The Traveling Nomad

As I have mentioned before, Maddox is walking and getting into everything....I say "No Maddox" about a trillion times a day as I am trying to keep him off the TV or out of the fire place or not pulling the lamp down...you name, I have had to tell him no. I end up shortening it sometimes and it comes out "NO MAD" and it always makes me laugh because I think of a Nomad "a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons" and at this time in our lives that is how I would sum up our precious son. He does not stay anywhere for more that 2 seconds and is always on the go looking for something to explore....I love it! I am exhausted and look forward to the much needed mommy time...aka NAP TIME!!! (oh by the way, he has transitioned beautifully to just one nap a day....he naps from 2-4 most of the time) I am looking forward to being able to venture out and do activities during the morning after April when cold/flu and RSV season is finished. We need something to make the time go by faster in the mornings since that nap has been removed. Over all he is doing great!!! He loves to follow me throughout the house, especially when I am cleaning, he wants to help and mimic what I am doing....it is hilarious! In fact, the other day, I had the vacuum out, it was unplugged and all the plug protectors where on all the plugs in the house.....he got the cord of the vacuum and walked it over to the socket and tried to plug it in himself (he couldn't of course because of the said plug protectors) but he knew which part went where and he was trying very hard to make it happen.
Today I was dusting and he thought that looked like fun, so he "stole" my swiffer duster and decided we needed to dust his crib

I need to utilize his help now because as he gets older he isn't going to think dusting is all that fun!!!

Wordless Wednesday

ROCK STAR

Its looking like we might have a drummer in our family!!! We were at dinner the other night and the restaurant was loud and they started playing a rock song, the drum part starting picking up and Maddox immediately began waving his hands in the air (like he just don't care) and he continued to do this until the song ended. It was hilarious, there were 3 tables of people just laughing and enjoying our ROCK STAR!!!!

Things in the Voda house are going well, we are currently attempting to eliminate the morning nap time (which saddens me a little because that is when I take a shower and enjoy a little time to myself) Maddox was just not napping very well at either of his naps so I figured it was time for him to go to just an afternoon nap. Today was the first day with the new schedule and it went decently....hopefully we can all adjust and get a new routine!!!

Please keep my brother and sister-in-law in your thoughts and prayers these next few weeks....baby Mollie is due on February 19th, but they have mentioned taking Mollie a week early (making her a Valentines baby) due to Kamerons gestational diabetes. They are super excited and anxious as all new parents are. I absolutely cannot wait to love on this baby girl, I am so excited to be an Aunt!!!

This past Sunday we ventured out to the park and Maddox had a great time! He sure does love to swing (does that surprise ANYONE???) There were a ton of kids out there because it was such a beautiful day, so it made it a little hard to let Maddox play. I am anxious to take him during the week when there aren't as many kids there.

I will leave you with my favorite pictures from the park!!

Can YOU Help Me?

Can I get a little help around here????!!??? Man, Maddox has been "helping" me so much lately...he helps me unload the dishwasher (grabbing all the spoons and banging them on the ground), do the laundry (or at least throw all the hangers throughout the entire house), he helps me put up the groceries (digging throw all the sacks to find the good snacks he knows I will not let him have) and he even helps me vacuum (by checking out the vacuum to make sure it is "safe." Hey, at least he's not scared of the vacuum any more)

Oh we have entered such a fun and exhausting stage these days. He is walking so well, even running at times, his curiosity has continued to increase daily. He loves to watch everything I do and mimic or check out what I am doing. The tears have increased as separation anxiety increases, he does not like for me to be out of sight, which at this point in his heightened curiosity is actually a blessing because I am able to see what he is getting into without chasing him throughout the house ALL day (just MOST of the day..hehehe).

Happy Birthday

Dear Sweet One Year Old Maddox,
Hi there my sweet son and Happy Birthday to you!!! I cannot begin to describe what I am feeling right now, it is a mixture of the most proud I have ever felt, excitement to see what our future holds together, a little sadness to know that you are growing up so quickly and an overwhelming love for you! This past year has been amazing as I watch your personality grow and develop and as I, your mommy, adapted and grew into a mother. It has been so much fun to watch you learn new things and discover all the things you should and should not get into! I feel like in the last few weeks you have just taken off and are turning into a little man and not a baby! You walk so well and get into EVERYTHING!!! You love TV remotes, digital cameras, any type of cord, cell phones and anything with buttons to push (you are already just like your daddy) Your favorite toys right now are your airplane from Dusty and Auntie Sarah (it has mickey mouse on it, lots of buttons to push, and you can walk behind it or ride on it, you currently enjoy walking/running behind it), you love your curious George monkey from pop pop and nanny and your fabulous bath toys from Grammie! You sleep most nights from 8pm-7:30am as long as you can find your pacifier and raffie (I place at least 3 pacifiers in your crib at night so you can find one in the middle of the night) and you still take 2 naps..one at 10am and one at 2. You love bath time, in fact you love it so much that you get two a day!!! You hate when I have to put lotion on you (just like your daddy, trying to get him to wear sunscreen is nearly impossible) You love when we read together (I have to tell you, that is one of my favorite things we do together, I love to watch you get excited as we turn the pages) You are not a very big fan of adult food, you don't care for the texture of meat, but you certainly LOVE your soy milk. You are still allergic to milk, but you have adapted very well to taking Soy milk rather than Soy formula, you are doing fabulous with your sippy cup, but you still want your bottle before nap or bedtime. You adore your daddy and get the biggest smile on your face when he walks into a room, you love to wrestle with him and you love when he throws you in the air! You have recently learned to hug when we ask for a hug and you can stretch really big when was ask you to (precious) You wave hello and bye-bye, you can say Cracker (that was your first real word), momma, dadda, GO and you love to babble!!!!
I could go on and on, you are such a blessing little man! We love you more than words can describe and I am so excited to see what this year has in store for us!!!
Happy First Birthday Madd-Man!!!

I love you,
MOmmy

One year ago today I was admitted in the hospital to start the induction process to bring Mr. Maddox into the world. The original plan was to start the induction in the morning on January 7, 2008; however, when I called the hospital that morning, they informed me they were having a very busy and hectic morning and to call back in a few hours and they would let me know what time I should arrive. I called a few hours later and they informed my that one of the delivery nurses spoke to my doctor and he wanted me to come in that evening and they would start me on some medicine that would help me dilate through the night and they would begin the pitocin to help start the contractions in the morning of January 8, 2008. Looking back, I can definitely see the hand of God in that entire situation....I was blessed with such an easy labor and delivery.

It is so hard to believe it has already been a year since Brad and I took our very nervous steps into the room where I spent the night and later gave birth to our son! My heart is filled with such Joy right now as I remember how anxious, nervous and excited I was a year ago!!!

What a Happy NEW YEAR

Wow! I cannot believe we have already said good-bye to 2008 and welcomed in 2009! What an amazing year we had! I am anxious to see what 2009 has in store for us and I am determined to create as many memories as I can!!! My new years resolution is to maintain a cleaner and more efficient house....if it is not used everyday, it needs a "home"....I desire be more organized and know where everything is. Organization does not come to me as natural as it does my dear friend Sarah...she is probably the most organized person I know, so I might be borrowing her quite often to help me out!!! While that is my resolution for the year, I also desire to get a little healthier, eat better, exercise more and I am determined to let Maddox play outside as much as physically possible when the weather is nicer and RSV season is long gone (that is April-ish)

Well, now on to the FUN stuff!!! We celebrated Maddox's first birthday on Sunday, January 4th at my mom's house! We had a great time....Brad's parents (Grandmom and Grandpa Voda), his sister Kim and her boyfriend Austin came to visit and celebrate with us...it was so great to have them here and I felt so blessed to have them at our son's birthday party. My mom (Grammie), Step dad (Papa), Carol (CiCi), Jason (Uncle J), Kameron (Aunt Kam), My dad (PopPop), step mom (Nanny), my Granny, and best friends Dusty and Sarah all came to the big celebration. It was very laid back, I made a DVD of Maddox's first year and we watched that, ate chips and queso, little sandwiches, fruit and the best of all my mom's homemade sugar cookies and ice cream!! Saturday afternoon, Kim, Carol, my mom and I got together and made the cookies for the party....I found big alphabet cookie cutters so I spelled Maddox's name out in cookies and made the number 1 for him, and the rest were all 'M' they were super cute and Maddox did great eating his first taste of sugar!!!! I let him eat the number 1 because it was the easiest and smallest for him to old on to and he did great!!!

We had a wonderful time!!! I sat out a picture with a large mat around it (you know the ones you usually see at weddings and stuff, where people sign it for the Bride and Groom) I had everyone write something for Maddox, one of their favorite memories of him this year....oh I am so glad we did that, it will be so fun to look back at throughout the years!!! Thank you so much for all of you who came to spend time with us and help make that day so special for Brad and I!!!

Here are the Pictures!!!!

Here is the invitation I made and mailed out! It has a picture for every month of this little-man's first year!!! I loved how they turned out!

Here are the cookies that spelled out Maddox (he was currently eating his 1 while we took this pic)

Maddox attempting to figure out what he was about the eat!!!

Here is Sarah me and Maddox (maddox is telling Daddy that he is 1)

What a big boy, sitting with his presents!!

Maddox is clapping after he took his first bite!! oh it was precious!! It was almost as though he was telling me "good job mom...these cookies are great"

Still clapping

Here is the Madd-man walking up a storm!!

Eating away!!