2 Weeks Old

Maddie is 2 weeks old.  We went to the doctor for her first appointment.  She now weighs 7lbs (was 6lb 8oz at birth) and is 20 inches long.  They said she looked great and is gaining weight very well.  Poor little thing had to have her heel pricked for her newborn screening.  So sad to see her scream like that.  She did get a pink camo band aid after.  I told her that is because she is a tough cookie!  :)  We don't go back to the doctor until her 2 month appointment.  With the flu scare and craziness, our goal is to stay away from the doctor for as long as possible!

Here is our little princess on her Pink Bunny!

First Sponge Bath

Maddie had her first sponge bath the other day. Here are a few pictures. She loved it and was very content the entire time. Her cord fell off two days ago, so the next bath will be a "real" bath!

October 19, 2009

October 19, 2009 is the only day that my kids have a significant birth milestone at the same time!  Will turned 2 years old and Maddie turned one week old.  If you've followed Will's life you know that he's had his picture taken on the big blue hippo for each of his birth milestones.  I didn't want to disappoint.  Chris asked if I'm going to make him sit on it when he is 16.  I said probably so!  :)  Maddie actually received a big pink bunny a couple days ago.  Going forward we'll use it vs. the hippo, but I didn't want to miss the big day.  Here are a few more pictures of the kids on the big day!

Will turns 2!

We had Will's 2nd birthday party back in September to celebrate.   He actually turned 2 on Monday, October 19th; one week after becoming a big brother!  We celebrated here at the house and we went to lunch at Chick Fil A.  He loved his 2nd celebration and we all had a great time!  Happy Birthday Big Brother Will!  We love you so much and can't believe how much you've grown up in the past two years!  

Sharing ice cream at Chick Fil A with mommy

Sprinkles cupcake with 2 candles!

Opening toys pants free.  He had so much chocolate on them we had to take them off!  A sign that he LOVED his cake!

Mr. Potato Head and Elmo Blocks!

Maddie Comes Home

As you can imagine, I'm a little behind on the blog.  We came home from the hospital on Friday, October 16th.  Everything about the delivery, hospital stay and even the discharge from the hospital was much smoother than it was with Will.  We are settling in at home and happy to be a family of 4.  Will has school on Fridays, however we asked my sister to pick him up early and bring him to the hospital. We thought it was very important for him to be with us when Maddie came home.  When we got home he also had a surprise - a very large stuffed giraffe from his new baby sister.  He loves it!  Here are a few pictures from our hospital stay and leaving to head home.  

Maddie with her Great Grandma - Granny Bobbye

Will and I reading in the hospital

Maddie with Aunt Carrie

Daddy is already smitten!

Snoozing on mom's bed

Will checking out his little sister

Last family pic in the hospital

Kids and gear all packed up - we're ready to go!

Maddie with Mommy riding out of the hospital

Sweet baby in the car for the first time

Madison Lynn Halpin

Madison Lynn Halpin joined our family and the world on Monday, October 12, 2009, at 7:39AM. She weighs 6lbs 8oz and is 18 1/4 inches long. She is perfect, beautiful and such a surprise! Chris and I were both convinced we were having a little boy. Not finding out before the birth was one of the BEST things we could have done. We were both completely surprised and so excited at the same time. We plan on calling her Maddie. Her middle name, Lynn, is Chris's mother's maiden name. Chris's Grandpa Lynn was one of the most influential people in his life and being able to name Maddie after him is very special to us both. 

Maddie is healthy, happy, and has a very sweet demeanor. She is a strong little girl. We feel so blessed. Will is also pretty smitten with his little sister - at least some of the time. He gives her kisses, already calls her "Maddie" and "Baby Sister", and likes to look at her. He has held her once and was very good. I am sure that taking her home will be an adjustment for him, but I know he'll be a wonderful, protective, and loving big brother. She is a lucky girl to have him! 

Here are a few pictures from the first few days of her life. We thank God for giving us such a special gift. 

Last weekend as 3

Well, this was our last weekend as a family of 3.  Tomorrow we will welcome Baby Halpin #2 into the world.  We are so excited.  Our focus this weekend was on our family and just being together.  We had a great time!  Saturday we ran some errands and watched the Aggies play OSU at Joe and Amy Theriot's house.  It was so much fun and Will just loves playing with Christopher!  Saturday night, Chris and I went to dinner at Craft for date night.  It was SO yummy and was nice to have a few hours amongst adults - however I am huge and got lots of looks walking in and out of the W Hotel.  Not sure why people act like they've never seen a pregnant woman out after 5pm.  Here is a pic before dinner.

Today, we hung out with Will all day and really tried to do all things for him!  We went to his favorite place for lunch - The Purple Cow!  Josh and Carrie were in town for a wedding this weekend, so they were able to join us.  We then went to the pumpkin patch at St. James after he napped to see his friends.  Emily was volunteering and we've made it an annual event to go.  It was a quick trip this year because it started raining on us, but it was fun!  We then headed to Mi Cocina for dinner where Will ate plenty of 'Mole (Guacamole) and Rice.  Mom and Dad were pretty happy with that meal as well!  

Will was excited to sit on the pumpkins and say "CHEESE".  I guess I've trained him...

Will and Avery on the pumpkins

Preston and Will hugging

Just some of the pumpkins. Just felt like fall being out there!

Will playing in the rain with the pumpkins

While we are so excited to meet Baby Halpin, it has also been a weekend of reflecting on the past two years and how much joy and love Will has brought to our family.  We know that will only increase with #2, but it is still really hard to imagine focusing on anything but him!  He's been the center of our world for 2 years.  Will, we love you so much and we know you are going to be the best BIG BROTHER ever!  We can't wait to find out if you will have a little sister or brother.  When we ask you, you always say it is a sister.  We'll find out tomorrow!  Love you buddy!

 

Boys and Trucks!

Unfortunately, my mom's car broke down at our house this past weekend.  BUT, Will was very excited about the tow truck that had to come get Dee Dee's broken car.  It was a good 15 minutes of exciting entertainment!

Inaugural Southwest Classic

Well....wasn't a pretty game for our Aggies.  It was a lot of fun though.  Here are a few pictures from this weekend's Southwest Classic - Texas A&M vs. Arkansas.  The size of the new Cowboys Stadium is pretty amazing.  

Before we went into the game - everyone is still optimistic here!

Mark, Kevin, Chris and Chris in front of the stadium

Chris and I in front of the stadium (37 weeks pregnant)

Chris and Kristi enjoying pre-game

Pre-game warm ups

Aggie Band on the big screen

As the game turned bad, I evidently stopped taking pictures.  Oh well.  We are excited to know that the game will be back here in Dallas again next year and I'm sure we'll be there!