Sweet Smiles

Madison turned 2 months old on Sunday. She is really turning on her charm with some sweet smiles and her cute coos. She weighs 10 lbs. 4 oz. and is 23 inches tall at 2 months.

Trixie came to visit

Lexi's classroom pet came to our house to visit for a few days. We enjoyed having Trixie the turtle stay with us.Lexi and Trixie ready for their afternoon nap.

We took Trixie to dance class and we even made sure she had her own tutu.

Ready for bed in our glow in the dark jammies.

Going to the Chapel . . .

in Louisiana. Lexi was the flower girl in "her wedding" and daddy was her prince. Uncle Mike and Auntie Imelda got married on Saturday and Lexi was the flower girl and Rick was a groomsmen. Rick and Mike grew up next door to each other on Long Island. We flew to Louisiana for all the wedding festivities and had our first trip as a family of four. The traveling to and from was a little crazy with 2 young kids but it was worth it to be with Mike and Imelda on their special day.

Lexi and Evan (the ring bearer) getting acquainted at the rehearsal.Daddy and Madison at the rehearsal

Imelda and Mike (their last night of being engaged)Opening her present - Auntie Imelda gave Lexi her beautiful dress for her birthday! She had "princess dresses" to wear for all the wedding events.

Getting her hair done for the wedding. She did a great job sitting for the stylist and she looked absolutely beautiful when she was finished.

Princess Alexis ready to go down the aislePicking flowers (like Snow White does) in between photosdancing and twirling with Auntie RobertaThe beautiful bride Imelda and her flower girl Alexis

Heart Procedure Update

Lexi had her heart catheter procedure this morning at 9 am. We are very grateful and blessed that the procedure went well. They were able to lower the pressure in her pulmonary valve to about 1/2 of what is was prior to the procedure. The procedure went pretty much as expected and anticipated by the doctors. They are fairly happy with the outcome and will continue to watch the valve as she grows. She did a fantastic job before the procedure and was very cooperative with the medical staff. She is recovering well and if all goes well tonight and tomorrow morning at her echo she will go home tomorrow late morning. We want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. We are overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we receive from our family and friends. You all help make Lexi's heart journey a little easier.

Milk . . .

a conversation with Lexi tonight after her bath . . .
Lexi: "Mommy, I want to rub lotion on my boobies"
Mommy: "Okay, Lexi"
Lexi: "Mommy, I have little boobies. I wish I had big boobies like you."
Mommy: "Why do you wish that?"
Lexi: "So that when I get bigger like you, milk will pop out!"

Only out of the mouth of a 3 year old!

Lexi's 2nd Day of School

Today, we got to take Lexi to her 2nd day of school. Grandma Cindy got the honor of taking her to her very 1st day of school (and I don't have any pictures of it).

Such a big girl carrying her book bag
Lexi and Madison standing by the birthday cake (in honor of Madison's birthday)

Grandma Cindy and Madison

A few cute pictures of baby Madison in her bassinet, sleeping like a baby!Madison had her first doctor's appt. today. She got to meet Dr. S. and his staff. She weighed in at 6 lbs. and 12 oz.

Going Home

A few photos from Madison's first photo shoot (at the hospital):Madison passed her first test - the hearing testrocking in the chair with Daddy while Mommy gets ready

in the car seat, ready for her first ride in the car

announcing her arrival to the neighborhood

welcomed home with open arms by her big sister

Our new little princess

She's here and she made a fast arrival!Madison Taylor was born today at 7:58 am.She weighs 7 lbs., 2 oz. and is 20 inches long.Madison and Dr. MayerMommy, Madison, and DaddyGetting her first bathHere's the labor story - I went in to see the doctor yesterday so he could strip my membranes to hopefully put me into labor. Let's just say it worked like they said it could (within 24 hours). Contractions began around 3 am, they were strong and hard but they were only coming every 10-12 minutes. I tried to get as much rest as I could. The alarm went off at 6 am so we got up and showered. Today was Lexi's first day of school so my plan was to get her ready and take her to school and then head to the hospital. It was about 7 am and the contractions were coming every 5 minutes and they were so painful, I decided to ditch the original plan and get our bags and head to the hospital. We got in the car at 7:11 am, arrived at the hospital at 7:48 am. Thankfully, there was a nurse just outside the door who saw I was in very active labor and rushed to get a wheelchair. At this point my contractions are coming every 1-2 minutes so she rushed me past admitting and right into the triage area. They immediately began paging my OB. They no longer got me out of the wheelchair, changed into a gown, onto the bed and my water broke. The nurses quickly put up the side rails and rushed me down the hall into a labor & delivery room. All I can remember is they kept telling me "don't push, we are almost there!" We arrived to the birthing room and they transferred me onto another bed and made me lay on my side so I wouldn't push because the doctor wasn't there yet. About a minute or two later, it was time to push and no one was going to stop me. The resident doctor looked at me and said, "Go ahead and push, the head is right there." Two quick pushes and our new little baby girl was here just as my doctor was walking in the room. We heard her little cry and then they put her on my chest. My doctor looks at me and says, "it's a good thing all my patients aren't like you or I would be out of a job." I then asked what time was Madison born and they told me 7:58 am. She was born just ten minutes after we arrived to the hospital. We are so blessed that both mommy and baby Madison are happy, healthy, and doing well. I know you don't get any awards for delivering naturally, but I at least would like to have bragging rights. And no, I wouldn't recommend it. My advice is don't wait too late or too long to go to the hospital, so you at least have enough time to get the epidural. It's a good thing we didn't wait to take Lexi to school because Madison was born before Lexi even left the house to go to school. :)
Meeting big sister Alexis for the first timeLexi brought Madison a few giftsGramma Cindy with Madison and Alexis

'Twas the Night Before . . .

the due date, and mommy is as big as a house, the little baby girl in mommy's tummy is stirring. The blankets and clothes were washed with care, in hope that a new baby girl soon would be there. Big Sister Lexi was nestled all snug in her bed, while visions of her new baby sister danced in her head; and mommy in her jammies and daddy in his shorts, had just settled down for a warm summer's nap. When at 3 am mommy sprang from the bed with contractions and pain in her back. It was a restless night's sleep for mommy who knew that it won't be long before her new little baby girl will be here.

make new friends . . . but keep the old . . .

We've been trying to spend as much time as possible with our friends before school starts and we all go our separate ways. I know we will still keep in touch with our friends it will just not be as often as it has been the last 3 years. One more week of play dates and fun before school starts.Sofie, Gia & Lexi at the movieLizzy, Lexi, and Gia at Gia's birthday partyLexi and Livi at our last summer movie