14 MONTHS OLD!

Our 14 month old toddler!

She is such a little ham sometimes.

1...2...3...JUMP. She makes every attempt to get some air but never makes it off the ground. LOL!!!

She thinks mommy is soooo funny jumping up and down!

Getting into one of her FAVORITE drawers.

Yesterday Maddie turned 14 months old. She is such a little spit-fire. Playing and having fun from the time she wakes up til the time she goes to bed. It's amazing how much she is learning from day to day. She has been following simple commands for the past 2 or so months now and really is enjoying doing things one her own like attempting to get her own shoes on and especially feeding herself. I have had to definitely loosen up a bit with the feeding situation and just realize that feeding time with a toddler is grounds for a mess. It's taken me a bit of time to relax about it, but seeing how much she really LOVES feeding herself definitely helps. :-)

One of her new favorite foods is now olives. And the other day, without any assistance or guidance, I turned around and she had three olives on her finger tips. She was so proud and I definitely wish I would have been quick enough to get a picture, but she quickly ate them up. What a silly girl?!?!

Her new favorite game is 1...2...3...JUMP! She just cracks up every time I do it. She makes every effort to do it herself, but never gets up off the ground. Hehehe. So cute!

We have really been missing Grandma Jill the last 3 weeks as she has been away doing WONDERFUL things in Armenia. I have made a point everyday to talk to Maddie about grandma and when I do talk to her she goes over and picks up a photo of grandma and grandpa off the bookshelf. Can't wait to welcome grandma back with open arms and lots and lots of hugs a kisses tomorrow!!!

NW Trek Wildlife Park

Mommy and Maddie having fun checking out the baby coyote.

We had to tame our "little beast." LOL. I always thought these harnesses were weird until I had a busy-body child myself. It was a saving grace. It allowed her to get down and run around without going too far. :-)

Maddie and Daddy checking out the animals.

Bathing Elk.

All the little geese lined up in a row.

Scoping out the animals.

Having fun on the tram tour.

Oh little Bambi!

BEAUTIFUL Bald Eagles.

I loved these barn owls. They almost looked fake until one of them moved. Hehe.

Maddie's favorite....the River Otters. They are so stinkin' cute!

John's favorite....the Fischer. He was quite the character running around his cage.

Yesterday we had an awesome afternoon at NW Trek together. It's been sooooo long since both John and I have been there so we figured we would take advantage of the gorgeous weather we are having and check out all the animals.

Maddie seemed to love EVERY minute of the day. She especially loved watching the playful river otters as they would swim around in the water and push off the glass cage. She would tap on the glass and loved following them from side to side...it was as if they were playing chase. So cute!

We weren't so sure how she would do in the 55 minute tram ride to scope out the other various animals. Much to our surprise, she did GREAT! She loved sticking her head out the tram and feeling the nice warm breeze. We saw so many different animals yesterday....elk, deer, moose, ram, mountain goats, coyotes, bears, etc...just to name a few. We will definitely be going there more often in the future as truly its just down the road from our house. What a fun place!

Maddie's First Piggy Tails!

Our big girl and her first PIGGY TAILS!!!

Swinging with Grandpa.

She's on a mission.

Fun time and snuggles with Grandma! WE LOVE YOU!

Playing some tunes with daddy.

On Tuesday we spent the afternoon and evening with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Kevin. We had to get as much time as possible in before Grandma leaves for Armenia for three weeks. Sniffle, sniffle are we going to miss her more than anyone could imagine. We always have such a blast spending good quality family time together, not to mention the wonderful dinner that we shared together too!

I figured it was about time that we start trying out some different hairdos with Maddie since her hair is beginning to get longer now. Pig tails were the first hairstyle we tried. Maddie sat pretty well in the high chair with Uncle Kevin and a few fishy crackers there to entertain her while her hair was being done. At first she wasn't so sure about the new "do" but didn't bother them after they were in for a few seconds.

She looks so big and grown up. Sigh! My baby girl isn't a baby anymore....she's a toddler!