Santa Claus

Here's Madison's first time seeing Santa. The first picture is us waiting in line to see Santa (Sinta as Madison calls him).

Halloween 2009

My Crazy Girl

I know it's been forever since I blogged. I would like to say it's because I never, ever have time. That wouldn't be completely true. Mostly I'm busy with Madison, Jordan (the 2 1/2 year old girl I watch Monday through Thursday), and work; but there is some time, I'm just a slacker.

So, instead of trying to catch up on what has happened in the last 4 months, I'll just start fresh, pretend this is a completely new blog I'm doing.

Madison is now over 13 months old and such a big girl already. She's been walking since she was 10 months old, which means she is now running (very quickly) everywhere. Her newest thing though, is talking. She talks so much! Here are some of the words she says regularly:

Of course, Momma, Dadda, and Poppa (sorry Grandma, I know she loves you...she just doesn't call you by name yet)

Cracker (everything that tastes good is a cracker to her)

Cow (that's her new one. She very emphatically says cooow and then moos)

Hat (everything is a hat to her. pants, socks, coats, anything she can get her hands on)

Bottle (baba)

Book (or as she says it bookabookabookabooka as she's bringing me a book to read to her)

Eat

Please (which really comes out at as pe or ple while she's signing it)

Bye Bye

Apple

Baby (she thinks every child is a baby even kids 2 and 3 times her age)

Bath

Socks (she's just started this one)

Shoes

I'm sure there are other words she says, but this is all I can remember for now.

Here are some other cute things she's doing:

She dances all the time. Any song that comes on, regardless of how short, slow, or fast you'll see Madison bouncing up and down and swaying back and forth. I'm sad to say, she also has started to drop it like it's hot (for lack of a better term). I don't know where she got it from. She's never seen a music video and she's definitely never seen me doing it...she puts her little hands on her knees and gets as low as possible. For now it's funny, but I think eventually Daddy might have to put a stop to her little girl's "dirty dancing."

She has a little car that she rides around. It has a seat that lifts up to put things in. Most of the time, she'll put her babies into the car, head first and legs hanging out, and push them around. It's so cute!

She also kisses every stuffed animal, baby, and picture book she can find! She makes the kissing noise with her tongue and puts the victim up to her face to slobber on. I love it. Now if only I could get her to regularly kiss me!!!

So, since I wrote a small novel...I will try to remember to keep this updated!!!

9 Months Old!

OOPS! I wrote this blog on the 16th, but forgot to post it!

Sorry, I know I just blogged twice already. Madison is taking her second nap of the day right now and I've just had a minute to reflect on the fact that she's over 9 months old. That's right, she is now 9 months and 5 days old! Can you believe it? I definitely can't. So...to commemorate my late blog on Maddie turning 9 months old, here are some facts that everyone should know about my beautiful daughter!

1. She looks like her daddy, only pretty! Seriously, red hair and all!


2. She has her mommy's eyes.


3. She loves to smile at grandpa!


4. She started crawling before she was 6 months old.


5. When she was exactly 7 months old, she stood on her own, no holding on!


6. Whenever she hears a repetitive loud-ish noise (like this little toy she has where you push a button on top and balls go popping), she goes bonkers. She drops whatever she's doing and gets to me as fast as she can, and then holds on for dear life. She has always been that way. She used to be afraid of it. Now she likes it!


7. She is a smiler, but not much of a laugher; unless you catch her when she's tired.


8. She's doesn't cry often. There are times when she falls or conks her head and I think it must've hurt and she's going to cry...nope, she just gets right back to playing! Mike says it's because she's a Smith.


9. She loves to be upside down. Grab her by her legs and hold on! She could hang like that forever!


10. She kisses herself in the mirror, her little baby, and her glow worm, but forget about trying to get her to kiss you. She won't kiss anything with a pulse!


11. She weighs 17 pounds, 11 ounces and is 70 cm, aka 27.6 inches long.
    
12. She generally isn't afraid of people. (I say generally because when she's extremely tired she is scared of men, just ask Brad Dennis :-D)
    
13. She just took 5 steps on her own! It's only a matter of time before I've got a rugrat running around.

Those are just a few of the things that make Madison who she is. And because I can't get my pictures off my camera and onto my computer right now, here are some pictures of her when she was 10 days old (taken by the wonderful Karlyn, andaphotography.blogspot.com)!

I Need Your Help!!

On the 4th of July, Mike and I are planning on camping at Lake Roosevelt with Kendra and Ryan. Here's where you come in. We've got two problems.

1. To take Maddie or not to take Maddie!
   - It would be so much fun to take her for her first camping trip, but at the same time it would be so much fun to have a vacation (especially since I've never had a night away from her).
   - It's also not a place to find shade...so hot and baby don't always mix!
   - If we don't take her, who gets the privelege of watching her :-)
2. We have a boat...we have a pick-up...the last time we used the little S-10 pick-up to haul the boat to Roosevelt was a little sketchy. Add a year or two to the pick-up and a possible baby to the mix and you see my dilemma. Does anyone have a hauling type vehicle they'd be willing to let us borrow?

I need your opinions! Help!! :-D

I'm Back

I guess I kind of fell off the face of the blogging earth, so since I've been gone so long here's a quick rundown of what has gone on...

On May 15th, we drove to Seatac (we being Mom, Dad, Mike, Madison and I) to pick up Stacey, Tyson, Micah, and Hallie. Of course, their flight couldn't come in on time...so we got there early and waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever. Their plane finally landed and we greated a tired family!

The next day, minus the Thomson family and plus the Wood family (Kendra's soon to be in-laws) we went to watch the Mariner's play the Red Socks. Much to our dismay and Ryan's delight, we ended up going to the only game that series that the Mariners lost.

Stacey and family hung out in Prosser for about 10 days. It was a whirlwind to say the least! It definitely was cute to see Madison trying to play with the kiddos. She wanted to play with her cousins all day, and by play I mean climb all over them and steal their toys.

Kendra and Ryan had a tool themed couples shower in Spokane. It was good to go meet some of Ryan's family and friends. And, because of a registry problem, Kendra and Ryan were able to return a bunch of multiple gifts and get camping stuff for our upcoming 4th of July trip!

The next weekend, Mom, Madison and I went to Seattle to hang out with family. We lazed around the hotel for a couple of days, swimming, eating, and playing games (normal DeVries family stuff). Unfortunately Maddie got a really high fever, so our trip was cut a few hours short.

What's Madison up to these days? She has four teeth; two bottoms and just because she likes to be different, two top incisors (no front teeth yet). She's almost walking. In the last week she has gone from squating to standing without holding onto anything twice, she has taken one step without holding onto anything on two separate occasions! I can't believe my barely 9 month old is on the verge of walking. Watch out world, here comes Madison!

Mother's Day

So, I know my post is a bit late...

I had a great Mother's Day. Unfortunately we had kind of a "false start" to our day. Maddie woke up at 6 in the morning, which is way too early for her. Usually when her day starts at 6, it turns out to be the longest day! Well, lucky for me, Daddy took over from there. I grabbed Maddie out of her crib and we hung out in bed as a family. Maddie rolled around climbed on Mike and I for an hour.

After that, Mikey took her upstairs and fed her and played with her while I went back to sleep. I wish I could say that I slept in till noon, but sadly that was not the case. I woke up at 8:40, walked into the kitchen and poured myself some coffee. I headed into the living room where I found the tv on cartoons, Mike mostly asleep, and Maddie in her Daddy's lap also on her way to lightsoutville!

I took Maddie to bed and came back upstairs to enjoy my coffee and some cartoons :-) I actually really enjoy vegging out to cartoons, but Sunday morning TLC and A&E is the best! I watched some Sell this House and Flip this House till 11 and then jumped in the shower to get ready for our day out.

Finally, we got on the road with my mom and dad to Tri Cities where we enjoyed lunch at Famous Dave's. I wish I could say I even got dessert, but when you load up on brisket, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, corn bread, spicy sausage, and a Hefe there's not much room for anything else!

Maddie loved this pig!!!

After lunch, we decided to walk off some of the calories. We headed down to somewhere on the river (I'm still no good with knowing where I am in Tri Cities). I think it was the park close to the Richland Yacht Club; not Howard Aman...that's where we ended up! So, we walked along the river and enjoyed the sunny day.

Maddie got sick of her stroller, so I walked a bit with her on my shoulders. When she got sick of that (she was practically jumping out of my arms to get onto the grass) we took a time out for a mini photo shoot!!

My mom and I finished out our great afternoon the only way you can...with a trip to:

???

Mike has always had a problem with using phones. I give him a hard time for never answering (that's right, it's not just you...he doesn't answer my calls either) and not calling all day. Now I'm not one of those wives who will call him 20 times a day, but because he doesn't have a set schedule I call him every once in awhile to find out when he'll be home. When he doesn't answer or call back, I get a little irritated.

Two minutes ago, Mike called me; out of the blue. Nothing to say, except how's your day. It was kind of an awkward call. He didn't actually say much of anything. Strange....but I guess I can't complain!

Maybe we're on the way to Mike actually learning what a cell phone is for. Don't cross your fingers though, I'm thinking it was just a fluke. :-) And just because she's so darn cute, here's a pic of Maddie for you!!

Kisses

I've been waiting for this day! My beautiful baby girl has started to give kisses. Mostly she kisses herself (in the mirror). But lately, she's been giving daddy kisses when he gets home from work. I'll set my jealousy aside for a minute and say that it is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

When Mike gets home from work, her face lights up and she starts bouncing with excitement. I reluctantly hand her over to a dirty daddy and she plants one on him, mouth open and all (Hallie style ;-))

And since she's just to quick with her kisses, I'll leave you all with a visual of her at the mirror, the only place I can catch her! (Included are subtitles of what I think is going through her mind).

Mommy, look at me! I'm right here and right there too!!

Hey you pretty girl!

How you doin'?

I Love You!!!

Maddie and Daddy

I love to see Dad's interacting with their children. I guess there's just something special about the look Mike gets in his eyes when he's playing with Maddie and the fun she has! Here are some pictures of Maddie Daddy time from the past few weeks.

This one cracks me up. I'm not sure who is having more fun.

A Day in the Life of...

You may be wondering what a stay-at-home mom does all day. Here it is:

It starts with a cute outfit...


And continues on with a "photo shoot" complete with a great accessory; Mommy's extremely large sun hat.

And ends with the cutest little picture. I dare anyone to tell me my "job" isn't great!

Easter Day

Our Easter was nothing but a day of relaxation. We woke up, went to Church and hung out around the house all day. And in case there aren't enough pictures of Maddie floating around out there, here are some more.