Then There Were 4

DECEMBER

2012-01-29T15:10:00.010-07:00

December came and went too fast
its hard to remember everything we did!

A week before Thanksgiving we had
Raelee in the ER
with a double ear infection.
She healed quick and
then a couple weeks after she got that
nasty flu that went around
where absolutely everything was
coming out BOTH ends.
Rae only had it one day,
then I got it and Madi started right about
the time I finished,
I ended up taking her to the ER
because she couldn't keep any liquids
down and started throwing up some blood.
On our way to the ER that night
Trevor was home while Raelee
was asleep, and he started
throwing up!!
Madi had an IV and was so brave.
All the nurses adored her,
she come home with a beautifully
decorated barf bucket from all
the stickers she received!
And by the next afternoon we were
all feeling MUCH better,
and 6 lbs lighter:)
( we would kick butt in biggest loser now that we know the trick! haha )

I was cooking in the kitchen while Madison was
doodling on some paper,
she got all excited and came over and said,
"Look mommy! I wrote my own name by myself!"
Sure enough,
I didn't have to tell her any of the letters!

It surely didn't feel like Christmas in Kansas...
until you saw all the lights!
The day before we left for Utah,
it was 60 degrees.
We heard it got up to 71 while we were gone!!

Raelee also turned 5 months!
Her stats this month
consist of a whole lotta hair
and she eats through baby food like crazy.

We drove.
16 hours!
Thanks to priceline,
we got a killer deal on a hotel in Denver
and split the drive in two days.
The girls were FABULOUS!
We played a lot of 'I spy'
and 'name that tune'.
If Madi wasn't reading,
it was this...
Of course we couldn't leave without her
'buddy' Clifford

And literally this is what Raelee
did 90% of the time...

Everyone was happy to have a fun
night in Denver!!

We made it safely to the frozen tundra!
We thoroughly enjoyed staying with Nana and Papa!!
We played with cousins, aunties, uncles
and friends!
It seemed like there wasn't a moment
that we sat still.

Raelee snuggled Trevor's cousins
Tiffany and Darcey to death!
She loved them!!

two peas in a pod!

Madi has discovered computer games
and typing in Word.
She was quite sneaky and convinced
her uncles many times to play with her.

Trevor discovered Rae could hold a bottle
all on her own when mommy went out the the
adult girls!

A ride on daddy's shoulder .....

equals this!
haha!!
We discovered Rae has acid reflux on our trip.

Tucker was Raelee's horsey

Nana cuttin' the delicious turkey!

I thought since we weren't with my dad
that we would get away with discovering
'new' things to feed the baby.
I was wrong.
Thank you Papa.

Tradition on my side of the family.
Trevor and I still like to do gingerbread
houses wherever we are!

We were able to skype my Mom and Dad
on Christmas Eve!!
It was really hard not being able to travel a little
farther to see them in Cali,
but hopefully this summer!!
It's been over a year now that we've seen them!

Christmas morning was spent with
cute cousin Treygan!!

The girls had so much fun
and SHARED!

Paper was Raelee's favorite of course!

The lovely Nana & Papa

We miss these two...well three,
David was MIA!!

Darcey took Madi and Rae
to ride on some of her ponies!
They were so THRILLED!!
Madison road one all by herself.

We did make it up north for a few
SHORT
days, to see more family and friends!
I totally forgot to use my camera
everywhere we went cause
I was too busy enjoying myself!

Madi LOVES her uncle Dave,
they have a pretty sweet bond.
One of a kind :)

I never missed my brother's bball games
when he played in high school,
so it was fun to be able to
see him play some Alumni games!
Madi thought it was cool
and Rae was totally entertained and sat
in her car seat the entire game!

It was sooo good to see our family,
Madi was able to play with her cousins!
I enjoyed spending time with my brother and sister
and of course,
we got to see Auntie Karol :)

Then back down to Nana and Papa's for a few more days.
i LOVE his glasses...
so stylin'

Madison is SO good and entertaining herself.
What good sports they are!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012 - yup,
Madi stayed up till midnight,
Rae was tucked away in the crib :)

Let me guess,
you've probably said it at least once,
or thought
"dang, that girl has hair"
This was right before we took the buzzers to it.

You'll have to wait till the next post to see the after! Ha sorry:)
It looks lots better though!

Loopy as ever, hope everyone had
a GREAT new year!!

NOVEMBER

2012-01-28T19:43:00.009-07:00

Had another eventful and busy month.
Madison has been a great
helper with keeping the house
a little cleaner!
Here she is jumping for joy
because she picked up all of her
toys by herself!

Raelee was weird with her sleep schedule
for some reason this month....
a wee frustrating, but who could
be upset with that sweet little face

and then there is this cute face....
yup I give in SOMETIMES
during nap time and we just play!!

I hate pie.
and cake.
I'm weird I know,
I hate to admit this, because it goes against
everything I have always believed.
Trevor REALLY wanted to try a new
pie recipe.
Pecan pie.
I really did fight for awhile,
but gave in while telling him he would
end up eating the whole thing
by himself.
Little did I know that it was actually really good!
shh, I probably ate most of it!

For Thanksgiving we had the missionaries
and one of my bestest friends,
technically cousin,
Sara and her hubby David come over!
It was so different from the huge
family gatherings that we were used to,
but it was great to have SOME family
and enjoy a message and the company
of some really amazing Elders!

We actually grilled our turkey,
and it turned out awesome!!!
I won't rub in too much
that we enjoyed some nice 75 degree weather.
Talk about being THANKFUL!!

We celebrated Trevor's birthday!
He got a sweet helicopter.
Madi and I picked right,
cause he is like an 8 year old
all giddy with joy when he flies that thing!

Oh, and he grew the handle-bar mustache
for MOvember......
appartently it's nation wide??
Anywoo, it was hilarious:)

His theme was Despicable Me.
That is one of our family favorites.
I love the cake personally!

We played pin the alien on the moon

And bowling with the minions
and bean toss with the 3 little kittens!
It was fun and we loved spending the whole
night with Trev!!!

Raelee turned 4 month!!
She was 97% for height
and in the 40's for weight.
She LOVES baby food.
The dr gave the go ahead,
and boy this girl loves her food!!

At the beginning of the month we
finally got around to carving our pumpkins
from Halloween:)
Better late than never!

Madi's huge project this month was
helping me color rice
and fill up her pool in the unfinished room
downstairs!!
Cleaner than a sandbox,
and we can use it all winter long now!!

Dear Blog...

2011-11-29T18:43:00.002-07:00

I've been avoiding you for some time now.
I'm not sure if it is due to my new
love of pinterest,
or that I have so much to write about
that I don't even know where to start.
Some day I'll return:)

On Friday I was unloading the dishes while the
girls were playing in the living room.
Nothing out of the ordinary,
Madison was dancing around Raelee
as Rae babbled to her.
All the sudden I heard a thud and Rae cried,
I instantly thought that Madi was trying to pick
up Rae....luckily I was wrong.
Madi had just jumped up in the air and landed with a thud.

Me: "Madi, what did you do?"
Madi: "I didn't do anything!"
Me: "Why is Raelee crying?"

she placed her little hand on her hip

Madi: "Because mommy, babies just cry sometimes."

ARE. YOU. KIDDING?
I'm pretty sure I stood there for a split second
with a dumbfounded look on my face.
Yup, my 2 year old has common sense!
:)
Thanks Mads, for reminding me yet again, just how bright you really are!

Tis the season for Autumn

2011-11-09T14:58:00.003-07:00

This time of year is gorgeous in Kansas!
It's been in the 60's,
chilly enough for jackets and warming
up on the heater vents in the mornings:)
We have yet to see any snow,
which is quite different from what we are used to.
We are LOVING it!

Earlier today, Madison wanted to count her money
that she has stashed in an old vitamin bottle.
We counted it out - $19.47,
this girl is richer than I thought!
As we were sliding the money back through
the slot in the lid she glanced up at
me with quite the evil looking sneer and said,
"Mommy, you are a vulture - DON'T steal my money!"
Seriously? Yes.
Let's be honest - I was HELPING put the money back!
I have no clue how this girl comes up with all of her lines.
I just know she continues to make me laugh,
harder and harder!

These two are quite the pair.
I have no clue what they were googling over,
but the best is when I asked them to smile for me!

CLASSIC!
get real mom, we were having fun before you
brought out the camera

Trevor and Madi made some noodles
for some yummy soup!
Or dare I say, Madison showered our
kitchen with flour??
Either way, the soup was good
and we all had fun!

please excuse the garbage, our un-carved pumpkin
and Madison's panties:)

Trick-or-Treat

2011-11-09T14:15:00.003-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
ahem...like 2 weeks ago :)

We had a wonderful Halloween this year!
We had 2 parties on different nights,
plus trick-or-treating on Halloween night too.
Madison got her dressing up fill for the month!

We went as the Wizard of OZ this year....
duh, who couldn't see that coming, really?

My lovely friend Jessica started our day off
with a haircut for miss moo!
The girl's hair is sooo long,
her curls were starting to get weighed down!
She cut a few inches and added some layers,
So much better - Thanks Jess!!

Our Raelee babe has some long hair too!
at 3 1/2 months we got some piggy tails goin on :)
I shoulda done this forever ago!

She was practically begging me to rub those
spots where the ponies were...
you all know that is the best feeling after a pony!!

She's totally got style...
plus, who can resist those CHEEKS!

We had one party the week before Halloween,
Madison = Dorthy
Raelee = Todo
Trevor & Keesa = the lollipop guild munchkins
We didn't get a picture on our camera of this,
but one of my friends did.
Depending on how horrible we look, I might share.

The Saturday before we had trunk-or-treating
with our ward and a dinner!
Madi thought this was the coolest thing ever.
Trev and I were poopers and didn't want to
get into our munchkin garb,
so for this one Trevor wore is bus driver outfit
and I wore the famous blowup turkey!

Madi did a little trick-or-treating up our street
and then she helped pass out candy....
she LOVED passing out the candy and seeing all
the kids in their costumes.

We also had some friends over for
our tradition of chili and rootbeer!
We are such evil parents...
who buys a pumpkin
and never carves it??
oops, maybe next year!
We were too busy playing and doing skype!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Growing kids

2011-10-18T12:31:00.008-06:00

We started out our month the best way
we could,
with General Conference of course!
We were able to watch all four sessions
TOGETHER!
In the past, Trevor has always had to work
on Saturdays.
It was so nice to have 2 full days of just
our little family!

This was Sunday morning,
we watched upstairs on the computer
while I made our traditional cinnamon rolls
for breakfast.

It totally look like she is taking notes....
start 'em early right?

Trevor had an itch to do something
awesome for Madison.
We bought her a new learning game,
and so he made a treasure map with clues
for her to discover her special surprise!

I can't decide if it was more fun watching Madi
figure out all the clues,
or watch Trevor make it!

Yesterday was a special day for BOTH my girls!
They were both born on the 17th,
just in different months.
So Madison is officially 2 1/2 years
and Raelee in now 3 months.

Attempting to take a child's photograph
is no piece of cake....
especially when they are your own kids I have discovered.
So all the photographers out there who can get
kids to actually smile for pictures,
you get an extra gold star from me!

I tried taking some of the girls,
and well - at least I got one good one
out of like 50 for each of them!

Raelee loves her little jumperoo!
We've been putting her in it
every now and again in the last month.
She's gotten really good and holding her head up
so we felt it was safe.
She goes CRAZY in this thing.
She swings herself back and forth and up and down,
but only with her right foot.

Allison and I had a good turn out for
Daddy daughter night
for Activity Days.
I love being with these cute girls!
They make me laugh so hard,
I forget the enthusiasm and energy
8-11 yr old girls have.

Madison is always wanting to sing
to her baby sis and tell her stories.
These two light up every time they see each other.

I can't believe how much they BOTH have grown

Raelee's 3 month growth picture.
I don't know her stats,
but I can tell you, she seems to be getting
taller everyday!
( ps, I'm totally going to finish this quilt ONE day )

Madison's 2 1/2 yr growth picture.
She's pretty much out grown her quilt!

...once upon a time she was tiny!

So Madison had her check up with the dr yesterday.
They did the routine look in ears, eyes, mouth.
Took height and weight measurements,
( 36 in. tall, 56% - 27 lbs 31% )
Madi has always been our super skinny girl,
she is finally ON the charts people!
31% is amazing for her, I was so pleased.
The dr said now that she finally has some weight,
she will probably shoot up in height!
They also did some intelligence testing,
to make sure she is at the level of a 2 1/2 year old.
It was fun to watch Madi answer all the questions,
and to see the dr's response!
He looked at me surprisingly and said
I need to put her in kindergarten ASAP.
I just laughed at him, and he was serious.
She came out with a 5-6 year old level!
She has some serious brains!
Way to go Madison, we are so proud of
how smart you are!
We won't be putting her in school,
but we will think about pre-school next year!

September wrap up

2011-10-12T12:23:00.009-06:00

Ever since Trevor started
school again I feel like time is
rushing right past us!

Every Wednesday the girls
and I go play with a bunch of friends
from the JRC.

A few weeks ago
we went to feed some ducks
at one of the many ponds.

Madi has gotten really good at
throwing.
It was hilarious,
she kept hitting all the
ducks - oops!

They had this sweet tree
that had a bunch of carvings.
I have found they have
very random pieces of art
around Topeka

That same week
we went to the zoo with
Madi's friends
Wyatt and Claire.

This poor guy must have gotten a cold,
Madi kept telling me
"wipe his nose, he has boogies"

In September Raelee also turned 2 months!
She is still growing like crazy!
22.75 in - 61% for height
11.69 lbs - 69% for weight

Raelee is purple and Madison is red

She has been our amazing sleeper!
At 4 wks Raelee slept 7.5 hrs until
6 wks, then she switched to 8-9 hrs,
at 8 wks she was sleeping 10 hrs per night
and the five nights in a row we have hit 11 hrs!!
Very different from Madison,
who just couldn't stand being away from her mommy:)
We love both our girls
and enjoy seeing the differences they each have!

It's starting to get 'cold' in the mornings now!
Upper 60's and low 70's
first thing in the morning.
It feels wonderful!
I love fall, and am so excited
to actually enjoy a few months
instead of the few weeks we normally had
back home!

Raelee has been loving
Madi's leggins!
They are way too big,
but they do the trick for the few
hours in the morning that we need them!

We had a B-day party
for Granny-Tanny!!
( yes, she is all the way across the country
but that won't stop us from celebrating! )
wonderful thing we call skype!
Madison loved decorating
and cooking oatmeal butterscotch bars!

Party dress and all!
ps...it was eeyore's birthday too!
He turned 2 and Granny Tanny turned 3!
Man she is old!

Last month, Raelee
discovered she has hands!
She has begun to smile and babble tons!
She gets especially happy every time
her sister is 2 mm away from her face.
She loves the attention and Madison
is more than willing to give it!

Madi was sad to learn that it isn't 100 degrees in the morning
anymore.
She wanted to swim.....
mommy to the rescue!

September vanished before our eyes,
I'm already behind posting
for October!
But the good thing is,
it's cause I'm having so much fun with my family!

More Miss Moo Quotes

2011-10-08T19:46:00.003-06:00

I had just finished making lunch and had
asked Madi to come up to the table
her response,

"I'm being entertained right now!"
( she was playing with my flip flops )

I was playing with Raelee on the floor
and Madi had been coloring by us.
I asked her what she was coloring,

"I'm just writing INDENTATIONS to my family"

I'm fairly certain she meant invitations,
but am still shocked that she even
knew the word.

We sat down for dinner.
I made stuffed shells,
Madi loves anything with noodles!
She took one bite,

"Mommy, you make the good job best dinner ever!"

By far my favorite of the day!
I was changing Raelee's messy diaper,
as I pulled the diaper off
Madi gasped and yelled,

"It's GREASY!!"
( bwahahaha, seriously? I almost cried laughing )

Madi keeps us quite entertained!

fAmiLiA

2011-09-28T13:47:00.005-06:00

We were lucky enough to
have another visit from some family!
(yay for family)
One of my sisters came out for a splendid weekend
away from school and work!
Every time a plane would fly by
( before my sister was to arrive )
Madi would stop whatever she was doing
and say,
"Millie's plane is here!!!"
Eventually, yes it was her plane
and we had such a GREAT
weekend!

Of course Madi wanted to
take Millie to the art museum!
We were lucky, the lego museum
was only here until that Saturday.

This is the wickedly crazy bird
houses that are ginormous!

Making her very own lego creation

and it wouldn't be a trip if we
didn't feed the fish!

enjoyed some of the GREEN scenery!
( yes, amazingly topeka is green )

and I attempted making a grasshopper pie!
it was delicious :)

Made raspberry jam...

Planted some tulips in the front yard!
Hopefully they will pop up in the spring.

Crazy statues at the University

Thanks for the visit Millie!!
We loved having you,
and the fact that you brought
a HUGE bag of SQUEAKY CHEESE!

LOVE

2011-09-27T14:23:00.000-06:00

Madi just informed me that she
loves me more than ICE CREAM....
that is some serious love my friends!

My Morning

2011-09-23T13:10:00.004-06:00

This morning was going wonderfully!
We were all at the kitchen table,
Madison was coloring and eating her snack,
Raelee was playing in her bouncer,
while I finished up some strawberry jam.

All the sudden,
Raelee relieved herself!
She seemed happy and content,
so I decided to wait a few minutes
to make sure she was finished.

And this is what I get.....

Funny how you can be happy while sitting in that!
I finally got her down to her diaper
and wrapped her in the blanket she was on.
(I still had another child waiting for me at the table)
Madi followed me into the bathroom announcing
she wanted to give 'Rae-babe' her bath!
Little did she know...
I laid Raelee on the floor while I filled the tub.
I asked Madi to not touch Rae cause she
was really poopie.
She didn't really understand till she opened the
blanket and instantly jumped away:)
Next time she'll listen right?

Clean baby,
for now!

The best part....
This is what Madison was doing
as I finished getting Raelee dressed.

She wanted to be a ninja turtle -
I let her wear my old ninja turtle shirt
to bed sometimes.
She wore it last night,
and I guess she felt she needed
to wear it over her clothes today.
Gosh I love her.
Feel free to watch

( I really am a nice mommy, promise! )

Annual Balloon Festival

2011-09-22T13:42:00.010-06:00

Every year in Topeka
they do a hot air balloon show!
This was our first year,
and won't be our last.

It was fun to be able to be so
up close and personal
with the balloons and their pilots!

We chit-chatted with a few
and learned a little bit more
about flying balloons.

Madison LOVED it!

Enjoy the plethera of pictures...

Labor Day

2011-09-20T22:24:00.004-06:00

We decided to have a few friends over for

a BBQ on Labor day.
You can't have Labor Day
without a BBQ
right?

I forgot about taking
pictures in the beginning....
oops!
The girls had fun swimming
in the pool.
We played games,
and of course ate our little hearts out!
I even tried some new
recipes for home-made
snickers and butterfingers!
They turned out delicious:)

Taylor, Madi & Macie
(the 3 amigos, I kid you not!)

The boys playing games...
looks like Patrick may be the only
one winning?

Allison, Sarah, Randi, Raelee and Me!

It was a great weekend with friends!
Yay for no work (or school)

2011-09-09T14:08:00.001-06:00

August!!

2011-09-08T23:26:00.000-06:00

I forgot to post this in July,
when Raelee was 2 wks old....
Here are both my girls at 2 weeks.
Raelee is with the PURPLE
and
Madison is with the RED

August was a busy,
yet fun month for us!

My brother and SIL visited the first week,
we had a few friends move in too.

We took Madi and Raelee swimming
over at Adam and Randi's place...
ok, so Raelee didn't really go swimming
cause the water was too cold for her,
but it was fun getting her
in her swimming suit
and watching Madi and Trev swim!

This is Shawnee Lake,
it's right by our house and we LOVE this place!!
The water is like bath water -
just my temperature for swimming!

Raelee was 4 weeks when we
brought her for the first time.
She totally loved basking
in the sun!!

Madison loves being more
independent and floating by herself.
She also built some really sweet castles!

Trevor started his first year of Law School!!
Hip-hip-horray!
May the count down begin :)
I made him take a picture,
just as if he was in elementary school, haha!

Here is Madi waving good-bye
and blowing kisses.
Notice the tiny blue piece of metal in
our garage??
Yup, we paid a whoppin' 600
buckaroonies on the
'blue streak'
It's actually in perfect condition
and gets Trevor to and from
school a lot quicker than the local bus.
Plus we are saving major bucks
on gas, cause it is pretty much
as small as a smart car!
haha

We may have some curly hair on our sweet Raelee!
I'm not betting that it will stay,
but my fingers and crossed!

Madison has discovered
the wonderful world of imagination!
This is her driving us to Dillon's,
the grocery store we usually go to.
She sat down in her banana chair and asked
me where I wanted to go.
I told her we needed some milk!!
She smiled and took out my old corolla key,
stuck it in her 'knee pit'
and said vrooooom....
pausing to say,
"wait, I forgot my glasses!"
she ran to her bedroom and came
back with these red beauties!
walked over to me and made a click sound
with her tongue while motioning
strapping on a seat belt.
And the darling that she is,
added another click
for Raelee so she was safe too:)
She went back to her chair and stated,
"I gotta put on my seat belt too,
so the coppers don't take me away!"

I'm glad she catches on quick!

We ventured out for some walks,
during the afternoon hours even!
The weather here has actually
cooled down and is so
wonderful!
The last few morning I've actually
gotten cold!!
It's been in the mid 80's -
I love it!

Madi likes to walk her baby too!

Raelee sleeps just like her momma.
Only the best position in the world!

and then we have wonderful Madi,
who never sleeps in the same position twice:)

HAHA
part of our basement isn't finished...
this is where Trevor hides to do homework
when he isn't at the library!
We sure do LOVE our daddy for working
super hard!!
( 2 saturdays ago he studied for 7.5 hrs )
Luckily it isn't like the every weekend....so far!

Raelee turned 1 month in August!
She weighed in at 9 lbs 13 oz!!
She is still super healthy.
She actually rolled over for the first time
at the dr's office!
The dr was so excited, he kept trying
to get her to do it again.
She smiles and talks all the time now,
most of her smiles come out
when Madi is talking and playing with her.
Its so much fun to see them interact!

Here is Raelee at 1 month,
I feel horrible because I can't
find Madison's 1 month picture on her blanket.

One night we went over to Trevor's school
to the coy pond.
Madi loved feeding the fish and hunting
for the frogs!

One day this past month
Madison decided she wanted a cape.
How she figured out what one was
is beyond me.
She kept saying she needed a cape
so she could be super Madi!
So I dug through my scraps and
came up with this!
Pretty sweet for a 5 min project,
plus it made her day!

I had deja vu when I saw Madison like this.
I hurried and snapped a picture.
This is exactly how I remember
my niece Maranda,
only instead of playing with her belly button,
it was her earlobe!
slurping down juice with those
big blue eyes peeking over the top!

My girls LOVE each other.
I'm not just saying that
because I am their mother...
they honestly do.
Raelee will watch Madi's every move!
She is quiet and listens when Madison
reads and tells her 'spooky stories'!
Madi tells me all the time
"my sissy poo is my best friend"
I sure hope it stays that way!

Out here there is a group called JRC
Its a group of lots of the Law students and their families.
We all get together for fun activites.
During the week all the wives
and kids get together and do fun activities.
Most of them are LDS
It's great to have a group that supports
one another and is a family away from family!

These pictures are from
Old prairie town.
It was so hot that we stayed most the time
in the ice cream parlor and chatted!
Randi and I ran out
for a few minutes to tour the place.

These huge flowers totally reminded me of Hawaii!!

We have had a lot of swimming days
this summer!
The pool was the only place to stay cool
when outside!

"mommy, I promise I'm not tired. I don't
want a nap!!"
HAHA, ya right my dear daughter....

Daddy taught Madison to play frisbee
at the park!
She actually did pretty good.

We had yet another wonderful
wind/lightening storm one night.
Our power was out for 22 hours.
As I laid in bed watching the lightening
flash through my window every three seconds
at 2 in the morning, I seriously thought
my house was going to lose its roof.
The wind was so horrible,
I'm surprised the tornado siren didn't sound!
So many trees had fallen over,
they were EVERYWHERE
as we drove around later that next day!

Who said being a mom of two was hard??

Madi and I did our regular morning routine,
ate breakfast and got her ready for the day
and I hopped in the shower while Madi
'babysat' (listened for her to wake up)
Raelee.
After I finished I came out to see this.....
I swear this girl could read all day if I let her.

Good Morning Madison!!
Madi totally slept in one day,
Raelee and I went in to wake her up...
notice her 'night gown'!
Trev thinks its fun to put her in his old
cut off shirts - and of course Madi
thinks its the coolest thing ever.

Making pretzels for FHE one night!

Skyping 'Granny tanny'
as Madi would put it!

When Raelee wakes up in the morning
Madison has to entertain herself
while Raelee has her breakfast.
Madison's latest thing,
besides bringing in all her books to read to us,
is finding her stool
and flipping on and off the lights!

Please take note that in the first
picture she couldn't find her stool,
so she used her coloring book.
Darn, not tall enough!!

Finally figured it out!

Not only does she throw away dirty diapers,
she has become pro at folding
towels, burp cloths
and her underware!

Saving the butterfly that decided
to take a swim in Madi's pool

It was a very HOT and HUMID month,
but we had a great end to our summer vacation!

2011-09-08T11:28:00.003-06:00

Madi was 'cooking' Raelee and I
some yummy breakfast this morning.

Madison's comment...
"Mommy, this is much delicious,
don't you think so?"

Madison's thought

2011-09-05T09:46:00.003-06:00

Madi's quote of the day...

"Mom, am I your little human?"
followed by a small giggle
"oh wait, no, I'm just your Madison"

Where does she get this stuff?

A morning to remember

2011-09-03T19:36:00.002-06:00

I had the perfect start to my Saturday today!
Raelee woke up at 8:30,
Trevor brought her in to me
and crawled back into bed.....
a few minutes later,
we hear pitter patter and Madison
appeared with a stack of books.

It was pure bliss,
all of us girls snuggling up to Trevor
listening to stories.

An absolute PERFECT morning:)

This girl has brains...

2011-08-20T17:25:00.005-06:00

It seems Madison has always
been quick to pick up on
certain things....
such as talking and potty training.

This little smarty pants
has been repeating hilarious
lines from movies.
As of late,
it's mainly 'UP' or 'RIO'

We try to be creative
in the different things that we teach her.
Just to test the waters,
we decided to see
just how smart she really is.

Not thinking too much would happen,
we thought learning to add
would be fun!

enjoy the video....
pretty much sums it up!

I've started on subtraction....
who knows, maybe she'll be able to
do long division by 1st grade!
hahaha

Free fence anyone???

2011-08-18T14:30:00.002-06:00

Today a few of the other
1st yr law students' wives came
over for lunch and to hand out before
Raelee's doctor appointment.

We were all having a grand time,
ate lunch with the kiddos,
laughing and enjoying
all the stories being told!

After lunch,
we let Macey and Madison
get into their swimming suits
and head out back into the pool.
The four of us adults stayed inside
at the table with the
babies and watched out the sliding door.

Madison is 2 and Macey is 3.
They were having a blast together,
it was so fun to see Madi playing wonderfully
with someone actually close to her age!
(She seems to prefer age 6 - adult age)

We were talking,
as women do best,
and all the sudden noticed the girls were no longer in the pool!
Madison never leaves my sight,
and Macey never leaves Sarah either....

We walked around front,
thinking they had to be there.
No girls in sight!

Randi stayed with Raelee and Hazen
While Sarah, Missy and I took off
running in every direction!
Screaming their names, we heard nothing.
I haven't been so scared, upset and angry
all at once.
My heart was sinking as I couldn't
find any trace of the girls.
Finally Missy yelled to us,
they had gone into someone's
backyard in a playhouse!!

I think they weren't responding to Missy
because they knew they did something
wrong.
Both girls were crying,
Madi was saying
"don't be mad mommy!"
I wasn't mad in the least!!
I was so grateful to have my baby girl back.
We had a good discussion with the girls,

....and I decided we need a fence

Beware - Forever Long Post

2011-08-10T13:17:00.034-06:00

Maybe I should start updating a little
more often, yes?
we shall see....

I have too many pictures to post,
even though it still seems I have posted
a million in this one!

I honestly had no desire to get these pictures
in the right order whatsoever!!
So sorry for the jumping around:)

The last two months have been
BUSY, tiring,
but oh so fun!!

We have finished many projects on the house.
we've enjoyed MANY visitors!!
Plus we welcomed another
sweet little girl into our lives.

In July my 2 older brothers,
with their families came for a visit
as they headed west
to Utah to visit our family.

We took them to a fun lego museum!
It was amazing the skills this
guy had.
They even had a fun play area
where the kids could
build their own lego sculptures.

Madi and her cousin Ali Jo
building like pros!

I LOVE the cello....
sure with I could take it home!

Uncle Brz:)

We've come up with quite the creative
things for Madi to do!
She is scoping out the wild bunnies
and squirrels that scamper
around in our backyard.

Madison had a bad fever one week
so we missed out on church.
Luckily we had our own nursery
that Sunday!
We had our lesson and singing time
and colored pictures with
chocolate pudding!

Like I said, these are totally out of order!
Ali, Brig and Madi

Earlier in the month we had
stadium fireworks show
right in our driveway!!
Everyone here in Topeka goes
crazy over the 4th of July.
It was probably the best firework show
I have seen yet!

In memory of Madison's
obsession with my belly when I was pregnant!
She constantly was asking
"mommy, can I blow on your belly?"
She'd try to lift my shirt up in public!

Thank you Nana for the body paint!!

One of the sweet lakes that we live by!
There was a carnival
with lots of activities and stands
by the lake.
It was super hot that day...
pretty much like everyday here!
The last few weeks it's been
around 114 degrees almost everyday,
not to mention the lovely humidity
that makes your clothes automatically
stick to your skin as you walk out the door!
Lucky for us,
the last few days its only gotten to the mid 90's
and in the mornings its wonderful,
about 70!
We can actually go for walks now!!

Madi found herself a little friend one day
when we went out to go swimming
in her pool!
And yes, she did manage to pick up
this tiny little frog
to try and figure out his name!
I think it ended up being
buttons or something??

Trevor finished all the flooring in the kitchen
and all 3 bathrooms!
Glorious day I tell you!
It's been so nice to finally have
everything settled.
Painting was horrible,
I never knew my arms could hurt so bad!!
Everything is done, which is great
because Trevor starts school on Monday!
GULP!

Madison riding her train at the carnival
at Lake Shawnee

Madi and daddy chillin in the pool!
It honestly was like bath water
because of all the heat!

I don't know if it's the heat, humidity
or just all the fun we have been enjoying,
but little miss priss has been sleeping
3 -4 hours
EVERYDAY during nap time
this entire summer!

My daughter has quite the imagination
as of late.
It makes me laugh - harder than usual!
She found my box of extra fabric,
and well - we had some serious fun!

Bath time is always fun with daddy!
Daddy had to step in quite a bit
with bath time towards the end
of my pregnancy.
It was too hard to lift Madi in and out
and bend over to wash!

Trevor's parents were able to come visit
us for a whole week at the
very end of July!
And my younger brother Dave was able to
come for a long weekend!
It was so fun to have them.
Not to mention they helped out
a TON!

Madison painting daddy's toes!

They totally match - was so fun!
Daddy is such a great sport.
He even went to scout camp the next
day and didn't remove it!
Now that is love.

For FHE while Nana and Papa were here
we had a lesson about the Holy Ghost.
He teaches us when to STOP and GO
when making choices!
So, we totally taught Madi how
to play 'Red light, Green light'
She loved it!

Trev and his parents took Madi to the zoo
while Raelee and I stayed home.
It was way to hot for us to go out!

What luck - I got both girls sticking out
their tongues :)
I surely love my adorable girls!

Our very own cousin IT!

This pic is an inside joke for my family....
All I have to say is,
Dave on the cruise!!
hahahah

At Lake Shawnee they placed a bunch of rocks
and dug out the bottom and put in a bunch of
sand, plus made a big beach!!
They have little tiki huts and slides!
This is a favorite, and only 10 min
from home!!

Nana and Mads rockin' the
hankies!

This girl sleeps like a charm!
The other night, she slept
THE WHOLE NIGHT!!
It was marvelous,
and of course wasn't repeated:)
On average, Raelee will usually
sleep for 4-5 hours the first part of the night
and then 2-3 hrs the next.
So I usually only get up once or twice,
I really can't complain.
Like night and day my two girls!!

At birth Raelee weighed 7 lbs 15 oz
by 2 weeks they like the baby to be back
to his/her birth weight.....

At her 1 week appt
she weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz

At her 2 week appt
she weighed in at a whoppin
9 lbs 2 oz!!

Needless to say,
I don't think she is starving!

Madi doing Papa's hair

Every Wednesday they have
a fun activity at the library for the kids.
Madison lives for Wednesday mornings!!
Nana and Papa were able to go see
Mr. Stinky Feet :)
I'm not entirely sure what went
on, I think he did more
of a singing time with the kids.
The babe and I stayed home for this one.

My brother Dave flew in on a Friday morning.
Since we were out that way,
we drove over to see the new
temple being built in Kansas City,
then ventured to Liberty Jail
and our last stop was the Visitors Center in
Independence!
David and I have been to all these sights,
but Trevor and his parents haven't!
So it was so much fun to take them!!

Ahhhh, laughing with my brother again.

The temple is gorgeous!
Notice Dave and Madi.
I love watching those two play.
They both adore each other - its great!

Yee-haw!!

What a surprise!!
Everyone was taking pictures of the
'seashell' temple across the street
from the visitor's center.
It was super hot, so I wanted
to get my girls inside
before we died!
As I walked through the door
I see a sister missionary
running towards me with the BIGGEST
grin!
Who else than our sweet Sister Dodd!!
She was transferred to the VC
right after we had taken her to lunch
the month before!
We happened to be lucky
because she had JUST started her shift
and we were her first tour of the day!
It was really touching to see Sister Dodd
share her testimony with us
as we went through the new
'God's Plan' tour.
AWESOME!!
The Spirit was felt very strongly.
I don't know if it was extra special because
I have known Sister Dodd forever,
or because I had my family with me,
or because we had just added to our eternal family
with Raelee,
but it was AMAZING!
Even though I've seen the church
sites before,
it continues to help my testimony
grow that much more.

I am so grateful for MY eternal family!
How blessed my life has been.

I don't know how Joseph Smith
and the other pioneers did it.
Actually living out here now - I would
have died living in this heat!

Since we had some of our family here,
we wanted to take complete advantage!
Trevor was able to bless Raelee,
with the help of his father and my younger brother Dave
on July 31st.
Raelee was only 2 weeks!
Trevor did an amazing job.
I'm so grateful that he holds the priesthood!
It was different not having lots
of our family here,
especially my parents.
We do feel blessed to have had some family
here though!

My mother is a dear sweetheart!
A week and a half before
she was to be blessed,
by mom called to say she
was making Raelee a blessing dress!
Good gravy mom, you are on a mission
and super busy!
I was just planning on using
the dress she made for Madison.
She insisted though, since
this is something she does for all her
grand-daughters.
It arrived a few days before,
and it is so GORGEOUS!
She did an amazing job.
I can't say Thank-You enough!!
I love you mom!

ps.... my kids were both
ready to be done with pictures.
I think the only one I like,
is the one of both girls with Uncle Dave!

Every year we go to bear lake for a week
with Trevor's family and some friends.
They always have some T-shirts made.
Since we didn't get to go to bear lake this year,
we decided to make our own t-shirts for Topeka Kansas!
It was fun!

During the first part of August,
Brig and Ali stayed again
on their way back home to
Nashville.
We had a delicious breakfast,
and when we pulled out the eggs
they were totally frozen!
It was hilarious,
too bad it didn't work out so well
for our over easy eggs!

Ali saying " Aren't babies so cute!!"

I couldn't stop laughing at this picture!
we all had just woken up,
and you can tell he still has a sleep look!

Madi finally got strong enough to squirt the hose on her own!

Everyone just out of bed -
pretty sure Ali looks the best!
In case you were wondering,
letting your hair air dry, doesn't work here!

This past Monday for FHE
we decided to go bowling!!
We know with school starting up this next week
that we won't be seeing much
of Trevor till Christmas.
It was so much fun teaching Madison!
She was super proud of herself
every time she hit down a pin!

Labor & Delivery

2011-07-24T09:56:00.005-06:00

So here is how it went down...

At my 37 week appointment I was
shocked to learn that I was dilated to a 4!
Booyah - lets head right over to the hospital right??
I wish.

I had hope that I would go into labor at any moment!
I didn't!

At my 38 week appointment the midwife
stripped my membranes.
That would surely help move things right along right??
Sure enough - NADA!

I had made an appointment for July 15th
to be induced in the morning
( I was due July 20 )
I woke up, showered, ate a little cereal.
As I finished brushing my teeth,
with my luck,
the hospital called.
Of course, too busy and had to reschedule for the 17th.

Luckily, I hadn't woken Madison up yet.
So we all went back to bed!

Saturday night I had some mighty good contractions,
but surely they didn't mean anything
because I have had some seriously crazy contractions
for the past 6 weeks and they haven't done
any good.

So, knowing the person I am
I simply went back to sleep until Madison woke up
at 3 am.
Why??
This girl normally sleeps through anything.
Maybe she wanted one more moment alone
with mommy and daddy?
We never let her sleep in bed with us,
but that night
I snuggled her until the alarm went off.

We got showered,
grabbed our bags,
took Madi to the babysitter
( she wanted to go back and have a sleepover that night,
so I'm fairly certain we picked a GREAT family to watch her )
We arrived at the hospital on time!
I was sure they were going to call me again
to say no room in the inn!

They started me on my antibiotic
( I was positive for the strep B )
and the midwife ordered in the pitocin!
FINALLY!!

It took a bit, but it arrived and the
midwife came to check me
before we started everything.
To my surprise - I was progressing all on my own!
I was at a 6!
Strangely enough I wouldn't have known,
because I was still talking and breathing through
all of my contractions.

The midwife looked at me and suggested that
if I want my epidural, we should do it first.
Why?
Because there won't be any time for it
if she broke my water.
That little girl may have been stubborn to
stay in me for so long,
but she was coming fast now!

So, they start the pitocin and send for
the anesthesiologist!

The nurse came back in with a worried look.
I don't like when medical personnel
get worried looks.

A poor girl ended up having to have
an emergency c - section and the
only anesthesiologist there
had to go with her.

Again, just my luck!

She told me they were calling as many
people as they could to get someone to
come in.

Eh, someone was bound to show up right?

My contractions were starting to get stronger,
I had them stop the pit for a little while till
we knew someone was coming.

Luckily, they found one!
He decided he could skip out on his trip to Lowe's
to come save me!
Hooray!!

Epidural in
and 20 minutes later
our sweet little Raelee was here!

The medicine got me numb enough,
just in the nick of time!
And I am overly grateful!!

They placed Raelee ( said ray-lee)
on my belly and I was for sure thinking
this girl was going to be a 10 pounder!!
She just looked so chubby:)
Only 7 lb 15 oz though - whew!

She has the most gorgeous hair!
It is black and at least 1/2 in long.
We can't decide if her eyes will eventually turn blue or not.
They seem to be a really dark grayish brown.
So maybe we will have one child with my
baby blues, and one with Trev's gorgeous
dark brown!

Holding daddy's finger during some shots

She eats like a champ - just like Madison did!
45 min of feeding right after deliver
on BOTH sides!!

She is healthy and such a great baby!
She is already sleeping about 3 1/2 hrs
in between feedings at night
which I appreciate greatly.
She looks just like Madison did,
only Raelee is darker.

I wish I would've captured Madi's face
when she very first met Raelee.
It was priceless!!
Her eyes grew twice their normal size
( and this girl already has big eyes )
first words out of her mouth

"mommy, this is my baby sissy!"

"Look at her teeny tiny ears,
her teeny tiny nose!"

"Can I kiss her little cheeks?"

"Her hair is soft like a kitty!"

"Can I tickle her tiny toes?"

And list has continued since we have been home.
Needless to say - I'm pretty sure Madi
likes having a sister!

Just helpin' her sista out!!

Before being discharged from the hospital
the midwife came to check on me one last time.
She said she was so glad we had scheduled an induction,
because had I not gone in Sunday morning -
I would have waited and gotten to the hospital
and already been fully dilated and not
gotten my epidural!

I realize it would not be the end of the world if
I went completely natural.
I congratulate all of you women
who choose - or maybe don't get the choice and have to
go natural,
but I'll be honest,
I like smiling through my labor and delivery,
seems to make everything happier
and then I can fully enjoy
my new baby
and not be dying in pain!

So koodos to all of you!
( like my mom, 2 sisters and a SIL )

I must say - I have the most adorable little girls:)
It's amazing how much love a mother has for her children!

Introducing our newest member...

2011-07-21T17:49:00.003-06:00

Raelee Karla
July 17 @ 11:53AM
7 lbs 15 oz
20.5 in

Madison meeting her 'baby sissy'
shortly after delivery!
She couldn't get over how teeny tiny she is.

Our family of 4!

This one is for Shelley!!

2011-06-24T13:03:00.004-06:00

We had the the Elders over for dinner 2 weeks ago,
we got to talking,
and as snoopy as I am
I asked if they happened to know
any of the newer missionaries that had come out.
Specifically the sister missionaries:)
To my surprise, they knew
my sweet Sister Dodd!!
I got to digging a little deeper
and found out she was only an hour or so away....
So I called the mission office,
and had them make a lunch appointment!
The secretary had to call back and forth
between us a bit to get everything in order.
The best part was,
Madi wasn't exactly sure who was coming!
They told her that her old babysitter
from Topeka was taking her out.
Of course Madi - Sister Dodd
was confused!! Who does she know
in Topeka Kansas?!
We pulled up to the house and she came
running out -
oh it was so awesome to see her!
She seemed so grown up
being a missionary and all.
There wasn't a moment of silence!
She is doing some amazing work,
and I loved her companion,
Sister Cleveland.
They are a perfect fit!
My little Madi was so excited to see
'Sister Madi'!

This picture had to have been taken
about 6-7 years ago!
I randomly found it the other day.
I surely love this girl
in every way!
The Dodd's are like a second family me
and I miss them so dearly.
So it was wonderful to be
able to see one of them way out here!!

Sister Dodd picked out a delicious
custard place!
She got a good picture of
little Madi with ice cream
ALL over her face:)

We also teased Sister Dodd
that we will be naming our next
little girl Hillary!
hahaha!

(for those who don't know Madeline's little
sister is Hillary. And we tease that Madison
was named after Sister Dodd)

Sister Cleveland, us, Sister Dodd
(and Trev is hiding behind the camera)

MAY!!

2011-06-22T14:26:00.012-06:00

May was a wonderful yet crazy month!
We started out with a wonderful anniversary-
Happy 3 babe!!
We made our usual strawberry crepes
and enjoyed some bubbles in the
backyard with Madison before church.

Trev was 'in charge' of our
going on's for this year.
He bought me this beautiful painting
by Simon Dewey.
3 days in the tomb = 3 wonderful years
together!

Trevor graduated from Utah State University!!
It was such an exciting weekend.
Trevor's parents were able to come up to see him walk.
Trevor is the first person EVER in his family to
graduate from college.

Nana and Papa were overly excited for
their boy!

His proud family!

My hunk of a husband!

This is Mary - Trev worked
up on campus in her advising office
this last year,
helping with advising and recruiting!

I had a GREAT mother's day with my family!
We were able to spend the morning with
Nana Mooney and we skyped Granny Tanny Cook
later that evening.
I love my sweet little Madison
and am so grateful that she has been the first
to make me a mother.
I am very excited to be able to start again
here in just a few short weeks with another
darling little girl!

On May 19th we woke up and left Logan
for who knows how long!
We have loved our time in Logan
with our family and amazing friends!
We miss you all so much,
and THANK YOU
for everyone who helped clean our house
and load the truck!!
We wouldn't have been able to do it
very easily without you!:)

Good bye Bear Lake!

Hello Wyoming!

Madi did so awesome this whole trip!!
She would switch between riding with me
and then going with Trevor in the truck.
She learned to play 'I spy'
it was hilarious!

Hello Colorado!
We stayed the night in Denver
and Madi really enjoyed the
break in the pool!
It was nice to get out of the car for a bit.

Bye bye Colorado

Finally - Kansas!!
I won't lie one bit - as we drove
through the western part of Kansas,
I really was scared at the decision we
had just made.
Did I really want to live in this FLAT, oh so
very FLAT land?
It was horrible!
But low and behold,
as we drove as fast as our
truck would let us,
we made it to a very gorgeous,
green filled valley with lots
of rolling hills and trees!
Much different than I was imagining!
We made it to the realtor's office
with only 30 min to spare on a
Friday night to close on our house!
WHEW!!
With phone calls made on the way,
we were able to get our electricity and
water turned on so we could
have a some what of an
enjoyable weekend!

Our 2nd night in Kansas
we heard the tornado sirens going off.
It had gotten freakishly dark quickly
and it was quite the scare!
Luckily we survived - and
at the beginning of the week we went
and found us some home insurance!
We had hail the size of Trev's fist.
We ended up snuggling downstairs
on the air mattress and watching a movie.

Madison has done very well
at entertaining herself while
Trev and I have been unpacking
painting and re-doing some flooring!
She is a gem:)

My two amazing helpers!
Trevor and Madi planting some trees out front!

We still have some work to do on the house,
but it has been seriously wonderful!
We love our home (now that we have new carpet!)
we love our neighborhood,
and we couldn't have asked for a better
ward!
We have made some fun friends,
and met some of the people up at the
University.
Everyone here is so kind and generous -
I'm betting we are going to
love our adventure for the next three years!

APRIL

2011-05-14T21:02:00.012-06:00

Here is our quick overview of April!!

We had a marvelous and quiet
general conference!
Madi stayed occupied
and memorized the 1st presidency!!

Madi turned 2 on April 17th!
I am amazed at how time has flown by
with this sweet little thing.
We celebrated with friends and family the
day before with some swimming!

Played ALL night with cousin Austin

Good morning Birthday Girl!!
Madison was spoiled all day.
She was able to spend all morning with Nana and Papa,
enjoyed some nursery time at church,
and we were able to skype
Grandma and Grandpa and blow out her
birthday candles with them!!

Madi has grown up so much this last year!
We have complete conversations
and I seriously laugh at all
the crazy things she tells me all day long.
She is still super tall - 90th %
and also still skinny - 10th %,
but hey, at least she is finally back on the scale:)

She loves to help cook in the kitchen,
collects rocks and coins.
She is VERY independent,
getting better at not being such a picky eater,
BUBBLES,
bike rides, sidewalk chalk,
snuggling,
building forts,
continues to love reading,
swimming,
and any adventure she can get her hands on!

Easter was fabulous!
We didn't dye eggs last year,
so it was exciting to watch Madi
explore the fun of dye!

Uncle Dave came to help!

After dying eggs,
Madison proceeded to crack one open
and eat the egg!
At first she accidentally dropped one
and she explained to us
she 'popped' the egg!

We made some sugar cookies
and she went to town decorating!

We colored a pretty picture for the
easter bunny and left him
and tiny snack!

Easter egg hunt

Finding all the prizes inside

including her first bubble gum!

The bunny left her a note
thanking her for the yummy carrots,
she loved it!

Madi was helping make some
pigs in a blanket....
the pictures say enough,
she loves hot dogs:)

All in all,
April was a good month for us!

MOVING!!

2011-05-13T22:32:00.002-06:00

I've been packing LOTS lately....
We weren't planning to move until the last week of July.
The Lord likes to tease us, and BLESS us,
that is for sure:)

So many mystery puzzle pieces
to our summer puzzle of a life
were placed quite quickly in the last 2 weeks!

So off we will go,
in a mere 6 days
to Kansas!!

I'm hoping to find Dorthy and Todo:)
Bring on the heat and humidity,
our adventure is only beginning!!

No more diapers!! (for a few months)

2011-03-24T13:58:00.003-06:00

Whew....
I sure was going to give the update
on potty training quite a bit ago,
but of course we have been running around
like usual.
Not to mention we ended up in
the E.R.
with miss priss and the
case of croup!
Now that she can breathe again,
we shall update!!

SHE DID IT!!
Her stubborness has truly paid off!
Our first day, we had 7 wet panties.....
mmmm, as fun as it was cleaning the carpet
7 times while being nearly 6 months pregnant,
I kinda didn't think this was such a good idea!
Alas, I shall try again tomorrow.

Only 1 accident on day 2!!
Made me feel loads better.
I also changed up the reward...
instead of one or two treats,
I painted one or two nails!
Good thinking right? Cause if anyone knows Madi,
she will do just about anything to paint her nails!

playing angry birds or texting daddy?

Only 1 accident on day 3!!
I also got a little daring and put a skirt on her!
(she'd been running around in a shirt and socks)
We also played outside and blew bubbles with
the neighbor's girl.
We even went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner
this night, and she told me twice she needed to go...
and she did, in the potty like a big girl!

We haven't had anymore accidents,
I was so nervous about nursery!
But my sweet little girl has proven
me wrong!

Way to Madi!!
You truly are such a big girl....
all before you even turn 2! :)

Say What??

2011-03-14T14:08:00.003-06:00

So, apparently my little girl is growing
up a little faster than
I had truly hoped!

Not only did she tell Trevor the other
day as he was helping her get dressed
"daddy, I don't wear onsies anymore"
BUT,
she informed me on Friday evening
"I don't want my diapers anymore mommy"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
So, I figured since she wanted to
poop in the potty at 18 months,
why not just give the whole thing a try?!

HA!
This is going to be an interesting few days!
We went and bought miss priss some
BIG girl panties - she even picked out her own:)
One problem, sure hope they fit!
This girl is tiny, and the smallest I could find
was a 2T/3T.

So here is to our new adventure that
will begin tomorrow!
Any suggestions??

Wish us luck!!

Chirstmas break and then some...

2011-02-22T13:27:00.020-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that
I am the best blogger EVER!
HAHA ya right:)

I have my excuses though:)

Well, Christmas break ended up being
filled with more fun than I thought
imaginable!

Of course we played in the snow
almost every day while we
were in Utah.
Madi learned to make snow angels!

Madi LOVES to help out in the kitchen!
I honestly can't remember what these two
cooked up that day, but I'm fairly certain
it was delicious!

And then off to sunny California we went!
I'll be honest, it was my first Christmas
without snow, and it was a little weird,
but I won't complain one bit....
because it was so nice to warm
up for a few weeks!

Madi helped Grandma do her hair
EVERY morning

They had a huge Christmas dinner for all the
missionaries. It was actually really good:)
Madison wants to be a missionary someday,
she became best buddies with the AP's.
Every time the doorbell would
ring she'd yell out
"the missionaries are here!"

David and Kamille came us to spend
Christmas with my parents.

Madi loved being toted around with
Grandma and Grandpa to meet
all the missionaries.

On Christmas, Madison was a good
helper and helped open
everyone's presents.
Before we went downstairs to find
what Santa had brought
we were up talking in bed and we
had pulled Madi in with us when she woke up.
Trevor had a fun conversation with her.....

Trevor - 'Madi, I think someone with a big white beard
and reindeer came to visit last night'
Madison -'Santa?'
Trevor - 'I think he left you a surprise'
Madison - (as she sprang up out of bed) 'PRESENTS!!'

Needless to say, I think she gets it.

This first pic is of the tradition of opening up
pj's from Grandma and Grandpa...
I somehow forgot to get a pic of how cute they were!

The AP's! They were so much fun to have around.

I know they helped out my parents loads!
They dressed as the three wise men!
My mom's amazing sewing skills worked wonders!

Here we are at the Mormon Battalion down
in San Diego.
That gun suits him well, no?

Finding our GOLD!!

San Diego Temple

We were able to spend part of Christmas day at the
beach!!
It was marvelous, good way to end the year!

San Diego zoo!

We also started out the New Year at
another beach!!
Madi and I were observing this pelican,
and decided he wanted to check us out
too I guess! He landed right by us!

we took this random picture, in memory of
some friends...u know who u are:)

she would NOT stop chasing
all the seagulls!

And to add to the new year,
Madi has been in a toddler bed for almost two months!
I was nervous, and kept the
crib up for 2 weeks.
Of course she proved me wrong,
she absolutely loves it!
She only gets out in the morning when she's awake
and after her naps.
We've been lucky with this sweet girl!

As for other updates on our lives....

We are so excited to announce that we
will be having another little GIRL!!
We are due July 20!
Madi has been saying sister over brother
for awhile now, so I guess she gets
her wish!
We really could not be happier!

Not only that, but a very few SHORT
weeks after we have the baby
we will be heading for Law School!
I won't tell you where quite yet, because we thought we
were going one place, but have since changed our minds!
I'm so proud of Trev, he's been accepted to a few schools
and put on the wait list for the others!
We've been offered a few scholarships which makes it even better!

As far as we can tell 2011 will be a year
of fun adventures for out family!!

just a thought

2010-12-10T14:24:00.002-07:00

" The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me is more important than facts,
it is more important than the past, than education, than money,
than circumstances, than failures, than successes,
than what other people say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.
It will make or break a company...a church...a home.
The remarkable thing is that you have a choice everyday regarding the
attitude you will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past...
we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable...the only thing we can do is play on the one
string we have, and that is
our attitude. "

Let it SNOW!!

2010-11-22T13:33:00.003-07:00

Saturday we received enough
snow for Madison to
build a snowman!!
She wouldn't stop eating the snow,
she LOVES this weather:)