The Beck Family

Happy Halloween!!!

2012-02-02T19:39:00.003-05:00

We went on the local Parks Department's Halloween walk. They have some games for the kids, a maze, and then the last little part is a walk through a "haunted park" Maddie loved all of it with the exception of the "haunted park". I think that was a little bit too creepy for her. I think we will have to skip that part next year.

Maddie, Grandma, and Grandpa
Our little dragon...Josh, Maddie, and myself

The girls...Grandma, Madelyn, and myself

Girls Weekend!

2012-01-31T14:08:00.003-05:00

In October, my Aunt Cathy and my mom planned a weekend getaway for all of us girls. All six of us (Aunt Cathy, Mom, my cousins--Darci and Heather, my sister-in-law--Jessica, and myself) went up to Detroit for a weekend of shopping and relaxing. It was so much fun. On Friday night we went out for a nice dinner and then we shopped all day on Saturday at an awesome mall my Aunt Cathy found. It was so much fun!! We decided that we will have to do it again in the spring.

This is our trunk on the way to Detroit. We had to laugh between the 6 of us we had like 36 pieces of Vera Bradley. :) Our car and hotel looked like the Vera Bradley store had exploded.

This is our happy crew after a good dinner Friday night.

Mmm...That looks good mom!!

Another picture of all of our Vera Bradley. :) So much fun!! :)

Summer Days

2011-10-16T15:35:00.007-04:00

Double trouble!

We decided to keep things pretty low key for my 30th. We had our friends Matt and Ashley and their kids come up to the lake for the weekend along with my family. We had 6 kids under 6! Everything went really well though. All of the kids got along. I think Maddie had a crush on both Mason and Parker. She kept following them around.

Mason went on his first Jet Ski ride with Josh. I think he was in Heaven! He didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. I think he wanted to stay at the lake with us!

Uncle Jonathon and his heart breaker (Logan) are all smiles. Logan is such a good baby. Always smiling and laughing. He is going to get all of the girls!

At sea with Aunt Jess!

Sofie tried to teach Maddie how to play the piano at Auntie Abby's house.

We have replaced the mermaid on the front of our boat with two toddlers peering over the bow. This is how Brayden and Maddie stand for 90% of every boat ride. The don't want to miss anything.

Brayden came and stayed with us for 4 days this summer while his parents went to a wedding in New Orleans. To be honest, I was a little afraid of having 2 2-year olds for 4 days by myself, but it was so much fun!! We went to Chuck-E-Cheese, a water park, the lake, had a water balloon fight, and laughed a ton. Maybe having twins wouldn't be so bad. They had so much fun entertaining one another. :)

The happy crew getting ready for a water balloon fight.

My friend Lauren turned 30 this summer. We went down to her house for a surprise birthday party. This is her adorable little girl Emily. They had a bounce house at the party, so now Maddie is obsessed with going to Emily's house so she can jump!

My patriotic little girl!

More water balloons!

One of mommy's PU buds--Kyle with Maddie.

Grandma and Maddie having fun as usual!

Grandma and Grandpa playing hide and seek with Maddie. I think that they had more fun than she did!

Our Summer Vacation

2011-08-21T20:54:00.003-04:00

Josh and I took the week after Memorial Day off for a family vacation. We stayed up at the lake. It was so much fun. Maddie had a lot of "Firsts"

Maddie and Mommy tubing for the first time.

We went to a Buffalo Reservation. Maddie was amazed by how big the Buffies were. She did not want to leave.

More Buffies...

Maddie also went on her first Jet Ski ride. She kept asking Grandpa to go faster!

We went to the local Duck Pond and fed the ducks.

We were attacked by a mob of geese/ducks. Daddy had to save us by chasing them away. I was really scared that they were going to hurt us, especially when we ran out of bread.

Daddy and Maddie! How cute!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-08-21T20:30:00.004-04:00

Logan is a happy little frog.

Aunt Jess and the cuties.

Josh stole my camera and snapped a rare picture of me.

Papa had fun teaching Maddie how to drive the boat. Now she thinks that she needs to drive everything...the golf cart, mommy's car, daddy's truck etc.

Two handsome hunks!

He is going to be a heart breaker!

I couldn't get all of them to look, but 3 out of 4 isn't bad. Grandma Morr enjoyed visiting with her Great Grandkids.

Cheese!

Robbie and Darci had fun with the kiddos too.

Good times at the lake!

2011-08-21T20:04:00.003-04:00

Grandpa where did that extra banana come from?

I bought this stroller for Maddie at a garage sale and it is one of her and Brayden's favorite toys. They each take turns pushing each other around in it. They barely fit, but they have so much fun.

Early morning smiles with Uncle Josh!

This is one of my favorite pictures, it just is so representative of who they are.

Grandma always has a treat of some sort for Maddie. Can we say SPOILED!

Maddie and her cousin Logan. Maddie couldn't be more excited to help hold him.

Grandma likes to play with the kids in a little tunnel, this is what you see when you look in the top!

BEAR HUG!!!

Early May

2011-08-21T19:49:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged forever, so I am going to add quite a few different little posts to document our summer. I have been off of work since May, you would have thought that I would have found a few minutes to keep our blog up to date, but I just haven't. My mom had a mastectomy in June, so Maddie and I have been helping to take care of her. Here are a few pics from a weekend at the lake early this summer.

What a great Grandpa!

Catching anything?

Can you tell her mom's an audiologist?? Maddie thought that the lawn toys were headphones.

Taking our baby for a walk to Grandma's house

Awe! How cute!

Gotta hang on to Grandma's hand when you are close to the lake!

Brayden and Maddie are just way too sweet together.

Ornery??

Weekend with the Becks

2011-05-08T20:39:00.005-04:00

Josh's brother Cory is home from the Air Force for a few weeks, so we decided we would make a little weekend getaway trip out of it. Josh's dad is in the "Wray Brothers" band and he was performing in Nashville, Indiana, so we all went and stayed for the weekend. We had the best time. Maddie got a new inner tube and LOVED swimming!! She also loved spending time with her Uncle Cory. We try to Skype with Cory regularly, so she was so excited to see him in person. She only wanted Uncle Cory to hold her the whole trip.

Grandpa Randy, Grandma Jane and Maddie

Hi Grandpa! I love you!

Maddie sucked down an entire smoothie from McDonalds and then proceeded to tell me that her head hurt...

YEAH!!! UNCLE CORY!!!

Maddie loved IHOP pancakes!! She must be growing, because we can't keep her full!

Aunt Shannon, Uncle Cory, and Maddie...Uncle Cory and Aunt Shannon are getting married next weekend! We are so excited about it!

Where's the pool?

Maddie swam all over the pool wither her tube. She was so excited to be independent. I was shocked at how comfortable she was in the water.

Jump in!

Bubbles in the pool?

Good times with Uncle Cory in the pool. When we were packing up to leave, I deflated Maddie's new inner tube to put it in the suitcase. She had a major meltdown! You would have thought that I took her best friend away...I think I am going to go to Wal-Mart and buy about 10 more inner tubes, just in case...we need to spread them out across the pool, the lake, and our house!

Happy Easter!

2011-05-08T20:16:00.005-04:00

We had a fun Easter at our house this year. Our church had an amazing service and a beautiful "Living Cross" where everyone bring fresh cut flowers and attaches them to the cross. It is to symbolize that Jesus lives...besides church we did a few other Easter activities. We went and had pictures with live bunnies. They turned out great! Maddie had so much fun holding them. We also had three Easter egg hunts! Maddie was much more into it this year. The community Easter Egg Hunt is hilarious it is at 9:00 in the morning, so everyone gets there between 8:45-8:55 and it is over by 9:05! Josh and I joked you definitely do not want to be late! The Easter Bunny also stopped by our house and grandma and grandpa's house. Maddie was so cute every time she found an egg, she would gasp ooohh!!! She also corrected me every time I said "Easter Bunny" she would say no its the "Easter Rabbit".

Mommy, Maddie, and the Easter Rabbit!

April Showers...

2011-04-30T19:49:00.000-04:00

Maddie is absolutely in love with these little rain boots and her butterfly coat!! I have trouble getting any other shoes on her no matter what she is wearing. I am hoping I can conviently loose them before she starts wearing shorts this summer!

Happy Birthday Grandma!! I love you...and ice cream cake!

What a cutie!

Wooohooo!! Warm weather...bike rides!! We love spring!!

My two little monkeys on the top of the slide!

Oops...mommy I don't think I have enough sunscreen!

I love to play!

Adelyn and Madelyn...playing at the mall!

Great Grandma Morr helped Maddie get her baby dressed.

Hi Grandma...Can you hear me??

Adventures with Molly

2011-03-07T19:32:00.005-05:00

I tried uploading our blog a little differently and it didn't work. I am just now getting around to fixing it. If anyone knows of any good blogging software that is easier to upload an entire post tht would be great. I have been getting frustrated when uploading pictures because I can only upload one picture at a time right now--if I try to add more, it doesn't work!

My parents went on vacation in February and we were able to dogsit Molly for them! I think it was Maddie's most favorite week!

Maddie went for LOTS of "walks". It was too cold to take her outside, so Maddie walked her around our house over and over again. Molly finally just sat down when she was tired. It was so cute.

All snuggled up!

My little fashionista! She did her own hair and picked out the boots!

Ornery??

Molly loved sitting in Maddie's chair. It was just the perfect height. She is getting too old to jump up to a full-size couch or chair.

Snow Day!!

2011-02-11T21:14:00.004-05:00

A blizzard came through Northern Indiana on February 1st and 2nd. There was a Level 1 snow emergency in our county, so all the roads were shut down. Josh, Maddie, and I had a great time being snowed in together. We relaxed and played most of the day. It is so unusual for all of us to be home and have no where to go.

Poor Josh trying to snow blow the driveway.

Pucker up Mickey!!

You better watch out or Princess Maddie will turn you in to a toad! Every time she swings her wand she says "Boop"

Maddie has been pretty sick again. Another sinus infection, so she couldn't go out to play in the snow. Instead, she sat in the front window watching all the neighbor kids play on the snow pile. She loved watching them sled down the hill.

Daddy gave out horsie rides...saddle and all!

My little ballerina.

Last night we had 10-11 deer in our backyard. Very strange considering we live in the middle of town. I think that they were hungry. They nibbled on our tree for about 10 minutes before moving on. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but it is hard to take pictures through the window screen. Maddie had fun giggling and watching the deer. When she came down for breakfast this morning she looked out the window and said "Deer, bye-bye" I can't believe how good her memory is sometimes!

Happy Birthday Maddie!!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my little girl is 2!!! It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital and had no idea what we were doing. I thought that feeling would pass, but I still feel like I have no idea what I am doing as a parent some days. She is such a big girl these days and doing all kinds of things. Where does the time go?!? We had so much fun celebrating her birthday. We had a really busy day. We went to the Shrine Circus with Grandma Patty, Grandpa Dave, Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Jessica, Brayden and Logan. It was fun (and really long!). The show started at 10:00 a.m. and was still going at 12:15. We ended up leaving a little early as kids were getting a little antsy. That same afternoon we had a small "Dora the Explorer" birthday party with just our immediate family. It was so much fun. We had a blast!! Maddie loved every minute of it!

At 2 Maddie...

-Is very independent and wants to do almost everything on her own
-Is talking up a storm!! 3-4 word sentences and hundreds of words in her vocabulary
-Likes taking care of her babies
-Eats mostly fruits, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and crackers
-Knows how to push both her mommy and daddy's buttons
-Gets 2-3 breathing treatments each day
-Starting to wear size 2T clothes
-Wearing size 7 1/2 wide shoes!
-Loves animals
-Is a clean freak! She loves to sweep, dust, scrub everything
-Starting to potty train....
-Drinks from a big girl cup
-Loves to tell stories about all kinds of things
-Has an excellent memory, she is still saying "Baby Jesus, Bye-Bye" every time we drive by a local business that had a nativity set out for Christmas.
-Is just so much fun!

The birthday girl cruising on her new trike!

Happy Birthday Maddie!!

Uncle Jonathan you are too big for my chair!

Grandma Patty sure enjoyed snuggling with Baby Logan. Great-Grandma Morr had a good time watching all of his facial expressions while he slept.

Brayden and Maddie went for a ride on Happy the dinosaur. He eats, roars, moves his head...he is so cute and Maddie just loves him. She likes to stick her hand in his mouth and have him chew on her fingers.

Grandma Patty hopped on for a ride too!

Uncle Blake will you help me open my presents?

I have never seen a child stand on the present he/she was trying to open. This was just too funny!

A new princess trike!! WOW!!!

Grandma and Maddie checking out all the animals in the petting zoo before the Circus.

Daddy took Maddie for a pony ride!

Aunt Abby practicing with Logan. Abby and her husband are expecting their first child in September 2011!!! We are so excited for them!!! They are going to make wonderful parents!

Uh oh!! We got caught!! Grandpa Randy and Maddie look like they are up to no good!

Girl time!! Aunt Jessica and Maddie load the car up for a "drive"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-05T20:24:00.000-05:00

Josh, Maddie, and I spent New Year's Eve at the lake. Jonathan, Jessica, Brayden, and Logan all came up. We met our new nephew for the first time. He is sooooo tiny!! He and Maddie weighed almost exactly the same at birth, but I do not remember her EVER being that tiny. It is funny how fast they grow. Everyone always says that, but it is sooo true! Logan has the most hair I have ever seen on a 1 week old baby and the most beautiful eyes. He was so content just to snuggle and be held. Amazingly enough, Maddie did not throw a big fit when I held him. Usually if I pick up another little kid she freaks out, but she was fine with me holding Logan...maybe there is hope if we have a second child!

Logan David Worthington our handsome nephew!!

TROUBLE!!! There is no other way to say that!

Maddie LOVES Logan!!! She was all about helpling Grandma with him. She loves to give him his pacifier. When Maddie says pacifier, it comes out like "Firefire" So cute!

Brayden got a Moon Walk for Christmas and brought it so he and Maddie could jump. 99% of the time they would just tackle one another and roll around. It was pretty funny!

Maddie didn't really like jumping on her own, so Daddy helped her bounce around! Good exercise!

Beck Caroling

2010-12-31T14:56:00.007-05:00

Josh's family has a neat Christmas tradition. Every year they go Christmas caroling the Sunday before Christmas. They have been going for the past 30 years. Traditionally, they choose people's homes who cannot get out during the Christmas season. The elderly people we visit are always so appreciative. This year there were about 65 people caroling with us and 83 people at the dinner afterwards. This year 4 generations of Becks participated in the festivities.

Maddie, Daddy, and Brian (Josh's Cousin) singing....Fa La La La La La La La La...

Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake helped Maddie with Jingle Bells!

Uncle Cory and Aunt Shannon also had fun singing with Maddie!

Where's Maddie??

Worthington Christmas

2010-12-31T07:48:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with my Dad's side of the family at my Aunt Marsha and Uncle Doug's house. It was so much fun!! Maddie had a great time learning from all of her cousins!! It was so much fun spending time with them!

Maddie was a big Grandma's girl! She wanted Grandma to hold her for the first 30 minutes we were there!

Maddie fell in love with her cousin Reid! He is 9 months old and a doll! Maddie liked him so much she was still talking about him the next morning at breakfast!!!

Reid's older sister, Reese, gave Maddie some Sit n' Spin lessons!

Like this!!

Important construction in progress!

(Left to right Owen 4, Reese 6, Ryan 4, Quinn 7, Maddie 1)

Reid was entertained with his socks!!

Aunt Marsha showing Maddie how to use her new CD player!! Thanks Aunt Marsha and Uncle Doug!!

PLAY DATE!!

2010-12-31T07:26:00.002-05:00

Sandra, one of my best friends from high school came home for Christmas with her family. It is so weird to think that we have been friends for 18 years now!!! She lives in Texas, so we aren't able to see her family near as much as what we would like. We were able to get our little girls together to play. Vivian is SOOO cute!!! The pictures don't do her justice. She has the cutest little cheeks, I just want to squeeze them!!! We had so much fun playing!!! :)

Maddie tried to teach Vivian how to make a tower of blocks!

Vivian's favorite toy!! She didn't want to get out!! Every time someone would open the door, she would pull it back shut.

Maddie was having trouble sharing, so both girls tried to use the car at the same time!! It lasted all of 2 minutes before Vivian decided she had enough of Maddie and tried to climb out the window Dukes of Hazard style!

You can't tell me you don't want to just pick her up and squeeze her!! :)

I wish we would have gotten Sandra in the picture too, but here are the girls and me!

Random December Pics

2010-12-28T20:17:00.002-05:00

Josh and I were walking Maddie down the stairs the other day. I was holding Maddie's hand and I said "Maddie your hands are cold." Maddie's response was "Brrr snowman cold!!" I just thought it was so cute! It is so much fun seeing her come up with things on her own. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth now. She talks NONSTOP and is always telling us some kind of story. I love it!

We liked Santa so much the first time, we had to go back and see him again with Daddy. It was so cute every time we drove by "Santa's House" Maddie would say "SANTA! Reindeer all gone." Jingles, the reindeer was only there for a few hours each Saturday for the kids to see. I think she liked Santa even more the second time!

Checking Santa out. I love this picture!

I guess he is alright...he did give me a candy cane!

Styling in Mommy's sunglasses!

Maddie "breathing". She has had to get 2-3 breathing treatments each day for the last month. She is doing surprisingly well with it. She likes to be a big girl and hold the mask herself. We snuggle up on the couch and watch the mouse show. The mouse show is a little 13 minute movie about a real live mouse who gets lost and finds his way home. It completely disgusts me as the mouse climbs through donuts, on cakes, sandwiches, etc...Maddie loves it though. I think that we have probably watched the movie at least 100 times!

Our Christmas Card picture!

Daddy and Maddie...We were ready for church early one morning, which almost never happens, so we did a mini-photo shoot in front of the Christmas tree. They turned out really well!

Daddy's favorite girls!

I love this picture too...it is just so "Maddie"

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-26T20:07:00.002-05:00

We had a fabulous day on Christmas. Josh, Maddie, and I all woke up, read the Christmas Story and opened presents. Maddie got a Little Tikes Kitchen and still hasn't stopped playing with it!! She has been cooking up a storm. One morning I was wiping my refrigerator with a dish cloth and she said that she wanted it. So I gave her one and she went and wiped her refrigerator off. It is so much fun. My family came over for lunch. We had never hosted Christmas before, and I was pretty nervous but everything turned out well. I wanted to make sure that my mom was not stressed out at all about getting ready for Christmas.

Jonathan and Jessica welcomed a new son, Logan David Worthington on December 21st, so they were not able to come up for Christmas. All of them are doing well and as soon as I have a picture, I will add it! I have heard that he is adorable and can't wait to meet him!!!

Our traditional "Santa Cakes!" Maddie loved them this year!

Uncle Josh and Maddie playing an intense game of Uno Moo!

Grandma Patty after opening presents.

Grandpa was pretty excited about all of his presents too!

All the "Big Kids" had fun with Maddie's kitchen too. It was pretty hilarious! They all sat and played with Maddie's dishes, toaster, blender, food, etc...I guess people always say that the kitchen is the gathering place in the home. I didn't think mini-kitchens had the same power!

Beck Christmas!!

2010-12-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with Josh's family the weekend before Christmas this year. It was so nice. Josh's mom made a wonderful dinner and we were able to spend time with both of his grandmas. Josh's brother, Cory and his wife Shannon were able to attend too as Cory was still home on leave. Josh's sister, Abby and her husband Blake were nice enough to allow us to stay in there home while we were visiting!

What a nice picture of Great Grandma Dorothy and Maddie!

Josh's dad read the Christmas Story to all of us...

Come on Grandma...Open it!!! Maddie had a blast opening presents!

Aunt Abby got recruited to help open presents too!

This was my daughter's favorite present!! I think she does take after her mom!!

Uncle Cory and Maddie rode off into the sunset together!

So pooped after opening presents all day!

Santa Claus!!

2010-12-05T21:45:00.007-05:00

Ok...our town has the most wonderful Santa Claus ever!! He is old and has his own beard. To top it off he is great with the kids and just so darn nice. Maddie and Brayden went and saw him together last year and they both screamed their heads off, so we thought we would try again this year to get a good picture.

This is the picture from last year....

You can't tell me he is not the perfect Santa Claus!

Hi Santa!! We made it without screaming!!!!

Oh, poor Brayden!! Brayden did not want to have anything to do with Santa, so Santa sweet talked Jessica into sitting on his lap too.

Maddie also loved young Mrs. Claus and her doggie "Pookie"

Jingles the reindeer was Maddie's favorite part. Everytime we drive by Santa's house she says "Deer!?!" She started crying when we told her we had to leave the reindeer and go home!

Update....

2010-12-05T20:41:00.007-05:00

Long time no post...Things are crazy as ever at our house. A few days after my last post I found out that my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer. It is a very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Her oncologist has only had one other patient with this form of breast cancer in his 15+ years of practice. She started chemo treatments very quickly after she was diagnosed and is scheduled to get her 3rd treatment of 6 this coming Friday. Right now she has good and bad days. It is so hard to watch someone you love so much go through this...

On a happier note, my sister-in-law, Shannon is out of the hospital!!! She came home the weekend before Thanksgiving. She is still goes to the hospital to get therapy a few times a week, but she continues to improve daily. It is so nice to see her smiling face again. :)

Peanut went to a new home...he bit Maddie a few months ago and then he snapped at her when Josh was home with her one day. I think he was just too jealous of her. Everytime she would walk by him he would growl. We decided it was just a matter of time before he really hurt her, and that we would never be able to live with ourselves if that happened. He is living with a family with teenagers now, so hopefully he will do better.

Maddie has been sick off and on for the past month. I feel like it is just one long cold that won't go away. She coughs so much and so hard that she has been vomiting....We took her to the doctor a month ago for it and the "on call doctor" said that she thought Maddie may just be constipated?? I took her this last Friday and our regular doctor spent about 25 minutes with us, diagnosed her with bronchiolitis, and sent us home with a nebulizer and two bags full of medicine. She has to have breathing treatments 3 times each day. It is hard trying to get an almost 2 year old to sit still for 20 minutes for a breathing treatment! If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Last days of fall...

Playing with Uncle Cory at the hospital

What cuties!

Maddie and Uncle Josh had fun on the Halloween walk...

The young witch with her old bat...hee hee

Maddie has the best seat in town on Grandpa's shoulders!

Lets find some candy!! I don't know who is more excited Maddie or Grandpa!

Grandma, Grandpa, Josh, and I took Maddie trick-or-treating down our street. We live on a cul-de-sac with about 16 houses and Maddie's pumpkin was over flowing!! We had to take candy out and start putting it in our pockets so there would be room at the last couple of houses. Maddie's favorite part was "pushing the button" aka ringing the doorbell. After our neighbors gave her candy she would say "Thank you" and continually say "Bye!...Bye!...Bye!" until we were safely to the next house. It was hillarious.

I LOVE TRICK-OR-TREATING!!!

Handing candy out to trick-or-treaters was just as fun for Maddie. She stood by the door and would let us know whenever a new group of kids was coming. This was great, because it gave all of the adults a chance to sort through her candy and get the good stuff out!

Brayden turned 2 November 9th!!!

Brayden had a great birthday party in Indy...Grandpa had fun with his two favorite grandkids!

Grandma had fun showing her photography skills off to Brayden and Maddie.

Smiles all around!!

My little ladybug is so happy!

How can you not fall in love with that smile! You can sure tell his mom is a dentist!

Brayden with Jessica's mom, Grandma O

We were able to spend a lot of time together at Thanksgiving. The kids are so funny. They found the chairs to my old little tikes kitchen and they love sitting in them playing school. They sit and listen to stories and then they ask to sing songs. It is the funniest thing! My family is NOT MUSICAL AT ALL, but everytime my mom, Jessica, and I finished a song both Maddie and Brayden would jump up, start clapping, and ask for more!! I love this age!

If you are happy and you know it, your face will surely show it...

The sitting ovation!!

Happy FALL!!!

2010-10-16T19:54:00.006-04:00

Where does the time go?? It has been over a month since my last post. It seems like it was just yesterday. Maddie had bronchitis a few weeks ago, and is still fighting a cold now. I am praying that we have a healthy winter.

Josh's brother Cory came home from Oklahoma to surprise everyone last week. He is in the Air Force. Within a few hours of arriving home he got a phone call and his wife was being admitted to the hospital due to confusion. To make a long story short, she was diagnosed with encephalitis and is still in the hospital now (9 days later). She has been transferred down to IU medical center and has a whole team of doctors trying to figure out how to help her. Please pray for her speedy recovery and that Cory can remain strong.

On a separate note, my boss just put her 2 weeks notice in, so I am anticipating things getting really crazy in the next few weeks. To top it off, one of my favorite physicians is leaving the practice at the first of the year. It is a good thing I love what I do.

Maddie likes to "read" now. She has a few favorite books that she pretty much has memorized and she will turn the pages and say the words.

GO COLTS!! Maddie has been watching the games with us. I think she thinks Josh and I are crazy when we get excited and cheer during the games!!

We went to Hilger's Pumpkin Patch with Brayden. It was so much fun!!! They had a few farm animals--donkey, pony, chicken, goat, sheep, bunny, and kittens. I think the kids love the animals more than the pumpkins.

Our happy family!!

o
Maddie is so in to horsies right now!! We went to the 4-H fair a few weeks ago and she didn't want to leave the horsies at all!!

SMOOCH!!!

Aren't they just too cute together??

My little audiologist in training. She picked up my otoscope the other day and was trying to look in her ear. The funny part is that I have never showed her what to do with it. I rarely get it out at home, so she must have picked it up from all of our doctor's appointments!

Fun in the back yard with Peanut!

I love Peanut!! She is so like the little girl on Looney Toons who would pick Bugs Bunny up and say "I'm gonna love you and kiss you and never let you go..." Peanut gets annoyed sometimes, but tolerates her most of the time.

My new favorite picture! She looks like such a big girl!

Leaves everywhere!

Grandma and Grandpa W. got Maddie a chair for her birthday and she loves it!! She sits in it, lays in it, puts all of her stuffed animals in it...We were leaving this morning and she turned and said "Bye chair" as we walked out the door. She makes me laugh!

My cutie pie!

Come on Daddy! Lets go down the slide!

What are we doing??

Here we go! This is so much fun!

Summer Update...

2010-09-12T19:36:00.011-04:00

Ok Jenna this one is for you!! :) I am sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. I have not been feeling very good for the past 2 months. I started feeling really tired in July and just couldn't get enough sleep, which is unusual for me. Usually I come home from work and run a mile a minute until it is time to go to bed. I called my doctor who had some labs run at the beginning of August. Within 2 hours of having my labs run my doctor's office was calling my cell phone and work phone trying to track me down. My labs showed that my platelet count had dropped to 25,000. It is normally 150-450,000, so they were extremely worried that it was so low. They told me that they had me scheduled to follow-up with a hematologist/oncologist the following day. The first thing I did was google "low platelet count" and of course it comes up with all of these awful things--including leukemia...Josh and I were totally freaking out all day. My family has a really strong family history of cancer and I did not want to hear those words at all. Josh and I prayed all day that my lab tests would be wrong. The hematologist/oncologist re-ran my labs at my appointment and my platelet count was normal. The doctor explained that she thought it was probably just a lab error and wanted to check me again in a month just to make sure. So I went back to my primary care doctor to figure out what was causing my fatigue who re-ran my labs again and found out that my thyroid isn't working as well as it should and put me on some medicine, which is making me feel really sick. He says the side effects should get better soon, but I am still waiting. The good news though is that I saw the hematologist on Friday and my labs were normal again and I was discharged!! YEAH!! What an answer to prayer!

We have managed to find time to have fun between doctor's appointments. I have included some pictures of things we have been doing for the last month. I can't believe summer is almost over....

Maddie enjoyed Sweeny's Sweet corn!!!

Maddie likes trying to climb into the cabinets and hide now. Tricky, Tricky!

We had a graduation party for Josh's mom Jane who got her bachelor's degree!! Congrats Jane!!

We discovered that Maddie LOVES mommy's raspberry pie!!!!!

She ate every last bite!!!

My bathing beauty!

Ribbit! Here comes froggy!

What a nice chair!!

Little Josh and Andrea had fun on the jet ski!!

Josh learned how to ski! I am so impressed that he wanted to try something new!!

Brayden and Maddie loved watching Josh and Jonathan ski behind the boat. Whenever they let go of the rope they would get very worried. It was so sweet.

Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake came up to the lake for a day.

We went trick-or-treating at the lake. I love that they have little fun events for the kids in the neighborhood where my parent's lake cottage is. Some of the families go way out and decorate their whole yard/garage.

Maddie went as Miss America!!

Daddy and Miss America!

Maddie kept trying to steal the neighbor's candy when she thought no one was paying attention.

Mmmm...candy!!! She kept robbing Grandma's candy bowl too!

We went to the duck pond with Grandma and Grandpa!

Surprizingly we weren't mobbed with ducks and geese.

Awe!!! Too cute!

Watching boats is always fun!

Maddie tried tubing! She is so gonna be ready for some waves next year!!

This is Maddie's new trick. I think she thinks you can't see her when she does this, because she will stand up, say boo, and giggle like crazy!!

She has also become interested in climbing on/in everything. She loves to snuggle in her wagon!

18 MONTHS!!

2010-08-01T20:23:00.005-04:00

Wow!! I can't believe our little girl is 18 months old!! She isn't a baby any more!! She is acting more and more like a big girl every day. It makes me smile, but at the same time I miss some of the things she was doing just a few months ago...She is at such a fun age right now. She is learning new things every day and learning to be more and more independent, which is a good thing and a challenging thing at the same time. This summer she has been staying with my mom two days a week and with our babysitter Sally two days a week.

At 18 months Maddie...

Uses a spoon
Gets upset if she makes a mess while eating--her high chair, fingers, bib have to be wiped off before she will continue eating
Is starting to drink straight from a normal cup!
Entertains herself!!!
Goes to time out occasionally
Knows some animal noises--cow, duck, birdie, dog, cat
Knows her body parts
Still hates having her diaper changed--but will try to wipe herself and put her diaper on
Is getting all 4 incisors! Yuck!
Loves to swing and play in her car
Is going through a hitting stage
Has to have her favorite blankie to go to sleep
Still Sucks on her middle and ring finger on her right hand
Loves giving Peanut treats and playing fetch with him
Acts like a doggie--crawling and saying ruff!
Doesn't like sand...
Is obsessed with hiding in closets!!!!!!!
Talking more than ever--we were trying to count all of her words today and were up to 80 words just naming things off the top of our heads!

Maddie's Favorites are...

Peaches, Raspberries, Cheese, Blueberry Nutrigrain bars
Animals! Especially her puppy Peanut!
Babies--she talks about the new baby who is at the babysitter all the time
Playing with Grandma's Triceratops "Happy" who she can ride and feed!
Shoes!!! She is completely obsessed with wearing shoes!! She doesn't care who's shoes they are, she just loves to wear them.
Music...she has been trying to sing at church and anytime she hears the hotdog song she starts dancing!
Going on boat rides!!!!!

Ha! Ha! Ha!! That is sooo funny!

My bathing beauty!!

Boat rides are so much fun with Daddy!

I love to eat!!!

Breakfast of champions...Grandpa's strawberry waffles!

Can we say ornery?!?

Fun in the Sun...

2010-07-20T19:56:00.000-04:00

Josh and I had a Purdue Audiology retreat at my parent's lake house a few weekends ago. It was so much fun!! A few of my girlfriends from grad school and their significant others all came up to hang out. We had a lot of awesome food and made some really fun memories!!

Just floating around while the babies nap!! (Left to right--Stephen, Volkan, Emily, ME, and Josh)

Our Vera Bradley ad. This is Stephen and Lauren's daughter she will be 1 in a few weeks, so there are about 6 months between her and Maddie.

Time for a boat ride!!!

Emily, oh so happy!!!

Maddie fell in love with Andrea's husband Volkan, which is especially funny because she doesn't really like men right now. We all started calling him Uncle Volkie because he was so good with the girls!!

Maddie and Emily dancing around the kitchen!

Andrea and Volkan are expecting in October, but they got lots of practice with Maddie and Emily over the weekend!

The girls!! Emily and Maddie!

What a view!! The steam was coming off the lake and it was so beautiful in the morning with the sunrise!

Maddie doing what she does best...eating and making me smile!

We had a mini-shower over the weekend too for Andrea and Volkan! We had Janice make her famous cake!! It was so yummy!! I wish I had an extra piece right now!! Mmmm!

Cheese!!!

Congrats Airman Beck!

2010-07-11T20:39:00.009-04:00

We went down to Lackland Airforce Base in San Antonio, Texas to help Cory celebrate his graduation from Airforce Basic Training and have a mini-vacation. We flew down with Maddie. It was her first flying experience and it went a lot better than I had anticipated. We flew out of Detroit early Thursday morning and returned Sunday afternoon. The way down went pretty smoothly. Maddie fell asleep before the plane even took off in Detroit!! She slept for about an hour, woke up, ate a few snacks and played with EVERY toy in the diaper bag. She got a little restless for the last 15, but other than that she did really well. The only problem on the way down was that the car rental company did not have a toddler car seat for Maddie--they had like 30 infant seats, but no toddler seats. After spending about an hour at Enterprise they found some secret carseat stash in the back and we were finally on our way.

We stayed at the Omni on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Josh's parents, Abby, Blake, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Greg, Aunt Shannon and her parents all stayed at the Omni too. The riverwalk was BEAUTIFUL!!!! It was so amazing to be in the big city and have this hidden riverwalk that you could walk down to and the whole city would disappear. Josh and I (and Maddie too) had a lot of fun on the river walk. Our hotel felt like you were in the middle of some little Mexican village--not in the middle of the city.

We were able to go on base on Thursday night to meet up with Cory and the rest of Josh's family. He showed us arround a little bit and we ate dinner on base. He had pretty strict requirements about when he was available to be with guests, so we weren't able to spend quite as much time as we wanted to with him. It was so nice to see his smiling face and give him a big hug though. We are so proud of him. Friday he went through graduation and then was able to go off base with us. We all went down to the riverwalk to have a nice dinner to celebrate. Saturday we all went to Sea World, which Maddie LOVED!!!! Then we left early Sunday morning to come back home. We had a few airport fiascos on the way back home. We were running a tad later than we wanted to on the way to the airport and we couldn't find a gas station close to the airport to fill the rental car back up with gas, so we were a little stressed. When we finally go to the car rental place, we ran and hopped on the shuttle. I was carrying our carry-on, the diaper bag, my purse, and Maddie. We were the first stop shuttle stop at the airport, so we got off and ran in to check in for our flight. We checked in and went to security where I noticed that I didn't have my ID. I dug all through my stuff and couldn't find it, so I had to get out of the security line and go back to the ticket counter where luckily they had my ID. I went back and walked the rest of the way through security with Maddie and Josh. When we got to the other side we put ourselves all back together and I said "Phew! We made it!" Ten seconds later, I turned to Josh and said where's the diaper bag with all the toys. He said "You had it!" So, I went and tap, tap, tapped on the TSA guys' shoulder and told him that I thought I left my diaper bag on the other side of security when I was digging for my ID. He went and looked for it for a few minutes and returned empty handed. He said that it wasn't there and advised us to check back at the ticket counter, so Josh, Maddie and I all went back to the ticket counter to look for our missing bag. They didn't have it there either. On our third time through the security line, the TSA lady checking IDs recognized us and asked if we had lost something. We told her what was going on and she said we probably had time to check with the car rental company. So Maddie and I went and sat at the gate eating breakfast, while Josh tried tracking down the shuttle we rode to the airport on. I had pretty much made up my mind that we weren't going to have any diapers, toys, or snacks for the 3 hour plane ride home when Josh showed up with the bag!!! I told him that he was the hero of the day!! I still can't believe that we got it back!

In the short time we were in San Antonio, we had a great time. Josh and I both said that we needed another weekend to recover when we got home though.

Maddie had just woken up from a nap when we met up with Cory. She didn't really like the new uniform too much!

She had fun swinging around with Grandma and Grandpa B!

Maddie really liked playing with Uncle Blake!!

Before we went to San Antonio Josh and I were watching Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel and we saw a place called Lulu's bakery that makes 3lb cinnamon rolls. We decided we had to try it. It is a little dinner type place. The cinnamon roll was so big it looked like a birthday cake!! When the waitress sat it down Maddie said "WHOA!!"

Graduation day with Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake!!

What's going on here?!?

Aunt Lisa the Great is so much fun!!!

Oh so happy to have all of Grandma and Grandpa B's attention!!

Cheese!! I think she is practicing to be Miss America!

Uncle Cory looks so handsome in his new AF Blues!

Mom I am ready for Sea World, lets roll!

Maddie really enjoyed the aquarium. She would point everywhere and say "FISH!" "FISH!"

We went to the Shamu show with Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake. It was really hot, and so hard to wait for the show to start. It was worth it though.

Maddie watched intently as the whales jumped up and down ans splashed the audience.

SHAMU!!!

We cooled off in the lazy river and baby pool at Sea World!

Maddie made some friends and played with this little starfish forever! When I made her get out of the water she just cried and cried.

By the time we got out to the car she was asleep!

After a short nap, we were back to running around and playing with Aunt Lisa the Great!

Later that night, we went on a riverboat ride with Blake and Abby. It was neat seeing all the different places along the riverwalk.

We saw the Alamo!

Can you tell they are all Becks?? You can't mistake those cheeks!

Uncle Cory and Aunt Shannon are such a cute couple!!

Then we had to say our goodbyes, which was hard.

Miss America!!!

2010-07-11T19:46:00.005-04:00

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the lake with family. Jonanthan, Jessica, and Brayden were all able to come up. It is so nice being able to see them. Maddie is absolutely in love with Brayden. They play so well together. :) Maddie LOVES going for boat rides with Grandpa (Pa as she likes to call him). From the minute she woke up she would go to the door and point at the boat and yell "Paaa" Then she would go to the closet where we keep her life jacket and bang on the door until I allowed her to wear it around the house! Who would of thought she would actually like to wear her life jacket?!? Her favorite is when Grandpa drives the boat fast! I think she is going to be my little roller coaster girl!

Aunt Jess had 3 members in her story time club!

Jonathan and Josh caught about 50 fish!!

Maddie and Grandma were very stylish on the boat!!

Lets go for a boat ride grandpa!!

Playing in the water is way to fun!!!

Hee Hee!

All smiles for sunshine!

My Girl!

Aunt Cathy and Great-Grandma Morr went for a boat ride!! Jenna is in the background on the tube! Jenna was the queen tuber--I don't think she fell off at all!!

Uncle Tim and Maddie played 4 wheelers in the driveway!

Don't they look cute riding Maddie's tricycle together??

Maddie had fun practicing on her tricycle.

Brayden had fun smooshing his face up against the window.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T20:15:00.005-04:00

We had a great Father's Day weekend. Josh, Maddie, and I went to Josh's parents Saturday to visit and then came home and played outside for a while. I forgot my camera so I missed out on taking pictures at Josh's parent's house. We had a good time though. We are getting excited for our trip to San Antonio to see Josh's brother Cory graduate from Air Force basic training in a few weeks.

Today was a nice slow Sunday. We went to church, out to lunch and then over to Grandma and Grandpa W's house to swim in their pool and relax. Maddie loved the water. She had so much fun "jumping" off the step and "swimming" from me to Josh. Her version of jumping involves me or Josh throwing her up in the air and catching her before she gets wet. Swimming is the same kind of deal, she spreads out as far as she can reaching and then fake swims while Josh or I carry her to one another. It is so much fun watching her do new things.

Maddie started saying a new words this weekend. It is "THIS". So, she points to random things that she wants and says "this...this...this..." So I am trying to guess what she wants and hold something up and she shakes her head no and I try something else until she says ya,smiles real big, and gets excited. She definitely knows what she wants versus what she doesn't want now.

Reading in her new big girl chair while Mommy gets ready for work. I wish this would last longer that 10 seconds!!!

Blowing bubbles with Daddy!!

Not that we aren't paying attention to her, but sometimes we find Maddie in the strangest places--like the blanket basket in the corner of the room drinking her sippy!

Maddie loves playing in the water with her daddy!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's super daddy!

You better not be thinking about stealing my car!

Mommy's new workout!!

Here is your golf ball daddy!

Happy DADDY!!

Daddy's girls...

Fun in the sun!

Maddie loves to pick flowers for Mommy and Daddy.

16 Months

2010-06-08T21:40:00.000-04:00

A little late, but here is Maddie's 16 month update! It is so funny as she gets older she is getting easier and harder to take care of at the same time. She is starting to do so many more things by herself right now--feeding herself, entertaining herself, and walking by herself. She wants to do everything on her own now and at the same time she wants Mommy right there. She is having a hard time with Mommy paying attention to anything besides her, so this limits me being able to cook, clean, or anything really. I am still loving every minute of it. I told Josh we are just going to have to start ordering pizza more often!! :)

At 16 months Maddie...

Tries to feed herself with a spoon & fork (with some success)
Doesn't want mom to feed her at all
Drinks from a straw easily
Makes lots of messes when she tries to feed herself
Uses her imagination a lot more
Knows a few body parts--she knows her belly, toes, hands, and nose right now
Can put shapes in a shape sorter (most of the time--she throws the blocks if she can't get it in and gets frustrated)
Loves to clean!! YES!!! If she spills something on the floor, I will give her a paper towel and she will go clean it up! She likes to wipe her highchair tray when she is done eating!
Hates having her diaper changed
Wants to be held a lot!
Plays with her baby dolls--feeds them, covers them with blankets, kisses, and snuggles them
Teases Peanut all the time by grabbing his toys, dangling them in front of his face, and then running away until he finally chases her
Goes to Peanut's treat box, points at it and says "Peana" over and over until we give her a bone to give to him
Knocks on the door when she thinks someone is behind it
Opens doors easily
Talks non-stop!!!
Says Peana (Peanut), Buddy, Mo-ie (Molly), Daddy, Mommom (Mommy), Hi, Hello, Bye, Mo (More), Bucket, Duck, Bu-ie (Birdie), Ba-ie (Bunny), Ba (sippy), Mi (Milk), Bee (Blankie), Aaa da (All Done), Baby, Oh no, No...

Maddie's Favorites are...

Grapes and Veggie Pizza!
Playing outside
Feeding the geese/ducks at the lake
Swinging

A rare picture with her hair down! No one can believe how long it is when she doesn't have her piggies!

Can we say ORNERY?? She knows the stairs are off limits, but likes to test us every chance she gets.

I always give her kitchen items to play with while I am cooking. I turned around the other day and she had the bowl on her head and was swinging the wooden spoon I gave her like a fairy wand!! I love to watch her use her imagination!

Maddie got her first Vera Bradley purse. She loves to carry it over her shoulder, wave, and say "bye"!

Pictures Galore!!

2010-06-07T20:52:00.009-04:00

I have been horrible about updating pictures lately. I don't know where all of my time is going. I think I need to start multi-tasking better. Ha! Ha!

Maddie got her first set of golf clubs and has been having fun in the front yard with them! I think she likes twirling them better than hitting the golf balls!

Wow Mom! Look at my golf ball!

Trying to walk in Daddy's shoes!!

Josh took Maddie and I to a baseball game. It was so much fun! Maddie did really well and sat in the bleachers for almost 2 hours!! I was happy we had 100 SPF sunscreen!

Maddie is very in to bubbles right now. She loves trying to hold the wand and fake blows. When a bubble doesn't come out she sticks the wand in her mouth. She is sitting on the Adirondack chair Josh made this last winter.

Oh so happy to be outside!

Our friend's son Graham holding Rosalie! It is funny I don't remember Maddie ever being that small!

Maddie playing with Mitch and Annie. Mitch was trying to teach Maddie how to throw the ball.

Peanut holding his babydoll. He tries to pick Maddie's toys up every chance he gets! Maddie is so in love with Peanut. She loves laying on the ground and letting him lick her.

Grandpa Dave had his hip replaced a few weeks ago. Maddie & Uncle Josh took advantage of his walker, by racing around the house on it!

Uncle Josh and Maddie helping Grandpa Dave recover!

Maddie had her first carosel ride. She didn't know what to think the first few laps, but I think she ended up enjoying the experience!

This is what happened when we took her off of the carosel!

We spent some time at the lake with Cousin Brayden. I absolutely love his little hat!

Mommy and Maddie!! Got to love those smiles!!

Brayden's first boat ride of the season! This picture makes me laugh out loud!

Maddie couldn't get enough of the geese. I need to video tape it because it is just way too cute. She just giggles and giggles everytime you give the geese a piece of bread!!

Blue eyes!!

Here comes Princess Maddie on the Pricness mobile!!

Josh and Uncle Josh caught a ton of fish at the lake (59 bluegill, 3 perch, 1 crappie, & 1 bass), so we had a fish fry!!

My wild child with her bike helmet on!!

15 Months!!!

2010-04-29T21:55:00.002-04:00

Ok, I had a great inspiration to do an update on what Maddie was doing every month, but I have now missed a few months. Time definitely gets away from me. I can't believe Maddie is 15 months old! This last month has just been amazing. I feel like she has been learning and doing so much more!! Every time she does something new I just love soaking it in. We went to the see Dr. Amy, Maddie's pediatrician today. She weighed 23 lbs 7 oz (60th percentile), measured 31 inches tall (75th percentile), and her head measured 18 inches (50th percentile). Maddie got 2 shots today--the Pentacel and Prevnar 13. She did really well with her shots, but was pretty clingy when we came home and started getting a temp right before bed. Poor baby! I hate shots!

Right now Maddie...

Walks really fast--almost a run sometimes

Puts her cookies in the slot on her cookie jar

Understands simple directions--"Give it to Peanut", "Lay down", "Get the bear", "Kiss Mommy"

Has 12 teeth!!

Says- Bye Bye, More (sometimes comes out as bore), Hi, Mama, Dada, Du (for duck), Ba (Sippy), Baba (Baby), Buddy (Grandma & Grandpa's dog), Pea (for Peanut), Bu (book)

Puts different shapes in her shape sorter (when I show her where to put them)

Wears size 18 month clothes

Is about to change to size 4 diapers

Enjoys playing with Peanut (more than Peanut likes playing with her)

Sleeps 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., 1.5 hour morning nap & 2 hour afternoon nap

Hates having her diaper changed

Is fascinated with turning lights on and off

Opens doors, this includes the door to the basement!

Eats everything!!! Her favorite foods are grapes, goldfish, and pizza

Loves being a mommy to her baby dolls!

Loves to play "Shopping"
Signs bye, all done, more

Daddy and Maddie before church one morning

I just love this picture of Maddie. She loves playing with my camera case. She pretends that it is a little purse! She is really into playing "shopping" right now. I give her a paper shopping bag with handles and she will fill it up with random things she finds around the house and then she carries all of the things she has purchased around the house. I find the strangest things in her shopping bag some days!

One evening after work Maddie and I were playing. She was pushing her little baby around in the stroller and she started to walk toward the couch with her blanket on it. I thought that she must be getting tired and ready to go to bed when she picked up her blanket, but she surprised me. She carried her blanket back to her stroller and covered her baby up. My heart just melted. I had never covered her baby up with the blanket. It was something she had thought of all on her own. It was so much fun getting a little glimpse into how her mind works. After her baby was warm under the blanket, she started pushing her around again.

A few days later, Maddie and I were playing with her cookies and her cookie jar. I started doing something for a few minutes and turned around to play with the cookie jar again and we were missing some cookies. I looked around for them for a few minutes and then we started playing with something else. It wasn't until after she went to bed and I started picking up her toys that I found the missing cookies. She had given them to her baby to eat. My little girl is getting so creative!! It is so exciting!

No more monkeys I mean Maddies jumping on the bed!!

Down on the farm!

Great Grandpa Beck

2010-04-25T20:31:00.002-04:00

Our family said goodbye to Great Grandpa Beck last week. Josh’s grandfather turned 80 years old on April 11th. We were able to go down to his grandma and grandpa’s house to celebrate his birthday with the rest of Josh’s family. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Great Grandpa Beck seemed happy and healthy. All was fine until Thursday morning when Josh got a phone call from his mom saying that they were taking his grandpa to the local hospital with chest pains. They diagnosed him with a heart attack and decided it would be best to airlift him to a hospital that specializes in cardiac cases. When he got to the heart hospital, they were able to do a heart cath and placed stent in his heart. All seemed to be going well until Josh got a phone call a little while later saying that his grandpa had taken a turn for the worse and his kidneys were shutting down. They had done more testing and found that his aortic valve was leaking. They decided to do surgery to try to repair the leaking valve, but it was very risky. Josh’s grandpa survived the surgery, but ended up passing away Thursday night. It was so sudden and surprised everyone.

Great Grandpa Beck was loved by everyone. He was such a good example to all who met him. Josh spoke at his funeral and told a story about how he was helping out on the farm when he was about 10 or 11 years old and his grandpa offered to let him drive the truck. Josh happily hopped into the driver’s seat and took off down the road under the guidance of his grandpa. They started approaching another farm truck that was parked on the side of the road. Josh’s grandpa told him to pull over to the side of the road a little more because he was too close to the truck, so Josh turned the wheel a little more. Grandpa said I think you need to turn a little more. Josh turned a little more and “SMASH”. Grandpa told Josh to stop the truck, so he stopped and Grandpa went back to check out the damage. Meanwhile, Josh slipped back into the passenger seat, because he knew that he would be in trouble for hitting the other truck. Grandpa came back, opened the passenger door and said “What are you doing over here? Get back in the Driver’s seat”. Evidently Josh had just clipped the mirror a little bit and that everything was fine. Josh’s grandpa taught him how important it was to never give up that day and it was a lesson that has stuck with him. Grandpa Beck will be missed.

Grandma and Grandpa Beck meeting Madelyn for the first time!

Suggle time with Great Grandpa and Grandma

Merry Christmas Great Grandpa

Great Grandpa blowing out the candles on his 80th birthday.

Busy Busy Becks

2010-04-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy lately. I have been having trouble finding time to blog. I am going to try to recap the last few weeks.

My good friends' Sandra and Neal came home to have their daughter Vivian baptised. She is the cutest little girl. She was so good even when the priest poured water over her head. Maddie on the other hand crunched on goldfish and smacked her lips through the entire baptism! I was so embarrassed! Someone needs to teach my daughter some manners! After the baptism, Vivian's Grandmother--Grannie Annie as she likes to be called--threw a party to celebrate.

Maddie and I with Sandra and Vivian

Vivian, the priest, her parents, and God parents

The newly baptised girl!!

Maddie and Aunt Geneva

The after party...The high school gang back together again plus a few extras. It was so funny trying to take this picture with 5 kids!! Believe it or not this was the best picture of like 10 attempts! From left to right Sandra & Vivian, Rachel & Tyson, Angie & Preslie & Gavin, Me & Maddie

We have been to lots of parties! My mom and Great Grandpa Beck both had birthdays on April 11th, which we celebrated with each of them. We went out to dinner for my mom's birthday and had cake from my dad's co-worker after dinner. Maddie was hilarious with her cake. We put one piece of cake on the Maddie's highchair and she picked it up and ate it like an apple. She did not put it down once!! Great Grandma Beck threw a party for Great Grandpa Beck. It was so nice seeing everyone again. Josh's brother Cory is going into the Air Force and leaves May 11th for basic training. His birthday is in July, so his fiancee decided to throw him a surprise birthday party since he is going to miss spending his birthday with his friends. Needless to say Maddie enjoyed having cake 3 days in a row!!

Maddie enjoyed eating Grandma Patty's birthday cake!!

This is the after cake picture!! Mmmm that was good!

Maddie had fun waiting to surprise Uncle Cory with her kazoo!

Happy Surprise Birthday Uncle Cory!!

With the nice weather we have been going on lots of walks and bike rides. One night we too Maddie over to the park and let her swing on the swings. She LOVED IT!! She started crying when I took her out of the swing. Josh and I both think tat she is going to be our little dare devil! The higher and faster she was going, the happier she was!

Daddy and Maddie. How cute!!

I love this!! Can we go higher!!

All done at the park...time to go home!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T19:26:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! We have had a wonderful Easter weekend. Maddie had her picture taken with live bunny rabbits. It turned out so cute!! I just love it. We have been practicing "Easter Egg Hunting" at our house all week, so she could go to the Easter Egg Hunt. She has had so much fun!!

We went to church this morning and it is getting so much harder to keep her occupied during the sermon. I took a bunch of parmesean and graham cracker goldfish. I started feeding her as soon as the sermon started not paying attention to what I was giving her. After a while, I was having trouble keeping her in my lap and feeding her at the same time, so I gave Josh the goldfish to feed her. He tried handing her a parmesean goldfish and she very clearly and loudly said "NO!" She only wanted to eat the graham cracker goldfish. She is definitely getting a mind of her own. She wants to be down and running around all the time. After church we came home and had her Easter Egg Hunt. She did very well. I was surprised that she was able to focus and find all of her eggs. I guess all of our practice this week has paid off.

We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa W's on the way home from church to show them Maddie's Easter Dress. They gave Maddie her Easter Basket, she was so excited to see a chocolate bunny and PEEPS!

She was so excited about the chocolate bunny that she wouldn't even set it down to ride her horsie!

Classic family Easter pic...

Maddie and the live bunny rabbits!!

Our first practice egg hunt. Josh and I thought we would try to encourage her to find the eggs by putting M&Ms in them. She has never had an M&M before and we could not talk her into eating them at all. I guess that just means more M&Ms for her daddy!

Saturday morning there was an Easter Egg Hunt at a local park. Maddie didn't find any eggs, but she found lots of candy here she is with both hands full.

She got tired during the middle of the Easter Egg Hunt and had to sit down, rest, and eat some candy.

After the Easter Egg Hunt Maddie wanted to say hi to the mascot from the radio station. I don't think she quite knew what to think about him. She would walk over close to him and then turn back and run to Josh or I. She never got closer than 10 feet to him.

Just so you know how far away she was from Froggy...

Easter Day Great Aunt Cathy, Uncle Tim, Heather, and Darci brought Maddie some PEEPS and a beautiful dress. She was so protective of her PEEPS.

The Easter Bunny brought Maddie a new bike helmet and bike seat!! We had to try it out. She was so quiet the whole ride. We rode 3-4 miles on our bikes after dinner and Josh and I were dying!!

MARCH 2010!!

2010-03-28T16:38:00.007-04:00

Ok...I just keep getting worse and worse at updating our blog. March has been another busy month at our house. I went to a conference in Chicago at the beginning of the month and then helped out with the Hands and Voices Conference for children with hearing impairments and their families one weekend. We just got back from vacation yesterday, so it seems like the month has just flown and we haven't been home hardly at all. Josh has been working hard at Guardian. He has lots of projects right now, which keep him busy. Maddie is growing like crazy. Josh and I both think she grew 2-3 inches while we were on vacation. Since we got back home, she has been able to reach items on the kitchen table. I guess we are going to have to start sitting things up even higher!! Here are some pictures of our vacation we took to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my parents and my little brother Josh.

Grandma shopped Maddie till she dropped!!

Maddie went for her first Duckie ride.

She absolutely loved it and started screaming in the middle of the mall when we took her off and tried to go home.

Maddie took good care of her daddy's golf balls.

We did a little (ok maybe a lot) of shopping. I stepped in to a store to look at something when I came out I found Maddie and her Daddy both covered in ice cream!! :) Daddy forgot to get any for me!!

I think Maddie may be an audiologist. She kept inspecting Grandpa's ears at dinner!

So maybe I shop too much and should pay more attention to Maddie, but we were at another shopping center checking things out and when I found Maddie and Grandma they were both on a cotton candy sugar high!!

Maddie saw the ocean for the first time. She didn't know what to think about the sand at first, but after a minute or two she had a blast!! The weather was a little cool (65-70), but e still had lots of fun walking on the beach.

More fun looking for seashells...

Wow the sun is bright on the beach!!

Maddie's favorite thing was the hotel pool!! It was extremely warm and they had a fun baby pool with lots of fun waterfall type things. Maddie was all over the place in the baby pool and even started walking through the water falls and sticking her face under water on her own. She is going to be so much fun at the lake this summer!

She is just so cute!

The pool also had an indoor lazy river. We made lots of laps around it!

I know, I can't deny it anymore. Maddie does look just like her daddy. It becomes more and more apparent to me each and everyday!

We also visited Hooters in Myrtle Beach per Uncle Josh's request. The waitress gave Maddie a balloon that says "FUTURE HOOTERS GIRL" I don't know what her dad thought about that, but Maddie loved the balloon. She started to try and say balloon, but it just comes out "Ba oo". It is so cute!!

Hot mamas ready for the beach!! :)

Our family picture. It was very windy and sunny, thus why everyone is squinting in the picture. Believe it or not this is the best picture I could find of the 3 of us!

We drove down and back. Maddie was amazingly well. She slept most of the way and would occassionally get tired of sitting in her carseat (very understandable as it is a 14 hour drive). We stopped a few times, which seemed to perk her up and she would be good for a few more hours. Uncle Josh sat with her in the back on the way home and he tried sharing his music with her. She loved it as you can see by the picture!

Uncle Josh taught Maddie how to kick a beach ball. Here she is showing off her skills on the beach!

Beck Update

2010-02-21T21:07:00.006-05:00

The last two weeks have been pretty rough. I thought that after Maddie's birthday party we would just relax and enjoy having some time at home just the three of us, but God had a different plan for us. The Saturday after Maddie's party, February 6th, my Grandma Worthington passed away. She had been battling lung cancer for many years and was finally taken home early Saturday morning. I went to visit her a few times the week before she passed away. The night before she passed away, Josh and Maddie and I all went together. I was afraid that Maddie would disturb her as Maddie is getting loud these days, so I had Josh and Maddie stay in the lobby of the hospital while I went and sat with my Grandmother, Dad, and brother Josh. Grandma was in and out for a little while and didn't really say much. At one point I was helping her get a drink and she asked me what Josh and Maddie were doing and I told her that they were down the hallway and asked if she wanted to see them. She said that it would be nice to see Maddie. So I had Josh and Maddie come in to visit for a little while and Grandma W just lit up! She seemed so happy seeing Maddie. It brings tears to my eyes right now just thinking about how excited she was to see her. Maddie played with Grandma W's little prayer lamb a little bit, before she started getting tired and had to go home with her daddy. I am so glad that I have such a good memory of the last time we spent time together. Grandma W was a very determined lady and she would tell you exactly what she thought. No matter what, you could count on her to be honest with you. She will definitely be missed.

Grandma W. and Maddie at Grandma W's 80th birthday party this last October.

Later that same week, Josh (my husband) called me to tell me that he didn't feel very well and that he went home from work early. He said that he had chills and kept feeling like he was going to pass out. So I left work a little early to take him to the doctor's office. The doctor thought that he had an infection and said that he needed to see a specialist. Josh was worked in the following day to see the specialist and he said that he needed surgery. So we spent our Valentine's Eve in the operating room. My parents watched Maddie while we were at the hospital and my mom called about 5:00 that evening to tell me that Maddie had a temperature of 102 and that she was really fussy. So I spent Valentines Day taking care of Josh and Maddie. Luckily Josh's mom was able to take off a few days and come up to take care of Josh and Maddie so I could go to work, since I had just missed a few days the week before for my Grandmother's funeral. Maddie is much better now and Josh is slowly improving, but he is still REALLY SORE!! He is in a lot of pain and just can't get comfortable. He stayed home from work for the past week, but will hopefully be returning for 1/2 days sometime this week. CRAZY!! I tell you what just when I think things are going to settle down. Hopefully all of our excitement is over for 2010.

On to happier news...Maddie started walking today!! She is just taking 4-5 steps at a time before falling down, but she finally decided it was ok to let go of the wall, couch, mom or whatever she was holding on to. Josh has been trying to drink a lot of water, so he has a huge mug with a straw that I got when I was in the hospital and taught Maddie how to drink out of the straw today. Maddie is getting more and more vocal and adventurous. She was trying to open the door to the garage tonight and I said "Bye Bye" and she turned to me and said "Bye Bye" and waved. I guess she doesn't need her mom anymore, she thinks she is ready for the world. :)

Maddie loves to push her baby in her new stroller. I put a different doll in the stroller and she pick the other doll up threw her on the floor and put her "baby" back in. She is so funny and definitely has a mind of her own.

Whenever we let Peanut outside, Maddie likes to go to the window and watch him. She gets a big kick whenever she sees anything/anyone out the window. The neighbor walked out to get her mail the other day and Maddie saw her from across the room, Maddie crawled as fast as she could to the window and started waving frantically, but of course our neighbor was already back inside. Maddie was so disappointed that no one waved back.

I think this is my new favorite picture. She looks so stinking ornery!!

Practicing for the big show!

Josh's Grandma Dorothy gave this little piano to Maddie at her Birthday party and she just can't get enough of it. It has a little bench part that she sits on and just plays away. She always looks so excited/surprised at how beautiful the music she is making sounds.

Double trouble...Peanut and Maddie

Here is some video of Maddie walking. Please pay no attention to her crazy hair. I promise I do comb it from time to time!! :)

Maddie's 1st Birthday Party!!!!!

2010-02-01T21:45:00.008-05:00

We had Maddie's first birthday party on Saturday, January 30th! We had such a wonderful day!! We just invited family members and ended up having around 32 people between my family and Josh's family. It was so nice to have everyone together. Most of Josh's family hadn't seen our house before, so it was fun having them see where we live.

The theme of Maddie's party was green and pink polka dots. I made polka dot invitations. They were postcards that were stamped on one side with the party details and little circles glued on the other side.

My hand crafted invitation! I thought that they were going to be very easy to make, but it ended up taking a lot longer than I thought for each invitation.

Of course we hadd to have a polka dotted cake too. The polka dots are green and pink fondant. One of my dad's friends made the cakes. They were WONDERFUL!! She dropped them off around 10:00 the morning of the party and I could smell the butter cream frosting everytime I walked by the table. So I was dying to eat cake by the time the party started!!

Random picture of the kitchen and the 6 ft. sub we ordered! It was really yummy too!

My mom cut circles out and we hung them up in various places around the house. We had a "Can you spot the dot?" game where I had everyone guess how many polka dot decorations we had around the house. Great Grandma Dorothy was the winner with 62 polka dots hanging on the walls/doors.

We just finished remodeling our basement, since it flooded last July. We don't have much furniture down there yet, so it was the perfect place to set up extra tables.

Maddie's present table!! It was overflowing!!

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL just relaxing!!

Maddie was so cute. She got a big kick whenever anyone would clap and yell "Yeah". So of course all 32 adults had to keep clapping and yelling to get her excited. Maddie loved it.

Maddie had her very own polka dot cake. She didn't like how her it felt when she stuck her fingers in it and started to get a little upset until she accidently got a little bit in her mouth and then she couldn't get enough of the cake!

She was so funny. She picked all the polka dots off the cake and ate those first. She ended up eating about 1/3 of her cake!! I knew she had a few of my genes in there somewhere!

Post-after cake bath we went for a few wagon rides with baby.

Hanging out with Uncle Cory is so much fun!!!

Those toy boxes are always so much fun too! Uncle Cory and Maddie had a lot of fun playing hide and seek in the wagon box!

Grandpa Beck and the Birthday Girl!

After a good night's rest, Maddie was so excited to see her new toys the next morning!!

Happy 1st Birthday Maddie!!!!

2010-01-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

WOW!! I can't believe a year has already gone by. It seems like it has gone so fast and slow at the same time. I cannot imagine our lives without Maddie, it seems like she has been a part of our family forever. For the past week Josh and I have been reliving what we did a year ago at this time. It is so weird thinking about our lives without her. She is such a sweet heart. We are so blessed.

At one year Maddie is...

Taking a few steps here and there (2-3) before falling
Runs behind her shopping cart and princess mobile
Saying Baba for Baby, Oh Oh for Uh oh, Mama, and Dada
She loves to feed herself--if I am spoon feeding her she will help me by putting Cheerios on the spoon herself
Eating all big girl food
Sleeping 7:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. on weekdays. (She sleeps in longer on the weekends!! Hurray!)
Nursing in the morning and at night with 2 formula bottles during the day
Wearing 12 months clothes
Loving Peanut--she chases him around the house all day, poor dog!
A mommy...she has 2 baby dolls she loves to rock, kiss, and snuggle
A shoe addict--she picks up my shoes and tries to put them on her feet
Obsessed with talking on the phone. She loves to hold it up to her ear and act like she is talking on it.
Able to stack cups/buckets inside one another and rings on a little cone
Able to put coins in the slot of her piggy bank

She is just way too much fun right now. It is so much fun to see her pretending with her toys and doing new things. It is amazing watching it all unfold in front of our eyes.

Happy Birthday Maddie!!

Random January Pictures

2010-01-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

My friend Sandra and her wonderful husband Neal live in Houston, Texas. They had a beautiful baby girl, Vivian, in October and traveled up to Indiana to visit for a few weeks in January. It was so much fun having them home. I keep trying to talk her into moving closer so we can have play dates. Vivian is such a cute, tiny baby. It is hard to think that Maddie was ever that small. Maddie was very fascinated watching Vivian and became very jealous whenever I held Viv!!

Maddie was mesmerized by Vivian!

Sandra and Maddie playing babies!

Vivian was SO TINY!! It is so strange holding a teeny, tiny baby after toting 20+lbs Maddie around. Vivian felt like a little feather. I think Vivian is going to take after her mommy and be tall and thin!

Ok, for the rest of the pictures you probably need an explanation. Poor little Maddie's face has been really chapped lately. The weather is so cold and dry and she is drooling like crazy because her molars are starting to come in, which makes conditions perfect for incredibly chapped skin. I have been putting Aquaphor on her face, which is helping a lot. I went to put it on her before bed one night and she bumped my hand it all went into her hair. She had a major "Something About Mary" moment. She looks so cute even with a huge spike of crazy hair coming out of the middle of her head.

Can you see her spike??

Profile view!

Our greasy little unicorn!

Peek-a-boo

2010-01-15T20:41:00.000-05:00

Josh and Maddie spent a day together while I was at work. Josh was able to take these photos while they were playing peek-a-boo around the ottoman in our family room. Maddie is such a happy, fun baby. I think these pictures capture her personality perfectly.

Here I am daddy!

Where did you go?

Oh Daddy you are silly!

Beck Christmas!

2009-12-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

We spent December 26th with Josh's family. We went to his parent's house and celebrated with his mom, dad, Abby, Blake, and Cory and then we went to Josh's grandparent's house to celebrate with his extended family. Maddie was so good traveling. She had so much fun seeing all of her aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

What a good family picture!! Abby (Josh's sister), Blake (Abby's Husband), Cory (Josh's brother), Josh, Maddie, and Me!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Beck were so excited to see Maddie too.

This picture cracks me up. Josh's cousin Brandon was holding Maddie, so I thought I would take a picture. Of course there were ten people behind me trying to get Maddie to look at the camera and smile. So, Maddie looks at the camera and smiles and I actually get the picture, but Brandon's eyes were closed. So I gave him the lecture on how it is the adult's job to smile and make eye contact with the camera at all costs, so this was his second attempt.

Maddie loves playing with this massager. I guess the vibration feels good on her teeth. It lights up too. It is the most perfect diaper bag toy. She will play with it forever whenever I pull it out.

Happy girl!!

Grandma Beck and Maddie had fun playing with Maddie's new puppy.

Come on Uncle Cory smile with me!!

Christmas night!!

2009-12-31T10:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am way over documenting Christmas, but it was so much more fun this year with Maddie!! Christmas evening we went to my parent's house to cellebrate with my mom, dad, Jonathan, Jessica, Brayden, and Little Josh. My mom went WAY over board with the presents this year with Brayden and Maddie. You could barely walk through the house it was so full of presents!!

Holy Moly!! Look at all of those gifts!! My mom is a crazy Christmas Shopper and always over does it!!

Uncle Josh helped Maddie open some of her gifts...he is such a good Uncle!!

Brayden and Maddie got matching jammies. They appropriately say "What Santa doesn't bring me Grandma will!"

Maddie and Brayden also got matching 4-wheelers. The both absolutely loved them!!

Brayden is ready to go off roading.

We also watched the Colts game together on Sunday, so I included a few pictures of that too.

I love this picture of Maddie she is so proud to be walking behind her grocery cart!

3 BIG Colts fans!! :)

Morr Christmas...

2009-12-31T09:58:00.004-05:00

We spent Christmas afternoon with the Morr side of the family. My Aunt Cathy had Christmas at her house. She made a fabulous prime rib. As aways we had way too much food!! Maddie had to wear her Christmas hair bows and her new puffy vest!! Little girls are so much fun!!

After dinner we had a "White Elephant" gift exchange. Josh and I took a "Lucky Seat", which was a toilet seat covered in lottery tickets. I thought it would be a good joke, but it ended up being one of the big gifts everyone tried to steal. We were the proud winners of a cook book and a big jar of M&Ms!! Josh couldn't have been happier. We had so much fun spending time with everyone.

Maddie has an obsession with clapping. She was so excited to get her picture taken with Heather and Darci (cousins).

Great Grandma Worthington came to the Morr Christmas party because we weren't able to go to the Worthington Christmas. I think Maddie wants to reach out and touch someone!

Pretty girls!! Three very beautiful blond babes!!!

(Janelle, Maddie, and Jenna)

Brayden & Maddie got matching sleds from Aunt Julie & Uncle Joe! It was so funny Maddie just kept sitting in hers in the middle of the room. I think that it was like having her very own little chair!

Look how tall I am!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-29T20:43:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope your family did too! It is so amazing how much more I got into the Christmas Spirit this year with Maddie. Not that I don't love Christmas every year, but this year was very special. It is so much more fun when you are buying things that you know will put a great big smile on your daughter's face!! We started some of our own family Christmas traditions this year. We spent Christmas morning together as a family just Josh, Maddie, and I. We had special Santa Cakes for breakfast. I found a picture of these in a magazine about 7 years ago and told Josh that when we had kiddos we were going to have Santa Cakes Christmas morning and I finally got to make them!! After breakfast, Josh read the Christmas story from the Bible to us and then we opened our presents together.

Santa was very good to Maddie and brought her a little shopping cart, a shape game, a tea set, and of course her stocking was filled with new hair bows!! Mommy and Daddy got her a singing purse, an alphabet toy that goes on the refrigerator, and some clothes. Maddie wasn't really into opening gifts, especially after she found her shopping cart. She just wanted to play with all of her new toys! She is so cute with her shopping cart she can't walk on her own yet, but she was all over with the help of her shopping cart. Our house still looks like there has been a small explosion of toys. We haven't been home long enough to find new places for everything yet and it is driving me nuts!! Hopefully we can get things back together with the long New Year's weekend!

Maddie dove right in to the whipped cream!!

Closeup of a Santa Cake

Daddy's girls on Christmas morning

Maddie's new shopping cart!

A little glimpse into our Christmas morning.

Beck Caroling

2009-12-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Maddie joined the Beck Family for her first year of Christmas Caroling. For those of you who don't know about this Beck Family tradition I will explain. Josh's family is SOOO musically talented. Every year on the Sunday before Christmas Maddie's Great Grandpa Bill, his brothers (Uncle Joe and Uncle Norm), and sister (Aunt Bessie), all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren get together and go Christmas Caroling to the homes of elderly individuals in the Kokomo area that cannot get out during the Christmas season. I think there were approximately 62 carolers this year. There is always a big caravan of vehicles going to various homes across the Central Indiana countryside. I believe that they have been doing this for about 30 years now.

After caroling, there is a big dinner and performances. With the help of Josh's Great Aunt Bessie, the children put on a Christmas program and reenact the Nativity scene with costumes and all. This year two babies were born, Maddie and another little girl, so Aunt Bessie decided it would be best to have 2 baby Jesuses (?sp), 2 Marys, and 2 Josephs (she never wants to leave anyone out!!). The other little girl's mom and dad dressed up as Mary and Joseph, so Josh and I thought that we would be able to get away with just having Maddie be in the background and not "Baby Jesus". While all the other little kids were all getting ready in their costumes, they kept asking what Maddie was and why she didn't have a costume on. I wasn't sure what to tell them, so after they offered to have Maddie wear a cow costume for the 3rd time, I gave in. Maddie put a little cow hat and cow outfit on. Meantime the show had started and Aunt Bessie was calling for Baby Jesus #2, Mary #2, & Joseph #2 to enter. So Josh and I escorted our "Baby Jesus Cow" onto the stage. Josh and I about died from laughing. I never imagined our little girl as a "Baby Jesus Cow". Maddie hammed it up the whole time! The rest of the production was pretty uneventful, but I still giggle everytime I think about our "Baby Jesus Cow". I was so bummed that we didn't get any pictures, since we were all in the show.

At the end of the night all the Becks sing Silent night by generation. There are 4 generations presently, so each generation takes a turn and then they sing it all together in harmony. It is a pretty amazing experience, one that we hope continues for many years to come.

Maddie, Great Grandpa Bill, and Great Grandma Katie

Our visit to Santa's Chalet...

2009-12-20T19:48:00.000-05:00

Maddie had her first encounter with Saint Nick. We read a few books about Santa before we went to meet him, so she would be prepared. Somehow I don't think that it worked!! The pictures tell the story better than any story I could write!

Santa met us outside his Chalet.

He even brought one of his reindeer named Jingles for us to meet.

Everything started off fine in the comfort of Daddy's big strong arms...

Then Santa tried to coax Brayden over to his lap with a candy cane, but Brayden didn't want to have anything to do with it. So I thought if Maddie sat on Santa's lap Brayden would get curious.

And this is what we got a SCREAMING little girl. I think you can see all the way to her tonsils!!

Santa was so good with her, he is so happy and jolly even though he has a screaming baby on his lap! His happy faces crack me up.

Brayden decided to try Santa' lap too. Maddie seemed to calm down with Brayden at her side and finally we were able to get a decent, non-screaming picture! Good job Santa!

10 Months!!

2009-12-07T20:45:00.003-05:00

Maddie turned 10 months old on November 29! My how the time goes. I feel like I just did her 9 month post. She has changed so much in the last 30 days!! Here are a few things she is doing:

She must be growing, because she is wearing 50% 6-9 months stuff 50% 9-12 month stuff
Maddie claps when she gets excited or when she wants more of something
She has started shaking her head "NO" when she is full
She loves to dance when music comes on! She bobs her head up and down it is so funny!
Maddie plays peak-a-boo whenever you hand her a blanket. She holds it over her head and we act like we can't find her. She is so proud of herself when she uncovers her head!! I love it! She has also started doing this with things besides blankets, so her shoes, socks, toys, pants, etc. end up on top of her head/over her eyes and she thinks you can't see her.
She doesn't like laying down for naps anymore, so it takes her longer to fall asleep
Maddie has also started chewing on her crib rails. Yuck!
She is eating more big girl food noodles, chicken, pretty much whatever we are eating
Maddie is a waving fool, anytime someone walks by her she starts waving even if they are a complete stranger and/or if she just saw them 2 seconds earlier.
She is a VERY FAST crawler and is starting to let go when she stands up, so I don't think walking is far away. Oh no! She loves to go up the stairs whenever she thinks we aren't looking.

Ok, I said she was doing a few things, I guess she is doing A LOT of new things this month!! It is so much fun watching her grow, but it makes me sad at the same time that she is getting big so fast.

Maddie can standup nex to anything now, and tries to help Mommy clean.

Cleaning is so much fun!!

Our Christmas Tree

Maddie is excited that the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

This clip is a combo of Maddie dancing and playing peak-a-boo, nothing keeps her attention for very long.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T20:30:00.002-05:00

Maddie enjoyed her first Thanksgiving. We tried going to Grandma and Grandpa Beck's the weekend before to celebrate, but Maddie got sick while we were down there so we had to drive back home without seeing everyone we wanted to see. It was a bummer! I think it ruined Josh's plans for his time off. He took the whole week of Thanksgiving off to get things done at home and go hunting. He ended up staying home with a sick baby for most of the week. Maddie was feeling better by Thanksgiving and ended up feasting on turkey, green bean casserole, squash, and mashed potatoes. She is a VERY GOOD eater!! I still haven't found much she doesn't like. After dinner she took a big long nap...I was jealous!!

Cousin Time...Maddie, Jenna, Janelle, and Brayden giggling away at all the crazy adults trying to make two babies smile! You can't read all of Maddie's shirt, but it says "I'm Stuffed". I love it!

After dinner (and naps) we had clothes basket races around the house. Maddie had fun sitting on Brayden's lap. It was funny he got tired of sitting down so he got out and pushed her around in the basket for a little while!

Uncle Cory came up Thanksgiving night to go hunting with Josh. Josh and Cory had fun taking Maddie Black Friday shopping at Home Depot! Brave soles!!

Weekend Pics

2009-11-10T19:47:00.004-05:00

Maddie had tubes put in her ears on Friday, November 6th. She did awesome with the procedure. She wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight on Thursday. Josh and I were worried, because Maddie is HUNGRY from the moment she wakes up! We took lots of toys to keep her busy at the surgery center and she really didn't fuss about being hungry at all. Her surgery was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Dr. Disher came to ask us if we had any pre-op questions and said he was ready for her, so he carried her back to the OR himself. She went right to him and just sucked on her favorite two fingers. We were back in the recovery room with her by 8:45. She was initially a little cranky and cried for a minute or two, but after she drank a bottle you never would have known anything had happened to her. Dr. Disher said that all of the nurses in the OR fell in love with her! By 9:15 we were on our way back home. It amazes me how fast they are! We didn't know how what to expect from Maddie, so we had no plans for the weekend. It was so nice just relaxing at home!

Cheering for the Colts!!

I don't know how much longer she will fit in her toy tub!

Maddie started standing like crazy on Sunday!! She was pulling herself up with anything she could find! Oh no...that means walking can't be far away!

The dynamic duo...Daddy and Maddie!

I just love this picture!! So cute!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2009-11-10T19:27:00.004-05:00

On Monday November 2, Josh celebrated his 28th birthday!! His first birthday as a daddy!! We had a great time. Maddie and Josh picked me up after work and we met Grandma Patty, Grandpa Dave, and Brayden for dinner. Both Brayden and Maddie did so well at dinner. I gave one of Maddie's yogurt bites to Brayden and after that he wanted to eat the whole bag!! It was so funny. My mom would give him a puff or cereal and he would point towards the yogurt bites and sign "more". I have such a smart nephew! We had so much fun together as a family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

Daddy shared his cupcakes with Maddie! She couldn't have been happier!

Boy, Dad! That was yummy!! Is there anymore??

We also took Maddie for her first hair cut last week! It was so funny her babysitter was at the salon getting her hair cut at the same time and Maddie kept looking around when she heard her voice.

Crazy Hair Maddie in her before picture! Her hair is all over the place!

Mid hair cut...I wish I could know what she is thinking in this picture!

Maddie's after picture!! What a cutie!!

Happy Halloweenie!!

2009-11-01T16:04:00.003-05:00

I'm 9 months old...can you believe it?!?

Maddie had her 9 month check-up on Thursday! It is so hard to believe that she is already 9 months. I remember going to the mom’s group at the hospital when I was on maternity leave and I thought that the other babies seemed so big. I thought oh, my baby won’t be that big forever! Now it is 9 months later and she is one of those big babies! Maddie weighs 18 lbs and 8 ounces (50th percentile). She is 27 ¾ inches tall (50th percentile) and has a head circumference of 17 ¼ inches (55th percentile). She didn’t get any shots this time—they were out of flu shots so we have to go back on another day.

Maddie enjoyed her first Halloween. We tried to get the most out of her bumble bee costume. She ended up wearing it 3 days in a row!! Thursday we went to a local park that the city does a haunted walk. The weather was awesome so we took Maddie. The first part was all cute with carved pumpkins and Scooby Doo decorations. The second half was a little scary with skeletons, witches, strobe lights, and spooky music. She didn’t know quite what to think of the scary part. Friday she wore her costume to greet the trick-or-treaters as they visited our house. Janelle and Uncle Joe came over and helped us pass candy out to all the neighborhood kiddos. I think we probably had 75 trick-or-treaters! We had a small Halloween party at our house Saturday night. My parents are babysitting Brayden for the weekend since Jonathan and Jessica are on a cruise, so we had Brayden and Maddie wear their costumes together and all the aunts and uncles came over to check them out. We had a blast! Holidays are so much more fun with a baby!

Nellie caught the new sheriff in town. These cowboy/sheriff PJs are SOO cute! They have little fake spurs on the ankle!

Brayden was a little monkey. Isn't he adorable???

Maddie and Mommy at the great halloween walk.

Maddie didn't know what to think of the giant pumpkins!

I am going to steal an idea from one of the blogs I read…Ashley makes a cute little list of all the things her daughter is doing every month. I always like to hear what Audrey is doing, so I thought I would share Maddie’s likes/dislikes with all of you!

At 9 months Maddie…

· Crawls everywhere
· Wears mostly 9 months clothes
· Tries to pull herself up to things
· Loves to play with her princess mobile
· Eats mostly baby food still, but we like to try new big girl foods all the time—she loves noodles
· Has two foods allergies—pineapple and fruit flavored yogurt—way to go mom!
· Takes 3 naps a day!!
· Sleeps 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
· Gets very excited whenever she hears music
· Hates to get into her car seat
· Giggles whenever she sees Peanut
· Tries to sign “more”
· Gets told she looks just like her daddy all the time

Maddie's Princess Mobile that Great Aunt Lisa the Great gave her! She pushes this all around the house! After pushing it 5 million times a day, Maddie wore out her favorite button--the teapot!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDEN AND GREAT GRANDMA!!

2009-10-25T19:57:00.007-04:00

Maddie went to her first 2 birthday parties in the same weekend. On Saturday Brayden had his first birthday party. It was so much fun!! The Morr side of the family got together up at the lake to celebrate! We had a nice lunch and then Brayden opened all of his presents. He is a pretty lucky little boy because he got lots of new toys and clothes! He is running all around now, so we had a blast seeing him play with all of his new toys. He is starting to "follow directions" too. If you say "TOUCHDOWN" he puts his hands up in the air. He is also signing "more". He is so ornery!! He knows he is not allowed to go up the stairs, but every chance he got he tried to run up the stairs! He had lots of fun chasing Molly (Grandma Patty's miniture poodle) around too! She is just fast enough that he doesn't catch her often!

My favorite thing Brayden got was his superman cape! He looked so adorable wearing it around!

Super Brayden had fun riding his new firetruck around with Grandma. They put all the fires out at the lake!

Diva Maddie in her party clothes!

Mmmm...my favorite CHOCOLATE CAKE and it's all mine!

The phantom lawn mower!

Look I can crawl!

We celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday on Sunday. All of the grandkids and great-grandkids were able to come. We had a wonderful lunch with everyone and made some fun memories. It was so much fun seeing everyone. We definitely don't get together often enough. All the kids had a good time "taking care" of Maddie. She is getting to that stage where she doesn't like to be held all the time, but she ate up all the attention they were giving her. She loves to ham it up for everyone!

HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY GRANDMA WORTHINGTON!

I think Brayden is trying to decide if it is time to go to bed or eat more cake!!

I found Josh, Maddie, and Reese playing dolls in the basement!

Grandma Worthington looks great at her 80th birthday party!

Uncle Josh had fun playing with Maddie and Brayden too!

Brayden and Uncle Jonathan snuggling together.

One picture with all seven great grandchildren looking at the camera and smiling!?! I don't know how this happened. ( Left to right Riley, Madelyn, Reese, Ryan, Brayden, Owen, & Quinn)

Grandma Worthington, Josh, and Maddie living it up!

Maddie and her cutie daddie! They always make me smile!

Maddie and Addie!!

2009-10-25T19:48:00.004-04:00

Our regular babysitter went on vacation this last week so Madelyn ended up staying with my friend Stacia and her daughter Adelyn. They are only 3 weeks apart in age and oh so cute together!! I don't know how Stacia kept sane since they are both crawling and Adelyn is standing!! They stayed at Stacia's house for 3 days and 1 day at our house. I think that they had a lot of fun playing with each others toys! We had to go purchase some new big girl toys at the end of the week!

Sharing....what good girls!

Oh so happy Maddie!

Adelyn kept trying to teach Maddie how to stand up. She just hasn't figured it out yet!

Maddie loved Adelyn's table so much we had to go buy one!

Playing never gets old!

Come on...are you going to share some of those puffs???

Dad's Surgery

2009-10-13T19:54:00.002-04:00

My dad had surgery last Friday, October 9th in Columbus, Ohio. He had the robotic surgery to remove his prostate. Evidently the doctor in Columbus is one of the best around, so tht is where he wanted to go. Jonathan, Little Josh, Big Josh, Maddie, and I all went to Columbus to help take care of Dad and keep Mom company while she was waiting. His surgery started around 2:45 in the afternoon and finished around 5:00 p.m. He was in recovery for 2 hours beore we could see him. It was so hard to wait,but we were so thrilled when the doctor came in and told us that the surgery had went well and that the cancer appeared to be contained to the prostate.

Maddie was a champ at the hospital. She took naps in her stroller and had fun playing with her uncles. I was actually shocked at how well she did for not being able to crawl around on the floor. Little Josh and I had fun passing the time on www.thepeopleofwalmart.com website. I don't know if you have ever seen it, but it is hillarious. There are all these crazy pictures of unsuspecting people in Wal-Mart all over the country dressed in strange outfits or weird cars found in the parking lot. The best was when we saw a picture of a cow-print limo with a cow, pig, and chicken on the roof of the car and I yelled that car is in Auburn! Little Josh wouldn't believe me until Big Josh and my mom backed me up!

My dad has had a few rough days since he came home on Sunday, but is feeling better today according to my mom. Maddie came home from daycare sick yesterday, so we are trying to keep her as far away from my dad as possible. I took her to the pediatrician today and he said she had the stomach flu. Her temperature was 103 this afternoon when she woke up from her nap, so I hope she gets feeling better soon!

Just Buzzing Around!

2009-10-05T21:20:00.004-04:00

The County Fair was last week. Josh and I took Maddie up to check out the animals in the 4H barns. She was so funny when she saw the cows and horses. Her eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger. We had a really good time until I turned around and saw a cow trampling his owner, where we had just been standing seconds before hand. After that I decided we had seen enough of the animals.

On Friday, Maddie took part in the Pet Parade. It was SOOO MUCH FUN!!!! Maddie and Peanut were both bumble bees and let me tell you they were the cutest duo there!! They ended up winning second place. The winning group was dressed up like dirty laundry and a washing machine--I think we got ripped off! The real bumble bees liked Maddie's bright colors and flowers, so we had to keep shooing them away from her while I was pulling her through the parade root.

Two bees or not two bees...that is the question!

Our little bumble bee likes just hanging around!

The star of the show P Bee! I just love the stinger and antena!

She was so excited she won 2nd place, she started to clap!

Of course she had to taste her ribbon!!

Mommy and Daddy were so proud to have the cutest bees around!

Grandpa always makes Maddie giggle!

At the end of the day we had one sleepy bee!

I think Maddie was the crowd favorite!! :)

September!!!

2009-10-01T22:23:00.003-04:00

Maddie has been having lots of fun lately...she got new hair bows!!!

And a new hat, which we had to have a photo shoot with!

So serious! I don't think she was loving the hat as much as her mommy was!

Are you ready for some football??? My friend Emily got Maddie the PU shirt a few months ago and she just found PU hair bows for Maddie. We had to sport them for the Notre Dame game!! This was Maddie's face when PU was winning!!

Here is Maddie when PU ended up losing!! Bummer!

Besides watching football, Maddie has been swinging at Grandma's

Sliding with Daddy at his company picnic

More fun at Daddy's picnic!! This is my new wallpaper on my phone, they both look so cute!

Labor Day

2009-09-13T14:12:00.002-04:00

Maddie is feeling MUCH better now. She still has a runny nose and has a little rattle when she breathes sometimes, but she is back to her smiley self. I take for granted what an awesome baby she is. Josh and I just love her so darn much, it broke our hearts to see her sad and miserable.

We went to the lake for Labor Day weekend. Uncle Blake, Uncle Cory, and Auntie Abby all came up to hang out on the water and visit. We had so much fun! The Smith family and Great Grandma Morr were also able to join us for an awesome barbeque Sunday! As usual, we had way to much food--I think I gained at least 10 pds! My mom made a new Texas Sheet Cake, and I ate at least half of it. So much for will power.

My mom and I went to a craft festival over the weekend and Maddie got some new hair bows, so you may see some different bows in the pictures to come. I think I am officially addicted to hair bows. I am going to have to find a hair bows annonymous group to start therapy.

Uncle Blake can definitely make Maddie smile!

Whoa look at those muscles!! Uncle Cory and Maddie enjoyed some time at the lake too!

What were you saying?

Breakfast with Grandpa Dave is always fun!

Ok, I just think this picture is hillarious. Josh is sitting next to Maddie and Peanut. It looks like he has their full attention. I think he had some sort of food. It looks like they are paying close attention to his every move.

Happy 60th Anniversary

2009-09-13T13:54:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago we went down to Galveston to celebrate Josh's Grandparents 60th Wedding Anniversary!! It was great to share the day with them. It is so rare these days to find people who are celebrating so many wonderful years of marriage. They are an inspiration! Josh and I are so blessed to have so many wonderful marriages in our families to serve as examples to us.

Bill and Katie Beck

Maddie and Great Grandma Katie

Maddie's Trip to the Hospital

2009-09-02T22:27:00.003-04:00

We went to Josh's parents over the weekend and I noticed Maddie had a slightly runny nose just as we were starting to pack up and leave on Sunday. I didn't think much about it, she has had a runny nose in the past, and it wasn't a big deal. That night Maddie woke up several times, which is very unusual for her. She has been sleeping through the night consistently since she was 2 months old, so it was really strange, but I thought that it might have been her teeth coming in or the start of an ear infection. Monday morning I took her temp before work since she was up all night--I didn't want to send her to the babysitter sick--and it was 98.9. So, I took her to the sitter and told her that Maddie had a rough night. I went to work and called to check on her around 10:00. The sitter said that Maddie was doing fine that she had played after I had dropped her off and that she went down for her morning nap around 9:00. Around 10:45 I received a call from the babysitter who said that Maddie woke up from her nap and was breathing funny. No mom ever wants to hear that, so I made sure my schedule was covered at work for the afternoon and left to go pick Maddie up. On my way home I called to make an appointment with her pediatrician--they gave me a 3:00 appointment. When I arrived at the sitter Maddie was pretty much gasping for air and making really strange noises when she was trying to breath. I immediately called the pediatrician's office to see if we could get in sooner than 3:00. The nurse on the phone asked if that was Maddie's breathing she was hearing in the background I told her yes and she put me on hold for about 30 seconds. When she came back she told me to take Maddie to the closest ER. I immediately called Josh and told him what was going on. By the time I had Maddie in her car seat, Josh was in the driveway waiting for us. We took her the DeKalb ER, where they gave her a breathing treatment and took some X-rays to make sure she didn't have an obstruction in her airway or pneumonia. The X-rays looked great. Maddie continued to have trouble breathing despite 2 breathing treatments, so the ER doctor recommended that Maddie be admitted to the hospital. Maddie's pediatrician group (Fort Wayne Peds) only goes to Parkview Main and Lutheran Hospital, so they sent us to Lutheran. We arrived at the hospital around 3:00. It was a complete mess. DeKalb had called a head and made arrangements for us, we were even told a room number yet we still had to wait 30 minutes in the Lutheran Lobby to get registered. We went up the peds floor and 3 nursing students came in to take Maddie's vitals--between the three of them they couldn't figure out how to work the pulse oximeter and the blood pressure cuff (which was automatic!!). So we didn't feel real great about our start at the hospital. The nurse came in at 3:30 and showed us the orders that Maddie's pediatrician had sent over. She wanted her on an IV since she hadn't had a wet diaper since 10:00 a.m. and was didn't want to eat much. We waited until 8:30 before her IV was in place. Josh was so cute, he went out and had a little talk with the nurse so we could have someone start taking care of Maddie since everything was taking SO LONG!! Dr. Steigmeyer came around 9:00 on Monday night and said that Maddie had CROUP! He said that children usually aren't hospitalized with it, but they were worried about Maddie's airway as her vocal folds were swollen and she was having trouble inhaling. He thought that she looked decent Monday night, but wanted her to stay just for observation. He did a great job explaining everything to us. We were very appreciative of his expertise and calm nature. We had a super long night. Maddie was hooked up to the pulse-ox monitor and an IV. It was so hard to hold her with the cords. She also loves to suck on her fingers, so it was hard for her to get to her hand with the IV in. She ended up sharing a room with a little 2 year old girl who needed breathing treatments every 3 hours (all night long). Every time the respiratory therapist would come in to help the other little girl, she would start crying and wake Maddie up and then Maddie was a mess and couldn't fall back asleep. The other girl would cry more and ask why the baby was crying. It was a vicous cycle. I don't think I slept for more than 15 minutes at a time. I don't know how people stay in the hospital for weeks on end. I also don't know how anyone ever recovers in a hospital when the nurses wake them up every 3 hours. Hmmm....Anyway Tuesday morning finally came. Maddie's vitals had been stable through the night so Dr. Steigmeyer said that she was fine to go home at 11:00 a.m. Maddie did ok yesterday afternoon and today. She is so tired she doesn't know what she wants. She is breathing much better, but is still not feeling well. She has just been whining and whimpering all day. It breaks my heart. I have been holding her so much since Monday morning, my arms are killing me, but as long as it makes her feel better I love to hold her. She has been eating popsicles today, which she LOVES. I need to take some pictures, it is pretty cute. I am taking the rest of the week off to get her feeling better. I am so glad it is a long weekend so we can spend some extra time together. Maddie goes back to the doctor tomorrow morning to be checked again. Hopefully we get another good report.

We want to thank everyone for all of their prayers as Maddie was in the hospital. We are so glad that she is on the road to recovery. We would also like to thank Grandma Patty and Grandpa Dave for bringing Josh and I some clothes for the night and toothbrushes. They also took care of Peanut for us.

Mommy's Birthday!!

2009-08-26T20:31:00.004-04:00

Let me just say Maddie is getting so big so fast. She is going to be 7 months old in a few days and it has completely flown by. She is doing so many more fun things now. She is eating all kinds of food--mostly baby food, but she has had puffs, bread, and big girl bananas!! She is sitting up all by herself now and tries to catch herself when she starts to tip over. She is starting to have a mind of her own and wants to be down on the floor playing with her toys whenever she can. She is able to get up on her hands and knees now, and lunges occasionally--so we know she is on the verge of crawling!! Oh no!! Maddie was a little fussy last night, I thought it might be her teeth and sure enough when we woke up this morning her bottom right tooth had broken through her gums! I can't believe my baby girl is getting her first tooth!! It really doesn't seem possible.

The last week has been wonderful. I turned 28 on August 20th! Maddie sent flowers to work for me! They were beautiful! I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the flowers had a pink and white polka dotted ribbon around the vase and Maddie has a matching ribbon in her hair.

Sandra and Neal Salerno came to visit our little family. You can't tell at all from the picture, but Sandy is 6 1/2 months pregnant. She is due Nov. 6th! She looks so good. Her tummy is so little and cute!!

Neal practiced his baby holding skills with Maddie. Josh and I kept trying to talk him into changing some diapers, but he didn't want to have any part of that yet!

Maddie loves to eat puffs!! Saturday, while Josh and I were eating we filled her tray up with some puffs and they kept disappearing, so we thought she was eating them. When I went to get her out of her high chair I noticed the whole seat was full of puffs! If you look on Maddie's left side you can see a big pile of puffs!

Ok...please excuse my stars and stripes bathrobe! This is Maddie after she came out of the high chair she had half-eaten puffs stuck everywhere!

Maddie's sleepy pose. We know she is tired whenever she "finds her fingers". She always sucks on the two middle ones, she could care less about pacifiers or her thumb.

Long weekend!!

2009-08-17T22:04:00.009-04:00

We enjoyed a long weekend at the lake this weekend. We spent a lot of time with my family. My dad was just diagnosed with with prostate cancer, so we all just wanted to spend some time together. He is still trying to decide which option he is going to pursue. We love him so much and just keep praying that God will heal his body. He is such a wonderful man, we are all so blessed that he is part of our lives.

All smiles for daddy.

Cousin time can go from very happy and lots of fun...

to sad....

to a complete mess very quickly!!

What a pair...Mary May (AKA Janelle) and my dad...they are 100% trouble whenever they are together!! Talk about ornery!!

Brayden is such a flirt these days. Here he is with Aunt Julie.

My attempt at being artistic with the camera!

Maddie went trick-or-treating for the first time on Saturday!! She was a ballerina. The lake community celebrates Halloween in the summer, since no one is around in the fall. Everyone sits at the end of their driveways and hands out candy to all the kids that pass by.

Brayden and Aunt Jess went trick-or-treating with us too. Brayden was dressed up as Michael Phelps. Can you see his 9 gold medals around his neck?!?

Yes people even decorate their drive ways with Halloween paraphernalia. Maddie looks so confused!! She didn't know what to think about the skeletons and crazy people dressed up!!!!

Great Uncle Doug had fun playing with all of the kiddos (from left Quinn, Owen, Riley, and Brayden).

Maddie got a new toy farm house and tractor. I think it is her favorite toy. She chews on the animals all the time! Teething is great!! Can you see how drool-soaked her shirt is??

Twins?? Maddie wanted to dress up like her daddy for the day! I need to get an extra orange hair bow for Josh!

There is always a little extra time to play with mom!!

The view is great from up here mom! You should try it sometime!

I'm 6 months old!!!!!

2009-08-17T21:26:00.004-04:00

Maddie turned 6 months old on July 29th. We went in for her 6 month check up on July 27th. The doctor thought that Maddie was doing great. She is growing like crazy. She weighed 16 pounds and 9 ounces (60th percentile), measured 26 1/4 inches long (70th percentile), and had a head circumference of 10 3/4 inches (50th percentile). We started Maddie on baby food the next day (she had only had cereal and breast milk up till then). She loves to eat her baby food! She can't get enough of it. Josh and I are really being cautious introducing foods since we have so many allergies between the two of us. We have said for many years our kids were doomed to have allergies, but we are hoping two negatives will make a positive. So far Maddie has had green beans, squash, peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, and applesauce. Applesauce is by far her favorite. Lately she has been having 2 containers of food for lunch and dinner, and sometimes she starts crying because she still wants more. Since we started with baby food, she has been having a few tummy aches, which cause her to be cranky. To top it off, I think she is starting to teeth as well. It is so hard to know if she is being fussy because her teeth, her tummy, or if she is just tired. Maddie has learned to sit up well in the last 2 weeks. I think she loves having a new perspective on the world.

Maddie, Josh, and I went to Indianapolis to visit one of my best friends and her new baby girl! Lauren gave birth to her beautiful daughter Emily on August 6th!! So Emily is just shy of a week old in these pictures. It was so much fun holding and cuddling Emily. I totally forgot how little Maddie was when she was born. It goes soooo fast!!

Maddie meeting her new friend Emily Margaret Hendrickson. Emily is so teeny tiny!!! Maddie looks like a tankette in this picture.

Josh was eating cookies one afternoon while he was holding Maddie. Every time he took the cookie up to his mouth, Maddie would try to steal a bite. She is one smart cookie!! :)

Ok…So don’t think I am a terrible mom, but this was just too darn cute not to take a picture of. Maddie fell asleep in the back of the car and never said a word. When I went to get her out she was blindfolded and sleeping peacefully.

Madelyn loves to eat her big girl food! She opens her mouth wide whenever she is ready for more!! She is so smart!!

Grandma Patty and I took Madelyn and Brayden to the zoo together one afternoon! They had lots of fun looking at the animals especially the vultures. The vultures kept flapping their wings around, so they were the most interesting.

Madelyn likes to go swimming with her daddy. She splashes her hands and kicks her feet whenever she is in the water.

Palin Palooza!!

2009-08-17T20:45:00.003-04:00

On July 11th our friends Sherry, Frank, Graham, and Mitchell came up to the lake to visit Josh, Madelyn, and I. We had a wonderful weekend together. We spent lots of time on the water enjoying the sunshine.

Captain Josh!!

Graham checking out the scenery.

Maddie cracks me up sooo much! She loves to suck on her fingers and eat at the same time, which makes for a horrible mess. After she gets her fingers all messy, she runs them through her hair and I find chunks of food all day long!

She is a BIG eater!!! You put it on a spoon and she gobbles it right up!

Maddie enjoyed riding around with Graham.

We went swimming together!

Mitch was a MASTER TUBER! He did a great job staying on the tube!

Josh and Graham went jet skiing too! Josh and Graham took the blue jet ski (2 seater) and Frank and Mitch took the green jet ski (3 seater). The blue jet ski is not as sturdy as the green jet ski and Josh and Graham ended up flipping the jet ski a few times. Everytime Josh got back on the jet ski and would try to get Graham back up, they would flip again, so Frank and Mitch picked Graham up and Josh ended up riding solo. I took Graham for a ride later and he told me I was a much better driver than Josh!! (I am very proud of that!)

Frank and Mitch starting out on the green jet ski!

Frank and Sherry riding the waves!

Who could forget about Peanut??

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

2009-07-09T21:21:00.003-04:00

We went to the lake for Maddie's first 4th of July! It was a blast. Jonathan, Jessica, and Brayden were able to make it back for the second week in a row from Chicago. Grandma Patty's side of the family came up to the lake on Saturday to celebrate. Overall we had a fun and exciting (but tiring) weekend. By Sunday night, I needed another weekend to recover.

Cousin Nellie helped Brayden learn how to pet the puppies!!

Mommy's friend Marcia stopped by to visit with Maddie!!

Maddie enjoyed hanging out with Grandma Morr too!

We had a few margaritas!!! Uncle Josh knows how to party!

Brayden got a new pool and we had fun playing in it together!

What a stinker!! Can we say ORNERY???

Our bathing beauty!

Showing some skin. If you look closely you can see Peanut wanted in on the pool action too!

Buster is ready to go home after a long day

The Adventures of Maddie

2009-07-09T20:54:00.007-04:00

Maddie had her first encounter with the lake...we put her feet in and she immediately started screaming. I guess the water is still too cold!

Hi Grandpa Dave!!! I love you!

Maddie likes to go for FAST boat rides with her papa, but forget about going slow! I think we have a future rollercoaster kiddo on our hands!!

Madelyn has a new turtle friend. I think he is as big as her!

YES!! Now Maddie has enough hair to keep her hair bow in without a headband!!

MOM!!! Brayden keeps pulling my hair bow off!!! HELP!!

We were going to wait until 6 months, but we just couldn't go any longer without real food!! Madelyn was getting hungry every 2-3 hours. So we finally started her on rice, and she LOVES it. She honestly just can't get enough of it. She is already trying to take the spoon and feed herself. The funniest thing is that she tries to eat and suck on her fingers at the same time, which causes her to be an absolute mess!

Patiently awaiting her next bite of cereal!! She is definitely keeping an eye on that spoon!

Hugging cousins!! Who doesn't love a baby hug???

What is so funny guys??

Mr. and Mrs. Blake Guy!!

2009-07-09T20:33:00.004-04:00

Josh's sister, Abby, got married June 27th in Kokomo, IN. We welcomed her husband, Blake into our family and are so excited as they start their life together. Josh and I were both in the wedding, so my parents went down to Kokomo to take care of Madelyn while we were busy. Between Brayden and Maddie, they are going to be professional wedding nannies!! They love playing with the kiddos. Madelyn actually did very well with the wedding even though she did not sleep ALL DAY!!!

Daddy and Maddie checking out each other in the mirror. She LOVES to look at herself and giggle!!

Maddie recently found her toes...Now she spends all of her free time trying to fit them in her mouth!! She especially gets distracted if she has fun shoes on!

Auntie Abby's before picture!!

Wow!! Abby you are so pretty in your vail!!

Again I wonder what Maddie is thinking about in this picture...

Our happy little family!!!!

Mommy, I want a necklace too!!

Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake!! What a cute couple!!

Summer Fun!!!

2009-07-02T20:53:00.005-04:00

Ok...I have kind of fell off the blogging band wagon. :) It is so hard to stay inside and work at the computer when it is so nice outside and there is so much fun stuff to do!! We have been going to the lake on the weekends. It is so fun. Brayden and Maddie have both gone on boat rides. I think Maddie is definitely going to be a roller coaster girl. She only likes it when Grandpa goes fast and crazy on the boat--she cries whenever you hit a channel and have to slow down. Brayden didn't seem to mind going fast or slow. It is so much fun seeing them together. Brayden loves to grab Madelyn's hair bows. She must look like a little present to him. :)

Grandma Patty is now watching her while Josh and I are at work. Maddie is LOVING it!! Maddie no longer looks like a zombie when she comes home, which is nice. Grandma Patty ended up watching both Brayden and Maddie one day last week. She had always told me how much fun she thought it would be to have twins, after spending one day with Brayden and Maddie together I think she changed her mind.

Maddie is also rolling from her back to her tummy on purpose now. One Friday while I was at home, I decided I was going to teach her how to roll over. We practiced all day, and by the time Josh got home she was a pro! She hasn't gone the easy way yet (stomach to back). Go figure...she likes to do everything the hard way. I guess I will have to work on that soon!

Spending time with Grandma Patty is just way too much fun!!

Caught red handed or chocolate handed!!! :) This was Madelyn's father's day present for her papa!!

Josh batting at church softball...He usually plays 3rd base. Maddie and I love to cheer for him in the stands!!!

Grandma Patty bought Maddie a new baby doll. It sings and lights up when you squeeze her belly. Maddie absolutely loves her and we have to take her everywhere we go!!

Look Dad!! I am ready for my license!! This driving stuff is easy!!

Brayden likes to try and ride Peanut around the house. I am not quite sure what Peanut thinks about it, but it makes Brayden giggle.

Boy time!! Brayden and Uncle Josh always have fun together.

Boat rides are soo much fun!!! Brayden, Jonathan (Jamie's Brother), Jessica (Jonathan's wife), Madelyn, and Jamie

Maddie and Mommy enjoying the lake!

I just love this picture of Jonathan and Brayden!! What cuties!!

Madelyn's Baby Dedication

2009-06-14T21:31:00.003-04:00

We dedicated Madelyn to God today!! It was a great experience. Pastor Mary Ellen performed the dedication and she did a wonderful job!! At our church, they focus on the meaning of the child's name and then find a Biblical verse for each individual child based on the meaning of their name. Madelyn means high tower and the Bible verse that was chosen for her was Proverbs 18:10.

"The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the Godly run to him and are
safe." Proverbs 18:10

Madelyn had quite a crowd at her dedication. Grandma Patty, Grandpa Dave, Uncle Josh, and Great-Grandma Morr all came to support Madelyn. Grandma Jane, Grandpa Randy, Uncle Cory, Auntie Abby, and Uncle Blake all drove up from Galveston to be with us for the day.

Auntie Abby and Uncle Blake are getting married in less than 2 weeks!! Hurray!!!

Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy gave Madelyn "Tiny Bear's Bible" after her dedication. She absolutely loved it!!! There is a fuzzy bear on the cover and anytime anyone held it in front of her she just stared at it in amazement.

She was all smiles for Uncle Cory too!

Maddie was a little cranky at church after the service, so we thought we would take pictures at lunch. We took one of the three of us...

And one blurry picture of the Beck family before...

She pooped all over her beautiful white dress and had to be a naked baby!! We weren't able to get any pictures of her with the Worthington side, which was a real bummer!! We are going to have to work on being more ladylike!!

Maddie's Favorite Things

2009-06-12T10:25:00.007-04:00

Our house has been very busy lately!!! I am working 4 days a week, trying to take care of Madelyn, and our house. I am starting to do some new things at work. We are starting to do all of our sedated auditory brainstem response testing in the operating room, so I am going to be in the operating room a lot more. I have also accepted a job with Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program in Indiana. As long as we get the contract ironed out, I start July 1st!! I am very excited about doing some new things at work. Josh has a lot of projects at work right now. He is also playing golf in Bridgewater's golf league and playing church softball again.Maddie starts is still at Lakewood Park for daycare. Next week, she is going to start staying with my mom whie I am at work. Maddie had her 4 month check-up and shots on May 29th. She weighed 14 lbs and 1 oz (75th percentile), was 24 1/4 inches tall (55th percentile), and had a head circumference of 15 3/4 inches (45th percentile). She did just fine with her shots. On another note, she had an ear infection in May and still had fluid in her ear as of Wednesday. I think we are on the path to tubes just like her daddy!! Other than that all is well. We are enjoying all of the warm weather and sunshine. We love being outside!!
Maddie loves to go for walks with me. She smiles and laughs the way. She was being so cute this day, I had to stop walking and take some pictures!!

She just can't get enough of her fingers!!

She enjoys sitting like a big girl in her bumbo or bimbo as Grandma Patty likes to call it.
Eating toys is always fun too!!

You just can't beat a nice bubble bath.

At the end of the day, she loves sleeping with her hands over her face!!! Who would have thought??

Happy Memorial Day!!!

2009-05-25T20:44:00.004-04:00

Maddie had a very busy Memorial Day weekend!! We went to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo on Friday. We met Stacia and Adelyn there and the girls enjoyed looking at the animals. I think that we picked the busiest zoo day of the year...every elementary school student in Northeast Indiana was there. We had fun pushing the girls around. We even ran into my cousin Amy and her kiddos--Riley, Quinn, and Owen.

Three little monkeys!! Madelyn, Adelyn, and an unknown monkey in the middle!!

My brother's family came home for the weekend too. Jonathan, Jessica, and Brayden arrived in Auburn Thursday night, so we were able to spend a lot of time with them over the weekend. Madelyn and Brayden had a good time playing. It amazes me how much they are both changing! Madelyn is starting to pick things up and Brayden is on the verge of crawling at any second.

Wow two kids looking at one camera!! That never happens!!!

Brayden loved Madelyn so much he tried to hold her hand!!

Then he decided it looked pretty tasty!!

Maddie liked watching all the cool things Brayden was able to do...

Auntie Jess stole some snuggle time with Madelyn

At the end of the day she was pooped!! All that playing with Brayden just wore her out!!

Hee Hee Hee...

2009-05-16T22:55:00.004-04:00

We had a great Mother's Day at the Lake!! Maddie gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure and manicure!!! I can't wait to be pampered a little bit...she knew just what to get me!

She just can't quit smiling!!! I think she is excited she picked out the perfect gift for her mama!

Jenna and Janelle did a good job entertaining her on Mother's Day!!

Great Uncle Joe was trying to teach her some good tricks too!!

I don't know how Josh and I let Darci hold Maddie with that IU shirt on!?!

You may have guessed it, Madelyn has started to giggle!! It is the most wonderful sound in the whole world. So far, she has only laughed at Grandpa Dave and Peanut--they are both pretty silly, so who can blame her. We caught a few giggles on video. Peanut kept running up and down the hallway and everytime Maddie would giggle. She is so much fun!!!

Just too cute!!

2009-05-08T18:32:00.002-04:00

I have been a little slow to update lately, but it seems like the amount of free time I have keeps decreasing. I now have 3 weeks of work under my belt and Maddie has 3 weeks of daycare. I am not sure who it has been harder for...Maddie hasn't been sleeping very well at daycare, I think that there are just too many things to look at and new sounds. We are lucky if she sleeps 2 hours throughout the day. Because she doesn't sleep all day, she is extremely exhausted by the time she gets home and just wants to go to bed. It is so hard being away from her all day and then having her sleep all evening and night!! She has been doing awesome at sleeping through the night. She usually goes to bed around 7:00. I wake her up to feed her one last time around 10:00 and then she sleeps until 6:00 or 7:00 a.m!!! We are so lucky that she is such a good sleeper.

We haven't done too much since I went back to work--just normal stuff that would bore everyone to death! My friend Mavis and her little boy Jackson did come up for the Vera Bradley sale. They stayed all night and then we took both babies to look for purses...I think we are CRAZY!! Luckily we didn't have to wait as long as a lot of people, but it was so crowded it was really hard to look at anything while pushing a stroller. Jackson loved Peanut!!! He was so funny we had Peanut in our front room behind a baby gate and Jackson would run up to it every chance he would get saying "doggie, doggie..." He was really sad when Peanut went to sleep for the night. It was so nice having Jackson and Mavis here...they helped us find out what things we need to work on for baby-proofing.

Jackson playing with Peanut!

Maddie on her way to the lake for the first time!!! She is ready for some sunshine!!!

DADDY I WANT LOTS AND LOTS OF KISSES NOW!!!!

Ok, so the bow lady makes tutus too!! I just couldn't resist!!

Boy mom...these tutus are tasty!!!

Now we are rolling...

2009-04-29T11:55:00.002-04:00

So, I started back to work last week. It actually went a lot better than I thought it would. My first week back was only 3 days, so it was nice to ease back into things. Madelyn did great at daycare, at least that is what they told me. She is having a little bit of trouble sleeping with all of the new noises and other babies around her, but I think that will come with time. Her teacher told me that she is pretty content throughout the day no matter what they are doing, so that is good. It has been nice going back to work. I forgot how much I love my job and enjoy helping people to hear better. It is nice seeing some patients again and getting back in the swing of things. For the time being, I have decided to work 4 days a week so I can spend some extra time with Maddie (I have Fridays off YEAH!!!). My first week couldn't have gone better though.

My friend Andrea got married over the weekend in Columbus, OH. The wedding and reception were both at a conservatory in Columbus. It was absolutely beautiful!!! We had so much fun visiting with the Purdue Audiology crowd. It was SOOO hot though, it was warm outside to start with, and then when you added the lovely effects of the greenhouse it got a little too warm to say the least. :)

Madelyn rolled over (back to front) for the first time April 25th!! She was laying on our bed and just went for it! We flipped her on her back and she rolled over again. Josh found her in her crib on her tummy Sunday morning too. It is funny, she tries so hard to flip over and when she gets on her tummy she doesn't like it. Her little arms get pinned underneath her chest and she just doesn't know what to do. It is incredibly cute though.

Josh and Maddie found some shade under a palm tree at the wedding. Maddie ended up sleeping through most of the action.

Lauren is practicing for motherhood with Maddie, she is going to have a little girl in August!! We can't wait for Maddie to have a little friend to play with!

PU Audiology girls rock!!!

The happy couple!! Andrea & Volkan

This picture was just too funny not to include!! I think Maddie is trying to escape the heat!

The Shower!!!

2009-04-18T20:46:00.003-04:00

Today has been an interesting day. Josh and I got up early to get ready to go to Logansport, IN for Abby's (Josh's sister) wedding shower. When we came down stairs Josh let the dog out and I was finishing up a few last things before we hit the road when I noticed our ceiling in our kitchen looked a little funny. I asked Josh about it, so he decided to poke it with his finger, which caused the ceiling to start dripping. Evidently, Josh's shower has been leaking and has now ruined our kitchen ceiling. We put a bucket under it and decided we would take care of it when we returned home ironically after "the shower". I was so upset about the ceiling, I forgot everything--the diaper bag, the directions to the shower, the gift we purchased for Abby...luckily Josh noticed that I forgot the diaper bag before we were out of the driveway--that would have been a real mess.

We found the shower without any problems surprisingly since we didn't have directions. It was at the Inntiquity Inn in Logansport. It is a cute little bed and breakfast with beautiful furniture and flowers everywhere. Maddie and I had a great time at the shower while Josh went golfing with his brother Cory. Maddie is turning out to be a complete Mama's girl. She was fine as long as I was holding her, but any time anyone else attempted to hold her she would start screaming her head off. She really isn't a fussy baby, but she can definitely have her moments. When we arrived back in Auburn, she wouldn't quit smiling and cooing for Josh and I, maybe she is just shy.

We can't wait for your wedding Auntie Abby!!