How Old is Madisyn?

Yup....1 year old! It's amazing how fast time flies. It seems like only yesterday we were just bringing her home. We can easily say its been the greatest year of our lives. It truly is amazing how something so little can bring you so much joy.

Just a little tiny thing compared to now (1 year ago).

My FiRsT pArTy

First came some presents...

and some more...

and some more (that by the looks she liked).

and EVEN more!!! Here she is with her Arizona State SunDevil horns. It's kind of funny because as she gets older and older, those horns seem to be more and more fitting (at times).

Here's the cake spread, kid's cakes and the grown up cakes.

Madisyn's 'SMASH' cake...specially prepared by Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jenny!

Except, to Dad's dismay...there wasn't much smashing! C'MON SMACK THAT THING!

Okay...a little messier.

Here's Lola having some of her cake.

But first she had to take off her cute outfit so she didn't get frosting on it.
Simon opted for the wooden blocks. Something about a better source of fiber. (He had some of his cake too)

Reese enjoying her cake. Reese...what's the dog say?

And CRASH! A long day, a lot of playing, and a ton of sugar meant early to bed.

Thanks to everyone that came to the party. We/Madisyn really appreciate all the great presents and the fun. Thank you SO much! Hope you all had fun!

Madisyn was so glad to see her friend Reese again. They had a great weekend. Lots of hugs...

And some fun in the bath. Actually there was some other things in the bath too. Click on over to Staniak's blog to see what else happened 'in the bath.'

This is from two weekends ago (I KNOW, I KNOW...I SHOULD HAVE POSTED IT EARLIER!) when we went over to Simon's to play with Simon and Lola. Madisyn loved to give Simon rides in his Radio Flyer wagon.

Here's the gang.

In the hair....nice!

Speaking of hair.

Hairdo's and don'ts.

Just a couple new shots. Cute and Curly vs. The Hawk.

Before.

After.

Surf's Up Dude!

And for my next trick...walking around the coffee table. Madisyn 's getting pretty good at pulling herself up on things, coffee table, crib, entertainment system, and Mom and Dad's legs. Then just the other day, she decided it was time to get Amie's phone, which happened to be on the other end of the table. So...no she's table surfing. Walking a lot with Mom and Dad's assistance, and cruising behind the little car she got for Christmas. I'm sure it won't be long before her first steps. Crazy.

Lazy Sunday.

Madisyn...

doing her best Riley imitation (at the same time).

A Christmas to Remember.

Well, Our first Christmas came with a flury. It was a bit more eventful than we had anticipated. But everything turned out okay and Madisyn had a good (and spoiled) first Christmas. Our first gift arrived the day before Christmas eve. Madisyn gave Mom and Dad the gift of mobility. She started crawling and is cruising around pretty good now. Even Riley's getting used to having someone on his tail (literally). Then came Christmas eve and a present for Madisyn showed up, however this one didn't come with a gift receipt. We noticed she a couple little red dots on her arm. When we changed her clothes, she had a full blown rash in the works. So...instead of to Grandmother's house we go, it was to the doctor's office we go. The doctor said Madisyn had hives that could have come from any number of things. So we went home and finished getting ready to go to Christmas Eve. That night went well as Madisyn managed to fill up the entire Trailblazer with all her gifts. She seemed fine, just looked horrible. As new parents, seeing our little girl like this was pretty tough. So that night we went to bed and instead of sugar plums dancing in our head, we had visions of our daughter's hives clearing up before Christmas morning. Christmas morning came, and no such luck. We woke up to Madisyn's eye almost completely swollen shut and the hives even worse. So we opted to change our plans a bit, but still got to see some of the family which was nice. The hives finally cleared up about three or four days after Christmas. Madisyn sure was a trooper. It was just so hard to look at, but we made the best of it. Our first Christmas is one we won't soon forget.

Madisyn getting excited over her new books!

Madisyn had so much fun opening all her presents, she even wanted to help mom open some of hers.

Madisyn in her Christmas outfit.

Showing some excitement over her new puzzle. She even likes the way it tastes.

"More Bows! I LOVE BOWS!"

Here's how Christmas morning looked. Poor thing.

A new barnyard friend.

"This STINKS!"

"But I'm not letting it ruin my first Christmas!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Madisyn celebrated her first New Year's with her new friends. Looking forward to all the fun 2008 will hold for everyone.

Simon doing his best to keep a low profile in the midst of all the 'ladies.'

Lola enjoying a drumstick. I mean a xylophone stick.

I'm mobile! LOOK OUT!

And for my next trick, I'm going to start pulling myself up on everything!

I see you down there!