more madalyn

i just wanted to update with pictures from the last week.

it's so fun to watch madalyn when her daddy talks to her. she usually only gets to "talk" to him late at night so she pays close attention when she hears his voice.


a daddy-daughter moment. kevin and madalyn.

kevin's sister, laura, came to spend a couple days with us. it's always fun to have company and the boys LOVED being able to play with their aunt.

laura and madalyn

i took this picture today.


kevin and madalyn enjoying a sunday nap.

owen LOVES to hold madalyn. i don't even have to ask him to wash his hands anymore...he just does it right before he asks if he can hold her. he's such a proud big brother.

owen and wide-eyed madalyn

dog tired

the boys' routine has flown out the door the last week...including naps. the other night they wanted to watch "star wars" so we turned it on in our bedroom and after a few minutes this is what we found.


owen and wesley in the background...dog tired.

o...w...e..n

the other day owen SHOCKED me! he wanted to mail his cousins some pictures (these never made it to the mail box...sorry) and so he got out some envelopes and proceeded to write his name on them.

i knew that he could spell his name out by saying it, but i had no idea he could practically write it. just one of those special moments that i wanted to remember.


owen spelling his name...kind of. you can see the 'o', followed by the 'w', then he has his 'n' upside down and his 'e' backwards and they are in the wrong order. BUT, still we are PROUD! (;

awww....

awww...SO STINKING CUTE!



madalyn is changing so much every day!

owen's big day

owen celebrated his FOURTH birthday on the 13th, monday!

since i had only been home from the hospital for a couple days i had a lot of help in making this day special for him.


owen getting ready to open his presents

kevin went into work a little late and made owen a spectacular birthday breakfast!

owen...thinking HARD about that wish!

after kevin took off i got the boys dressed and my mom came and picked them up for the day. i was supposed to spend the day resting, but i was more interested in blogging, cleaning (a little), and enjoying my new baby girl. and i did sneak a little nap in there somewhere. THANKS MOM for making this day feel special for owen and helping me out all at the same time!

kevin was able to sneak out of work a little early and went and picked up the boys and took them to the matinee. they went and saw "UP!" and enjoyed it.

owen's birthday also happened to land on the second monday of the month...which is significant to the manwaring family because we have FHE together with my dad's siblings on that day. and before FHE on the second monday mom makes us all dinner. so, we just turned that gathering into a party for owen as well.

i didn't make a special cake for owen this year (i will make up for it next year), but kevin did pick up a huge cake from fred meyer that seemed to please all.

look at all these boy cousins
ogden, carter, owen, wesley, and eli

owen making his second wish for the day. one blow for each candle...we will have to work on that! (;

carter, alyssa, owen, ellie, and wesley

visitors

we are so thankful for all the visitors, meals, and gifts that we have been receiving. they all mean equally as much and it's always exciting to introduce the newest member of your family. i haven't been very good at taking pictures of all our visitors but i did have some from staci and kyle's first visit (kevin's sister) that i thought his parents who are in illinois would like to see.

kyle was a little apprehensive about staci getting her hands on a little baby. but, it only took a few minutes before he was holding her and totally smitten. it was cute!


staci holding madalyn and kyle

they came bearing gifts from them and grandma and grandpa ward. a whole bundle of cute outfits. wesley loves to get new clothes and thought they were for him. he held them up nice and proud and kept saying "i love them!"


wesley showing off "his" new outfits.

and here is a beautiful picture of staci and madalyn. if i looked even half this good i would include a picture of me...but, i don't.

and last but not least. i thought this picture was so cute of wesley amidst a jungle of chairs enjoying his otter pop in peace and quiet. such a funny boy!

proud brothers

have i mentioned how fun/different it is to have a little girl in our home? we love it! and she has some proud brothers.

these pictures were taken the day we got home from the hospital.

owen was so excited to be able to hold her since she now had "some clothes on". owen is my BIG helper. he loves to grab diapers, wipes, birb clothes, binkies, and whatever else mom asks for. it makes him feel so proud. he is constantly telling me that is he is my big helper with madalyn. and he is. he affectionately calls her either "the baby sister", "baby madalyn jane", or "madalyn jane". he never shortens it, which i think its cute.



wesley luckily had a change of heart in the 24 hrs from his last visit. he was very excited to hold madalyn when we got home. he likes to try to help out too, and will often grab me a wipe and bring it to me in two-three pieces. lol
the first time you ask him madalyn's name he says, "baby". second time, "sister". third time, "madie" (still not sure how to spell this nickname). and he follows that up after a few seconds with "jane".

madalyn came home a little "yellow". but after a couple days of good eating and pooping she is just perfect!

she certainly is the center of attention here.

wesley, madalyn, and owen

owen turns 4 today!

our big boys turns 4 today! life sure would be boring if we didn't have owen to entertain us every day! he is so smart and takes pride in being a big brother. wesley adores him and i know that madalyn with learn to adore him as well. owen is at a stage where is he is ALWAYS asking questions and most of the time he wants those answers from his dad...whom he ADORES!

today we celebrate our owen! WE LOVE YOU!

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madalyn jane ward

our little girl has arrived!

madalyn jane ward
thursday, july 9th 2009
10:16 PM
7 lbs 11 oz
20 1/4 inches

she wasn't due to arrive until the 15th, but on the afternoon of the 9th after having two sleepless nights and two day of discomfort i called and made an appointment with my doc to be checked (hoping he would clear me for induction). i know...pathetic!

anyway, when i arrived for my 1:30 appointment much to my surprise i was dialted to a 2/3 and he stripped my membranes and sent me home for my hospital bag...with plans to induce me once i returned. so, i ran home, grabbed my bags and packed some bags for the boys, dropped their stuff off at my mom's and headed for the hosptial. since kevin works at the hospital he just met me at admissions.

by the time they had me all set-up on monitors and with my iv (took them about four tries to get my iv in because i hadn't eaten or drank much that day) i was already having contractions every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes and was dialated to a 3/4. so they didn't have to start me on PIT after all...thank heavens. the doctor came in and broke my water at about 5pm and the baby was here by 10pm. i only had to push through two contractions and she was out. and she looked so perfect!!

my parents brought the boys in friday morning to meet their new little sister. owen loved her right away and wanted to touch her and give her loves. but, he didn't want to hold her until we "got her home and put her in clothes."

owen examining madalyn

wesley, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with her. in fact, i think this picture captures the closest he got to her at the hospital. he was way more interested in the little chair with wheels.

wesley, grandma holding madalyn

we all came down with colds the day she was born. NO FUN! and kevin and i were pretty miserable during our stay at the hospital. i finally had to send kevin home friday night so he could get some good sleep in our bed before we all came home. i needed him to feel better so he could take care of me! (;

we are all feeling a little bit better and are so happy to have little madalyn with us. she is such a sweet baby and we love her to pieces.

happy independence day!

we had a pretty low key 4th. filled with bbq's, water, relaxation, and a little fireworks! we spent most of the day at my parents house.


owen

wesley-not even sure what is all over his face.


owen really enjoyed the new banzai falls at grandma and grandpa's

we didn't go to the green belt to watch the freedom celebration. we were all a little tired and just wanted to be home. so we enjoyed some sparklers and ground flowers before we hit the sack!

wes