Baby animal days...

American West Heritage Center in Wellsville had baby animal days over the weekend.  We talked about going but were kind of hesitant since it was winter outside.  In the end we decided to bundle up, brave the cold and go see some animals.  Madi loved sitting on this saddle.  She kept petting the fur chaps that hung from it and said "horse".

 We walked back to the barn instead of taking the wagon ride because of our stroller but Madi would go nuts every time they would pass because they were being pulled by Clydesdale's.  They were so fun for her to see.  One of the funnest parts is that you get to hold and touch a lot of the baby animals.  Here is Madi lovin' on the bunny.

 I wish I could bring one home.  Madi was in heaven!

 She wanted nothing to do with the turtles though!

 In the barn they had ducks, chicks, lambs, pigs and goats.

 At the back they had the main attractions... baby bears from Yellowstone Bear World.  They were born in January.  This is what I wanted to hold and cuddle with but they weren't letting the public touch them.  I think there was a total of six.

 How cute are they?!?!  Don't you just want to snuggle with them?

 On our way back to the main gate we stopped to see some calves and a foal.  Madi wasn't to sure about touching the calves but liked to see them at a close distance.

Aside from the mud pits created by the rain and snow, it was a perfect day! 

Waiting...waiting...waiting...

Mindy is 36 weeks and 1 day.  While for some they aren't even thinking about labor yet, I find myself checking my phone 50 times a day!  I can't help myself!  Madi's bag is ready for grandma and grandpa's, our bag is ready for the hospital, his room is ready, his car seat's ready and my arms are ready!  I will continue waiting for the call and continue praying for a healthy Easton and comfort for Mindy.

Cereal...

Madi likes cold cereal.  She eats it almost every morning.  One of her faves is fruity pebbles.  She had three bowls yesterday for breakfast.  Then we showered and got ready for the day.  While I was finishing up, I heard Madi pour cereal.  I came out to see and Madi said "Mess."  Yep, it was a mess.  She dumped the whole box!  Guess I won't leave the cereal box on the table again.

 She ate a lot of it for her snack.

 I love her hair!  It turned out great Bekka!  Thanks again!

Madi's first hair cut...

Madi's mullet had to go!  Since my sister came for conference I let her cute it.  Madi thought it was pretty cool to sit up in the chair and see herself in the mirror.

 Look at that grin!!!

 But, it didn't last.  As soon as Bekka put the cape on her the tears started.  Not just little ones either, big crocodile tears!

I wasn't sure if she was going to make it through! 

 Madi eventually overcame the sadness and relaxed a little.

 Bekka did a great job and although it is short, the mullet is gone! :D

 Since she LOVES to be pampered, Holly did some gel toes on her.  Madi knew exactly what color they should be... PINK!

Thank you Bekka and Holly!  It was great to see you guys and Andrew.  We'll miss ya!

Ducks...

There is an awesome park close to our house that we fell in love with last summer.  It's called Jensen Nature Park.  We have been so excited to take Madi back to feed the ducks since she is older this year and plan to take her fishing there as well.  Since the weather has been beautiful the last few days we took her Thursday night.  She spilled juice on her pants she had worn earlier so I asked her what she wanted to wear and pulled out some khaki shorts.  She shook her head no and without hesitation, pulled out her polka dotted shorts.  I have a feeling I will be washing them daily this summer.  I am going to have to buy some solid tees because she has nothing to match them.  The closest thing is her Down East undershirt that accentuates her little Buddha Belly. :D

"peek-a-boo mom" 

 Could you please just give mom a little smile???

 She is growing up so fast!  In less than four months we will be celebrating her second birthday.  Where did the time go?

 Madi is 150% girl!  She has developed a recent love for purses.  She will get mine down and put it on her shoulder and say "purse" over and over while she struts around.  She loves to try on shoes and doesn't care if they are dad's or mom's.  She has started saying "I'm cute" but it comes out "I'm tute!" which makes it even cuter!!!  (Do ya think she hears it all day from her mommy and daddy? :D)  She LOVES makeup and thinks she needs it every time she sees me putting some on.  (Thank goodness for lip gloss!)  She loves her pretties (earrings and bracelets) and asks to look in the mirror whenever she gets new ones on (and when she gets her hair done, nails painted, "makeup" on, new clothes or anything of that nature).  Her favorite color is pink and purple comes in as a close second.  She LOVES Tink still and has began a new obsession with the Disney Prince's (princesses, but she can't quite get the last part out) and will now say

"I need it"

to anything she sees with one of them on.  It is so fun to have a little girly girl. 

 So, back to the park...  We went and fed the ducks and had so much fun we decided to go back yesterday with Chantel, her boys and Kyah.

 The kids enjoyed throwing the bread at the ducks and just being outside.  We always have such a great time with Chantel and her boys.  Madi loves Guire and of course, "baby" (Nash).  I enjoy the grown up conversation and friendship Chani and I have.

 This girl could go all day!  She loved the ducks but was thrilled when she saw a couple of horses on the trail in the distances.  She ran right for them and wanted to get as close as possible!

 Guire liked the truck... He was checkin' out the rims and everything!  He's such a boy... so cute!

Little monkeys...

My friend, Chantel, and her boys, Guire and Nash, are our new zoo buddies.  We went a couple weeks ago and I am just now posting pics.  Guire was so much fun to watch!  He LOVED the animals. 

 Guire makes an AWESOME monkey!!! 

"OoooOOOoo"

I tried so hard to get Madi to cooperate for a few cute pictures since it has been awhile since she actually posed for a picture.  She was not having it!  Here she is blowing kisses... 

 ...and checking out the construction workers... 

 ...and squinting in the sun...

 ...and praying mom will stop taking pictures...

Isn't she just the cutest?

Playing catch up and at the park...

Happy Saint Patty's Day!  Derrick brought home these stellar glasses for Madi!  That was about as festive as we got!

Last week we had a day that it drizzled most of the day. I needed to drop something off at a friends down the road and we wanted to walk, so Madi went PUDDLE JUMPING for the first time and she LOVED it!  She got soaked! (You can see a little dry patch on her pants)  Now anytime she sees a puddle she wants to splash in it.  When we came in from the rain she warmed up in a bath and then we cuddled and watched one of her favorite movies... Monsters, Inc. 

She loves that movie but there are a few parts that scare her.  It is so sweet to watch with her because she will bury her head when it comes to a scary part.  We checked out a Disney/Pixar music CD at the library and when a song comes on from Monsters, Inc she gets so excited and yells "Monsters, Inc!"

Tonight we went to the park.  We had planned on taking a walk, but with the wind blowing it was just too cold.  Of course that didn't stop Madi from wanting to play for a few minutes.  She headed straight for the slide!  She gets braver each time we go to a park and wants to climb everything like the big kids. 

 Peek-a-boo...

She is such a happy little girl!  I am really looking forward to spring and summer and being able to be outside with her more.  She has so much fun and loves to explore!

Slidin'... 

Even Derrick enjoyed playing at the park.  This park has two diggers that are a hit with the kids and adults! 

He did let Madi have a turn.  What a GREAT daddy!

This is my FAVORITE picture of the two of them.  I love their expressions as they come down the slide! 

So, Madi has started picking her nose.  She pulls it out and says "booger" with the biggest grin.  Then she signs and says "More!  More boogers!  More!"  At least she doesn't eat them, right!?!?!

In other news... Mindy went to the doctors yesterday and they scheduled for her to be induced on April 26th unless she goes on her own before then.  We are so very blessed to have her in our lives and are so thankful for the amazing gifts she has trusted us with.  She will always be so special to us!

An update on the fam...

So it has been a slow week as far as pictures go.  {When I say slow, I mean I haven't taken any! :D}  Madi has done some cute things though so I thought I'd post about those. 

Madi thinks that if you blow on ANYTHING that it must be hot.  I was painting my toenails tonight and she wanted hers done too.  After I painted them I blew on them and she said "hot, hot, hot".  She always whispers it in sets of three.  I love it!

She also called her daddy "Derrick" this week.  He wasn't thrilled but does think it's better then mom.  {Since we got back from WA he has been "mom" and I have been "mama".  He thinks I brainwashed her. :D}

She gave up her bottle this week too.  Actually, all the nipples were mysteriously broken {;D} so that kind of helped.  She went down for her naps in her big girl bed WITHOUT me laying with her. {SO NICE!}

She has started using two new words a that I LOVE... "uh-oh" and "yesss".  She really enunciates the "S" on yes and it is the cutest thing ever!

Another thing she has started doing... when she sees a park she will clap and say "yeah" over and over.  She gets so excited at the thought of it!

Derrick got the training for his A+ Certification today so he will be starting on that and be super busy learning all that new stuff.  I am praying he learns it all quick and is able to remember what he learns.  I would love for him to have it done before Easton comes but that might be a little soon.  He is still in the EQ presidency and stays busy with that.  He really enjoys most of the people he works with and I am very proud of him for the example he sets for those he works with.  He will tell  me stories of things he has done to defend our religion or his values and it makes me proud to be married to such a great man!  The people respect him and will apologize if they curse or say something inappropriate around him and will come to him if they have questions about the church and if he doesn't know the answer, he will research it and get back to them.  He is such a great husband and is so patient with what a bad housekeeper I am.   

I stay busy being mom and prefer to play and do things with Madi then keep our house clean.  When I do clean, she follows me around undoing everything I did.  I don't know how my mom did it with 10 of us!  I am so excited for Easton to get here.  I have to pace myself on getting things ready so I can still have things to get done for him before he comes.  Yesterday I got out his blankets, burp rags and diapers.  The diapers are so cute.  They are so small, nothing like Madi's. :D  I was kind of nervous about a boy at first but the closer it gets the more excited I am becoming.  Hopefully the boy stuff will be as easy as Madi has been. 

This week I moved a lot of the toys downstairs to our theater.  Our bulb went out to our projector a month before Madi was born and I have been hoping we would have extra money to get a new one sometime but I am beginning to face the reality that it will probably be 2047 before we have an extra $250 for a projector bulb.  So, we may as well let the kids go crazy down there, right?!?!?

Exhausted...

We had a wonderful time in WA.  I enjoyed playing with my nieces and nephews and spending time with my siblings.  Erin and I were able to talk some things through that we should have years ago and become better friends and sisters. I got truly spoiled while I was there and had a lot of fun!

Although I already miss everyone like crazy, I missed Derrick more and am glad to be home with him.  He had the house all clean with clean sheets on our bed, my fave!  Could I be any luckier???  I really do have the best husband in the world!

When we got home we fed Madi and went to lay her down for a nap.  She played, of course, but got quiet really quickly.  We went in to check on her and she was just too tired to play.

 She fell asleep on her ride along toy.  The poor kid was totally exhausted!  What a little angel!

Out to dinner...

Tuesday night we went for a yummy dinner at Wingers.  Madi was excited to be outside for a few minutes while we loaded in the van.

 Here's Mr. Brenton waiting so patiently for his food.  He is such a mellow kid and is always so quiet.

L to R: Christina, Nicholas, Erin

Lickin' her lips at the thought of her corndog nuggets and french fries.  Yummy! 

 L to R: Parker, Daniel, Ava, Madi, Whitney

Three degrees...

Yep, it was only THREE DEGREES in Pullman, WA but I knew Madi was going to freak out if I didn't take her outside to play.  So we bundled the kids up and went to play in the SEVERAL inches (a couple feet) of snow.  Erin and Ava went first!  Ava looks like she is loving it!

 Madi enjoyed a couple rides down but really just wanted to be outside, walking around.

 Here is Parker.  He got cold pretty quick but didn't seem all that excited about sledding anyway.

Poor Brenton... He couldn't even see.  He's a trooper though and played for a while.

Little Miss Ava... She had so much fun sledding with her cousins, Whitney and Caitlin.  It is really fun for them to be so close to each other.  They are in the same apartment complex.  It made it nice for me to be able to see Nicholas and his family too.

Caitlin followed the sled down the hill.  She is fearless.  She was going down the steepest parts of the hill like it was no big deal and laughing the whole way down!

I can't believe how grown up Whitney is.  I remember her being born!  I always thought adults are so weird and they say the dumbest things about how fast kids grow up but now I understand it!  Where does the time go?

Madi found a trike and took it for a spin.

She played out there until I couldn't stand the cold anymore and then we went in to warm up.