New Friends

The big event is Saturday and when I say big I mean it literally.  Madison's birthday party is Saturday.  I have been prepping and preparing for weeks now.  Invitations were addressed and mailed weeks ago and boy did we send the invites out.  We invited everyone that has touched our lives and shared in the joy of our sweet baby girl.  We invited over a hundred people and by no means is our house big enough to hold a hundred people but hey it is what it is.  Our house is going to be filled, I mean really full, packed even, with love.

In preparation for Maddie's party we got some new friends.





I don't think Madison really knows what to think about the fish.  She takes her tiny finger and pokes at the bowl, looks at me, says something in baby language and then tries to stick her hand in the top.



Our new friends eat three times a day and Madison is eager to help feed them.  She watches every move I make as I take the tiny, smelly flakes of goldfish food and drop them in the bowl.





Our new friends are a big hit in the house, I just hope they make it until Saturday.

We love the Fall!

Fall is a beautiful time of the year in the Midwest. The lush green landscaping morphs in to vibrant yellows, oranges and reds. Although this year, with the lack of rain, our lush green landscaping has been brown for quite some time. But now mother nature has brought the color back.



And we are happy for the fall colors.



The landscaping isn't the only enjoyable aspect of fall. Nope, one of the best parts of fall is the leaves. Once the leaves die off and fall to the ground they provide us with hours of enjoyment.









Madison splashed around in the leaves like she was taking a bath in them. She loved hearing them crunch when she moved. She crawled around and was throwing them up. She truly was loving every minute of it.



Now the leaves on our tree haven't fallen yet. So, we we're borrowing the ones in the neighbor's yard. I don't think the minded us rolling around in their yard one bit. At least I hope not because until we get our own leaves we will probably keep using theirs.



Back inside for a moment..... Some genius has developed this handy little bowl that doesn't spill the snack everywhere when tipped over. She just reaches her hand in grabs a Cheerio and the rubber flaps fold right back. However, our little Maddie O. can't just grab one. Oh no, she grabs a handful and then drops them all over the floor. The bowl is doing it's job it's our child that is peppering the kitchen floor with Cheerios.



When I try to tell her to grab just one, this is the look I receive. This look says "Listen woman, back off and let me enjoy my freakin' snack." Um, yikes.



Back to Fall, the best part of fall is Halloween!





Maddie enjoyed playing with the Halloween treats and her cousins.







I don't think our little bug even cared that she was dressed up or even noticed for that matter. She just did her thing as usual.







My sister and I each had a little bug this year.



She also had a hippie.





I in my Jack-O-Lantern costume and Maddie in her lady bug costume, had a great time trick or treating.





We hope your fall is just as enjoyable. Until next time....

Teaching and Aging

As a mother, I want to provide our daughter with opportunities. I want to provide her with the abilities to explore and discover new things. At this point in her life she will only be given the opportunities that I provide to her. I have two choices I either shelter her or let her be free.

I want her to know that there are many places we can go. I want her to know there are millions of books to be read. I want her to be empowered by people. I want her to discover her creative side. These are all things that one day I will teach her but right now I want her to know that chocolate pudding has two uses: 1) A delicious snack and 2) Finger paint.



I am a huge neat freak and I am very organized. Everything in our home has a place and I would prefer that everything remain in it's place. Some people may view this as a flaw in my personality or think I am a freak but this is me. It's always been me and will always be me. Well,I am all neat and tidy for the most part until it comes to Maddie. It's as if I have no filter, no sense of what the aftermath may be. I don't think, we just do.



Madison had a ball. She loved feeling the cool pudding squish through her fingers. She took her long fingers and rubbed it around on her tray and tried picking it up. She took her spoon and did the same. It didn't cross her mind to eat the pudding until I put some on my finger and let her taste. Then she was all about trying to get some in her mouth.



She kept taking that spoon and swirling the pudding around like she was mixing up cake batter. She then licked the spoon and said "Yum, yum, yum." I already see a little Betty Crocker emerging.



I love that I can let my guard down when it comes to Maddie. I can let loose, have a good time and worry about how we are going to clean this up later. I don't know what it is but I just want her to have opportunities. I want her to explore so much that my feelings and OCD go out the window.



So, yes, later did come and we wondered "How are we going to clean this up?" She got thrown in the tub clothes and all. I learned a very important lesson: remove clothes prior to doing something potentially messy. Rookie mom mistake, I'm still learning.

*********************

My birthday was yesterday. The big 3-0. I am a grown up now. Ha! Yeah right. I told Ryan weeks ago that all I wanted for my birthday was to go to the park and have a picnic. Ryan packed our picnic and off to the park we went.



Unfortunately, the wind was whipping around and rain drops kept falling on our heads. Thus, no picnic only a little play time.



I still got what I wanted though....time with my two favorite people in the whole wide world. The past 30 years have been wonderful. I have learned a lot, experienced a lot and grown up a whole bunch. I have discovered who I am while becoming a woman. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, wife and mother. I still have a whole lot of living to do and I am so grateful that I've got my little gal right there with me.



Cheers to 30 more years and to 30 more after that!

Oh, Maddie also gave me a little present...she took her first step yesterday. Ryan and I both were right there to witness this milestone. She has taken a few more since then. I can't believe it! Best present ever!

Lots of love....

Pumpkin Picking

It's a week before Halloween and we have yet to carve pumpkins, until yesterday. We made a trip to the pumpkin patch. As I was reminded repeatedly it wasn't a pumpkin patch it was a pumpkin stand. Whether it is a patch or a stand they had pumpkins and that was all we needed.





We found several photo opportunities and took advantage.









Finding the perfect pumpkin is a tough task. With careful consideration we finally found them.



Now, homeward bound! Off to carve our perfect pumpkins to make them our own.









Madison preferred sitting in her Meme's lap to sticking her hand in pumpkin guts. Watcha guys lookin' at?



We enjoyed the evening and the beautiful weather. It was so nice to have the whole family together to carve pumpkins, laugh, play, be silly and enjoy each other's company.





After several hours of carving and perfecting we lit our finished product.



Success.