Sixteen months...

I can't believe that Madi is 16 months old!  Where has the time gone?  She is getting so big and becoming a little toddler instead of my baby.  I love watching her grow and seeing all that she discovers but I do miss her cuddling up on my chest and sleeping.  She does still like to cuddle so I really can't complain.  I love being her mom and couldn't have got a more beautiful little girl!

We'll miss you!!!

Today we went to lunch with mom and dad Hawkins. They are leaving in the next few days to go to California for a few months. I know they enjoy their time and that it is fun for Heidi to see them, but we sure miss them while they are gone. We love to visit them each week. They are so cute with Madi and she loves to play with her grandpa. We hope you guys have a great time and a wonderful holiday! We love you and we will miss you!

Love me a GOOD deal!!!

Today we went and got a little Christmas shopping done for Madi. We still needed to find her doll. We went to Target and found this cute set of twins for $21.Later we stopped at Kohl's, "just to look", and got Madi's Christmas pj's, a baby doll, my little pony and a Little People ride toy that comes with blocks and a princess for $25! I LOVE KOHL'S!!!Needless to say, the twins are going back! Now I just need to get her cradle and rocking chair painted and get her dress made.

Merry Christmas to ME!!!!

We have been without a dishwasher since March. We decided that is what Derrick and I were getting for Christmas this year. On Saturday we bought one. We were too impatient to wait another month. (I really think that Derrick was just tired of me waiting until EVERY dish was dirty to do the dishes :D) It was installed today and I have never been so thankful for any appliance in my life! I LOVE IT!!! It is quiet, sleek, the buttons are on the top so Madi can't push them and it actually WORKS! Yea!!! Merry early Christmas to me!!!

Last Week...

Last week seemed like such a long week! I thought the weekend would never come. It did and it has already passed. Madi and I are looking forward to Thursday when Derrick will be with us instead of at work. :D

Madi has started saying so many more things in the last little while. Her favorite word is

DADA

and she says it when she first wakes up, when someone is at the door, when she hears a car, when we go anywhere and pretty much if she hears ANY noise at all. She will look around for him as she chatters it over and over. I think he is her favorite person in the whole world! And why wouldn't he be, he's AMAZING!

Her second favorite is RUFF RUFF. She says that almost as much as she does dada. To her, it is what EVERY animal says. She does know it is what a dog says though. Whenever we go to the store she will start doing it until we bring her to the toy aisle where she ruffs back and forth with the Fur Real Go Go Walking Pup. I am super excited to see her Christmas morning.

Other than those two she will copy us but not really use the words often except for KISS, JESUS and E-I-E-I-O.

She is starting to learn sign language and it has been SOOO nice! She will now ask for more instead of screaming and pointing. (Although she does revert back to that on occasion.)

She is getting so big and likes to do things herself, except when it comes to walking. She has been walking around holding onto things for EIGHT MONTHS! That is half of her life, but she just won't let go. I know that everyone tells me I should enjoy the fact that she is not running all over the place but I really do need her to walk soon so I can have my arms free to carry our new little one. (Hopefully sooner than later! :D)

Madi HATES to have socks and shoes on. I put them on her each morning and they are usually off after ten minutes or so. I put them on to go somewhere and by the time we get there she has them off. Yesterday I put tights on her for church and before we even left she had her shoes off and was tugging at her tights. Silly girl!!!
We had some weather in the 50's this week so we went to the park. Madi was thrilled to be there but it is just too cold for her. She went on the slide once and then swung for about three minutes before I told the kids it was too cold for Madi and we went home. Madi still loves to be outside and points at the doors all day. If one of us goes outside or cracks the door she slides down the stairs as quick as she can, hoping to make it there before we shut it. We got her some snow stuff but still need to find some better gloves. All we have found in that small of a size are fleece and knit types. Where's the REAL gloves?

Madi LOVES to swing and giggles the entire time. She likes to go high too. The higher you push, the more she giggles!

When Madi was younger she would always stick her tongue out. After while she stopped, but this last week or two she has started it up again.

Bath time remains one of Madi's favorite activities. If she hears the water start running she will head straight for the tub. You have to let her in too or she will stand at the tub sobbing the entire time you shower and keep opening the curtain trying to get in. If it's ever TOO quiet I can usually find her sitting in the bath tub, fully clothed, playing with her squirt toys.

I got her some bubble bath and it has been fun to watch her play in it. She wasn't sure what to think at first but really liked it after a minute or two.

Madi is always so happy. She is great kid when it comes to going to bed. She will usually let us know when she is ready. We read scriptures, have prayer and read a few stories. When she is ready, she points to her bed. She lays right down and is out! Wish nap time was that easy. :D

All clean and ready for bed!

We put out our Christmas decorations this weekend, minus the village. We will wait a few years before bringing that out. After five minutes of "No touching Madi" (yeah right) we came up with a one finger rule. She can touch with one finger but that is all. She does really well with it as long as we keep reminding her. She is so proud of herself when she remembers and I tell her how good she is for using one finger. :D

I love this time of year! I am looking forward to making new memories with our little family and love that Madi will actually get excited this year since she is older. I love having Derrick home on the holiday and spending more time with him. I love the songs, the food and the smells and the friends and family we get to see. I love the shopping (of course I would love it a whole lot more if I had money to spend :D). I love the decorations and that people are kinder and more considerate and looking at the ads and seeing everyone's Christmas cards and reading their letters. It is just such a wonderful time of year.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving and remembers all that they have been blessed with. We certainly are grateful for the many blessings and miracles we have in our family. We love you all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

National Adoption Day...

Yesterday we went to Boondock's, along with 1,100 other people, to celebrate National Adoption Day. They served chili from Wendy's and then we got unlimited mini golf and $5 each to use in the arcade. We braved the cold and played a round of golf. They a game wheel at every other hole and you spin it at the beginning of your turn and it will give you something to do. Some were first stroke blind, if you get an ace add 2 strokes to opponent's score, putt from behind your back and other challenges like that. Surprisingly, Derrick and I both got a hole in one!
Madi had a great time and seemed enthralled with everything to look at and all the people! She loves crowds and watching people.

Craftin...

For my birthday I got this shelf and then there are five little things for each month. This is my Thanksgiving one. I only got Halloween, Thanksgiving and the one for January so far. It is fun doing them and I can't wait to get more! My leaf and corn...
My pie and pumpkin...
(I still need to add the leaves and some wire to my pumpkin)

... and my turkey!

The MTC...

My brother, Joshua, went into the MTC on Wednesday. He will be there for three weeks before he heads to Guatamala to serve a mission for two years! It was great to see him for a few hours before we took him. My cousin, Parker, went into the MTC the same day so we had cookies and ice cream with all the family Tuesday night.Chris, Annie and I dropped him off at the MTC. Here is Chris, Joshua and me.
Joshua, Chris and Annie

They let us take a couple pictures and then a missionary grabbed his luggage and said "Tell them goodbye and come on".

He will make a great missionary and Guatamala would be such a fun place to go! I am grateful that he is going and hope he has an incredible experience!

It's about love...

There are so many things said about adoption and about birth moms and adoptive couples that are said usually totally innocently but can cause so much pain and hurt to those that have experienced adoption. I came across a blog that had a post called How to irratate a birth mother and I thought I would share it. It doesn't only irratate a birth mother though, it also irratates the adoptive couple that have the deepest love and respect for these amazing woman and the love they have for their child.

We are grateful for so many reasons for the miracle of adoption. We are grateful that Mindy has wanted to keep in touch with us and that Madi will know her. Mindy loves and adores Madi and although many people question our openness, I know that it is best for our family. Studies have shown that it doesn't confuse a child or make things more complicated. It just gives that child one more person that loves them so very much.

So, before you make a comment to someone that is a birth mom, adoptive couple or even an adopted child, consider the way you ask the question. Consider the tone you use. Consider the feelings that may be evoked by asking such a question. Educate yourself on adoption. Most of the things people know about adoption is false. It's different then it was ten or twenty years ago. It's a wonderful thing, not a negative one.

I want the world to know that I love Madison so very much. I couldn't love her more if I had carried her for the nine months myself. Something that I get that a "normal" mom doesn't... to kneel at the altar in the temple and have the sweetest little angel be brought into the room and have her sealed to Derrick and I for all eternity. I guess that is the trade off that Heavenly Father gives adoptive moms instead of birth and it is TOTALLY worth it! I get to share a connection with an incredible woman for the rest of my life. I get to teach Madi that Mindy loved her so much that she wanted to give her the world and that she knew that wasn't possible on her own so she asked us to do it for her. I get to KNOW that Heavenly Father sent her to our family very much on purpose and that we were not brought together by chance. I get teach her and love her and watch her grow because Mindy loved her THAT MUCH! Thank you Mindy! We love you!

Tinkerbell...

Here is a picture of Madi in her costume. We stopped by grandma and grandpa's so they could see her since she was sick over Halloween. I love how the flowers on her wings turned out. I think I might make her some hair bows...

Annual Adoption 5k Walk...

For the adoption walk they asked us to wear orange. Aside from some Orange Crush t-shirts there wasn't much we found. So we bought the 97 cent Halloween clearance shirts from Old Navy. We were the only ones sportin' Halloween T's! :D We got Madi all ready to go and she was so stinkin' cute that we had to snap a few pics!

"Just to tell you once again... who's bad?"

Here is our little family getting ready to start the walk.7
Madi and Daddy...

Could they be any cuter?
We are excited for next year and can't wait until Boondock's next week!

Takin' advantage...

We took advantage of the weather and went to the park with Chantel and Guire. I took a couple pictures of Madi while I waited for them to get there. I love this one! Cute girl. I wish I had moved her so the asphalt wasn't behind her.
Madi has gotten brave at the park. She layed on her tummy and went down the slide head first! Good thing I was at the bottom.

Peek-a-boo mom!

Madi LOVED the swing. The higher she went, the more she giggled.

We are going to miss playing outside! Hopefully she likes to play in the snow too!

Lovin' the weather...

We have had beautiful weather the last week and we took advantage of it. Madi loved playing outside and slidin'! She is a total Daddy's Girl!

Swingin'...

Madi never really liked her swing. She preferred her bouncer. Last week she saw it in her closet and tried to pull it out. We set it up and she was elated! She thought it was the coolest thing ever and has played with it and in it every day since. She is so proud that she can turn the music on and make it swing. She's a little big for it now though! I love that smile!

Trunk-or-treat...

I took Madi to our ward trunk-or-treat on the 29th. It was all the trick-or-treating the girl got to do. She wasn't feeling well so we didn't stay long. Here is our little Tinkerbell...

View of the back...I had fun making it and love how it turned out! Wish we had been able to go to Jalene's and see everyone there.

National Adoption Awareness Month...

November is the National Adoption Awareness month! We are celebrating our adoption and our love for Madi and Mindy by walking in the 5k this Saturday at Liberty Park and we will be going to Boondock's Adoption Day the following Saturday!

We are so grateful for the miracle of adoption. Madi has brought such joy and happiness into our lives and into our home. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have her in our family. She just fits. We are thankful to Mindy for the part she played in making our family and the sacrifice she made. She will always have a special place in our hearts. We love her deeply.

We are excited and a little scared to start the LONG process again but can't wait until the day we are able to bring home baby #2.