Doctor's Appointment Update

About a month ago when I posted about Maddox's 4 month check up I told you that he had a tight muscle in his neck that was causing him to always look to the left. Today we went back to the pediatrician so she could check it out again after a month of doing stretches. Thankfully, Dr. Connie said she thought it was loosened up and didn't seem to be a problem anymore. I was so glad to hear that because if it had not loosened up then we would have had to take him to physical therapy. He is now looking to the right a lot more when he is sitting up and being held. He does still prefer the left and still sleeps with his head to the left but Dr. Connie said that since he is spending more and more time in the upright position that it will continue to get better. Now I just hope the back if his head rounds back out because it has gotten pretty flat from him always laying the same way.

And since we were at the dr. they went ahead and weighed him and at 5 months he weighs 15 lbs. 1.8 oz. :D.

A New Home for Little Dog

Today is a sad day in the Packer house. Our sweet little dog, Toby, is going to a new home. We have thought about this and discussed it for a while now and we just think it is the best thing. Since Maddox was born we aren't able to give him the attention he deserves and I feel like all I do now is tell him "NO." We have decided to give him to the Colorado Maltese Rescue mission and they already have a foster home set up for him until they can find a "forever home." This was a really hard decision for us but we feel it is for the best. He has been a good little dog for us and I just want him to live in a home where he gets played with and shown attention.

We discussed giving him to someone we knew but felt it would be too hard...I would rather just be done with it and be able to move on. I will miss him a lot but like I said I think it is for the best.

If you know of anyone who is looking for a sweet maltese to adopt you can pass this website on to them and they can contact the Rescue about adopting him!! http://coloradoshihtzumalteserescue.com And here is his profile page.... http://coloradoshihtzumalteserescue.com/sitebuilder/images/tobyinfo.jpg

Daddy and His Tired Little Buddy

Roll Over

Well, Mr. Maddox rolled over for the first time today!! I laid him down on his tummy on his play mat this morning and right when I did he just flopped over onto his back!! He hasn't done it again yet but I'm sure it's just the beginning!! Collin was bummed that he missed it.

Yay for learning new things!!

Mornings...

I have never really been a morning person because I really like my sleep and don't particularly like waking up early. However, Maddox is morning person. He typically wakes up any where between 5 am and 8 am (I really appreciate those rare 8 am mornings). While his early risings aren't my favorite thing, I am starting to get adjusted to them. I do; however, love how happy he is in the mornings. It is my favorite time of day with him. He tends to get pretty fussy as the day goes on because he doesn't nap and it starts to wear on him. In the mornings, though after he has had a good night sleep and eaten his first meal of the day, he is such a happy little guy. We always get huge smiles and I just love it. So while I don't really enjoy getting up early, having Maddox in such a good mood makes it worth it!!

My Favorite Things...

Maddox is getting to be so much fun so I thought I would share some of my favorite things about being his mommy these days...

*One of my all time favs right now is every morning when I go to get him out of his crib I walk in his room and look over the railing at him and tell him good morning and he gives me the biggest smile!! It just warms my heart!!
*I love his big open mouth smile.
*It's so fun to watch him try new foods.
*He is really learning a lot about his surroundings right now and loves to touch things.
*I love watching him play with toys.
*I LOVE that he sleeps 11 to 12 hours a night!!
*I love holding him in my arms while he sleeps.
*I have loved the few giggles I have gotten and can't wait to hear more!!
*I love looking at his gorgeous blue eyes!!
*I love that he is getting really cuddly and will lay his head on my chest when I am holding him.
*I really love that he will now stare at me and put his hands on my face...the look in his eyes just says "I love you, Mommy." It is so precious!!

He is such a sweetheart and I love him so much and am so thankful to be his mommy!! I just love watching him grow and learn new things (even though it makes me a little sad that he is growing so fast!!)

More Please...

MOM...I why can't I have more sweet potatoes?? I REALLY like them!!

New Music Tuesday (on Wednesday :D)

I'm in the process of downloading the new Carrie Underwood cd that came out yesterday from iTunes!! I love Carrie Underwood. She is one of my top 5 favorite artists!! I have loved all of her other cd's so I have high hopes for this one as well. I'll let you know how I like it after I get time to listen to it all!! :D

Happy Halloween and 4 Month Pics

Collin and I had a great time last night at our Homebuilder's Class Halloween party. Judy, one of our elder's wives, baby sat Mr. Maddox so we got to be kid free for a few hours!!It was a blast and there were some GREAT costumes!! We went as Snuggies...lol. And can I say that I was a little excited to have an excuse to buy one to snuggle up in on the couch during the cold Colorado winters?!? Here is a pic of Collin and me in our Snuggies :D
And here are the long awaited 4 month pictures of my sweet little boy...(in honor of Halloween he is wearing his "I want my mummy" onsie that he got from Kiki)

Love that smile!!!

October Blizzard

So it has been snowing for over 24 hours straight and is still coming down. We now have around 2 ft. of snow and is supposed to continue to fall until around 1 am according to weather.com. It's pretty nuts!! I don't think I have ever seen this much snow in the city before. It's not too terrible at this point because Collin is off work because of it and gets to stay home with us!! The bad thing is that this is the kind of snow that sticks around for a while in huge piles in all of the parking lots and gets really gross and dirty. And since it is getting so high our little dog is having a really hard time going out!! But what can ya do. Here are some pics of our snow.

Check out the cars across the street.

our patio

Collin and our neighbor, Ed, shoveling the driveway.

looking up from our front porch...kinda scary.

Collin shoveling the sidewalk.

Crazy lot of snow!!

Our backyard on Wednesday...

Our backyard on Thursday...

**4 month pics to come later!!

4 Month Check-Up

Yesterday, Maddox had his 4 month check-up. I can't believe it has already been 2 months since his last one.

He did fabulously. Everyone keeps saying he is a big baby but today's appointment proved that he is right on track. He is now 25 1/2 inches long which is in the 70th percentile, he weighs 14 lbs. 4 ounces, which is in the 45th percentile and his head is 42 1/2 cm around, which is in the 55th percentile. Dr. Connie said he has perfect skin which is somewhat rare at this age and over all looked great.

He does have a tight muscle in his neck which causes him to favor the left side which in turn is causing the left side of his head to get a little flat. So because of that she wants us to do some stretches with him and come back in a month to see if that has loosened him up. It it hasn't then we will have to take him to physical therapy. So let's hope the stretches work.

He did have to get some more vaccinations. He got one oral one and 2 shots. He cried of course but only for a few seconds. It was his nap time so he was already in a fussy mood before he got the shots but the moment I put him in his car seat he fell asleep.

An exciting thing that happened was we got the OK to start cereal and baby food. I tried to give him a little cereal yesterday but he was so fussy from his shots that he wasn't interested in trying it and just wanted to be held. Dr. Connie said if he does well with the cereal then after about a week we can introduce other things. However, we are only supposed to do one new thing a week so that if he has a reaction to something we will know what it is.

We are thankful to have gotten another good report and just hope we can get his little neck stretched out.

4 month pictures tomorrow :D

Trunk or Treat and Teeth

Last night we had our annual Trunk or Treat at church; however, due to the fact that it was freezing and snowing outside we had to move it inside and have the kids walk around the church building for candy. It was still fun none the less. I love seeing kids all dressed up in their costumes. With Maddox still being little we lucked out and got away without having to bring home a ton of candy...which is good for us :D. We dressed Maddox up as a giraffe for halloween and he looked absolutely adorable. You can tell from the pics though that he wasn't thrilled about the whole thing. Check out my cute little giraffe...

My little buddy and me.

Daddy and Maddox at trunk or treat...he had just woken up from a nap and wasn't really interested in taking a picture...lol.

So not thrilled...

You know you've hit the big time when kids dress up as you for halloween!! ;D

As far as the teeth part of the title goes...I'm pretty sure my buddy is teething. Bummer, huh?!? He has been so fussy lately, has been drooling like crazy and always has his hands in his mouth. We go to the doctor tomorrow for his 4 month check-up so I guess we'll find out for sure then. I knew this time would come and now that it is here I just hope it goes by fast!!

I'll let ya know how his appointment goes tomorrow and also post some 4 month pics later this week.

Snow, Snow and Eskimos

We had quite the little snow storm yesterday. The weather people were saying we would get some flurries but just check out my pics and see if it looks like flurries to you. I have also put what could possibly be the cutest thing I have ever seen. I got Maddox all bundled up to go watch his daddy play basketball and it was just adorable!!

My little Eskimo!!

This pic and the next one are from yesterday morning...

And these two are from this morning...wowza, that's quite a bit of snow!!!

Nap Help

Ok all you mom's out there...I need your help. My little buddy is a TERRIBLE napper. He fights every single nap and once he does finally give in he only naps for 20-45 minutes (usually on the shorter end). It is so frustrating. I never have time to get things done around the house. He is an awesome sleeper at night time (which I am so thankful for and would take any day over good naps) and always goes right to sleep when I lay him in his crib but any other time I put him in there he just screams. Today I put him down for a nap and he cried for an hour straight until I went in and picked him up and rocked him to sleep and even after all that crying he only slept for 25 minutes. So my question is, do you have any tips to help me get my buddy to take at least one good nap a day?? I have done the Babywise technique and it worked great for night time sleep but the napping thing just isn't working for us. We go in for his 4 month appointment next Tuesday and I'm pretty sure we will get the OK to start solid foods and I am really hoping that will help him sleep better because he will be more full. But if that doesn't work I just don't know. I might just have to accept the fact that my buddy is just not a napper (sad day). But seriously if you have in tips or tricks I am more that open to hearing them!! Thanks so much!!

My Tired Little Longhorn...

Sweet little boy taking a nap before cheering on our beloved Longhorns...(who won btw...even thought it was super ugly :D)

Ladies Retreat

Well, Maddox and I are off to Ladies Retreat in Estes Park today. Hopefully it's a good time. We will be back tomorrow to watch Texas beat OU on DVR with our avid OU fan friends and then we will be off to the airport to pick up daddy!! YAY...we really miss him and are so glad he will be home soon!!!

I'll leave you with this picture in honor of tomorrow's game...

Hook 'Em!!!!

Giggly Wiggle Worm

Every night I lay Maddox down in his crib in the exact same way. His head is always on the left end so that I can see him on the video monitor. Up until now every morning when would go get him up he would be in the exact same place that I laid him in. Well, not this morning. I went in this morning and he had done a 180 and had his whole body turned the opposite way. He hasn't started rolling over yet but I'm wondering if this is the beginning. It's been nice with him not rolling yet because I haven't had to worry about leaving him laying on the couch or bed but now I guess I am going to have to start being more careful. I wouldn't want my little buddy to roll off of something and get hurt!!

On an exciting note, my little buddy giggled for the first time yesterday. It just melted my heart. I think baby giggles are one of the most precious sounds in the entire world!! He only did it once yesterday morning and hasn't done it since but I'm really hoping to start hearing that sound all the time!! Hopefully when he starts doing it more I will be able to get a video to post on here!!

BTW...only 2 more days until Collin gets home!! To occupy myself over the next couple of days I have several things to do...Lunch today with 2 ladies from church, life group tonight, then ladies retreat tomorrow night and Saturday morning/afternoon in Estes Park. Then Saturday night Collin comes home!! YAY...I CAN"T wait!!

Oh, how I love...

massages!! They are just fabulous and thanks to my wonderful husband I was able to get one this morning. He surprised me with a gift certificate to use this week since I was bummed that he was going to be out of town. So I got one of my favorite ladies from church to watch Mr. Maddox for a little while and enjoyed a little time of relaxation!! I seriously think I could get a massage every day but that would get a little expensive.

So thanks babe for giving me this little gift to enjoy while you are out of town!! We miss you and can't wait for you to get home!! Love ya!! You're the best!!

My BOB is here!!

I am so excited because my new BOB stroller was delivered today!! Thanks to Collin's grandma (Ganna) for getting it for us!! I can't wait to pull it out of the box and try it out!! From everyone I have talked to they are awesome strollers!! As Collin would say, I can't wait to "stroll" Maddox around in it!! :D

Man, it was cold yesterday

I don't think the temperature got above 25 degrees yesterday. We had a rummage sale at church so we had to get up early to head up there and when we were on our way the car said it was 19 outside and the snow was starting to fall. It snowed for probably 3 or 4 hours but thankfully since it was fairly warm the day before it didn't stick to the roads.

The rummage sale went pretty well but due to the snow we didn't have as many people as we had hoped show up. I think we ended up making about $2,500.00 that will go to our Acts 2 ministry, which helps people in our church who are struggling.

Here is a picture of my little buddy with his toboggan on...he is such a cutie (at least in my opinion ;D)

SSSNNNOOOWWW

So I know I already posted today but I had to share these pictures of what my backyard looks like right now for all of you in Texas where it is in the 80's...

Brrrr...

How cute am I in my winter boots and big boy jeans?!?!?

Mosaic

How cool is that!?!?!

Survivor and The Amazing Race

Have you made your picks??

For Survivor I have picked Jaison, the law student...


And on The Amazing Race I have chosen The Harlem Globe Trotter team, Flight Time and Big Easy...



Usually my picks don't do very well but we will see what happens this time around :D

I got them...

So after I wrote my post the other day about wanting some Tom's shoes I went ahead and ordered them :D. I am so excited. They are supposed to be delivered tomorrow and I can't wait! The ones I ordered were actually from the men's section and I wasn't quite sure how to convert the sizes so I ordered an 8 which is the smallest they had so hopefully they fit. I wear a 9 to 9 1/2 in women's so we'll see!! Yay for Tom's shoes and yay for helping kids in need!!