You gotta go get married?!?

Dierks Bently = great concert!  We saw him last night at Universal and he really does put on a good show.  Anyway, on the way home, my nephew, Asher, had asked if we could go back to Universal today.  I told him no, that Jeremy, Madelyn, and I had to go to church.  I guess someone has gotten married recently because he said "you gotta go get married tomorrow?"  It was cute.  I explained to him that although yes, some people get married in churches, that we also go to church to learn about Jesus. 
Asher said that when when he got bigger, like 25 10 (his words, not mine), then he could get married.  I told him yes, when he was much older.  Jeremy then asked him who he was going to marry and his answer was too cute! 
Usually you hear about a little boy saying that when he gets older he's going to marry his mommy.  Not this little boy.  He said "Maybe when I'm older and Madelyn's older I will marry Madelyn."  Really?!?  That just shows how much he loves her. 
Now, lets not get all nasty thinking here.  We all know little kids don't understand that it's not okay to marry their cousins, but that when they talk about marrying someone it is usually just because that is someone they care about.  My heart just melted. 
Madelyn truly LOVES Asher and thinks he hung the moon.  She looks up to him for everything.  When he isn't here, she asks to see him via video camera.  She cries when it's over.  He is the closest thing to a big brother she has and he is the greatest to her.  Hearing Asher say that made me feel so good knowing that he really does love her and doesn't just play with her because he has to. So sweet!

BFF's forever :)

~Yummy~

Madelyn's papaw found some popsicle molds while we were visiting Jessica.  He got so excited and said he used to make popsicles when he was a child and wanted to know if  Madelyn would want some.  Well who am I to deny a gift?! (I also made these when I was younger and LOVED them.)  Unfortunately, we didn't get to make any while they were here, so Madelyn and I made them yesterday.  She had such a great time helping me and eating the finished product too!  Here she is being such a great little helper (excuse the messy hair)..........

We made fruit and yogurt pops!

Mmmm. Too good to wait!

Finished product!

These are super easy to make.  I actually got the recipe out of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicous book.  It calls for 2 cups frozen berries, 2 cups plain lowfat yogurt, and 1/4 or a little more confectioner's sugar.  We halved the recipe because we wanted to do strawberry and then mixed berry.

Try them!  Your little one, or big one, will really like them!

Today's Cuteness

Just thought I'd share a couple pics of Madelyn and Bruce.  Everytime she sees my phone sitting around and she is loving on him, she says "cheese momma."  So here they are!

Sharing a little wisdom

The preacher at church yesterday said something that just kinda stuck.  I think it's a great piece of "advice" and I wanted to share.  He said something like this, " You don't always do something because you WANT to.  You do it because it's right." 


 (He also made the similar comment about why you don't do things... because you know they're wrong.)   I really liked that quote and I was going to share how it applies to my life, but I don't want your take on the quote to be steered in the same direction as mine. Maybe you will get something out of this, maybe not.   

Ahh vitamin D

Finally!! I am LOVING this beautiful weather we've had the past few days.  It's been so sunny and even a little warm ~ Madelyn got to wear one of her cute new outfits yesterday :)  We spent the entire weekend outside and it was wonderful.  Saturday, we took Madelyn to Universal with my brother and nephew, Asher.  They had a great time- as they always do with each other- and we had some fun too! 
Yesterday was the real fun, for me atleast.  As we walked out of church, I begged Jeremy to take me to the beach!  I knew it'd be cooler there, and I'd have to wear normal clothes, but I NEEDED the beach.  It is my own personal drug I guess you could say.  It's been way too long since we've seen each other (the weekend at Jessica's doesn't count...It was just a little too cold).  We swung by to pick up my brother and nephew again, and off we went.
The kids had a great time playing and laughing and running.   I, on the other hand, sat my hiney on a towel and took in all the fun around me (which was my very own playtime).  I watched my beautiful little girl concentrating so hard in order to fill her huge bucket up with sand.  Asher and the guys ran around in front of me playing a little football.  There were people who would occasionally walk past us at the oceans fingertips and EVERYONE seemed so pleased to have this time.  I found myself drawn in by the ocean and the seagulls quite a few times.  There couldn't possibly be anything more relaxing that this God given oasis.  As the evening brought cooler weather, and we began to pack up, we were blessed with the presence of a special guest or two-- or MORE.  We saw anywhere from ten to fifteen dolphins swimming near the beach line.  I tried so hard to get a good picture of them, but what can I say, my camera is TERRIBLE and SLOW.   We couldn't have asked for a better end to our visit although the kids really could have cared less about the dolphins.  We finished up our day with a little Bubba Gump and waved good bye to another great weekend.

Love these little shoes.  So cute.

Here she is...Working so hard :)

Cute little fishy.

Looking out into the ocean. So beatiful.

So peaceful and relaxing.

 

Best pic of the day. Those are Jeremy's hands Madelyn is running to.

  

Not so good news

  My mom has been having some health issues the past few years but the doctors haven't been able to pin point the cause.  She's been in and out of doctor's offices in search of an answer that is actually correct.  She recently went to an ear, nose and throat doctor because she felt she had fluid in her ear.  (She's a nurse and is usually pretty good at knowing what things are when they happen--with the exception of the big picture.)  Sure enough, fluid on the ear.  The doctor set up some other tests to try to determine the cause of the entire problem and she has completed each without any outcome.  All the possibilities had been ruled out.  Ugh.

As I stated a few posts back, they moved across the bay a couple weeks back.  Because of this, we just haven't seen them lately.  Mom and Dad came over last night to see Madelyn after they had eaten.  I just assumed they missed her and wanted to spend some time hanging out.  As we're sitting here, Mom just casually brings up that she had her follow up appointment this past Monday.  I didn't think anything would be wrong because she didn't seem distraught, didn't mention anything until now, and was going on about how everything came back negative. 

This is the point in my post, and in my mind, where things go downhill.  They just spiral out of control.....
  
She went on about how the doctor wanted to scope behind her ear to check things out and that was fine.  Then she wanted to run it down her throat just for further observation and she got sick and thank goodness there was a pan and yadayadayada.  Next thing you know BAM!

The doctor said she found a mass at the bottom of her tongue and that it's soft so she doesn't THINK it's cancer but that she wants to check her again in two months to see if it's grown.  (As a side note, we do have cancer in our family and throat cancer is one of them.)  She said that if it's gotten any larger by then that she'd want to biopsy it.  WELL EXCUSE ME FOR FREAKING OUT.  If it were me, I would have asked to have it byopsied now just to keep me from worrying.  By this time in the conversation, I'm tearing up and they're starting to fall down my face.  My mom keeps on talking like it's no big deal and she's just here to chit chat.  I stop her to ask why is it that I'm the only one in the room upset by this news and they shake it off and say that if the doctor wasn't worried about it then things were fine.  I also commented on the whole biopsy thing and she replies that she didn't want to have to be in the hospital..WHAT?!  I just don't get it.  Now I'm crying big time, and the kids are looking at me like I'd fallen off my bike and scraped my knee.
  
Okay, so if things are okay, then why are you now asking my husband, who works in insurance, to find some kind of policy for you just in case?  I am NOT prepared for any negative outcome here.  I've known my mom's having health issues, but never in a million years would I expect something  like this to be the cause.  NO WAY is this really going to come back as cancer.  It just can't. 

I know I'm not looking at anything as the glass is half full and eventually, hopefully, I'll get back to that.  But right now, every selfish thing is running around in my head.  What if this is true?  I watched one of my grandfather's go through a long miserable road with this.  She can't have something like this.  And what if it can't be controlled?  She is supposed to be around when Madelyn is older to help us pick out prom dresses.  We haven't even finished having kids.  She needs to be here to meet them when the time comes.  I can't have Madelyn and my other children growing up not knowing or remembering her.  I don't want them to feel robbed.  I don't want them to hear crazy stories and have everyone else laughing around but them because they didn't get to know her.  Who would I call when I wanted to just get out of the house, or whine about something, or needed advice about what to wear for an event? 

I have really tried lately to put ALL of my trust in God.  To know that He has a plan and that things will work out however they may.  Well way to throw a curveball in there.  I have learned that although things will not be perfect for those who put all their faith in God, that we will get through things no matter how difficult.  This has got to be my most difficult challenge and now that I've gotten all my fears that come to mind about this situation down, I plan to do exactly what I've been asked.  To put all my trust in Him.  I know me.  And I know that I will still have these spurts of anxeity and I pray that I'll have the courage to just let go and deal with things in the best way possible.  I do ask, however, that if you stumble upon this and you believe in God, to please keep us in your prayers tonight.

I'll be sure to keep updates and hopefully this will turn into just another time where I freaked out for no reason.  If you made it all the way down here, thanks for sticking with my HUGE debbie downer soapbox speech.

Down the boardwalk..

My brother and I took Madelyn and her cousin Asher to a park the other day that is located right on the bay.  It's so cute and even has a pier out onto the bay.  I took some really cute pics and wanted to post them.  Enjoy! 

   I took this one by holding my camera over the railing.  She and Asher were looking at the water.

Daddy and son looking out into the water.  So cute.

Really.  How much cuter does this get.  Madelyn LOVES her cousin so much.

This is from the photography loving side of me.

I couldn't resist atleast one pose.  I wish the lighting had been better.

Ahh! Gotta love those eyes :)

What a cutie!

Beautiful downtown across the bay.

Finally the time has come

We started potty training at 14 months. No, I'm not one of those parents to rush a child who isn't ready. I've had a lot of experience potty training kids from working in childcare for quite a few years. I went ahead and purchased a potty for when the time came. When we got it home and sat it down, Madelyn just sat down and peed. I SWEAR. So, I took that as my que to begin. She did so well, and was pretty much trained after a few months (she also decided to only use the big potty)but then we took a vacation to Universal. There went all our hard work... down the drain. So, these past few months I've kinda laid off and figured that when she was ready, she'd just do it. Lately, she's been doing great during the day when she's in panties. However, as soon as I put her in a pull up to go somewhere (for fear of having accidents at places) she pee pees. Luckily, she will not go number two in her pants at ALL. Anyway, I decided to just take the plunge since even at night she won't wet herself. Got a travel potty to keep in the car, kept a couple changes of clothes with us, and kept reminding her to tell us if she needs to go. She's been in big girl panties since Thursday and NO accidents. I hope like crazy I'm not jinxing this. She's such a big girl and loves her Dora panties that she chose. We even went accident free on the ride to and from Jessica's (three hour drive). We did bring a potty with us and she would let us know when she needed to use it. We were even successful after a bug juice in the car! I'm so proud of her and she's such a big girl without a pull up bulging out. I can't believe my baby girl is potty trained before she's two! Yay for her :) And I'm sure there'll be times we have accidents, I'm not blind to that. But I am proud of her and even myself. I believe that having the opportunity to stay at home with her and have that one on one time has been a BIG help. Just wanted to share our awesome news. Getting to share this with Madelyn--and being a part of it--is probably more rewarding than winning first place in some tournament (And I'm pretty competitive!)

Paradise for the Weekend

Yay! We finally made it back down to visit my sister in law. We've been so busy lately, or things have come up, that it's been a while. My in laws flew in and we met them down there. We had a great weekend even though it was cold down there too (Crazy Florida weather this year).

Madelyn is a very blessed little girl in the fact that EVERYONE loves her. I don't mean your every day typical "I love you," I mean, can't go more than a few weeks without seeing her loves her. And, she returns the favor. She really does genuinely love and enjoy being with everyone in our family.

As soon as we told her we were going to visit Jessa, she was geared up to go! It's about a three hour trip down and so we told her that after she woke up, she'd get to see Jessa, Papaw, and Grammie. So, she was a good little napper but woke up just a tad too early. I had a tough time explaining to her why they weren't there yet. So, we finally pulled up to Jessica's, and as we unloaded, they pulled up too. So, while Jeremy was taking the luggage out (poor baby) Madelyn and I practically bounced up and down waving and shouting hey!

We meant we were visiting the beach. Can you believe you can still have fun at the beach when it's cold? Madelyn had a great time with everyone. She walked the beach with Jessa, watched surfers with Grammie, and enjoyed a nature walk with Papaw.

I swear she didn't nap all weekend. She went to bed LATE and woke up no later than 8 ready to go. I guess she didn't want to miss out on any time with some of her favorite people. And during this entire time, she may have gotten whiny once. Such a good little girl if I may say so myself :)

We didn't have a big eventful weekend. Just hung out with everyone and had fun being with each other. And now everyone is back at home and we're waiting until the next time we get to visit. Until then, here are a few more pics to enjoy of our weekend in paradise!

Just a cute moment

I wanted to share something cute that Madelyn did today. She cuddled all her babies up to one of her bubbas (Harley). I guess she thought he was ready to go night night or something since she asks for all her babies at night for bedtime. The way she imitates us is so remarkable....

Birthday Ballons

Yesterday was Jeremy's 25th birthday! Happy birthday to the best husband I could ever ask for!!! Oh how I wanted it to be so special and unforgettable, but,things happen. So, instead of the huge birthday surprise-- having friends come in and go on a fishing trip (which thank goodness this didn't happen because it is unusually cold here), we had a small family "party" instead.

Since he was turning 25, I got the bright idea to get him 25 gifts-- things he needed or that I knew he liked. This was not an easy task. We got him several silly things like a pack of gum that he likes and some chips he likes. We also got him a nice shirt to wear to church and swim trunks and flip flops. I also typed up 25 things I love about him (get it--25 things?!) and put it into a pretty frame. A little serious mixed with some goofy. Just like Jeremy himself.

All the gifts were in a cute basket from Target and sitting on the table with his cake full of lit candles and balloons above. Decorations were lacking. This being due to little surprise he gave us...he came home early for his birthday! All I was able to do was blow up some balloons, and since Madelyn happens to LOVE balloons, I was unable to pry them away from her to hang them. So, we compromised. I got a few for the lights, and she got a lot for the ground :)

AHH I was so rushed to get things halfway completed. Because he was coming home early, I placed the chocolate covered strawberries in the fridge on top of stuff. When I went in to get something else out, they came tumbling down... saved, but not pretty anymore. The cake had to come straight out of the oven and get topped with icing which I knew would melt. Sure enough, the cake looked pretty pitiful with melted icing. It certainly was one of the saddest looking cakes I've ever made. Madelyn and I had yet to have baths and neither of us were dressed for the occasion. Wrapping presents was a challenge. We ran out of the birthday paper I had gotten and Madelyn was not feeling well, so I had to think a little. Since this is my husband, and I knew he wouldn't mind and that no one else would see, I just took some other wrapping paper and used the white side. Uh oh, another bump in the road. Ran out of tape! Glue stick to the rescue! haha!!! By the time I was finished, my wrapping job looked like Madelyn did it. AGAIN, I would NOT do this for anyone other than Jeremy. But hey, it's what's inside that counts right?! Anyway, Jeremy got home, blew out candles, and opened the 25 rather challenged gifts!

Afterwards, we took Madelyn to the park and kicked the football (Jeremy was a punter in high school and college). I got some great pics of Madelyn and we had a wonderful time just the three of us :) Finally, we went to eat Japanese-Jeremy's absolute FAVORITE meal. All in all, I think it turned out nice. I hope he enjoyed his day as much as Madelyn and I did. We absolutely LOVE it when he surprises us by coming home early...even when it "ruins" plans. Again, Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and the best daddy in the world!!

Big Girl Bed

Today is the day! We are picking Madelyn's mattress up today after work. I'm so excited and hope she adjusts well. I can't wait to be able to cuddle with her in the mornings in her own bed :) I'm sure she will love being able to share her bed with her cousin when he's here as well. We've had her bedding since before Christmas but have had to wait to purchase the rest... Money's tight these days for everyone it seems. I've been working on her room here and there ever since. Who knows what the final outcome will be for it?! Or, if there will ever be a "finished product." Maybe one specific theme or maybe just a hodgepodge of things we think we like. It seems like greens and pinks are the colors we stick with. Either way, I'm sure Madelyn will love it and give it her own personal word "woo woo". (She adjusted the whistle that we'd do when we thought she looked pretty. You know the hot mama whistle haha.) I'll try to get some pictures posted of her in her new big girl bed by tomorrow.

Here's a pic of her new bed :) As I said before, the room's still a work in progress and it's a lot of pink, but we're pleased so far.

Mixed Emotions

What a change from last weekend. As a reminder, last weekend was SO great. This weekend...not so much :( This week, I should say. My parents are moving across the bay so as you can guess, busy busy busy. We've been painting ALL week, followed by cleaning  and finally the big move. Summary of the move: Supposed to have a truck by 9:00 am- it still wasn't at the pick up place by 11:00 so we went with another company. Go to pick up new truck...power is down. So, after a fast food lunch, we return to pick up the truck. Lots of packing left to do and, because we're all so tired from the rest of the week, it's anyone's guess who will hurt whom first. Yeah, not to mention, my brother was out of town, so my poor dad and Jeremy were the only two handling the big stuff. NOT FUN.
Now for the real downer for the week. We got a call on Thursday that Jeremy's great grandmother passed away. She hasn't been doing well for the past few months, so we have been prepared, but this is still not something anyone looks forward to. Being that we live pretty far away, and finances are not so great, we won't be attending the services and that's not a proud moment either.
Mamaw truly was a wonderful lady. She always treated me as family even before Jeremy and I were married. She always acknowledged every single person's presence and, looking back, I don't think I EVER saw her without a smile. She really enjoyed showing how much she loved us all. While visiting her in the hospital at Thanksgiving, we were telling her about a cousin's baby shower. She got so upset that she didn't know about it. When some family members explained that they didn't think she'd be able to make it...being that she was in the hospital... she was fighting mad. She said that at least she could have known to send a gift. I mean, what a thoughtful and selfless person. To worry about getting someone a gift over her own health. I'm sure everyone will have such pleasant memories of her to share on Monday.
Hopefully tomorrow will be the start of a better week. I'm sad to say, I don't have any pictures for today. I do know I have some pics of Madelyn with Mamaw and as soon as they are found, I will come back and post them to this.

Going Back

Right now I'm working on a playlist to add to my blog (I'm learning as I go) and I've come across a song that always makes me take a step back. Jason Aldean's Laugh Until We Cry. It's not one I'd consider a favorite, in fact, I never remember it until I hear it playing somewhere. Usually, before I know it, I am in tears. It'll be on my playlist as soon as I figure out how to apply it to my blog, so maybe you'll get something out of it as well.

Sometimes I just get so caught up in life and I don't really take the time to appreciate all the wonderful moments that I've gotten to be a part of. This song literally mentions so many of those times. So, I'm going to reflect on some of those now.

Yes, spring break-- senior year. Panama City acted as the spring break capitol and anyone who was anyone HAD to go. My two best friends, one of which is still very dear to me, and I had a blast that year. (Pic of best friend mentioned and Madelyn as baby) Let me first mention that we did not go by ourselves. My mother and one of my friend's moms went as well. NO, we were not embarassed. We just didn't care to put ourselves in any situation that we couldn't get out of. However, they did their thing, and we did ours. We made memories that will never be forgotten. How easy things were then and we didn't even know it. We danced around like we owned the world.

Another moment-- Christmas Eve freshman year in high school. This one is so bittersweet and it is usually at this point in the song that I begin to cry. The way Jason Aldean describes Christmas with his family and listening to his grandfather is EXACTLY how our family used to be. That was the last Christmas we had with him and I wish all the time I hadn't rushed it to run off with my friends and boyfriend. Every year he would sit in the same chair and, after opening presents, he'd want to watch us all open them again --we recorded our Christmases. I think we had more fun watching him watch himself than actually opening presents. I can't even begin to describe him. He was just one of those people you had to know. He really was my world. I spent so many days and nights with him while I was growing up. In my eyes, he could do no wrong. But this Christmas, I was a little irked with him and my grandmother because of a family issue that I won't even go into. I shouldn't have let that get in the way of making those memories. I left and went to my friend's house with a simple "bye" muttered to him. A few hours later I got one of the worst phone calls I can recall. I watched the adults all agree to not hold him back, to let him go--it's what he wanted. I watched him take his last breath in a tiny hospital room. I watched him squeeze my uncle's hand. The last person in the world I would have wanted to see in that hospital room, got to be with my grandfather and to feel his last moment of life. I watched my grandfather go with God on Christmas Eve. My last night with him, and it was all wrong.

Well, that was a tear jerker. Let me end my flashback into time with something more recent and much more easy to read. We'd just gotten back from vacation with my parents at Disney. There we were, sitting in the bathroom, staring at that one word sure to change our lives. PREGNANT!! We were happy, scared, nervous, and amazed at God's work. The next day we sent flowers to our mothers with a cute little note from, who we then called, "baby k". We've made so many memories in these almost two years and I wish I could keep a video camera on her all day every day. I don't have to go into detail about Madelyn. I'm sure as you can already see, I talk about her without even realizing it sometimes. She goes hand in hand with my everyday.

It's kinda crazy how one song can make you stop in your tracks and forget everything around you. Things, moments, and memories come rushing back into your mind as vividly as they were the day they occurred. That's such a gift. I guess maybe songs could be considered life's tape recorders/video cameras. You just hit play and relive a special moment or two in your life.

Fun,Sun,and Beads!!!

Ahh this weekend was WONDERFUL! A person truly couldn't have asked for a better time. Jeremy's sister came to visit and Madelyn was thrilled. She loves her Aunt "Sessa". The second she walked in the door she was glued to her. (Madelyn really is a very blessed child in the fact that she is loved so much. She returns the favor very well though.)

To make things better, we decided to go the the parade that was being held here this weekend. Now, not only did she have her Aunt Sessa, but her Uncle Brian joined us for this one which made it double the fun! We went last year as well, but it was so much more fun this time being that Madelyn is a little older. We wheeled her through the crowd in her wagon for as long as she could stand it. However, being little miss independant, she much preferred walking around and greeting the many friendly faces. She took a picture with a shark mascot that she thought was pretty cool, pet a baby gator and snake, got cotton candy, and her Sessa bought her a really cute blow up monkey. She had a blast! Honestly, I was expecting a melt down at any minute since she bypassed her daily nap, but it never happened. She was all smiles--although she wasn't up for smiling for the camera much :(

Down here we're used to wonderful weather every day. Unfortunately, it's been pretty crummy around here lately. Cold (for us) and icky. But woohoo!!! Beautiful sun and warmer weather :) There's nothing like a little vitamin D. So who could complain?!

Really, a great weekend. We ended the parade with a sweet baby girl covered with beads. Grabbed some Mexican food, and headed home. Since it was such a special occasion with Sessa's visit, we let Madelyn stay up much later than she is used to and she literally danced the night away. She had such a great night singing and dancing with all of us. I also got some great video footage of my brother singing to Madelyn which was REALLY cute. Here are just a few pics....

Great Night--Smart girl :)

The other night we were just hanging out around the house and Madelyn was playing with her many toys. I was playing around on the computer when I saw Madelyn jump and say "ta da!" She says this when she thinks what she has done is praise worthy and this time was like no other. I looked down to see what she had done that was so great and saw this.... Look closely and you'll notice she has gotten all of her wooden equalateral triangles and lined them up neatly. Now, I mention the equalateral part because there are other triangles with this set as well. I mean, really, this child never ceases to amaze me. She's done this once before, but I didn't get pictures and honestly I didn't think she'd do it again for a while. So of course, Jeremy and I made a HUGE deal out of this and we jumped and screamed and ooohhhed and ahhhed for a few minutes. We told her how proud we were of our smart girl and went on and on about having to tell everyone what she had done. So after the excitement began to wind down, she went back to playing and I began to get her night night stuff ready. Then, I hear her say "ta da" again. I figured it was the same thing since she had gotten such a big response out of us before but I still ran in to see what she had done. The second picture is what I found next! She continued with her sorting and found all of her cylinders and stood them up into the shape of a triangle. I SWEAR I've never shown her how to do this. I love to see her learning new things and figuring things out on her own. We went through the same process as before and made just as big a deal out of this as we did the triangles. Finally, I gave in and figured she needed a special treat for this (not to mention I was a little hungry too). We let her pick out what she wanted and she decided on Nutella. Okay, I realize that late at night is not the time to bring out the Nutella or anything else that may not be so healthy, but special occasions are meant for special treats right?!? So I end this post with a VERY happy little girl posing for mommy!

The glue that holds us together

So, as I mentioned briefly in my previous post, I'm a bit cranky sometimes. What can I say. I prefer when things go my way. And in life, as most of you know, this may or may not happen. So, when things DON'T go my way, I have him ^.

Ha, he'd absolutely KILL me if he saw this and if you notice it's been changed, then he's seen it :)

Jeremy's my husband of three years. He's serious when he needs to be, and goofy when the time calls for it. Aside from my own dad, he has to be one of the best husband's around. He works all day, comes home to what may be a clean or an absolute trashed house (some days are just crazy), gives 100% to Madelyn and even cooks every once in a while. When it comes to cooking or washing the dishes (no dishwasher CRAZY), he just does it. I may have had to ask once or twice but he definitely chips in around the house if I need him to. Now let's be honest. Of course there are times when I could just scream at him for whatever it may be, but all in all, he really is an all around great guy.

Let's introduce my sweet angel!

This is my sweet baby girl! She truly is my life. We will celebrate her second birthday in a few months and it's hard to believe. I'm sure I'll be seeking out ideas very shortly. I'm excited for her, for us, but at the same time I just want to pull her to me and never let her go.

Since this is MY blog, I guess I'm allowed to brag a little. She is incredibly smart and has the best personality anyone could ever ask for. Honestly, she is such a happy little girl except for when she has a new tooth coming in or she hasn't gotten her sleep. I have to say, she gets the crankiness from yours truly. I think I've seen her daddy in a bad mood less than a handful of times. Madelyn definitely gets her happy go lucky mood from Daddy.

I am so thankful to be able to spend my days with her. Although things may change very soon, I am currently a stay at home mom. I'd like to think that this is the reason she is so perceptive and smart and polite. She just about always says "Thank You" and is beginning to say "please" and "excuse me" a lot as well. Our newest words we are working on is Ma'am and Sir. I really do light up with pride on the inside when an unfamiliar face does something and she replies with a thank you.

We are working on colors right now and I have to say she's doing great! Ask her to show you something blue, yellow, red, or green and she is likely to have the correct answer. I love to hear her say the colors as well! Her colors are : boo, geen, bed, and lellel. She's actually very good at saying the others correctly.

I could honestly go on and on for days about the things she says and does. I'm sure that's how most parents are about their children. So, if you're a parent, then you understand the pride and love I'm talking about. If not, I apologize because I'm sure I sound like that parent that thinks her child can do no wrong (trust me, she can). I look forward to sharing her triumphs and even our not so great moments with you in the very near future :)

Trying something new

So, I've decided to give blogging a try. You'll have to be patient with me as I'm learning. Hopefully I'll figure out how to set my page up to be as pretty as some of the others I've seen out there. Anyway, here's to the start of something new ( Cliche, I know).