4th of July!!

Happy Independence Day!!!

We had a GREAT 4th of July! My mom and sister drove up for a couple days to visit so we decided to go spend a few hours at the Cameron Park Zoo here in Waco. We thought it would be crowded since so many people have off on the 4th, but turns out we were very wrong. It wasn't crowded at.all. It was perfect! Maddie enjoyed showing off some of her new walking skills, which meant we spent much of the zoo going at a 1 year olds pace (and not the pace where they take off running in all directions, the pace where they stagger often and still like to hold your hand.) Small steps aside, we still had a wonderful time!

After the zoo we did the American thing and grilled hamburgers! And by "we" I mean Brent. Us girls just sat in the nice air-conditioning and chatted...I mean that's a guy thing anyway, right?! :) Of course they were delicious, but that also meant it was time for my mom and sis to head home. *tear*

After a couple hours of laying around rest, we headed over to Brent's parent's house for BBQ, hot-tubbing and fireworks! Maddie was especially fond of the beans, which she sounded off about at the dinner table (if you know what I mean). She LOVED the hot tub, and don't worry all you worriers out there, we did NOT have it hot. It was basically a giant bath tub to her, and she did not want to get out. What we were most nervous about, simply because of the noise, was the fireworks, but Maddie thoroughly enjoyed them!! I covered her ears during the loud ones, but at one point she pushed my hand aside and didn't flinch once at the loud bangs. She's such an American!! ;)

Well, that was our day. We got to spend it with lots of good family, food and fireworks! Just perfect!

We hope you all had a wonderful day as well and never forget the reason we have our independence. Thank you to all who served in the past and serve today to make sure we have the freedoms we have. You are truly appreciated!



Our Cupcake's First Birthday Party!

Well, the time finally came to celebrate Maddie's 1st birthday! One whole year has gone by since this sweet first day...

It was an amazing year, so I wanted to make sure her birthday was just as amazing, because you know, she's totally going to remember it and all! ;) I know, I know...why spend time and money (Brent pretend you just stopped at "time") when they aren't going to remember it any way and they're too young to really do much. If you've known me even for just 5 minutes you'd know those reasons can't stop me from throwing a cute (note I said "cute" and not "fun". I can't help if you don't have fun, but I can make sure everything is adorable) party! So here's what I worked on for the last couple months whipped up....

I had to take pictures of the invitations with my phone so they are a little blurry. The front I designed on photoshop and then added the cupcake and candle so it had a 3D look to it. Then for the back I just used a picture I took of Maddie holding a *fake* cupcake...can you imagine the possible mess if I used a real one!)

 Then for the food and sweets...

I made the water bottle labels on my computer and then put them in a tub with water balloons that were placed in the freezer so I didn't have to use ice...much cuter, don't you think?! Plus, after the party I was able to put them back into the freezer to use for the next weekend when I hosted a surprise party for my friend...love getting multiple uses out of things!! Side note about the food- the strawberry shortcake kabobs were a huge hit...strawberries and angel food cake on skewers, how easy is that?!

I saw a cake like this on Pinterest and knew I had to get it for Maddie! The small cupcake on top was used as her smashcake! Then of course, to go with the cupcake theme, we had to have cupcakes so I made some cute cupcake toppers to go on top! Since she didn't have very many friends come that were older, I didn't want to go all out for party favors so I just made candy filled cupcakes with little "thank you" signs on them.

Another shout-out to Pinterest for the fruit cones idea. So much cuter than just putting out a bowl of fruit...will use this idea again and again!!

Last bit of decorations...I made a Happy Birthday sign with my Cricut (a crafters MUST HAVE item!) On the mantle, I framed her monthly pictures that I had been taking over the past year. It was so neat to be able to look back and see how much she grew in just a year's time! You can't really see the true look to the cupcake wrapper garland, but it turned out great in real life. It was so easy to make, just string cupcake wrappers, and viola- total cuteness! :) The canvas picture of Maddie I got online from Fabness. I simply uploaded a picture onto their site, and they had it at my door in just over a week!

So, you did all this work...did the birthday girl have any fun, you ask? Oh yes! We got her a little water activity thingy (yes- I do think that's the proper name, thank you very much) and she wanted nothing more than to dive, or crawl, right it! She wouldn't even smile for pictures once she caught eye of it.

Remember that cute little smash cake? Well, it didn't stay cute for long. Funny story though, at first she would not mess it up. She started first just picking at the icing and throwing it on the ground. It was quite uneventful for a few minutes...then Mommy helped her out a little. Once I smashed it open, cake started flying! And once she heard us laughing, she started clapping, which meant more cake in more places! Thank you for being outside! I also made the ribbon decorating her highchair..totally necessary, I know. Super easy though, just cut different ribbons different lengths and then stick them onto a long piece of ribbon with glue dots!

Ok, well...I think that's all I can recap about the party. She of course got many many presents, but since we video taped that, we didn't get any pictures. I have to say, no offense to anyone there or any of the amazing gifts that she loves and plays with, I think her very favorite gift that day was a sleeve of Club Crakers from her Grammy. She loves her some crackers!!

Thank you to everyone who came and who has been a part of her life for the last year! We love you and our little cupcake!!

Eleven Months!!

Dear Maddie,
I say it every time but time is flying by so fast! I see people with their newborns and it makes me so sad that I can hardly even remember you being that tiny. Even as I look back at pictures it's so hard to believe that you are growing this fast!!



You are getting very good at walking while we hold your hands. I know any day now you're just going to take off! Even without walking, you are curious about everything. You crack us up when you reach for things you know you're not supposed to play with because you look up at us with those big blue eyes just waiting for the word, "no." Then when we say it you get those big alligator tears flowin'! I think we may have a little drama queen on our hands!!

You are really enjoying "real people food!" In fact you are starting to get mad when we try to feed you out of a jar. We have to put in on a plate or in a bowl to make you think it's not baby food, though sometimes you show off those smarts and still refuse to eat it! That being said, you are NOT a picky eater!! I'm talking you eat tomatoes, avacados, all veggies and eggs! You must get that love-all-things-food attitude from your mama!

And speaking of food...check out those chompers! I simply LOVE how your precious little teefers came in! Front Bottom two, then the 2 next to your front two, but no front two yet (did you follow that?!). Adorable! You know what else you do with that sweet mouth- you say "mama" and you mean it! Yep...no one can deny it- we've had several witnesses! ;) Mama loves you SO much!!

Look how big you look!!! I just can't grasp how much you're growing! Thanks for an amazing 11 months! I know the fun has only just begun with you!

xoxo
Mommy

Easter {a little late}

So I realize Easter was quite a while ago, but I still wanted to share Madison's first Easter! We spent the day visiting Brent's family in Temple. Maddie was quite the hit. She didn't do any Easter egg hunting, but she did do a lot of Eater egg throwing! ;)

There was a big field of blue bonnets that we just had to take Maddie to. She was definitely not a fan of being put on the ground, so I had to go find a blanket for her to sit on. Even still she didn't smile too much. Oh well, some of the pictures still turned out cute...it's hard to get a bad picture of such a cutie! (In my professional opinion)

When we got home, we gave Maddie her Easter basket. She loved digging through all the goodies, and though it didn't keep her busy all night, it did entertain her for a little while.

We had a wonderful day with our little girl...what a way to celebrate the reason for the season. Thank you God for such a beautiful and loving baby! You are truly wonderful!

Ten Months Old!!!

Dear Maddie,
Ten amazing months have gone by since you've joined our family, and I know I've said it every time- but geeze time is flying by!! Every month with you just keeps getting more and more fun!

This month you have gone back to a bit of a mommy phase. (Personally I'm ok with it, but I guess I have to share you!) ;) You love to show off by clapping, blowing kisses, dancing and walking along the furniture. You have stood on your own for a several seconds, but have not quite taken an independent step yet. To be honest, I'm actually ok with us staying in the crawling phase for a while longer. You are a speedy crawler, and I have a sneaky suspicion you are going to RUN before you walk!

It has become increasingly difficult to take you monthly pictures because you're not all that into just chilling out in your chair smiling at us with your cute little scrunchy nose smile! You have your 2 bottom teeth and seem to always be teething but nothing else is popping through yet.

So, about the hair...looks like your going to be a blondie for a while, but serious girl, can we get those locks a-growin'! It's a good thing you are so adorable (and that your mommy loves bows so much) because you sure are taking your time growing that beautiful hair!

Well, I guess that's all for now! Thanks for keeping every day so fun and exciting...not too long now and we'll be celebrating your first birthday! :*D (tears mixed with excitement!)

xoxo
Mommy

Nine Months Old!!

Seeing as how ten months old is just 3 days away, I think it's safe to say I was a major blogging slacker this month! Let's pretend this was posted 3 weeks ago, deal?!
Dear Maddie,

I know I say it every time, but holy guacamole time is flying by!! Your first birthday is just around the corner! I can't believe it's been nine months since you joined our family. On one hand it doesn't feel like it's been 9 months, yet on the other hand I can't believe we haven't had you around longer!

Maddie, you just keep getting more and more fun with each day that goes by! You love to play games with us. It seems that peek-a-boo is still a bit hit with you! It is so fun to watch you try to figure out where we are going and where we are going to pop up. You are so much fun to play with.

You still love to clap! It's so cute because you know it gets you attention, so when you want a little affirmation, you start smiling and clapping..it's adorable! You haven't really done too many new things lately, you're mostly just getting a lot better at what you've been doing. You like to walk along the furniture but can't stand on your own quite yet. You crawl everywhere and on top of anything! You love using us as a jungle gym when we lay on the floor.

You still eat very well and your not generally messy..yet! You love eating yogurt melts, and I think it's mostly because you like that you can pick them up and feed yourself. We have officially decided that you have blue eyes...chances are they won't change at this point in the game and my are they BEAUTIFUL! You have one jealous mommy!!

Well, that's all I have for you this month! You are such a sweet and happy baby! I love you so very much!!

xoxo
Mommy

Valentine's Day!

Happy {late} Valentine's Day!

Well, we had a GREAT first Valentine's Day as a family of 3! Our little Valentine woke up in a wonderful mood that lasted the whole day...she must like V-Day like Mommy! Brent got me some beautiful flowers and a ticket to redeem on my day of choosing to be "Queen for a Day!" He offered to do the cooking, the cleaning, and the pretty much anything else I ask...muah ha ha (evil laugh while tapping my fingers.) ;) I've already started my list, but shh! don't tell him! I got him a box of chocolates he likes and the gift of not spending money on a gift for him....aren't I just so thoughtful! (Which, if you know Brent, was exactly what he wanted!) Here is a picture that was snapped that morning...it is HILARIOUS!

Aren't you just dying to know what's going through her mind?!?!

We wanted to go out to dinner, so we raced home, got ready as fast as possible, jumped in the car, and zoomed over to Olive Garden just to sit and wait an hour for a table. Brent knows how much I love that place, so even though lots of other people had the same thought, it was still a great choice! Here is us with our little Valentine at dinner...she was a wonderful date!

Lots of love to all of our family and friends! We hope you had a great Valentine's with someone you like, love, or you'd love to like! :)