Happy Birthday - of a different kind!

We would like to wish my dad a Happy 40th Sobriety Birthday today! As mom put it, she and Tom would have far different lives if he had not gotten the treatment he needed and I would likely not be around. Not to mention the numerous people he has helped through his career as an addiction counselor. What a difference one decision can make!!

So a very special Happy Birthday goes out to you today, Dad (and Papa Ron - from Maddux)! We love you and are so proud of you!!

Love,

Jay, Sara & Maddux

Pictures - the last few weeks!

Ok I have been BAD about updating this blog lately!! My apologies!!

Maddux continues to be busy growing up too fast! His latest milestones include giggling, tring to roll over, spinning around in his crib at night so that his head is on the oppoisite end from where he started, eating rice cereal for the first time and grabbing things purposefully. It's just amazing how they develop so fast!!

Here are some pictures from our lives the last few weeks (in no particular order - I can't figure that out on here how to do them in order). Anyway - enjoy!

Grabbing onto the rings on the bouncer:

Our friends, Mike, Kari and Layken came over and Layken tested Jerz out by pulling on her collar and touching her paws. Jerz did great!!

The boys playing together :)

Silly Maddux!

Maddux and our friends Sara & Doug's baby Sam who was born about 9 weeks after Maddux!

Trying to roll to the left!

Jerz got very interested while I was feeding Maddux rice cereal!

The first rice cereal experiment!

The boys taking a snooze - two peas in a pod!

Trying out the exersaucer & liking it!

More goofball smiles!

More grabbing things!

Tummy time on the Boppy!

Layken & Maddux. Hard to believe Layken is 5+ months older than Maddux!

More tummy time on the Boppy!

More grabbing toys!

All this big boy stuff wears Maddux (and mom and dad) out!

Still lovin' the monkeys!

The beagles getting ready to walk in the Shaggy Shuffle!

Maddux in his new big boy car seat at 3 and a half months old!

Maddux in all his glory...well almost all his glory!

Our handsome boy!

Crazy hair!!

Sorry no great stories to post but not much time!

Have a great week everyone!!

Checkin' In

Well, not a whole lot that's new going on here...Maddux continues to grow and change - it's so fun to watch him learning all about the world and reaching little milestones along the way.

He continues to use his voice to make all sorts of "talking" noises (and to cry of course!) I haven't taken him to Well Baby Clinic for a couple weeks so no new "stats" to report. But never fear, he is not withering away to nothing by any means (as you can see from the photos below)!

I celebrated turing 11 weeks old by sleeping through the night - from about 8:45pm until after 6:00am. But, that didn't last long - on Saturday night this weekend Maddux was up 4 times during the night and woke up at 7:00 or so depite that - it was a long night needless to say!

One of my favorite things to do now is watch TV - preferably a game of some sort - while hanging out in my swing.

As for Jay and me, it's been mainly work and being at home for the most part. Maddux keeps us plenty busy and when he doesn't we keep ourselves pretty busy.

Jay did play in the night golf tourney in GU a week and a half ago. I usually play too but we didn't have anyone to take care of the dogs overnight and I didn't want to drive back with Maddux to Bismarck really late, so I stayed in Bismarck this year. Next year I will play!!

Grandma Schaff had a scare and was in the hospital here in Bismarck for awhile - she had surgery on a cracked vertebrae and is now back in GU. We did get Maddux up to see her for awhile - and she commented on his chubby legs!

Anyway, on to the best part - pictures of Maddux (in no particular order):

Hangin' out in my crib again:

I now like to hold onto the railing on the changing table:

My crazy hair gets curly when wet:


And it sticks up in all directions as usual when dry!

Asleep in my boppy again:

Daddy put a pair of his socks on me!

Mom quit taking pictures of me already!!

Such thoughtful eyes!

After a bath:

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend! I'm sad that it's almost over already!!

Have a great week!

Week 10

A few pictures from week 10 of Maddux's life:

The baby bear hug for Daddy when I take a nap with him!

I now have a habit of blowing spit bubbles!

Still fascinated by the bee toy on my swing!

Hangin' in the crib after a bath:

There's that awesome smile!

And still enjoying the monkeys in the Pack and Play - this is where I enjoy what Mommy and Daddy call "wiggle time" each day:

PS if you look close - those are Denver Broncos booties we received as a gift!



Maddux's stats as of Week 10:

16 lbs 9 oz

Approx. 25" long



Besides getting on the news (on a preview to the Berger Benefit story), it has been a pretty uneventful week for me. I have been battling a stuffy nose since last Friday but no more fever or anything. I am sleeping somewhat better, but I still get up at least once, if not twice per night.



That's all for now!!


See ya later, gators!

2 Month Update

Hello - this is Maddux checking in. I'm now over 2 months old! And I remain a busy boy!!

First, we'll start with a funny story - sometimes I'm up to no good - just like a little boy should be! Mommy and Daddy decided I needed a bath on Sunday evening (actually have been doing this every other night now). Mommy was running the bath water into my little baby tub and Daddy got me undressed and was holding me until the bath was ready. Well...I decided to fart - BARE BUTT - right on Daddy as he was holding me! Not only that - but I proceeded to smile about it because I was so proud and even let out a little giggle! Mommy and Daddy laughed pretty hard at that one and decided that's going to be a classic story for years to come!

Next, I had my 2 month-checkup on Tuesday of this week. I am really not a big fan of the doctor usually (who likes to be poked and prodded anyway?) This week was especially horrible though, because I got my first round of immunizations (besides the one I got while I was still in the hospital). As soon as the nurse pricked me with the first needle I was screaming my head off! And, I bled from all 3 spots!! :( Talk about a BAD day for a baby! Mommy was sad too! I slept a lot that night but had a rough day at daycare the next day. I seem to be doing much better today/this evening though, so we think I got through it with just some mild side effects - mild fever, achiness and it upset my tummy a bit. I think I heard rumors that I get more of these stupid shots 2 months from now - but for now, I'm back to my normal self!

MY STATS AT 2 MONTHS: 15 lbs 5 oz and 24 3/4" length (yes a 1/4" inch shorter than at Well Baby clinic last week - we'll just round up to 25 inches!) I'm in the 95th percentile for length, 90th for head circumference, and basically off the charts in weight. (Mommy and Daddy think I'm off the charts in the cheek department too - but that is not an official measurement!)

Other than that, I do very well at daycare and I have quite a few new friends there. The other babies that are under a year old are the other boy, Micah, and two girls - Bayli and Camdyn. There are a few older kids too - but some of them will be going off to school next week, including the daycare helper, Jadyn.

Last week Shelley was out of town Wednesday-Friday so I got to spend time during the days with Papa Ron, Gramma Joyce and Gramma Sandy. I had fun with them all and I think they had fun with me too!!

This past weekend we mostly hung out at home - Mommy and Daddy said something about needing to get caught up on sleep - I had a couple rough sleeping nights Wednesday and Thursday nights, but was better by Friday night.

Monday evening we went to Mommy's friend Val's house for her birthday - where they had cake and ice cream. I can't wait until I can enjoy those as well! :)

Mommy and Daddy are done with softball so I get both of them in the evenings all week until Mommy starts volleyball league mid-September. But that's only one evening a week and for a shorter time than softball!

Finally, one of Mommy's other friends, Sara Ness, had a baby boy today - named Sam Michael. We hope to go visit them and meet Sam this weekend - and I'm excited to have another new buddy to run around with soon!

Here are some pictures from the last week or two...

I am now fascinated by the bee toy on my swing and I will grab for it and stare at it - talk to it and smile at it!
Jerz still works her way into snuggle time with us!

Won't be long until I outgrow this toy too!
An extra dose of sweetness :)
Taking a nap with Daddy - and Jerz in the background:

I'm a "little tough guy" as my outfit says!
Showing off my buddha belly!

It's exhausting being this adorable!

We don't have too much planned for this weekend - maybe hang out with some friends, meet my new buddy Sam, going to church and to a benefit for the Berger babies (quadruplets that were born to Mommy and Daddy's friends), and just some other odds and ends.

We hope everyone has a great weekend!

Until next time, this is Maddux John, signing off for the evening. I need to get to bed!! :)

What's In A Name?

We have had people ask us where we got the name Maddux or why we decided on Maddux for a name...

When we started talking about names (after we found out we were having a boy, back in January), I had brought up Maddux - I liked it for a couple reasons right away. It grew on Jay.

First of all, we just liked the name in general. The name Maddux comes from "Maddox" or "Maddock" which is a Welsh name meaning "good; generous." So, the name has a good meaning as well.

The reason we chose the spelling we did was because of the pitcher Greg Maddux, who played for each of our favorite baseball teams - the Braves (my favorite team) and the Cubs (Jay's favorite team). So, it just seemed "right."

As for the middle name "John" - both Jay's dad's and my dad's middle names are John - so he shares a middle name with both of his Papa's! It also gave him the same initials as Papa Mike and his cousin, Mason. And, most importantly to Jay - John Elway. In fact, that is what "sold" Jay on my idea of John for a middle name - as we were driving up to Grand Forks for my Grandpa's 100th birthday party in May - that's how it was decided - because I brought up John Elway!!

Some people like the name, and I'm sure some don't - but after getting to know him these past 8 weeks since he was born, I can't imagine him being named anything else than Maddux John! :)

By the way- Maddux's "stats" at 8 weeks are:

Length: 25 inches
Weight: 15 lbs 1 oz

(So, he's slowed down a bit in the weight department and picked up another 3/4" from last week in length!)

Have a great rest of the week everyone and try to stay cool in this crazy heat!!

A Big Bright Smile to Start the Week!

Does it get much better than this?