Saturday in the Park.....

There are only a select few days each year in Texas where the weather is appropriate for a picnic in the park. We chose this day to take a picnic and take Maddie to the park for her first visit. We had a wonderful time. The fountain and swings were the best part. It's difficult to find places in Galveston that are away from the tourist strand and downtown district and find some place that is just quiet and out of the way enough to afford a good family time outdoors. We have found this place in a park that is only blocks from our home and usually quiet and clean except for the occasional outdoor wedding. We had lunch and played with Madeleine as she got to put her feet in the grass and splash in the fountain with her feet. We got some lovely pictures and wanted to share them with you.

!!! 6 Months !!!

I never in my life thought that 6 months would bring so many things. It was just six months ago today that I got up the earliest any woman in her last month of pregnancy has ever gotten out of bed. I took the rather quiet trip with Matthew to Clear Lake Regional Hospital and worried about every minute of my life that laid ahead. As many of you know, once the labor stuff got started, it was smooth sailing. Before I knew what had happened I was kissing this angel God had bestowed on me. We named her Madeleine. In the days and weeks that followed we just held her close and watched her sleep. Those were the days we wished she would be a little more interactive.
At about 2 months she was smiling and being more alert. We still wanted her to be able to play and roll around and be more active still.
A couple of months after that we endured the wonderful right of passage for parenting known as teething. It was fun and eventful, but this passed and our baby girl was happy again. She still at this time very quiet, always inquisitive, but quiet.
Now we are here a couple of months later and we are in full swing. Maddie has two teeth and trying to cut two more, she loves to laugh and talk to people. She has begun a wonderful shriek of joy that she loves to save for the middle of Mass on Sundays when Father Dennis is praying. She is rolling over and rocking back and forth on all fours and then lunging forward. We know any day now she will be off like a rocket getting into all kinds of mischief and such. There are some days that Matthew and I sit and think of the days and how nice it was to nap with the baby and watch her sleep rather than hold our breaths as she tries to master sitting unassisted and goes to fall to the floor, or when she is lunging forward into a floor face-plant.
I know that we have many, many days before us that we will worry and wish she was still that swaddled newborn we brought home in March of 2006. We will continue to revel in our title as parents and hope to lead her through life with as much love and patience as she has given us the last 6 months. We are so blessed to have shared in such love as Madeleine Renee.