Oh No!

We slept through Halloween!! Madeline and I fell asleep around 5pm this evening and didn't wake up until after 8pm. We were sound asleep because I never turned the outside lights on so there weren't any trick or treaters ringing our doorbell. We looked outside after realizing we slept through one of our favorite holidays and it looked as if all the kids were already inside for the evening. So we sadly went inside and watched cartoons. What a bummer :(

Halloween Fun

Kevin, Madeline, and I went to Bass Pro Shop today for some Halloween fun. She didn't really want to smile for her photo so instead she played on the picture set with the Charlie Brown Gang. The store had all kinds of Halloween activities for the kids such as coloring, crafts, and picture taking. We enjoyed some yummy apple cobbler and got to see the "great pumpkin"!

Dad and Madeline spent some fun time together watching "Mickey" and other cartoons from the Ipad. Madeline loves sitting on Kevin's lap and sorting through YouTube.com for her favorite shows. She gets really excited when she sees "Dora" and "The Wonder Pets".

A very tired Mama and Maddy. It's been a long and boring few days of staying home and recovering.

Getting Ready for Halloween

Madeline tried on her Snow White costume tonight to make sure it fits for Monday's Trick or Treating. Kevin picked this costume out for Maddy as he thought it would look cute on her and he is right!

Madeline still is not feeling well today. After I gave her a dose of Ibuprofen to ease her pain, I was able to catch some silly photos of her. Luckily I got those photos quickly because she was right back to crying and wanting m to hold her within a few minutes.

Sick Days

I took Madeline to the doctor today. She has ear infections in both ears and a cold. She hasn't been herself for about 4 days now. She has been lounging on the couch watching TV and crying a lot which are both very uncommon for Maddy. After lots of money spent on vapor rub, Ibuprofen, and an antibiotic, I think we can kick this in the butt pretty quickly by watching lots of Disney movies together this weekend.

5 Years...

Today marks Kevin and my 5 year Wedding Anniversary. Nothing that Kevin and I have done in our lives since meeting in 2004 has been easy. To say we chose the "more challenging" way to start our lives together would be an understatement.

We started out living in a 700 square foot condo in Indiana, Moved to Michigan on a whim (had no jobs and no money) and lived in Doug and Jill's basement, bought a house, got married, then less then 2 months after our wedding we packed up and moved across the country to Scottsdale Arizona. Our first few years together were a whirlwind and when I think back about those years it's amazing that we survived all the relocating and starting over... and over!

Since living in Arizona, we have had to adjust to living without the support of friends and family and discover new ways of living on our own. The decision to start a family was not easy as we struggled with the idea of our child growing up living so far from everyone. Ultimately we made the choice to have a child and after and very emotional miscarriage and then a long 8 months of horrific morning sickness, back pain, and an Emergency C-Section, our little Madeline was born. I'm not even sure how I got through the labor and delivery without my mom there. Kevin must have been really patience that day ha-ha. Anyways...Yes, Madeline is my special angel and everyday I try to make sure she is happy, healthy, and safe. I am extremely blessed to be a stay at home mom.

Kevin and I are the luckiest parents and so thankful that Madeline came into our lives as she has changed our family forever. Madeline makes me so happy and I look forward to each and everyday I get to spend with her. We have already started her college and wedding funds in hopes that she will have endless opportunities available to her in her future. Whatever path Maddy chooses for her self, she will never have to worry about not having the unconditional love and support from her mom and dad. Of course though, her daddy will be pushing for her to attend THE University of Michigan : )

16 Months Old

Madeline is 16 months old and doing great. She went through a growth spurt the last couple weeks and had several teeth push through. She was pretty grumpy for a few days and wanted to sleep right on top of me when she was in pain.

Otherwise Madeline has been doing great at night and sleeping almost the whole night in her room in her toddler bed. I slept on the floor next to her bed for several nights while she adjusted to her room and now she she is on her own. The weather here is still about 99 degrees so we havent been doing much outside lately. Once it cools we will plan lots of trips to the parks, zoo and other fun activities outdoors. We still do not have a camera so its hard to get pictures of our little girl but we are doing the best we can with our phones to get pictures.

Grandma Jill, Madeline, and Grandpa Doug at the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trip to MacDonald's Farm for a ride through their Pumpkin Patch. This is becoming our annual October trip as
last year Grandma Anita was in town and got to enjoy this with us. This year Maddy is lucky enough to have Grandpa Doug and Grandma Jill in town to go with us.

We all took the long horse drawn wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch where Madeline picked out her very own pumpkin. Maddy got to see lots of horses, goats, and lots of crazy kids running around. Unfortunately it ended up being very hot on Saturday so we only stayed a little while before having to race home to the air conditioning.

Madeline loves riding on the Mickey Car at Babies R US. We have incorporated this into our weekly schedule so Maddy can get a dose of Mickey each week.

Phoenix Zoo

Since we have our Zoo membership, we have several fun trips planned with our friends. Allison and I took the girls to the zoo last week when the weather was cool and in the 70's. The girls enjoyed riding through the zoo in Maddy's Radio Flyer wagon and they both loved the petting zoo where they could chase the goats and cows around the yard.

Nerd Alert!

Madeline had fun trying on glasses today at wal-mart. We were so bored that this actully was the highlight of our day. She is such a dork! : )

Our second camera in 12 months has now been thrown and broken by our little angel. I hope to get a new one soon...