New Look...

Since I think several of my readers us Google Reader I thought I would point out that I have re-done my blog design again so that you can click over and take a look if you would like because I know you can't tell from the GR screen :D.

6 Months Old

My little buddy is 6 months old today!! I CAN"T believe it!! He is half way to his 1st birthday. He doesn't have his 6 month check-up at the pediatrician until next week so I don't have his weight and height right now but I will post some of the things he is doing right now and post those other things after his appointment. I will also post 6 month pictures later as well. He is already asleep tonight and I haven't done his monthly "photoshoot" yet.

But this is what he is up to right now at 6 months...

*He is wearing 3-6 months clothes.
*He is wearing size 2 shoes.
*He is wearing size 2-3 diapers.
*He is eating 6-8 oz. of formula every 3 hours.
*He is eating baby food 1-2 times each day.
*He has tried sweet potatoes, squash, sweet peas, green beans, bananas, oatmeal, and rice cereal.
*The only thing he hasn't liked are green beans.
*He liked the bananas but they gave him horrible diaper rash.
*He is smiling and giggling up a storm.
*He can sit up by him self for the most part but still tips over every now and then.
*He rolls over from his tummy to his back but not his back to his tummy.
*He still does not enjoy tummy time.
*He LOVES watching his Praise Baby DVDs.
*He goes to bed at about 7:30 pm and sleeps about 12 hours a night.
*He cat naps during the day and has yet to get into a good routine of napping.
*He is becoming more and more interested in books and toys.
*He has added a new HIGH pitched squeal to his repertoire of noises.

That is all I can think of at the moment but I'm certain there are more things I could post. It is just so much fun to watch him grow and learn new things. He is becoming more and more active and curious about his surroundings. I know like will get more challenging as he becomes more mobile but it will also get that much more exciting!!

Pictures to come soon!! :D

Top 3 Favorite Gifts

With Christmas in the rearview mirror I thought I would share my top 3 favorite gifts. I got several fabulous things that I am so thankful for but I thought I would just pick a few to share.

3. My Cricut Die Cut Machine - I love to scrapbook and make cards so I am really excited about this. I got this bundle set from my grandparents and also got 2 cartridges from my sister. I can't wait to get home so I can get it out of the box and use it. It will be great for working on Mr. Maddox's first year scrapbook!!


2. My Tory Burch Flats - I have wanted these flats for a long time now so I am super excited that Collin's parents got them for me!! They are the type of shoes that you can wear with anything. They can be dressy for church or just for everyday outings with jeans!! I can't wait until it warms up a little so I can wear them!! They are black patent leather and I just love them!!

1. My Texas Longhorn Christmas Tree Decorations - I was kind of bummed because we didn't have a Christmas tree this year at our house. We had an issue with our old tree from Abilene and I haven't gotten a new tree yet. I am hoping to find a good deal on a nice one when we get back to Colorado next week. That's sorta beside the point though...my favorite gift I received this year came from my mom and my sister, Morgan. They made me a full ornament crate of Texas Longhorn ornaments for my Christmas tree next year!! I had mentioned something in passing at Thanksgiving about how I thought it would be cool to have one since we are such big Longhorn fans!! They made several different styles ornaments and I can't wait until next Christmas now so that I can use them!!


While I love all the things I received none of them compare to being able to spend the day with our families and to be able to celebrate Maddox's first Christmas together. I am so thankful to have that sweet boy and look forward to many more Christmases to come!!

I would love to hear about your favorite gifts that you received too so leave me a comment!! :D

Merry Christmas to All!!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Blessings to you and your families as you celebrate the holidays together and remember the greatest gift ever given!!

Yay for Christmas Eve

I LOVE Christmas!! So you can imagine my excitement that its Christmas Eve!! It is so great to be here with family and it is especially great to celebrate Maddox's first Christmas. I have been a horrible photographer and haven't taken a single picture since we've gotten here but I promise I will do better :D!!

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!!

Holiday Travels

Yesterday was a loooooong day!! We got up and went to church as normal but then after church instead of heading to lunch like normal we went straight home to load up the car to come to Texas to celebrate the holidays with out families. We didn't end up getting on the road until about 1 (Colorado time) and after 12.5 hours in the car we arrived in Texas at about 2:30 am (Texas time). Maddox was a champ in the car. He slept on and off, ate and played with me until it got dark and then thankfully slept from about 7 until we got here. Unfortunately, since he did sleep so much on the way once we got here he woke up and wasn't too interested in going back to sleep, which was a bummer because Collin and I were exhausted. I finally just got him and put him in bed with us and thankfully he went to sleep and slept until about 8 this morning.

Overall, the trip went really smoothly and we are so thankful!! We are also really excited to be here with family for a couple of weeks and I know they are excited to get some time with Maddox too!!

Love it!!!

I was finally able to get a video of Maddox laughing. I could listen to that noise all day long...it is just so precious!! Hope you enjoy it!!

Dentist...BLAH!!

So, one of my least favorite places to go in the whole world is the dentist!! I avoid it at all costs!! However, while I was pregnant I had a filling break leaving a whole in one of my teeth. I put it off for as long as I could and finally made an appointment to go see the dentist last Friday. Turns out that I ended up getting a cavity under that broken filling since I waited so long to get it fixed. Unfortunately, that meant I had to get a crown on that tooth (a very expensive crown I might add).

They did all the the drilling (the worst sound in the world) at the appointment on Friday and put a temporary crown on and I went back today to have the permanent one put on. The tooth has been very sensitive since then but I am hoping now that the permanent one is on that it will get better.

A big bummer though is that I got a HUGE ulcer (canker sore) up where they gave me the numbing shots. Those things hurt so bad. I showed the dentist and he did some laser thing on it and now my whole cheek is swollen and it looks disgusting in there. Allegedly, this is supposed to help it heal faster but I'm not so sure that I would just rather have dealt with the ulcer.

Oh well, I'm just glad the broken filling is fixed. What a pain!!

Busy Bees

Starting yesterday things get kind of crazy at the Packer household!! We literally have something going on every day (and some days have multiple things) this weekend. Last night we had "Cocoa, Carols, and Santa" at church. Tonight, we have a birthday party for my friend Jennifer's daughter, Laney. Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment in the morning (blah) and we have a "Tacky Christmas Sweater" party tomorrow night. Saturday, I have a baby shower brunch in the morning and then we have two Christmas parties that night. Sunday, we obviously have church that morning and then we have our Bible class Christmas party that night.

Now you may be asking "What are you going to do with Mr. Maddox during all those parties??" Well, we are so thankful that Collin's mom has agreed to fly out here tomorrow (Friday) and stay for the weekend to keep Maddox every night and put him to bed while we go out and be party animals...lol. I'm so glad she is able to come because all of the parties said not to bring kids so I was really struggling to find a sitter for Maddox every single night. It should be a fun weekend and we are looking forward to all of our parties!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

FRRREEEEEZZZING

It is/has been SO ridiculously cold here for the past couple of days. I don't think it has gotten above 10 degrees and the wind chill has been in the negatives not to mention several inches of snow on the ground!! NOT my favorite. Right now it it 3 degrees with a wind chill of -7. The cold wouldn't bother me too much but the snow is not fun because I hate driving in it so since Collin has to work I am basically stuck in the house!! I will be glad when the sun finally comes out and clears the roads so that I can venture out again!!

Bananas are a NO go!!

So, I posted the video of Maddox having bananas for the first time the other day and unfortunately that did not turn out too well!! He loved them going down but the next morning when I got him up and changed him he had the WORST diaper rash. Poor little guy. I could tell it was hurting him so bad but there was not much I could do except put some diaper rash cream on it. It has gotten a little better but there are a few spots that still look pretty bad. I think if it hasn't gotten better by tomorrow I will call the pediatrician to see if I need to be doing anything else because their website says to call if it stays for 3 days and tomorrow will be day 3. We will just wait until he is older to try them again.

On a happier note Maddox is getting really good at sitting up by himself. He sits on the couch with a pillow behind him really well and just falls over every now and then. When I lay him down now he tries to pull him self up to the sitting position!! It's so much fun to watch him learn new things!!

Maddox trying Bananas

So, I got a new video camera for my birthday (thank you Gregie!!) and finally decided to try it out on Mr. Maddox. I was going to just e-mail it to people I thought would like to see it but the file was too big to e-mail. So, this is really for family members that are interested in seeing silly stuff like Maddox eating...lol. Please disregard the commentary and the ridiculously close-up view of my face...Collin was being kind of goofy!! Hope you enjoy. My favorite part is his big smile at the beginning and his funny face after he first tries the bananas!!

SANTA!!!

Yesterday morning we went to the mall with my friend, Jennifer, and her kids, Laney and Kolby to have a little visit with Santa. Of course, Maddox had no idea what was going on but it was fun for the other kids. Here are some pics :D

Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we had a lady from church take our pictures for our Christmas card and I wanted to share them. I think they turned out pretty good!! (if you click on the collage it will get bigger so you can see the pics better)

Cool New Baby Gadget

I got this awesome new bottle the other day at Babies R Us and LOVE it!! It looks kind of silly but it is wonderful!! Maddox won't hold his bottle by himself yet and that can kind of be a pain sometimes when we are in the car or out and about. All it is is a bottle with a tube for a straw in the bottle and then a longer tube that comes up with a bottle nipple on the end so that I can just set the bottle in his car seat next to him and then he can eat without having to hold the bottle. It is pretty fabulous and will come in handy when we make our 12+ hour car trip to Texas in a few weeks!! So if you have a baby and are looking for a simple and functional contraption you should check out the Podee Bottle system!!

Christmas Layout

I am so excited because I got Photoshop for my b-day!! So in honor of that I thought I would make a new blog layout and since today is the 1st day of December, I thought a Christmas one would be appropriate!!

Yay for new layouts...Yay for photoshop...and Yay for Christmas!!

5 Months

I can't believe my buddy is 5 months old!! He has already grown and changed so much in what seems like such a short amount of time!!

Here is what's going on with Mr. Maddox at 5 months...

*he weighs a little over 15 lbs.
*he wears size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 shoes
*he wears size 2 diapers
*he loves his paci but doesn't depend on it to go to sleep at night
*he loves watching his Praise Babies and Baby Einstein dvd's
*he can roll over from his tummy to his back but not his back to his tummy yet
*he eats 6 oz. every 3 hours as well as a little rice cereal and some baby food
*he has eaten sweet potatoes, squash and green peas and has LOVED all of them!!
*he is still not a very good napper but sleeps well at night
*he has the sweetest giggle and I can't get enough of it

Obviously, that isn't everything but I think it's the high points. Another thing going on right now is that I have decided to stop breast feeding. I won't quit cold turkey but I have switched all day feedings to formula and will just nurse first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. My goal was to make it until 6 months so I will continue this schedule for the rest of the month and then be completely finished. I really think Maddox will be a lot happier because he will be more full and it's just easier to have other people be able to help out and feed him. It's sort of a bittersweet thing because it is such a special time between a mom and a baby but the time has come to move past this phase and it will make life a little easier for me!!

So, thats about it for Maddox right now at 5 months. We have a busy month coming up with the holidays. Lots of parties and a 2 week trip to Texas!! So look forward to hearing about those things. I will leave you with some new pics of my sweet little boy :D.

Precious little smile!!

Adorable

Look Mom, I can fit my entire hand in my mouth!! :D

Thankfulness

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for!! Here are 30 things I am thankful for (one for each day of this month). Some are serious and some are just fun :D

I am thankful for...

1. our sweet baby boy. I can't believe he is already 5 months old!
2. Collin and our marriage. 5 years and going strong :D.
3. our families.
4. our friends.
5. our church family.
6. being able to be in Texas for the holidays.
7. being able to celebrate this holiday season with Maddox for the first time.
8. Maddox's sweet giggles.
9. my computer.
10. my car.
11. Maddox's beautiful blue eyes.
12. vacations.
13. my favorite television shows.
14. our wonderful house.
15. Maddox sleeping through the night.
16. blogs...so that I can keep up with friends.
17. playing board games and cards with family and friends.
18. my bed. I am always happy to sleep in it again after being gone out of town.
19. my cell phone.
20. my camera.
21. my friend M and her healthy pregnancy. I can't wait for Jackson and Maddox to be friends!
22. our video monitor. It makes it so much easier to put Maddox to bed in his own room.
23. the beautiful view of the mountains that I get to enjoy on a daily basis.
24. the fun time and memories from shopping trips with my mom, grandma and sisters.
25. overall good health for me and my family.
26. enough money to be able to pay our bills and buy not only necessities but also things we want.
27. my hair straightener. Without it my hair would be a wavy mess.
28. my contact lenses. I have had them since the 7th grade and they are so much better than wearing my glasses.
29. my friend JCox and all the fun times we have together shopping for bargains.
30. and last but CERTAINLY not least, I am thankful for the life and death of Jesus Christ and the grace that is given to us because of his sacrifice!!

I have been so richly blessed and cannot thank God enough for all that has been given to me. All I can do is try to be a good steward of what I have been given and constantly remember that I have done nothing to deserve any of it but have received it all because of the grace of God.

Comment and tell me what YOU are thankful for this holiday season because we have all been so greatly blessed!!

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!!!