The Melo Family

2 month check-up

2010-08-02T14:47:00.003-05:00

Cole had his 2 month check-up today (even though he is only 7 1/2 weeks). He is a BIG boy. He now weighs 13.2 lbs (yes, you read that correctly) and is 23 and 3/4 inches long--so he basically has grown 3 inches and gained gulp...6 lbs since he was born. Dr. said he looks great though so no worries--just gonna be a big boy. He is sleeping wonderfully--about 5 hours for his first stretch at night and then another 3-4 hours after that--really can't complain. He hates to nap however, so I guess I will take the trade-off to have my sleep at night :) Maddy loves her little brother--she calls him her "baby Cole".

Cole and his cousin Chandler

Welcome Baby Cole

2010-07-06T16:11:00.003-05:00

Okay, well, it has been a while since I last posted, since then we have added a new addition to our family--Cole Kristofor Melo born 6/11/10, 7 lb, 6oz, 21 and 3/4 inches. He is a wonderful baby boy and we are enjoying him! Below are some pictures along with some miscellaneous 2010 pictures of Maddy.

Easter 2010

Silly Maddy saying "cheese" at the zoo

Big Sister

Mommy & Cole

Sleepy Maddy at the hospital watching her DVD

Wow...18 months gone!

2009-06-21T21:04:00.004-05:00

So, Maddy is officially an on the go toddler. She not only walks, she runs. She tells mama and dada "no!". She finally refers to mama as mama (dada has been dada for months now). She is hilarious. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful little girl...she has such a good personality, she is so funny. She has all of her teeth in except the top and bottom incisors. She babbles non-stop, some words we know, some are just "maddy" words. I am gonna pull a proud parent moment and say that at daycare they told us she should be bumped up to the next room up because she is so advanced as far as speech and activity...she is smart like me....ahahaha...sorry Dan! Well, enjoy the pics below, hopefully I will update sooner than every two months!

I finally made her laugh!

She is avoiding me here so she can watch TV...this is the only thing I can do with her hair and she pulls it out as soon as I put it in.

Dada felt like feeding her food with ketchup...this is what she looks like after a messy meal

Dada likes taking close-ups of her.

So cute...unfortunately she got my gap in the front teeth...cute while she's young, but...we better start saving for the dentist later on!

Driving her car (BTW, that is her fake smile)

At a bday party at a place called the little gym. She was the youngest one there, but kept up with the big kids.

An exciting April

2009-04-26T10:05:00.007-05:00

I can't believe April has already pretty much come and gone. Maddy had a really exciting April--her first visit with the Easter bunny (which was a flop--haha), a visit to the Dallas zoo, a visit from Grandma Keihle, and another visit from her grandma & grandpa Melo. She is pretty much on full blast these days, skipping from walking to outright running. She knows where her nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, hair, belly button, and feet are. She loves yelling "Dada!" when Dan gets home from work, she says duck, dog, Daisy, door, flowers, Nana (for banana) wawa (for water), barks at dogs by saying woof!--basically just a little chatterbox (I don't know where she gets that from). Dan and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on April 17--I included a couple of pictures from that too. Hopefully the videos I attached will work--one is Maddy at the zoo looking at a huge lizard of some sort and the other is her playing with her diaper box. Pretty funny. Well, here are the pics and enjoy!

Our 5 year anniversary

Being silly

Playing with her friend Bella

Good times with Grandma in her diaper box

Looking at the animals in the petting zoo

Getting ready for her first Easter egg hunt

Terrified of the Easter bunny--he was pretty scary, like out of a Stephen King novel

She got an egg!

Visit to the Dallas Zoo with mom, dad & Grandma

Maddy's First visit to the Zoo!

2009-02-22T18:47:00.006-06:00

So, keeping up with how I usually do it, I have of course not posted in a couple months--sorry about that! I have started a new job and things have been really busy. Here is a quick catch-up on what is going on with Madison. She started up daycare again at the beginning of the month (she was off for two months hanging out with her grandma Melo). And my least favorite thing about day care is...germs!!! She got sick and got an ear infection after her first week back, and now after her 10 days of antibiotics are done she is running a 102 fever for the past three days--poor baby. In better news however, in the past two months Maddy has begun walking, gone to the zoo, started facing forward in her carseat, and says "uh oh" now when she drops things. She truly is a joy to have in our life...here are some pics of her to catch every body up.

Maddy's visit with Santa

2008-12-22T11:46:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Maddy got to meet Santa for the first time. Our HOA in our neighborhood had a Santa at one of our parks and my mom & I took her to meet him. He was a great Santa--the beard was even real! She surprisingly didn't seem to be scared of him--she was just real serious and even smiled in two of the pictures! Can't ask for anything better than that. We had Maddy's one year check-up at the doctor last week and she was 17 lb 10 oz and 28 3/4 inches. We are having to increase her fat & food intake to put some weight on her--doctor is concerned about how little weight she has gained (I swear if only she could switch places with me and give me that problem and I could give her my ability to gain weight!). She definitely has an appetite, I just think she is so active that she burns right through all the calories she eats. Doctor has ordered she gets to eat ice cream after meals (really mean huh?) and she gets to eat cheese & fatty foods. She is doing great and eating up a storm so hopefully she starts to pack on the weight. Her height is about 50-60 percentile so she is definitely growing, just a little petite thing. I need to see if I can find the pics from her birthday--I think we mostly took video of her eating her cake. I'll try and figure out how to upload a video of it onto here for you all to see.

One Year Pictures

2008-12-01T10:45:00.005-06:00

Since we haven't ever had Maddy's pictures done we thought what better time than for her one year birthday (which is this Sunday btw--WOW!) We took her to a portrait studio near the mall and had both Christmas and regular pictures made. She was quite the trooper--they made us wait forever and if you have ever been around an almost one year old--it is really hard to keep them occupied & happy! She was great though--she even smiled for us several times! The picture with the duck below is her duck that sings the chicken dance--we used that to get her to laugh but then she got mad and had to have it for herself--which is how it ended up in one of the pictures. She is getting so big! She is standing and walking on her own with her little walker--she'll be walking in no time at all! She ate turkey, stuffing, corn casserole, mashed potatoes & cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (not big portions mind you, just a "taste") Her favorite was the corn casserole I'd have to say. We took her to Walmart yesterday to go grocery shopping and she was in "awe" at all the Christmas decorations--she just had her mouth open and looked around at all the lights & characters. Oh to be a year old again and have everything be new! I can't believe her birthday is this Sunday--we are having a small get together--I'll be sure and post pics when we get them done that day. Wish everyone who lives far away could be here for this day! Well, here are Maddy's pics...enjoy!

Maddy's First Halloween!!!

2008-11-02T09:30:00.003-06:00

Maddy got to visit the pumpkin patch last weekend and pick out some pumpkins...she didn't seem too thrilled with it all. She got this real serious look on her face the whole time we were there....I put two pics down below of her. Also, I was bad mommy...I didn't get her a Halloween costume this year because I figured she wouldn't know any different and she would just pull it off anyways. I know, I know...bad mommy! So she wore her Halloween outfit that Grandma Cathy bought for her...she still looked pretty cute and got to participate in the Halloween parade at daycare. Just thought I would share what a scrooge street we live on...I went to Target and bought all this candy anticipating tons of trick or treaters--we didn't even get one!!! So if anyone wants any candy...come over to my house! Here's a couple of pics...enjoy!

September & October Catch-Up

2008-10-19T10:36:00.007-05:00

Since I have been so bad about posting I thought I would do a quick catch-up on our last two months. At the beginning of September we went to CA to visit family for a little over a week. When we got back Maddy had her 9 month appt. and she weighed 16 lb 7 oz (10th percentile) and was 27 3/4 inches long (50th percentile). Doctor said she was extremely healthy...just have a skinny little girl! Maddy has gotten her two bottom teeth in and is now getting her top four teeth in all at once (makes for little sleep for mommy & daddy). She is standing ALL the time now, she can crawl but prefers to scoot and do her land swim maneuver. She can shake her head no, clap her hands, and wave bye all on command. I can't believe how much she is growing...getting cuter every day. Here are a bunch of pics...enjoy!!!

Eating in my borrowed high chair

Me & Mommy

Playing in my bathtub at Grandpa's house

Grandpa & Maddy

Playing with measuring cups on Uncle Kris

A visit to Great Grandma Mirabell

On the bus in Santa Barbara
On the pier in Santa Barbara

Only the most amazing thing ever:

A rat on a cat on a dog

At Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle again

Squealing while mommy holds me

Getting a bath in the RV sink

Camping Maddy

Laughing while daddy carries me to the beach

10 Month old Maddy...standing!!!

Waving at mommy

Swinging on the swings with mommy

Check out my two bottom teeth (I have 4 top ones coming in too!) The 1200 lb pig at the fair
Maddy at the Texas State Fair

Catch-Up Time

2008-08-30T09:27:00.004-05:00

I know, I know...I have been really bad for the past month and a half...no posts. I'll do a quick summary to catch every one up on what has been going on. At the end of July Madison had her first plane trip to go to Washington to see my family. She did wonderful on both the ride up and back. Two days after we got back Maddy cut her first tooth! Soon after came another tooth so she has her two bottom front teeth that are about halfway grown out now, and I think she is getting two or three more teeth from all the drooling and chewing she is doing. She also has begun to stand while holding on to things--they are even helping her "walk" with a walker at daycare. It was the funniest thing the first time I saw Maddy stand she was in her crib playing and I was folding laundry on her floor. I look up and see Maddy holding on to the railing smiling over at me...boy was I surprised! She is just getting more and more fun every day that passes. Here are some pics and I promise I will post more often!

Sleeping on daddy

Ready for bed

Four Generations

Mischevious Maddy

Sitting up on her own now

Look at those big eyes

Great Grandma and Maddy

7 MONTHS OLD!!!

2008-07-06T15:49:00.005-05:00

I know I say this every month, but wow how time flies! Maddy is 7 months old tomorrow! To celebrate she has a really stuffy nose! Poor baby! Other than that though, she has figured out how to "almost" crawl and scoots herself forward and can do a 360 turn. Also, she has figured out how to jump and bounce in her fun exersaucer toy. She probably weighs close to if not over 16 lbs now (feels like 50!!!). Here are some pics of Maddy over the past couple of weeks (some in her 4th of July outfit). I put a ton of pics on here since I have actually been good about taking pictures these days.

Trying to crawl to get the duck

Getting ready to eat her apples & blueberries

Her 4th of July outfit

Sitting in her chair

Mommy & Maddy

Big yawn

Wearing her shades for the first time (notice the OH! expression on her face)

My first dip in the pool!

2008-06-22T15:25:00.003-05:00

Maddy had her first swim in the pool today! She wasn't quite sure what to think--she neither cried nor really laughed or anything...I think she was just taking it all in! Here are some more pictures I took (including swim pictures). I took a picture with her teddy so you can see how she is growing vs. other pictures with teddy.

Me and Teddy
Getting my diaper changed

Mommy took this with her own hand
Not quite sure what to think...
Mommy and I in the pool

Laughing at mommy while she uploads pictures to the blog site

A Half a Year Old & a Visit from Grandma

2008-06-10T20:15:00.006-05:00

Where to start? This past month has been full of a lot of "firsts" for Maddy. Unfortunately, not all firsts have been good. Soon after starting daycare she developed a stomach bug and was sick for almost a week with that. Then a week ago she had her six month Dr. visit and she was 13 lbs 10 oz and 26 inches long...so she is super long and lean (despite her Michelin man rolls on her thighs & arms). After her immunizations she developed a stuffy nose which a week and a half later developed into an inner ear infection (while her grandma was visiting no less!!!) But Maddy is a trooper. She fought hard to be in a good mood for her Grandma and she only lost the battle once the fever kicked in. Maddy is eating two solid food meals a day now--rice cereal for breakfast and veggie for dinner--I am not sure if she is really my kid b/c she hates fruit but loves vegetables! So far she has tried peas, green beans, sweet potatoes and loves all three (I think the peas were her favorite...blech!) Needless to say after a busy month I have not taken many pictures...bad mommy! Here are a couple from Grandma's visit and some others that are just too cute not to put on here.

Eating my ducky

Posing for the camera

Chomping on my fingers

And these three were just so adorable--I took them after bathtime one day.

Am I really 5 months old now?

2008-05-10T10:26:00.006-05:00

Okay, since I have been so bad about posting on a regular basis I have decided to post a ton of pictures of Maddy over the past couple of weeks. She is now 5 months old...it is crazy how time flies. She started daycare this last week on Monday and even though mommy hates it, I think Maddy likes social time with all the other babies--she is always laughing or smiling when I show up to pick her up. She is starting to teethe--I think her bottom two teeth are starting to want to come in. This means drool EVERYWHERE! She also has discovered her feet and really quite likes the taste of them. Tomorrow she gets her first taste of oatmeal...Oh boy! We have fun eating our cereal every day--even if most of it does end up on her face or her bib. Lets see...she has her first birthday party to attend to today, her friend Addison is turning 1 year old. I'll try and get pictures if I can. Well, here are the latest and greatest of my sweet baby girl...enjoy!

Playing with my balloon toy

My bug on the windshield interpretation

I look so cute in my green outfit

Check out how much I drool now

Just chillin in my swing

Enjoying my tummy time

I really love to eat my feet

I smile big like mommy

I'm really flexible now

Hmmm...are those mommy's pants?

I wonder what they taste like?

Got...to...put...in...mouth

They don't taste as good as they looked

Wow what a week!

2008-04-16T15:21:00.002-05:00

Well, Maddy had quite a week this week. On Monday she rolled from her belly to her back for the first time!!! She is also eating big girl rice cereal and doing really good at it. She also has discovered she can make a range of noises including as of yesterday a "razz" noise with her tongue--she doesn't quite have this perfected yet so it sounds really funny. Here are a couple more pictures to show you how much my baby girl is growing. I believe in an earlier post about a month or two ago I took a picture of Maddy with her teddy bear so you can see how she is growing--she is sitting up on her own with a little help from the chair!

Wow...4 months gone by!

2008-04-07T15:03:00.002-05:00

Well Maddy had her 4 month appointment two weeks ago (even though she is just now 4 months today) and she weighed 11 lbs. 11 oz and was 25 inches long! Here are some quick pics of her--I have some more I need to upload, but here are some for now!

I found my hands!

2008-03-22T11:42:00.003-05:00

Well after 3 1/2 months Maddy has finally figured out where her thumb is and that if she puts it in her mouth it is almost as good as a pacifier! I put her in bed today for a nap and her a real loud smacking noise and went in to check on her and saw her sucking away on her thumb. She also has started grabbing and holding things--she likes to grab her rattle and try to put it in her mouth. We are very blessed to have what I think is described as the "angel" baby--she rarely cries and is happy all the time. Well, here are some updated pics for everyone to see!

Sucking my thumb while I sleep

holding my rattle

trying to put my rattle in my mouth

This is what I look like now!

Maddy's Gift of Gab (from her mother)

2008-02-29T12:10:00.004-06:00

Maddy is so much fun now! She talks my ear off...wonder where she got that from :) She likes to blow spit bubbles, say "Ah goo", make squeak noises, and squeal with happiness. She loves play time. She is twelve weeks old today...my how time flies. I go back to work on Monday, but luckily her grandma Melo is going to stay with her for two months so she doesn't have to go to yucky daycare just yet. Well, here are some more pictures of her taken today...I think she weighs close to 11 lbs now...she is actually fitting all of her 3 month clothes and even some of her 3-6 month clothes!

Laughing at my mobile

Playing on my gym

Look at how chunky I am!

Holding my head up!

Yawning b/c mommy takes so many pictures of me

I like tummy time!

10 Weeks old!

2008-02-18T16:11:00.002-06:00

My how time flies! Little Madison is now smiling and laughing--she particularly likes it when I stick my tongue out at her. She is also sleeping through the night off and on...YAY! I can't believe I have to go back to work in two weeks...Makes me so sad :( Well, here are some of the newest pics of little Miss Maddy.

After bathtime in my favorite froggy towel

In my bunny outfit Auntie Marsha gave me

Another pic of me in my bunny outfit

8 Weeks Old!

2008-02-01T13:59:00.000-06:00

Well Maddy is 8 weeks old as of today! She got her first set of immunizations last Friday and she was a real tough girl--she didn't cry until the last two out of five shots she received. She weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. at her last visit so she is packing on the weight! She is still not sleeping through the night (can't wait for that to happen) in fact, she is a little on the fussy side lately. She is however, talking up a storm--I call it her kitty cat noises. I still swear her eyes are going to be blue, but the doctor said nothing is final until she is 6 months old...so I guess we'll wait and see. I can't wait for her hair to start growing on top--she has a killer baby mullet right now. Well, here are some of the latest pics of her...enjoy!

I definitely have daddy's nose and his big nostrils

My "crib"

Another shot of my room

I am starting to smile more now

Laughing at mommy

A side profile of my smiling face :)

Sitting with my Teddy bear so you can see how big I am

I like to suck on my fist now

In my swing looking at mommy cross-eyed

5 Weeks Old!!!

2008-01-12T17:41:00.000-06:00

So I finally have had some time to upload a bunch of pictures to our computer (that and Dan finally showed me how to do it since I am kind of retarded at these types of things). I have posted kind of an eclectic mix of pictures of Miss Madison. We are finally getting a schedule established and hopefully if all goes well in another couple of weeks she will start sleeping through the night...fingers crossed! I think she probably weighs about 8.5 pounds now (I held her while I weighed myself), but she is starting to outgrow some of her newborn outfits--already!!! Well, enjoy the below pictures that are in no particular order. One of these days I will take pictures of her nursery as promised.

My popeye look when I do exercises on mommy's lap

My Angry Face when I get burped

Sleeping on Daddy

5 Weeks Old!!!

Another Christmas pic...my mom, brother, myself & Maddy

Christmas pics

2008-01-02T11:24:00.000-06:00

Well, Madison is almost 4 weeks old! She is growing like a weed and is staying awake more often. I think her eyes are going to be blue...still can't tell for sure but I swear they are lightening up! Here are some more pics...enjoy!

Mom, Madison, Chloe & Me

Dan, Me & Madison (Chloe wanted to be in this picture too)

Wide awake

My pretty bow Santa gave me in my stocking

Going for a ride in the car

2 weeks old!!!

2007-12-22T11:46:00.000-06:00

Well, Madison had her two week doctor appointment yesterday and she has grown 2 inches (she is 21 inches now!) and gained back almost a pound! (she was 5 lb 14 oz when she came home from the hospital and now she is 6 lb 12 oz). Finally have some pictures of her with her eyes open--she loves to sleep but now she is kicking her legs and moving her arms a lot! Can't wait for her to smile as she has dimples on both of her cheeks (not quite sure where she got that from, but hey, it is cute!) Well, here are some pics...

Getting ready for my sponge bath

Sexy little baby body

Stretching before mom washes me

Mom caught me awake again, but as you can see above I love to sleep & dream about drinking my milk.

SHE'S HERE!!! Born 12/7/07 at 5:27 pm

2007-12-10T10:13:00.000-06:00

Fresh out of mommy's belly--6 lbs. 5 oz 19 inches

After 2 hours of sleep and 24 hours of no food, she is here :)

One day old at the hospital

Daddy in the really uncomfortable chair with Maddy

16 days or less...

2007-12-04T13:14:00.000-06:00

Okay, so no photos with this blog, but we have found out if I do not have Maddy by the 20th of December they are going to induce me. There is an end in sight!!! My chore this weekend is to take pictures of the nursery to post on here for everyone to see.

My Belly at 34 weeks

2007-11-27T15:32:00.000-06:00

Showing my belly off at a friend's baby shower--believe it or not it has gotten bigger in the past two weeks...must be all the turkey I ate!

Baby Shower

2007-10-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well, my baby shower was Friday September 28th and it was a blast! We had a sort of evening cocktail party sort of thing and Maddy scored big on stuff--especially clothes. Here are a few pics from the event.

Diaper Cake

Mom & I

Cutting the cake

Group Photo

My first preggo picture

2007-09-25T14:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I would test out the whole blog thing before I have the baby to see how hard it is. I am attaching a picture of me at 21 weeks (I am currently 28 weeks).