Mommy, Daddy, and Maddie

Bad, Bad Blogger

2008-09-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm talking about myself, blogger friends. Thanks to everyone who sent Maddie the birthday wishes. I realize her birthday was almost 3 weeks ago and I still haven't managed to get any pics from her birthday up. I'm ridiculously bad at the blogging thing and now that I'm back to work, I'm thinking about just retiring all together. I told myself that I would get some birthday pictures up though, so here ya go. The first pic is for Cheryl! Ashlyn loves her jeep! You made her day! The rest of these are from Maddie's actual birthday and then a few from her party. We had a great time and she is officially acting like a big one year old now. She's getting a little too big for her britches at times. I'm not going to write much more here because I've got more blogs to write. I need to catch up on my blogger friends too! Happy Friday!

Maddie eating her birthday blueberry muffin

I think she liked it! Especially when she didn't have to wear her hat!

Feeding the fish at Joe Pool Lake

Swinging at the park

Waiting to try her first birthday cake! This was the healthy carrot cake I made her. It wasn't too healthy thought b/c I iced it with cream cheese frosting. Got to give em something good...

If you're thinking it looks messed up on the side, you are absolutely right! I tried my best though!

Love the face and the hair.

We decided she needed her first haircut on her b-day

Here's the "after" picture. Carson did a great job! I was too scared to cut her ear!

My baby is ONE!!! How did that happen?

2008-08-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Maddie turned one today. I can't believe how fast the first year of her life has passed by me. It's been such a treasure to watch her grow and see how much she has changed over the past year. Here's a couple of pics so you can see for yourself.

So sweet! We had a fun and relaxing day. I made blueberry muffs this morning and attempted to put Maddie's birthday hat on and she screamed and squirmed until I finally threw the hat and said "Forget it!" We'll try again at her birthday party this weekend but I'm sure we'll get the same results. After her morning nap, we took her to Joe Pool to feed the fish and ducks and then it was on to the park for some swinging. I'm sure you would rather see pics of all these things that just read about them but my computer is messing up (as usual) and I can't get the pics dowloaded. I'll try again tomorrow.
So, after the park, we took Mads back home and gave her the first of her two birthday cakes. I made the healthy carrot cake recipe from the "What to Expect" book, but the healthy ingredients in it were cancelled out by the sugary yummy cream cheese frosting I put on the cake. She grabbed for the icing immediately and pretty much just stuck with that until I acutally cut her some of the cake off to eat. Again, I will try to post some pics again tomorrow so you can see all the fun! Our last trip of the day was to Target. Nothing spectacular to Mom and Dad, but extremely fun to a one year old who has learned how to run away from her parents!
I'm enjoying these last few days to spend with Maddie before I go back to work full time. I'm excited to teach again, but I'm going to miss being with my little girl during the day. Say a little prayer that she and I will make it through these next couple of weeks without any serious breakdowns! Maddie has already spent a morning with Mrs. Becky at her home and she loved it! I know God opened the door for this opportunity for me to go back to work and he provided a warm and loving woman to take care of my child while I'm there. The best part is that she lives right by my school. I'm very blessed.

Happy Birthday Madeline Reese! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!!!

Summer Fun and Jamie's Baby Shower

2008-06-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

I hosted my first baby shower a couple of weeks ago for my friend, Jamie! She was a beautiful mommy to be! My sweet mom and friend, Paula, helped get the table all set that you see below there.

My first ice ring in the punch bowl. It was so easy to make!!!

Hostesses and Jamie

She got so many cute outfits. Her mom made all the bows you see below and the cute purple onesie tutu. She made one for Maddie too! Yippee!

Almost ready to start walking with Daddy!

Swimming with her cuz in her birthday suit

First taste of a popsicle. Yummy!

Mommy liked it too!

Ashlyn looks like this in EVERY pic we take of her. She always yelling, "CHEESE"

Maddikins at the Family Reunion.

I seriously don't know how this child stays so small....she eats everything!!

Maddie and Aidan
(Don't you love his name, all you SATC fans?)

Lil' rocker

June has been a busy month so far. We been to my family reunion, Austin, and New Braunfels to hang out at Schlitterbaun! I Love Schlitterbaun!!!! It reminds me of my youth, but I'll talk about that a little bit later. Madeline is 10 months old as of last Friday. She's standing unsupported now and she took SIX steps last night. Of course, Carson was at work when it happened and I had to call and tell him about it. We tried to redo the scene this morning but no such luck. She's taking a few steps here and there and it's so neat to see her build up her confidence and just take off. She still prefers to crawl because she knows she can get around faster that way. She's jibbering and jabbering all the time and says "Hiyee" the moment you say it to her. She's pat-a-caking about 100 times a day...I love it. It's so cute to see them clapping and rolling up the dough. Her absolute favorite thing to do is to get into something she in not supposed to and then have me call out her name and say "NO!" She abruptly jumps up and starts hauling the other direction waiting for me to chase after, pick her up, and tickle her. It's sooooo CUTE!!! Man, I love my baby!!
We went down to Georgetown last weekend to see our parents (my in-laws), Mimi and Big Daddy to Maddie. We hung out on 6th street Saturday in Austin. They were having a huge bike rally and we saw a ridiculous amount of Harleys. We checked out the botanical gardens and they were somewhat disapointing, compared to FT. Worth. If you're planning a visit there, I would skip it and check out Barton Springs instead. Sunday, we headed for the San Marcos outlets and then to Schlitterbaun. I have not been since I was a kid and a lot had changed about th park, but they still had the same rides that I remembered riding as a child. I LOVE all the tube rides there. We went on all my old favorites and they had several new areas for children. Very kid friendly park!!! We are planning to go back next month with my family and see the other half of the park that we missed this time around. It was packed as usual, but by Sun. everning there were no lines and we could walk right up to the rides. SOOOO much fun. Loved it! Unfortunately, I don't have any pics because I was too busy riding rides but Mimi is going to send me some so I can post some of Maddie.
Have a great week!!!!

Maddie's 9 Month and Family Pics

2008-05-21T17:56:00.001-07:00

Here are some fun family pics we had taken a few weeks ago. These were the few of dozens where we are all actually looking at the camera at the same time. I'm sure Wendy was ready to pull out hair after our photo shoot!

First Trip to Zoo, Rangers Game, and Mayfest

2008-05-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ft. Worth Zoo

Texas Rangers Game

Mayfest 2008

One of her favorite faces

Help me!!! Help me!!!

Helping mommy out with laundry

First ride on the baby swing

Give me back my duckie!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying avacado for the first time! I think she's going to be a guac. fan!

Maddie has done a lot of "firsts" since I last blogged. We took our first trip to the zoo with my friend Rebekkah and her daughter, Hannah. They weren't much into the animals yet but we had fun anyway. We bought a season pass, so if any of you mommas want to get a group together and go this summer, call me!!!! The next event was Maddie's first Ranger game. We got brave and decided to take her with us to meet some friends, Ryan and Lindsey. She was SUCH a wiggle worm! All she wanted to do was get on the nasty floor and crawl around. We passed her around and walked around a couple of times and finally after the seventh inning stretch, I was ready to leave. I think we will wait to take her back to the ballgame after she can walk on her own. Last weekend, my entire family went to have pics done at the Botanical Gardens in Ft. Worth and then it was off to Mayfest. OMG, it's so hard to take a family picture with three grandkids. I think we maybe got one shot where we were all looking at the camera. We got some good individuals ones though, I will post some of Maddie this week, hopefully! After the photo shoot, it was off to Mayfest. I always loved going to Mayfest every year! I would always make one of the jars of layered colored sand and do all the little crafts in the kids area. I remember everything being very crafty and it was all free(after price of admission, of course). Now, as soon as you go in the entrance, you are bombarded with the inflated slides and bounce houses and of course every kid is going to want to ride ALL of them. You will notice Ash coming out of a shark's mouth up above. She LOVED this ride and she kept going back up to the lady asking to ride over and over, not understanding that you needed tickets every time to ride. We had a great time and I got to have all my "fair food" favorites twice in one year. It's always a corny dog, corn on the cob, and funnel cake. Fried, buttery yumminess!!! The pics of Maddie in the red bow are out in front of my dad's roses in the backyard. My mom and I were just messing around one day, taking a few shots, and they ended up turning out so good!!!! She is a happy girl, I must say...and adventurous , too! You will see her in wedged under our chair in the living room in the pic above. She thought it would be fun to see if she could crawl in the little tiny space btwn the chair and the floor and she got stuck. These kind of situations are becoming very frequent these days...she's is constantly keeping me on my toes. When I get frustrated with her or worn out at the end from chasing her around all day, I remember that I am so blessed to have such an active and healthy baby girl. God is so good!

Catchin' Up

2008-03-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Easter fun!

Gracie Melton and Maddie Parrish sharing kisses!
She's not so sure about this egg thing yet.
Check out the peep bubbles!
Finally, we have a boy! Sweet baby Zane on the left!

Maddie is all about her little scooter!
A yummy picnic with cuz, Ashlyn. Check out Ashlyn's coat. It's one I got for Maddie for next winter. It's 18mos. and a little small for Ash! It was cold out that morning and she didn't have a jacket...we made due!

Maddie LOVES Dexter (who's currently living with my parents)
Maddie's friends in bible class!

The new baby boy! Ash was so excited...Daddy too!
Look at his sad little tubes! He was so swollen, but still adorable!
This is truly a happy child!
This is 1 of 2 pics I got off Maddie in her easter dress! Maddie and Darcy High
This is my friend since birth, Summer Mittig, with her daughter, Maggie. The babes were worn out at this point!

We had to immediately lower Maddie's bed when we got home from Georgetown. Maddie decided she was going to start standing up in her bed. She's doing so much soooo fast!
Lil' Misschievious

In the waiting room the day baby Zane was born!

Ok , so I'm not the best best mommy blogger, this we know. It really has to do with my extremely slow computer at home. I'm at my parents house so I will try to catch you up on what's been going on at the Parrish household the past few weeks. Actually, in the short break I've taken from blogging, Maddie has learned to crawl, pull up, stand up, and crawl so more. She began crawling at the very end of sixth months, and has only gotten quicker and smarter since. I can't keep up with the child and she can't stand to sit in her bouncer, crib, pack n play, or exersaucer anymore, so I tend to run around chasing after her a lot. She is as joyful and playful as ever and we really enjoyed Easter weekend. We had the Peden and Allen clan over at our house last Sat. night for some egg coloring and cookie making fun! Oh, and of course, the EGG HUNT. Maddie didn't really hunt eggs yet, but the rest of the cousins had a great time on their quest! Our guest of HONOR was our newest member of the family, ZANE ALLEN PEDEN. He had a long week in the NICU, but we were thankful to have him home for all the celebrations. He's a handsome lil' thing and we got some good luvin' at the Easter party. For all who have prayed this past week for Jana, Zane, Clay, and Ash, thanks so much! We appreciate your concern and support!

6 months and Lovin' It

2008-02-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

She's ready for the red carpet!

Maggie and Maddie sharing some luvin in Sunday school

YuMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

She was very serious in this shot.

I was a bad mommy and didn't post on Maddie's half birthday last Wed. She is doing great and just doing new things all them time. Like, for instance, rotating herself to lay horizontally in her bouncer like you see in the picture above. It is now too boring for her to merely just sit and lay like a helpless baby. She's much too grown up for that now and wants to really experience life and live on the edge. I've had to jump out of the shower unexpectedly a couple of times to make sure she didn't escape and bust her head. She's getting up on all fours now and really wanting to try this crawling thing. I've discovered that I can no longer leave the room when she is down on the floor. She's still loving her food. Squash and applesauce have been on the menu lately. She eats it up just like her momma. All else is well and we are thankful!

Good Times, Good Times...

2008-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

I just has to put this HUGE bow on her head for picture purposes!
Our little Longhorn!
She might want to be a Red Raider or Aggie instead! ;)

Yes, I do suck on these cheeks all day long!!! Love 'em!!!!
Check out this onesie I got off Ebay! I just had to have it. Daddy is so proud!
I'll embarass her with this picture someday.

Miss Independent

Sweet Maddie is going to be 6 months next week! She's growing up way too fast! She's starting to scoot around on the floor and loves to eat. She's had sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peas so far, and she loves eating all of them. As you can see from above, she loves to also eat her feet. Her feet are her new favorite discovery. So ladylike!

Nothing else new really going on with us...I will be having a birthday tomorrow. It will be my 29th! Only thing I have planned is to go eat at The Cheesecake Factory, which is enough for me! Yummy! My early birthday present to myself was to go to the salon for a much needed haircut and color job. My hair hasn't been one solid color for about 4 years, it took a bit to get used to, but I really like it! Carson is SUPPOSEDLY going to take me to Home Depot this weekend to pick out some paint for us to paint our guest bathroom. I'm excited because it definitely needs a paint job!

Blessings

2008-01-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine was sharing some of the blessings in her life on her blog and I enjoyed reading them and thought I might do a little reflection myself...

1. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me so much that he rubs my feet for no reason at all. He still loves me despite all my shortcomings.

2. I am blessed with a beautiful daughter who is healthy and can see and hear and even cry at 3a.m without any difficulty. Unfortunately, some children have a tough road from the get go.

3. I am blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with my daughter during her first year of life.

4. I am blessed to have a family who loves me unconditionally, even when my "less than attractive" qualities come out of me.

5. I am blessed to have two baskets full of laundry to do right now...some people in this world don't have a shirt to put on their back.

6. I am blessed to have central heating in my home. It's supposed freeze tonight and I'm thankful that I have a warm bed to snuggle up in.

7. I am blessed to have my friends who love and support me.

8. I am blessed to have a sister who is also my best friend.

9. I am blessed to live in a country that allows me and my family to be safe and free.

10. I am blessed to KNOW I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and who has given me the gift of eternal salvation!

How are you blessed?

Hello blogger friends...remember me?

2008-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Maddie trying to figure out if she likes her new Christmas present?

Ashlyn was making some classic faces on Christmas Eve...I think she is going to be our little our little stinker in the family! My camera was messing up and the lighting was bad.

say what?

Look at those big beautiful eyes...we just finished cereal.

Maddie and Daddy opened her stalking...Carson is a little worn out, he had just gotten off work in the a.m.

Just being her happy little cute self!

First attempt at cereal...YUCK!

She is our little present from God! Do you like my poinsettia prop over there?
First Christmas Eve

See what I mean about Ashlyn and her hilarious faces?

This girl loves her Daddy and he loves her!

We went to the Arlington Christmas parade with Brandon, Kim, and Darcy. Darcy was just a few week old.

Sweet babies!

Hey guys! It's been so long since I last blogged, I know, but I have a good reason, I promise. We put all this anti-virus stuff on the computer and know it takes forever just to type one short paragraph. There is a severe delay when I type and it's drives me crazy!!! Therefore, I will keep this short and sweet. We had a great Christmas and New Year and we adore our precious daughter more and more everyday. She's doing a lot of new things since I last posted...rolling over, trying to sit up from a lying position, and eating rice cereal! She didn't like it much at first, but she's really getting the hang of it now. I will post pics of all the fun we have had over the past month. God Bless you and your family!

A Funny Show

2007-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

Gettin' ready for Christmas!

Practicing sitting up

This girl loves being on her tummy!

I almost lost her in that pink tutu!

Ashlyn's birthday party at The Little Gym

Bubbles are oh so grand!

Love this outfit!

Ash is totally into Cindrella (check out the cake)

Has anyone caught the new show, Notes From the Underbelly, on ABC? It piloted last spring and is back for a second season. It's greatness for currently pregnant women and new parents. It's a comedy and the actors are witty and hilarious! Check it out on Monday nights at 8:30 on ABC. I'll add a link for you to view an episode.

http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=ABCCOMGlobalMenu&lpos=FEP

Ok, just a few pics of Madeline growing like a weed. I posted a few of Ashlyn's 3rd birthday at the Little Gym. It's a neat little place for the kiddos to get on actual gymnastic equipment. Maddie got sick with a cold last Friday night. She had a fever and congestion and we were freaking out. WE called the answering service for our dr. and they didn't return our call. Thankfully, her fever broke and she slept through the night. I called back the next morning and some nurse finally called me back. I'm going to be having some words with the dr.'s office at her next visit. She is finally getting better but still has a runny nose. We will attempt to get some Christmas pictures again this week, hopefully! I have started tutoring at my old school a couple of days a week. It's weird being back there again and not being a full time teacher. I guess I'll get back into the swing of things soon enough. I'm thankful for the oppurtunity. God has been good to us and all is well! Blessings to you and yours this holiday season!

A Little Bit of This and That

2007-11-16T07:15:00.001-08:00

My teacher friend, Rebekah, and her daughter, Hannah, at Grapevine Mills
My little rocker!
Maddie's new friend, Puppy

I've kinda dropped off the bloggin' bandwagon here lately...just wanted to post some pics of our recent festivities. She was our cute little caterpillar at Halloween and she did pretty well with her costume, I must say! She's growing like a weed and loves to talk. She's becoming more interactive with her toys and going to roll over any day now. My favorite shot of her thus far is the one above where she is flashing a huge smile inside her crib. Aghhh! My heart just melts when I look at that adorable face! Maddie and I headed out to Grapevine Mills to meet my friend, Rebekah, and her daughter Hannah. Hannah was 6 weeks old in that picture. She is exactly six weeks younger than Madeline. We had a great visit and got some good exercise,too! Did you know that walking around the entire mall once is equal to a mile?
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Rose Garden Wedding

2007-10-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, the bow is almost as big as her head!
The Parrish clan. The sun was in a bad spot and Maddie looks like she is glowing!
David Wilson holding Madeline with Carson. A few more months and Dave will be Dr. David Wilson! Yes, he's single and cute so if you know any good looking, smart single ladies, let me know! We are so proud of our friend!
Ryan Angwin is our other cute and single friend and is also planning to be a dentist, so bring on any cute girls we can introduce him to. I hope these guys don't look at this blog b/c they will probably kill me.
cookie cutter carson jr. (He's pretty handsome so I guess I won't complain too much that she looks just like him).

We went to some friends wedding this past weekend at the Botanical Gardens. It was very pretty and only a 15 minute ceremony! I loved it! Felicia was a beautiful bride and Michael was looking quite handsome in his tux. Unfortunately, I obsessed with taking pictures of my daughter and I forgot to get a shot of them on my camera. oops! As you can see from Maddie's dress, I was trying to steal the brides's thunder by dressing her in all white (just kiddin' but I had to put it on her b/c she looked to cute in it). We went out with some friends to Sundance Sqaure after the wedding and Carson's folks took Madeline back home and watched her for a couple of hours. Grandparents are such a blessing! I was so thankful to have some "adult time" with friends. It's the first time I've been out since Madeline was born. We had a great time catching up with old friends, but it's hard not to think about your child the entire time. Am I right? I'm sure all you new parents can relate. I think we called home 3 times in a 2.5 hr period to make sure Maddie was ok. It's amazing how your life starts to revolve around your children. We go to all this trouble to arrange babysitting and get everything all prepared for our time away from them, but it's impossible not to think about what they're doing back home every five minutes. Big Daddy and Mimi did a great job babysitting and Madeline was perfect for them. I'm very thankful to have such an agreeable little girl. Jana and I have been preparing our annual Halloween carnival for our church this year. It's this Saturday and I'm ready to get Madeline in her caterpillar costume. I'm sure I'll have a few pictures to post soon! Happy Halloween to all of you!

State Fair and Dex

2007-10-18T20:11:00.001-07:00

Our sweet new puppy, Dexter!

Love the hair in this one!
He was trying to hold her hand! Hee Hee!

Aaawh! Aidan loves Maddie. She was a little unsure at this point.

Carson told me that Big Tex is wearing real denim blue jeans! Biggest wranglers ever!

We had a great time at the fair this year. We went with our friend, Ryan, and a sweet couple, Jeremy and Amanda. Their little boy, Aidan, is 8 mos. old and he was CRAZY about Maddie! He wanted to love on her and she was just letting him. I didn't think we would have to start dealing with boys this soon in her life. Oh my goodness! Hee hee. We walked around for 6 hours and somehow never made it to most of the kids activities. I don't think the babies minded much, though. I had my traditional food items this year: Fletcher's corny dog, buttery corn on the cob, and a funnel cake for dessert. I think I calculated that my fair meal was somewhere around $20. It seems crazy when you think about how pricey fair food it but it REALLY is worth it. You can't find a better corny dog anywhere else in my opinion. As you can see from the last picture, Madeline is smiling all the time now. It's one of the sweetest sights I've ever experienced in my life. There's nothing that gives a mother more joy that when her baby looks into her eyes and flashes a huge smile for the first time. It's the BEST feeling ever!!!! She is sleeping great at night, about 8 hours straight through. I still get up in the middle of the night to do the breathing test (I put my finger under her nose to feel her breath or lay my hand on her chest to feel it rising.) Her daddy is right by my side, too. He loves to check on her, swaddle her up, and hold her close when she cries. It has always amazed me to see how good Carson is with babies. He loves to play and talk to her and his heart just melts when she smiles at him. I always thought he was going to be stern and tough on our children, but I think having a girl is going to make him a bit of a softy. hee hee. All is well here for now and we are thankful for all that God has blessed us with in our lives.

Dexter

2007-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! We finally have a family dog. You heard about little Dexter in an earlier post when we were trying to decide if we were going to keep him. Carson gave me the go ahead last week so I went and picked him up next door. He had a brief stay at my parents house b/c I didn't want him in the house until we went and got his shots. Anyhoo, he's all good now and we are taking him to his first training class tonight at Pets Mart. He's done pretty good with the whole potty training thing so far, however this morning was not so good. I can't really stay mad at this precious 4 1/2 lb. dog, though. I would post a picture right now, but blogger keeps giving me error notices when I try to upload any pics. Anybody else having this problem? I'm going to stop for now and see if I can get to the root of the problem. I have cute pics of Maddie with her first boyfriend at the state fair, so stay tuned!

Maddie's 6 weeks pics

2007-10-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Sweet kisses

I thought this was a cool shot!

Sleeping babies are the sweetest thing!

I think she was hungry in this one. Looks like she's eating the sheet!

She's looking at me with her "I'm so cute" look!
Neat shot!
I want to eat her precious feet!

As you can imagine, this was the last pose of our photo shoot. It turned out to be one of my favorites! So sad!!!!

Thanks Wendy! Great photos! Maddie is growing like a weed and she is finally starting to stay awake and become more interactive during the day. She has had some really good nights sleeping, too, but she still throws in an all-nighter about once a week. We went to Liam's 2nd birthday party with the Peden clan this past weekend. It was at a pumpkin farm in Grapevine...super cute place but it was still so hot that I didn't get to experience much of the place b/c I had to keep Maddie in the shade. I had her decked out in pumpkin clothes but it was too hot to wear any of them outdoors. I got a shot of her before we left the house.

Happy Birthday Liam! I think the kids really enjoyed the orange icing!!!

Doggy Dilemma!

2007-09-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Look at this absolutely precious 5 month old puppy that we found hanging around our yard this afternoon! He's half palmeranian (sp?) and half yorkie! (so we've been told)

That's not Carson's tattoed arm by the way, it's my neighbors. I'll go back and share the events of our afternoon. So we found this adorable puppy in our back yard with no tags and we both instantly fell in love with it. Carson started running around with him and fed him some roast beef (it's all we had since we don't own a dog) and he ate it right up. He is so tiny and cute! We started calling him Dexter, Dex for short, and it was just love at first sight. We started running through all the options of what to do with him (post a sign, ask our neighbors if he belongs to anyone, or be really selfish and close the garage and keep him all to ourselves! Carson told me to go ahead and run along to the store and we got a box and put some water in it and kept him in the garage. I came rushing back home because sweet little Maddie didn't want to take her bottle from Daddy and she was in a tizzy! Daddy called me and said "Come home now!" Anyway, we got her settled and CP went back outside and started playing with Dex. I was excited about that because I was hoping the extra bonding time would convince Carson that we needed to keep the dog for ourselves. See, I've been wanting to get a dog for the two years that we have been married but Carson would never let us get one, big meanie! Actually, in his defense, we lived in an apartment the first year of our marriage and now we currently have a house with no backyard fence. So, it hasn't really been logical for us to get a dog. Carson was so smitten with Dexter, though, so I was praying that he would throw all logic out the window. hee hee. Ok, back to the story... After I fed Maddie, I walked outside to join him in the front yard and I see my neighbor, Kelly, holding our little guy. Uughhh...I was heartbroken to find out that Dexter was actually named "Cowboy" and belonged to my next door neighbor. Boo hoo! My hopes of finally being a pet owner were quickly dashed. We visited with our neighbor and told him how much we loved the puppy and he told us that he actually was needing to get rid of him and HE OFFERED HIM TO US FOR FREE! His girlfriend was really wanting a different dog and he had inherited the pup from his brother for free. Oh my cow, I was so excited! The only problem is that we still don't have a fence to keep in our back yard. I would like to keep him inside when we're home anyway, but Carson did not grow up with an inside dog so he's not too sure about the idea. Then, of course, there's also the issue of having a dog with a baby. Would the puppy be good around the baby? Is it too much for us to handle right now?

I'm sharing this on my blog to get some input from my blogger friends about what we should do. All you dogowners out there that also have children, is it more of a blessing or a curse to take care of a dog and a newborn at the same time? Let me know what you think and be honest with me.

I feel like a bad mommy b/c I haven't taken any pictures of Maddie this week, but my friend Wendy came over and took some of her, so I will post those when I get them back. She's already 6 weeks old!!! I can't believe how big she's getting. She's getting stronger everyday and she loves to smile at us. I am also happy to report that she has slept soundly the past three nights. I actually have to wake her up to feed her in the middle of the night. I think she might could sleep through the entire night but she's not quite old enough to go that long without a feeding yet, but soon enough I'm hoping our little girl will make it through the entire night without waking up! It's amazing how much more rested I feel in the morning when she sleeps at night. So, all is well at the Parrish household. Blessings to all!

Austin and Big Daddy and Mimi's House

2007-09-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

I just try to post as many pics with her eyes open as possible because they are so rare during the daytime!
This was her first bath in the sink at Carson's parents house. She wasn't a fan, obviously!
Maddie's first trip to our state capital. We also visited UT campus! Go HORNS!

Mimi and Big Daddy are so proud of Madeline! She loved cuddling with them this weekend.

We had fun in Georgetown this weekend. We stayed at Carson's parents house and Kathy spoiled us by staying up with Maddie in the night and letting us get some much need rest. We took her to Austin and, of course, she slept through most of it, but we had fun looking at all the sights. It was amazing to see all the different kinds of people walking around the streets of UT. I could just sit and "people watch" all day. By the time our day ended in Austin, we had three wardrobe changes and Maddie went pee all over me at the capitol building. I left her changing station in the car and the restrooms had no changing tables! I'm going to write Gov. Rick Perry to let him know he needs to get with the times and update the restrooms. I'm sure that will be a top issue to address on his agenda. Ha!

Isn't she precious! Bows really do just make them look even cuter, I think!

I shot my mom singing some children praise songs with the two grandaughters. Ashlyn was getting confused and thought I was trying to take her picture and she keeps saying "Cheese!" in the middle of the song. She loves to sing with Nanny!

Sun City Bound

2007-09-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

We took Maddie to her first high school football game. She was really interested in it, as you can see. We went with our friends, Brandon and Kim. We had fun watching Mansfield whoop up on Keller!
Daddy having some good cuddle time with Madeline. He just loves when she lays on him and snuggles like this!
I had to get a pic of her in this premie outfit before she outgrew it. The button in the back is not even buttoned b/c it is already getting too small. Isn't she a sweet littl' southern girl in her pretty bonnet!
Close up shot! She's already making silly poses when I tell her to say "Cheese!"

We are getting ready to head out to Georgetown (Sun City) to see Big Daddy and Mimi (Carson's parents). The weather is looking good so we'll probably take Madeline to see the sights in Austin. She's already going to be attending her second high school football game tomorrow night in the small town of Florence, Texas. This is the place where Kathy, Carson's mom, is teaching high school. This will be her 2nd football game in one week! I promise we're not the crazy parents who are forcing our infant to play and enjoy sports so she'll play them when she grows up (hee hee) but a little encouragement never hurts, right? Just kidding, we'll love Maddie no matter what she decides to accomplish in her life. Speaking of accomplishments, I have a funny story. I can say it's funny now, but it wasn't really at the time it happened. I would like to tell ya'll that my daughter could take 1st place for the "longest squirt of poo-poo " contest, if there is such a thing that exists. I was quickly trying to change out her diaper last Saturday night because I have learned how fast she can dirty up her changing table if I'm not doing the switcharoo of the diapers at lightening speed. Well, she had impeccable timing and just as I was switching out a clean diaper for her old one, she lets out a squirt and and her poo proceeds to shoot out all over her pink walls, all over the blinds, the cream carpet, and the diaper champ! I screamed "NOOOOOOOO!" so loud the neighbors probably heard me and Carson came running in probably thinking I had dropped her on her head or something. He was amazed at the sight at first, then he just started cracking up and said, " You have to laugh at this, honey." Of course, I did not feel like laughing at that time....a pathetic cry felt much more appropriate for me. Well, we got it cleaned up and survived it all and I'm here to tell you that Madeline Reese is a SUPER POOPER CHAMP! Ok, gotta run to get her ready for our first road trip. More fun pics to be posted our trip when we return!

Days are Nights and Nights are Days

2007-09-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

You will notice in this picture that Madeline and I are sleeping during the daytime. This is because my little precious angel seems to have her days and nights completely screwed up. I've been up with Madeline the past three nights anywhere from 1opm until 3:30 ish. As soon as the sun goes down, she's ready to party like it's 1999 and Mommy and Daddy just want to get a little shut eye. Any advice from parents who have recently been through this stage is greatly appreciated. I'm trying everything I can to get her to stay awake in the daytime but it doesn't seem to be working. I've been reading this book called Babywise, which is a baby book for new parents that introduces the parent directed feeding method. The method promotes a very specific feeding and sleeping schedule throughout the day but Madeline hasn't seem to jump on the bandwagon yet. I think I may asking a little too much of her since she is only three weeks old. Hee hee. Carson went back to work this week but he's off the next three days so we're going to get Maddie out in the stroller. We've yet to use it but Jana and I got the car seat put in it yesterday and tested it out. Madeline is ready to ride in style in her Mint green and black stroller.

A picture with open eyes! It's hard to tell but they are blue.

I love this little preppy dress!

My friend, Dee Dee, got this for Madeline and it's so stinkin' cute.

Madeline and Dr. Prentice

Isn't this terrible? This is Maddie's face when I have to rub down her body with a wet washcloth because she doesn't want to wake up to eat during the day.

So sad!

Madeline posing with Big Daddy and Mimi (Carson's parents). We took her to church at South Mac to show her off on Sunday.

Sleeping Beauty

2007-08-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

So, my friend, Summer, is getting on to me because I'm not updating my blog frequently enough...she wants some new pics to look at but all the ones I have of Maddie are sleeping pictures. I thought everyone would get sick of looking at my child just sleeping so I was going to wait until she grew out of her slumbering stage. Since my blog viewing friends are requesting more pictures, I suppose it would be alright to put on a few more of my precious baby sleeping. :)

Carson and I took Madeline to the doc for her 2 week appt. today and she now weighs 8 lbs. and measures 20 inches long. Yea! Our little girl is growing and is healthy! God is good and we are thankful!

We are experiencing the fatigue of being new parents. Madeline is still trying to get her days and nights figured out and I fear that she is going to be a night owl like her daddy! I'm trying to keep her on a feeding and napping schedule but it's still a little early to expect too much. She will get the hang of it soon, I'm sure! I hope!!!! Carson is still at home with me this week. He will have had 3 weeks off with the baby and me. I'm not going to know what to do when he goes back to work and I haven't to change poopy diapers all by myself.

We are loving our time with our little Maddie and I hope you all enjoy the pictures. We took these in her nursery hoping to get a good one for her birth announcment. That's all for now!

Pics of Madeline are finally here!

2007-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are finally home to update the blog with some great pics of our beautiful girl! Of course, we think she is just perfect and we just can't get over all that hair!!! She definitely favors Carson with the dark hair and in her eyes. She's a daddy's girl already! You will be able to tell when you see all the pictures of Carson and her together. I'm adding some of her first sponge bath at home and I hardly got a hand in there to help! We love her so much and want to thank all of you for your prayers over the past few days! Ok, let's get on to the good stuff...PICTURES! Love you all!

A special thanks to Summer for keeping everyone updated while we were in the hospital!!!!

Madeline's Here!

2007-08-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm a little late posting (this is Summer again). Madeline was born yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon. She weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. She has a head full of black hair and is just precious. I saw them this afternoon and Mom and Baby are doing great (and Carson!). I don't have any pictures to post right now, but I'll try to get them on there soon and will post updates until Anyssa is ready to resume blogger status. Thanks for all your prayers!

No news yet

2007-08-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

This is Summer again, updating for Anyssa. I was at the hospital a couple of hours ago and she was still in labor. I'll update (or she will) when Maddie makes her arrival, which could be by now and I just haven't heard yet! Please continue praying for them all, especially Anyssa as she is sure to be pretty tired after the last 24 hours or so.

Today's (hopefully) the day!

2007-08-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Anyssa's friend Summer. Anyssa couldn't blog today because she's in labor!!!!!!!!! I just heard from her and she's dilated to a 2 right now, so hopefully things will progress smoothly (and quickly!) and Maddie will make her much anticipated arrival. Keep checking back and I'll update as I hear from her. I'm planning to visit tomorrow and I'll take pictures so I can post them here for those who are unable to visit. Keep the Parrish family in your prayers!

Maddie's Nursery and Pics with Wendy

2007-07-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We're just about finished with the nursery! We just lack our bookshelf and some curtains, and both of those should be here shortly. My friend, Bekki, made the cute name hanging abover the closet and shipped it to me from Amarillo! Check out the pic! So cute!
I've got 10 days until my supposed due date. My nights are becoming sleepless but I'm grateful to know that Madeline is putting on more weight. The doctor told us last week that she weighs 6lbs. 1oz. That was an answered prayer because the week prior she only weighed 5lbs. She's up to the 45th percentile now and we're just continuing to pray that she grows and grows! Thanks to all those who have been praying for her! Love to all of you!

The Countdown

2007-07-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family!

Carson and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our precious little girl, Madeline Reese Parrish. (I had to stop and pause for a minute to look at her name. That is the first time I've written her whole name out and really looked at it. Wow!). It's a little scary to think we are about to become her parents but everyone seems to tell us that you just make the transition naturally, so we're just praying that we can do the job and do it well.

I decided that I would start this little blog to send pics and updates to friends and family that live far away. (Thanks for the inspiration, Summer!)

My due date is Aug.10 and Madeline and I are doing well. Carson is working hard for the Farmer's Branch Police Dept. as a patrol officer and really enjoying what he's doing. The Lord has blessed us by allowing me to take a year off from teaching to stay at home with the baby. Of course, the budget is going to have a substantial cut but I'm thankful to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom for a while.

We'll be in touch soon when our little sweet pea arrives!

Love you all,
Anyssa and Carson