Confessions of a proud mother

August Update

2010-08-19T13:53:00.001-07:00

I've got a few updates for the month already. For those who may not know, Madeleine and I were involved in a car crash when a drunk driver ran a red light at 60mph one evening as we left church. I wanted to share the pictures from our accident and remind all the readers the importance of having your child properly restrained in the correct style of carseat. Madeleine made it out of the accident without even being sore. I praise God daily that he kept all us girls safe.

And the drunk driver's car (which I must add was UNinsured)

In other August news, the nursery is finished! We are just patiently awaiting the arrival of Miss Olivia to fill the room.

My sweet girl friends from the squadron gave me a terrific baby shower. I really appreciate all these ladies!

Madeleine started her first day of Pre Kindergarten. Her teacher is Mrs. Walker. There were lots of tears (hers not mine) at drop off, but upon picking her up she was all smiles and full of stories of her day. However, she did inform me that she does not need to go back. I'm hoping the following days are easier and find us both letting go better.

I also wanted to share pictures of the newest addition to our family............I love, love, love this car and my fabulous husband who bought it for me.

July

2010-08-11T08:45:00.001-07:00

July was a fast month and I didn't even take that many pictures. Matthew was deployed most of the month so Madeleine and I were in Texas for a couple of weeks. We celebrated July 4th in the Moore family fashion at the lake house.

Matthew was able to make it home for his birthday. Since he was never allowed to play baseball, Madeleine and I treated him to a baseball themed cake!

In other news, Jolie had to have oral surgery and was "out of it" for a few days. We thought she looked so peaceful hanging out on her bed we bought b/c we felt guilty for her pain.

Madeleine finished up gymnastics for the summer. She will begin ballet and school in August. I'm excited about all the things this fall will bring - including cooler weather!

Catching you up!

2010-06-27T07:40:00.001-07:00

Some cute stories from the last couple of months:
1. My mom is visiting and she's trying to make the bed. Madeleine immediately marches into the room and tells her to stop b/c she won't do it right like mommy does! I swear I don't know where she gets that from.

2. She absolutely adores church. I promise that if the Catholic Church allowed female priests, she would be one. She insists on getting her "God jewelry" when we are getting ready for church. When we went to mass this last weekend, she was wearing glow-in-dark rosary beads, a rosary bracelet and was able to participate in the prayers we've been working on at night. I was so impressed with her, but the couple behind us was gushing after mass at how precious she was through the whole mass. She really makes my heart proud with her love for church and God.

3. While watching the evening news, she informed me of the President and said his name was Barack Obama and her daddy taught her that. She is something amazing- everyday she shows me how much she grows (and listens to what we say, no matter how much I think she ignores me).

We've had so much fun the last couple of months and I thought I would finally bring everyone up to the present.

Madeleine has learned to ride her bike!

We had Matthew's squadron Change of Command events. We had a dinner, a ceremony and a great party afterwards! We are all thankful for our great friends we've made at the squadron. It was a great weekend and we are excited about the new commanding officer and his family.
Yes that is a kilt- Its a junior officer thing. (Love my officer and gentleman)

Our months have been jam packed with:
Participating in a summer kick off parade at the local library:

Learning Gymnastics:

Fishing with Daddy (when he's finally home):

Learning to Swim:

Trips to the museum with mommy:
Yummy special exhibit!

Black Berry picking at the Orchard:

We are also happy to say that our year of dance paid off well and we had a wonderful time at the recital. Granny, Great Peggy, Uncle Ricky, Nanny Chelsea, Aunt Brandi all made the trip in town to see our princess dance. We were so excited to find that Daddy made it back from deployment just hours before the performance!

And lastly, I'll leave you with a sneak peek at the belly bump- Baby Olivia will be here in just a couple more months! I'm so excited to introduce her to her big sister, Madeleine. Madeleine has already stated that she can't wait to hold her and kiss her and change her diaper!

Birthday Girl goes to the Farm! (March)

2010-04-28T21:23:00.001-07:00

Daddy was flying most of March so mommy and Madeleine had some fun play time. We went to Orr Family Farm and had a great morning together. Madd was so excited about the horses and riding one. She was even more excited to find out the horse she was riding on was named "Sister". She told the horse all about how she was going to be a sister too! Her trip to the farm was the perfect outing to show off the new cowboy boots Granny purchased for her.

Our other March happening was a birthday for our little princess. Who can believe its been four years since we welcomed her into our lives? She is such a blessing and reminds me daily to smile with her sweet words and big mommy hugs and kisses.

She had a fun day with her friends and loved that Uncle Stacy and Aunt Sue sent make-up in her birthday present!!!

We finished off the month with our pre- Easter events. These are pics from an egg hunt where the older kids were not allowed to use baskets to collect the eggs and they had to hop like a bunny. It was so cute to watch them go!

Another great month!

February

2010-04-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

Just going to try to catch up a little bit.

We took Maddie to see one of her all time favorite things- BULLRIDIN'. We had a blast and Madeleine was even treated with front row seats to the action. I don't know what it is about the sport she loves, but she sure loves it.

Matthew and I were honored to be the godparents of our nephew, Jameson. He is such a sweet, happy baby. We had a wonderful time visiting and loving on our godson. Matthew and Madeleine and I really enjoyed playing with a baby and are getting excited about our own baby on the way!

Fun month with my lovely family!

New year, new endeavors....

2010-02-01T12:48:00.001-08:00

Our family is growing by two feet!!!! In September we will welcome a new baby to our home. Madeleine is a very excited big sis - to be! She was able to see the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound and has taken to talking to the baby everyday.

The pictures from this month and the snow will look eerily family to last month. Yet again, Oklahoma has been hit by a major winter storm. We took on a couple inches of ice and about 6 inches of snow. To our friends up north this doesn't sound impressive, but when you live someplace they never see snow, it poses quite a problem. Luckily in round two they have figured out a better plan for clearing main roads. Unfortunately that doesn't include my neighborhood. We were iced/ snowed in a good 5 days, but finally ventured out today. There are some pretty impressive icicles that pose a deadly threat if you walk under them. This go round Madeleine was able to go out and enjoy the snow. As for Jolie, she has missed the snow since we left Connecticut.

We had to say goodbye to the DellPenta matriarch earlier this month. Grandma Rita will be missed, but will live on through the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I have so many wonderful memories of visiting with them in New York. She always had a smile and warm hello (unless she got the answering machine). We will miss her but we know she is with God and watching over us and blessing our family always.

Christmas Break

2010-01-13T10:53:00.001-08:00

As if tornadoes and earthquakes weren't enough, Oklahoma decided to add another disasterous event to the list- a blizzard! We received about 8 hours straight of snow and blowing winds of 40-50 miles an hour. I have made a note to myself that next year there will be no prayers for a white Christmas. After all, a white Christmas isn't all its cracked up to be when you plan a drive from Oklahoma City to Houston on Christmas Day.

Keeping warm during the Blizzard '09!
Madd and I set out on the road for what turned out to be the worst road trip of my life. After an hour of driving, Madd and I had made it about 30 miles from home only to have Madd inform me "I have Daddy's keys"!! I wanted to scream. We went home, dropped off the keys and started out again. The roads went from pretty good to horribly bad quite quickly because Oklahoma apparently does not own and cannot borrow a snow plow. I did learn to drive in winter weather during our tour in New England, but I guess it helps if the state is prepared for 14 inches of snow. We did make it to Houston after about 10 1/2 hours in the car.

We behaved ourselves all year and Santa made a stop to our house on Christmas Eve- blizzard and all.

Our time with family at home in Texas was wonderful. We had three other "rounds" of Christmas with some really great gifts.

I love this picture of my sweet girl- She loves some Tiffany's already! She really is a girl after my own heart.

We enjoyed seeing how much Jameson has grown and cuddling with him to so much!

Maddie had so much fun playing with her cousin Blake at Nanny Trudi's house. Nanny's house is always full of playtime and snacks that mommy won't let her have.

I hope everyone's holiday was also fun and family-packed! Have a great month, friends.
HUGS!

December

2009-12-20T14:44:00.001-08:00

The first visit with Santa of the season. She's giving him her big list and fibbing a little about how perfect she has been.

Cheesing it up in front of the tree in her Christmas dress with Bitty.

A fun day of ice skating with Daddy. Mommy stayed on the dry ground to take pictures. Mommy is not the most graceful person on ice skates, so it was the logical choice that I be the photographer.

We had a lovely family outing in downtown. We followed up the ice skating with a trip to the art museum. Our cultured preschooler kept asking when we would see a Degas or Jackson Pollock painting. She has learned about their work in her book "Olivia".
Glass work from the museum. It was so amazingly beautiful.

November

2009-12-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Our month of November was busy with our trip to Texas for Baby Jameson's birth and daddy's first deployment in a couple years. Madeleine was so sweet with the baby. Its like she was born to be a big sister.

Words of wisdom from Maddie:
"I'm so mad we put those wings on daddy. We gave them to him and now he won't come back". Needless to say, its going to take her awhile to adjust to daddy's job as a naval aviator.

I have been elected the president of our naval officer spouses club and that is a full time position. I'm excited to take an active role in supporting my husband and his mission. As busy as the squadron wives duties keep me we'll see if I can keep up with the holidays.

Halloween

2009-12-06T09:12:00.001-08:00

Madeleine was a cat this year. I was happy to make her costume and I think she was the cutest cat on the block! This was Madd's first year to go trick-or-treating. She had a great time in our neighborhood and also at the "Haunt the Zoo" event.

September Recap

2009-12-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

It truly is the best ice cream in the country!

Disney on Ice with Aunt Mickey, Granny, Great Grandmother Peggy, Mommy and Madeleine.

We had a baby shower for Aunt Mickey and Baby Christian, who is now Baby Jameson.

A day out with Thomas the Train

Daddy got his wings!

Fun with family and friends.

Its been too long, I know!

2009-08-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy that I've neglected an update for far too long!!! July was busy with a trip to our family's lakehouse for the the July 4th celebration. Matthew and I attended wedding and Madeleine got to stay with Nanny Chelsea the following weekend in Dallas. August has flown by with a trip home to Texas so Granny could hang with Madeleine while I jetsetted to San Francisco with Rita and Michelle for a girls weekend full of relaxing, shopping, Ghirardelli goodies and even a trip to In and Out Burger in a Mazarati. I then flew to New Orleans to meet my loving husband and siblings for a BIG O birthday on Bourbon Street. I've welcomed 30 now and I'm feeling great about it. After returning from New Orleans, Madeleine started preschool. We're into week 2 now and she's starting to adjust. This post is short, but enjoy the pics and I promise to be better with my updates.

July 4th weekend:

Our trip to the Braum's Farm that we took with some friends from Matthew's Squadron:

Grandma and Papa came into town with Aunt Mickey and we enjoyed a baseball game together:

My girl at play:

MMMMMM SNO-CONE!

Madeleine is smart- Popsicles make her hands cold, so she wears mittens!

Ice Cream Social Goodies at our house (notice Madeleine's excited face below the counter):

Not the first day, not even the first week of school, but I wanted to get one that actually showed her smiling- not crying hysterically.

June, already?!?!?!

2009-06-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry about passing the whole month of May without a single update. We have settled in so nicely here that we are all just crazy busy. Madeleine and I attend the library functions a couple mornings each week and have also discovered the children's theater. We are also ZooFriends and visit the animals there often. We are having so much fun here. It seems like there is always some fun event or festival for us to attend.
Our favorite thing on a rainy day, MAKE CUPCAKES!

Matthew and I were blessed to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary earlier this month. Madeleine had her very first babysitter (besides the wonderful grandparents). Allie sat with Maddie while we went out to dinner. The two of them must have had a blast, because Madeleine didn't cry when we left, was asleep when we got home, and asked where her best friend Allie was when she woke up the next morning.

The house is finally feeling like home and we are slowly getting things the way we like. Madeleine, being so spoiled, got a new house herself from Granny. She was so excited that she played in it as Matthew was still putting it all together.

We have an amusement park here that we visited on the Military Monday. It was so much fun and Matthew was off early that day and was able to join us! I even rode the ferris wheel ( some of you know I am deathly afraid of a ferris wheel).

We went to the Cowboy Museum and Chuckwagon Festival. Madeleine rode her first horse and even sat on a longhorn. We tried our hardest to not saw those horns off (Gig 'Em Aggies). The festival was really close to historic Route 66. We took the five minute drive and enjoyed burgers and sodas at Pops. Pops is a restraunt and soda shop that offers about 500 different types of soda. Some soda bottles even line glass shelves on the walls.

Madeleine and I have joined a mom's group and enjoy playdates with new friends. With all the activities and new friends we have hardly any time left over to miss that beautiful beach in Pensacola.

The picture of Madeleine with bird seed has a story to go with it. Matthew and I park our cars in the garage every night. For a few days we were smelling something so terrible in the garage. The smell was just really, really awful. I started to notice I would not smell the odor when Matthew was at work. One evening I thought I should go near Matthew's car and see if the odor was strongest near his car. Sure enough, it was unbearable. I told Matthew that it really did smell as if something had died in his car. He then remembers there was a bird on the way home about a week earlier that he was sure didn't make it passed the car. By this time in the conversation, Madeleine had joined us in the driveway. Matthew looked into the front of the car and saw the bird, dead. He went inside, retrieved a bag, and removed the bird. Madeleine, watching the whole event, was so concerned for the bird. We had a lengthy explanation about birds and how this just happens at times. Since that day she has been obsessed with getting bird feed and putting up a bird house. I think its her way of trying to make it up to the birds after daddy took out one of their kind.

I have started a blog for my crafts and hope to be able to make a business on the side here with my goodies. You can check some of the projects out at : www.brandisbowtique.blogspot.com.

We finally have a storm shelter installed. It was tons of fun to watch all the equipment in our backyard. Maddie and I have a love/love relationship with heavy equipment. I am not sure why we haven't taken pics since its in now, but here is the dirt and large hole. We have yet to get into the shelter. When the tornado sirens sound, we usually open the door and just watch. The whole weather thing with tornadoes isn't nearly as scary now that we have a safe place to go should we need it.

I will end this post with a couple little pearls of Madeleine's wisdom:

Maddie is usually so cheerful when she wakes up and just really starts the day on a great note. She is sour only on the mornings when we have something planned early. I was trying to get her ready to go and see Alice in Wonderland and she was in my closet trying on clothes, making a disaster in the floor. I told her to immediately get out of there or we would be late for Alice in Wonderland. She turned very quickly and informed me, "this isn't no wonderland". Yes, I thought, you are absolutely correct!

Each night Matthew and I get into bed with Madeleine to say prayers after storytime. Madeleine was trying to put off the going to sleep and asked why we said prayers. We explained about God and Jesus and heaven. Matthew asked if she knew where heaven was and she quickly came back with "yes, in Florida". I thought, yes, again you are absolutely correct. She proceeded to tell us that heaven was in Florida and had a little sister named Leah. It was all clear then that she was referring to her good friend, Ava. We were on completely different page than she was. Its so cute the things she comes up with.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!
HUGS!

Getting Settled

2009-04-27T15:02:00.001-07:00

Easter was our first weekend in our new house. We only had our new bedroom furniture we had purchased so the house looks pretty empty. Madeleine was so excited that the Easter Bunny was able to find our new house.

We've had so much fun moving in. It was great to be carried over the threshold after waiting 7 years.

We have discovered a wonderful place known as Braums. Their ice cream is great and we try to go once a week for a treat.

We found this enormous mailbox at Lowe's and thought it would be just the right size to mail Maddie to her grandparents when she starts one of her tantrums. She thought it was a great idea and climbed into the mailbox on the shelf at Lowe's. We noticed a couple behind us that nearly died of laughter watching us stuff our child into a mailbox and take pictures of the event.

We have also visited the zoo here in OKC and the gorillas seemed to enjoy Madeleine.

Chelsea and Stacy came for a visit the past weekend. It was a great time! We took them downtown to the Art Festival and Botanical Gardens. Then Matthew watched Madeleine while I went out with Stacy and Chelsea for a night on the town.

I promise to post some pics of the house in the next couple of weeks when we get all the finishing touches done.

HUGS!

March Madness of Our Own

2009-04-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

March was such a busy month for us. We celebrated Madeleine's birthday and moved. During our last weeks in Fl, we commissioned a work of art for Madd's new room. Maddie and her best friends created a texture art with drywall mud that an artist went back over and painted and sealed in beautiful colors to match her new room. Its a really special piece of art for our new house. Its also a reminder of the great friends we made in Florida.

I tried to make each day without Matthew there and adventure so Madeleine wouldn't be too sad. One of our fave spots was the beach down from our house. It was still a little cool for bathing suits, but we enjoyed playing in the sand.

During the move, we decided to take some time and visit along the drive to Oklahoma. Our first stop was Nanny's in Louisiana. Maddie and her cousin Blake always have the best time together.

Our next stop was "Great Peggy and Popop" in Orange. We visited Shangri La with them and had a wonderful time. The gardens were breathtaking. Madeleine even decided to cooperate for a few nice photos.

We were then onto our last stop in Houston. We visited with Granny, Pop, Grandma Rita and Papa Ron. We also got to see Aunt Mickey (mickey mouse as Maddie calls her) and help Grandma make meatloaf for dinner. We did make time to meet at the zoo with my sorority sisters. I haven't seen these girls since my wedding nearly 7 years ago. It was so much fun to see them and meet their "little people".

It was a great month and we were happy to be on our way to OKLAHOMA already!

HUGS!

Madeleine's 3rd Birthday

2009-04-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted the day to be really special since Matthew was away, so I decorated the living area and set out all her gifts while she slept. She was so excited about all the balloons.

Her fave gift by far is her new Bitty Baby. We celebrated Maddie's birthday with Cookie Monster cupcakes at the park with friends, followed by an evening out with special friends- The Robbins Family. Daddy was in Oklahoma already so we were very blessed to spend some time with great friends. We went out for dinner, a ferris wheel ride, and Build-a-Bear. Madeleine had a wonderful birthday thanks to some very special people in our lives.

Oklahoma,here we come!

2009-02-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start the blog off with this and I don't ever need to hear anyone else sing it. If you should feel the strong desire, just come to this page sing the lyrics to yourself and go on about your day. I have heard nearly every person I know sing some part of this when they found out we were moving. So here it is: There's never been a better time to start in life- It ain't too early and it aint too late! Starting as a farmer with a brand new wife- Still be living in a brand-new state! Brand new state- gonna treat you great! Gonna buy you barley, carrots and pertaters, Pasture for the cattle, spinich and termaters, Flowers on the prarie where the June bugs zoom, Plen'y of air and plen'y of room, Plen'y of room to swing a rope! Plen'y of heart and plen'y of hope. OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain, And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, When the wind comes right behind the rainQ OOOOk-lahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I, Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky. We know we belong to the land (yo-ho) And the land we belong to is grand! And when we say Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay! We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K.! Ooook-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain. Oklahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk Makin' lazy circles in the sky. We know we belong to the land And the land we belong to is grand! And when we say Yeeow! Ayipioeeay! We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K. Okla-okla-Okla-Okla-Okla-Okla Okla-okla-Okla-Okla-Okla-Okla... We know we belong to the land And the land we belong to is grand! And when we say Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay! We're only sayin' You're doin' fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K. L - A - H - O - M - A OKLAHOMA! Yeeow!

I hope we can get past that now. We are extremely excited about our largest purchase this family has ever made. Our new home will be ready for move-in April 10th. We are so exstatic that we were able to choose all the design aspects of our house. Madeleine delights in telling people that her house is pink. Its not pink, but her room will be. We've been having fun visiting with friends and enjoying the beach. For some reason, the government thought that atleast some of the Navy should be stationed in a completely land-locked area. We are trying to soak up as much of the "world's most beautiful beaches" as we can before next month. Our builder said he would paint a mural on the fence of sand and waves to try to ease us into the middle of nowhere, USA. We will miss the beaches tons but are super glad to know we will get to see more of Matthew than if we were stationed on a beach someplace.

Madeleine is sassy as ever and delights in telling us "no", "calm down now, mommy", and "DO NOT put me in time out". She had a great time when the Grammy's were on tv. She saw the performers and ran to her playroom to grab her guitar. I looked over while making dinner and saw her playing and singing along. It was pretty darn cute. Madeleine really enjoys dressing up these days. Last week we were forced to allow her to wear the Snow White costume out to breakfast. She put on her sunglasses on the ride over to the restraunt. When we walked in a boy said, "Look, its a movie star"! I have caught her on countless occassions in her playroom dressed up, talking to herself in the mirror. She is really so fun at this age. We enjoy baking together and I'm teaching her all about flowers. I have a ton of things to do to prepare for the move and most of it will be done with Matthew being away. Madeleine and I will be busy little bees so I wanted to post the most recent pics for everyone. I will surely update once our house is complete. We love you all and hope you have a great month!

Hugs!

January Fun!

2009-01-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

We've been having a great time this month. I thought I'd do another update so I don't forget to upload these. We went to a bull riding event at the Civic Center. It was so much fun and Madeleine had such a blast, we went two nights in a row. Madeleine was so happy and cheering for the cowboys. She was telling the bulls to be nice and get back in the kennel. It was really so cute. We had a couple of great family nights with cotton candy and all.

Madeleine has been telling me lately that she looks cute so hurry and come. These are the instances that I was beckoned in to take some pictures of her. I really love this sassy little thing. (And yes, she is too big for that school bus, but she still loves it so much!)

Lately she has been into wearing sunglasses....all the time. It was 9pm and we were on our way home, when Matthew sees this in rear view mirror. I couldn't help take a pic of her in the dark with her sunglasses on.

Last weekend we took Madeleine to the local zoo. Its no Houston Zoo thats for sure, but it was a great family outing. The two zoos that are near us are really small, but have all the major players; lions, tigers, and bears (oh my). The only thing that they are missing is that usually those types of ferocious beasts are behind a fence, a mote, and about 100 yards or more away. These local zoos, however, feel that some chain link and barbed wire fencing is sufficient. I was glad to see the ones capable of eating us whole were napping. There was also some cute bunnies that just hopped around in and out of cages for all the animals. The highlight of our outing was being able to feed some of the animals. I don't know who had more fun, Madeleine or me.

On Tuesday, with the rest of the world, we watched the inaguaration of President Obama. Madeleine was really into the whole ceremony. She was probably feeding off our anticipation of th day. I snapped this pic during the National Anthem. Madeleine was eating a muffin so its the wrong hand, but totally unprompted she stood, placed her hand over her heart and sang. The words weren't right, but it was beautiful. I'm sure it helps that her daddy is a sailor and we regularly attend events were the anthem is heard. God Bless America!

I got a new camera for Christmas! I love taking pics of Madeleine and I thought I'd share some of my favorites from our afternoon outside.

HUGS!

Blessed

2009-01-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

The holidays are so magical in the eyes of a child. Madeleine was so precious the whole month of December. She couldn't wait to decorate the tree in her playroom. She elated in telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas (this was done at some distance, even though she insisted on stopping every place she saw him). We saw Santa the first week of December in an outdoor shopping center in Alabama. We met up with him as he was walking on the sidewalk. I think this was her first cognizant run-in with "the man". I was a little bit excited and went on and on about how great it was to see Santa out in town. I think this got her prepared for our future encounters. She would see him in the mall, at WalMart and most amazingly our driveway on a big red fire truck. Apparently the Escambia Fire Department does some PR work with Santa in tow. We were sitting down to lunch when I hear the alarms of a fire truck and police car screaming down our road. We live at the end of a street that has no outlet to the main road, so we rarely get traffic that isn't our direct neighbors. I immediately think that Joe and Bobby, our sweet elderly neighbors, are in distress. Matthew runs to the window and I ask if the neighbor's home is on fire. He was so funny and just said, "It's Santa"!! I swooped up Madeleine and ran outside. Sure enough, it was Santa, waving and throwing candy and stuffed dolls. The fire chief leading the brigade threw dog treats to our dog Jolie, who had by then joined us in the front yard. This was just wonderful, like something out of a great holiday movie. We were in the yard waving and talking with all the neighbors and children who had joined us to cheer Santa on.

My mom came and took Madeleine to her house in The Woodlands for a week. It was a very lonesome week during the day, but I was able to study for finals and have some date nights out with Matthew.

We joined Madeleine in Texas the weekend preceding Christmas for the "4 Christmas and 1 New Years shuffle". We spent time with my grandparents, my mom, Matthew's parents and my dad. It was a wonderful Christmas and we got more than we deserve, I'm sure. Madeleine and I both got the chance to make some cookies with our grandmothers. We had some great family days. We went ice skating for her first time and then we went out for dinner and ice cream!

We spent Christmas Eve with Matthew's parents. We went to mass together and enjoyed a wonderful meal. Grandma Rita and Papa Ron then helped Madeleine prepare cookies and milk for Santa. It was so cute to watch Madeleine tell Grandma what to write and how good she'd been all year.

Madeleine was so much fun this year with her gifts. She understood about Santa and the gifts and Jesus' birthday. I'm glad we videotaped the Christmas morning, because some of her reactions were hysterical. Her favorite gift, the one she was most excited about, was "Dora panties!!!!!!!" in her stocking. After opening Santa gifts, we took Madeleine back to Grandma and Papa Ron's house to celebrate with them. Santa enjoyed the cookies and milk from Madeleine and even left her a note in return.

We spent the days surrounding New Year's at my sister's (who is my godmother) house in Lafayette. It was nice to laugh so hard and eat so well. Madeleine really loves her cousins, especially Blake. They have been best buds since birth and they are only 4 months apart in age. Nanny Trudi and Aunt Kim got new puppies for Christmas! They were so precious, but we were glad to leave them there.

When we returned home, Madeleine began having hives. We ended up at the ER one day with her and she thought it was the best time yet. She was so cute with the gloves and wanting to learn all about the machines in the room.

We are looking forward to Matthew's completion of Primary sometime this month. At the completion we will know what type of plane he will be on and where our next move will be.

This is sure to be an exciting year ahead and I promise to be good and update you all more regularly with our antics. We hope all of our loved ones have a truly blessed year.

HUGS!

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."

2008-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on
the feelings, as now in October."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Our lives are so enriched as parents. There are days that go by so quickly I forget to sit down or eat lunch or swing outside. Its that last one that I usually miss the most. Madeleine LOVES being outside. Life is so busy sometimes with school and housework and Matthew's flight schedule that I forget how relaxing an hour outside pushing Madeleine on the swing can be. She is growing up so quickly and I hate to think I've missed a minute because the dishes just "had" to be done or laundry just "had" to be folded and put away. We took a ton of pictures this month to share with everyone. I love all of them, but its especially those we took outside where the sun hits her face just right and her eyes glitter atop those too cute dimples.

We celebrated Halloween at an assisted living facility in the morning with MOMS Club friend and trick or treating at Matthew's squadron (his work). Madeleine was delighted to see where Daddy works and the planes he flies. I liked touring the field too and seeing the Blue Angel planes up close and personal. Madeleine was a flower fairy and loved every minute in her costume. In fact, she asked if she could wear it to the grocery store today, but I assured her it was much too cold.

We were blessed with a visit from Matthew's parents after Halloween. Grandma Rita and Papa Ron stayed for the weekend and played with Madeleine to her hearts content. During their stay, we harvested the sweet potatoes we had been growing in our garden since we moved here. We had plenty of potatoes to make three pies and have a few left over for Thanksgiving! Matthew was certainly proud that he grew something we ate and I was proud it was actually edible.

Most of you know about my cupcake bakery dream. I'm regularly making cupcakes and trying new recipes out. I have a great assistant, Madeleine. I just had to include some pictures from our latest adventure with chocolate cupcakes and fudge icing. She usually has on clothes, but this was a special deal because chocolate isn't always so easy to remove.

We are finishing our Thanksgiving menu and welcoming friends and coworkers that will be here without family over the holiday. We love a big family Thanksgiving and since we won't be traveling home, we're doing the next best thing and having a big "not our family, but somebody's family" Thanksgiving.

Christmas is right around the corner and Madeleine is getting excited. Its great to see how each year she "gets it" a little more. Last weekend we were out having a family day at an outdoor shopping center and they were starting the season already with Santa. We ran into him walking down the sidewalk and Madeleine had her first Santa encounter. We've never been the parents to take our child screaming up to the big guy when she was a baby. We thought we should wait until she knew him and felt comfortable, because Madeleine doesn't trust just anyone. I think on Saturday she got a good feeling from him, because as we chatted with him on the sidewalk, he asked Maddie what she would like for Christmas and she began telling him all about it. Since then, she's told everyone about Santa Claus.

We hope everyone has a blessed and safe holiday season. We love all of you and we will be thinking of you as we are being thankful over our table in a couple of weeks.

Looking back and leaping forward

2008-09-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

September has almost gone and fall is in the air. We've spent much of this month doing just as the title suggests. The first of the month we watched in horror and complete sadness as our old home in Galveston was inundated by hurricane Ike. Our friends, colleagues, and classmates were scattered around the state and some stayed in the very city they loved. Galveston, though not our most favorite town while we lived there, has so many special memories for us. We had three wonderful years there. Madeleine was born and spent her first year of life there. We walked her along the seawall and watched Mardi Gras parades along the very boulevard the news crews showed covered with water and debris. As we watched the Strand become flooded with water more than chest high in most places, we recalled ice cream at the Emporium and all my favorite gift shops. We recalled our priest at every mass during Hurricane Season saying a prayer for the Blessed Mother to protect our island and our people. I'm glad to report that all of our friends and loved ones faired well from the storm. Our old house, just 6 blocks back from the seawall and built in 1920 made it through the storm. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of Texas as the rebuilding begins. The storm made for some pretty wild weather here before heading to Texas. We had the opportunity to take some great pictures on the beach.

Now onto leaping forward. I had my first exam days after Ike's landfall (wonderful timing, right)! I did somehow come out with a 100. Matthew is doing well and finished his second training with "flying" colors. He will begin Primary this week.

Madeleine is settling into her school routine and making friends. The mom's group I joined has had tons of opportunities for Madeleine and I to make friends. She has her favorites, mainly, Ethan at the moment. We attended his soccer game on Saturday and they acted so grown with one another. Ethan, who is 4, hugged Maddie and thanked her for coming and she returned with a pat on the back and a "good job". Then, the two proceeded to hold hands and talk all the way back to the car.

I'm sure that you all remember the extreme drama that surrounded Madeleine's (or should I say my) attempt at ballet in Charleston. I was sure that I would never own pictures of my sweet little ballerina at her dance revue, like every other mom I know. Well, guess what folks??? There may be hope for me yet. Last week, Madeleine asked to have her ballet shoes down from her closet. I don't just leave them down, because the stupid things were like $50! I did take them down and she proceeded to put them on and ask me to tie them. Once she was all set in her shoes, she went straight into the family room and showed her dad "TAP, TAP, pull-it-behind, and CURTSY". I almost died! I could hardly believe she even remembered the classes, because I danced the steps with her on my hip crying the whole hour. She has chosen to repeat this little act quite regularly. I'm hoping that in time, the money will be well spent on another go at it. I'm sure you all can't wait to hear how my drama queen will take to classes next time.

Granny came for a nice visit after Ike. She had no power and we thought she should come to this century and live for a week with power and air conditioning. It was a great visit, if not too short. I miss having my best girlfriend be close. I hope Granny/ Mom had as much fun with our girl gossip sessions as I did. While Mom was here, we took her to some of our favorite places. We enjoy Thursday nights on the pier with a good band and some Sesame character usually shows up for the kids. Maddie prefers dancing to meeting scary furry characters up close and personal. It makes for a nice evening with a picnic by the water. On her last night here, we went out for dinner on the bay.

We made the leap to attend a Saturday night mass this weekend. We normally go at some point on Sunday, but we have a full day planned and decided to try something different. I showered and dressed in a satin top, caplet sweater and black pants. Matthew then came in and told me that it was a Saturday night mass and maybe I should wear jeans with my dressy top. I thought that sounded alright and made the change. He wore khakis, a polo shirt, and sandals. We didn't think to dress Maddie either, assuming this mass would be a little more casual. I will say that the mass was in fact different than Sunday's. We were the youngest people there by 60 years and we were slighty underdressed for the task Matthew accepted. Picture this... I enter mass, we get settled in our pew and I begin to pray. I'm kneeling there, recalling my week behind and pondering the next week and Matthew is tapped on the shoulder by a woman with a lace veil, looking very pious. They exchange a few words and she leaves. As I finish my prayer and start to prepare for the readings, Matthew informs me that we were asked to bring the gifts to the altar. I am immediately aware that we will be proceeding to the front of the church with the HOLY EUCHARIST and I'm in jeans and he in sandals. I'm sure that God will find it to forgive us for our informal dress this one mass, atleast I hope anyway.

I hope everyone has a wonderful October and that fall weather befalls our friends still suffering with some power issues in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

Hugs!

Life is better with frosting!

2008-09-06T11:24:00.001-07:00

This post is dedicated to our grandparents, great grandparents, and parents (who are our daughter's grandparents). Today is Grandparent's Day. I thought I'd share the history of the day: The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade (now age 91), a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. Even though neither Matthew nor myself have grandparents in nursing homes, we find it enjoyable to tap into the wisdom of our granparents as often as the week allows.

This is a day that I have never missed. My friends and most family are always shocked that I've remembered this day again this year, while they have let it pass without much thought. It used to be that the card section of the stores around town were LOADED with Grandparent Day cards. It seems these days that it has been passed over minus a small section that isn't taken over by Halloween cards. It makes me sad to know that there are people who forget this day, because I think of it to be just as wonderful as a Mother's day or Father's day.

Matthew and I had most of our rearing done by our grandparents. Sure we lived with our parents and they sent us to school and tucked us in at night, but some of our most enlightening moments came from those summers spent at our grandparents. I have often thought I could pen an entire novel on the "grandparentisms" I learned over the years. It would make you laugh until you cried and probably cry until you laughed.

I love my grandparents and all the little ways they made life better for my sister and I. We knew that no matter what the world had against us, we had two people in Orange, Texas who could make us feel unstoppable. There was always Blue Bell in the freezer (thanks PaPaw) and an all-night gab session in grandmother's bed. Don't think I don't remember the summer I wanted grapes and they were some ridiculous $3.99 a pound, but PaPaw didn't bat an eye and bought them for me. Then there was the trips to the DERA pool every afternoon after he'd worked a full day just so Chels and I could swim. Grandmother has made her sacrifices too, eating Mexican food everytime we come to town, even though her heartburn will sear through her stomach for days. There was also the trip that we took when grandmother and I were so sick, the travel trailer broke an axle and it was about a hundred degrees, but PaPaw didn't want Chelsea to suffer and took her down to the little hotel pool. Another infamous trip was to see the Grand Canyon. Justing getting Grandmother and I to look at it, made us both dizzy. We are both terrified of heights, but followed PaPaw's instructions to sit on limbs of trees (much too close to the edge for our comfort) and pose in all sorts of places around the rim of the Canyon. About half way through our walking tour, PaPaw notes that the roll of film is full and stops to switch it out. He proceeded to pull out loads of film that hadn't wound properly, assuring us that this was normal and that there was alway some extra. After nearly 5 feet of film had been removed, the film snapped apart and PaPaw thought we probably lost that picture. Sure enough, only one roll of all the film taken in that beautiful national park came out with any pictures on it. Our memories, much to PaPaw's dismay have served us well though. Thanks for so many great times and for those we haven't even dreamed of yet.

I also love Matthew's grandparents. They are the type of people that you meet and you instantly fall in love with. If you can picture the quintessential Brooklyn, NY couple married for 67 years, living in the same house they raised their children, that is Bill and Rita. From the first time I met them, I was hooked. Grandma and granpa took me right in. It was so wonderful living in Connecticut, when we could visit them often. They would get us Chinese from the place down the block and we'd bring the Rispoli's Italian cookies. We would visit at their table until dark. Grandpa telling his stories about his service in the military and grandma catching us up on the family. Thanks for loving Matthew and helping mold him into the wonderful husband and father he is today.

Madeleine is lucky to have been to born to parents with such great love and respect for their grandparents, because she has some pretty terrific ones herself. I hope that Madeleine will be able to look back on her life in thirty years and have the same great memories I have from my grandparents.

Time passes too quickly and we forget to look back. One of the best ways to look back often is to stay connected with those who have gone the road before you, especially your grandparents. I'd like to think that grandparents are parents with lots of frosting (and who doesn't love frosting)!

I've collected some of pics of our family with grandparents, enjoy the day. Love and hugs to all the grandparents, especially ours.

My mom and Maddie's grandparents Andrea & Seaborn:

Matthew's parents and Madeleine's grandparents Ron & Rita:

Matthew's grandparents Bill & Rita:

My grandmother and PaPaw, Jack & Peggy:
One of our surviving Grand Canyon pictures

Sweet Summertime!

2008-08-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

We are having a wonderful summer! It's been full of family, friends, and jellyfish. We are still loving our time here in Florida. The beaches are so amazing and we try to get down to the water a couple times each week. We also have the luxury of watching the Blue Angels practice a couple days a week before they leave for performances around the U.S. We enjoy working in our little garden area when we are home. Maddie is a great help and usually is rewarded with a Pop Ice and some bubbles.

July is a big birthday month in the family. We had a great time with an "adults only" weekend in New Orleans to celebrate Matthew's 30th birthday and Nanny's 40th. We don't recall all that much of the weekend, but we did manage to snap a few pictures of the other world that is New Orleans.

After returning from the New Orleans trip, my brother Ricky came to stay for a couple of weeks. His stay was followed by the rest of the Miller's coming into town. Gulf Shores seems to be a great and popular vacation spot for people from Louisiana. It was great to visit with everyone again, and this time we even let the kids be with us. We hosted a big bar-b-que on the weekend that all the family overlapped. Maddie really enjoys spending time with her cousins. It is fun to see her interact with other kids. She loves to play in the bath and never has minded getting her face wet. Her cousin Blake, however, hates water in his face. As you can see, Maddie got him good with her water guns. She's only allowed to have them in the tub, so I didn't have the heart to take them from her.

We took Ricky to visit the National Flight Museum here on base. Matthew had more fun than all of us put together, but it was a good opportunity for some cute pictures. We also went to a place called the Track. It is one of those tourists spots where you can ride go-carts and do all kinds of dangerous things to potentially ruin a good vacation. Madeleiene got to have her first go-cart ride. She loved every minute of it and waved happily as we would pass the people waiting in line. She really is not afraid of too many things (that must come from her father).

Matthew has started his second school of our three part series here in Florida. We still are quite a long way off from knowing where our next move will be. The people that have come before us assure us that we will not have too much time to ponder the situation and we should be ready to move in as little time as we had in Charleston (YAY)! For those of you who know my compulsive nature, you know how this thrills me so. I become completely intolerable over situations that I cannot control. I should have plenty to keep my mind busy for now. Madeleine will start visiting her friends on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings while I take my second half of anatomy.

It's been a wonderful summer full of moving to new places, seeing old faces and meeting some pretty great new ones. I'll be happy to get back into the swing of fall with school and a somewhat normal schedule. I hope everyone has a safe return from their vacations and is ready to head back to the grind of school and work.

We love you all and send big hugs!

When in Florida...

2008-07-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

I think it might be a requirement to visit DisneyWorld when you live in Florida. Thankfully, my mom's family had already planned a trip before we even moved. It was fun, it was real, it was real fun and HOT! I, of course, had a book and planned all the fun down to the minute. Madeleine was great the whole trip. She stayed with her normal schedule and it made for an easy time on all of us. There was of course things I missed out on, but when you have a child its those small sacrifices you make (SPACE MOUNTAIN)! I won't bore you with all the crazy details, just enjoy the pics.

The family had matching shirts we wore to Magic Kingdom.

Maddie Met the MICE!This mouse, Maddie liked...it did not move
This mouse moved, she didn't like it so much

The Pooh Store was great fun

You don't have to go all the way to Disney for a petting zoo, but Maddie loves goats and the Animal Kingdom provided her with some.

Something else Mad loves, Uncle Ricky!

July 4th made for a great weekend. We enjoyed the city's festivities with some new friends Leslie, Eric, baby Aiden, and Ethan. Ethan and Madeleine played together like they'd been life long friends.

As most of you know, it is my dream to someday own a cupcake bakery. I'm always in the kitchen baking some kind of goody. Lately I have been lucky enough to have my protege in the kitchen assisting me. I had to share these pics, because they're just so darn cute.

We are getting settled quite nicely now and have found that we absolutely love this place. The beaches are wonderful and life moves in a pretty laid back way around here. We are excited that we will be having an "adult's only" weekend in New Orleans to celebrate the 30th birthday of a certain husband of mine. It should be a great weekend as my older sister is having an "O" birthday of her own (40)! I'll be sure to update with some pics -if we are able to show any when we get home.

Have a great July!

Better get you updated....

2008-06-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

There has been so VERY MANY changes since the last post. Mainly, we now reside in Florida. I will get to that after I backtrack a moment to share with you our life prior to the move. I decided that Madeleine needed some summertime interaction since school was out and most music and the like classes take a hiatus for the summer. Most of you know that my Maddie does love music. I thought hard about what we could do involving music to meet some friends and enjoy an outing each week. I chose dance class for her. This apparently was the incorrect choice. I thought that upon signing up for the class that 2 years old meant just that. On the first class I learned that Maddie who was 2 (by only two weeks) would be the youngest by about 6 or 7 MONTHS! Madeleine seemed years off these girls who did not cling to their mommies or cry the entire 45 minute class. I felt like I should help her participate by doing all the prancing around and toe pointing as I carried her the entire time. I thought, "why does she have on the leotard, tights, and ballet shoes, when I'm doing all the dancing?" That would've been enough for the regular mom, but not me, oh no, I needed to try again and again. My mom and her infinite mom wisdom said, "Maybe she's not into ballet". My very quick response was that $150.00 for lessons and $75.00 for the leotard, shoes, and tights meant she would be into ballet for 6 six weeks, like it or not! I've included a pic of how darn cute she looked before class. I would love to have been able to include ones of her actually at class, but I was quite busy dancing with a toddler on my hip.

Now, onto that small detail of us being in another state from the last time we met here. The Navy or rather the government never has moved so fast. Soon after the last post, Matthew put in a package to make a lateral transfer from the submarine/nuke community to the aviation community. We were given orders a week later and needed to move two weeks after that. We had tons to do in such a short time, but we have made it through fairly unharmed. Since we had to move so quickly it was hard to find a place that we could move right into. We ended up staying at the Navy Lodge on the base here and then took a weekend trip to New Orleans. New Orleans was a great time for all of us. Madeleine really enjoyed all the excitement of Bourbon Street. She got some "fairy dust" from a street performer that she was totally enthralled with. We also took Maddie to her first trip for beignets at Cafe du Monde. If you have never visited the Audobon Zoo, that is a trip worth making. The zoo sits on the beautiful Garden district side of New Orleans. The drive down St. Charles to the zoo alone is worth it. The zoo is abosolutley beautiful and back in full order since the hurricane.

We were able to return from New Orleans to come to our new home in Pensacola. The beaches are beautiful here, truly white sand and blue/green waters. If the weather weren't so "surface of the sun hot" here, it would be quite possibly the most perfect place to live. We are loving our house here and we're excited to share some pics with you.

Matthew and I have often talked about having a garden so we've decided to give it a go. We have some veggies, herbs and a few flowers. We worked really hard to change some totally random boxes spread through the yard into a nice centralized garden. I personally don't think I've ever put that much work and sweat into something (no not even childbirth).

Next week Madeleine and I are off to Disneyworld and I'll be sure to share new pictures when we get home.

The life and times of a 2 year old and the parents who love her

2008-03-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

I am writing the blog as an escape today. I want to duct tape Madeleine into her clothes and pull up as her newest joy comes from being completely naked. I don't know why we had so many people telling us advice the whole first year of her life, but it seems that everyone left out this little issue that may arise. I know that we aren't the only ones though, because we have some friends of ours with a daughter the same age as Madeleine that are fighting the same battle. They are the family that is actually using the duct tape idea (don't worry I'll add a picture of Eva the Duct Tape Diva). We find her taking her clothes off at nap, bedtime, and just random times during the day. We will foolishly think she is back in her playroom playing quietly when all of a sudden she comes streaking into the living room and plops on the sofa as if all is fine. It's not that I have a problem with her brief nudity episodes at home, but I don't want her to be "that" kid at school. You know the one that is always strippin' down. We just please ask for your prayers that we may be able to break her of this before she's 16.

Eva the duct tape diaper diva!

In other news, Madeleine has turned 2 and celebrated it for weeks now. We had a wonderful party the week prior to her birthday when we went "home" to Texas. All the family was there and some of our good friends. When we returned to South Carolina, we had a party in the park on her actual birthday. It happens that Maddie's birthday was near to two of the other kids on the street so I included them in the festivities. Of course, Madeleine was given gifts galore and a whole boatload of money for college and her piggy bank! Thanks so much to everyone that attended in body and spirit.

Maddies Houston Birthday Party:

Maddies South Carolina Party on Her Birthday: (We included some of our friends with birthdays too)
Ethan Sophie

And finally, as if all the cupcakes weren't enough, Daddy took us out for dinner and ice cream! When Madeleine was left to choose what she wanted from the selection at Coldstone Creamery, she went for the Ghiradelli chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.

Thankfully we will be moving away from Charleston soon. In the last week we have encountered tornadoes, snakes, spiders and alligators. Sounds just like heaven, doesn't it? We had some really bad weather over the weekend that spawned several tornadoes and thankfully one passed through a trailer park near us. The reason I say thankfully is because we got to see some of the occupants on the news describing what happened. If you've ever heard of Jeff Foxworthy, he does a wonderful rendition of southerners in trailer parks. Just yesterday Matthew and I were taking Madeleine out to dinner and we passed two snakes lying on the road just a few hundred feet from our house. I surely did run them over and vow that Maddie and I would walk a different route on our afternoon outings. The spider thing, I'm sure I've written about before, but because of the warm weather rolling back in the black widows are back. I've sprayed for this month and killed what I can, but it seems they are everywhere! The next outdoor terror is the alligators. There are a couple of alligators that stay in a pond near the house (no, they aren't fenced in). There is one alligator that does live in a fenced area here on base. Apparently, Charlie was not being very people friendly or minding to his own business so he is in his very own enclosure. I don't know why everyone was so quick to tell us how we'd love Charleston, because we are finding it hard to find ANY redeeming qualities.

I will now get down from my soap box and let you peek into our lives through pictures.

We enjoyed a family day on the beach with some friends. Madeleine and Alexandra enjoyed girl talk over sliced apples and stacking toys.

The easter bunny was good to us and we enjoyed a long weekend. We took Madeleine to BrookGreen Gardens to have some pictures in her Easter attire. We were so close to Myrtle Beach that we decided to drive in and have dinner and a stroll on the boardwalk. It was a wonderful day of family fun and some beautiful flowers too!

Easter Morning:

I'll post some more pics of the hunting of easter eggs later this week!

Hugs and Kisses

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T09:47:00.001-08:00

So sorry this post took so long to get out. We have been so busy. We're all in school now and Matthew is studying more than there are hours in the day. I've been trying to keep everything together with school for Maddie and I, keeping the house in some kind of order, making sure everyone has something to eat daily, and making sure we are clothed in clean clothes. It's ALOT to do all by myself. AND did I mention I'm hosting book club in two weeks and running a 5k on Saturday??? So here it is, the update you've all been anticipating......

Madeleine had her first REAL haircut at a salon out in town. She loved every minute of it. As many of you know, I'm not crazy about it, but I like Maddie to have her food groups and extras are just that. When we got her haircut they offer suckers to keep the kids busy. Do you know that my child of 21 months has never even experienced a sucker-EVER. Needless to say, she was in salon heaven.

We are feeling a lot more comfortable in our new home now. We hosted a party on Christmas Eve for our neighbors and new friends that turned into being the hit of the block. Madeleine enjoyed showing off her playroom and new storytime movie projector. As you can see, Maddie's favorite part of the season was sneaking into the cookies.

This year was so much fun! Madeleine loved opening her gifts and helping us to open ours. Santa brought Maddie a car and he just happened to save enough room on his sleigh to bring Granny. Granny stayed for a nice visit and spoil us a little.

THE SHOES!!

Maddie's giving some love to her fave ornament

"MOMMY you kiss the doggie too!"

Madeleine is doing very well with her potty training and has been telling us " I poo-poo" to gain admittance into the bathroom. She is funny in that she says poo-poo for both number 1 and number 2. She also has learned that saying "I poo-poo" puts off going to bed atleast five or so minutes.

I know the saying goes "big girls don't cry", but such is not true. Madeleine went to school for the first time today. She was very big and went about meeting new the kids in her class and playing with toys, barely pausing as I kissed her goodbye. It was me, the big girl, that cried the night before and teared up as I closed the door to her classroom. The teachers said she did wonderfully and even pottied at school. It does sound quite ridiculous that I was so upset by the fact she stays at school for a mere 3 hours a day. I have included some pics of my little cupcake as she brushed her teeth before school.

I took some random pics of Maddie in the park behind our house and getting ready to go out for the day. You'll notice the chapstick application is a must. She absolutley insists on her lip gloss before exiting the house or car. I think she takes after me too much sometimes.

1,2,3 JUMP! CHEESE!

These were taken in the afternoon I was teaching Madeleine some of my domestic diva skills. We made Rice Krispies Treats. We had tons of fun making a mess with marshmellows and Krispies everywhere!

The new year promises to be full and terribly busy. I am excited about returning to school in just a week now that Madeleine seems to be getting settled into her new schedule. We send big hugs and kisses and wishes for a blessed year ahead.

We've Moved!!!

2007-11-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

We actually made it to South Carolina. It was quite a drive to get here, but we did it (in 1 day)! Matthew, Madeleine, Jolie, and I are settling in nicely. We are living in North Charleston on the Weapons Station. It's nice to be back on a base to be able to shop at the commissary and have everything so close. There is a park in the back yard that Madeleine loves to play at everyday. We got pretty lucky and got a four bedroom one story house with a screened porch and fenced backyard. There is plenty of room for all of us now. Madeleine even has her own playroom with dress-up corner. Here are some pictures of the house:

Living Room Dining Room Maddie's Room Maddie's Playroom

Maddie's Playroom Maddie's Bath
Master Bedroom

I know there aren't really too many pictures on the walls, but we're trying to find new one's we like. You get the idea of the house though!

We celebrated Thanksgiving just the four of us. Even Jolie was invited to the table for dinner. It wasn't as great as being at Nanny's gathered around the family with all the fun that goes along with it, but we are lucky to have been together. Now that we are back on a base, I'm reminded that every holiday Matthew is home is a treasured one.

I did spend my second Black Friday as a mom outside Toys R Us at 4am to purchase Madeleine a remote controlled Jeep that she drug around the store the week prior. Of course, I didn't get one due to the fact that there was already about 150 people in line ahead of me. I truly found this to be such nonsense and I have vowed to never do such a ridiculous thing again.

In other news, we are into the full potty training mode and all is going well. I know that you may recall the toilet she received last year for Christmas, well now we are serious. I didn't realize that these days most people wait until the child is already 2 to potty train. I thought the training should be done by the age of 2. In looking at part time preschools for Madeleine to attend, I had to ask if there was even potties in the room because everyplace we visited talked about us bringing plenty of diapers for her. They gave me such looks when I asked and most told me that they don't really start to encourage that until they are 2 and don't really stress it until 2 1/2!!!

So it's true, as I said above, I'm breaking away from full time mommy to send Madeleine to school in the mornings. I have decided to return to college. We are all really excited and I can't wait to see how Madeleine will thrive with more friends her own age. I'll keep you all posted on how we both handle the change.

We are meeting our neighbors and already have a standing playdate after nap with the girls across the street. We are hosting a gathering on Christmas Eve for the few neighbors we have to get everyone together and visit. We are planning on having about 5 families and set up the porch for the kids to decorate cookies for Santa. It should be a nice way to spend the holiday.

We have an appointment to finally have our family pics done this week so I'll be mailing out Christmas cards with an updated family photo to everyone. I have finally finished all the shopping and wrapped every gift. It is a nice sense of accomplishment to be done so soon.

I'll update again after Madeleine has her meeting with Santa. I hope you all have a wonderful and most blessed holiday season! We are sending our love and prayers of a safe and joyous new year!

I did promise a picture of Maddie from Halloween, so here she is!

Another month BUZZES by....

2007-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! The time has flown by. I can't believe that we are packing up to leave already. It hardly seems as though we've been here for three years. We are so excited and are ready to meet the challenge of settling into a new place. We've heard wonderful things about Charleston from everyone we meet. Going back to live on a base is a welcome thing for us, seeing as how we've braved Galveston for three years. It will be nice to have a yard Madeleine can safely play in, go for walks without worry of being accosted, and sleep peacefully since we won't fear our home or vehicles being burglarized.

Yes, it will be bittersweet. I know that Mom and Grandmother are crying just reading this, so take heart and know we will miss the family and hope you visit soon! There will be lots we can explore in our new hometown.

Madeleine seems to know that the move is upon us, too. She is quite crabby and acting out at times. It could also be a case of terrible twos. We have explained to her about the move and how we'll take all of our things and the dog, but we'll have to talk to Granny on the computer with the web camera instead of at our weekly lunches. We think Madeleine is very bright and is taking in the whole conversation until she points at her dolls and says "Dora, Dora". We then assure her that Dora will make the move too and all is right in her world again.

In other news, Matthew ran his first 10K for Breast Cancer Awareness. He did a wonderful job and we are really proud of him. Madeleine had so much fun clapping for all the runners as they came across the finish line. Of course, her favorite thing was listening to Mommy's IPod.

As fall comes to the island, we've enjoyed our time outside. We've had some wonderful afternoons in the park. Madeleine also visited her first pumpkin patch, where she was very sure they were all balls, not pumpkins. We took some random pics at the patch, because Madeleine was afraid of the scarecrows at the picture spot there.

We decided to celebrate Halloween with our little princess who stunned the neighborhood by beeeeing the cutest Bumble Bee the Woodlands has ever seen. She walked holding Mommy and Daddy's hands to a few select friends and so graciously blew kisses for each treat she attained.
It was as all the holidays have been since her birth, magical. She was just precious in her costume and the manner in which she carried herself was so mature. ---I'll have to post pics in her costume later. Mom has all the good ones on her camera.

I truly hope that this post finds all our friends and family in good health and spirits as the holidays approach. I will post again after the move and keep in touch as we prepare to spend our first holidays without our families and celebrate just Matthew, Madeleine, Jolie (the dog), and myself.

Hugs!

New Adventures in Parenting

2007-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Becoming a parent is one thing, but becoming the parent of a toddler is a whole new thing... I have beamed with pride at all of Madeleine's accomplishments. She rolled over so well, crawled so cute, walked so steadily, chattered up a storm. Now she has learned some things that leave me not so much beaming but with clinched teeth as I watch her climb up the mountains of furniture and toys that I'm sure will lead to a busted lip. As she leaps from the furniture, barely missing the corner of the wooden tray on the ottoman or brushes passed the edge of the breakfast table that is just tall enough to put an eye out as she rounds the room for the hundredth time chasing our poor dog. Yes, there are still times that I beam at new frontiers she conquers, but mostly I'm just thankful to make another day without blood.

We have spent the month enjoying time together as a family. Madeleine has learned to put on makeup, or so she thinks. I always allowed Maddie to play with my makeup bag while I fixed up my face, that was until now....You can see from the pictures that Madeleine has figured out how to not pretend to, but actually open the eyeshadow and concealer. She took care to apply the makeup with the correct brushes and sponges atleast. She has become quite the diva. She takes care to always bring along a purse and ask for chapstick before getting out of the car. I don't know where she gets these ideas?!?!

Matthew and I have been wanting to take a family vacation with just the three of us. We decided that we should take Madeleine to San Antonio to visit Shamu. We met some friends there and took the kids to SeaWorld together. Madeleine absolutely LOVED SeaWorld. She was on her feet during all the shows, clapping, singing and dancing. She would even put her baby on her head and push her around like the trainers ride on the noses of the dolphins and whales. It was truly a delight to see her have so much fun! I must say that I had quite a wonderful time there too. I got to feed and pet some dolphins. The babies had fallen asleep in their strollers and Matthew got me several containers of fish to feed the dolphins. It was truly the highlight of my month!

While in San Antonio, we stayed at the Hyatt on the Riverwalk. The hotel was in a great location to explore the downtown area. I will hand out a warning to any of you who think a trip to the Riverwalk is in your future...The Riverwalk is not such a toddler/ baby friendly place. The walkways along the river are VERY narrow and with many stairs on bumby pathways it is not in the least "stroller friendly". Don't think just because you're in San Antonio on the famous Riverwalk that you will find any quality Mexican food. We were absolutely disappointed in the food we tried there and when we expressed our dissatisfaction the waiter told us that is was mainly for the tourist. Being from Texas though, we expected better. We did enjoy some great Bar-B-Que on the second night a the County Line on the Riverwalk. We also enjoyed a great meal in our hotel room for breakfast. The pictures will show how Maddie loved the cream cheese that came with Matthew's bagel more than the fruit plate we ordered for her.

We finished our trip to San Antonio with a visit to the Alamo. After having 12 years of Texas History I felt the need to actually see one of the most historical places in our history as a Texan. I will not lie and tell you that it was wonderfully inspiring or that it even had a sentimental touch. I don't know quite what I expected, but what I got was just a few buildings that had been stripped of anything from the period and turned into gift shops. Why is it so difficult for historical societies to leave things as they found them and only restore, not remodel places with significant history. It really puzzles me how in America we cannot sustain the history in the archecture of a building longer than 170 years. Appearantly some parts of the Alamo mission where torn down to make the city streets wider. This would be absolutely unheard of in Europe where they have protected structures and even ruins for hundreds of years. Well, that will conclude that tangent and I will step off my soapbox now.

We only have a month left until the big move and time seems to be flying by us. I will update again next month and let everyone know how Madeleine did with Halloween.

Love and Hugs!

And we are an Officer's family now....

2007-08-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

We have had a whirlwind month! The start of August brought all the Millers and their families to Galveston for a long awaited family vacation. The Millers have been known to do some crazy things such as start controlled fires, have minor explosions and go for days on little to no sleep. Just as it sounds, we felt we needed a vacation after our vacation. The house we rented was gorgeous, the food we ate was delicious and the company we kept was hilarious!

Some pics from the family vacation in Galveston:

We followed up hosting the Miller's in Galveston with hosting Matthew's commissioning and graduation gatherings. We had a wonderful time at Moody Mansion for the commissioning. Matthew was promoted to officer surrounded by our family and closest friends. Maddie was just as precious as she could be in her sailor outfit to match Daddy. The day after commissioning, Matthew graduated from Texas A&M Galveston with a Bachelor's Degree in Maritime Administration. He graduated with the top GPA in his class and with Magna Cum Laude. I'm so proud to pass on the pics from these two events.

Only a couple of days after the graduation and commissioning ceremonies we were jet setting to Colorado for a family vacation with Matthew's family. For those of you that don't have children or have never flown with children I can't tell you the evils of traveling with a young child. A two hour flight can go on for eternity when you have a fiesty toddler to deal with. I will give some words of advice....DO NOT: bring a big car seat on the plane. We thought we were being great parents by making sure we had Maddie's car seat and having her locked in. All was fine until the people in the row in front of us laid their seat back. Maddie completely freaked out because the persons seat was in her face since we had her so dutifully locked into her large Britax car seat. I mean seriously though, the man in front was already sitting in bulkhead and had plenty of room, why the heck lay the seat ALL the way back?! DO NOT: count on the little angel going to sleep, eating, drinking, playing or watching a movie. I don't know whose child we brought on the plane, but I know it was not ours. As soon as the cabin door closed our usually passive, playful Madeleine started going nuts! After finally arriving in Denver we had a 45 minute wait at the rental car place, and then a two hour drive. By the time we finally arrived Maddie was tired, but Matthew and I were EXHAUSTED! The week was rainy and chilly and we got to finish off the week with a two hour drive to the airport where Maddie vomitted in the middle of the mountains everywhere in her car seat, hair, clothes, blanket, and back seat. I have included a few pics from this vacation at the continental divide and some back road trail with a beautiful waterfall.

Our summer comes to a close, finally....It's been so busy the last month and we only have a couple of months for down time before we make the move to South Carolina. I will keep you all posted up to the move!

Hugs and Kisses!

Summer's in Full Swing

2007-07-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry no updates for over a month!!! It's been really busy around here. As most of you know, Matthew's graduation and commissioning is coming up quickly. He has been busy keeping his grades up and holding down the fort while I run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I have been busy playing event planner for Matthew's festivities, my cousins wedding, and the ever popular Madeleine.

Yes, we've been busy and Madeleine seems to just roll right along with us. She has managed to fill her days with playgroup on Tuesday, library storytime on Wednesday, and usually a playdate on Fridays.

One of our playdates with our friend Tommy, who visited from Colorado:

This picture is so sweet, but there is a story with it...Tommy had just shoved Maddie, so this is him giving her a "nice touch" TOO CUTE!

Our family will be vacationing to Colorado following Matthew's graduation and we're hoping that our dearest toddler can behave well enough on the flight that we don't get kicked off- pray for us!

We are including some pictures we've taken over the past month and a half. You'll see how much Madeleine is growing and at times, how tired we look.

It's a rule to wear "ears" during storytime in Maddie's room:

She can often be found in fairy wings or a tutu with her glitter shoes. She just comes out of her room with the items and whines until we dress her in whatever fantasy outfit she wants that day:

It's been pretty hot, but sometimes we make a park:

We have a child who LOVES lima beans. She will eat an entire can, if we'd let her!

Another sweet dress up picture....Granny brought her back this from DisneyWorld. The gloves were too big, but Madeleine loved them. We thought it was just too hysterical.

We hope this month's blog finds everyone doing well. We will update again following our Miller family vacation in a couple of weeks!!!

Hugs and Kisses!

The Princess Reigns

2007-05-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

So much to share with everyone these days! Maddie has been walking since about three weeks after her birthday, so she's got that down pretty well now. Here she is walking around at the Farmer's exhibit at the children's museum in Houston.

These days she seems to be growing like a weed. Her legs are longer, teeth keep popping into that mouth like popcorn, and her hair is even long enough for pigtails!!!

She has begun to use her words now and seems to come out with something cute everyday. She has added the word "baby" along with several animal sounds and the color red to her vocabulary. She has even begun to sing to her baby doll (which she has 4 of). During nap time I usually sing "Rock-A-By-Baby" and now Maddie has begun to sing her own version to her baby and it's something like "By Babeeeeeee", it really is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

For those of you that see Madeleine regularly, you know she usually has something new that she comes up with as a theme for the week. For example, one week she would open her mouth and make an "OOOOHHHHH" face at almost anything, another week she would give a big smile and scrunch her nose while closing her eyes at everything. Well, we now have moved on to the obsession with the BUTTON, the BELLYBUTTON! She will at every opportunity pull up her shirt or dress and jam her index finger into hers and then procede to pull up your shirt and jam her finger into yours as well. What makes it even cuter is that she knows what it is. When we ask to see her button, she gets right to it.

She has also taken to riding her school bus. We find that she usually resembles a drunken bus driver though, because rather than turn around she would prefer to ram the furniture- hoping I guess that it will get out of her way (after all she is the boss around here).

Maddie is still interested in her potty and doing well when we get her to the potty on a regular basis. Parenthood has really gotten to be quite comical and we enjoy having our little loony tune to entertain us, although we would like to be able to mute her or turn her off at least sometime.

We hope everyone is doing well and enjoys the latest blog update and pics! We love you and will keep everyone in the loop as best we can. It is hard to find time to just sit and write now that Maddie is on the move and her little paws are into EVERYTHING!

HUGS & KISSES

Always a new adventure!

2007-04-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

It's always something when you have a toddler.... Madeleine was given a toilet for Christmas. It's not just any toilet, oh no, its some super duper happy toddler toilet. It sings, it lights up, it cheers. Madeleine has loved the silly thing since we got it. We decided a few weeks ago to begin sitting her on the toilet when she woke up each morning. Every morning like clockwork, the child goes to the potty and actually GOES! She has done this from day one. Last week we heard her having the urge to go #2 , so we took her to the potty just to see what would happen and the child went without a thought in the potty. Just this morning after waking up and going to the potty, I needed to go to the restroom myself. As always, I took Maddie into the restroom and sat her on the floor with her bathtub basket of toys. As I was finished, Maddie went over to her potty and lifted the lid. I asked if she needed to potty and I took her diaper off and sat her. She immediately did her business and proceeded to clap for herself as her potty yelled " You did it! Now get the toilet paper" and began to sing the toilet paper song. I think the child is a prodigy now solely for the fact she is potty training herself before she can walk or talk!

She looks so darn cute reading her magazine while on the toilet I had to include a few pics.

The next adventure we undertook this past week was taking pictures in the wildflowers. There is a story of my grandparents trying to get some pictures of me in the wildflowers when I was a small child. I threw a huge fit and cried and hated every minute of it. As karma goes, my child decided she hated wildflowers and would hang her head everytime I'd sit her on the blanket to get a few pictures. Some of the pictures did, however, come out pretty darn cute and we'd thought we'd share them.

So in conclusion, we ask that all of you pray for us and especially for me and my sanity as my
baby turns into a toddler with her own thoughts and opinions on life.

So much for "no gifts, please"!

2007-03-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Madeleine's birthday was perfect, (just as any other event I plan goes). All of our family and friends were there to celebrate with us. It just doesn't seem possible that a year has already passed. We are so blessed to have been surrounded by so many people to share Maddie's big day with! I would also like to state and once again thank all the guests for wearing pink! It was so fun to see everyone- even Paw Paw and Uncle Joe!

Maddie with Grandma & Grandpa

Maddie with Granny & Pop Seab

Great Grandmother & PawPaw with the birthday girl!

Madeleine enjoyed seeing that everyone was there for her - she thinks everyplace we go people are only there for her anyway, so it was nice. Maddie was slighty timid about the cake thing at first, but after just one taste, she was sold. I know it will be hard for some of you to believe since each day I make sure she has her veggie, fruit and milk servings right on, but I did let her eat her entire cake! AND as for the title of this little blurb on Maddie's life, she received more gifts than the marines get for their toys for tots drive! We had in mind that we would have people just donate to her college fund instead of giving gifts, but our guests had other plans. Not only did everyone contribute to the college fund, but they also gave her money!

Chillin' with Aunt Mickey & Adam

We videoed most of the day, so I only have a few pictures to share for now, but my mom has some more I will add later. I just had to get this silly thing up and going for all those who weren't able to be at her party.

Maddie taking after her mom with the cleaning up and keepin' it tidy

Maddie is doing well these days. She has stayed pretty petite for her age. As of her last checkup this week, she is 20 lbs and 29.5 in. She has started to walk some around the house. She takes about 5 to 10 steps and then goes back to the sure-thing and crawls. She has really started to love the dogs now and play with them. She says a few words like dog, bird, this or as she says "dis" with her little crooked finger pointing at things. Yes, it's sad, but we have moved from the baby stage to the child stage now. We have a little person with her own ideas, agenda, and attitude. It has been a great ride so far and we can wait to see what her little life has in store for the future, yes we are so blessed!

Back by Popular Demand

2007-02-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

I know it's been about FOREVER since the last post, but life is busy. Rarely is there time these days to stop and type, upload pics and all while watching a most active child. Now that I've waited so long there is much to update.

We started out the month celebrating Great Grandmother Peggy's birthday. We had all four generations in town for the birthday dinner at Gaido's.

Maddie spent time this month with Daddy's family, too! Grandpa Ron was trying out for American Idol with Maddie's toys. Grandma Rita read to Maddie and showed her pictures of Aunt Mickey and Daddy when they were little people. Maddie also had big fun at Grandma and Grandpa's with the Mickey toy.

We had big fun at the beach before the cold rolled in.

Our little princess has really learned how to work the room with this new pouty lip she has.

We are still enjoying the bubble bath time!

Maddie was as sweet as could be in her strawberry sweater!

We had lots of visitors to the house this month, too! Aunt Mickey came to visit and brought Riley, the dog. Then my friend Paige visited with her twin boys. It was fun to see how Maddie reacted and played with the boys.

During a trip to the Woodlands, Maddie went to work with Mommy at Granny's office. She had no problem taking the entire office apart in under 5 minutes.

Maddie's newest adventure was to the Mardi Gras parade here on the island. It was lots of fun for all of us. Maddie had so very much fun that she asleep before we could finish the 6 block walk back to our house!

Maddie is taking bottles now and is almost completely weaned to whole milk and I have found freedom I haven't known in a whole year. I can't tell you how wonderful a whole shopping trip without baby can be. I actually tried on clothes, ate a meal and walked around for hours without worry of nursing, changing diapers, catching toys being thrown from the stroller or cheerios being flung around stores! Don't get me wrong, she is wonderful and I do love every bit of her. There is something wonderful to be said though about a whole day where Daddy and Maddie bonded.

We are excited about Maddie's birthday coming next month. Who would have guessed a whole year would go so quickly? Maddie is standing and cruising the furniture with a few steps here and there. Believe me though we are NOT trying to get her up and running....It's hard enough to keep up with her when she's scootin' on her knees.

We send our love to everyone and hope all is well. I'll try to get another update up and out before her birthday.

Hugs & Kisses!

2007-01-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all! This year promises to be full of love and joy as we watch Maddie grow. It's hard to believe we are already planning Maddie's first birthday. It has been such a joy to watch her grow and learn new things. Our New Year celebration was spent in Louisiana at Nanny Trudi's house. Madeleine got to play with her newest cousin, Blake and teach him all kinds of things. The week was so much fun for all of us. Maddie learned to read the "trash magazines" Nanny Trudi likes to keep- you can see in one picture how much she enjoyed it. On New Year's Eve, we spent the evening at Uncle Stacy's house and enjoyed gumbo and fireworks. She was too cute dressed in her bear suit to be outside to watch fireworks that Daddy set off. Maddie was not at all afraid of the loud sounds of the fireworks, just so intrigued at the beautiful lights in the sky. We hope everyone has a wonderful new year with many blessings. We'll keep in touch and keep you updated as Maddie's birthday draws near!

A Most Magical Time of Year

2007-01-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas was wonderful this year. As I told Matthew, it was by far the best Christmas I've ever had. There is just something so special about Christmas through a child's eyes. We were blessed this year to spend the holdays with ALL of our family. There was much traveling involved, but Maddie was a trooper. We celebrated Christmas for four straight days. Maddie learned to open gifts and smiled so sweetly at each new one. Of course, we did tell Maddie the story of baby Jesus and what Christmas really is all about. I'm sure she understood every word- or atleast some of it! We hope that your Christmas was as magical and wonderful as ours.

So Much to be Thankful

2006-12-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving should be a nice time to reflect with family over the past year's wonders and a time to be thankful....Not too many have such a quiet reflection. The holidays are so full of hustle and bustle and not too many people take the time to be reflective of the season's purpose. I won't tell you that we took a quiet trip with family and all was so picturesque. I will tell you that as our family's go, it was not a quiet reflective holiday.
We began our Thanksgiving trip by visiting Granny for a couple of days. Those days were full of helping Granny decorate, shop and wrap gifts.
Then Daddy joined us and we took a much too long car ride to Austin. As most of you know, Maddie is not so fond of a car ride, so three hours in traffic was less than quiet. After arriving in Austin we were able to settle in for our visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Mickey. We were very thankful to have been set up in a room at the Four Seasons where Maddie was just as pampered as we were. Our Thanksgiving dinner included cousins of Matthew and their children. We enjoyed cheering for Daddy's team on Friday (and in case you hadn't heard, aTm did actually win)! After the game, it was just beautiful weather and we decided to take Maddie to the Botanical Gardens. Aunt Mickey came along and it was a wonderful afternoon.
We finished our holiday weekend by driving the three and a half hours home. Thankfully Maddie was quite tired and slept most of the trip.
I guess at the end of the day, all the traveling is worth it. It is nice to be near family for the holidays, especially because there will be plenty of holidays we won't make it back for.
Of all the Thanksgiving holidays I've spent so far, this was the most enjoyable by far simply because we have our Madeleine and she seems to make all the hustle and bustle stop when she smiles.
We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and got to do some reflecting on your year and what you are truly thankful for.

Time flies- when you're havin' fun!

2006-11-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Now that Madeleine is 8 months, she seems to have taken to becoming quite the busy body. Madeleine is getting up and around these days. Last week she started to really crawl around and the next day she was pulling up on EVERYTHING. It seems like no matter how many things I pad or lock up, I still find Maddie into something. I find myself holding my breath every time she pulls up, as I feel sure this will be the time she busts a mouth or head open when she falls. We have been able to keep it safe so far, but boy does she keep us on our toes.

Maddie has three teeth now and is currently cutting two more. We are having fun learning new things everyday. She takes a music class on Thursdays and we have a playgroup on Tuesdays. We have met lots of new friends here on the island.

We look forward to the holidays this year and feel as Thanksgiving approaches, that we have so many things to be thankful for. We are mostly thankful that God has blessed us with such a wonderful child and such wonderful friends and relatives to share her with.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll be back to update you on Maddies first Turkey Day!

Fall is here...Kind of

2006-11-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

Madeleine will be 8 months old this weekend and we are trying to keep up with her. She has taken to "inching" and rolling everywhere. She really has become quite a determined little girl. I wanted to post some of the latest pics we've taken of her. We decided to skip the whole Halloween deal, mostly because it's not exactly safe to go wandering after dark here in Galveston. We did, however, take a picture of her in pumpkin attire to commemorate her 1st Halloween. Maddie and I have joined a mom and me group and we went on our first outing. The animal pictures are from the Bayou Wildlife Park where we met Jethro. Jethro is a rather unique character as he is a Zonkey, yes I said Zonkey. Apparently his mother was a Zebra and his father a donkey. We had a wonderful time as can be seen by Maddie's smile as we rode the tram around the park. We are excited about the upcoming holidays. We have even let Maddie begin to tear magazines to practice for opening presents. We hope that these words and pictures find all of you well and happy.