Fun with Friends

The three little stooges....Lucas, Gideon, and Maddie.

Gideon giving Maddie a little massage. :-) So cute!

Not sure what they were all looking at, but they were sure having fun!

Enjoying their ride.

Getting a little more playtime in before bedtime.

Our beautiful baby girl even looking cuter than ever in her jammies.

Some of our AMAZING friends, Tracy, Craig, and Lucas Strand and Sarah, David, and Gideon Hoffman came over this afternoon to bring us some meals to help out while John is recovering from surgery. WOW.....are we a lucky family?!?! The yummy food and some tasty treats too will definitely make it easier over the next few days. It was great fun to watch the kiddos interact with each other. They really seemed to have a great time playing together. We were even able to get them all in the Radio Flyer wago together. For the most part they enjoyed the ride. Got to take advantage of the beautiful weather for sure. Thanks again to our loving and wonderful family and friends for all your love and support over the last few months as we have been dealing with these trying times. We love you all!

Eleven Months Old.....really?!?!

She's getting so big. 11 MONTHS OLD!!

So fascinated in the little things.

Her most common facial expression.

Working on some more teeth??

Part of her morning routine....reorganizing mommy's bathroom drawers. LOL.

She loves brushing her 5 (almost 6) teeth!

"This is the way we brush our teeth." The song we sing while brushing.

Today our little lady turned 11 months old. It's all a little bittersweet every time I post these monthly blogs, as I just can't believe how fast she is growing. Little miss Maddie is such a funny little thing. Her personality just cracks me up. It's crazy to see how much her personality is really showing, changing, and developing. She continues to get around VERY, VERY well. She is a serious speed racer when it comes to crawling and walking while pushing her push-toys. She has attempted at taking a few steps, but maxing out on 3 steps before she plops to the ground. I think she realizes that she can get from here to there much faster by just crawling. LOL.

She is a very social little girl, waving at every person she sees whether it be at the grocery store or out in the front yard playing. One of her newer things lately is pointing. She points at objects with the cutest little look on her face. It's as if she's saying "Look at that mommy," or "What's that?"

She has definitely been keeping us on our toes, as she gets into EVERYTHING she really shouldn't be getting in to. If we forget to close the bathroom door she quickly crawls in there ans starts playing in the toilet water! I know....just lovely. If we forget to close the laundry room door then next thing we know she is tasting AJs food. Sigh. And just today, while playing in the computer room while mommy was on the computer, she took a basket off the shelf, turned it upside down and stood up on it to reach something on top of the computer desk. What a little stinker.....and DAREDEVIL!

Maddie still continues to LOVE playing outside, but two of her most favorite activities is playing chase and climbing the stairs. If she seems the baby gate open at the bottom of the stairs she quickly crawls over there and peeks over at us with this look on her face. It's as if she's saying "come and get me!!!!" Upon doing this, she quickly begins climbing the stairs - with us right behind her of course - peeking over her shoulder every few stairs to be sure we are still "chasing" her. She is such a crack up. It's amazing how much she changes on a daily basis. What a fun and hilarious little girl we have.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy First Father's Day, Daddy!!!

Hanging out at Lucas' birthday party.

Mommy and her little lady.

Two wonderful daddy's with their adorable children.

After we were finished with Lucas' first birthday party, we continued to celebrate with a Father's Day BBQ at Grandma Jill and Grandpa Randy's house. We had some tasty hamburgers made by uncle Kevin, along with baked beans, pasta salad, and potato chips. It's always a great time to hang out with family, especially to celebrate the VERY important men in our lives. Happy Father's Day!

Happy 1st Birthday Lucas!

Maddie and the birthday boy. Maddie has a bit of a weird look on her face. Apparently the sun was just a little bright.

The Birthday boy and his mommy.

Havin' some lunch with the Birthday Boy.

Lucas and Maddie reading together.

They had lots of fun with the wooden bead maze.

Luke's mommy, Tracy, did an amazing job making the cakes. It was DELICIOUS too!

It's party time!

Happy Birthday to Lucas!

"Hmmmmm....what am I supposed to do with this?!?!"

"This tastes yummy! And it's fun too!"

Maddie's REALLY good friend Lucas turns one in a few days, so to celebrate his mommy and daddy threw him a big birthday bash. Maddie seemed to have a WONDERFUL time playing in the grass with Luke, watching him open presents, and playing with some of his new toys. At times our little lady wanted to be the center on attention and help Lucas open up some of his presents. Lucas did a great job sharing his new toys. Next month it's Maddie's turn!

First time at the beach.....well sort of!

Madison was definitely too interested in everything else that was going on to want to pose for a family picture. :-)

Maddie and Daddy.

First time her little tootsies have been in the water.

She LOVED it!

The aftermath of a splashing wave. She really didn't seem to mind it.

Playing with grandma at the rocky "beach."

"Hmmmmm.....I wonder if I can throw this rock as far as daddy and Uncle Kevin?!"

Our little beach bum!

She was so determined to crawl on all the rocks.

Having so much fun!

On Sunday afternoon/evening, Grandma Jill, Uncle Kevin, John, Maddie, and I went to visit Grandpa Randy in the hospital as he is recovering from surgery. We were hoping to put a few smiles on his face by bringing the little lady by. He may have cracked a smile or two but remained pretty serious and in pain. To give Grandpa Randy a little rest, Grandma Jill, Uncle Kevin, John, Maddie and I went to dinner on Ruston Way. We decided since the weather was pretty nice we would see how Maddie like the "beach."

John stuck her toes in the water and she really was quite amused. She was reaching for the water and the rocks when a wave came splashing up in her face. She didn't seem to mind the remnants of rocks that remained on her face after the big splash. She enjoyed watching her daddy and uncle throw rocks into the water and wanted to take a try at throwing them too. She made many attempts at sneaking a number of rocks into her mouth but was quickly stopped by grandma and mommy. She even felt the need to try crawling on the very rocky beach. It seemed as though she really enjoyed this little outing. We can't wait to spend more time on the beach and maybe a more sandy one next time....and with Grandpa Randy! GET WELL SOON GRANDPA!