thanks aunt carol!!!!!

Maddie came home from school yesterday to a box at the door especially for her!!! We opened it up and it was a great gift from Aunt Carol - a plate and special utensils just for her. They fit in her little hand just perfect and the heads of the utensils are even bendable! So cool. She loves it as you can tell from the pictures above. Thanks Aunt Carol! How thoughtful!!!

for the love of pasta

Maddie loves all things pasta... and all things red for that matter. She'll devour pasta, lasagna, even chili! You'll also notice she's mastering utensils these days. So much so that she insisted she eat her entire bowl of oatmeal BY HERSELF with a spoon this morning. It look awhile ... but she did it! She's getting so big so fast!

Ive been taking all the pictures and videos from this month off my camera - so more pictures and posts to come!

uh oh

This is what happens when Aunt Laura comes around...

happy birthday grandad!

We spent last weekend in Apex celebrating Grandads 70th birthday with family and friends! The party was so nice - it went off without a hitch - and we had a great time catching up with family and Apex friends. We got to introduce Maddie to lots of Apex golfers who last saw me when I was VERY pregnant at the golf tournament in Boone a few summers ago.

Handsome Grandad

Standing room only for cake

Daddy, Maddie and Hamilton

So Maddie was very... social at the party. She was busy and did not stop moving the entire time! We weren't quite sure how she would react to having so many people in the house but she did great. She almost immediately wanted to get down and walk and she loved walking around through the sea of legs looking for Grammie or Aunt Susan or Grandad. I loved watching her set her eyes on Grammie then walk straight to her and put her arms up to get picked up. Im so glad Maddie knows her Grammie and Grandad. Its hard living far away from family. Here's a picture I caught getting some Grammie-time in at the party. I overheard multiple women at the party say "Awww...." when they saw how happy Maddie was to be in her Grammie's arms.

Maddie and Grammie

Maddie and Aunt Susan... so cute.

THis picture below is not flattering... but I had to show you what Maddie was doing all night. G&G's house has a sunken den with two small steps which Maddie LOVES to go up and down. She loves the stairs but needs some one hand to go down. So... she gets to the edge and puts her hands up to anyone around to help her. Throughout the night multiple people came to her aid. This is Billy Yates below helping her down... I saw him help her at least 2-3 times.

When Grammie started dismantling one of the cakes to cut, she gave Maddie one of the "flowers" that was part of the decoration. Maddie then went around to 5-10 people asking them to "smell" the flower. They ALL humored her... so cute, so funny.

And last but not least... the birthday boy and his cake (he actually shared his cake with Mr Lawrence who had a birthday the day before). Here they are blowing out the candles. No one had the heart to eat the picture... but the cake was VERY YUMMY.

Happy Birthday Grandad!

All in all we had a fabulous time in Apex. Now we're back to the grind here at home. Its FREEZING here in Atlanta and we're doing our best to stay warm!

daddies are funny

dancing chipmunks and timeless toys

Ive got some pictures to share of Maddie playing at our neighbor Reba's house. Ms Reba had a singing/dancing chipmunk that Maddie got a kick out of. Maddie would light up whenever the chipmunk sang and danced! Very cute.

Reba has some very cool, very old toys from when her grandkids (who are older than me) were young. Remember these old school Fisher Price toys? They're still just as much fun now as they were 35 years ago (yikes!).

The vintage toys are coming back! You can actually buy them new on amazon. Very cool. Maddie actually got the vintage pull phone for Christmas from her Aunt Sarah. Love it!

babies babies everwhere

At some point this week... Maddie became obsessed with her baby dolls. You all know she loves real babies, and right around when she turned one she started being interested in baby dolls... but now she absolutely loves them. She likes to carry them around, rocks them in her rocking chair, gives them her paci and milk from her sippy cup. It really will melt your heart. Jim and I got a kick out of her trying to juggle not one, but TWO babies around the house this weekend. Im not sure if she saw Ms Katie carrying around her two babies last weekend and just had to give it a try or what.

I think if she could have carried three, she would have. She just keeps getting cuter. She kills me.

So Maddie had her 15 month check up this week (just one month late)! She did great. She's STILL teeny. 20 lbs 14 oz.... which is 10-25% and 31 inches... around 50-75%. We JUST turned her carseat around in my car and Im feeling like we need to change it back to rear-facing. She BARELY meets the minimum criteria to move it forward and it just makes me nervous! The kid eats - she loves anything pasta, potatoes, bread, fruit and gulps down her milk every day. The Dr. literally said, "Well - you're no jolly-green-giant yourself." I had to laugh at that. Im okay with her being little... although it would be nice to get out of 12 month clothes at some point!

In terms of an update - she's talking a ton now. Here are a few of her words -

Mommy
Dada
Tuh-duh (Tucker)
Baby
Night-night
Duh (duck)
Uh-oh
Shoe
Bubbles
Wah (walk)
Nana
Nana (banana)
More
and her favorite... No!

She says "no" in a very certain, meaningful way. And she says it at the appropriate times. Like... bedtime?

She's doing so well in her new classroom. She can still be a little bit clingy in the mornings, but for the most part will either go right to the toys and start playing or to a teacher to get picked up. Every day we get a little report that says what and when she ate, when she got changed, etc. On Tuesday her sheet said she was "Loving" that day. The note beside it said, "Madelyn asked all of her friends for hugs when she got to school this morning." I dont know how she did that, or what it looked like exactly, but I would have done anything to see it!

PS: Thats my Cabbage Patch Kid that she is holding. Her name is Estelle.

11 adults + 11 kids =...

A kickin New Years Eve Party! Woo hoo!! There were lots and lots of kiddos at this party... all under 4. That meant that things were a little chaotic but there was a lot of fun, a lot of playing, some zone parenting defense (which I thought worked fabulous... if you're in the kitchen, you're in charge of the kids in the kitchen, if you're in the livingroom, you're in charge of the kids in there. Im telling you - use it at your next party. Its great), and even fireworks! No one made it til midnight but hey - those days might be over for us. Its okay- Ive never been big on New Years as it is so I was very happy to have a fun night with great friends.

Speaking of friends.... isnt this a beautiful group?

the Lopez Clan and the Howard Clan... missing Diego

There were lots of little ones and lots of toys and kiddo contraptions to play with, in, or on. Madelyn particularly liked revisiting her old bouncy chair (on loan to the Howards). She and Alexia were remembering the old days here.

Maddie and Alexia

Checking out the fireworks (look at Tylers face... he was a little happy)

Katie and the sweet twins

Grace and Rebecca... or Rebecca and Grace?

Around 9pm the PJs got put on and the party starting winding down. We... I mean... the KIDS were tired... it was cute to see all those babies in the footie pajamas.

Did I mention Maddie REALLY liked the bouncy seat? We couldnt keep her out of it.

We left the Howards shortly after this picture was taken. Maddie was wiped and fell asleep before we even turned off their street! We got home in time to watch the crazy people in Times Sq. who stood outside all night in 20 degree temps while we watched in the comfort and warmth of our little home.

New Years Day was very relaxed. We just hung out around the house. I actually went to a movie with my friend Steff (note: don't go see Marley & Me if you have a dog), Jim and Maddie napped, and we played. Maddie's been very interested in wearing our shoes lately. Its very cute - but it usually ends in some tumbling.

We played in our new playhouse. We went in and out, in and out. Maddie somehow coaxed Tucker in - so I had to take a picture of it. He hates us.

And to celebrate 2008 and welcome in 2009- we had our traditional New Years meal made by Chef Jimbo. The pork was very good, collards were pretty good... everything else... umm, I had a bite but doubled up on the pork and collards. Jim makes this meal every year and I eat it. I think it should have been brought up in our pre-marriage counseling personally - so that I knew what I was getting into - but whatever. I will survive. For those of you who don't know- pork=plenty, collards=money, hominy=health and black-eyed-peas=luck. So I'll have lots of money this year. I can handle that.

Happy New Year to all. We're excited to see what 2009 has in store for us. We know that with little Maddie in our lives it'll be an adventure no matter what!

christmas at the river

the big day...merry merry!

Hey! Its New Years Eve and Im almost caught up to Christmas... that sounds about right. I'll make this short and sweet as Im supposed to be "working" right now.

Here's the little munchkin on Christmas morning. While she wasn't tearing into her presents (contrary to the pictures below) or even noticing if Santa had left her any presents- she did have a good time opening her gifts (albiet a little slow) and playing with them.

Grandad helping get things started

Getting the hang of it

Maddie's most favorite gift of all was the super cool playhouse from Grammie and Grandad. Maddie loved it. She went in, and out.... in, and out. Played peek-a-boo thru the windows and doors and even brought her little tiny rocking chair into the house to rock and look out the window.

The money shot....gotta get a frame for this one.

peek-a-boo!

I think Aunt Susan liked her gift from Maddie


Stylin in her new personalized LandsEnd bag from Grammie (notice how she immediately put in on her arm? I think she might be into purses...)

If you were really paying attention - you noticed Maddie wearing different jammies in that last picture. We couldnt quite get thru all her gifts on Christmas Day. She had to go down for a nap before she could open them all (yikes!) so we continued the gift opening the next day. Hey- two days of opening gifts is always better than one anyway!