Daddy and Maddie

Casey is so adorable with Madeline. It melts my heart to see them together. She will definitely be "Daddy's little girl", and he will definitely be "crazy-over ptotective Dad". He's already put his foot down about piercing her ears while she's a baby. I've agreed to wait until she asks. I'm not sure if I'll enforce the no makeup until her wedding day though.

Some actual wording

Ok, so I've posted enough pictures of our chubby-cheeked baby, I guess it's time to write about her. Today Madeline is one month old, and as all new mothers know, it's been quite a month! The delivery was long and full of good times. I started getting contractions on Wednesday night, and they kept me up the entire night, and of course Casey couldn't sleep either, as he kept wondering if it was time. It was not. The next night, same miserable thing. Finally they started to come more consistently and with much more pain. We checked into the hospital at 6am. I was 4 cm and completely effaced. 6 hours later, I opted for the epidural; the pain was no fun, and all I wanted in life was to sleep. At about 4pm the nurse says to us, "She'll be here within an hour." 4 1/2 hours later she finally came. The stinker was face up with her arm around her head, so it took longer than expected.
The first week was rough, adjusting to my new sleeping schedule. But she now does well and will sleep 4 hours when I lay her down at night before her first wake up. Some of her favorite things are: eating- first and foremost, getting her hair washed and combed, snuggling like a potato bug on daddy's chest, mommy's melodic voice, her swing with accompanying tunes and car rides. Things she does not enjoy are: getting her face washed, her pacifer when she's hungry, loud noises, and formula bottles when mom can't feed her right at the moment.
She's a bundle of all that is good in the world, and we love her stinkin guts. She's a must see for all who need a glimpse of absolute cuteness. Schedule your appointment today!

Madeline Marie Lewis
Born May 23rd at 8:32 PM
7 pounds, 12 ounces
20 1/2 inches

Please Maddie, don't be late. I need my mobility back, and the full functioning of my fingers, and my stylish ballet flats, and I'd like to leave behind the guilt I feel from drinking a Pepsi or waking to find myself on my back. Early is ok, but please don't be late.

Lessons Learned

15 Things I've Learned in the Past Year

1. I'm seriously lacking in the motivation department. Where can I get a new shipment of the "goods?"
2. Owning a home isn't as glamorous as it seems. Sure you can paint the walls whatever color you want, but then there's that ever occuring monthly payment attached. Being a kid was so much easier.
3. I can hang in a recreational soccer league.
4. I married a comic genius who can never fail to make me laugh.
5. Bangs aren't a nuisance. Perhaps it's because I've not played sports in a while...
6. Seeing someone you love suffer is harder than I ever imagined.
7. I'm a nagger.
8. When choosing a major; always choose money over enjoyment.
9. Beagles are hyper.
10. I enjoy watching TV every night.
11. I can't manage working full time and keeping a clean house. I believe this links back to my first lesson learned.
12. Pregnant ladies get a lot of attention, sometimes unwanted attention.
13. Jury duty isn't so bad.
14. Using coupons is an art. I've tried my hand a few times at it, but still have yet to learn the secret to making it more simple.
15. It's ok to toot infront of the one you love.

March Madness- pardon the cliche

March was a busy month for us. Casey's parents took us to DC for a week long vacation touring our nation's capitol. It was our last hoorah before little Maddie comes. I lived in VA for a few years, so I'd been to DC a lot, but we still did so much that I hadn't seen or done before. We had a little private tour of the Supreme Court building, which was so very interesting. Our guide took us into the actual courtroom and gave a little lecture explaining how hearings worked and who sat where and so on. Other sites and activites: most every monument, zoo, a couple Smithsonians, America Indian musuem, China town for a killer lunch, and I'm sure there's so much more that I'm not remembering.

We also rented a car and took a trip down to the school I went to, Southern Virginia University. We stayed with my old softball coach and enjoyed a day of relaxing and just visiting the campus. Then we headed to Charlottsville and did a little shopping then visited Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. We ended our trip with a day in Baltimore, doing a little shopping and eating and wandering around until our flight. It was a great trip.

We got back to the Valley and celebrated our 1 year anniversary the next day. We didn't have much planning time for anything special, so we just went to breakfast at the same place we went the day after we got married- Cracker and Co. Sooooo good- eat there- soon. Then I was a bad wife and had to leave my husband for quite a while to do some bridesmaid dress shopping with my friend who was in town for the weekend. We ended the day with some Papa Johns pizza and a movie- we're so romantic, I know. But the next weekend we did go out and have a nice dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant then went to the symphony.

Also in this busy month, my sister Tasha threw me a baby shower. It was way cute- with a french countryside theme. We had brunch, complete with crepes, bacon, fruit, muffins, juice and cupcakes. It was so good to see friends and family, and we got a lot of cute and much needed baby items.