3 months old

Madison hit her 3 month birthday on September 7th. Here's a time laps from birth to this past Thursday.














Madison in the hospital at just a couple days old. It is odd, I think she looks very much the same now. She went through 3 months of change to end up looking the same. At least that's my opionion. You can judge for yourself...






















1 month old now. She was going through a bout of infant acne during this period. This was when the weather was in the 90's every day and her sweat glands were trying to kick into gear.
















Here she is at 2 months old. Madison was just starting to become more aware and react to us when we talked to her. You can see that a bit here since she's not just staring off into space anymore.












12 weeks and Madison is much more interactive now. We've been working on tummy time and at this point she enjoys it much more than she used to.
















September 7th and all dressed up for her 3 month birthday. Her next baby checkup isn't for another month so I'm not sure how long she is now, but she is up to 10 lbs, 2 oz so she's becoming a big girl now.

Madison meets more family

Wow, it has been a while since I posted. Madison is doing well and Shelly and I are settling into our new routine now that Shelly is back at work full-time.

Madison is growing and doing all the things babies are supposed to do; and she's met more of the family over the last month or so.





Shelly's mom and grandmother were here in July so we had four generations of the Tyler/Donegan/McAvoy women on hand. The trip over was primarily to meet Madison so we didn't do much traveling. We did play a lot of Ma's favorite card game - Sets. I swear you have to be over 65 to be any good at Sets.


My sister and the kids arrived in Europe in early August to join Chris in The Netherlands. As it worked out Shelly had a 3-day weekend the week after the Ballard clan arrived so we packed up the Escape, dogs included (think Sanford and Son), and made the 3 hour drive up to their place for the weekend.





Here's Maryn and Will with Madison. I thought we had a picture with Sean in it too that would have all 4 of the Ballard/McAvoy grandkids but I guess my sister has that one. Sean was probably off reading a book or instant messaging his not-girlfriend. Looking at this picture now it is amazing how much Madison has changed in the few weeks since this was taken.
























We snapped this group shot before we rolled out for the return trip home; somehow managing to get everyone standing still.

The Ballards have a really neat place - the house portion of a farmhouse on a working farm with a lot of space both inside and out. The dogs all got along and took advantage of the running room to keep themselves occupied and out of our hair.

It was good to see Tracy and the kids and Tracy was eager to meet Madison and give her lot of lovin'.

Updates on Madison

Madison is almost 2 months old; this coming Wednesday will be 8 weeks, August 7th will be '2 months.' Shelly bought a scale (she's obsessed with Madison's weight gain) and as of last night Madison was at 8 pounds, 3.5 oz; her length a couple weeks ago was somewhere around 21 inches.

We have this cool picture frame from Pottery Barn Kids that has a space for a large photo in the middle, and 12 smaller photos around the edge for each month of the first year. So on every month anniversary we take lots of photos trying to get a really good one for the picture frame.

Madison has been officially diagnosed with Acid Reflux so we have her on Zantac twice a day. Since she's been on the medication Madison's fussiness has greatly decreased and she's usually down for the night by 10:30 and will sleep until 5AM. Lately we're in a pretty solid routine of feeding every 2 - 3 hours, burping, some wake time and then nap. Madison sleeps so well during the day that we often have to wake her up at the 3 hour feeding mark.
















After a bath at 8 days old. Bath time was not a fun time early but that has changed.

















Taking a nap with dad at 11 days old. She's changed so much and just the couple of pounds she's gained have her looking much more formidable.


















Someone isn't happy about being woken up from her nap. We've had weather in the 90's for the last several weeks, with no air conditioning, and it's made Madison pretty sleepy.






















Here we are at just over 7 weeks, and we're a much more happy baby. She really started smiling around the 6 week mark. Now Madison does all the new baby things, staring, smiling and cooing. She's much more fun lately since we've got control of the fussiness caused by the reflux and she's getting some good sleep. If only she'd sit still and smile at the same time.






















Madison really likes her bouncy seat. We noticed about a week ago that Madison was starting to reach for the toys hanging from the bouncy. This is also her favorite place to poop; actually she's in the bouncy next to me right now and I think she has been inspired.

Gotta go

-- Ed

Lucerne Switzerland

Over the 4th of July holiday we headed down to Switzerland - our first real road trip with Madison. The scenery is everything you expect it to be. Unfortunately, a camera doesn't do justice to the great views.









The first stop on the trip was in Lucerne. Many consider Lucerne the embodiment of a Swiss town - panoramic Alpine views, narrow cobblestone streets, covered bridges and a marvelous pristine lake. I can't say I disagree. Our hotel was on Lake Lucerne in Kastanienbaum (Chestnut Tree) just outside the city. This picture was taken from the hotel dock on our way to check out the city just after our arrival. A note on the hotel (Hotel Kastanienbaum), it is likely the nicest hotel we've stayed in since we've been here. We also had one of our better dinners in Europe at the hotel - Madison was having a Mad Mac moment so we passed on dinner by the lake and had it brought to our room.















Many of the lake-side towns in Switzerland, especially in the areas near the Italian boarder, have a distinct Mediterranean flair. Shelly and I found ourselves asking "are we in central Europe." Lucerne has a hip, young vibe - and there was a festival going on when we arrived so the town was really hopping. You can see the outdoor cafes in this picture taken along the river bank. If you didn't know better you'd think you were on the Riviera.












Here's Shelly and Madison with Lucerne's signature covered bridge in the background. The bridge was built in 1333 as a defensive structure. The tower has been used as a prison, torture chamber (I think it's a law that every city in Europe has to have an old torture chamber) and archive. Madison is passed out in the Baby Bjorn. We've found that she travels best in the Bjorn, and it is also easier to get around with in Europe than with a stroller.












We spent one afternoon on a boat excursion on Lake Lucerne up to the small resort town of Brunnen. Lake Lucerne and Lake Uri meet here at the foot of the Alps in one of the more visually stunning places we've been. The area around Brunnen is William Tell country; where the Tell family was among a group that founded the early settlements in this area of Switzerland. There is historical evidence of the Tell family, but whether William Tell ever existed, or shot an apple off the top of his son's head, is unconfirmed.

We left Lucerne for Interlaken a bit further south in central Switzerland in the Bernese Oberland.

Interlaken Switzerland

The drive to Lucerne wasn't anything special; you're just getting into the Alps when you arrive so there really isn't much to see. This was not the case on the drive from Lucerne to Interlaken where you're driving in the center of the country, on winding roads, through 15KM tunnels, with lush valleys, crystal blue lakes and alpine peaks all around you. We could have stopped several times to gawk at the great views, but we wanted to make it into Interlaken. We did stop this one time for a quick look around and the requisite photo op. The small village, lake and mountains were typical of the scenery along the drive. This is pretty much what you think about when you think of Switzerland.











We stopped again to hike through the Aare Gorge. The Aare river (the longest river to begin and end entirely within Switzerland) is formed from the glaciers of the surrounding mountains and carved the 4,500 foot gorge on its way through Switzerland to meet with the Rhine near the German boarder. There is also a large waterfall close to the gorge, but we had been told that the falls are so loud that it isn't good for small children so we took a pass and continued on to Interlaken.









Interlaken is situated between (hence the name) lake Thun and Brienz at the foot of the Jungfrau mountains, and is a major destination for summer and winter sports enthusiasts. There are three peaks that dominate the Interlaken skyline - Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. The north wall of the Eiger is one of the 6 great north faces of the Alps; for movie buffs and Clint Eastwood fans, this is the deadly mountain where Clint carried out his last "sanction" in The Eiger Sanction. The city of Interlaken itself is fairly quaint and not as vibrant as Lucerne, but people don't come here for the city life; they are here for the outdoors. We took a gondola to the small village of Muerren which is basically located on the side of a mountain above the valley formed by the Jungfrau Mountains. I took the picture of Shelly and Madison while we stopped for lunch; on the other side of the railing is the bottom of the valley





































As I said before, a camera doesn't do the scenery justice. I took pictures anyway, though. The top picture is of the Lauterbrunnen Valley below the Jungfrau Mountains. The bottom picture is of the Eiger (left) and Monch.


All in all we had a successful maiden voyage with Madison in tow and learned a few things that will hopefully help us on future trips. For Madison there's no place like home, but she's a trooper and does pretty well for a wee little thing. We are planning a 4 or 5 day trip later in July before Shelly's mom and grandmother arrive and she returns to work. After that, I think we're homebodies until Labor Day - destination TBD.

--Ed

We've had visitors

My sisters' family is moving to The Netherlands; my brother-in-law got a NATO position and they are in the process of moving the clan over to Europe. Chris arrived in late May and the rest of the crew come over in August. Chris came down for a long weekend over Memorial Day shortly after his arrival, and again a week or so after Madison was born. It was nice to have an experienced helping hand around for a couple of days to take Madison for a few minutes, help walk the dogs and provide insight into the whole child care thing.


















Mo and Julie stopped over for a day and a half on their way to Barcelona for a cruise. As always, it was nice to see some friends from the States.













M&J's arrival at Frankfurt International; always a graceful shot after more than 9 hours of flying.












Mo and Julie were real troopers, ready to hit the road right after unloading their stuff at the house. We didn't have a whole lot of time but we managed to get some sightseeing in - here's a picture just outside the walls of Rothenburg O.D.T.



















Madison was also a trooper. She took all the action in stride and caught her naps whenever the opportunity presented itself.


















Julie helped out by taking Madison during her evening fussy time. Julie worked out a walk/dance/bounce move that worked well in calming Madison. Now, when we need to pull out all the stops to quiet Madison we go for the ace in the hole - The Julie.

Frankfurt World Cup Fan Fest

We took a day-trip into Frankfurt on June 22nd, the day of the US v Ghana game. This was sort of a trial run for packing up all Madison's gear and getting out of the house for a few hours. We headed out early to beat the crowds and our plan was to only walk around a bit, buy some World Cup gear and head home.













Here I am with Madison at the Roemer Platz; the 'old town' area of Frankfurt. Madison wasn't having a good day in the stroller so we had to carry her around a lot. She's so small she looks like a little doll.


We felt pretty comfortable with Madison so we grabbed some lunch by the river and decided to watch the game at the 'Main Arena' - a jumbotron set up in the Main River so that fans without tickets can gather to watch the games.





Here's a shot of the jumbotron on the river. There is seating and a 'Fan Fest Mile' on both sides of the river. The Fan Fest Mile is something each host city set up for fans to watch the games, eat, drink, and generally hang out and have a good time. The atmosphere in Frankfurt has been pretty neat with food and drink of all kinds available, a soccer field for pick up games, and of course several places to spend a few bucks on official World Cup merchandise.

Unfortunately, as this was the last round of group play, the other teams in our group were playing at the same time and that game was being shown at the river. We hung out until 3:00 and headed home to watch the game. All in all it was a successful trial run.
















Here are a couple shots of Shelly and I sporting our USA jerseys. There's been a lot of stuff pumped out by the military for US personnel to keep a low profile, but we've found that everyone is just looking to have a good time and root on their team. Germany has done a great job and the environment has been very fan-friendly for supporters of every team.

--Ed

Madison's first week

Getting a little bit of mommy time.



Resting quietly in the stroller during our walk.



Hanging out with daddy.



Getting out of the hospital room for a couple of minutes for Madison's first walk.



Bundled up for our first car ride



Madison's first bath at home. We wanted to get the toys out so we used the tub, we've just been using the sink ever since.



A baby burrito, yummy. Madison has been cranky with what we think is gas; the wrap and jiggling on her side typically settle her down. No doners, or other upsetting foods for mommy.



The building of a genious.

Getting caught up

A few pictures from the baby shower put on by some of the folks at the dental clinic. Thanks Nadia for leading the organizational efforts.




Maybe we should have used Mercedes instead of Madison.


Finally, a gift for dad.


mmm, cake.

Time lapse - the expanding belly

Above are, in order, Shelly at 20, 25, 30 and 35 weeks. In the last shot Shelly doesn't look much bigger, but her belly has grown more sideways lately. If we had a forward facing view you'd see the difference. All in all Shelly is pretty small compared to most of the preggers we've seen. Don't worry though because Madison is still right on schedule as far was estimated length and weight.

--Ed

35 weeks - we're in the safe zone

Holy cow, it has been 5 weeks since my last post. I'd like to say that we've been really busy and I just haven't had time, but that's just not the case. Not much as been going on here, we're just taking care of Shelly to give Madison as much time as possible to finish cooking. Yesterday (cinco de mayo) Shelly hit 35 weeks; which puts us another week into the safe 34+ week zone should Madison be early. We are really hoping for 37 weeks since that is considered full term and we could deliver at a hospital of our choice. Two more weeks and we're home free.

--Ed


Shelly at 35 weeks; she claims that she's not much bigger, but I beg to differ.


Madison's crib. The nursery is pretty much ready for Madison, but we have some additional furniture items being shipped over with my sister's family.

30 weeks and counting

Hello from Germany. Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while but we really haven't been up to much lately. Today we may take a day-trip just to get out, but that depends a lot on the weather. We haven't seen freezing temps in several weeks however we have seen lots of rain.

For those that are counting, Shelly is at 30 weeks as of Friday, March 31. Below is the lastest "Shelly's belly" picture from 29 weeks last Friday.

--Ed