A Mountain BBQ and Cousin Time!

We went home for a quick visit this past weekend. It was nice to get out of the Phoenix heat for a couple of days. We went up to the mountains and had a Milloy family BBQ. Maddie had lots of fun exploring nature with Aunt Gwynne & getting dirty. These shoes used to be white! We bleached them when we got back to Grandma's house and they are white again. I am learning very quickly how to get stains out of clothes with a toddler running around. It is definitely a useful skill to have.Cousin time in the mountains!Bennett Milloy - Professional BBQer. I felt safer with a firefighter manning the grill. He was very official in his Smokey the Bear t-shirt. That's a mean looking face.Uncle Derrick! Maddie loves her Uncle Derrick. She's been calling him Derfick lately. It's a step up from What-It. Maddie and her mommy in the woods!

Maddie had lots of fun throwing rocks into the stream with her daddy.

Maddie played all weekend with her cousin Jasmine. I love that Jasmine is old enough now to interact with Maddie. They have babbling conversations with each other. I love this picture of Jasmine "talking" to Maddie.
Sharing!We think it's funny that the 2 girls are almost exactly the same size, even though Maddie is 7 months older than Jasmine.

I love taking pictures of cousin time! I love all the young pictures of me and my cousins and being able to look back at how long we've loved each other. I think Maddie and Jasmine are going to be great friends!

A couple of lake trips...

We have so much fun at the lake during the summer... here are some pictures of a few trips.

Maddie & her mommy (or Maymie as she's calling me these days)
Maddie & her daddy. Look at that face - she LOVES her Daddy.
Wake surfing action shots!This is what we call the "Brandon face." She inherited this look from Brandon. She came out of the womb making this facial expression. When she is irritated, she scrunches up her eyebrows and stares at you like you're an idiot. I wonder where she got this from...

This is what a diva looks like.Derrick Milloy - Operations Manager - Professional Boat DriverDerrick rocking the Fu Manchu.
We found a secret little cove at Canyon Lake. This picture does not do it justice. The water was glassy and it was so silent, the water lapping at the edges made echos. This lake is so photogenic; the scenery is amazing, espeecially when the sun begins to set and throw different colors on the canyon walls.

They may get older, but boys will be boys and brothers will dare each other forever.

:06 The challenge

:45 Stalling

1:05 Weighing the consequences

1:20 The launch

1:22 Kerplunk!

1:28 Stop here to edit Brandon's pottymouth

*I love how Maddie makes little noises to entertain herself during this whole ordeal.

A Day in the Life of Maddie

Life with Maddie is so much fun, I thought I would share with you what her days are like. She has such a sweet personality and a quick sense of humor! And she's a little bit crazy with a dash of attitude all mixed in.

First of all, Maddie wakes up between 6:30-7:30am. She wakes up talking. Here's a quick video I made of getting her up in the morning. She is so happy in the mornings. It's like she can't wait to start a new day full of learning and adventures!

Next, she has breakfast. This particular morning, she is having cheese (her favorite), bread, corn, raisins (her other favorite), turkey, and water. I love that she isn't old enough to refuse vegetables for breakfast yet. After breakfast, we play with toys. She loves to get in the toybox with her toys. She gets herself in there, inspects & throws all the toys out, and then climbs out. Maddie loves to read books. She is an excellent page turner and she likes to give kisses to the pictures as she reads.

If I am heading out for a coupon adventure, I usually try to go in the morning before it gets too hot. Maddie is usually a good sport as I drag her from store to store. She is actually my partner in crime. She flirts and talks with the cashiers, so they are friendly to me and they don't question all of my coupons!

About this time, Maddie is ready for her first nap. She sleeps for about 2-3 hours. As long as she has her blankie and her binky, she will put herself to sleep. She smashes her face in her blanket and settles herself in. When she wakes up from her naps, I have to give her a few minutes to really wake up. If I go in to get her before she is talking, she is pushes me away and rolls back over. I guess she likes to wake up slowly!

Once she wakes up, she has lunch. Most of her meals consist of the same food. I always give her at least one fruit and one vegetable first, then some kind of bread product, and cheese last. She would eat a whole bag of shredded cheese if I let her.

Maddie likes to help me with chores. We'll see how she feels about that in 10 years. I may need to pull this picture back out when she's a teenager. Maddie climbs into the dishwasher and dances. Then, she pulls out all the utensils and hides them in the couch cushions. What a helper. :)

In the afternoon, it is well over 100 degrees so we stay inside and play. Most days, she watches a Baby Einsten DVD. She is so funny when she watches these... I had to take a few pictures.

When the cats come on the screen, she yells, "Darla! Darla!"

Here she is dancing to Baby Einstein. She always dances when these planets come on. It is so funny in person.
Around 2 or 3, she is ready for her second nap. And we've usually had an outfit change by now. She goes through 3 sets of clothes between her meals and getting into things she shouldn't.

Bathtime has been Maddie's favorite part of the day since she was 6 weeks old. She started playing peek-a-boo behind the shower curtain a few days ago. She thinks she is hysterical. And she never gets tired of it.

Then, it's bed time for Maddie. She goes to sleep between 7:30-8:30pm and (most of the time) sleeps through the night. Then, we start all over again the next day! We are so blessed to have Maddie in our family - she fits right in with all of us and we just can't get enough of her.

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!