Snow Day!!!

Madeline and I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! She was so excited to see it snowing in her own backyard and just couldn't wait to get her snow boots on to check it out. I bundled her up over her jammies and we headed out to have some fun! We made two snowmen and she had a blast using her sand toys to play in the snow. It has only snowed in Yucaipa a couple of times since we have lived here and I was so happy that Madeline was able to go outside and enjoy the snow at her own house this morning. Such a treat!

Sure, it was a little slushy, but we had a blast nonetheless! Hopefully, we'll get some more tonight so daddy can play with us when he gets home tomorrow morning =]

Big Bear

Mommy and Madeline getting ready to tube down the big hill.

Maddie heading down the bunny hill all by herself!

Att the bottom of the big hill. This girl was so brave! She squeeled the entire way down the hill while mommy screamed like a baby :)

Racing Owen down the bunny hill...he took a little head start.

Owen and Chris going down the big hill. We thought Owen would never want to go again, but he loved it and ended up going about 15 times!

Terror! Chris did a great job taking pictures while tubing down the hill. It was totally icy and we were going so fast I was too afraid to let go even for a second.

These kids are buddies! The boys are so sweet with Madeline. They look after her like big brothers and she is crazy about both of them. Thanks to Josh & Katie for inviting us up to the cabin. It was a wonderful trip!

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent the whole week enjoying the company of family, eating great food, celebrating the birth of Jesus, and anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus! Madeline understood the whole concept of Christmas much more this year, which made things all that much more exciting for Mommy and Daddy. We spent Wednesday, December 23rd at Nana’s house. Madeline helped Nana bake and decorate cookies, which was a real treat. Santa even made a surprise visit and dropped off Mickey and Minnie dolls for Madeline at the front door. She sure was excited! Daddy had to work on Christmas Eve so it was nice to get the whole family together that day. Madeline and Mommy spent Christmas Eve with Nana as well. We had a great dinner and opened gifts. On our way home, we made a pit stop at the fire station to visit Daddy and the guys. Madeline swore she saw Santa out the window flying with his reindeer. We had to hurry to get home to leave him cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer. She put the plate together herself and then we cuddled on the couch and fell asleep watching The Grinch. As soon as Daddy got home the next morning, we rushed downstairs to see if Santa had come. Madeline’s eyes lit up when she saw the presents under the tree. Santa had eaten all the cookies, drank his glass of milk, and the reindeer demolished the carrots. She was thrilled. While she opened her presents, she made little comments like, “Goodness gracious!” and “It’s beeaaauuuutiful!” Mommy and Daddy were tickled pink. After opening all of her gifts, we loaded up and headed to Gamma and Poppy’s house. Madeline had a blast playing with her cousins. We headed home that night and Madeline fell asleep in the car listening to Christmas music. She’s spent the last few days enjoying all of her gifts. Our house looks like a bomb went off, but she is in heaven with all of her new toys. She must have been a very good girl this year because Santa sure took care of her! Merry Christmas everyone!

Holiday Helper

Madeline helped mommy with some of the holiday baking last night. Yum!





No, she’s not having a seizure. It’s just really good!

Santa Came Early!

Santa came early to Nana’s house!



Santa brought Madeline an early Christmas present this year. Check out her sweet new Barbie Jeep! Can anybody say “spoiled”? Yes, she did get to drive it in the house. Ashlynn even got to take a ride. Nana and Poppy sure love this little girl =]

Christmas at Disneyland!

Last week, we took Madeline to Disneyland to check our all of the Christmas decorations at the park. We decided to go at night so Madeline could see all of the lights and the firework show. Nana and Poppy met us there and we had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures from our adventure...

Madeline was so excited when we made it to the front of the park!



Our first ride was Peter Pan’s Flight. Madeline loves reading Peter Pan so we had to hit this ride first! She was thrilled to ride in her very own pirate ship and see Captain Hook.


Here we are before the ride started.

Once we got up here…

...Madeline did this and stayed that way for the remainder of the ride!

We’re pretty sure she is afraid of heights.


For our next ride, we opted for something that stayed on the ground…The Tea Cups!

These were a big hit, as you can see.




Then, we headed over to It’s a Small World, which is absolutely breathtaking at night! Madeline didn’t even mind waiting in line for 45 minutes because there was so much to look at. I am so glad we made it to Disneyland at night so she could see all of the beautiful lights.




Madeline has always loved this ride, but she was especially crazy for all of the Christmas flare added for the holiday season. Here's a little clip of her enjoying the ride...

We had time for just one more ride before the fireworks started.

Madeline wanted to ride the rockets with daddy.

She was scared, of course, because of the whole heights thing, but she had fun nonetheless.




The firework show was awesome. However, by 9:30 our little princess was just about ready to turn into a pumpkin! We started exiting the park about halfway through the show and Madeline was starting to doze on my shoulder. The park was packed and even leaving before the mad rush, it took us about 20 minutes just to get to our car. Madeline was asleep in her car seat before we made it out of the parking structure! It was a great family trip and we can’t wait to head back to the happiest place on earth after the holidays.

Stop Slackin' Mama!!!

I recently realized that I have really been slacking off in the photography department as of late. I don’t think I have taken more than a few pictures since Thanksgiving. I guess we have been busy, but that’s not much of an excuse. Madeline is as cute as ever and cracks us up on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I just haven’t had the gumption to keep my camera on hand to photograph her on a daily basis as I did for the first year of her life. In fact, I think I take more pictures on my camera phone these days than my actual camera (which is a total injustice to our adorable little girl). Here are a few recent pictures of our silly goose (taken on the camera phone, of course) which show a little bit of her ever emerging personality. I know as her mom I am probably a little partial, but I think she is the smartest, funniest, and cutest little girl in the world =] She is nearly 100% potty trained (although we do have the occasional off day), she talks in almost complete sentences (minus the use of helping verbs), dances up a storm, eats like a horse, and sleeps in her own bed through the night. She loves candy canes and everything having to do with Christmas. We recently bought her a manger and she carries baby Jesus with her everywhere. She loves to sing and has a few Christmas songs in her repertoire now (she loves Jingle Bills, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Happy Birthday Baby Jesus). I am making a promise to charge my camera battery and take some decent pictures of my baby starting today. Posts to follow!

Madeline and her sweet little cousin, Ashlynn.

Maddie sure loves babies. She will be a great big sister someday!

Maddie decorated the stairs at grandma's house. She said, "It's perfect!"

Here she is dancing in daddy's work boots. She is a great dancer!