This girl.

She's 2. (Side note: Have you EVER seen a better picture? I'm still thinking about it, but I don't think I have. Side note over.)

Her birthday was on the 14th. That morning, we went to Jump Street, an indoor trampoline arena. Maddy loves trampolines. She was basically in heaven.



Then we had lunch at Chick-Fil-A, where she got her very own kids meal (they have a meal with 1 chicken strip. Odd, but perfect. Especially since she likes the fries the most. Which is understandable, since Chick-Fil-A fries are DA best. Okay, I'm done.)

Then she spent the afternoon with Grandma while I got things ready for her party. We just had a low-key party at our house, with pizza and cupcakes. Oh, and presents, of course.





It was a good day. But my favorite part came later.

Charly had fallen asleep in my arms, so I asked Maddy if she wanted to help me put the baby in bed. Of course, she did. We went into the nursery, I put Charly down, and had turned to leave when Maddy said "Chair." She pointed at the rocking chair - the one I used to rock her in every day - and held her arms up to me.

I picked up my baby and sat down to rock her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her cheek on my shoulder. "Twinkle, twinkle," she said. So I tried to hold back my tears while I sang "Twinkle, twinkle" to her, happily starting over every time the song would end and she would demand "Again." I wouldn't have wanted to end that day any other way.



I am so, so lucky to be this girl's mom. She loves popcorn, dancing, Dr. Pepper, and the iPad. She can count to 10 (working on 15), and knows most of her letters. She likes cereal, macaroni and cheese, celery, carrots, pizza, pears, apples, Oreos, cheese, cottage cheese, pepperoni, pickles, Fruit by the Foots, and any kind of candy. She gets mad that I don't let her drive the car. She wants to run everywhere, rather than be carried or ride in her stroller. She can tell you her favorite rides at Disneyland. She likes to watch Dora, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp, Tangled, and Signing Time. She loves her baby sister, and thinks it's hilarious to make her smile and laugh. She loves Nursery at church, and she'll make sure Dallin and I are folding our arms when it's time to pray. She likes it when her Daddy chases her. When she gives kisses, she kisses both cheeks.



It's entirely possible that I couldn't love her more.

Death by Baby Gap

Ever since I had a little girl, Baby Gap has been trying to kill me.

The other day, I think they may have succeeded. Madelyn and I wandered the mall because Dallin was out doing missionary stuff and because that's what girls do when they have nothing else to do - they shop. Here are just a few of the things we stumbled upon.


This is just a few random things I picked from their website. It's even cuter in person. And there's so much more of it. *Sigh*

Now, just so you don't go thinking I'm a baby clothes snob, I'll have you know that I got Maddy a few shirts from Walmart the other day for $3.50 each. They were adorable too.

But to be honest, we'll probably be going back to Baby Gap before too long...

One.

Oh, you clicked over to my blog hoping to find out what we've been up to for the past few weeks? Maybe get a picture or two of Madelyn in her adorable Halloween costume? Perhaps hear about how school has been going for me (hint: blegh)? Or my feelings about Fall? Or an amazing pumpkin recipe or two?

Well stop dreaming my friends, because I'm not updating you on any of those things right now.

Today we're talking about today.

Today is Madelyn's very first birthday.



Now, I don't want to get too sappy about this. I'm honestly not freaking about too much about having a one-year-old. It is crazy...but come on, I knew it was going to happen someday. In fact, I knew the exact day that it was going to happen, so I could prepare. So don't expect me to be all "AAH MY BABY IS ONE!!!" kind of thing.

But there are a few thoughts I have.


Mostly, I just want to let the cyber-world know that I love love love my baby girl.

I'm so proud of everything she's already accomplished and become in one short year.

I'm grateful to her for making me a mother. It's the most rewarding job I've ever had.


I'm so very excited to find out what the coming years bring for both of us. I hope she grows up to be happy, healthy, loving, brave, smart, confident, and well aware of how much so many people love her.

I'm starting to wonder if the day will ever come when my heart doesn't just expand every time I look at my girl. I don't think it will.

Happy birthday, Madelyn!
Thank you for being my sunshine.

How to open a present with your mouth

Hello, class.

Today we're going to talk about opening presents...with our mouths.

Sometimes, people that really love us, like Grandmas, give us presents for no real reason other than our astounding ability to be the most adorable things on the face of the earth.

When this happens, we get the chance to open those presents. A fun, original way to do this is with your mouth.

Let's try it.

I like to make sure I get sufficient time with the ribbon. Someone went through all the trouble to curl it, so I figure the least I can do is focus on it and ignore the rest of the present for a good 5 minutes or so.





Once Mama decides she's taken enough pictures of you playing with the ribbon, she'll take it away. Bummer.

But don't let it deter you for too long. Go for the present next!







You might find you have some trouble actually getting the paper off this way. Don't worry, Mama will always help you.



So, there you have it. I guess Mom really ends up doing all the work. But before Mom figures out that you can't actually effectively open a present with your mouth, make sure you get as much time as possible gumming your present. She'll think it's cute, anyway.

Come back next time to learn how to perfectly time your need to pee so it happens right when Mama takes the diaper off. Now that's a hoot. No pictures, though.

Ciao!

Necessities

What does a 7 month old baby girl need, other than diapers, a few onesies, a place to sleep, and her mother's chest?

I'm glad you asked.


She needs this hat:

and these sandals:

It's just so obvious to me.

Guess we're going to Old Navy later today.

Milk and Cereal

We added a new component to Maddy girl's diet a few days ago: rice cereal! Woot!

While it's kind of weird for me to even call it cereal since it's recommended to mix a lot of breastmilk into it for the first few feedings...so I feel like I'm just spoon feeding her milk...I think she definitely notices something different.




Rice cereal is also a great fashion accessory.
And...here are some more cute pictures, because they're adorable.




As soon as I get the good Easter pictures from my mom, you'll get to look at those too.

Consider yourself lucky. I know I do!

Maddy Meets Disney

Madelyn's first trip to Disneyland was the start of a beautiful relationship, I'm sure.

In case you live under a rock, I love Disneyland. Mucho. It is just a place of happiness. Happy happiness. Which is the best kind of happiness. Call me silly or childish or trite or whatever, but Disneyland totally rocks in my book.

So, without further ado, here is a bum-load of pictures from our Disneyland trip. Try to not completely eat your heart out because of all the cuteness that is my child.

First time in the park. She was sleeping but we had to get a picture of the momentous-ness (duh):

Waiting in line for her first ride: Pirates!

In line for the Haunted Mansion, aka the Nap Ride:

One of the smartest things about Disneyland: they have stationary ride cars for picture taking. Genius.

Uncle Kyle had to try on the sunglasses of stylish-ness:

Mom/Grandma got chosen to participate in the show. She made a great bank teller

See? Stationary teacups too. We didn't actually go on the teacups with Maddy...I didn't want to take any chances.

Seahorse even got to come to Disneyland!

The closest she got to Soarin Over California:

I love her face in this one with my little sis:

I got a sweet baby carrier that she liked to be carried in. She fell asleep more than once in that thing.

Her face in this one says to me: "Holy crap I've got to get off this thing!"

I love this one. It's on the Casey Jr. train

In front of the castle! Classic D-Land pic.

Going on her favorite ride - It's a Small World - with Grandma and cousin Carson. She could just stare at everything going on in that ride aaaaallll day.

She really, really wanted that popcorn.

Last but not least - she really likes when we make "Donald Duck noises" at her, so we had to get a picture with him! He couldn't talk though, so bummer.

So, in closing, I'd like to thank Dallin, my mom and siblings, Walt Disney, spring break, and the universe for making this trip (a) possible and (b) totally awesome.

Maddy is already begging to go back.

Jammies

Madelyn is growing up.

Evidence: I had to buy her new jammies.

*sigh*

Good thing I totally love the jammies. That makes it a little easier to deal with.


I just think they're so cute!

Or maybe it's the baby. Even though she's been sick (cough, stuffy/runny nose, etc) she's still pretty much the cutest being in the land.

And speaking of...in case you didn't notice, I put a linky up in the top right corner to a contest I entered Maddy in. I know...embarrassing, right? But I figured since it was just a local, no big deal contest, done by a photographer whose maternity/newborn pictures I totally swooned over when I was pregnant, it might be justifiable. Just this once. She'd really just win some clothes and a couple pictures taken by the photographer. But hey, Mama would love it.

So, click here and vote for #8, if you haven't already. One vote per IP address. Oh, and if you're computer savvy and know some weird way to disguise your IP address or something, don't cheat. The lady running the contest sent us an e-mail this morning saying that they've caught people cheating. On the baby contest! I was totally shocked. I mean, seriously - do you really care that much?! I guess some Mamas do.

A Blessing

Madelyn IS a blessing.

Madelyn also RECEIVED a blessing.

A very special blessing from two very loving fathers - one on Earth and one in Heaven.

Madelyn's blessing day was February 7th.

Dallin gave the single most beautiful blessing I have ever heard. I wish I was just saying that, because then I would feel like I wasn't bragging. But I'm not just saying that, so I am kind of bragging, which is terrible, but whatever.

Some of the notable things I remember from the blessing: that Madelyn will have a sense of humor, that she will have patience with her imperfect parents (YES.) and that she will be her mother's best friend, because her mother loves her very much (ALSO YES.).

I know that God has blessed us by allowing us to have access to His power through the holy priesthood. It's hard for me to even say how grateful I am that Dallin is a worthy priesthood holder who is able to lead and preside over our home with the very power of God. That power is real. I believe that with all my might, and this sweet blessing reaffirmed it with every word.

We were so so glad that so many of our friends and family came to share this special occasion with us. Happiness IS the love and support of those you love and support!

Here are some pictures my mom snapped of the big day:

Madelyn and Great Grandma (who might not have been ready

for the picture...but looks great anyway!):

Good shot of her dress (which is the dress my mom was blessed in...let's hope Madelyn catches whatever my mom caught so she can be just like her G!):

The whole gang:

Daddy, Mommy, and Baby:

Same day, different outfit, too cute to not post:

Blessed baby. Blessed parents. Life is good.