Perpetual Motion Machine

The kid has started walking and she is in constant motion. We are being revisited by some sleep disruptions and have had some very exhausting nights in the past two weeks. However, Maddie is still the best thing that has ever happened to us. Her daddy and I learn new lessons in selflessness every day and they are the greatest lessons we have ever learned. In spite of daily struggles with Doug's health issues, our home is filled with an infinite amount of joy and happiness - unlike anything either of us has ever experienced before. Maddie is sheer bliss. Every day is an adventure in learning new things, in seeing old things through her young eyes - in a whole different light. At times I'm still afraid someone is going to pinch me to awaken me from this cozy, love-drenched cocoon.

Last weekend we took a road trip to Terre Haute so Maddie could meet her Grandpa Snow and her cousins on that side of the family. Two hours into the trip, with both Maddie and me covered in baby puke, I was ready to turn back toward home. However, Doug wanted to press on so, thankfully, we did. It turned out to be a wonderful weekend (once the carseat was disassembled, laundry done, Maddie and mommy bathed, and carseat reassembled).

Oh, and let's not forget the trauma of Tim & Karen's beast of a weather radio. Even though they were gone for the weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Patrick (Tim & Karen) were kind enough to let us stay a her house. After all the chaos of puke, tummy ache, bathing, etc., everyone settled down for a good sleep. We were all drifting off into the first stages of REM sleep when the whole house exploded with shrill, piercing sirens. At first we could not figure out where it was coming from. After finally finding the culprit to be the weather radio, Doug pushed a few buttons and silence settled upon us once again. We finally fell asleep again - FOR FIVE MINUTES - and the damn thing started screamig again! Turns out, there were thunderstorms and tornado watches all around us. That darn radio went off at last 5 times before I figured out now to turn it off for good. The next morning, Maddie reprogrammed it and I'll be surprised if it ever screams again!!

Maddie loves anything with little buttons - remote controls, cell phones, weather radios, etc. Last week one evening she was playing with my phone. I said, "It's OK, just let her play with it. As long as she doesn't figure out how to push the power button on the side, she can't hurt anything." Five seconds later, she had located the teeny tiny power button that turned on the phone! I swear she understands absolutely EVERYTHING we say! She's even repeating some stuff. Funny thing was, the next morning at 7:30 AM I was putting on my shoes to go to work. My phone rings and it was my VERY GROGGY sister Cris. "Why do you keep calling me this early in the morning?!" Maddie had been playing with my phone while I was putting on my shoes and gathering up stuff to head out the door and had turned on my phone and called her 4 TIMES!!! I'm so glad Aunt Cris was the recipient of those calls. Couldn't have happened to a better victim!

This is Maddie's "cheese" pose with her Grandpa Snow.

Maddie and her Snow cousins - Justin and Emily. She had such a wonderful time with them and it is very apparent that she and Emily just adore each other! She took quite a liking to Justin too!

Maddie and Emily

Two Snow men and one very beloved little girl!

As evidenced by this video, Maddie has become quite the little cheeser for the camera!

Maddie loves to dance in time to music. It has taken some time and a little effort on her part but she has become quite good at fitting balls, blocks, etc. into appropriate slots. At times she still gets frustrated when things don't fit exactly as she thinks they should, or when the ring won't go on the post when she wants it to, and she starts to throw a small hissy fit! We are working with her, teaching her to not give up, and to keep trying until she accomplishes what she sets out to do. She's getting pretty good at following through and accomplishing what she sets out to do.

This week she started saying "A B C". That's about as far as she gets with the alphabet for now. She has a very inquisitive little mind and she spends lots of time studying her toys and trying to figure out how they work.

Please keep sending prayers and good thoughts our way. We need them right now. Doug has several doctor appointments coming up over the next few weeks so we hope to get a handle soon on his health situation.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Maddie

Growing Leaps and Bounds

We had some down time this past weekend so we finally made an attempt at capturing one-year portraits of Maddie. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

Yes Uncle Steve, Maddie IS reading Seven Little Rabbits! And yes, the book is upside down. But Maddie does not care. It's so funny to watch her with books. She opens the covers, turns the pages, and jabbers as fast as she can. She reads! I'm not sure what language she speaks when she reads, but I'm convinced that she's reading. LOL

The girl LOVES her prunes! We are transitioning her onto cow's milk and prunes are a necessity in her diet these days.

I really wanted to get some good frame-worthy shots in her beautiful purple dress from China. But, by the time we got her changed, all posing desires had left the building!

This was a week of more firsts for Maddie. She is closer than ever to walking on her own. She pulls herself up on anything and everything, and walks around everything. She loves to push her car around the yard. She pushes our chairs all over the kitchen. She has also started climbing! Last night I was lying on the floor in front of the couch. She stepped up on my leg and climbed up on the couch. She tries to pull herself up on furniture by throwing one leg up, and then grabbing at whatever she can find to pull herself up. We have to watch her constantly!

More new things: She can no longer be in the kitchen when I'm cooking. The second she gets into the kitchen, she heads for the pet food and water bowls. She seems to be quite fond of the cat food. If she starts hacking up hairballs, we'll know why!! She also LOVES to splash water - in the tub, in the pets' water bowl, in her babysitter's swimming pool.

This afternoon, we saw Grandma Jo (my mom). Maddie had her finger buried halfway up her nose. Grandma howled and said I deserved a kid who did that! Evidently she had a difficult time breaking me of that habit.

We have been working on learning colors. Maddie tends to pick a color and then stick with it. Last week, everything was purple. This week, everything is orgy! That's how Maddie pronounces orange. She just amazes us with how quickly she learns new things.

I hesitate even bring up the crap that is going on right now. However, it's a part of our lives and life isn't always a bed of roses. So, here goes...

Doug has been suffering for over a week with intermittent migraines (every five minutes or so he gets stabbing headaches that last for 5+ seconds) and numbness and tingling in his right arm. He is also extremely weak. After a stressful visit to the hospital to rule out life-threatening stuff (heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, etc.), we came to the conclusion that his M.S. is flaring up again. M.S. is such a cruel beast (not my "B word" of choice, but I'm trying to keep this family friendly). Tomorrow Doug starts a five-day regimen of daily infusions of a steroid to halt the attack.

For the most part, Maddie is a little trooper and such a bright spot during an otherwise difficult time. However, at night when I'm rocking her to sleep, it becomes evident that she too is feeling the stress. She has reverted to scratching her forehead and pulling at her hair when she is drifting off to sleep. She also occasionally claws at my face during that time. It's nowhere nearly as severe as it was in the first two months after we brought her home. However, it's just enough to remind us that she is no dummy and she feels the full impact of what is going on.

It's gut-wrenching to see my dear husband and our sweet baby girl dealing with pain and stress. However, I also know from experience that character is born and grows during times like these. So, in essence, these experiences are a gift. Ultimately, we become stronger, more compassionate, and learn to appreciate the things in life that truly matter.

OK, enough of that... no pity parties please. However, prayers and good thoughts over the next week or two are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for checking in.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Sweet Maddie

Happy 4th of July

We had a wonderful week and weekend with friends and family. Aunt Iva (my sister) and her four beautiful girls were here from Colorado. There is definitely a mutual love between Maddie, Allie, Lauren, Katie, and Melanie. They had such a wonderful time playing and Maddie was tuckered out every night.

This being the weekend of the 4th of July was definitely different from our first five Independence Days in this house. Since there was no Freedom Fest at the Goshen Airport this year, we didn't have a party this year. While it didn't seem quite right, it ended up being a good thing as it would have been just too much with all the other activities this weekend. Hopefully by next year Freedom Fest will be back and we will once again have our annual party.

Being around the four older kids so much this weekend has resulted in Maddie starting to imitate EVERYTHING! She started repeating what we say this weekend. Time has run out.... gotta clean up the language NOW! Katie taught her to wave her finger and say, "No, no, no!"

Maddie is so close to walking. She now stands next to furniture and "forgets" to hold on. She no longer falls when that happens. We have been working on colors. This week she started saying "purple" and picks purple letters out of a stack of different colors. I'm not 100% convinced that picking the purple letter was for real... coulda been a fluke because it doesn't happen consistently. However, she does manage to grab a purple letter more than 50% of the time when we ask her to find purple. She also says "orange" and "blue" quite clearly. She also learned how to flip a light switch this week. She loves to turn lights on and off.

Maddie helped me do laundry today. She LOVES to help with whatever she can get her hands on. It's amazing to watch her transition into this stage... less baby, more little girl. I just cannot say enough about how much fun she is right now. Every day is an adventure in learning new things. When she looks at me with those big black eyes and giggles, my heart melts into a puddle. I thought I knew love before Maddie but never dreamed of a love this intense.

We are in the process of transitioning her off formula and onto cow's milk. She has had some digestive issues return so we are feeding her lots of apple juice, prunes, and other fruits. On Friday we went to the Zoo. On the way home, Maddie exploded in her car seat. Aunt Iva was wonderful... she disassembled the carseat and we washed everything. There was even poop on her carseat toys so it all went into the washer. It even oozed through the cracks in the carseat and onto the back seat of our car. Anyone need a ride anywhere?! Needless to say, we made good use of soap, water, rags, and Fabreeze. Everything is once again fresh as a daisy.

Lauren would like to get on a plane every morning and come to Indiana to babysit for Maddie. She was a wonderful helper while they were here!

Melanie and Maddie had a great time playing in her car.

Katie and Lauren got to babysit for Maddie on Thursday while I was at work. They must have worn her out because Maddie slept like a log that night!

The Graber kids (and one Snow kid) at the Zoo.

Maddie has quickly become very fond of her Uncle Dave. To see more photos from Iva's visit, visit our Picasa web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow/200907. Thanks for checking in. Much love to all of you...

Beth, Doug, and Maddie