ONE WHOLE YEAR

to my sweetest madelyn lee,

i cannot even believe that you are one. it seems like it was just yesterday we were waiting in the delivery room for the moment you were ready to come into the world. when people said "enjoy it, it'll go by fast" they weren't kidding. so often your daddy and i will lay in bed going through the pictures on our phone sharing our favorites. it's hard to believe how little you were when you were born, how quickly you have grown and how much love has filled our hearts. we just love you with every ounce of us. i can't even begin to explain what this past year has been like but i do know one thing, i have never felt more confident knowing that i was meant to be your mommy.

i love what a vocal little lady you are, when you don't like, don't want something you are sure to let it be known. dr. m (your pediatrician) thinks that is a wonderful trait to have as it mean when you grow older you won't be afraid to stand up for what you are. i love how you choose to army crawl your way around, you have gotten quite quick. i love how you will look for our hands and pull up asking to walk around and around and around until our backs are hurting. i love how you babble. i love when you say 'mama' and 'dada.' i love how you get so excited to eat, just like your mama. i love that you are obsessed with your doggies, one day i hope they will be excited to play back. i love how you love to "read" your books, flipping and touching each page. i love how smart you are, how quickly you learn amazes me. i love how sweet you are when you meet a stranger. i love your shy smile. i love your giggle. i love how excited you get when we get home from work, you have the biggest smile that melts us. i love how you gives us kisses without even asking. i love how i sing to you and you clap for me after. i love how when anyone sneezes or coughs, you will imitate them after with a huge smile. i love how we snuggle before i lay you in your crib at night. i love how you rub my back when you're tired. i love how you say "huh" when we talk to you. i love how you dance when you hear music. i love how you love your lovie. i love how you smile and we can see those (seven) tiny teeth. oh how i absolutely love the little baby girl you are, you make it such a blessing to be your mama (and dada.)

it is such a bittersweet feeling knowing a year has come and gone but there's comfort in looking forward to what the future holds. you are the silliest, happiest, sweetest baby girl and we are so thankful you are ours.

i love you the moon and back my sweet baby girl

love, your mommy (and daddy) 
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will be back to share details of madelyn's first birthday par-tay

FEEDING LITTLE MISS MADELYN : MINI MEALS

we L.O.V.E to eat. i have never loved cooking but since i began baby led weaning with madelyn i have come to enjoy being in the kitchen. feeding the little ones can sometimes be difficult and repetitive, which is one of the reasons why i have loved the baby led weaning approach. madelyn has been eating mostly everything we eat from the beginning. it has helped us to plan healthier well balanced dinners and to try new things. she hasn't become too picky just yet so it's been so fun to watch her explore.

i'm thought i share a few of madelyn's favorite meals that i make most often.

for breakfast

french toast, strawberries & yogurt: on the weekends when i have the time in the morning we enjoy breakfast together. a favorite for both of us is french toast with fruit. 

scramble eggs w/ cheese, toast & fruit: madelyn pretty much loves anything with cheese so this is a quick one to make. 

waffles & pancakes w/ fruit: once every other week i will make pancakes and freeze them to pop into the toaster for her breakfast during the week. i also buy the frozen whole wheat kashi waffles. both are usual served with fruit or yogurt for a quick weekday breakfast that little m loves.

for lunch & dinner

cheese ravioli, broccoli & fruit: i buy the buitoni mini ravioli and prepare it for madelyn's lunch, she absolutely love it.  it's quick and easy.

chicken pasta w/ broccoli & avocado: i toss store bought rotisserie chicken with pasta and steamed broccoli. easy and we use the rest of the chicken for other meals.

cheese quesadilla, avocado & fruit: one of madelyn's favorites.

avocado toast & fruit: i love avocados and i am so happy that my little one does too. i'm pretty sure she would just eat avocados and fruit all day everyday if she could.

fish, mixed veggies & fruit: m has really enjoyed fish lately, she has only eaten mahi mahi and salmon.

spaghetti w/ beef meatballs & fruit: oh this girl loves her meatballs, it's so funny because she usually only cares for chicken but you give her a meatball and she wants more. we don't eat a lot of red meat by we have been enjoying more spaghetti lately because m loves it so much. plus, i really love watching her eat it, it's just the cutest.

deli turkey meat, cheese & fruit: i am not a fan of turkey but i try and introduce all kinds of foods to m even if i don't prefer it. she loves turkey which has made it easy for a quick meal.

grilled chicken, yellow squash & fruit: chicken is absolutely one of m's favorites. she will eat it any way. i always pair it with a veggie and some fruit.

madelyn has learned to say "mmmm," and usually says it throughout her whole meal. it's beyond cute. 

 

we have the oxo tot sprout high chair, i really love it. it is so easy to clean and can grow with her.  while eating madelyn wears the oxo tot roll up bib, this is the best. it has a little catch pocket that her food falls into and she loves to reach in there and get it out. i have a few and even have one that i carry in my diaper bag.

madelyn uses this playtex straw cup, which i love. she began using this around 7 months to drink water and it just amazed me how quickly she learned to use it (maybe took her a day.)

i hope this is helpful for you mamas! i know that i'm always looking for new ideas for m's meals so if any of you have some ideas for fun new meals that your little one loves, please share with me. 

hope you all are enjoying a beautiful memorial day weekend with everyone you love. xo

MADELYN LEE | ONE YEAR RECAP

we had madelyn's one year check up and we have a beautifully growing baby girl.

age: one

height: 27 1/2 inches (6th percentile) weight: 16 pounds 5 ounces (6th percentile) head: 45 centimeters (53th percentile)

favorite toy: b. zany zoo, puppy & pals learning table, tap-n-tune piano, touch & feel picture cards & books

favorite activities: eating (this girl can eat, she just like her mama...once she's hungry, you better feed her something or she may lose her mind), baths (taught her to splash, so it's a bath for everyone), chasing the puppy doggies (a whole lot of fun for maddie, not so much for the dogs) and laughing (she has the cutest laugh, i could listen to it all day)

favorite foods: strawberries (really all fruit), chicken, avocado, cheese puffs, broccoli, applesauce, mac-n-cheese, cheerios, pancakes & mum mums

teeth: 4 top, 3 bottom and 1 top right moral coming in

words: mama, dada, hi, buh bye, shhh, ah-choo

sign language: more and all done

nicknames: maddie, m, mai linh (vietnamese name) and boo boo

movement: army crawl, standing and gliding along and loving walking while holding hands

signature moves: gives kisses, clapping, blows kisses, waving "hi" and "buh bye," has a fake cough, sneezes (don't cough or sneeze around her, she will make fun of you with a smile) and rises her arms to be "so big"

proud moment:  there are so many moments that make us absolutely proud and blessed to be this little girl's parents. i can't even count how many times vy and i will look at each other and say how we just love her and how smart she is.  

this face, oh how i love you 

it's been one amazing year and there are so many more to look forward to.

YOU'RE ONE, MADELYN LEE

wishing the HAPPIEST FIRST BIRTHDAY to my sweet baby girl!

my sweet madelyn lee, you are ONE! i cannot believe you are one whole year, where has the time gone!?! i feel like it was just yesterday when you graced the world, your daddy and i were so smitten with you and still are.  it truly amazes me how much you have grown but i love every second of every minute of every day with you and being your mommy is the very best!

happy birthday to my sweet baby girl, i love you oh so much!

FIRST BIRTHDAY EVE

In celebration of Madelyn’s birthday eve (I cannot even believe it has been a year), I thought I would reflect back to the day she decided to say “Hello World!”

I started my maternity leave two days early, which in the end was the right choice. Always trust your instincts mamas. I remember I woke up that morning, Wednesday, May 15th thinking “what should I do on my first day of leave?” I had a bowl of cereal with extra fruit, a craving I had most of my pregnancy, took both my pups for a walk around the neighborhood then I knew if there was anything I was going to do before I went into labor would be to get a mani and pedi. That's about the only exciting thing I did that day, just rested as much as I could because as my parents said after she arrived I wouldn't have that choice anymore.

Fast forward to that night around 11:30PM, I was laying on the couch with the hubs and felt a painful jab. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions and knew what those felt like but this one was different. I mention something about it to Vy but didn't feel another one so didn't think much of it. Went to bed and woke up around 3:30AM feeling those same painful jabs except this time they were coming every 10 to 15 minutes. I laid in bed reading up on Google trying to confirm it I was really in labor, yep I did googled if I was in labor. My OB had asked me several times if I wanted to be induced as most likely she would not be on call to deliver me but I choose to go into labor naturally if possibly. I had asked her several times how would I know if I was going into labor and her reply would always "oh trust me you'll know." I went to the bathroom and realize that my mucus plug had released (TMI, I know) which confirmed to me I really was in labor and these really were contractions. I woke Vy up and told him that I think Madelyn is coming today. It was a surreal moment, thinking that these next few hours would be the last of just the two of us but filled with emotion and excitement knowing that I would be meeting my little one soon. I called the on-call nurse and she stated that the contractions should be about 5 minutes apart before going to the hospital. She recommended to get lots of rest if I could, take a shower and to eat. So I took a shower first, finished packing the hospital bag and then waited. My contractions were still coming 10-15 minutes apart so I tried to rest between each one. Realizing quickly that I couldn't sleep because the pain was too much for me, I thought I should eat something. I had half a piece of toast before running to the bathroom to see it again. Vy and I both agreed that I should contact the nurse again. Informing her that I couldn't keep any food down, the contractions were painful enough that I would stop what I was doing to tend to them and my contractions still being 10-15 minutes apart she decided that it be best if I went into the office to have the OB check me. She provided a warning that if I wasn't dilated enough they could send me back home to wait. We packed the car at about 10AM and headed to the OB. Let me tell you, contractions are no joke and there were moments when I thought maybe I should of planned to be induced because at least then I would already be at the hospital and they could give me an epidural for the pain. I am the only one out of my friends to not be induced and to go into labor naturally so to say I had no idea how to prepare for this would be an understatement.

We arrived at the OB where he checked me informing us that I was 4 cm dilated and he would recommend for us to head to the hospital. Here we go, it's really happening, we are going to meet our sweet baby girl. I began to cry, scared for the unknown of how labor happens but filled with joy that she no longer would be a black and white image that hangs on our fridge. Vy comforted me stating there was nothing to be scared of, that I would be in the best hospital (in the South they are known as the “baby factory”) and I would be so happy when I got to finally hold Madelyn. He was right.

We drove right over the bridge to the hospital where we checked in, once in the room I feel like everything happened so fast that it was kind of a blur. Reminded me of our wedding day, when you’re so excited for the day to finally come but then it all over before you know it. The first request to the nurse was for an epidural, there was no way I was going to be relaxing with these sharp pains. Our parents and family arrived taking turns coming in and out of the room to chat and sit. The on-call doctor, Dr. Robins, determined that we would be there for awhile (even drawing us a chart on the white board), hoping that I would be dilating 1 cm every hour which made Vy and I think that we wouldn’t have Madelyn till early the next morning. Boy were we wrong, around 7PM the nurse shifts were changing and before she left she asked if I was feeling any pressure when I replied yes, she decided to check me. Her response was if I have the urge to push…don’t,  she said she could feel/see Madelyn’s head and she has a lot of hair. My doctor had just gone in for a c-section and would be over right in after. My delivery with Madelyn was so different then I expected, in a good way. It was just Vy, Dr. Robins and the nurse, there was light humor conversation with a few pushes. The three pushes with contractions and one without then here was our little Madelyn Lee gracing the world. It was such a beautiful moment and one I will forever remember, the moment you realize that you could love so deep for another human being.

Welcome to the World Madelyn Lee | May 16th @ 8PM | 5lbs 12 oz | 18in   

As I laid Madelyn in her crib tonight, my eyes fill with tears…I cannot believe how quickly a year has gone by but filled with joy and excitement for all that is to come. She will forever be my baby girl and I will hold on tight to every cherished moment with her and my little family of three. 

“Let her sleep…for when she wakes, she will be ONE!”

MOTHER'S DAY

what a mother's day!?! it was my 'true' first mother's day (i did celebrate last year with a baby bump) and it couldn't have been any more perfect. i started out the day with a barre3 workout, these 60 minutes has become my "me" time and i am absolutely loving it. i came home, got ready and out to brunch we went to celebrate with our little family of three. we went to 10th & piedmont. last year we went to taste of atlanta where they had a spot that served chicken & waffles on a stick, it was the best that we have been dreaming about it since so we were hoping to get our craving satisfy. 

sad news, no chicken & waffles on a stick for their special mother's day brunch but it was delicious regardless. we'll just have to make another visit back to get those little bad boys. we returned home to relax for a bit before both of our families come over to celebrate our mothers. i also got to play with my mother's day present, a new lens for my dslr. to say the least, i am a little obsessed with it.

vy was the best and prepared dinner for our whole family, it was so yummy.

(my mom on the right and vy's mom on the left)

after dinner we had dessert and had a early mini birthday celebration for madelyn. she had a smash cake photo session last week where she just played with the icing but this time she definitely got in for the good stuff.

i hope all you mamas out there had a beautiful weekend celebrating.