Merry Christmas Eve!

I was playing with my camera this morning...taking shots from the front yard....
The street Nana and Papa live; Madeline taking her babies out for their (ahem..her) daily walk, and a few pretty flowers.

A day at the beach..and another pool!

Yesterday we went to the beach on Marco Island. The sun was hidden a bit by some whispy clouds, but it was actually pretty nice. I didn't have to worry about Madeline getting a sunburn or complaining of sun in her eyes. She absolutely loved the ocean. She ran to it, wanted to get in it. Laughed when the tide came in and out and in and out, up her tummy, down her tummy....you get the picture. She had no problem with the shells or the sand. And when we were finished on the beach, we went up to the pool. They had a great little kids area with all kinds of things that made the water do funny things....and of course with all the other little people running around in the water, Madeline couldn't wait to get in. We have a little fish on our hands!

A day at the pool...

Madeline at the pool! It took her a little time to get used to the spouts of water, but once she did she couldn't get enough of it! After a few hours, she had the shivers and blue lips and it was time to go home.

Day 1 & 2. Christmas in Florida 2009.

Nana and Papa had the strollers and the babies all ready for Miss. M when we arrived. They also had an adorable set of pajama's for her to wear, both seen in these photos.

Madeline is a Florida baby. She has caught the attention of every person who walks or drives by with her cuteness and "those BIG blue eyes!". She has learned where the door is, how to open it, and how to let us know she wants to take her babies, or Sophie, outside for a walk.

Today is day 2. It's been slightly overcast and a bit cool....too cool to be outside in shorts and tshirts. Today, though, is warmer, in the 70's. We're packing up and going to the big pool down the road. I hope Madeline will enjoy it.

We have many things to do and many places to go this week. I'll post again soon with more adorable photos!

Quick update.

Hi everyone. Keeping a blog current is difficult when you have limited computer access. Our laptop has bit it. (Finally) I've been secretly hoping it would so we could get a new one, but I think for now a trip to Best Buy's Geek Squad is in order.

No photo updates, but I'll post those soon.

Madeline is doing fantastic as usual. Last weekend her dad and I took her to see Santa. She was very good, didn't care for sitting on his lap after I put her there and walked away...but we got a priceless photo of her that we'll laugh at for years to come :-) We took her to Stride Rite to have her first foot measurements and bought her "big girl" shoes! She is already in a size 5. Couldn't believe it. The girl loves shoes though, she picked up every pair with interest! We also purchased a couple of toys to deliver to the Toys for Tots. Busy little elves we were!

Today we're having a pajama day....laundry, playing, organizing, playing, packing, and more play time! We head to Florida on Saturday to spend the week with Nana & Papa! Sunshine, sand, the ocean, the pool, HUMIDITY....
My most favorite part of traveling to Florida is when you get off the plane and breathe. It smells so good.

I promise to post something from Florida....likely I'll share the plane experience with you and lots of photos of the princess :-)

Rocks Kids.

This past Saturday we had some of our friends over to eat, drink and be merry. Kids were invited and so we took the opportunity to take a photo. I think I snapped at least 20 of them because it was so hilarious while they wiggled and looked everywhere else but at the "right" camera. This sequence is silly. And the last one, Madeline was actually laughing really hard, not crying at all. She loves being with other kids!

From left: Nash Sather (Luke and Jen's), Paige and Isabelle Sehnert (Colin and Heather's), AJ Bean (in Isabelle's lap, John and Colee's), Madeline (can't get her hand out of her mouth), and Conner Johnson (Brian and Kelly's).

An update in photos...

Madeline is just about as tall as our tiny tree this year. She loves going over to the tree and touching the branches and giggling when she does it.

Don't take your eye off her for too long, she'll find mischief! This day she decided it was fun to pull the rocks out of the fire place. No harm done, no injuries, just had to wash our hands and put back the rocks afterwards. Oopsie.
Madeline has developed a liking towards her baby. She takes the baby out, puts the baby in and makes sure she's all covered up. Even her head.

She loves tumbling around in Nana's bed. So many wonderful fluffy pillows to crash into!

And here she is with her favorite "blankie" on her head. A normal occurance these days.

Thanksgiving 2009...

A picture can say 1,000 words.

Last year at Thanksgiving....

....stay tuned for this year at Thanksgiving....

A few "good mornings".

Madeline is always her happiest in the morning. A typical routine for us is like this:
She wakes up about 7, I go get her and bring her back into bed with me to snuggle and play in the pillows, which is her favorite thing to do (play in the pillows), then we'll watch a little cartoon...then it's time for breakfast. After that it's just time to play. She'll play with her books, play with her toys, play with Jersey...and of course, play with her box of Cherrios. And recently, since our move to condo land, she likes the piano. Perhaps I'll have to relearn so I can start to teach her! She's too young, I know, but she thinks it's pretty neat when she touches those keys!
And the popcorn popper pusher thing-I bought that before she was walking. And she never cared for it, obviously, but now it's a favorite. Although, her face in these photos would suggest otherwise....priceless nonetheless.

A visit from the twins.

Suzie stopped by the other day with her beautiful little girls, Elliott and Claire. Hard to believe they are already 11 weeks old! I was absolutely impressed with her ability to transport two babies with such ease and her calmness overwhelmed me. If anyone could handle two babies with such patience it would be Suz.
Madeline went down for her nap just as they arrived and of course she slept for their entire visit only to wake as they were getting ready to leave. But she sure was sweet with them, very excited to see the babies. I wonder if she realized they are "real" and not like her dolly?

I'm happy to say I can tell them apart here, only because Claire is a little bigger and has more hair.

Looking adoringly at their momma.

HELLO!!!!!!!! (Claire)
Elliott just chillin'