Well, the sling didn't work out great. I think I did it right, but every time I put Maddie in I felt like I was smothering her! So, I went another route and got one of those wrappy type sling things. It is MUCH more comfortable for us both. She seems to like hanging out right there with me. She is growing so much so quickly! Today, she is almost halfway through her sixth week with us, and she does new stuff every day. Today I put her in her crib for a few minutes while I did some laundry and I swear she was talking to her little stuffed bunny! I heard her cooing...it was adorable. She has started to do a little cock-eyed smile every now and then. I just can't WAIT until she smiles back at me on purpose! She is such a strong little girl. She holds her head up so well already! Here are the obligatory pictures for this post:

I just love this picture!

Cousins

Santa and the little pineapple

There IS a cute little baby girl under all that red and white!

The Jaracz family :)

Adorable little Urijah

Cuddling with Uncle Josh

About half of our Thanksgiving group! 

Maddie's Thanksgiving outfit--complete with Turkey bow that I made! Yes,  I'm proud...

She loves her Mimi.

Ugh. This was an experience. Madeline's first bath. The second was MUCH better.

She did love the water!

pigtails already!

The cutest little belly button in the whole world!

All pinked out hangin' in the crib

Our one month picture... posted a little late.

She's just as big as her teddy bear now!

Added a big ol' bow... 

And then a cute small one...

This is my favorite.

This was my first craft from Pinterest. A hairbow board!

We need lots more to fill it up. I don't think that will be a problem. :)

Grandpa Alford got her this little peanut outfit. He doesn't have a "name" yet...
We tried out G-daddy, and Tony thought it was too "gangsta". 

This little pink bear sings her lullaby music. She likes it a lot!

I just love this Scottie dog outfit. Looks like Baxter is on it!

Craft day!

So, today I am trying my hand at making a baby sling. Maddie is supervising...she's such a slave driver! Pics to come soon....if it all works out right! I got instructions from another blog site-- Www.slingyourbaby.blogspot.com.

Maddie is 13 days old!

Maddie took her first nap in her beautiful crib yesterday. We decided it was a good idea to practice... But I (for certain) am not ready for her to sleep alone yet!!

Thursday night, she slept all the way from 11:30 to 6... That made us a little nervous, even though it was great getting that much sleep!! We decided to set an alarm for 5 hours from her last feeding-- and wake her up to eat. Even though she didn't wake up crying even after that long, Tony & I don't want to starve her and stunt her growth!!

Uncle Dean, Aunt Ann and cousin Jessica came over yesterday to visit our little princess. Yes, we realize that is what it has come to-people come to our house to visit HER... ;) We were so glad to see them! Maddie was great-I think she redeemed herself from Aunt Ann's first visit... After just a couple days home from the hospital, I'm not sure our little gal (and us!) had learned enough about each other to be nice for visitors yet! Now, after 13 days of practice, the three of us have gotten down a routine and feel a lot more comfortable, which I think Maddie can feel--and it helps relax her too.

We were given some super cute hats/bows by Ann and Jess. They are selling them for a great cause in the Woodlands next weekend!

Can't wait for her to wear this at Christmas!

Tony decided it was time to take a few more oranges from his tree. He really has nursed his two orange trees through the seasons. One--the mandarin--has yet to produce anything, but in all fairness he DID cut it to the ground last year. The satsuma gave us about 10 oranges this year. We lost some along the way, but he managed to keep about 7. We ate one last weekend and it was great! We picked 4 yesterday and haven't cut them yet...





Last pics-we tried burping Maddie a different way, and Tony thought it was too cute...

She looks a little like a boy in this fishing outfit.... :/

All stretched out and sleepin'

Tony's first "little girl" peeking out the window...

What a big day! Maddie and I slept in the guest room all alone last night, and it went great!! She woke up at 4:30 and 7, then daddy came to the rescue for diaper duty at 7:30.

Since I ripped my last contact on Monday, I went out to the eye doc at 10 today. I was so nervous about leaving Maddie at home, but I knew Tony would do a great job with her. She was sleeping like a baby (haha) when I got home! The eye doc went GREAT--I got a years worth of contacts for FREE! (Well, pretty much. 200 allowance form my insurance and a 100 rebate from the eye doc!) What a great day! Here's the only pic of the day (so far...)

She's in her Mommy's little pumpkin outfit from Aunt Lisa! 

Yesterday was another good day! Tony and I slept in the guest room again. He slept like a rock... and I woke up twice to take care of our little gal. Tony woke up right on cue at around 6 to volunteer for a diaper change and a little playtime. It was a pretty good night!

We went on our first little walk today! I looked like a ragamuffin... but we had a nice time.

Trying the baby backpack...

Laughing because she's too small to be comfortable...

Daddy decided not to torture Maddie anymore...Going for the stroller!

Gettin' all adjusted.

Man, it's sunny!

Raggedy lookin' mom taking the stroller for a drive...

More pictures from Tuesday:

Guess who is always behind the camera?!? 

LOVE those tiny toes!!!!

silly little grin...