Lists

Ok, so since having a baby... Well realistically since becoming pregnant, my memory has been horrendous! I'll be sitting and thinking about something that needs to be done and by the time I get up to do it I have completely forgotten what it was. Due to this little predicament I have resorted to making lists.
The problem with lists is that if you're like me (barely remembering anything), you have to be pretty specific. So this morning as I'm looking at all my lists I chuckled to myself. I believe I have become my mother...
Right now in the Marshall house hold we have our "big list", the one with everything that needs to be done before and after Joe returns home. On that list I have items such as wash the truck and give the dogs a bath (yes, I do have to remind myself of this). The funny thing is though, on my big list I keep finding that I have instructed myself to make more lists! There is the cleaning list; naming all the things that must be cleaned before homecoming. Then we have the grocery list; keep in mind that I have been feeding only myself for six months so this could pose a problem. Finally we have the meal list; something new I'm going to try for a bit.
Staring at all of this is quite intimidating. So much to do in so little time!!! Having all of these lists I am also finding can be a little exhilarating. Yes I know, it is sad that I get excited about chores, but honestly having these lists means there there is very little time until my handsome husband comes home. :) And it just doesn't get any more exciting than that.
Well I better go get started on all these to-do's! Until next time.
With all out love, always.
~The Marshall's

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3 Months!!

Time has gone by SO fast! I cannot believe that Madelyn is already 3 months old... how did this happen?
Our little girl has been growing so incredibly well, sometimes it's hard for me to believe how little she was when I brought her home from the hospital. At just 4 pounds 2 ounces the day we checked out Madelyn barely fit in her carseat. Now she is chunking up so well... 9 pounds! That's over double her birth weight!
Here is our monthly teddy bear picture to show you how big our girl is getting!

We'll be posting more soon!
With all our love,
Joey, Amanda and Madelyn Marshall

Our big girl!

This last week sure has made me a very proud Momma. I cannot believe how quickly little Maddy is growing up! Here are just a few photos to show off how far Madelyn is coming in her tummy time ventures :)

Getting so strong!!

Time is ticking!

We are down to mere weeks until our handsome man is back with his girls! Madelyn will be meeting her Daddy for the first time and I will finally be getting my best friend back after a long six months. I feel like the time has just flown by and is coming at us full speed... Then I remember all of the remarkable things that have happened in the last 180 days and it makes me realize how long it has really been since my family has been whole.
When joe left I was just short of being seven months pregnant and was barely showing. Luckily little miss Maddy was moving a ton and Daddy got to feel her a little. :) Sadly though, Joe did miss her birth... We have so much time to make up for. Everything else seems so minuscule compared to the birth of such a little angel but I swear there was much more that had happened in the last six months.


The pups sure are getting used to the new addition!


Grandma came and spent a whole month with us! Shortly following that we got to spend time with Grandpa and Diana, and now we are spending time with Na-Na (great-grandma Sandy). So many beautiful family members have come to shower this little girl with love and I could not feel more blessed as a momma to have such a great support system behind me.


Na-Na loves hanging with Madelyn :)

Next week out little princess will be 3 months old! I have no idea where the time has gone. I feel like I brought her home from the hospital just yesterday... But alas she must grow up at some point. My "little" girl is becoming a big girl quite fast. At just about eight and a half pounds Madelyn is finally beginning to outgrow some of her newborn clothes. (Some of Momma's favorite sleepers were the first victims...) And to top it off, it won't be too long before we are out of newborn diapers as well. Bring on the cloth diapers!! This will be an adventure but I am determined to try.


Nothing is better than quality time with my girl!

Bedtime has rolled around for the Marshall girls. Keep a lookout for some precious photos of Madelyn and Daddy in the coming weeks!
With all our love,
~The Marshall family

I think we have ourselves a water baby!

Well I must say I didn't expect it, but it looks like Madelyn Grace just might be a water baby. This child LOVES being in the water when we are at the beach! Here are just a few photos to show you how darn cute Miss Maddy is!

We were lovin' the sand :)

She is so darn cute!!

She was SO good in the water.

Nothing is better than quality time with my little girl.

Well there is a little update on what the Marshall girls are up to these days. 

Sending all our love to you!

~Joey, Amanda and Madelyn Marshall

2 Months!

Our beautiful little girl turned two months old this last Monday! I cannot believe how fast the time has passed; and as sad as it is that Madelyn is growing so quickly it means that Daddy will be home before we know it!
At her two month well baby checkup Madelyn Grace weighed in at 7lb 1oz. We finally broke into the 7 pound range! This Momma also got the go ahead from the doctors to let Miss Maddy sleep as long as she likes :) Which means that I am FINALLY getting to sleep for more than two hours. Baby girl has been on a roll lately sleeping anywhere from five to six and a half hours straight. I am in heaven... well more like sleep heaven...
I was happy to hear that even with her small size Maddy is surpassing all of her gross motor skill requirements for her age and is very very strong. She sure is a fighter :) I couldn't be more proud. Here is a photo to show off how big our little princess is getting.

Some other exciting news is that Grandpa and Grandma Diana have been visiting with us for the last few days. It's so nice to have family around. Admittedly a little exhausting at times but nice none-the-less. We'll be spending time with them for the remainder of the week and then Great-Grandma gets here on the 24th. Lots and lots of company, but it's making the time pass by quickly until Joe returns home to his girls.

Here are just a few pictures of Madelyn's trip to the beach wtih Grandpa and Grandma Diana.

 Enjoying the sunshine with Grandpa.

 Catchin' some rays with Momma :)

 And of course gettin' our feet wet!

Passed out but still a great photo.

Well we've been as busy as every but it's making the time fly by. Sooner than we know Joe will be home with us and you'll all get to see pictures of our family reunited!

Until next time. All our love...

~Joey, Amanda and Madelyn Marshall

Carrying On...

Madelyn and I had to endure a very sad goodbye this week... Grandma left us after an incredible month of quality time. Unfortunatly she has this thing called a job that she had to get back to :( We miss her horribly but that is what phone calls and Skype are for!

Saying goodbye to Grandma at the airport.

In the last few days of being on our own again Miss Maddy and I have gotten back into a pretty good routine. We wake up nice and early, always out of bed by 8am and wait for Aunty Rashelle to come over. I have been working my buns off trying to get back in shape and luckily I have a wonderful friend to do it with me! Insanity is truly that... Insane! But I'm enjoying getting back to the shape I was in before Madelyn. I'm hoping that I'll be able to be back in the shape that I was my sophomore year of high school. A lofty goal but one I seriously hope to achieve!

Miss Maddy on one of our many walks with Grandma.

This Momma is doing her best to keep up the energy to get Madelyn out in the fresh air every day. It's a harder task than it seems when doing such an intense workout program. On the up side we're getting in some great cuddle time during our afternoon naps :)

This week we have a lot of fun stuff planned. Today we're off to a baby shower for a work friend and then a Company function celebrating four months of this deployment down! I'm hoping we can squeeze in some nice walks and runs in the evenings and maybe even some beach time :) And of course many Skype dates with Daddy. 

Maddy giving one of her signature Joey looks :)

Grandpa and Grandma Diana get here on the 13th. We are very excited for some more quality time with family. And I'm sure Madelyn will enjoy every second of getting spoiled with the attention. Until next time!

With all our love,

~Joey, Amanda and Madelyn