giggle. You are so happy!

Your cousin Joey was born on February 7th and I can't wait until you two are running around playing together. You two have a lot of similar features when I look at your newborn pictures and look at his, it amazes me. Uncle Joe and Auntie Sam let you test out Joey's Rainforest Jumparoo and you loved it. I told Grandma about it and showed her pictures and of course she jumped on the computer and ordered one up for you and your were bouncing away within days in your own. I tried to tell Grandma that you loved Joe and Sam's 42" Plasma TV too, but Grandma's too smart.....she didn't bite on that one.

I have to cherish all these moments and milestones because the come and go so fast. I know that many years from now I will become "uncool" and you won't let me rock you to sleep, or read you stories before bedtime and it makes me sad, but with that thought in mind I am able to thoroughly enjoy these precious times I have with you.

I am also convinced that you and Daddy have your own little "club" and Mommy is not allowed. If Daddy is anywhere in the vicinity, I don't exist. You just stare at him until you catch his eye and you two just talk and smile and laugh. I do love watching you two together, there is nothing more precious!

This past month we have also been experimenting with different foods. You have tried cereal, green beans, peas and carrots. We took a little break from the "solid" foods since they were not agreeing with your little tummy. When we started back up, you did just fine and you sure loved your carrots. You just kept opening your mouth really wide and leaning towards the spoon.

Mmmmmm.....carrots!




You had your first Valentine's Day this month. We made a giant heart shaped cookie that said "Love You Daddy" and Daddy really enjoyed it. He loves cookies! You got some cards and some new toys from Grandma and Grandpa that you really liked.

This past month was so exciting and I am looking forward to what the next month brings.

Love you!

Mommy

Macie is 5 months old today!

I can't believe you are already 5 months old. I promise I will write my letter soon and put up some pictures. Mommy had a VERY long day today and can't find the energy to write all the wonderful things that have happened this past month!! We are also hoping to get to your Auntie Kim's in Wisconsin this weekend if the weather cooperates so, I may have to write this on Sunday or Monday.
Happy 5 Months Macie (the happiest 5 months of my life!!!)

You can't be serious....

I get an e-mail once in a while from DSW and they often update my very unstylish self with the latest trends. This is what I got today. Now I am usually "behind the times" as far as fashion goes but this is so wrong!!! Sorry if any of you will be sporting this look anytime soon, but I might have to tell you how silly you look. Good thing about it though....you could just roll yourself up in your bed sheet in the morning before getting out of bed and throw a thick gold belt on it.

http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?index=23&category=dsw11cat200030&prodId=183697&brand=

Not even sure what to say about this one:

http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?index=26&category=dsw11cat200030&prodId=188398&brand=

$100 for those? Just plain SILLY!!!!
Ok, I am done.

See a resemblance?

I do....but not sure anyone would agree with me.
Click on his picture to make it larger, then look at Macie's.

Finally got our hands on little Joey!

We went to visit our new Nephew Joey today and we finally got to hold him. We saw him at the hospital, but didn't get to hold him. He is so tiny and I just can't believe that Macie was ever that small!!! He has the cutest little cry (I know weird, but I love the sound of a baby's cry).

Joe and Sam had their bouncer assembled and they let Macie give it a try and she loved it. Her feet didn't touch the floor so we had to get her started, but she got the idea and was bouncing herself. What fun!!!

Another September Baby!!!!

Congratulations to Nicole, Johnny, Olivia and Sophia! They are expecting another addition to their family in September!!! We can't wait to meet the little one! We are so happy for you.

Be My Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day! XOXO


Love the chubs!!!

Jack and Otis- BFF's

Usually they are beating the crap out of eachother. Otis has at least 40lbs on Jack, but Jack is tough (must be from her time on the road) and makes Otis yelp once in a while. Lately, they have been secretly loving eachother and I was able to catch one of the rare moments this morning. Awwwww

Another Random Entry

We went to my Aunt Deb and Uncle Steve's house on Sunday for a Family Pizza Party. My Aunt and Cousin Sammi made a ton of homemade pizza's and they were so good!!!

Aunt Deb

My Cousin Marissa

Aunt Lynne


We tried out some green beans with Macie this week.

Macie just hanging out.

Eatin' some more cereal......naked this time. It was much more enjoyable for both of us when she had no clothes on to mess up!

We were able to get outside on Tuesday and go for a long walk. She loves going for walks!! She's also sitting up in the stroller like a big girl, that was a big bonus since she was able to look around at everything on our walk.

Welcome Joseph Salvatore

Our Nephew Joseph Salvatore was born on February 7th. He weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 20in long. He has the most beautiful black curly hair and tons of it. He is just adorable and we can't wait to see him again. He and Macie have the same exact toes, it's so cute!!!
Congratulations Joe and Sam!

Peek-A-Boo

Now let’s look at peek-a-boo from a young child’s point of view. When an adult hides his face, the baby thinks about the situation very differently. The adult might really be gone! Peek-a-boo helps children learn that something can be hidden from view but still exist in the world. If we slow the game down, it may look something like this:
I can’t see Daddy’s face. (making an observation)
Where did he go? Is daddy still there? (asking a question)
I’ve played this game before, and I think he’s still there. (creating a hypothesis)
Let’s see . . . Peek-a-boo! It’s great to see Daddy again! (testing hypothesis)
I was right. Daddy can hide his face, but I know he’s still here. (evaluating the evidence)
By playing peek-a-boo, children test their ideas about things that disappear. Over time and with evidence from many games, children learn that objects still exist even when they’re hidden from view.

Along with being fun, peek-a-boo also teaches babies the concept of object permanence, which occurs somewhere between the ages of 4 and 12 months. A baby learns that even if something is out of sight, it still exists.
Finally, a baby will quickly learn to play peek-a-boo back at you, covering his face with his hands or his head with a shirt. When he reveals himself and giggles he is making a joke — you thought I was gone but here I am! Ta-dah!

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

Macie spent the day at Grandma and Papa's and it's Papa's Birthday.

A full day of firsts

Yesterday was quite eventful for Macie. She unfortunately got her first diaper rash....poor thing. I kept thinking to myself that I was surprised she hadn't gotten one yet. That's what I get for thinking...

To help her get some relief from it, I gave her a nice warm bath and then let her hang out without her diaper and she LOVED it. She played on our bed for quite a long time just happy as can be. What can I say, she's an exhibitionist. She hung out with Jack and watched some cartoons while she was airing out.

We also introduced some rice cereal to her last night. Rice cereal isn't so new to her, but eating it off a spoon was. She seemed to like it at first and then she started making faces like we were feeding her something sour. It was really cute to see the different expressions on her face while trying to figure out what to do with it once it was in her mouth. We got her all set up in her highchair and I had Phil ready with the camera. He went to take a picture/video of her and the battery died! I took some pictures/video on my phone, but the quality is horrible.

I decided to give the "solid" foods a try since she is getting teeth and just does not seem satisfied with just formula anymore. She finishes her bottle and doesn't want anymore formula and she's been waking up in the middle of the night a lot. She had a few bites of the cereal so I can't imagine that made her sleep better, but she did sleep from 8:00 to 4:00! We'll probably think about some veggies in the next few days and see how she does with those.

I LOVE this picture!!!! Look at the chubs!!! She is just the sweetest baby EVER!!!! Of course I am partial.

Macie and her other BFF....the glow worm...highly recommend this!

More airing out time.

First taste of cereal.

???? What the......

We just gave her a second feeding of cereal and it went soooooo much better, she loved it and Daddy got some really good pictures so stay tuned............

Long overdue post

This post is long overdue since it's about the Christmas present Phil got me. I have been trying to take a good picture of it, but our camera is just not that good, especially with things like this.

He got me the most beautiful, meaningful necklace. It's a mom holding a baby and there is a diamond in the middle and diamonds all around the outside. I love it so much and am so touched that he found something like that. Thanks honey, I love you!

These pictures really don't do it justice, but you get the idea.

A visit cut short

We went to Susie and Nelson's house for dinner on Saturday. We had a very nice time and dinner was very yummy, but we ended up having to cut the night short. Macie was very fussy and was not having any part of sleeping in the pack and play. I'm guessing since she cut a tooth on Sunday that's why she was having trouble getting comfortable. Jaden is just the cutest, sweetest little guy. Macie got to hang out with him for a while.

Thanks for having us over!

Jaden giving Macie a kiss