Winter Day at the Park

A week ago, it was finally "warm" enough to take Madilyn to the park- despite the snow all over the ground. We were feeling so pent up in the house that we just had to take her out. She really enjoyed the snow and was so happy to be out at the park again. She loved picking up the snow and saying "cold" over and over.

Little Lady

Madilyn is really growing up before our eyes! I swear the she changes every morning when I get her out of bed. She really keeps me busy and has her own little "routine" of things that she likes to do. EVERY morning the first thing she says is "color"- which means she wants to color. She has to color before she can think about anything else. Then she asks where her daddy is- then seems to understand when I say "work". Then she wants to play blocks, then we can have breakfast. Then it is on to play "Monga" (monkey)as she calls it. Monga reads her stories, plays with her and she always shares her snacks and water with him. You can see him in this picture in the rocking chair behind her. He is the big one that "curious george" is sitting on. This stuffed monkey is as big as she is!! It is her best friend of the moment. She has also become really attached to a blanket which she calls "nuggle" (snuggle) and it goes everywhere with her. It is fun to watch her enjoy things and play. She really is growing into a little lady.

Right now....

Madilyn is "helping" her dad put together our new clothes hamper. It is so fun to watch them together. She is fully entertained by "helping" with any and every project we have going on in the house (and with Paul, there is ALWAYS a project of some kind :)

She is running around in just her diaper and her hoodie sweatshirt - her new "Elmo Live" is never far away. It is funny that she loves Elmo so much, even though she has just recently seen him on Sesame Street.

She loves dancing at random moments, brushing her teeth, "reading" magazines and books, helping me with laundry, picking out my outfit, her outfit, and my shoes, striking random yoga poses, then stopping to "help" before doing it all again...all while talking non-stop. She is saying so much.

She can say:
mama, dada, cheese, cracker, baby, babe, hat, poop, pee pee, uh oh, cookie, night night, bye bye, hi, whoa (her favorite right now), up, no, go, pup, shoes, dog, duck, quack, moo, truck, brrr, cold, hot, hair, monkey, bath, water, drink, more, costco, grandma, choo choo, bear, grandpa and many more. She also knows the signs for some of these words too. She knows most of her body parts as well. She is amazing and it is so fun to see her learning and changing everyday.

And, she loves to give kisses followed up by a little slap...hilarious. If this is any indication of her personality then we all better watch out. I am cracking up just thinking about it.

She is now riding on the new clothes hamper as her dad pushes her around. She is giggling with delight. She loves to make anything into a fun ride and her and her dad always figure out how to do so. She is really adventurous and always up to try something new, even if it scares her. We hope this stays with her as she grows up. We can't wait to see what you will be up to (and into) tomorrow Madilyn!

So much for feeling better....

Just when I thought that I was feeling better.....I came down with a nasty cold/flu/I am not sure what was attacking my body...yuck! So, I have been in bed since Saturday afternoon. My amazing husband took yesterday and today off to play with Madilyn and to be my personal nurse. He is so good at both these jobs! I told him that maybe we should reconsider who stays home with Madilyn because he had some much fun on Monday...but by today, he is glad that he is the one leaving for work everyday :) Madilyn is really a toddler now, and exhausting. Especially since Paul has had this cold thing too, only not as bad as I had it. I am so lucky to have a husband that can stay home and take care of me! I don't know what I would do without him. Today, I have been able to be out of bed and even made it to Costco (though I am paying for it now), so I think I am finally getting better...crossing my fingers at least :)

Christmas!

It was fun decorating our tree this year. Madilyn was really interested in this big lighted tree in our house. She loved to touch the lights and say "hot", even though they weren't hot. It was pretty cute. Madilyn had fun taking the ornaments off the tree as Paul and I were putting them on! It was funny at first......
All finished!
We went to Christmas Mass to see Grandpa Larry sing. Here is Madilyn with Grandpa Dan. They look so good all dressed up!
Madilyn had a little admirer at church. The little boy was about 3 years old and he kept walking by Madilyn and then saying really loud: "She's SOOOO cute" to his mom and dad. He walked by her about 5 or 6 times and said that. We couldn't help but laugh. She was too adorable all dressed up.

We opened gifts with Paul's parents and Paul's brother Brian and his wife Andria on Christmas Eve. Madilyn got this little rocking chair that is a miniature version of mine.
Madilyn loves to stand on it and rock.
Love the look of wonder in her eyes as she opens her gifts.
We woke up to this on Christmas morning. So much snow!!!
Paul had to dig us out so that we could get to my parents house. It was a scary drive to say the least. We had about 5 feet of snow at our house. Crazy.
I always take A LOT of random pictures everyday, but I always seem to "forget" to take a lot of pictures on holidays. I need to get better at this! Here are a few that I captured: Aunt Jess got Madilyn a pony for Christmas and Madilyn was thrilled!
Aunt Jaime or Aunt "Me" as Madilyn calls her got her this awesome singing bear to teach her colors, shapes, and letters. He is cuddly and Madilyn is in love with him.

and this leopard print coat. Stylin!
Madilyn loved climbing in all the gifts and on all of us too! Especially Aunt Me. She received so many cool gifts and she is in love with all of them. She is one spoiled girl!! Thank you everyone :)
Fun family photo. Notice the colorful bows in my sisters and I's hair. Haha! We had such a fun day! Everyone was spoiled this year!

Finally starting to feel better

I have really been suffering from nausea with this pregnancy. I was feeling like I was never, ever going to want to eat again, but yesterday I started feeling a little better!!! YAY! I hope that this lasts. I tried drinking Gatorade yesterday and it really seemed to help me feel better. I usually only want water, but for some reason with this pregnancy, I haven't wanted water. Weird. I think I was a little dehydrated or something. I am just glad that (some) foods sound good again :) Can't wait to grow and meet this new baby!

Happy New Year!

We are really looking forward to 2009! We had a fun New Year's Eve at my parents house. We played games, and ate pizza and wings. Madilyn even made it past midnight with energy to spare. It was amazing to us, as she is suffering from a really bad cold. Even so, she provided entertainment, as she was having fun dancing and playing all evening.

We have some great pics of Christmas that we want to share, so we will be doing that soon. It has been crazy around here lately and we are finally starting to get organized again from the holidays.

We wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!

I miss the sunny afternoons at the park

I am already tired of all the snow, gray skies, and cold, COLD weather! We are feeling a little "cooped" up in the house lately and are really missing the warmer weather.