Good friends...

Happy Birthday to a great friend today! We miss you both so much around here. I was thinking of our trip we took together today and how this hike we took was only a short hike...hah...I was told that it was just around the corner...many many times. It was the best part of our trip and I would do it again. I hope to someday and maybe now with our daughter.



(above)This picture is part of the Matterhorn moutain in Zermatt, Switzerland. (below) The hike up...and up...




The start of our 5 hour hike up!

playdough fun

I now know why she was having difficulty sleeping...we now have a touch of a cold around here. I take back I said before about her not sleeping...i should know by now that there is ALWAYS a reason for her night awakenings. First it was Madison and now I have it. Hopefully Dave will not get it this time...he has already started taking the Zicam. We did manage to have fun today reguardless of our runny noses and allover aches. We made homemade playdough (flour and water). Here is a picture of our day.

lessons learned

We are all getting back into the routine of things which feels good. Madison was doing well in her new bed until I started telling people that...then she has started to get up every 2 to 3 hours. It feels like when she was a baby and we didn't sleep. I have learned my lesson...not jinks myself!

I also learned that I can get really crabby if I don't get my sleep. I feel sorry for my husband as he tends to get the brunt of it. Oh how I need to work on this and get more sleep!
Maybe this will be one of my new years resolutions...to be kinder to my husband...

Some of my favorite photos lately...

I couldn't pass up a photo of my two favorite people...
Enjoying the outdoors...
We are enjoying one of the new books she got for Christmas this year! Thanks Juli
Madison is trying to kiss Sydney.

Christmas 2006

The night before Dave setting up the santa gift!

Little people Santa...
She got to unwrap one gift the day before.

Tickle me Elmo! It rolls around on the ground and stands up...

It has been a wonderful morning around here. Madison awoke bright an early. We tried to postpone the whole thing just a little bit by watching cartoons in bed. It didn't last long when I started to get excited and wanted to watch her unwrap presents. She unwrapped one gift and wouldn't unwrap anything else as she wanted to play with the new toy. It took lots of coaxing to get her to unwrap more gifts. I know that it won't be like this next year. We enjoyed our morning relaxing and playing with all our toys. Here are just a few pictures...

where did the time go?

Madison and her new bed.... only 17 months old!!!
Mommy trying so hard to convince her stay little and keep the railings on her crib. ( As you can see I really am not thrilled about this whole thing) Really...What happened to my little girl?
Daddy taking off the crib rail.
Discovering the new bed...

It has been an emotional journey around here lately. We no longer have a need for a crib or a highchair. Thats right.... We went from putting Madison in daycare during church (which seemed like the hardest thing for me since no one has watched Madison except family and that is very rare) to her refusing her highchair and wanting to sit at the table to her climbing out of her crib (twice) and climbing down the stairs! To top this all off we can no longer go out in public as she does not understand the word quiet yet. She has also realized that crayons can be used on walls. She also has started to show us that she is independent. (I think tantrums is the word) This was all very hard for me to take. It has been an exciting year for us. It was only 1 year ago that she let me rock her. Now she doesn't even want to sit on my lap long enough to read a book. Boy do I miss that. (Since we often read books 3 times a day) When people said to me that time goes by fast...I really didn't think much about it as the first year seemed slow but my they are so right. It sure has been a great year and even with these new changes I look forward to each and every day with her. Thank you Madison for keeping me on my toes...

her favorite doll right now...

This doll is a new favorite. It goes everywhere. Almost the bathtub too! I often find her sleeping on it during her naps.

go go go

Madison (apx. 1 month old) and my mom (29 years!)


Just when I think she is slowing down...she starts to speed up. She is so very active lately. I know now how my mom stayed so skinny. She never took time for herself and was on the go all the time. Did I say all the time...yes...all the time. I don't know how she did it with 8 kids!!!
Thank you mom for all that you have ever done for me. You are truly an inspiration. I hope Madison will have a mom close to the mom you are to me. Thank you!
I love you.

my little helper

Madison helped me make some pizza crust tonight. As you can see she really enjoyed herself.
Covered all in flour...working hard...
I took a break after supper and went for a walk only to come home to a little girl hiding from me in her baby crib.

letting go..little by little...

It has been rough on me lately. I have to start letting go a little more. Sunday we put Madison in the church playgroup. It all happened to fast. Dave was holding her and we checked her in and with that she was in the playgroup and we were finding seats for church. Yuck! We had decided to start looking into it as she is not able to sit still during the whole service. We had just mentioned it and thought we would do this slow, like start out with half the service. We thought that it would be easier to listen to the sermon, however for me the whole time I was worried about her and how she would get along. She did grea1! She loved it! It was me who worried that she would be crying or get hurt. You name it...it went through my head.
Maybe next time I will be able to sit and listen with my husband. It felt good to have some time with just him. Then the next day she decided that she didn't want to sit in her highchair anymore. AGHH!! I don't know if I can let her grow up so fast...... She is starting to want to be so independent. It's great and sad all at once.

christmas photos..

We tried taking a christmas photo and we think after all the many pictures we took we might have one to send out.... here are the not so good ones...

Need I say more...

I came across these photos and thought that we all need a good laugh every now and then. I wish I could go to this place today! Don't you? It was so nice and relaxing. Can't wait until we get together next summer!

baby dolls

We found her covered in her baby dolls last night while she was sleeping. It was the cutest thing.

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saturday mornings...

Saturday morning cartoons are so much fun! We love sitting down oh so early in the morning and watching cartoons. It takes me back when I was little and looked forward to watching them. We enjoyed them and then ventured out to busy shops for some christmas shopping!

Oh so cute...

Our little girl is definately a girly girl. She was so fun watching play this morning.

Sisters

The bond of sisters

Stands the test of time.

I'm so blessed

That you are mine.

-Dana Roberts Clark

Feeling better...

We are starting to feel better around here and now are getting back to getting ready for christmas. Here is a picture of our tree...as you can see only the top half has ribbons, bows, and ornaments. :)

We are also enjoying making cookies together. She now trys to pull the chair over to the kitchen counter everyday in hopes she can help...and of course she always can. Today we are making peanut butter blossoms...She really likes the chocolate. She definately has the word more down.

This is her really enjoying the chocolate....A girl after her mom's own heart! We love our chocolate!

Zicam did not help.....he's now sick....

...

We are still feeling pretty rough around here. Dave swears by Zicam as he is not as bad as I am. Going to bed. good night...