Some new pics of Maddie Grace

Some more funny things my kids have said

By request of Aunt Ann, I'm writing some more funnies

*When Cade found out we were having a girl, he told his teacher that he thought our children's sexes would be a pattern, thus it should h*ave been boy, girl, boy instead of boy, girl, girl...thus he said that he guessed now the new pattern would be boy, girl, girl, boy   UMM...don't know about that Cade

*When I asked him what he thought about the name Maddie Grace, he said he liked it okay but then thought for another minute and said, "Well, it IS a good yelling name."

*Bailey told me her tummy was feeling funny. A few minutes later, I asked her how her tummy was feeling, and her reply was "bossy".

*While we were driving through a highway construction zone by our house, Cade was upset by all of the trees being cut down and indignantly said "I wish Uncle Charlie were here because he's a Marine and part of the government and has 50 men and 2 tanks. They would listen to him and stop pulling up the trees."

*Bailey just said that Maddie Grace was the greatest treasure of all.

*One night at dinner, we were answering our Table Topics question of the day which was, "What one superpower would you like to have?" Cade told Josh, I know your superpower could be overexxagerating.

*Cade said that he hoped Josh would get a big grill when we moved  to Texas. He said, "What's a man in Texas that doesn't know how to grill?"

The Importance of Liking Your Job: By Cade Horton

Cade wrote this paragraph in class:

It is impatant that you like your job and now (know) about your job because if you don't you wont get alot of money.And if you don't like your job you will get very bord. And you will need to like your jod or you will not do good and will not be able to pay for your house. And you might have to send your child to a orphinage. And you might have to go to the poor house. And you will not be able to pay for your car. So if I were you I would get a job you like.

Very sage advice from a 2nd grader

I want to go back to Pre-K

Bailey has the most fun class ever! It makes me want to be in Pre-K again!! Bailey's teacher Mrs. Morrow never misses an opportunity to make learning so much fun! I have had a blast being the room mom and volunteering in Bay's class each week with the sweetest pre-k ers EVER!

For the letter P, they had pajama day. Bailey looked forward to this day all month. They even got to bring in a "P"snack, which made for an interesting smorgasboard.

Mrs.Morrow in her frog pj's

The kids ate cheese puffs, pigs in a blanket, pickles, pretzels, peppermint patties, pringles, pancakes, and popsicles (such a healthy and delicious snack :) They LOVED it, though!

For their special chapel, the kids had to dress up based on what they wanted to be when they grew up. Bailey said that she wanted to be a princess working at DisneyWorld or a doctor, whichever made more money. I told her that she should pick the one that sounded like the most fun! So, a princess she was. Cade made the most hilarious comment during the play...he asked "So, why are all the boys dressed up like "real jobs" and all the girls are dressed up like princesses?" It was a funny and true observation and I told him he should get used to it because girls do dream about and love to be treated like princesses. He's a trip!

Bailey and her friend, Caelan were both dressed like Ariel

Another fun event in Pre-K happened when Sean Sean the Leprechaun came for a visit. He left clues in the morning as to where he could be found. They searched all over the school that morning, but could never find him. Alas, when they returned to their classroom, this is how he left it!! All the kids were mystified and celebrated with green snacks and lots of gold coins! Bailey was so excited to tell me all about it when she came home that afternoon.

My Fabulous Baby Shower

Although it is after the fact, I have to share pictures of my amazing baby shower that my friend Shannon threw at her house. She had a cute, unique theme of yellow, black, and white. It was so different...I LOVED it! My friends, Maureen and Yvette, were also hostesses and they were all color coordinated with the theme. Shannon's mom is the chef extraoirdinaire and made a fabulous brunch of fruit and granola parfait, blueberry and cheese blintzes, egg casserole, cream cheese cinnamon bites, and these yummy broiled tomatoes. My friend, Cindy, brought the most beautiful black and white matelasse looking cake. Maureen planned some fun games, in honor of my love of games! It was a fun morning with some really special friends. I wished that I had more pictures of all the guests, but my photographer friend, Jamie, came in with her awesome camera and took over picture taking duties.

The kids LOVED the candy bar

Mrs. Shirley prepared a fabulous brunch

My fabulous and sweet friends, Maureen, Shannon, and Yvette

My walking and pedicure buddy, Joyce

The precious big/little sister, Bailey Anne. She looked so gorgeous and had so much fun helping me open all the fun baby gifts

Lindsay Knotts can't wait to meet Maddie Grace

My incredible friend, Christinne and her sweet as can be Zoe

Just Gotta Brag a Little

Sometimes the things my kids do blow me away...other times I am frustrated when they don't want to try something new that I know they would love, but THEY think is too scary. Well, this post is about when they blow me away. Cade with his gung ho attitude in karate and both Cade and Bailey with their adventurous and perserverance in a few activities that we have done recently! Here's some pics and explanations of what these are!

Cade worked really hard and was so excited to earn his yellow belt. He loves to practice his karate moves all the time and is so brave to be in a class with some other students that are in their teen years. Karate has been a big confidence builder for Cade.

Josh and I took Cade and Bailey to a really cool place called "Jungle Quest" which is a high adventure ropes course style playground. When I first saw the set up, I did not know whether Bay was going to do ANY of it. Not only did she try and love every single thing, but she actually climbed to the top of the rock wall (which was probably about 20 ft. tall) and rang the bell. She was quite nervous and would stop on her way up, and each time the girl holding the rope would ask us if we wanted her to bring her down, she would move one more step  towards the top. She was a total Rock Star! Cade and Bailey's favorite thing was the zip line. It looked like so much fun that I wanted to try it too, but maybe not being 7 months pregnant!

The last event that Cade and Bailey participated in that made me so proud was their school's Race 4 Education. It is a fund raiser fun run they have each year. Family and friends donate to the school based on the number of laps that the students run. I was flipping my lid when Bailey ran18 laps which is about  4 1/2 miles and Cade ran 24 laps which is about  6 miles. They did all this in one hour!! It is truly amazing what kids can do. It was a fun day, with music pumping, snow cones, pizza, and fun jumps. This is one of the most fun days of the year at Pinewood Christian!

Love Bailey's big smile of accomplishment. We were so proud!

Cade was quite the serious runner...he was awesome!!

Cade and his running buddies

Cade and his sweet teacher, Mrs. Toalson

Maddie's Coming Home Outfit and her First Bath

It was so much fun to dress Maddie up in her sweet little white dress for the first time. She looked so sweet...she's a little angel!

Maddie loved her first bath. She was so calm and sweet and it is a little piece of heaven to hold a clean baby that smells like Johnson's baby lotion.

Maddie's first doctor's appointment went off without a hitch. She had gained 5 oz. since we left the hospital, which was good because they were a little worried about her weight loss. We also got good news about her jaundice, which was another area of concern. Thank you Lord for a sweet, healthy baby!

Maddie Grace is Here

Well, for those of you who don't do Facebook (which is the easiest way in the world to pass info around), I am going to write my birth story and update with a few new pictures.

 It all started on Easter Sunday, April 4th. We went to church at Journey's Easter service which was held at an auditorium with about 1400 people in attendance. It was awesome to worship together as a family and celebrate the resurrection. Mary Jo had it all festive and fun in the lobby since she couldn't decorate the sanctuary. Here are a few pics of the kids.

After church, we had an awesome Sunday brunch with the Davis' at Mongoes Grill. The kids...okay the kids and the adults chowed down on make your own stir fry, pancakes, and omelettes. We had alot of fun. Then, we came home and mom and I went over to Cindy's to visit. We stayed a few hours and then headed home. When I got up to leave, I had a sharp pain but didn't make much of it. Josh and the kids came home from the pool and Josh was gonna take us to dinner. I said I would cook dinner and when Josh said he didn't want me to cook, I told him it might be the "Last Supper" (but at the time, I thought it was a joke). All of a sudden, I started cooking like a house on fire, then I started in on laundry and packing for the hospital. I got everyone in the house on the ball. The kids were cleaning their rooms, Josh and mom were vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen. I hadn't been real "nesty" before now...it all came out that night and I was a little cooky. The pains started getting a little more regular and hurting a bit more. I didn't think it was labor...more like cramps. I decided to shower and dry my hair (just in case)! By the time I was drying my hair, I had to lay down every few minutes, but was still in denial that it was true labor. Josh finally called the doctor and they said when I couldn't talk through contractions that I should come in. I figured that I was talking on the phone to the nurse, so I was still good to go. I finished getting dressed and then I had to lay down. My mom decided that we should start timing contractions and by about the third round, when I wished I already had the epidural inserted, I was game for going to the hospital. (although I was still unsure about whether it was the real deal...labor is a tricky thing and this was my first time to not be induced, which is a whole other ball game). Josh waited for our awesome friend, Richelle, to come stay with our kids and my mom drove me to the hospital. It was pretty funny because I was giving her directions in between contractions. We made it to the hospital by about 11:45 and I had high hopes that we weren't going to be going home in an hour. I got my wheelchair and waited for mom to park. In the meantime, a frantic mother in law rushed into the ER and said her pregnant daughter in law was in the car throwing up and needed a wheelchair asap because she was in labor. They didn't have another wheelchair, so I was about to give up mine because I felt so sorry for her and thought I had a while to go. They said they had it taken care of and wheeled me up to triage where they check to make sure you're not in false labor. I got dressed in the bathroom, all the while listening to that other lady scream, thinking she was about to have the baby in that room. I went back to my room and the nurse asked me all kinds of questions, which were getting increasingly hard to answer (mom helped). She then decided to check me and took quite awhile. I thought that she was giving me the benefit of th doubt so she didn't have to send me home. She looked at me, a little shocked because I was still so calm and quietly breathing through my contractions, and said "You're at an 8 or 9 and your water bag is bulging;" She said she would call the doctor ( and I may have mentioned the anesthesiologist at this point) and get me in a room quickly. I was in the room by 12:00 and they began the prep for maddie's arrival. The first and most painful thing was the insertion of the i.v. Apparently, I have "valvy"veins and this fact equals being stuck by 2 nurses a total of 4 times to get a good i.v. This was undoubtedly the worst part of the whole labor.  By 1:00, I was so happily living in "epidural world" and felt great. At 1:20, I was on the phone with Kelsey and heard an audible pop and felt like someone had thrown a water balloon under my bed (sorry for the graphic details but it was hilarious...even Josh and the nurse heard the pop). I figured it was time to wrap up the phone call and the doctor came in the room. By 1:33 and after three pushes, our beautiful Maddie Grace entered the world. It was so amazing and such a blessing that she was so healthy and beautiful. I got to hold her fresh out of the womb and she calmed right down. She cried a very feisty cry while they were messing with her (which we luckily haven't heard since). She weighed 7 pounds 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long, with a full head of sandy brown hair. It was such a miracle to have her in the world and I loved getting to nurse her within minutes of her birth. We had a great hospital stay. The nurses were absolutely fabulous, but not too hovering. Here are a few "fresh from heaven" pics of Maddie.

Daddy loves his baby girl!

It was so much fun watching the kids meet Maddie. They both said she was smaller than they thought she would be. When Bailey held her, she said that she was in "baby heaven". Cade asked about a little red dot on her face, and I told him it was just a little bump but explained how later she may get "baby acne". The next day when a commercial for Pro Activ skin care came on, Cade said we could buy that for Maddie. Too funny!

Maddie had wide eyes for a very happy mommy.
Grandma stayed with me for the whole hospital stay and we had a great time loving on Maddie and becoming BFF's with one of the nurses, Dana, and the lactation consultant.She is the ultimate grandma!!

What a look of pure joy on this sister's face...she has been patiently waiting for Maddie!

The Knotts family came for a visit. Lindsay and Allie had been waiting since this summer to meet Maddie Grace. Allie had even been pretending to be pregnant with her own baby. The Davis boys all came for a visit and the kids had a lot of fun together!

The Slacks came to visit once we were home. Shannon wasn't happy that I didn't wait for her to get home from Easter vacay to have Maddie.

Tony and Yvette Davis

Glamour Grandma Johnson

Jack couldn't wait to hold Maddie Grace. He said he had never seen a baby that new before.All Cade and Bailey's friends are excited to meet Maddie too.

One more pic of the proud sister. Cade has held Bailey alot but she seems to remind us that she needs her picture taken when she holds Maddie.