Maddie the "Mommy"...

I walked in on Maddie feeding her baby the other day. It was too cute! She took the rest of her dolls, put them to "bed" and read them all a story! Night-night dollies!

So proud of myself!

So, I am somewhat crafty, but not even a little handy. I mean, I can hammer a nail into a wall but that's about the extent of it. But....I have been so inspired/enamoured/obsessed with blogs about home redecorating on a budget with all of these ridiculously talented women making over old furniture.

Soooo, I found this hideous dining room set on Craig's List for $25. It's beautiful, with vision, but so destroyed, thanks to some rambunctious children and a teething dog. But I really wanted to make an office/playroom type thing in the front room of our new house (who needs 2 flipping living rooms??!!). I envisioned a desk/crafting/multipurpose table with two chairs. So I followed an online tutorial, sanded and painted the table and recovered the chairs. The chair fabric was a bit of an argument. Garret despised it. I promised him once it was all done he would tolerate it. He insisted that he have color choice of the table, following up with the admission he is no home decorator. I relented and he chose red. Gulp. It's a somewhat large table, and that's a lotta red. Surprisingly, it all looks great, fabric, red table and all! I'm pretty impressed with myself, excuse me while I pat myself on the back.

Here are some pics! Will update when I have the room all put together!

Maddie's "REAL" birthday :)

For her 'real' birthday, we just had the family over for pizza, cake and ice cream. It was perfect. I watched my little girl (well, more Bella, but whatever) blow out her #2 candle and couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed. She's a big girl now. I can even see it in her face...gone is the plump appearance of an infant and in its place is the mature shape of a toddler. she has personality, opinions (lots of them) and is growing so fast every day. I keep telling myself, "Don't blink...". It'll be gone before we know it...

We decided to take Maddie and Bella to the beach earlier in the day since we both had the day off and it's Maddie's favorite thing to do! We had a blast, even with the sweltering heat and murky water! These two are best buddies...it's so fun to watch them play! Garret and I could actually sit back and relax just a bit while they played. It was the first time we've taken Maddie to the pier, she ran it like it was her job (where does this kid get her energy?!).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my love. You are the most amazing little person and I can't imagine a life without you in it....

How? When? Why? Ugh...

One year old...

Two years old...

How did this happen? When did this baby become a two year old and why am I so traumatized about it? It sounds so cliche', but the old adage "time flies" holds some weight. It truly does and I think children are the reason. An adult ages but not at lightening speed...we stay the same size (ish), retain our current speech (barring a few cocktails)...nothing changes that dramatically over two years. But a child...it all changes, exponentially, in those short months. Even since her last birthday, Madeline's vocabulary, personality and well, hair, have drastically grown.



For some reason this is very traumatic for me. While I am so excited to see her change and grow into this spirited, fun little girl, I want to cling to her babydom. Maybe it's because she may be the only child I have. I don't want to hold her back, just slow her down a bit. From one day to the next, she becomes her own person, less dependent and more "girl-like". Even her features are changing from that baby face to the slimmer lines of a little girl. Ugh.




So, in honor of her second birthday, here is a list of all things Maddie, her accomplishments and abilities:.


1. She can aaaalmost say the alphabet, mumbling through l,m,n,o,p...

2. She can count to 13. Not sure why 13, but there you have it.

3. She is rocking quite the mullet. Her blond hair is receding up front and growing long in the back. I keep praying for Aunt Tamra's hair. Poor child should not be doomed to my awful mane.

4. Her favorite toys are her play kitchen, coloring books and crayons (not necessarily going together...the walls see more color these days) and her trusted stuffed dog, Violet.

5. She eats pretty healthily, but loves Mac and Cheese and Cheese Dogs. We try to limit these horrid foods but hey, even health conscious adults need a McDonald's cheeseburger now and again.

6. She has quite the attitude. She wants her way, yesterday and expects whoever is in her presence to comply to her every demand or an ear-piercing scream will ensue with potential for dramatic floor-flinging and limb-flailing. We are currently implementing "Time Out". She spends lotsa time there :)

7. She is in love with TV, so we try to limit it, although even when it's on she runs back and forth from it to whatever fancies her at the next moment (she gets this ADD honest...). Currently, Baby Einstein, The Bubble Guppies and Kai-Lan lead the pack of faves.

8. She is girly (loves the Disney Princesses, dress up, dolls...) but is also a bit of a tomboy (she's very physical, loves to be dirty, hates bows in her hair...). I kind of love this about her. I don't want her to feel she has to be one way or the other. I think a little balance is a wonderful quality.

9. I really believe she will be a performer. She isn't shy, loves to sing and dance and literally demands an audience for much of what she does.

10. She is a beach baby. She could spend all day in the sand and surf. The pool is great too and she loves it as well, but not like the beach. That's her place!



We are truly blessed, this little family of mine. We don't have alot, but we have the love and dedication of one another. I'd say that's everything we need. Happy Birthday, my sweet love muffin.

PARTY TIME!!

The amazing personal cake made by my friend, Josie, a fellow Caleb's Crusader!!

Today was Maddie's 2nd Birthday Party. Ugh. So exciting yet so strangely sad. I am so excited to watch my baby grow into a beautiful little girl and all the change that comes with it but it seems to all be happening so fast. I would never want to stop the process...just slow it down a hair :). That said, I am so grateful I have this blog and a gazillion photos and videos to reflect on.

We had a great time! I made cupcakes and my best attempt to create an underwater world with Maddie's favorite show, The Bubble Guppies, as decorations. Not an easy feat as it's new and there is nothing out there with these characters on it!

Maddie insisted on a "taste test". Who says no to their baby on party day? Even if it IS at 8 in the morning....

Meatball just patiently waiting for the drop...

After a little nap:
Let the party begin!!!!!!!!!!

The child got more presents than she could ever need...but it sure was fun! She actually was due for some "big girl" toys...she's growing bored with her baby-ish things. I suppose being around Bella so much has peaked her interest in more mature things!

We were so lucky to have most of our friends and family there!

a special thanks to Aunt Momo, who put all the toys together!!

The boys were "watching the kids swim" and entertaining themselves with Garret's new cornhole boards!!

As soon as Maddie saw the cake, she was so excited! Our friend Josie made her a special little cake in the Bubble Guppies theme...it was amazing! Trying to get her out of the pool was a bit of a challenge but she followed Bella, who was more excited than she was!

We decided to release some balloons for Caleb...hoping he would know he was so missed!

We were so worried about the typical Florida summer day guaranteeing some pretty brutal afternoon storms, but they held off long enough for the kids to get to swim for a while! They had a great time...not much else to do mid-July around here!

It was a huge success and Maddie had a BLAST, which of course, was the most important part of the whole day...Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!