Monday, January 26, 2009

Bedtime Stories


Each night before Madeline goes to bed, we read bedtime stories. She doesn't last long through any book. But, she likes to look at a lot of different books. And she certainly has her favorites.



It is a sweet time to steal some brief snuggles from our little girl.


We always read a story from her Bible. She now asks to read her "Bi". We are teaching her to sit still and listen through an entire story. Some nights are better than others. But, she is getting better. :)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Mini Photoshoot


I am trying to learn how to use our camera a little better. So, the other night, we had a mini photoshoot with Madeline. The actual pictures didn't turn out very well. Lighting is a very hard to thing to learn. But, Madeline is still cute. So, I am posting a few pictures anyways.







Of course she had to put her boots on for some of the pictures.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Bunny


Someone new joined us for breakfast yesterday morning.



Happy Birthday Katherine!


Today is my sister-in-law, Katherine's birthday. We celebrated on Sunday with a lunch at Red Robin.

Madeline got to meet Katherine's other niece, Beatrice. She is precious!


Happy Birthday, Katherine! We hope you have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Snow Day

We got a little snow on Monday! So, Madeline finally got to wear her snow boots outside in the snow.

Andrew had the day off for MLK Jr. Day. We have so much fun when Andrew has time off from work. I wish it could be everyday.

This isn't technically Madeline's first snow. It did snow a little bit last year. But, it is the first snow that she was able to actually go out and play in a little bit.

She got to throw snowballs...

jump in puddles...

and even eat a little snow. (She didn't really like it.)


She did have a little accident where she fell on her nose on the pavement. ouchy! There were some tears and a little blood. But, things are healing nicely. :)


We had a fun time in the snow. Maybe we will get a few more inches next time.


Madeline likes to hold onto our fingers very tightly when she walks now. It is so sweet. Just thought I'd throw that in there :)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Tag...I'm it!


So, I have been tagged (photo tagged) by 2 people now, Lauren and Becky. So, I guess I should get on the ball. This is a picture of my cousin, Abby, from last summer. She, her brother Will and my other cousin, Olivia, came up for the day and went to the pool with Madeline and I. (Did you keep all those people straight?) In this picture, she is taking a little break to eat a snack.

Here are the rules for photo tag:
Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.
Pick the 4th picture in that folder.
Explain the picture.
Tag 4 people to do the same.

So, Cristen Sink, Kim Cavanaugh, Katherine Glenn and Kim Wyrick, you are now it!

Friday, January 16, 2009

New Year's Weekend


It has been the tradition, for many years now, to get together with our college friends for New Year's. We usually spend a weekend or a few days together. It is usually the only time during the year that all or most of us can get together. This year, we hung out at The Lookabill's house in Pulaski, VA. It was a lot of fun. Things are quickly changing as more and more kids keep being added to the group. The kids had a great time together. And of course, a bath with Kathryn and Jude is way more fun than by yourself.

Chase all snuggly after his bath.


Caedmon all ready for bed in his cute froggy pj's.


Kathryn and Madeline all ready for bed.


The cool toy that all the kids loved was the Little Tikes car. They did a nice job sharing it. If they couldn't ride in it, then they would help push. (Or ride on top with daddy's help)


Even Caedmon enjoyed it!


After the kiddos went to bed, we played lots of games. We played a little Picturicka, Balderdash and Settlers.


Jackson got to stay up a little later than the other kids.


Madeline had a good time playing in the Lookabill's big yard. She liked playing frisby with Andrew.


She also liked to follow Kathryn around.


Our last night there, we had a White Elephant gift exchange. Some of the highlights were a 70's colored blanket, lots of unused/unwanted Christmas decorations and a how-to-train-your-cat video.

After our gift exchange, we played a great game of Fishbowl. I laughed A LOT! We had a great time with our friends. It is getting harder and harder to find places big enough and cheap enough to accomodate all of us. So, we will see what happens next year. For now, I am so happy for the times to get together with such good, lifelong friends.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Cutest Girls in the World



I just wanted to thank Naomi and Madeline for being my two best friends!

Friday, January 9, 2009

13 Months Old


I am running a little behind on this post. But, better late, than never. Madeline was 13 months old on New Year's Day. It seems like she is growing and changing very quickly.

Something that is starting to stand out to me is her sweet and obedient heart. Now, don't get me wrong, she certainly tests us. But, the majority of the time, she is a good listener. She will put something back when I ask her or not touch things when told. She is really funny when she wants to do something that she knows she shouldn't do. For example, if she wants to touch something that I have told her not to, then she will get close to it and then sometimes she will start squinting her eyes a bunch. I can almost see a conversation going on in her head. "No, no, I shouldn't touch it. But, I want to. But, no, I shouldn't. Oh, but I want to." I know that she will constantly be learning her boundaries and testing us as parents. But, I pray that she will always have this sweet spirit about her and that her heart will be soft and obedient towards the Lord.


She has started to enjoy Swiffering. I should give her a swiffer duster and see what she does with that. My house might actually get cleaned.


She loves the fish accesories in our house. She is not too crazy about the fish themselves anymore. Although, she will point at Spot (a fish) when we ask her where he is. She always wants the fish food. I don't know if she wants to eat it (which I have caught her doing) or if she wants to feed the fish a lot. She does get to feed them with her daddy in the mornings. She also likes to put the fish nets in the water. Sometimes the fish get stuck in the lower filter tank and Andrew has to fish them out. So, Madeline wants to help as well.


She is really enjoying her child sized furniture. She sits in her rocking chair a lot and she sits at this table a lot. A lot of times she eats a snack here. She also plays with her Noah's ark and Zoo and reads books at the table. The reason she has no clothes on in this picture is because she spilled a cup of water all over her. So, I waited until I took the curlers out to put new clothes on her. This was the second attempt at putting curlers in her hair. It went a little better.


It still needs some perfecting though. It's a little weird to see her with curly hair after a year of stick straight hair. But, it is sweet.


Our little girl still loves the outdoors. She loves to swing, ride in the stroller, take walks, and go "vroom, vroom" in the car. She is on the go.
Her new obsession... her snow boots. She will find them in her closet and then bring them to me, sit in my lap and wait for me to put them on her. She has a very hard time walking in them. But, she thinks they are the coolest.


just some cuteness...

Madeline is starting to get a little snugglier lately. She has even learned how to give kisses (when she wants too). She is her snuggliest when she is around a lot of people she doesn't know. She has also been a little extra ticklish this past week. So, we have gotten to hear a lot of sweet giggles coming from our sweet girl.


(And one just to prove that I actually play with our daughter, not just Andrew. )


Madeline went through a spell where she didn't like her bath (again). But, we made it through and she is loving it once again. She is getting braver in the water. She likes to lay on her belly. We are working on blowing bubbles. She actually did it a little bit this morning. But, then she just started taking giant gulps of water and coughing a lot. I'm sure she will get it eventually.


Madeline made her first trip into the city over the holidays. That's all I have to say about that.

Other details:
Communication: Madeline's talking has really started to take off these past few weeks. She is attempting to say a lot. She can now clearly say- hot, baby, slide, bye bye, hi, ice, fish, dada and mama.
Other "words":
ahh-roar for a lion
zzzzz-bug
papa-Papa Paul and Pawpaw
row (rhymes with cow)-cat
sss-star
ss ss-strawberry
bubu-bubbles
side or ow side-outside
mo mo-Elmo
mmm-moon
p p-pepper (like a green pepper)
pu pu- paci
bu bu-blueberry
clicking sound-for duck or cracker
fow-flower
f f- ruff for a dog
ho ho ho-what Santa says
She is using around 30 different signs now.
dog, airplane, hat, ball, car, bird, train/truck, fish, book, water, bunny, more, eat, apple, all done, butterfly, bear, elephant, bath, diaper, mommy/daddy, flower, tree, lion, please, sleep, baby, mouse, monkey, apple and milk
Eating:
Lately she has decided that she enjoys eating. Her breakfast might consist of Oatmeal made with heavy whipping cream and a jar of fruit. Or maybe some pancakes or french toast with fruit as well. For lunch she has been enjoying our leftovers like fajitas, chile chicken casserole stir fry or sometimes just some PB and J with greenbeans or peas or cheese. Her dinners look pretty similar to lunch. She will eat some of what we are eating for dinner or some jars of baby food.
She still loves green beans and peas and will eat them for most lunches and dinners. She also loves blueberries and strawberries. She finished a whole pound each of blueberries and strawberries between Sunday and Thursday this week.
She has been asking to eat a lot more this past week. She must be going through a growth spurt. We are still trying to get her onto Whole Milk. She isn't too crazy about it. We are down to 2 oz of formula mixed with about 6 oz. of Milk. It is hit or miss if she will drink it during the day.
Sleeping:
She has been a great sleeper. I can't remember the last night that she woke up in the middle of the night. (Over Christmas she had a few early mornings.) She goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until about 7:30 in the morning. This week she has been sleeping in until 8 or 8:30. It has been very nice. She went back to 2 naps for a while and seems to be back to 1 nap this week. Although they have been 3-3 1/2 hours naps, I don't think she is ready to quite give up both naps completely.


My heart just melts when I think about our little Madeline. (We have been calling her Maddie Ann a little bit lately because a little girl in our bible study calls her "Ma-ye-ann" and it's just so cute. I don't know if it will stick. But, we will see.) Madeline is a busy girl, but I think I have the best job in the whole world. There is no place I would rather be than with my little girl. What did I do without her?