Spooning

Wait a minute!!! It's not THAT kind of spooning! Landry ate her first bite of food with a spoon tonight! Actually, she ate some formula with some rice cereal in it. Earlier, I gave her a plastic spoon and she put it straight into her mouth...with the right end might I add :)-- so I decided to see if she was ready to eat off of a spoon and she really took to it well. Imagine that. My girl loves her groceries so I don't know why I thought she might shy away from a spoon. My friends Cerissa gave her a really nice silver set at her Christening and when I got it I knew that this would be the silver that she ate her first real bite from. I'm a little sentimental that way. I think it's because I don't have any things like this from my childhood. I hope she will want to carry on some of the traditions that I plan to create for her...I know we'll have fun creating them.

Roll Over....no, not you Bella!
Landry has rolled over two times with the encouragement from the two of us but today, I just happened to get her rolling over (without provocation) when I was zooming in on Bella. I took this with my Blackberry so the video isn't as good as it normally is but I am really happy to have it. Go Landry!

She's got legs...she knows how to use them. -ZZ Top

This is Landry in her Jumpy Thingy. Now that she can hold her head up pretty well, she is really eager to see the world and try new things out. This first video is her showing off her new legs. The second is very short but it is FUNNY. She is showing off something else...like her breakfast.

The 'Do'

I promised to post a picture of my new hair do. It is still taking me some time to get used to it but I am starting to get the hang of it. It usually looks a little better than it does in this picture but this taken after church and lunch today so I was ready to get comfy...and so was Landry. She wore her Easter dress again today. So far she hasn't had it on as long as it took me to make it. I just want at least ONE more wear out of it. It was a labor of love but she sure looks like an angel in it.

Story Time
Landry still swaddles at night and the tighter the better! She and her Daddy are having story time and she really likes it. We read to her almost every night as part of her bed time routine. We are so blessed to have such a good sleeper. She has been sleeping 10-12 hours without interuption for several months now and I hope she continues this wonderful trend. This is a book that Aunt Big Mama got her...she also got her the Mommy version. Nighty night, sweet girl! We love you!

Go Flame Throwers!

Softball season got off to a great start with the St. Philips Flamethrowers winning 22-9 tonight in the opening game. Considering how our season last year ended up, we were thrilled with the victory. The happiest moment of the day happened while we were strolling up to the field. After we found out I was pregnant last year, we were leaving the park one night ( after we got slaughtered) and we saw someone pushing a stroller and we both said 'That's going to be us next year!' Fast forward 10 months later and here we were pushing our sweet baby girl and we both said 'Hey, do you remember when......' It was just kind of funny that we both remembered the same conversation at the same time. It was a sweet moment between us and we were just so thankful that our conversation from months past came to fruition. By the way, Mikes number is...you guessed it...#12!

**Before you watch this, go to the bottom of the screen and turn off the music.

The Sam Song

Okay, I am probably going to be in some BIG trouble but this was just way too good not to share. One of my favorite things that Mike did while I was pregnant (with both girls) was to sing the Sam Song to my belly. He sang lots of songs but this one was one of my favorites. I have no idea where he got this song and its not like its some delicate flower type sweet song but it is very cute...and even cuter when Daddy sings it to her. It's quite obvious that she likes it too. :)

Say NO to Crack!
If Landry doesn't cure cancer or save the world in some meaningful way, she can always become a plumber. Bless her heart.

On another note, I have been manning the fort solo these past few days and while I love the quite time with Landry, we miss her Daddy when he is gone. 24/7 is a lot when she has been kind of grumpy.
I was getting her ready for bed tonight and I don't know what came over me but I just held her so tight and started to cry. I felt so grateful for this sweet, wonderful miracle I had in my arms. Even through her fussiness, she is still a GREAT baby. I am blessed beyond measure at how really good I have it. I have so much to be thankful for and I know it. Mike left me a really sweet note(taped to Landry's bottle in the fridge so he would make SURE I found it) and it really made me feel special. He told me how great of a mother(and wife) I am and that is something I ALWAYS like hearing. I think a key word in most relationships is gratitude. Love is something we just assume(and sometimes take for granted) but gratitude is something that we all need to feel, see, and know. My sister told me once that that is one of the hardest things to instill in your child is gratitude. Like most parents she works on it constantly with her four and hopefully by the time Landry is due for a life lesson, she will give me some magical words that will make her(my) life easier. Come on Rhonda, I am counting on you!!! Anyway, my personal challenge is to show a little more gratitude to those I love. I'll start out by thanking you for reading my blog.
Thanks!!!!

Honk if You're Happy!
Landry has this steering wheel that makes car noises when certain buttons are pushed. I am amazed that at 4 months old, she is starting to understand this cause and effect thing pretty well. She has figured out that if she pushes the buttons it will make a noise and she thinks it's funny when her mama goes ape over it...just have a look see.

From this.....

I got a preview of what Christmas will be like in the years to come with the assembly of Landry's new activity center. After I took each piece out of the box and was half way through the process, Mike kindly offered to help me and I politely declined thinking...It's too late now, Pal! It took me an hour to unpack all of it and 15 minutes to actually assemble it. Unfortunately, when I put her in it, she was still too little for it. The funny thing is that I wasn't even disappointed. I am in no hurry for you to grow up little Miss!

to this....

Bad Hair....quarter.
I think it is going to be several months before I am over the hair trauma I am in. I have NEVER had hair this short. I am not happy that I actually have to 'do' my hair now. I keep reminding myself that it was donated in memory of a great person and that the sacrifice is worth it. It will grow back and ONE day, I will be happy again with it. Pray for my sanity until then.

Tax Day

Landry is now an official tax deduction for the Mader household! YEAHH! We need all the help we can get these days. Especially since the cost of gas is making everything go UP. By the way, Landry, it is $3.35/gallon. There is no telling what it will be when you are driving...hopefully that guy that invented a car that runs on water will finally invent it for the masses by the time your old enough to drive.

Tax day always makes me think about Sophie because since she was stillborn, we were not able to count her on our taxes because they don't even give you a birth certificate for a stillborn child. That was a very sore subject for me(and still is). She lived inside me for 36 weeks but because she did not draw air into her lungs, she basically never existed. There are no legal papers to say that she existed and that really hurts a grieving parent. It's like saying that she didn't count. In some states, they have a certificate of Stillbirth they issue instead of a birth certificate....at least it's something even if it doesn't matter to anyone but a sad mommy and daddy.

Anyway, something to think about if you ever know of someone who suffers such a tragedy. There are more things that go on beside just losing your child. It's dealing with that kind of stuff that hurts you more later on when you are just trying to cling on to anything you can. Now, don't get me wrong. I could care less about the actual deduction. I would have given up a lifetime of deductions just to have a piece of paper that said she was real and that she existed. I know it doesn't seem like much but it is to me. On a happy note...isn't Landry the best deduction you've ever seen?! Oh, and what's up with the Alfalfa do?

Young

What it would be like to be 12 again?(There goes my favorite number again!) Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon at a Red Carpet event. It was the birthday party of the daughter of my friend, Jennifer. She had over 20 young ladies celebrating her 12th birthday and boy, did these girls have fun. My job was to be the fashion photographer. They all brought several changes of clothing and just hammed it up for the camera. I hope that 12 years from now, Landry has a little piece of all these girls in her personality. They were very entertaining, funny, witty and YOUNG---all great characteristics from some really great girls. It took me back to a time I almost forgot about and now I have it to look forward to in twelve.

It'll grow back...

I woke up on Thursday morning and I just couldn't stand it any more. I called my hair stylist and asked her when she could get me in. In one WHACK it was gone(over 9 inches and about a pound!). It is MUCH shorter than I have ever had it but it had to be cut that short so I could donate it. I have been growing out my hair to donate it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. In December of '06 I made my first donation in honor of my sister, Rhonda and her 10 year anniversary of being cancer free. What a reason to celebrate! I wasn't sure if I could do it again but I found myself waiting and waiting to get my hair cut because I wanted to donate at least one more time. I have been blessed with a beautiful head of hair my whole life and I have always wanted to give it to someone who needed it more than I do. This year, I am donating it in honor of someone who just passed away of cancer yesterday. John Walker was a man who worked for GSK and Mike was his manager for about 7 years. He left behind a 10 year old son who was the love of his life, a very dedicated & loving family and many, many friends who loved him very much. He was a good guy and he was taken way too young. It hurts to see someone in their last days of life with such a dreadful disease. It was painful to see him spend his last few moments with his son knowing that he wouldn't be there for the next Easter egg hunt. After a visit with him one day, I thought I had done really well because I stayed strong and did not cry. When we left, I just sobbed thinking about him and his journey. I thought about him being the first person I knew that would pass on and be able to tell Sophie how much we love her. It makes me tear up just thinking about it now. It really makes you wonder why God calls such good people home so soon. I learned a long time ago that you just have to trust that there is a reason and if God made it, it has to be good....or at least good enough for me. I may not understand all of the things that have gone on in my life but I do know that I am stronger for them. It's just a fact of life that the most valuable lessons you learn usually come from heartbreak, failure and pain.

So to you, John Walker, I hope this little token of remembrance will help someone else cope with their illness and that it honors you in the way you deserve. We'll see you another day.

A shout out..
to all my Chi-O friends at Mississippi State! I hope you are all enjoying your time in college as much as I did at Alabama. It is the best time of your lives!!! LIVE IT UP!!!

I am so happy to be a part of my church family at St. Philips and one of the main reasons is because of the lifelong friends I have met and come to love there. I really began to know and love God in that church and now my daughter bears a playground with her name on it. I want all of you special young women to remember that God should always be your first love. Hold your family and your friends close to your heart but no one will ever carry you in your trials and tribulations for and with you like the Lord. Think of your family and friends as being the icing on top of a really fabulous 7-layer cake. Each layer representing the seven wonders of the world...to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to smell, to laugh, and to love... they are all gifts from God. You couldn't possibly appreciate your loved ones without these gifts and these gifts are only possible through HIM. Alright, no more preaching...thanks for checking in on the little one. She is quite possibly the sweetest baby that ever breathed air....and no, I am not even a little partial :0)

Frances, I heard you were coming home for a few weeks!!! YEAH!!! Can't wait to see you again and I hope you will make time to come hang out with Landry while you are home. Take care girls, and study, study, study!

Dear Aunt Kelley,
Thank you for coming to see me. I am glad that your friends mommy had a good surgery and that she is going to be healed up with very few band aids. I am sorry I was a little cranky while you were here. When they STABBED me at the doctors office yesterday, it hurt me a whole bunch and I didn't like it so much. I guess I had to tell someone so you and Mommy got hear how strong my lungs are. Maybe I will be a singer one day. :)
Anyway, I love you and your room will always have clean sheets waiting on you so come back soon.

Hugs and kisses...muah!!!

Landry aka The Bug

The Stabbin' Cabin--4 months

Poor Landry. She had her 4 month shots today and was just a miserable little girl for most of the afternoon. She finally took a nap later in the day...hopefully she will sleep 12 hours...again!!! She has been sleeping so well for the last few nights. I pray that it stays that way. :)

On a good note, she is 14 lbs. 8 ounces and 24.5 inches long!! She has come a long way since she lost 19 ounces after birth. I knew she was getting big but I had no idea she was THAT big! Every time I look at her she has a new expression, a new look, a new smile. Here is a picture of Bella giving Landry a little love. She sure loves her sister!

Got twelve?!
I have a fondness for the number twelve. It is Sophie's birthday..it is the number of National Championships that my Alma mater, the University of Alabama, has. It will be the number on my Mississippi Children's Museum car tag when they finally come out. At the moment, my favorite number now represents the number of glorious hours my baby girl slept last night. I think she is going through a growth spurt because she sure was sleeping hard. You know, the kind of hard that makes you go in and check to see if they're breathing kind of hard. Anyway, thanks for the ZZZZ's little one. You sure know how to spoil me these days.

Dear Landry,
4 months ago you came in to this world bearing the greatest gift I have ever been given. It was the sound of your first cry. While I have heard many renditions of that same cry, there will never be another one as sweet as that first one. I think that appreciating that first one so much makes me even more patient when you 'bless' me with more..and more of them. I can't believe how much you have grown and how much personality you have now. I look forward to each day discovering who you are and find myself missing the baby that I lose with each day gone by. If I could freeze you just like you are right now, I would keep you like this for another 6 months! Your coos and belly laughs are a constant source of entertainment for me and your Daddy. Oh my, how he loves you! He really is proving himself to be quite the Daddy. I never had any doubt but it is really nice to see him in action. We both love it when he sings silly songs to you. Your smile could get him to do just about anything. He works really hard to make sure that Mommy can spoil you. Whew!! Lord knows I don't have anything to worry about with as many people spoiling you as you have. You have quite the library thanks to Aunt Big Mama and a wardrobe to boot. I am very thankful for all of the people that don't have little girls to spoil because you have been quite a benefactor because of it!! Now Mommy needs to get to writing some thank you notes!!!
Thank you for being patient while I take endless numbers of photos of you. Your life will be chronicled for sure! I know you get impatient sometimes and you are starting to know what the little silver box is. I guess I am going to have to get the big camera out more often. You are so happy in the morning and the pictures prove it. Every once in a while I really capture who you are in a photo. I guess that's why I love the 'Faces of Landry' series I have started. So many of those faces are who you are and while there is nothing like your smile, you are so much more than just a smiley face...you're funny, happy sweet and precious. A mommy's dream.
A friend of mine told me how sad she is that her daughter will be 2 years old and where in the heck did the time go? I think that same thing at only 4 months old. What will I be like on your 2nd birthday? If you are half the sweet child you are right now, I shouldn't be anything but ecstatic. I love you, sweet girl. Thank you for bringing me so much joy over these last 4 months and blessing me beyond my wildest dreams.
Love,
Mommy

Faces of Landry...4 months

Her facial expressions crack me up. There are two pictures on there that look like she's doing her business...we affectionately call that a 'stinkums' around here. There were even more but I can only put 9 at time on here. Otherwise, there would be no telling how many I would collage together!

Tired.
I am just plain tuckered out today. I have been tired for a few days now. Landry has been waking up a little earlier the last few days and it has my schedule all messed up. Bless her heart, she got really upset today and she wouldn't calm down for about and hour and a half. I tried EVERYTHING. She got happier when I put her in the bath(again) but resumed her fit when I took her out. It was just one of those mentally and physically exhausting days...what's a mommy to do?
Many of you know how much my Daddy means to me. It has never been a secret how I feel about of him...he's always had my respect, my admiration and my love. He is a hero in my book. Today, he wrote all of his children and family a letter detailing a scary situation he found himself a few days ago. He thought he was a goner. Without going into much detail, he told us some very special, personal things that he wanted us to know. My Daddy has always been a Christian but recently he has reacquainted himself with that part of his life. As good as he has always been in my eyes, his new glow surpasses anything I have ever seen in him. He is not only in love with the Lord, he is in love with his walk with Him. I have always believed that the best gift you can give your children is to show them what love is and that starts with the love of the Lord. Thank you, Daddy for giving me a lesson in parenting. All I have to do is look at my daughter and know how blessed I am. The look on my face is the same one that stared back at me when my Daddy held me as a baby in the orphanage I grew up in. I have always said my life has come full circle in so many ways and this is just another way of God reminding me of where it all began for me. Thanks, Daddy. I love you, Tidbit.

Is this cute or what?!!

After I made Landry's Easter bonnet, I got inspired and dusted off the old machine and serger. I decided to make her something cute and this is what I ended up with. It is an appliqued shirt and a pair of pantaloons. I think it's pretty sassy myself. She even has a bow to match!

Thankful

I have been amazed at all of the damage that was sustained from the tornadoes this past Friday. I just got an email from someone I know that sustained some to their home but luckily, no one was hurt. There is more damage now than there was from Hurricane Katrina(here in Jackson). Tens of thousands are still without power but somehow we managed to go unscathed. We are so fortunate to have only heard about physical property damage and no bodily harm. As I told my friend, sticks and bricks can be replaced but they can't. Thank you, Lord for looking out for us and for everyone in here in Jackson. No one died or was hurt and for that I am very grateful.

Landry has started giving us full guttural laughs these days. I can't even begin to tell you what it does to my heart when she blesses me with such a gift. Her happiness is all I dream of and hearing that pure, sweet laugh is just priceless.

Update
Trish's lung transplant seems to be a success! She still has a very long road ahead of her but she walked today!!! Can you believe after only one day, she is walking?! Please continue to pray for her and her family, especially her husband and her 2 lb 10 oz baby girl in the NICU and of course, the donors family. If things continue to go well, maybe the could go home by Mother's Day. Woo hoo!

Full Service
I never thought paying $4 a gallon for gas would have me so happy but yesterday I was more overjoyed to do it. After weathering a tornado that flew over the restaurant I was in at lunch, I remembered that my next stop was supposed to be the the gas station. I had 20 miles to 0 on the gas meter when I pulled in to the parking lot. The power was out everywhere and I couldn't get any gas. I was about 25 miles from home and I had Landry with me...the roads were starting to look like parking lots and panic was starting to set in. I remembered a locksmith van in the parking lot of the restaurant I was in so I flew back over there after failing to find a working gas station and the guy was already in his vehicle and getting ready to pull out. I waved him down and he rolled down his window..probably wondering who I ran over to get to him...and I asked him if he had any gas and would he PLEASE sell it to me if he did. He had 5 gallons of gas on him and he very kindly gave me what he had. When I asked him what I was going to owe him, he was only going to charge me the going rate for the gas. What a nice guy!! I gave him 5 extra dollars and he didn't even want to take it. God was sooo looking out for us. Not only in the restaurant but also in the aftermath. Motherhood gives you a completely different outlook on what used to be everyday experiences. I don't ever consider myself first any more. Landry is my absolute first consideration and when danger is involved it escalates the situation 10 fold. As I watched the news and saw all of the damage in and around the city, I knew that were very blessed to have come out of it unscathed. Thanks again to Kenny Lang of Lang's Locksmith! If you ever need his services, please give him a call. He is a Baptist preacher from Morton and a good samaritan and certainly someone I would want to do business with.

Life and Death
A while back I posted about a guy whose wife had delivered a baby at 25 weeks because she was suffering from complications of Cystic Fibrosis. The baby is thriving and the mother just got rolled into surgery to receive a double lung transplant. WoW!!! Has this guy got strength or what? When ever I feel like having a pity party, I simply log onto his blog and I can just feel the gratitude pouring back into my soul again. His blog is really great. It's uplifting, funny, full of hope and truly full of love. Please join me in praying for them as she receives these new lungs and log onto his website if you really want to get a jolt of the Lord's spirit because they are full of it! Pray for the family that lost a loved one and be thankful for the gift of organ donation. If you haven't considered it, please do. My oldest brother had a kidney transplant(from his wife!) a few years ago and he is a new man. Thankfully, no one had to die for him to get it but everyday there are people that die waiting on an organ. Good luck to Trish and Nate and God willing, Gwyneth will get to share her first Mother's Day with her mommy and her new lungs. PRAY...PRAY...PRAY!!!

On another note...this evening I took Landry for a stroll and an ambulance passed by me. Then a friend of mine with his 18 year old son pulled up next to me and we watched several EMT's go in to the house of his son's ex-girlfriend...they are still friends. Her daddy had had a heart attack and her 13 year old brother called 911. After several people showed up and congregated outside on the driveway a man came outside and broke the news that he had died. He left behind an 18 year old daughter, a 13 year old son and and older daughter. I saw the pain of these children in the very moment they learned their Daddy had died and my heart just wept for them. After I thought it couldn't get any worse, his mother showed up. I saw in her the same pain I felt just two short years ago. It doesn't matter how old you are or what the circumstances are, you are not supposed to witness the death of your children. Please say a prayer for these kids as they get through this difficult time. I think the saddest part to all of this is that this guy wasn't very well liked. No one had one nice thing to say about him while we were all standing out there and I find that extremely unfortunate that he left this world making that kind of mark on his neighbors and I found out later, his kids. I hope it doesn't sound unkind that I would say that about him(GOD rest his soul) because that is certainly not my intention but I think it just made an impression on me AGAIN that you need to be the face of Jesus when you can. You need to lead by example and be that face if you can't find it in another. After reflecting over the evenings events, it made me want to be better and I think that is all God really wants from any of his children. Be the face....

OUCH!

This is my souvenir from Charlie and Julie's baby shower. I guess I thought it would be a really good idea to drag my arm across the door of my really hot stove. It's a second degree burn and I managed to pop the blister in my sleep. It was a really fun wake up call...no, really. I guess I should have just taken Pam up on her 'Party Favors' ;) ---that is an inside joke but if you want to know what it means, just ask me. :)

Sweetness

A word of thanks to my sweet Landry. She's been just like sugar lately. When her Daddy has to travel out of town and it's just me around the clock, it sure is nice when she's happy. I am so blessed to have such a good baby. I don't know what the 'norm' is but I think my girl is a cut above. Lucky me...