March 2012

 For St. Patrick's Day I put together a large playgroup event. We had tons of fun with all of our friends. Everyone brought lots of fun treats that were themed for st. Patrick's day. I also put together a leprechaun hunt and it was super fun.

one of Madison's favorite things is when daddy gets on the floor and plays with her. this is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them playing. she is definitely a daddy's girl.

Madison loves it when i open the door and she can sit and watch all the planes go by at night and sometimes the kitty even comes and visits her.

one night when daddy had to work late and antie Kelly was performing at her school in the band so we went to watch. i was really surprised that Madison was not afraid of the loud music in the building

Madison's playing with her cousin Ethan

one of Madison's favorite things is to play on her bike she got for Christmas but she can only go backwards and typically gets herself in quite a bit of a predicament. However since she cant walk she has found it a most effective way to get around her playroom.

15 months

At 13 months I noticed that Madison was a little different then other kids her age. But I was told multiple times all kids develop at different rates she'll catch up in no time. At 15 months I noticed she hadn't gained any new skills since she was about 12 months she wasn't walking she didn't talk or imitate speech and she didn't really interact with the environment around her. There were several other "red flags" I started to see. She just wasn't developing at all. I waited until she was 15 months to take her in to be tested for developmental delays. My worst fears were that we would hear words like autism or aspergers syndrome! Luckily that's not what we heard and
I was so happy after they tested her I was in tears! She tested at 8 months developmentally in most catagories which is quite far behind for her age so since she is so far behind she gets free therapy from the state once a week for an hour until she catches up to her age group in all categories. She also is getting a hearing test to make sure thats not the reason for the delay.

February 2012

We didn't do a lot in February ...and I have to admit i enjoy the quiet months.

Madison started attending nursery with mommy mostly because she's really disruptive during the Sunday school class Scott Knecht teaches and i don't feel that is fair to him

 Madison has made friends with our cat and now she beggs me all the time to go outside so she can play with the kitty.

 we watched the superbowl with my sister and this is one of my favorite pictures of the three of them ...so into the game

First Steps

Madison took her first steps today all on her own. Anthony went and put her on the floor and instead of sitting like she usually does she stood there for 20 seconds and took three steps all on her own she did it twice today hopefully this is her first steps to a long journey and I'm so excited

January 2012

SINCE I'M WAY BEHIND AND I WANT TO CATCH UP FOR THE YEAR I'VE DECIDED TO JUST QUICKLY HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THE FUN THINGS WE DID EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR FOR 2012

 Took Madison to the Zoo for the first time she enjoyed it but not nearly as much as i expected her to. this kinda gave me the clue that something was a little off with her. She wasn't engaged in what was going on around her she just went along for the ride instead.

               

                                         

                                                                                               
 She Started Cruising around pretty good now. She rarely gets into anything but once in a while she does.

 Madison Stayed with my mom for over 8 hours which i've never done.we got the call earlier in the day that my grandma was going to the hospital and that things were not good. Although there was alot talked about the basic end of the conversation was that we needed to come right away becuase it was time to say good bye. We drove out to Temecula, Ca and knew we couldn't take her we had no idea how long we were going to be there could be a few hours or could be days. We went to say good bye or rather see you later because my grandmother on my dad's side was very sick and ALS had finally won its battle against her.She said many times that she was ready to head home to her heavenly father and other family who had passed on. this picture was taken by my mom so that my grandma could see Madison one last time and say good bye. It was the longest I had been away from her since she was born, almost 10 hours. I felt some much comfort and peace that day. I knew my heavenly father was there and watching over me and my family and was waiting with open arms for my grandma when she crossed over.

Goals and resolutions

I had a goal of catching up on this blog before the end of the year but I'm do far behind I'll just have to post them intermittently.

This new year that starts in less than 24 hours so here's my plan for 2012.

1. Find a job as a nurse

2. Focus more on my family and our relationships

3. Be healthy and active

4. Be slow to anger and have more patience

Finally Learned to crawl 8/4/11

First Beach Trip

So Clearly I'm way behind...not sure how this got so far away from me. My goal is to finish the update and catch up before the end of the year so I can start next year off right

 

 

On Aug 22 We met a dear friend of ours at newport beach and took madison on her very first beach trip. we planned on being gone all day and I was super worried that at some point she would break down completely since she refuses to take a nap anywhere but in her bed. but to my amazement and with the most amazing child in the world we made it through the whole day and she eventually fell asleep when anthony was pushing her on the swing. he picked her up out of the swing and put her over his shoulder to sleep she slept all the way through dinner at ruby's on the pier and was such a little trooper all day I cant wait to take her back next year

4th of July

First thing in the morning we went to the church for the flag raising ceremony and Madison got her first taste of pancakes. needless to say they were a big hit and she ate good.

 

We did 4th of July at our house this year since we had the pool and we're the ones who lived in the city where we could do it legally. Madison did splendidly until it came time for the fire works. first we did a little swimming. Then we had a good old fashioned BBQ with my grandparents, mom, sisters, and The Azimi family. After we played a rousing game of what am I which was actually pretty fun even my grandparents got in on the game. Madison did not like the fire works at all she stayed awake for about 3 and then went to bed for the rest of the night.

 dessert with family

 Love our matching family shirts

 This girl is always happy!

 My grandparents are the best sports when it comes to playing games

Splash Pad

Recently we went to the splash pad which is a local tiny water park
Madison very much enjoyed the water (when it was working it is a city run water park) and she had some fun playing with friends. Aunt Kelly went to play with her so that mommy could take pictures

Teething Round 2

The first time Madison was teething she was quite the fuss bucket...This time

She cant stop drooling... and yet still no teeth

Sippy Cup Sippy Cup

 After much deliberation and fighting Madison has finally decided to give in and try the sippy cup (plus it helps that we found one that she likes and can figure out how to use). she's still not a big fan of it, she would much rather have a bottle!

what hasn't happened

Two weeks ago I'm pretty sure heavenly father decided that my life was way to easy and it was time for a challenge. so my car broke down (again) right before we were suppose to go to my cousin's wedding an hour away. then on the way to Emily's wedding the traffic was at a complete standstill and I quickly realized we were going to be pretty late (we actually made it to the wedding just in time) and then my computer went CRAZY!!! so for the last two weeks i have spent a lot of time praying and following my heavenly fathers guidance and although life has not been absolutely perfect we have found as a family the time to come together in prayer and to exercise faith in our heavenly father's plan. We finally got the computer fixed (and the laptop too) and the car is still a work in progress.

In the last two weeks I have learned to pray with true meaning and to learn to trust my heavenly father because he knows exactly what is going on, how we feel and HE is COMPLETELY IN CONTROL!

Brownies with Mommy

I decided to have a fun day with madison one after noon. we decided it would be a good idea to make some brownies! we had a good time.

7 months

Our sweet Madison is growing so fast... she's already seven months.

this last month she learned how to:

feed herself with finger food and she can even eat things as difficult as cheerio's
she will eat anything especially if she can feed it to herself
she sits up so good and is starting to rock back and forth on her knees
she loves to see her daddy and is excited to see him come home
she still goes to grandma's house almost every night so mommy and daddy can go to the gym
she eats three meals a day and i struggle with her all the time to drink enough formula...i definantly wont have problems there
she is getting more comfortable with strangers but still is not a fan of men in general espcially my dad.
she is learning to love the swimming pool more and more
she laughs all the time
she is getting to be quite the handful at church
she loves to be down and moving
she is getting really strong in her upper body

6 Months

Holy cow Madison turned 6 months this week and I cant believe where the time has gone. she is half way to a year which just amazes me. here's her stats (these are all estimates considering I'm not a doctor just a well educated nurse)

weight: 15lbs
Height: 25"

as far as I can tell she's healthy and happy. Here's some things I noticed about her this month

-she has become very vocal...she loves to talk but only when she thinks no one is listening
-she loves food especially squash and sweet potatoes and she doesn't really like fruits at all except banana's
-she's learning how to sit but she topples over pretty fast
-she eats three meals a day and has 4 bottles
-she doesn't like me to read to her she just wants to eat the book
-she has learned to roll over from back to front and does it alot so she can play with her toys
-she uses rolling to get around the room
- she pushes her walker all over the house (very slowly)
-She started taking regular naps that last 2-4 hours at a time (which I love because I know what she needs and when she needs it)
-she loves her daddy and is usually excited to see him when he gets home
-she plays well with toys now and loves exploring new ones all the time
-she loves to play in the bath tub

Madison has brought so many adventures to our lives and we're so glad she's apart of them. we cant wait to see her learn and grow more and more every day.

Reflection

I have spent the last couple of days really looking back on life and what the last year has brought me. Everyday is not perfect but there have been some perfect moments. I had a goal I set when i started High school oh so long ago. that goal was to

1. get married (Completed 2008)
2. finish school and have a nursing license (Completed 2010)
3. have a baby (Completed 2010)

I didnt necessarily want to do them in that order but the goal was to accomplish them by the time I was 25. I completed These goals just days before I turned 25

I actually intended to do them in a different order but I did it and I have this huge sense of self accomplishment. I didnt do each of these things in order to check them off my list it just happened to work out that I made my goal. As I look back over the last 7 years since I graduated High school I'm amazed at all the avenues the lord has provided for me. There has been so much on my mind lately as I have taken this journey of Motherhood on.
Motherhood has been much more difficult then I ever imagined it would be. In the first six months of Madison's life I know that I have already made mistakes as a parent and I have made huge strides as a mother and a wife. I have learned to manage a home, take care of a baby and a husband, all while trying to better myself and create the life I want with my Family. Everyday provides a perfect opportunity for me to gain patients and love for my savior as he gives me trials he knows that I can overcome.

We (me and Anthony) have been in primary practically all of our married lives. first we started off as ctr 5 teachers then less than a year later I was called as the primary secretary and Anthony was called as the 11 year old boy scout leader. I have been the primary secretary for 1 year and 7 months. its a calling I loved and hated at the same time. I spent alot of time away from my family doing "primary stuff" When I didn't even have children in primary. Most of the time I didn't mind but there were many of times I didn't understand why the Lord would give me this calling. recently I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising a newborn and trying to care for my family and trying to keep up with the primary as well. I quickly realized that I was in way over my head and I had to asked to be released the reluctance of them to release me from my calling put me on the verg of attending another ward because I needed to be with my family. the finally agreed and I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulder and I can now focus on my job of being a Mother.