Gotta' Love a Kid With an Appetite

Just look at that face...we knew that Madison was going to like to eat way back then...

Can you tell that Madison really enjoyed her Fourth of July cupcake?

Madison is eating a grilled cheese sandwich with a side order of cheetos at MiMi's house!

From the time that Madison tasted her first spoonful of rice cereal, she has enjoyed eating. She was still quite small when she first noticed the smells of food cooking in her mother's kitchen and showed an interest. Brandy started sitting Madison in a high chair at the dinner table during mealtime. Soon Madison was sampling table food and loving it.

Madison would eat most anything that you put in front of her until around age 2. After that she became more picky, as most toddlers do. She would go through phases of having different favorite foods. Some of her past favorites have been fish sticks, french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, and hamburgers. Her latest favorite is chicken, especially chicken nuggets. Some of her favorite snacks have been powdered doughnuts, moon pies, dora snacks, and cake. Madison still loves cake! She learned to say that word quite early, although it sounded like she was saying "cock".

Once Brandy and I went to a restaurant with Madison and were eating from the buffet. They have the most delicious chocolate layer cake at this restaurant and we always look forward to dessert. The whole time we were eating Madison kept saying "cock", "cock"! Brandy and I wanted to sink under the table...

Madison has never taken dainty bites or eaten like a lady. From the time she was able to feed herself, she would take HUGE bites and cram food in her mouth. I still tell her to take little bites and to "eat like a lady and not like a piggie." It's been a year and we're still struggling with that one! I have this image in my mind of the look on a future boyfriend's face while he is watching Madison eat...I'll keep working on it!!!

Just the other day, Madison was over at our house visiting. It was just about suppertime and her daddy came to get her. Of course, she wasn't ready to go. She came up to greet him and turned to walk back across the room to play some more. Her daddy said to her "I've got some chicken nuggets for you!" to which she quickly responded with an immediate U-turn. She was now ready to go home! You've gotta' love a kid with an appetite!

Easter at MiMi and E's House

Christina, Madison, and Brandy are busy decorating Easter eggs!

Caden and MiMi are watching others color the eggs.

"I am the egg hunting champ--my bib says so!"

"Who needs an Easter Basket? I'm taking my eggs and leaving!

Christmas is my favorite holiday, but following a close second is Easter. Even after all of our children grew up, we continued to dye eggs. After everyone was all grown up we would use plastic eggs and put money and messages inside of them. We tried to be creative and funny with our messages, so even if you didn't find money, it was fun to read the message inside of the egg. We had fun! It's amazing to watch people scramble to find eggs when there is money involved..Now that we have Madison and Caden, the adults will just have to take a backseat and make room for the little ones...

This year Madison was actually old enough to enjoy coloring the eggs. She especially enjoyed throwing the eggs into the dye! Every time she put an egg in the cup, egg dye splashed everywhere! After throwing all of her eggs into the dye, she sort of lost interest until time to put the stickers on. She had no patience for waiting for the eggs to dye.

Caden was small and didn't really realize what was going on, but he joined us at the coloring table anyway. I suspect that he'll be throwing a few eggs of his own next year! This year he just watched the fun.

I always buy an assortment of egg coloring kits. I enjoy trying different methods of decorating eggs. While my eggs usually look like a first grader did them, Caden's mother, Christina, is creative and always does cute eggs. Now that Brandy has to help Madison with her eggs, her own creativity is somewhat limited. Christina will soon be in the same boat! Maybe then, my eggs will look the best...hey, I can dream!

We do have one Easter egg tradition at our house. Many years ago my daughter drew hair and a face on an egg, labeled it "Egg Head", and dyed it. For some reason that struck my mama funny! We always make an "Egg Head" in honor of my mother who has since passed away, and we always say "this one's for you grandma!"

Maddie and the Ceiling Fan...

From the time that Madison was old enough to focus her eyes and see anything, she had a strange fascination with the ceiling fan in her living room. It hung from the middle of the ceiling and was surrounded by framed mirrored tiles. It is actually quite pretty and I could see where it would be interesting to look at while lying on the floor. It was Madison's reaction to the fan that was so funny...

Madison would look up at the fan, stiffien her whole body, and just shake. This was usually followed by a coo. It almost looked like she was having a fit of some sort! We found this reaction quite amusing and it went on for several months...

Madison's mom decorated the ceiling fan with ribbons and balloons to make it more colorful and appealing. That fan stayed decorated for months! Everyone in the family knew the story of how good Maddie liked the fan, so we thought it was sweet that it was decorated for her.

One night there was a car accident on the highway in front of Maddie's house. Several cars were involved and Brandy invited some of the injured people into her house. There was a little girl in the group of people. The little girl immediately noticed the ceiling fan and said to Brandy, "I like your ceiling fan!" We have since laughed and wondered what those adults must've thought of Brandy's interior decorating...I can only imagine their conversation!

Just Can't Wait...

All three of my own children were placid babies. They were happy to stay pretty much in one place. Caden's daddy was a strong baby, rolling over from back to tummy at age 6 weeks, but he didn't walk until after he was a year old.

Caden seems like he just can't wait to do new things! I dont know if it's because he goes to daycare with his mama two days a week and is around other children a lot, or if it's just inherited.

I began to notice at about age 3 months that Caden seemed to be very strong and active with his body. He liked to be sitting up and looking around! His neck and back grew strong early. His eyes were always looking at everything.

Cade is not quite 4 months old in this photo, yet he is standing with a little help, and watching the other children play at the park. Impressive! Slow down, Caden...where's our little baby boy going? Caden is a multi-tasker, too, he's trying to suck his finger while standing and watching the children play...what a boy!

You Know You're A First Child When...

Madison is a first child AND first grandchild on both sides of the family, as well as a first great-grandchild! Whew, that's a lot of firsts... It had been soooo long since we've all had a little one in either family that we all tended to spoil her just a little bit--and we still do!

I think we all bought Madison gifts for every holiday that first year. I know that I did. I couldn't help myself, I just have a weakness for the baby/toddler department. You can find me browsing through the toy department quite often, too.

The gifts pictured were just some of the Valentine's Day gifts that Madison received. In fact, those were just the gifts that I bought her. I've gained some self-control since those days and shop a little more conservatively now...don't want the children's parents to run out of room in their houses!

A Sleeping Baby...

There is nothing more precious than the sight of a sleeping baby. The only thing more precious is holding them while watching them sleep. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside...


This photo was taken by me while at our recreation park around Easter. Caden had gotten tired while watching the older children run and play, so he nodded off on his mama's chest.


As you can see, Cade would still substitute his finger for his pacifier at this point in time. He reminds me of my youngest son, who also sucked his forefinger as a baby. I guess that's another one of those family traits that I wrote about earlier...

Sometimes when I am babysitting Cade, he will get sleepy. I just love to get him in my lap and sing him to sleep. I think I must have a really boring voice because it usually puts babies to sleep pretty quickly, and Caden is no exception. I rarely put him down while he's sleeping. I realize how quickly time is passing--I want to enjoy every minute that I can...

Caden at Two Months

About the time that Caden turned two months old, he began to interact with me. I can remember the first time that he smiled at me. I went to his house and played with him one afternoon while his mom did some chores. I bounced him in his bouncy seat and talked with him the whole time and he smiled. We had a great visit, and I was hooked.

I believe the picture in this post was made the very next time that I saw Cade. I was holding him and talking with him when someone snapped the picture. I liked it so much that I printed a 5x7 and framed it.

What is it about a baby's smile that tugs at the heart strings? We all do crazy faces and make crazy noises, just to see that beautiful smile. I guess those smiles are our little rewards for all of the dirty diapers, two a.m. feedings, and crying spells that we experience. Since I am a grandparent and don't deal with too many diapers and crying spells, I just say those smiles make getting old just a little more bearable...