tales from a far-land

Here are a couple of pictures from this weekend.  I just cannot get enough of her.  Lovin' it! Madi's Glamour Shot Looking into the camera ... Mommy trying to keep Madi awake ~ not really working ... Playtime on her mat ... do you think there are enough toys to stare at? Have you ever seen a baby *so* happy to have a clean diaper?  Pure bliss! Another day, another cute outfit ...

For one of my shower gifts, I received a memory kit made by Tiny Tales .  It is marketed as a great way to capture your baby's little and big moments.  The kit contains several index cards that allows the user to simply check off one of the fun pre-filled categories, jot down the story, and slip the note behind the appropriate divider.  Here is what this product looks like: In concept, I thought this was a great idea and was excited to jot down all of Madi's lifes moments.  And even though the box is conveniently on the counter, I never seem to fill out any of the cards.  Nonetheless, I really like the idea of recording Madi's moments, so I am going to incorporate it into my blog.  I guess I find it easier to type it versus finding the card and writing it down.  Doesn't make a lot of sense, but typing just seems *way* easier. Here is Madi's moment:  She slept through the entire night for the first ...

Since Madi was born, we have taken several pictures of her and even quite a few of Madi with other people.  However, I quickly realized that Josh and I do not have very many photos with her at all.  So, we decided it was time to get some taken.  As a recommendation from a family friend, we ventured to  JCPenney Portraits  last Saturday to get our pictures taken.  Here are a couple of lessons I learned from this experience:  1) Deciding to have family portraits taken the Saturday right before Easter may not have been the best choice.  There were children, babies and families everywhere.  All dressed in their Sunday best.  The Easter Bunny also made a special appearance.  Since the entire world felt the need to get their pictures taken the same day as we did, the studio was running a half hour to hour behind, even if you had an appointment scheduled!...

Yesterday was the day I dreaded would come too quickly.  And, in fact, it did.  It was the day I returned back to work and Madilyn would enter into the world of day care.  Madi is staying during the day with a wonderful woman, Yolanda, who runs a child day care out of her home.  She was so excited to watch Madi for us.  Yolanda was referred to me by one of my dearest friends, who coincidently, has her youngest boy there as well.  I just liked the fact that Madi wouldn't be surrounded by an army of children infecting her with every sickness out there.  But we wanted her to be able to socialize with other kids as well.  Currently, Yolanda only watches four children.  Madi is her fifth.  They all range in ages from the youngest at 7 weeks (Madi) to a four year old who will be entering preschool full-time in the fall.  I cannot imagine having more than the one kid in...

We could not have asked for a more beautiful and more enjoyable Easter day.  Spring has arrived in the Valley of the Sun bringing sunshine and the smell of orange blossoms.  Unfortunately for Josh, this is also the beginning of allergy season and now Kleenex decorates every room in our house.  Our Easter Sunday was spent relaxing, napping, eating and enjoying the company of family and friends.  Josh cooked quiche for brunch.  (Thank you, hubby!)  Then, Josh and Madi enjoyed early afternoon naps while I dyed eggs.  We ended the day at my parents' house for a barbequed shish kebab dinner with Greg and Micky.  Madi was so good!  She was alert hanging out with us until it was time for dinner and then she fell asleep until we arrived home.  I cannot forget to mention that the day would not be complete without everyone jockeying for time to hold Madilyn and the *li...

As of today, Madilyn is five weeks old!  I have been trying to post some of my thoughts for several weeks now, but the days just slip away from me.  At times, I do not even know what day it is.  Anyway, here are some lessons I have learned and some trivial facts about life with a baby... Madi's stats as of her 2 week well baby visit -- Weight:  8 pounds 11 ounces, Height:  21.5", Head Circumference: 13.5cm (As of today, Madi weighs 11 pounds!!!  Wow, she is growing by leaps and bounds.)  Our daughter has the cutest and brightest smile, especially just following a feeding.  I cannot wait to see it when complimented by her laugh. Madi has experienced several excursions out of the house including:  a car ride with her Dad and Great-Grandpa, lunch with Grandma Farrell and her friends, Costco, an adventure to Old Town Scottsdale, dinner out with her Great-Uncle and Great...

A zisn Pesach from our little bubeleh ...

Wishing all of our friends and family a Happy St. Patrick's Day!  May the luck of the Irish be with you always.  Can you believe that Madilyn is 3 weeks old today!?!  Isn't she a cute little leprechaun ... Madi in her 1st St. Patrick's Day outfit The Four Leaf Clover on Madi's Tushie Her 1st St. Patty's Day Bib Madi & Mommy  

Everytime I leave the house now, I find myself somehow in the baby clothes department of whatever store I am shopping.  I am obsessed with baby girl outfits.  They are so precious.  I think this is one of the downfalls of not finding out the gender of the baby prior to its birth.  Although, I could not imagine how much money I would have spent on *cute* baby outfits for Madi had I known ahead of time.  Anyway, I found this perfect outfit for Madilyn and just could not help but conduct my own little amateur photo shoot.  I had such a good time!  What an adorable model and outfit!  Aren't they all though when they are this tiny?  While conducting my photo shoot, I quickly realized that babies really do not have too many poses, unless you count their facial expressions.  I kept waiting for her to do something impressive like rollover or tilt her head to the side like all the models do, but nothing.  I am j...

Just wanted to give a quick update on the Farrell-Landers family. Madi is one week old today and we are all doing exceptionally well. A little less rested and a little more sleep deprived, but all in all really good. We have pretty much fallen into our routine -- as much as you can with a one week old baby . Madi and Mommy are feeding every 3-4 four hours. Daddy is on call when needed for the changing of diapers or when Mommy cannot get Madi back to sleep after a feeding. We are trying to keep this to a minimum, since he has already returned back to work. However, this usually occurs in the middle of the night, coinciding with the 2am feeding. After her feeding, Madi thinks that this is the best time to play instead of sleep. Luckily, Daddy loves to hold her so they have reached a compromise - he gets to hold her and she gets her way. I can already see a pattern developing. Madilyn also had her first visit to the pediatrician last Monday and she is growing right on track. In the ...

I cannot believe that it has been one week since my labor was induced. Time has flown by so quickly. I guess that is what happens when you are in the hospital for four days straight. You have already gotten a preview of my labor experience from a previous blog, but here is my version. Some of this may provide a little too much information, so I apologize in advanced to those of you who may not really want to know this much about a woman’s labor. My story begins Tuesday, February 23rd. I went into my morning OB/GYN appointment as I have every week for the past month. Week 40 was here and I was anxious to receive my weekly stats. I hoped my labor was progressing rapidly, but I had a strong feeling of doubt that anything had changed from the previous week and my gut feeling was correct.  No change; not in any of my stats from the week before. So, for three weeks straight my labor had not progressed a single bit. Really??? I was getting very disappointed, but even more concerne...

We have had several requests for more pictures of Madilyn. Sorry it has taken us a couple of days to get these posted. So, without delay, here is a photo slideshow of the labor, her birth and her homecoming. I'm a little biased, but I think she gets cuter and cuter everyday!

Since I could not really concentrate on updating the blog during labor, Josh recruited one of his dearest friends to help with the "play by play" of events.  Here is the progression of my labor experience through his words (with some insight and tidbits from Josh).  Thought you would enjoy the humor.  Don't worry though ... I will be providing my own labor story in a future posting.  I'm sure some of the details may be a little different via a third party observer. The Farrell Baby Alert by Gregory Ensell Labor +16 hours Good morning all. After a frustrating text exchange with Josh I'm prepared to give you all an update: 6:30pm, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - The Farrells check into Arrowhead Hospital and start drugs to speed effacement, a surprisingly violent sounding process that has something to do with the cervix and makes me very squeamish! 7:30am, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - Jenn survives an evening in the hosp...

We are WILD with joy and proud to introduce … MADILYN RAE LANDERS Born:  Wednesday, February 24th Time:  8:55pm Weight:  8 pounds, 4 ounces Length:  20.5 inches We will be updating the blog with more pictures and the birth story soon, but below are some pictures of Madi from Wednesday.  We are so in love with her and cannot believe that she has finally arrived.

When a woman gets pregnant, I think the rest of the mothers in the world decide that it is their duty to offer advice to this new recruit.  Throughout my pregnancy, I found this to be very true.  I have received advice from very close friends and strangers alike.  The advice provided has ranged from what I am allowed to eat or not eat what I should drink or not drink, exercise or not exercise, formula or breast feed, appropriate name and inappropriate names for our child, even how much weight is appropriate to gain or not as the case may be.  Most of the advice has been appreciated and welcomed, some of it has not.  However, there was one piece of advice that was given by several different moms.  They all advised me to take lots of pictures of myself pregnant.  I have been told that I will miss being pregnant and the pictures will help remind me of this special ti...