She's Walking

Today, Maddie started walking on her own. We are all in trouble now.

You are Invited to Maddie's Birthday Party

Madelyn Caroline Weiland is turning One on December 15th. We are celebrating her birthday on Sunday, December 13th at Noon at our house 1760 Saint Garth Way, Shingle Springs. Please RSVP by emailing me at kateweiland@wildblue.net I need to know by Friday, December 11th so that I make sure that we have enough food for everyone.

Hope to see you there.

11 Months

It has been eleven months since our world has changed. I can't explain how it feels to be a parent. It is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. It is the best feeling in the world. For those of you that don't have kids, you have no idea. You think you know, but you don't. Really, I thought I knew and I thought "my kids won't do this or that" well guess what I didn't know what I was talking about.

We ran into an old friend at the store the other day who said it best. Kids are the best thing in the world and those who don't have them don't understand.

Our friends Beau and Carrie had their first baby, Olive Mae born 7lbs 7oz 19in long. She is so cute. We were just talking to them about their experience as first time parents. Carrie and I were just saying how we had no idea until that little one arrived what it is going to be like. Everyone told us, but we had no clue. It is amazing how different you look at life and how everything is now all about Maddie and Olive.

We have a lot of friends and family that bitch that we never ask them to babysit. What people don't understand is that we don't go anywhere that Maddie can't go. We don't want to go anywhere without her. There is nothing that I want to experience in life that she can't do with us. It is not that we don't want to leave her with our friends and family, we just don't have a need to. So to all our friends and family when we have a need to have a babysitter, we will call upon you. Until then, thanks for the offers, but please don't take it personal, we just don't need a babysitter.

This month Maddie has experienced a few things. She had her first Halloween at Aunt and Uncle Horty's. She as you saw in her "official" Halloween pics below, she was a lady bug. We didn't go trick-or-treating. She is too young and none of us needed the candy. When she is able to walk on her own and understand the holiday, we will take her.

She is officially an Ironbaby. She attended the Ironman in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend. She did good for it being such a long day. She chased Rob Peterson around the Phoenix area in the swim, bike and run. She sat on the bridge and shook the "running" bell for the runners.

Aunt Melissa even got her a t-shirt to wear in support of Rob. It was very cute. Of coarse Rob did excellent as usual. He got 5th in his division, 69th overall and 63 overall men. So yes, that means 6 women beat him. But these women are tough, so I don't think he minds.

Maddie took to Rob and Josh this past weekend. She loved them both. She especially loved it when Josh would sing to here. She was mesmerized by him.

Maddie had her first Turkey day. First thing we did on Turkey day was run in the Folsom Turkey Trot. I ran through the maze of people with Krissy and Maddie in the 5K. Mike and Joe ran in the 10K. It was the first time Joe or I had ever ran in anything. It was fun. Well as much as running can be fun. It is hard to run with a stroller. Maddie slept nearly the entire run. Then we spent the rest of the day with my dad, Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Aunt Carol and Alan, Cousin Stacy and her boys, Cousins Erin and Matt, Matt's parents and Stacy's boyfriend Tony and his mom at Stacy's house in Lincoln. It was very nice dinner and nice company too.

Hope everyone had a great holiday. We didn't go shopping on "black" Friday. We never do. For those of you that did, hope you got what you wanted for cheap. How were the crowds?

On another note, Jeni had her first doctor's appointment last week. She is 12 weeks along. She is due on June 5th.

I almost forgot, Maddie is counting to 10. Yes, I said counting. Really, she is counting. She skips 7 and 8 a lot. But if you say one, she will say the next number and then you say three, she'll say four and so on. It is quite amazing. She only usually does the counting in front of people after she has warmed up to them. So when we were in Arizona everyone finally, after the second or third day, got to here her count. Here is a partial video Joe caught on his phone. It is not a very good counting time. She was mad and wanted out of her high-chair, but you get the idea.

Sisterly News

Kristen Marie Horton

As some of you are aware, my sister Krissy found another lump on ther throat. We thought it was cancer again. She got her results back on Monday and it was great news. NO CANCER. We are so excited. She will however be having the lump removed just to be safe.



Jennifer Anne McCoy

Today, I got the greatest news. My sister Jeni is pregnant with her third. She just found out that she is two weeks late. So she has her first doctors appointment on November 19th.



This week has been the most exciting week in a long time. Congrats to both my sisters. I love you both.

Talk, Talk, Talk

Maddie has always been a talker, but these days it is becoming more and more. And loud too. If you are not paying attention to her while she is talking she will get louder until you look at her. I wonder where she got that from.

So far the words that I can recall that Maddie can say are:

Kitty, Moo, ooh-ah-ooh-ah (monkey sounds), Dog, Meow (pronounced by Maddie without the "M"), Book, Bubbles (sometimes pronounced "dubbles") Jet, Button, Daddy, Dadda, Momma, Mommy, Diaper, Bottle, Bye, No, Hi (this was her very first word besides Dadda), Yes, What, Maddie, Brydie, Shh, Quack, Tickle-Tickle, Ball, Bath, Eyes, Wait, Bucket, Blanket.

I know there are others, but I can't recall what they are at the moment. There are some words that she said a long time ago, but she has not repeated lately. We attribute majority of her talking to the Your Baby Can Read program that she started watch when she was 4 weeks old. I know people think I am crazy, but I really think that the program has helped. There is no proof. Maybe it didn't help, but I know it can't hurt.

1st Halloween Pics

SAVE THE DATE!

Save the date Sunday, December 13, 2009 you are invited to Maddie's 1st Birthday Party. Really just an excuse for us adults to get together. I will send out more information as the date gets closer.

Another Month Past (10 Months Old)

On September 19th, before the traffic got crazy in Placerville, we went to Apple Hill with our friends Sonya and Daniel and their boys Ian and Ty. It was a quick day trip. We stopped at High Hill Ranch and had hotdogs and fries for lunch. We looked at the exhibits and got some chocolates at the Fudge Factory. Before we left we had to get our Thanksgiving and Christmas apple pies. Really that was the only reason we wanted to go to Apple Hill. Sonja bought Maddie a bow for her three hairs. It was very cute on her head. It looked like we glued it on since her hair is so fine and blond.

September 23rd was Cousin Allison Macy McCoy's 9th birthday. We went to her swim party at their house, but I realized that I didn't get any pictures of that day. We are going this weekend to Cousin Brianna Anne's Halloween/Swim birthday party. Nana turned 11 on October 20th. Wow, how time has gone by so fast. I remember when the girls were Maddie's age. It seems like just yesterday they were little.

On September 26th Maddie, Krissy and I went to Aunt Jessica's baby shower. She is having another girl. Actually any moment now she should be popping.

Can you believe Maddie is 10 months old now? She is so smart. We think the cutest things she does are when you ask her what a cow or monkey says. She says moo, but the way she says it is more through her lips and teeth. If you ask her or if she hears a mokey noise she will say ooh-ah-ooh-ah. It is very cute. She can put her arms up, clap and point to her nose or eyes on demand. She is repeating everything you do and say. We really have to watch what we say and do. It is amazing how she can pick up on the smallest reaction you have to something. She really picks up on your facial expressions and attitude. Kids have that 6th sense we forget about. When Joe or I are having a bad day so is Maddie. She just gets out of sorts because of the attitude we are putting off. I had heard people say such things, but I never really understood it to be true until I saw it in Maddie.

I can say that teething is the worst party of them growing up. She is miserable when her teeth are bugging her. She constantly has her fingers in her mouth trying to get some relief. We have tried everything. It works for a short period of time. Everyone says to use whiskey on her gums. I refuse to do it. She will just have to live with the other methods of pain relief I give her.

On October 18th, we went to San Francisco to watch her Aunt Melissa run in the Women's Nike Marathon. I had never been to a marathon before. I had seen it on TV, but it is much different in person, especially when you know someone in the race. We stayed the night before the race in a hotel. It was the smallest hotel room I had ever stayed in. The bed literally took up the entire room. We called it our closet. We went to dinner at a Chicago Pizzeria. If you have never had Chicago pizza before, it is a very deep dish pizza. Chicago deep dish is nothing like Round Table Pizza deep dish. The crust was about 2 inches thick and the pizza itself was about 1 inch thick. They tell you when they seat you that the pizza takes about 40 minutes to cook. That is only after they put in the order, make it and get in line for the oven. We got our food about an hour and 45 minutes later. It was good, but I don't think we were all prepared to wait so long for our food. Melissa got up early the next morning for a 7am start. We didn't get to the 10 mile marker until after 9am and missed her by a few minutes. We went to the finish line at that point to wait for her. She finished in 4 hours and 32 minutes. That is an average of a 10 minute mile. We are so proud of her for running the entire time. She has inspired Joe and Mike to start running so they can run some races too. I am not sure they are ready for the marathon, but maybe a half marathon or a 5K.

Joe and Mike started running everyday. They went this morning for a 4 mile run. Maddie and I are going to get a jogging stroller so we can go with them next time.

9 Months

Tail of the tape....in the red corner weighing in at 16.14 lbs, 28" tall with a 17.5 inch head, Maddie "Cheeto" Weiland. She is 70% in her height, 20% in her weight and 60% in her head size. She is small, but right in line with where she should be on the growth curves. She may be small, but she is mighty and very smart. She is talking already. She can say dog, bubbles, mama, dadda, hey dude, uh oh, kitty, hi, and a few others I can't think of at the moment. She is crawling fast everywhere and pulling herself up on everything, but is not yet walking by herself. She can with assistance.
She hates baby food. She loves whatever you are eating and she eats everything in sight.


We spent Labor day at my mom's it was the perfect day. The weather was perfect and mom's yard was looking great. We spread a blanket out under the tree in the back yard and played. Maddie stayed on the blanket the entire time. She didn't like the feel of the grass. It was a perfect invisible fence.





Look at Daddy and daughter. She is looking more and more like her daddy every day. She has always acted like him, but now I can see him in her more these days.

Look Grandma what Mom still has in her closet. The two dolls that you made for Jeni and I. Mine with the dark hair was Noel. She had yellow clothes, which I am sure are in the closet somewhere. If you look closely someone tried to put lip stick on them at one point. Shortly after I took this picture, my mom through the dolls in teh washer and they came out as good as new.

Last Month we went to the state fair for Mom's birthday. This was Maddies first adventure at the state fair. We walked around and looked at the exhibits. There was no one there this year and half the exhibits were missing from the "normal" fair shows. It was perfect weather for a day at the state fair. It was about 80 degrees, with no crowds, what else could we ask for.

She was a little unsure of the animals when we stopped for too long. We stopped at the horses and there was a horse in the center corral that a lady brought over to the fence for Maddie to see. We got to see the horse close up for a short period of time until the rest of the kids in the area, saw what was happening and rushed over and pushed us out of the way. Those little brats and their parents were worse than them.

We visited our best friends Beau and Carrie. Their dog Shelby loved to play with Maddie. I think she licked the inside of Maddie's mouth a dozen times. We are preparing Shelby for her new little one. Carrie and Beau are expecting their first on November 22nd. They don't know if it is a boy or girl. They want to be surprised. I think it is a boy. However Carrie thinks it is a girl. So if she thinks that she is probably right. Mom's usually know these things. I think you can just sense these things.

Until next month or the next major event in our lives.

P.S. Nothing much changed with Joe and I. Everything is the same on our ends. Work, work, work and take care of Maddie.

Rest In Peace....Mike Coy, Jean "Nana" Mann, Cash "Money" Weiland

It has been a tough this past month.

Mike Coy (David Coy's dad) pasted away suddenly of a heart-attack. There was a private memoral held at their home for close family and friends. We are still morning this loss.

Cash "Money" Weiland disappear on 9/15/09 evening. We suspect that he was shot by our neighbor, but have not proof other than gun shots while we were out looking for him. Tyson and Frank are showing their concern for Cash's disappearance.

Jean "Nana" Mann, died 9/18/09 at a hospital in Roseville. She is on her way to see her son Tim . She will be greatly missing by all that knew her. We love you Nana and will miss you. Services have not been set yet.

Also, along the same lines, Jean's brother in-law Bruce Mann's brother also lost his life to cancer this month. Services were held in LA.

I am not sure that I can take anymore loss this month.

Eight Months and Independence

It has been 8 months since Maddie was born. Boy how things are changing. We have baby gates up now. She has two teeth now. She is a mover these days. She is crawling, but still a little unsteady. Her brain tells her to go, but her body is just not up to the challenge yet. So she is getting frustrated. Sooner than later her body will catch up to her mind and it is all over for Joe and I.

On the days that I am out of town, I think Joe is getting frustrated with Maddie's frustrations. She wants to walk and talk so badly that she drives daddy crazy when she fusses. We should all be so luck to have a good baby like her. Things could be dramatically different.

We went to visit my grandparents in Mesa, Arizona this past weekend. We had tickets through Frontier because of a cancelled flight last year when I was pregnant with Maddie. Because Frontier is based out of Denver, CO all of their flights go through Denver. So we had an all day event getting to Phoenix, AZ. We spent from 11am to 6pm getting to Arizona. It was a long day, but Maddie was the best kid ever. She didn't fuss much if at all. She slept on me for a couple hours and played with Joe and I the rest of the time. I was so thankful, it could have been much worse. Maddie's first actual crawling, on all fours, was at the Denver airport. Or at least the first time we had seen her crawling. She might have gotten in a few at daycare, but it doesn't count until mom and dad see it.

Grandma and Grandpa loved her of coarse. They were amazed at how good she was and how much she talked. We went to the Phoenix zoo while we were there on Sunday morning. It is a nice zoo. There are a lot of animals. Maddie saw a few animals before she fell asleep. We left after a couple of hours, plus it was getting hot.

I celebrated another birthday on the 21st of July. We didn't do anything speacial, actually I was in Merced that day. I had brought Maddie to Merced for two days. It is hard to work with a baby in your trailer, because everyone wanted to come in a see her. Also because she demands a lot of attention. I just means that your day is a lot longer. You can only squeeze a little amount of work in over a longer period of time. I enjoyed having her with me and everyone asks about her and when she is coming back. The drive was long but she made it. I had to sing "head, shoulders, knees and toes" and "twinkle, twinkle little star" about a dozen time on the way home. 2-1/2 hours in the car after a long day at the jobsite, she was not happy with me.

Maddie went to her first baseball game at Raley field to see the River Cats. She did great. She liked all the people. She wouldn't sleep so she got fussy at about 9pm. We left shortly after and she fell asleep in the car. We went with our friends Bruce, Cindy, Bryson and Whitney. And Uncle Mike too. Our car was packed full. I am so glad we got the Navigator. We were able to get two carseats a everyone else in one car. It was nice.

Well, that is all for now. Until the next events happen.

Tooth

Maddie got her first tooth over the weekend. Teething sucks. The fussiness is just enough to drive you crazy. Nothing seems to work for long. I shouldn't complain, she is not that fussy compared to other babies.

Here is her latest. She does this little pose everytime we put her on her tummy. We say this is her "swimsuit model" pose. If you say show us your money maker, she twists and puts her hand on her butt. It is so cute.

Maddie 7 Months and Abbey 1 day

Things that have been accomplished in the last month......

Maddied turned 7 months old on the 7/15th. She is sitting up by herself. She falls over once in awhile. She is getting stronger and stronger each day. She stand, when I hold her hands, for a really long time. She does the "child's pose" if you know yoga, really good, but she can't get her knees and arms working at the same time. She is scooting backwards all over the place. She talks up a storm. She sounds like she says "Da Da" but I think that she is just making noises. I love to listen to her talk. She is learning her range of volume. Some times she talks really loud almost yelling and other times she wispers. We call it her "secrets." She still sleeps through the night. She sleeps on her tummy. I can't keep her on her back or side. She sometimes sleeps with her butt in the air. It looks uncomfortable, but is the cutiest thing. She is growning like a weed.

Joe and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on the 24th of June. Looking back we realized we have known each other for almost 20 years. We are going for 65 years of marriage like my grandparents John and Bonnie. They are working on 75 years. They have a few more to go to get there, but they will make it. Joe and I model our relationship and lives after them. We will be in Arizona next month to visit them. It will be the first time they get to see Maddie. I hope to be able to visit them more often so that she can get to know them too.

Work has been going well. I am busy at work. I got reassigned back onto the UC Merced project. So, I am traveling to Merced two days a week. Yes, that means I have to stay in Merced again. I only typically stay one night. I can't afford to be away from Maddie and Joe more than one night. It gives Joe daddy time with Maddie. Our company is staying busy and chasing after many projects all over the country, but competition has increased by 200%.

Joe and Kenny have developed quite a solid reputation and are keeping a busy despite the times. They are working more and more in the light commerical market. It is a learning curve regarding the documentation, but they have come along way in the last 5 years they have been in business. Wow, 5 years already.

The fourth of July we spent at Jeff and Sheri Eberts in Lincoln. Maddie swam in the pool and played with some of the other little kids. She loves little girls. She always smiles and laughs when other kids are around. She didn't make it to see the fireworks. She was asleep in the middle of Sheri's bed by 8:30pm. She was a great baby. Like she always is. She didn't fuss and we kept her normal routine. She got her bath and fell right to sleep. Next year she will be able to enjoy the fireworks.

Joe bought me a new car about a month or two ago. We got another lincoln navigator. I just love my navigator. It has all the bells and whisles.

We are very excited about the new addtion to our extended family. Abbey Lauren is the cutest, next to Maddie of coarse. She is going great. Amiee looked a little green and pale yesterday from the meds, but the next day she was looking much better. She had all her coloring back. She was up, walking and eating solid foods today. Jeff had a night of lots of diapers. And poopy ones too. Parenting is coming naturally to them. I am very proud of them. Abbey is latching on well. Amiee is having an easier time nursing than I did with Maddie.

Email me at kateweiland@wildblue.net and let me know what is up in your world.