Birthday Party #2

Maddie had her family birthday party in California this weekend. So many people came to celebrate! We love having big families!

Maddie had 2 cakes ... one for everyone to share and one just for her.

I love all the pink wrapping!

Maddie opening her gifts. She got all kinds of adorable outfits, toys, books, and her favorite... Baby Einstein DVDs. Thank you everyone!

And the inevitable 1 year old tradition...

She tried to pick the entire cake up and put it in her mouth. We had to put her in the tub and hose her off after she was done with her cake.

Maddie's Grandma Milloy got her a ride on horse. She is still learning how to "saddle up", but for now she likes to walk alongside her pony. And the best part... it sings horse songs.

Brandon, Maddie and I got to have breakfast with Great Grandma & Grandpa Milloy on Sunday morning. The food was delicious & the weather was perfect for a patio breakfast.

Grandma was all ready for Maddie -armed with a bowl of Cheerios. What a thoughtful great grandma! Maddie had tons of fun walking all over the place, playing with the swinging giraffe, splashing water in the fountain, and swinging on the porch swing. Maddie also decided it was her job to pick up leaves and put them in the planter.

We had such a fun weekend and we miss everyone already!

Birthday Party #1

Maddie's birthday celebration started before church with birthday pancakes! There was nothing really special about the pancakes, but since they were made on her birthday, they are officially birthday pancakes!We had a fun Arizona party for Maddie last night so she could have some cake on her actual birthday. She was not sure why everyone was singing to her or why there was a piece of cake on fire in front of her. We had a near miss burn accident when Maddie tried to grab the candle. Don't worry, we relit the candle and she loved her cake.

We are excited for birthday party #2 in California this weekend with all of our family!

One year ago today...

Maddie is one!
We have been so blessed this year to watch our sweet baby grow from this...

to this!

We love our sweet baby and can't wait to see what the next year brings!

She's walking!

Maddie had been taking about 2-3 steps consistently for the past couple of weeks and I kept meaning to grab my camera and document it. I am too late! At church on Sunday, she decided to become a walker. She just stood up and walked all the way across the room! Now she is hardly crawling at all. It is so strange to see her little body upright and walking! She is so big!

Happy Birthday Uncle What-It!

Uncle What-It is Uncle Derrick in Maddie's language. She repeats all the sounds we make, so I guess Derrick sounds more like what-it to her. She crawls over to Derrick's door and bangs on it while yelling, "What-It! What-It!" She loves her uncle so much!

Back to Derrick's birthday... he turned 23 yesterday! Derrick specifically requested a pinata for his birthday. He loves it so much, he's not sure if he wants to fill it with candy and beat it apart.

I forget that every day is full of firsts for Maddie. For example, before yesterday, I don't think she has ever played with or even seen a balloon before. I think Maddie loved Derrick's balloons even more than he did.

She was absolutely enthralled. She laid on her back and watched the balloons for almost an hour.

And she was so thrilled that they were still here when she woke up this morning.

I know what to get Maddie for her birthday in a couple of weeks. :)

Look closely...all 6 of Maddie's teeth have finally cut through. Thank goodness.

We are all enjoying sleeping through the night again. :)

Lake Trip!

It was too hot this weekend to do anything but be in the water. We spent the record heat afternoon at Canyon Lake. Maddie got to try out her new turtle floatie toy. She wasn't too sure why she was in an inflatable turtle in the middle of the lake, but I think she liked it!

Here's a quick video of Brandon wakeboarding...

How do you catch a rabbit?

Hide in a meadow and make carrot noises!

Ha ha! :)

It's the only carrot joke I know!

I haven't posted much of Maddie lately because she is battling with her 2 top teeth and 2 more bottom teeth and she is not in the mood for pictures. We did find one thing that makes her teeth feel better though ... chewing on cold carrots! I'm excited about this discovery. She can get her vegetable intake and soothe her poor gums at the same time. I hate teething - it is so mean to my baby! I hope these 4 teeth cut through soon.