Summer Fun!

It's hard to believe Madeline is 14 months old. Wow! This is such a fun time with her. She is growing up so fast. She started RUNNING this week! Watch out! It's getting harder to keep up with her. She is very active, loves to climb, and has very little fear.

It's been fun watching Madeline with other kids too. She is not AT ALL shy. She loves walking up to kids (especially the older kids) to hug them. At the park, some of the kids were a little rough with her and would push her or grab her. One little girl who was about 4 years old, kept hitting her! (BRAT!) I was ready to step in, thinking Madeline was going to cry. She didn't. She got a really angry look on her face then grabbed the girl's arms and squeezed really hard and pushed her back. The girl looked at me and cried. I said, "You are older and need to be gentle with her. She's just a baby. You are showing her how you want to play." The girl ran away.

Madeline is still a dancing machine. If there is music, she gets her boogy on. People stop and watch her when she starts dancing. It is so cute. She prefers to dance to techno and salsa (both types of music we DON'T listen to) When it comes on she gets down! She has lots of rhythm too. I showed my students her dance and they named it the Madeline. Anytime music came on, at school, the kids would say, "Do the Madeline!" and start dancing like her. So funny!

Being home with her this summer has been the best. I'm having so much fun with her. It's such a relief to be able to just be a mom and enjoy this precious time with her. She is such a sweet, smart, funny girl already at such a young age. Can't wait to see what's to come!



Oh Grandpa, you're so silly!

New pool-Madeline actually preferred to play with it inside, without water.

More fun in the waterless pool

Still loving my car! Madeline actually loves to push the car around and put things in it.

Random Pictures, Just for Fun!

Love this picture. It shows how much personality she has. All the grandparents together. Couldn't get my dad to look at the camara though. He kept looking at Madeline.

She finally cornered Bella, our cat. Madeline was thrilled. Bella? Not so much!

He hair is getting long enough for pigtails. So cute!

Love this picture. It shows how curious she is. She loves nature.

A Day at the Dallas Aquarium

We decided to have a family day at the Dallas Aquarium. Madeline wasn't as excited as we thought she would be. She mostly wanted to walk around, but it was really crowded.

Daddy loves showing Madeline new things.

Mommy and Madeline

Let me out!!!! Madeline is not a fan of being closed in. She doesn't really like to stay in the stroller, high chair, or carseat now that she has found her freedom with walking.

Yippee! Summer's Here!

Woohoo! School is out and I'm on vacation, so I plan on updating a lot now that I have more time. I so excited to have the summer with Madeline and plan on having lots of fun together.
We have one obstacle to get through first. The bottle! Yes, she is still on the bottle. At her one year appointment, the dr. said we should throw them all away from this day forward. Well...6 weeks later and we're still on the bottle. We're going cold turkey, tomorrow. Wish me luck! It's going to be a long day.

Okay, enough words. I know everyone just wants to see pictures. Right, Tracy?


Hold tight! Swings are scary. (She still isn't a fan fo the swing)

Wiggly Play center was so fun! She kept hugging all the little boys.

She loves to be in the backyard.

Madeline is seen here doing her morning workout. This is rep 74 of 100 pushups!

Walking is now a piece of cake. She has moved from crawling to walking to running to climbing on the kitchen table all in about 6 weeks.

Happy 1st Birthday Maddie!

It's hard to believe our little girl is one! Where did the time go? What an incredible year it has been. Not one day has gone by where we don't look at her and think about how blessed we are to have her in our lives. The first year was like a whirlwind. Everyone talks about enjoying every moment because it goes so fast. Boy were they right!

After her first year doctor visit, Madeline is...
Weight-20lbs 5oz. (45th percentile)
Height-29 1/2 in. (70th percentile)
Development-15-18 months. (of course, we knew she was advanced)

Current Milestones:
*Physical: walks without help in shoes and barefooted-she did this so quickly. She went from taking just a few steps and falling to walking everywhere! It's all over now mom and dad.
Picks up small objects with fingers. Opens and closes things. Puts objects in and out of things. Opens cabinets and drawers. Turns lights and t.v. on and off.
*Verbal-Words: dada, mama, mum, nana, nonononono , an (fan), wawa (water) baba(bottle) hi (with a dragged out i)
*Favorite games/toys: French Doll "Jolie", Pink car, building blocks, plastic Easter eggs, stuffed bunny, the cats
*Favorite T.V. shows: Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer
*Favorite Books: The Little Mouse, Big Hungry Bear and the Red Ripe Strawberry; Good Night Moon; Sesame Street Seek and Find; The Nose Book
*Favorite Food: any pureed fruit, Cheerios, broccoli and cheese, any cheeses, any breads, Puffs
*Dislikes: carrotts, tomato sauce and tomatoes, birthday cake, grass, vaccuum cleaner, being told "NO", car rides, and sippy cups.
*Favorite activities: anything outside-exploring, walks in the stroller, feeding ducks, listening to birds and trees; baths;dancing/music; 'helping' unload the dishwasher



Birthday Party! Guests: Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma Miller, Grandpa and Grandma Walker, Auntie Chris, Dewayne, Zoe, Seraphia

Yippee! Madeline is one today. She was so excited to see her birthday party and get lots of attention.

The princesses chair is ready for the party. This lasted for about a minute. Then she started eating the decor!

The balloons were a hit. She kept looking up and yelling, "Eh!"

Grandpa Miller just got back from France and Belgium and came all the way from Nevada for my birthday.

Aunti Chris came all the way from Ontario, Canada for my birthday party. I had fun playing with Auntie Chris at Grandma Walker's house.

Grandma Miller came from Nevada to my party too!

Here's Grandma and Grandpa Walker enjoying me opening my gifts. I AM funny and cute!

Grandma and Grandpa Miller

Ooooooooohhhhh! Balloons!

So cute!

Partying with daddy!

Whenever we say funny face, this is the look we get! Makes us laugh every time.

This was the first present she opened. It's from mommy's friend, Valarie.

This is the doll Grandma and Grandpa Miller brought her from France. We named her Jolie!

She Looovvved the doll and kept hugging it and smiling at it.

The dog was a hit too. She loves dancing to it.

She loved the pink car Auntie Chris bought her. She loves getting in and out and opening and closing the door. The license plate says Princess. Too cute!

She loved her Happy Birthday song! She put her hand up in the air and started dancing while we sang.

At first we thought it was going to be pure excitement as she ate the cake. Boy,were we wrong!

She did NOT enjoy the cake and when she tasted it, she got really mad. Eventually, she started beating up the cake. It was funny because it had a ladybug on top and she had black frosting ALL over her. Oops! Didn't think about that. Yes...the stains did come out of her clothes!

Time for a bath!


Zoe and Madeline were really interested in the oven even though they got in trouble, several times, for going near it. Zoe is 2 months older than Madeline and a lot taller. They were fun to watch together. Zoe goes to daycare and knows how to share. Madeline? Not so much!

Happy Easter!

Wow, it's been a long time since we last posted. Where has the time gone? It's hard to believe that Madeline is almost 1 year old. We still look at her and look at each other in disbelief that this sweet little girl is part of our lives. Every day we witness a new milestone. It's so exciting to see the world from her eyes. Her big beautiful blue eyes!!!

Her first Easter was fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She gets so excited as soon as she sees them. She loved her Easter basket, especially the plastic eggs! Those were a blast.

She started out dressed up in a green fancy dress with a matching jacket that cousin Tina gave her. We had a bow in her hair, ruffled socks, pink shoes and matching diaper cover. By the time we got to my mom's house, she had the shoes, socks, and bow off. Five minutes after arriving at my mom's house, she had the panties off too and was working on the dress. So...she had a pretty Easter dress on for about 15 minutes. So funny!

Our Ladybug is growing too fast!

Madeline is almost 10 months old! It's so hard to believe. This has been a fun month. She finally said her first word... dada! Everywhere she goes she babbles dadaddaddada! Of course, Chris is loving it. We're still working on mama. Chris swears she said I love dada, but he's the only one who heard it so...? Other than that she doesn't say words we understand, but she focalizes everything by yelling, whining, humming, screaming. She's not afraid to ask for what she wants, that's for sure.

She is crusing everwhere and we predict that she'll be walking by March. She stands on her own for about 30 seconds then gets scared and falls down.

Our favorite new thing she does is wave bye bye. She's waves bye bye to everyone and everything. Precious!

Although she's not talking a lot she follows commands and understands more than one might think. She will point to things and go get her ball, bunny, and books on command. She definately understands no, but doesn't always listen. Usually, she will put her head down and cry if we say no or take something away. When we read to her, she points her finger in the air and follows along too. She loves books and hasn't tired of Goodnight Moon, her favorite still.

Her teeth are sprouting up like weeds. All a sudden, over night, she had a mouthful of teeth. She has 2 on the bottom and 5 or 6 on the top. It's hard to tell because she bites us when we try to feel them. It's been an amazing 10 months. Can't believe our little girl is almost a year old. Wow!