Okay, okay...Pics from 20 Week Ultrasound

I was scheduled to go in for the 20-week ultrasound on Friday, Aug. 15th. Well, on Monday of that week, I decided that I could not wait 4 more days to find out what we are having. =) So, I called and schedule it for Wednesday morning, Aug. 13th instead. I was VERY excited. We had Maddox go with us so that he can be involved and see that there really is something moving around in my stomach. =)

As Maddox says, here I am getting the "jelly on my belly" and we are getting prepared.



Maddox felt right at home in this office and totally stole the show with his large vocabulary and smarts. He was too funny with that lady tech!



All done! Everything looks good so far and YES...I KNOW WHAT WE'RE HAVING IN THIS PIC!



Maddox making his faces while Chad smiles from excitement. =)


And tickling always has to happen to get Maddox to sit in one spot.


Here is baby's precious profile shot.



Here baby is kicking me. Notice the head on the left and then the arching back with legs & booty going up towards the right? Yeah, the tech said this was a "feisty one". You're telling me.



Baby's profile again. Baby had it's hand scratching or pulling on it's nose during the session and this is a shot from that. It is still so amazing to see each of those little fingers moving in there.



And the time has come for the gender announcement!!!!!!

We are having a........




Yippee!!!!!!! I actually thought we would have 2 boys, so I was a bit shocked when she told us for sure. Chad saw immediately and Maddox and he were very excited and I was just sort of stunned. I truly didn't mind what we had because I have just been happy that I already had one boy. It is slowly sinking in as I start looking at "girl" things, something I've never really done. I was always against pink, but now it's really starting to grow on me. =)

Maddox only would ask for a "suster" or a "baby guhl" so I was glad that we could accommodate his request.

Little G-Reg comes to visit

Our old pal, Greg, came to visit for a 4-day weekend this month and Maddox totally thought he was awesome. He keeps asking where Little G-Reg is (he gets the G-Reg part from me & Chad calling him that, but he added the "Little" all by himself.) I'm sure Greg will be thrilled. Ha!

Anyway, Greg was worn out by the time he flew back to FL, I'm sure, because Maddox continuously wanted to Greg to throw him around in the air. Sometimes I don't understand boys, but whatever.

So, thanks for visiting with us again Greg. One year is too long to go without your Chad/Amanda/Maddox fix, right?



Maddox waits for the tickle monster to attack.


And there it is....

A Boy and his Dad

Chad works on average about 70-80 hours a week. BUT...he is the most amazing father in how he always makes special time for Maddox when he's home. He takes him on outings just the two of them (carwashing, Chuck E. Cheeze, grocery store, eating out, etc.) and Maddox loves it! I am so thankful to have such an amazing, attentive husband as a father to our child. Here are some priceless moments with the two of them.


Chad and Maddox on the 4th of July...watching the "big" fireworks.



Lounging with Daddy (you have to click to enlarge this picture just to see Maddox's funny expression)



This was the shot I got after they both were pretending to be asleep. Maddox has an amazing pretend snore. =)



Maddox's first real fireworks. (First year he wasn't totally terrified.) This was his 3rd or 4th sparkler. When Chad lit the 2nd one, I was watching of course, and he lit it right near Maddox's face. I flipped out because the sparks jumped into his precious face...but he's a boy and didn't even care. Yikes.



Showing what a big boy he is getting to be. I love these two. =)

I have created a Singing Fool...

...and I mean this in the nicest way possible, of course. If you know me well, then you know that I have a tendency to sing everything. And in the past few months, it has become very apparent that I have either passed on this trait or it has been learned through many days of singing most everything.

In this post, I will show Maddox's love for any type of lyric. He is a VERY quick study and can learn all the words to a song by just hearing it once or twice. It is actually quite amazing. His favorites right now are "Elmo's World" theme song and "Jesus Loves Me".

In the pictures here of Chad and him, they are singing into the Elmo karaoke machine. In looking at these, you will also see that Maddox likes to use anything (like his mother) as a microphone. He has used a pretend ketchup bottle, a brush (as shown here), banana, telephone, remote control, etc. Anything that can be held like a microphone.



On the way to Chad's studio, Hippo Sound, one afternoon. Maddox is stylin' as usual.





This child already knows his way around two professional studios (that I know of) and always wants to go to Daddy's work to help him make music. His favorite one is Hippo Sound because Chad lets him play drums, listen to music, and it is always just the three of us visiting when we go there. It is the highlight of any day that we get a chance to drive down.






The funny part is that he already knows where the kick drum is, etc. Cracks me up!!




Another talent of his that he wants people to know. He can roll his tongue.



In this most precious video, you will see Maddox sing the song "Jingle Bells" after hearing me sing it twice. Listen to how well he already knows it (in between the dancing). This is just another example of me singing anything that pops into my head. It was July but Maddox has picked up this jingle bell stick and of course what did I do? Started singing the dumb song. And now you see who picked up on it. Enjoy this clip!

Summer Fun - just me and Maddox

So, what's a mom to do during the summer while she suffers horrendous morning sickness?!?! Well, first of all, take note: morning sickness is a big fat LIE! Oh no folks...it's all-day sickness for me. While pregnant with Maddox AND the new baby I have had the worst of it. Zofran couldn't cut it and Phenergan only did because it knocked me out every night for a few months. I learned to improvise. Thank goodness that Maddox is extremely self-entertaining (Thank you Lord!) and has a great imagination he can run wild with while I was lying around just making it through the days. Here are some snippets from our summer.


We have been swimming on the few days that I have NOT been nauseous.


I tried to muster up the enthusiasm for fun things at home. On this particular day it was playdough, with Maddox here proudly displaying his "snowman doggy". Don't ask...you just have to go with the imagination. =)



Maddox gets a kick (still) over wearing big people shoes. Here he is wearing my tennis shoes and saying "Look! I'm being a Mommy!" He will also say "being a Daddy" or "being an Uncle Josh" depending on whose shoes he finds.



And he seems to have a sense of style. In this next shot he has his cute collared shirt on, along with his Chuck E. Cheeze tattoo (rt arm) and his Mommy's high-heeled wedges. Classic.



Unfortunately, this is what I looked like most of the summer. Maddox kept his cuteness factor even though we were indoors most of the days. He has been such a great little guy for me.



Playing on the Children's level of the downtown Main Nashville Library. They have the BEST storytime I've ever seen. Puppets, stories, songs, juggling, etc. And then a play area while you wait.



Bennett and Maddox just browsing the selection.



Maddox and I packed our lunch one day. Out the doors from the children's section is an open courtyard with a fountain in the middle, small tables, chairs, benches, etc. He was enjoying his PB&J sandwich here.



My cute man trying to get as far in the water as he could reach. =) Without getting in trouble. I haven't been in the mood to have to jump in after him.

Train Up A Child Store!

I was introduced to what Maddox and I call the "Thomas the Train store" when he was just a little guy. Probably around 10 months old or so. My friend, Ashley, would take her son Grayson there all the time and they started inviting us to meet them. We have been going ever since then!!

You just have to pay $3 and your child can play with the train tables/tracks/trains that are already set up, watch some Thomas videos, play with the little kitchen, or do blocks & puzzles. Kids love this place!!

One day, Maddox and I wanted to go and we invited our neighbor Sarah and her son Bennett to meet us there. Then I thought of more people to call: Kajsa and her son Kaj; Brooke and her daughter Elise and son Zion. We ended up with our own little playgroup that day. =) Here are some pics.

Maddox intently playing with the trains.



Probably wondering what I needed...just a picture. =)



From Left to right: Zion, Bennett, Elise, Maddox, and unknown child. =)

Welcome to My Blog!

Well here I am - I'm finally sharing one of my blogs from blogger! I decided it was about time. I've had a few on here in the past...dating back to Summer '05 when I got pregnant with Maddox. But they were always private and never shared. So now I'll start a new one since it does seem like the easiest way for people to actually choose to catch up on us instead of me bombarding everyone with KodakGallery emails. =)

I will begin this blog with some of my favorite shots of Maddox recently. These were taken by my sis-in-law, Becky, and she is really able to capture Maddox's expressions and personality clearly. He adores her and I think that helps him be himself.

These were taken while playing outside at Mom's house and playing inside Josh's (my brother) 1972 (?) Monte Carlo. A dream come true for both of those boys. ;) Here you go: