More of my Favorite Things....

So just the other day Madi stopped by to share some of the things she LOVES... but with her busy schedule (sleeping, eating, taking care of her baby doll, chasing Oliver...she's busy! busy!) she didn't have a chance to list everything that she wanted.... so here are a few more....

Bathtime!

The Best Babysitter Ever!

(ok, so it will be a couple years before she can do it on her own, but she takes great care of me!)

My Zebra Tu-tu!

Being matchy-matchy with Isa-boo!

These three!

Their Mommy too!

Making a pillow fort to watch a movie from!

My Panda Pillow!

My Blanky!!

Ok so that's close to covering it for now... I just have to get my Momma to take some more pictures of my favorite things & I'll be back to share them all with you again soon!

MADISEN HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!

Alright folks! Listen up! Our little lady has something to tell you!!


Are you ready?



No really, seriously..... are you ready??




Because she's about to let you in on a BIG secret......


Yep! That's right our little family is about to get a little bit bigger!! Our new addition is due Jan 7th! (yes, we apparently like to be consistent with these things... Madi was born Jan 8th! lol)
Stay tuned for more exciting pregnancy updates! I just know you all can't wait to hear about the upcoming morning sickness!! (no, it hasn't hit yet....just waiting since I know it's inevitable! Also, to answer the frequently asked question... I'm feeling great! Just a bit tired) We are SUPER EXCITED!!!

Oh How I LOVE Being a Girl....

Miss Madi-Annie has stopped in to share some of her favorite things....

Spaghetti!

My Sunglasses!

My Daddy!

Playing dress-up!

My baby doll & stroller!

Skype!

Did I mention playing Dress-up?

Playing at the park with my pals!

Reading my books!

Using my Daddy as a pillow ( Hey! Oliver likes it too!)

Dinner time!

My best bud Avalee!

My Girls!

Checking out the pretty flowers w/my Grandma!

Eatin' popcorn with my Daddy!

My Momma! (& the carousel too!)

There are SO many other things (& people!!) that I love but I just couldn't put them all on here today... stay tuned for another addition of My Favs!!!......

A Trip to the Tulips

One beautiful Sunday afternoon the family & I decided to jump in the car and drive... where to? We didn't know! Brendan had his camera ready & Madi was all smiles so what better time to head out and find some beauty to capture!
Off we went down the country roads.... followed a sign or two to check out a covered bridge... stopped to take some pics...then moved on down the road... through some really small towns to some bigger small towns but mostly the views we found were of awesome farm houses and lots and lots of farmland. We eventually found our way into Woodburn where the Annual Woodenshoe Tulip Festival was in full swing. We followed the signs to the tulip farm & waited in the long line of cars to get in. After about 5 mins of waiting (and no way out of line if we were to change our mind) I notice the tulip folks are taking the admission fee (just $10 per carload) as their customers were pulling into the parking lot.... I got to thinking... hmmm... I bet they only take cash for this... not like they are going to hold up the line full of cars to go run a debit card, right? So I ask Brendan if he has cash... nope... Well I know I don't have cash either... hmmm... can't get out of the line & by this point someone really has to go potty! So we're committed... I figure I'll just ask the guy taking money if they can use a debit card & if not I'll just head for the exit... maybe drop a certain someone off near the porta pottys while I'm at it... So our turn arrives to pull into the parking lot... there were TONS of people there taking the admission fee from the cars as they came through... So we come to the first man... he's holding the flyers to hand out... my window is rolled down, I was ready to ask him about it... well... I ever so slowly pass him & he just smiles....(didn't even give us a flyer either!).. So I see the next guy we will pass has a stack of money in his hand... I figure this must be the guy to ask.... again... I slowly drive up to him... I look at him smile & he just smiles back, I pause for a moment.. but he's not asking me for any money.... hmmm... ok... so I keep going.... find a place to park and head out to the tulip fields.... umm oops! Guys I think I forgot to pay you!! The first guy must have thought the 2nd guy would take our money & the 2nd guy must have thought the 1st guy took it already... or something... or maybe it was just our lucky day?! In any case, Mr Gonna-Pee-His-Pants was happy....
So after a quick stop at the porta potty we went in search of tulips! Along the way Brendan kept telling me we must have come too late because there are no tulips... I kept telling him no, they have to be here somewhere! I've seen pictures other people have come home with !! Keep looking!! A quick tram (ish) ride up to the fields and there they were.... tulips as far as you could see!!
Madi LOVED walking through the rows and rows of flowers, pausing every now and then to put her hand out as if to touch one... looking up at Mom & Dad to see if it was ok... She was very gentle to the petals & when one of them fell apart as she touched it she even picked up the fallen petals & tried to put it back together! Too cute! Of course we took advantage of such a great location & perfect model..... check out the amazing pictures Mr Photographer captured....

Sunshine and a new set of wheels!

We have been waiting and waiting... and waiting for some SUN! Luckily the rain finally dried up, the clouds parted and our friend the Sun finally was able to peek through for a little while.... of course, we do live in Oregon so of course this was just a short tease of nice weather to play with quick before the normal spring rain started up again... We made sure to enjoy it while it lasted! Up until now Madi hadn't really had much to do with that crazy looking, pokey green stuff on the ground... also known as grass! Last summer we had many picnics in the park but Madi was always up on the blanket, safe from this foreign stuff. But now this year, she is all about walking and running on her own EVERYWHERE.... The first time I put her down in the middle of a grassy field she just stood there looking at me... wondering what she was supposed to do.. I started walking & she quickly followed... then about 2 seconds later she realized she didn't have to follow Mommy.. she could run & play in this stuff!! She could even fall on her knees & it didn't hurt! This stuff was great! Haha! Ever since then she has wanted to do nothing more than to get to run in the grass every time we go to the park . She's still a little too small to be able to play on most of the playground equipment so I'm sure once she can do that the grass will not be quite as fun.... but for now the empty grassy field is where it's at!

The sunny weather also got Brendan thinking about taking Madi for more walks out in the fresh air... what goes perfectly with a nice walk in the sunshine? A new wagon to ride in! Brendan always has the good ideas....
So off to Toys-r-us we went... straight to the back of the store to where the wagons are ( Brendan was good about keeping me on task & not allowing the other super cute toys that Madi has to have distract me! lol) And there it was.... the perfect riding device for our little Madi-cakes.....
Yep, it's her new set of wheels... yes 1 is kinda young for her first car... but I think it's a perfect fit for her. :0) And of course, she absolutely LOVES it!

Off to the Gilbert House we go....

Now that Madisen is such a "big girl", we decided it was time to let her go check out AC Gilbert's Discovery Village (aka:the Gilbert house) The Gilbert house consists of 3 historic houses all together filled with fun and exciting interactive exhibits... they have a kids supermarket to go shopping in, a undersea cave of frozen shadows, an exhibit on China, a Brazilian Rainforest theater, and Madi's all-time favorite the BUBBLE room! There are TONS more but too many to list... :0)
This was the first trip we've taken where Madi could just explore everything on her own... although Mommy & Daddy were there to give her a lift from one exhibit to the next (and to play along with her) she loved being able to walk (sometimes run!) through all the new exciting exhibits. I'm thinking we may need to get a family membership since she loves it there SO much! Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Learning about China

Checking out the toddler room

Trying to figure out how the locks work

Maybe Dad can help

Peek-a-boo!

BUBBLES! Yay!

Daddy giving Madi a close-up of the bubbles

Madi & Mommy checking out the storybook room

Our Little Rock Star!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADI-CAKES!!
Wow!! Where did the last year go? They really weren't kidding when they told us to cherish every moment (even the endless screaming until 3am moments) we shared with Madi since it will all go by in a flash!
January 8th 2010 our little Madisen Ann turned ONE YEAR OLD!!
We celebrated, of course, by throwing her a HUGE Birthday Bash!

The theme? ROCK STAR!

Picture hot pink, black, white, & lots and lots of ZEBRA print! (Yes I had way too much fun planning and decorating for this!!) We invited tons of friends and family to come help us celebrate our little Madi...
We had animal print balloons and inflatable guitars & microphones everywhere to play with! Pizza and finger foods to munch on. And the Best CAKE EVER! (Made with love, by Grandma!)
Here are some pics from the big day:

Part of the group checking out the spectacular slide show of Madisen Brendan made.

Grandma making sure the birthday girl gets enough to eat!

Madi & Mommy opening up her birthday gifts.


Madisen loved having all her "kids" at our house all at once!


Even Auntie Ann got to join in on the fun! (Yay for Skype!)


Wow all this singing for ME??

YUM! This is SO GOOD!

MMMmmmmmm!!

The aftermath.... what to play with first?

We had SO much fun! The planning, the trips to the craft store with my party-planner partner Peggy (try saying that 3 times fast!), picking out the perfect outfit to go with Madi's super cute zebra tutu (from Grandma, of course!), blowing up a million balloons and party favors, hanging way too many decorations (I may have gone a bit overboard) and the hours ( well weeks!) Brendan spent perfecting the best slideshow of Madi ever! ... it was all worth it to see how happy Madi was on her special day!
I can't wait to start planning for next year!!! :0)