Madison's 6 week pics and Halloween 2009 at the Hoyt House

Last week was quite busy with Madison Grace turning 6 weeks and Halloween going on...

Madison is really smiling and talking to us (especially to her Daddy) more each and everyday! Most of the pics below where she's smiling she's doing so with Daddy. This is a big thing since she was an all Mommy's girl for the first 4 weeks or so!

We had a great time on Halloween - the whole family (Grammy, Uncle Mike, MeMe and Grandpa) all came over to our house and Daddy made chili. Uncle Mike and Daddy took Caitlin (the Angel) to the neighborhood Halloween festival and then everyone went trick-or-treating except for me, Madison, MeMe and Grandpa. The neighbors (with their kids Taylor and Spencer) went trick-or-treating with Caitlin too.

Here are some pics from last week.

Hope you all had a good one.

Love and Hugs,
Amanda

P.S. Thank you for your prayers. I am getting more sleep. Madison is sleeping now 3.5 to 4 hours at a time - still on me on the couch but that is more than 0 hours! :) I will be working towards getting her into her bed (or the Pack N Play) this next week. My good friend Devin just sent me the BabyWise book. I hope it can help me to get Madison on a better schedule and into her own bed very soon. Thank you, Devin!!

Madison is 5 weeks old!!

Madison Grace is 5 weeks old already!! She's growing and changing before our eyes (her hair is falling out on top of her head, she seems to be gaining some weight (aka gaining some rolls) and she is "talking" to us more). We love our little miracle but I wish she'd sleep anywhere else (at night) other than on top of me (belly to chest)! Please pray that I can make the transition to the pack n play soon. She won't sleep on her back in the night time (she will sleep in the swing in the day time with no problem).

Take a look at the smile I caught on camera below!!! Too cute!

Hope you all are having a great week!

Love,
Amanda & Family

October 24th

Today Noah Joel would have been 1 year old. I can't believe it's been a year.
~In loving memory of our little boy~

Madison Grace is 4 Weeks Old!!

Well, technically, little Madison is now 4w3d old but here are some pics from her 4th week :)

I had to include this picture of Madison and Caitlin.
Caitlin was trying to "shush" her sister while she was crying - the shot is priceless and I giggle a little every time I look at it! :) The one above this one was taken seconds before. Madison must have gotten upset about something...

We've still not conquered whatever it is that keeps her up crying from 10 pm to sometimes 4 am, but she's still our miracle baby and we love her to pieces! Please pray that she grows out of this phase very quickly because we'd all love to get some much needed rest soon :)

During her 4th week, Madison has begun to really interact with us! She's smiled and laughed with us, grabbed for us (at my face specifically) and has started to kind of "talk" to/with us. It is pretty neat to watch. She also got the "4 week rash" on her face. It looks like she's a teenager in a newborn's body! I hope it goes away soon - it looks kind of painful - I try to put cream on it once a day but it keeps coming back.

Please also keep Miss Caitlin in your prayers - she LOVES her baby sister but is having a hard time sharing us with her.

Thank you!!

Hope you all are well.
Love,
Amanda

October 15 - In Loving Memory...

Today is October 15 - Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day.
Please join me in remembering those tiny angel babies who have passed and please join me in praying for those who have endured a loss.



In loving memory of our tiny angel baby, Noah Joel Hoyt. We wish we could have known you but are so grateful for you to have handpicked your little sister, Madison Grace, to be sent to us this year. We love you!

In loving memory of all the angel babies of my friends.

Madison Turned 3 Weeks Old Yesterday!

Time sure is flying by! Our little baby is now 3 weeks and 1 day old and sure is a cutie pie. We are enjoying our days with her :) Nights are still stressful but not as bad as they were. She sleeps for 2 to 3 hour spurts. That's better than none at all so I'm happier and definitely more rested. She's still "Momma's girl" and really calms down with me holding her and feeding her. Hopefully Daddy will get his turn soon! She really looks like Chris more and more each day (so we each have a child that looks like us now). Madison is very alert and seems like she really wants to talk to us when she's awake - especially to her big sister. When Caitlin puts her hair in her face she reaches for it and smiles! We were going to try to get it on video yesterday but then the moment was gone and one of them started throwing a fit (now I can't remember which one!).

I can't really believe that our family is finally complete. It's almost like I'm still in shock or something. I have this beautiful baby, smart and beautiful 5 year old and a loving husband. What more could I ask for? Thank you, Lord, for these blessings!







I hope you all are having a great weekend!

Love,
Amanda & Family

Happy Birthday, Chris!

We love you, Daddy!!
Love,
Mommy, Caitlin & Madison

P.S. Thank you for sushi today! It was great getting out with you and Madison (while she slept in her carseat) and enjoying an adult meal with you! LOVE!!

Happy 9 Year Anniversary, Chris!! I LOVE YOU!!

Chris, I wish I could blog a long post like I did last year but as you know I'm holding our little one right now and don't have all that much time to write this. BUT, I do want you to know how much I love you and thank you for loving me for all these years! Thank you for giving me a good life and beautiful children.

I will always love you.
Amanda

Madison's 2nd Week

Hello Everyone,

We're living on no sleep so this post will be short. Today is Madison's 2 week birthday! We had her 2 week checkup at the pediatrician today and she is GROWING!! She gained 11 ounces and grew 1 1/4 inches since her last appointment on 9/23. She now weighs 8 pounds and is 21 inches long. I guess I'm doing a good job breastfeeding :)

She's doing great during the day (sleeping for 3 hours at a time and waking to eat and poop) - it's the nighttime that is killing us! She cries unless I hold or feed her. We hope that by this time next week that her schedule gets more normalized and she can sleep at night too.

Here are a few pics I got this past week.











Love and hugs to all,
Amanda