Two Months

Our little Mad Man is two months old!

I'm doing my best to make time slow down, but nothing is working! Madden is growing way too fast, but everyday he does something new that melts my heart and that makes it ok. I just packed away all of his newborn outfits and can't believe he was ever that small! When I hold his tiny one-pieces up to him they are now capris.

 

 

These past two months have been the best! I'm still working on getting fully dressed everyday. It's not so much an issue of lazy housewifeness, but baby boy is still working on his spit up problem and I'm tired of washing some of my "never wash" shirts. Jeff has been staying home as much as he can and it's been so fun having my little family together all day long. Jeff will take little breaks throughout the day and come in to play with Madden and it's so cute watching them become little buddies. No one can make Mad smile like Jeff, he really loves his dad.

In just one month, Madden has changed so much! Here's some of his newest tricks...

1. On March 21, Madden weighed in at a healthy 11lbs. 1 oz. and measured 22 1/4 inches! 61st percentile in both. Proof of his growth? We moved to size 1 diapers on March 17th and I'm very grateful for the extra coverage. He's also officially grown out of his newborn clothes...0-3 month cuteness here we come!

2. Favorite thing of all time: Madden lays his head down on my shoulder every time I hold him. He is such a little snuggler, and he'll lay on me for forever even when he's awake.

3. Madden is starting to discover his legs! He kicks those chubby little legs all the time and it's the cutest, especially in the bath.

4. He's has also discovered that Mom has long hair, and he holds onto it with all his might!

5. Jeff and I have some black and tan artwork above our bed that Mad loves to stare at. We spend lots of time snuggling in my bed, and he's constantly staring up at it. He must love the contrast.

6. We still have a little noisemaker! Dolphin noises mainly. And he's still the worlds best grunter. He's even started making a little chuckling noise when he smiles, and the mom in me is convinced it is a little laugh.

7. Madden wakes up consistently about twice per night. 2 am and 5 am. Not so bad! Although every once in a while he give me a treat and sleep five hours straight! And....last night he even slept six hours! Happy two months to me!

8. Bath time is our favorite! He is too long to bathe in the kitchen sink now so we've moved him upstairs to the bath tub. Without fail, as soon as he touches the water his eyes get huge and he flails his arms and legs. But after a couple seconds, he calms down and starts kicking his little legs and LOVES the bath. We get a lots of smiles out of him in the bath tub, and we're convinced he's going to be a water lover. I'm also convinced that I'm going to use the lavendar baby lotion on him til he's 18.

9. Madden went to church for the first time on Easter and he was a champ during sacrament meeting!

10. Everyone says he's starting to look more like me, which I kind of love. But don't say that in front of Jeff or he might slap you.

11. April 4 has gone down in the books as the day I MADE Madden smile for the first time. It took some tickling and kissy faces, but I'm pretty sure I nailed it.

12. Also going down in the books is April 10 which was the first day Madden laughed. I know for sure it was a laugh because he was on a smiling rampage and he just couldn't hold it in.

13. Probably the most consistent thing about Madden's schedule lately is that he gets fussy every night around 7:30. Not sure why, but whatever it is it makes him sleep pretty well when he finally calms down.

14. We are slowly introducing Madden to the world. We've had a few nice spring days and we've tried taking advantage of them by going on walks. He's a little unsure about the sun, and its kind of funny because he scrunches up his face and refuses to open his eyes even when the sun isn't out. I'm still trying to figure out how to take him with me on errands. I've been doing my weekly grocery shopping at 5:30 on Saturday mornings after I feed him, that way I know I'll be back before he wakes up. Not sure how long I'll want to keep that up. I just don't like putting him in his carseat, I feel bad locking him up in there and he just looks so uncomfy! Ya I know, I need to get over it.

15. And yes I've created a little monster. Mad still doesn't like to sleep in his crip during the day. He does fine in his crib at night, but during the day if he's not on my bed or on me, forget about that nap it's so not happening. I love my little snuggle bunny, I think the time I spend with him sleeping on me will be some of my best memories of this stage. Lets just say if he's still doing it when he's 10, then we'll have a problem. Maybe.

We love you baby boy, you've made us so happy and we love every day we get to be your mom and dad! xoxo

Here's some of my favorite pictures of this sweet guy from the last month....

 

 

Madden

Our baby boy is finally here! 

Madden came on February 11th, which means he's already 1 month old! This past month has pretty much consisted of a lot of cuddling, kisses, and staring at his cute face. No wonder time goes by so fast! We sure are loving our baby, and we're so grateful to be his parents.

Here are some things we love so much about our Madden...

1. He smiles in his sleep all the time! Usually its a little half grin, but lately it's been a full faced, scrunched nose, dimples dimpling, gums baring smile. And it melts my heart. (On March 8, Madden smiled for the first time while he was awake! Can I say CAUUUUTE!?)

2. He LOVES wearing his blue, fluffy bear suit given to him by Grandma and Grandpa Harbold. He also loves his soft, white blanket from his Grandma GG. As soon as we put him in either one, he goes completely limp and falls asleep.

3. He loves to snuggle! He sleeps the best when he's being held, or laying on my chest. I love it so much even though I know I'm creating a monster...he already is not a huge fan of his crib. I'm perfectly happy being his bed for now, even though I know I'll pay for it later.

4. There is one little outfit that he goes potty on every single time without fail. The thing is jinxed. It has never lasted longer than three hours, no joke.

5. We have quite the little grunter on our hands. He grunts so much and so loud that sometimes I'm shocked the noise is coming from something so tiny! He also makes a sound like a dolphin/sheep when he stretches- it's pretty hilarious.

6. He is always so relaxed and floppy, and he sleeps completely sprawled out.

7. He does really great with tummy time and he's already so strong! Jeff has even gotten him to roll from his tummy to his back already (maybe he helped him a little bit.)

8. He is the king of spitting up! Little annoying yes, and we're not really sure how he's gaining weight with the amount he spits up every day.

9. He does not like his daily vitamin D drops. He makes the funniest faces when he's swallowing them.

10. Madden's head is still a little coney, so he can't lay flat on the back of his head without it pushing his chin all the way down to his chest. He likes laying on his right side of his head the best.

11. Sometimes he tries to eat so fast he starts choking, and his little cough is the cutest thing ever. I know, mean mom huh.

12. Sometimes in his sleep he'll make the saddest little whimper noises for no reason, and then he'll smile right afterward. We wonder what he's dreaming about!

13. He is growing really quickly! As of Feb 28, he weighed 8lb 12oz (this is how big I was when I was born) and 21 inches long. He was 7lbs 5oz and 19 3/4in long when he was born.

14. He's a pretty decent sleeper, but we still haven't managed to get a steady routine going yet. Usually I only wake up to feed him twice during the night, except for this week when he's been in the mood to party at 3 in the morning.

15. Our baby boy was born with a pretty awesome layer of fur on his back and shoulders (I may or may not have had the same thing when I was a baby) It really is the cutest thing though, and it's earned him the nickname "Mad Pup" in our family.

16. We are loving every day as a family of three! We already don't really remember what life was like before he was here, and we can't imagine our life being any better! We love you baby Madden!

Year-to-date

I wish I was a good enough blogger to start out a post by saying, "this week..." but instead I have to start by saying, "this year...." Sorry guys, I'm not the best, but so far we've had a pretty eventful year. Well, eventful for a med school family that is. 

This year......

I went to visit my cute, mama of a sister and got to hold my sweet little nephew Bridger for the first time. I was the only one who hadn't seen him yet so I got a whole day's worth of first dibs on holding him. He was only 1 1/2 months and was soooo tiny. Now he's a little rolly poly of solid chunk and even more to die for!

Fun family get together for Bridger's blessing

Back home in Missouri, Jeff was very busy studying away and finishing up the school year. I could show you a picture of him in action, but it would just be a picture of the back of his head while he's sitting at his desk and I don't think anyone would appreciate that, especially Jeff.

But we were still able to sneak away and do some fun things this summer...

One night we went to Kansas City's new opera house and saw the Romeo and Juliet ballet. Jeff was soooooo excited to go, but this is the conversation we had as soon as it started.

"Hey Paige, aren't they going to talk in this?"

"Jeff, no, this is a ballet."

"Right. (Pause) How long is this going to last?"

What a trooper, and how lucky am I to have a husband not only willing to TAKE me to the ballet, but a husband that STAYS at the ballet once he realizes what he's gotten himself into.

We also went through a slight Jenga phase. We're all about quick games these days, and we had lots of fun with this one. I think our current record is 37 stories. 

In May the Kansas City Temple was dedicated. This was really the best experience. It is such an incredible temple, and it's really amazing the amount of pride you feel when you get to watch a temple being built just for you. I was asked to be a host for the open house, and it was so cool to be able to spend so much time there with people who know very little about the church. This temple was very well represented in the media, and we had a lot of great missionary opportunities as the open house was going on. President Monson came to dedicate it, and I especially loved seeing the youth's excitement to see the prophet in person for the first time. It was interesting how much the church focused on making this a great experience for the youth. One night, they closed off the temple to the general public and invited only the young women to come tour the temple. Being a YW leader, I got to walk with my group of girls through the bridal room and spend some extra time in the celestial room. The next time they will be back in those rooms, they will be going through the temple themselves and getting married. I was so lucky to be as involved as I was during the temple dedication, and it was one of those experiences I'll never forget.

My mom came this spring for a weekend visit. Jeff was busy with school, so it was just a mom/Paige weekend. She helped me make these curtains, aren't they so cute? My mom is so talented.

We also got lots of pictures of this cute baby. Don't you just want to coochie his cheeks?

 Before the heat hit, we had a couple bonfires and of course some s'mores! The lighter fluid in the corner kinda blows Jeff's boy scout pride. And once the heat DID hit, I just moved my s'more making inside.

We also discovered the best museum ever. It's pretty close to the school, so we've gone a few times after I've gotten done with work. This place is huge! It's a good place to spend the afternoon, and probably an even better place to be if there's a tornado.

We've also kept up our little walking tradition. We love to wander around the neighborhood by our house, and surprisingly we haven't gotten sick of it yet. Last year was so nice because we hardly had a winter, so we were able to walk pretty much year round. We love how green it is here, and it's also our way to squeeze in a little bit of time together.

Flowers and tomatoes! Ever since we moved in, I've been so anxious to use all the garden space our little house has. I tried starting some tomatoes and other things from seed and that was not very successful, so I ended up just buying little starter plants. I bought four tomato plants thinking that if I bought four, maybe two would live. And I bought two basil plants hoping one would live. And same with the bell peppers. I'm not sure if I've gotten past my "kill every living thing in sight" phase, or Missouri is just an easy place to grow stuff, but everything I planted just grew like crazy! And fast too! We had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with and so much basil that I smelled it instantly the moment I went outside. It was so fun! My flowers out in my front yard did great too! I'd like to say I am the lucky charm, but if I'm being honest with myself, it's because Missouri is awesome.

In July, we got to go to the lake with my family! It was the first time our whole family has been together in a long time, so it was fun to see everyone. And of course, Montana isn't a bad setting for a vacation!

And finally, the biggest news of the year......da da dahhhhh!!! We have a little munchkin of our very own on the way!!

We are counting down with excitement to February 17th! We can't wait to meet our new addition and start this new phase of our life together. We're a little anxious around here planning for upcoming baby chaos as well as preparing for Jeff's national boards coming shortly after the baby comes. But we know we will have a little help and everything will work out fine.

Jeff is going to be the best dad. Medical school is hard. Really hard. It takes its toll on Jeff and our family every day, but I've been so impressed this past year watching Jeff focus so intently on school, not for his own gain, but for the purpose of providing for our family and letting me be a stay-at-home mom. I feel so lucky to have him, and our sweet little baby will be lucky to have him too.

Blue or Pink? We'll find out September 17th. Take your guess!

Love and miss you all, hope everyone is happy and well!

Hey Baby!

I'm An Auntie!!

Bridger Grow Hakes finally came

January 14, 2011

and we love him

 

 

Winter

Christmas was really great this year... we were able to spend it with lots of family and take a break from school and work for a while, which was wonderfullll. I'm proud to say, I took more pictures during the break than I have probably the whole year combined, so here's a bunch to show a little of what we did...

My sister actually took these for our Christmas cards

Gingerbread house making day. Who knew Jeff would get so into it!?? He loved it and built the most intricate house out of everyone. More pics to come...

Mine was a mess. I saw Jeff making a really intense roof, so I tried making an even more intense roof, but it turned out looking like a mushroom. So somewhere in the process I turned it upside down and it turned out to be a perfect Noah's ark.

Abby was Mary and Conner was one of our handsome wisemen for the Nativity this year. We finally have so many kids that I don't have to dress up anymore!

Our cute little angel, Ella.

This one is so cute I can't even handle it

Lola, Aiden and baby Harrison

It was so fun being with so much family this year!

Grandma Honey with our little Harrison. Look how chunky he is!

Hey Lola!

Mama Donna xoxo

Oh back to the gingerbread houses. Jeff going a little crazy with his house!

Hey handsome

Taylor's not too into making the houses, so she put hers up pretty fast and was out of there. The rest of us probably spent more than five hours!

Building the ark

Mama Donna said she's never made a house before, she's always just helped the kids, so this year was Grandma's first and it turned out so cute. She did perfect ice-cycles.

Mine was so ridiculous, but I was still a little proud of it!

Christmas Eve visiting Grandpa DeWayne

This was so funny... we usually all sleep in Kendyle and Steve's room downstairs, but for some reason Taylor came up with the idea to kick my parents out of their bed instead. And even though it was her idea, Taylor ended up going back into her own bed in the middle of the night because she didn't have any room. Here's her picture for proof

Christmas morning breakfast of quiche, coffee cake, fruit cocktail, and Dad's famous orange julius

Mom's pretty Christmas tree!

Stair pictures, mom still insists on doing these.

Dad was so excited to get fly fishing gear!

Iphone Christmas!

We got quite a bit a snow one day, and then it was sunny the rest. That's Colorado for you!

Jeff's masterpiece before decorating, then he got a little tired and went to play raquetball and left me to decorate it

Finished!

Jeff's little buddy, Lola

We got to go out to visit Jeff's grandparents for New Years, and here's a picture from a walk we went on. So pretty!