A Blurrrrrrr

The past few weeks have been crazy and quite the blur. I remember having Madison's first birthday party and then going to the hospital for a test and then sitting here wondering where the last two weeks have gone and how little I truly got accomplished. Madison's party went great! I couldn't have been more happy with how it turned out. We had a lot of family and friends come out for the big day and it made it even more special. I had been prepared for this party for months in advanced because I was so excited and sad that my little girl would be celebrating her first year with the people closest to us. We had a beautiful cake made by a friend from high school, cute decorations all throughout the house and even little tutu's and wings for the girls to wear since it was a fairy themed party. Madison did amazing on her big day. We had close to 30 people there and she wasn't fussy or cranky throughout the entire day. We worked her naps pretty good, so that she would just be waking up when people started to come over and to go back down after the main part of the party was over with. She really enjoyed eating her cake. When it came time to open presents, she didn't care too much for the presents. She was much more concerned with the tissue paper, wrapping paper, and the Popsicle that was going around. She was so very lucky to have so many presents to open up. After she opened the Winnie-the-Pooh train that she received from Great Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dave, that is all she wanted to play with. She got very upset that we took it away from her in order for her to pay attention to all of the other gifts. She received a ton of adorable outfits, books, and stuffed animals. She got 4 different riding toys that she loves to go back and forth from and see if she can get them all of make noise at the same time. Overall, everyone seemed very happy and pleased with the party. It was a relief how well it went after so much planning. I do have to give a quick Thank you to mom and dad once again for letting us have it up there.

After our trip up to Georgia for the party, we came back down to spend a little more time with Grandma and Grandpa Boone before they had to leave. I had my GI appointment that next day, as well. As most of you already know, for the past several months I have been having a lot of problems and no one seems to have a good fix to it. I was put on new medication while still taking my other medicine and given a prescription of steroids in hopes that it will calm things down long enough to make me feel better. Unfortunately, the medicine wasn't working and I was in a lot of pain again. So, the doctor put me on a stronger dose of steroids and requested that I get a few different tests done. Of course, they aren't the fun and easy tests. Anyway, the new meds and strict diet seem to be working for now. I still have to take one more test before the doctor and I can discuss any possibility of permanently getting better rather than a temporary fix. Tuesday is the big day. Luckily, I will have my mom down here to take me to and from the hospital since Jeff can not take off. It will be nice to have her down here helping with Maddie while I try to get better. Lately, it has been such a blur because all I can really think about is my stomach and how much pain I am in. I end up sleeping whenever I can to try and let my body heal.

Maddie had her first year well-baby appointment a few days ago. She is looking good. She goes from 19-20 pounds and continues to grow longer. You would think by the way that she eats that she would be a lot bigger than that. That little chunker loves to eat anything and everything. She is hilarious with food. She absolutely refuses to eat any baby solids now. She swats the spoon down every time it comes close to her, unless it has 'big girl' food on it. So, now she eats a ton of fruit, turkey dogs, sweet potatoes, and pretty much anything that we will give her. She gets really aggravated if Jeff and I are eating something and we don't give her a bite. She will scream at us and hold her hand out to get a piece. It doesn't matter what it is. She loves everything now. So, now whatever Jeff and I are having to eat, she eats it with us. There hasn't been one thing that she wouldn't eat. Tonight we had homemade lasagna and she took it down like she hadn't eaten in days. She got mad at me because I was eating a piece of garlic bread and didn't give her any to have. Since she is one now we have to transition her off of formula and switch it to whole milk. She is taking 3 steps at a time now (when she wants to of course). She gets so excited and makes herself fall... or maybe she knows how excited I am and she turns to see me. Either way, she is growing up too quickly.

Last night, after she went to bed and I was watching Teen Mom, I couldn't help but reminisce of all of her accomplishments lately and how happy she truly makes me. She is so full of life and loves to give kisses and hugs. She melts my heart by wanting to cuddle with me and just crawls up to me to give me a few kisses and then crawls off to go get into something. She always gets this huge smile on her face when she sees me and when she is doing she knows is right. I love hearing her giggle and talk when she plays. It is so much fun to watch her dance to the tunes on her riding toys when she doesn't even realize how much more I fall in love with her each time. No one will understand what it is like to love a child until they have one of their own. It is truly a miracle and blessing to have someone like her in my life. She is such a little sponge. She is in her copying and attentive stage. She watches everything I do and tries to mimic it as soon as I quit. I think back and realize that a year has already passed and before I know it she will be starting school and then dating, and getting married. I love being able to stay at home with her and spend as much time with her as I can while she still wants to hang out with me. Madison has touched Jeff's and my heart in a way she will not understand for quite some time.

The past week has been very expensive. First, our vacuum decides to stop working on us. Since that was the 2nd one in two years, we decided to just buy a really nice one that will HOPEFULLY last us 15-20 years. Second, my laptop decided that it didn't want to work anymore and stopped turning on. It was really upsetting to me because I had just downloaded Maddie's first birthday party pictures a few days prior and then deleted it off my camera since it was full. I was relieved when Jeff told me that he could get the stuff off of my hard drive, but there wouldn't be a computer to use after it. I told him I didn't care. I just wanted my pictures. Then, to top it all off, someone hit Jeff's truck IN THE FRONT OF OUR HOUSE and decided not to own up to it. All within a week. What can you do I guess...

Jeff got to go sky diving this past weekend with a friend for his birthday present. The two of them had a lot of fun. This was the first time for the both of them. Since Jeff is so tall, he couldn't do back flips out of the plane. So, he did front flips coming out while his friend did back flips. They both came back with big smiles on their faces and were already talking about planning a scuba diving trip sometime when the oil isn't a threat. Jeff was glad that he got the chance to do it, even though it wasn't with me. But, that would have never have happened because this momma is terrified of heights.

Jeff's schooling is going great. This Friday he will teach his first class. I think he is pretty excited about that other than the fact that he has a set schedule now and can't just leave when he needs to. From Friday on, if he needs some time off or has an appointment, he has to find someone to cover his class. Otherwise, he can't take leave. He always comes home and has so many different stories to tell me. I never realized how much drama could be in one school house. His schedule isn't that bad. Right now, he is working from 7-3 with an hour lunch. Friday, his new schedule will be from 6-12:30. It will be nice to have him home from lunch on each day.

Well I think that I have said enough for now. Until next time, have fun and be safe.