Tulips!

Spring is my favorite time of year. I love the blossoms, the flowers, the sunshine. I love the perfect weather - warm, but not too warm. I love that the days are longer and there is more light. I love that everything is so green and ALIVE. I've been wanting to go see the tulips at Thanksgiving Point for a while, so on Saturday I took Madeline to the gardens. The tulip festival officially ended a week ago, but the tulips were still absolutely beautiful! We had such a fun day playing in the water, having a picnic lunch, and enjoying the warm sunshine and pretty flowers!

Drawing is fun!

For the past few months, I've tried several times to give Madeline crayons and markers and show her how fun they can be. She wasn't interested until a few weeks ago she figured it out and decided she really REALLY likes this new drawing thing. So now I have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't color on anything too important. She seems to have a pretty solid understanding of where she shouldn't scribble. Every once in a while, she points a crayon toward the floor or the counter or another forbidden place and says "no!" in a very stern voice. It's been really fun to watch her discover her creative side.

Happy Birthday, Tasiah!!!

Well, I'm a day late getting this posted, but Tasiah turned 8 on January 13th! It doesn't seem possible that she could already be that old, but it's true. She is such a fun kid, and we are so proud of the smart, talented, and funny girl she is becoming. She keeps us laughing with her great sense of humor, and she's an awesome big sister! Happy Birthday, Tosh! Thanks for being a good kid and bringing us lots of happiness! We love you bunches!!!

Cupcakes, Balloons, and other Blessings from Heaven!

Madeline's First Birthday party started out with a few songs on the piano by her talented cousin Katelyn. She even played the Birthday song. Maddie was lovin' it!


She also had a great time chasing, playing, and attempting to eat the balloons.



Lots of cousins were there for the celebration, which resulted in lots of happy chaos! We were able to get a few of them to hold still long enough to pose for a picture together...


Then, more music...this time, very LOUD singing. Madeline just looked at everyone with a blank stare. Or, maybe she was just staring at Grace, who was about a foot away from her face for most of the song, singing the loudest.


And finally, the BEST part... CUPCAKES!!!! She didn't hesitate to dive right in for some of that goodness. There was a lot going on all around her, but as far as she knew, she was all alone in cupcake heaven!



I think she liked it!



Ava didn't get in on the cupcake action this time, but she was a good sport anyway and kept her party hat on the entire time! What a little cutie.

Then things started to get silly...

This went on for a while, and we all thought it was pretty hilarious, but when Maggie approached Nate and I to announce that "my boobs are so big I can hide my MOUTH behind them!!!" (as she lowers her chin into her balloon stuffed chest) we weren't really sure how to respond. Nate went with "THAT'S AWESOME!!!"

Happy 1st Birthday, Maddie!!

I can't believe this precious girl is a year old already! The time went by so fast. She has brought us SO much joy! Lately, she has been busy playing with her doggies (she loves puppy dogs and gets excited and starts panting and barking every time she sees one), reading her bups (books) holding her sister's baby dolls, and watching her favorite show - Baby Einstein. She has also learned a few words in the past month, and seems to add a new one to her vocabulary every other day. These are some of the words she knows:
Mama
Dada
Tasa, Tata (Tasiah)
Bup (book)
Baby
ball
Baboo (bubble)
Cracker
Tay too (Thank you)
Apple
Up!
Ty Ty (Tyler)
Nana (Banana)
Boo! (Peek-a-boo)
ah eww (Uh, oh)
Hot
Hat
Weeee!
Ouch

We love you, Madeline! Thanks for a fun first year! Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl!

Our Holiday Season

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and 2009 brings you and your family all that you hope for... Happy New Year!