One Year Old

November 21st, 2008 Madison Ann Snow turned one! It's true what they say...they grow up so fast! She is so much fun and has quite the personality. Madison loved having her friends over to play at the party. She is very social and is learning how to share her toys:) She was a little dainty with the cake but still put on a good show. I made a cute pink tutu for her to wear at the party. Jake forgot to take some good pictures of it:) We are having a one year old photo shoot tomorrow and you'll be able to see Madison in all the fun fru fru! Happy birthday sweetie! We love you so much!

Madison's Dresses

Grandma Snow (mana) made these beautiful dresses for Madison out of Grandpa Snow's old suits. She has finally grown into them and they are perfect for the winter season. Thanks Mana for making the dresses and thanks grandpa for donating your old suits. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Everybody's going green these days:)

Belated 11 Month Pictures

Here are Madison's 11 month old pictures. We had lots of fun taking pictures with her in the leaves. She loved the crunchy sound! Jake wants it to be known that Madison wearing an Ohio State jumpsuit is in no way an endorsement of the football program. He thinks that it is a joke that the Buckeyes will be in the Fiesta Bowl, it should be Boise State. Anyway, go Utes! Actually, go BYU yeah!!!! Jake says this post has nothing to do with BYU and that my random cheer for BYU was uncalled for. Sports are so silly:)

Jake's Recipe for Salad Dressing

I don't need a recipe.

No offense to those who do like recipes. I have enjoyed many a meal that was prepared using precise measurements of this and that. But recipes are just so restrictive. When I go to work in the kitchen, I like to let the ingredients volunteer their services. Somethymes it seems that they know what I'm cooking and they call out to me. It's kind of like Obama's vision for volunteerism in America...

Anyway, my assignment for this year's feast was simple. I was to make a green salad and prepare a relish tray. Simple and easy... a little too easy. With some encouragement from Jenny I decided to complicate things a little by making a copycat of the Olive Garden salad dressing that we all love so much. She showed me a recipe online and I got the basic idea. A little oil, some lemon juice, some vinegar, diced garlic, a touch of parsley, a sprinkling of romano cheese, some pectin! Mix it all up in our handy dressing bottle and voile! It was ready to taste.

hawcht-patewy!! Something was wrong with this recipe. Not only did this dressing taste nothing like the OG, but it tasted nothing like anything good that I have ever had! Even Chef Boyardee would take offense at this Italian creation.

With my ghastly result in hand I paused in the kitchen to listen for which condiment or spice would call to me and volunteer their essence to salvage the dressing.

The first to pipe in was the ever-trusty sugar, everything is better with a touch of granulated goodness.

Slurp. hmm still too acidy.

If sugar doesn't work, what else could I use to tone down the acid?

At this point I remembered my chemistry, if something is acidic, why not just add a base to tone it down? Brilliant! I knew I went to college for a reason. I paused again, anxiously listening for an alkaline volunteer to make their services known. From the deepest, darkest corner of the pantry I heard a whisper, "come, try me". It was my long-lost friend Arm and Hammer, the perfect base to neutralize any excess acid.

Deja vu?? As I poured the first tablespoon of baking soda my mind flashed back to the days of my youth. It seemed I had done this before. Memories of baking soda, vinegar and closed containers flooded my memory as my dressing flooded out from the bottle. Quickly I tried to limit the spillage by replacing the lid to the jar. This action angered the baking soda and CO2 hissed its way through the lid. I gave up and just opened the lid as ghastly dressing sprayed all over my sweater, the wall, the freshly washed dishes, the counter and of course the floor!

Fortunately nobody was physically hurt, that's the most important thing. As for my trust of condiments and spices... well, let's just say I'll be a little more careful next time the Arm and Hammer calls out to me. That jokester.

Happy Ending

Monday I had a terrible day. I don't know if I remember all the details of why it was so terrible but I know it involved Madison not napping all day and discovering that the stroller was not in the trunk when I arrived at my doctors appointment (I had asked Jake to put in in before he left for class. It was in his trunk). Luckily some of the nurses helped me out and held Madison during the parts of the ob appointment that holding Madison would have been awkward. (Every appointment involves peeing in a cup and I wasn't about to let Madison run around on the bathroom floor, yucky). I initially was frustrated with Jake for forgetting the stroller however he completely redeemed himself at the end of the day. I wasn't feeling like eating much of what we had for dinner and I had been craving Olive Garden Salad and bread sticks. Jake without hesitation decided to do a late night Olive Garden to go run. I didn't even ask him to do it:) What a sweetie! Thanks Jake for putting up with my pregnancy mood swings and helping my bad day to have a happy ending.

T.P. Mischief

A few weeks ago Jake and I went down to Columbus, Ohio for a residency interview. They put us up in a really nice hotel. We didn't get the most restful nights sleep however because Madison was a little excited about being in a new place. Her lack of sleep resulted in a clingy moody baby the next morning until she found... the toilet paper roll. Back at home Madison always wanted to play with the toilet paper roll however I never let her go crazy with it for fear of the mess. Jake had left early that morning for his interview and I was desperate to have a few minutes to get dressed and put on some makeup. I was happy to have anything entertain her for a few moments. 1Here is a video of her moment of fun.

I'm debating?

Hello everyone! I know I just did a post about going private but now I am wondering if I should or not? Maybe you all can give me some feedback on what you think of private blogs. Here are the thoughts in my head. Some people say private blogs are a pain to view. However, the blogs of my friends that are private are not a pain to click on. Once I log in my computer recognizes my log in and there are not any extra steps when I click on their blog. So... maybe that isn't a problem. Also, I know it's fun to find old friends blogs. I have come into contact with a bunch of old friends through blogs and don't want to block old acquaintances from finding me... When you go private is there a way that people can put in their info. and you can give them access to your blog? I think I have seen links where you can do this I am just not sure how it works? I have a few other questions but that's good for now. Let me know what you think or if you have answers to some of my thoughts? Still leave your email in the below post, who knows what I will decide. Thanks for your input!

Time to Go Private

Tonight, after reading my sister's post I have decided that it is a good idea to change our blog to a private blog. She watched a news special where they talked about some of the dangers people have run into. Here is the link on the ksl website http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4699330 I know the cases of crazy people doing weird things are rare, but I don't want to risk it. We live in a crazy world! Peace of mind is better than worrying about all the weirdos out there. So...if you would please leave your email address in the comment section we will be happy to add you on our list.

Happy Halloween!

For our Halloween party at the church we decided to go with a western theme. Madison was our little moo cow! We had a fun Halloween! During the afternoon on the 31st Madison had her first experience with trick-or-treating. We took her to the shops in downtown Perrysburg where the kids can have lots of trick-or-treating during the warmer daylight hours. Jake trained her well to pick out the Reeses (one of Jake's favorites) since all Madison would be eating were the animal crackers. I am sure next year Jake won't be able to eat all of Madison's candy:)

Early Poll Results

So it looks like many of you got wise to our poll. Here we are trying to be all sneaky and subtle in making our announcement and you sniffed it out. I gotta say though that it is a big relief to see that so many of you think that April is the best time to have a second child. After all, that is the well thought out and actively planned decision we made... hmm... kinda, sorta :)

A few weeks ago we sent out a card to our families telling what Madison would be going as for Halloween. We then included this picture of her as a cow -->

I am excited as can be about having another lil' one. People ask if I want a boy or a girl... I tell them that I do. Jenny has been feeling much better with this pregnancy, although she did just lose her lunch, dinner and evening snack all at once. Days like this are rarer this time around. Madison couldn't be happier with the thought of being a big sister, just look at her embracing that pumpkin!

April 16, 2009 is the due date. It really is ideal timing. I will be officially done with my medical schooling by the second week of April and graduation will be in June. So that will give us six weeks or so to have me at home helping and packing up the house before we move somewhere to start residency

Washing Windows

Madison loves to be involved in everything we are doing. In these pictures she was fascinated by Jake washing the windows. She made sure to clean the inside of the window for us by making some great blowfish faces.

More Art Fun!

Last weekend I created another fun work of art for our living room. Once again I got the idea from a picture I found... but the next picture I am painting is going to be a Jenny original. I already have the idea sketched down on paper. Let's hope it turns out! These paintings have been great warm ups to get back into the swing of things.

She makes me laugh!

Madison is growing up so fast and learning so many new tricks. The other day when I was holding Madison Jake had just come home and she saw me give him a kiss. Immediately after I looked at Madison's face and she had the biggest pucker on her lips that I have ever seen her do. She decided that she needed a kiss too. She often makes these funny kissy faces and uses all the effort she can to suck her cheeks in oh so tightly. It is so funny. I am also amazed at the things she picks up. I was in the kitchen getting breakfast and I heard a meow sound in the other room. She had opened up her animal book and was making the same noises I make when we read it together. Madison has also started saying num nums when she wants food. Sometimes I will sit down and eat my cereal first while she plays in the living room. However, the other morning she saw me eating and crawled across the room as fast as she could chanting yum yums. Now whenever she sees me eating something she usually does the same thing. What a cutie!

Back Into Painting

This weekend I decided to pull out my paint brushes and create art again! Oh how I missed painting! It was so much fun to create and I am determined to continue to paint more. This is a picture that I did for our living room. It isn't a Jenny original, I got the idea from a picture I saw on the internet but it's a start. The size is 14x24 inches. What fun! Thanks Jake for keeping Madison entertained so I could finish it. She always wants to do what I am doing:)

My Very First Tag!

That's right, I've been tagged. This is the first time I have been tagged, how fun. Thanks Julie! Here is the tag:

The Rules:• Link the person(s) who tagged you.• Mention the rules on your blog.• Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.• Tag some fellow bloggers by linking them.• Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged!

1. I apparently leave drawers and cupboards slightly open. I didn't realize this until Jake and I got married and he had to go around closing everything for me:) I now try to remember to close them, especially after he got a few bumps from my open cupboards. I guess I don't like the sound they make when they close so I leave them open.

2. I love to collect frames. I don't usually buy new frames because they can be so expensive. I usually buy old art/pictures from garage sales or second hand stores and I knock out the picture and keep the frame. You can find some amazing frames at these places. I have quite the little collection now and I plan on painting some great paintings to put in them. I just need to make time. I have put a hold on this frame collecting because I need to actually do something with them besides let them pile up:)

3. I must have a glass of water by my bed before I go to sleep at night. I usually drink a lot of water right before I go to bed and I need to have a cup beside me just in case I get thirsty in the middle of the night. And yes, this quirk does result in extra trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

4. I must wear my retainer every night. I even take it with me on camping trips. My retainer has traveled to Egypt, Peru, Jamaica, Mexico and many other places you wouldn't think someone would pack their retainer to. I just worry my teeth will go crooked.

5. I know this is gross, but I love to clean out my ears. I don't like the thought of having wax in them so I used to clean them out with a q-tip once or twice a day, despite the warnings from a roommate, who majored in audiology, that it could damage my ears. Her advice finally sunk in when I lost some of my hearing for around two or three weeks. I finally went in to a doctor who reversed the damage. I guess it is better to use a washcloth. Word is q-tips destroy the ears natural ability to remove wax.

6. I don't like the sound of loud T.V. or commercials. I usually mute the commercials and I don't like the T.V. or movies very loud. Whenever I am watching something that is at all suspenseful or scary I love to turn the volume down really really low to take the edge of the scariness.

I am going to tag my sister Becky and cousins Staci and Esther

Flashback to Teaching Junior High!

So today I did a crazy thing... It made me feel like I was in my junior high teaching mode again. Don't get me wrong, I was a really nice teacher, probably too nice sometimes, however you do have to put on your I am serious face quite often. The picture to the left is the only picture I have with my students where my face looks "tough" (and by the way, it was Halloween not the everyday teacher attire:). Anyhow, back to my story. So, the last few weeks there has been this car who will park near our house and play the loudest most awful rap music, to the point where I can hear a lot of four letter words crystal clear. The house vibrates and sometimes it goes on for a long time. I think this guy is waiting for someone he picks up in the apartments across the way. Today I had heard enough of his loud music. Madison was sleeping and I was worried it would wake her up. In a moments notice, without hesitation I ran downstairs and outside to this guys car. Luckily his window was cracked open so I could politely ask him to turn his music down. I explained that I could hear it throughout my whole house and that I didn't want my daughter to wake up. I felt angry but I put on a very pleasant face and said thank you after he apologized and turned down the music. He didn't realize it was so loud. Hopefully my gesture will prevent him from further hearing loss and Madison from learning new shocking words. Looking back at the whole thing it wasn't the smartest thing to do. I really had no idea who was in this car and definitely could have compromised my safety. Maybe it's the mother in me wanting to clean up the neighborhood??? I guess I did some crazy things as a junior high teacher as well. One day when I found out my student had a gun in class I asked him to come up to my desk and proceeded to drill him on the contents of his pocket. What in the world was I thinking? Lets hope I can try to make the world a better place without doing anything too crazy.

10 Months Old

Madison turned 10 months on Sept 21. I am a little behind I know:) She is crawling all over the place and pulls herself up to furniture. She loves to dance, give kisses and to cuddle. She has added hey, hi, down, and kitty to her baby vocab. It is so fun to listen to her cute babbling and try to understand what she is saying. She has lots of cute conversations with her stuffed animals. She especially loves to talk to them in the morning when she wakes up or at nap time when she is supposed to be sleeping:) Often in the morning she will yell hi and make happy screams until we come in to get her. The other day Jake and I went to the Wixey bakery for breakfast and she said hi to everyone that came in. They were so happy to have a Wixey greeter! What a cutie. She has also started to let me know what she does and does not want. When it's time for a diaper change or I am not understanding what she wants she does an amazing back arch throwing her head back in protest. It must be hard not being able to communicate. We are trying to teach her some signs, hopefully that helps. Mostly however Madison is a really happy baby! We are having so much fun with her.

Happy Birthday Becky!

My cute wonderful older sister had a birthday today! Happy birthday! I won't mention the age because it's a sensitive subject:) But don't worry Beck, I am not too far behind ya. Becky and I are just 17 months apart which has been so much fun. She is seriously one of my very best friends. Growing up we always shared a room and I can think of so many fun memories that we have together as a result. One night, when we were little of course, she dared me to pee on the floor in between our beds. I did of course and then she told on me. Luckily she got in the most trouble since I was the younger sister who was tempted to do wrong;) I did have to sit on the toilet for a little while as my punishment. Most of the time however I was the one thinking of mischievous tricks to play on our younger siblings. Anytime we did have arguments my mom made sure that we made up so we would always be close.
Becky was such a great example to me growing up and I always tried to follow in her footsteps. We had many of the same friends and she always let me tag along with anything fun she was doing. Becky and I were roommates my first year at Ricks college and we worked many of the same summer jobs. The picture on the left is us at Oakcrest LDS girls camp where we both had counselor jobs under the code names of Pepper and Sketch. We both ended up at BYU and then later ended up living close to each other in SLC. It is hard to live so far away but thank goodness for phone and email! She is so smart, creative, and an amazing mom! She still is such a great example to me and I just hope I can be as great of a teacher as she is with her girls and little Tanner. I am so grateful to have such a great older sister. Beck I hope you had a wonderful day!

Still a BYU fan!

For all those concerned friends and family who see me in all those pictures dressed in red I am still a BYU fan! I do feel however that I am mature enough to cheer for the Utes when they are not playing my team:) Unlike my husband however who went to a BYU game out here in the Michigan stadium but had to wear the only long sleeve red ute shirt he had to the BYU game. I guess when it comes down to it, I am pretty neutral when it comes to most sports:)

One for mobility, two for captivity.

After nine exciting weeks on the road Jenny, Madison and I have finally returned to our home in Toledo. All in all we drove 3500 miles, spent 4.6 million on gas and discovered that the finest Quizno's in all the world is in Beloit, Wisconsin of all places.
For the first month I was doing a Pediatrics internship at Primary Children's Med. Center in Salt Lake City. It was a great place for a rotation and I had a great time. We stayed with family and had many good times. Next up we drove to Milwaukee where I did an otolaryngology (ENT) internship at Medical College of Wisconsin. I loved it! So all the months of deliberation on what to do with my life came to resolution in Milwaukee and ENT is it. I have submitted my applications and now we watch and wait for interview offers.
During all this travel Madison had many firsts which Jenny has documented for you. I will add just one that she picked up during our last week in Milwaukee. Crawling! There was no army crawl or scooter stage for Madison. She went straight from tummy time to perfect technique, all fours crawling. She has not looked back since. As excited as we are for her it did not take long to realize that her mobility would lead to our captivity. Within two minutes of arriving home from our long journey she had crawled to the fan and tried to put her fingers in it, crawled to the power cord and tried to bite it and crawled to the radiator to suck on it. A whole new world of freedom for her... perhaps more captivity for us. We wouldn't trade it for the world!

So Much to See!

Milwaukee is a fun city. Tracy has taken us to so many cool places. I should clarify who Tracy is for those of you who don't know. Tracy was one of my college roommates for like three years! We were first roommates at a summer camp I worked at in Utah called Aspen Grove, then at BYU and we both lived in SLC for a little while when we were working women:) She went with me on travels to Egypt, Peru, and many other adventures. Now her husband is doing a fellowship here in Wisconsin so we get to take our kids on the many adventures in Milwaukee! We are so lucky to be staying at a home just two doors down so I can just walk over and visit while Jake is busy working at the hospital.
In the pictures we are in downtown Milwaukee on the river walk. There are some fun sculpture along the river that the kids loved playing with. We also made a stop at the famous sausage factory and cheese factory in the city. The cheese hats are so funny! Madison loved the cow. At the end of the day both girls fell asleep in the same position in their car seat. It was a cute picture.

Family Picture Fun!

The little kids had a hard time holding still in the family pictures but who knew my little brother (who is a senior in high school) would pull so many funny faces. He will just have to live with a goofy picture. You are so funny Jeffrey:) In the family picture are my four sisters, one little brother, my brother in law, two nieces and one nephew, parents, and my grandparents. Oh, and can you see who is sporting their new haircut? I gave in and got the mommy cut. It was just taking too much time to have it long. It is a fun change.

In the Mountains

Once we got to Utah we did a little bit of relaxing at Jake's family cabin but it wasn't long before Jake was busy doing some "man work". Here is a picture of Jake and his dad cutting down a tree. Madison and I are watching from a safe distance. On a little side note, I have been given the name of "Safety Patrol" in our family because I am the anxious concerned mom who is always checking all situations out for safety. Jake seemed to know how to handle a chain saw but I did remind him that his future career was on the line if anything should happen:) I have also come to accept that Madison is just going to get a few more bumps and bruises hanging out with dad since he is a little more daring and forgets the things she hasn't learned how to do yet (like balance on her feet). She will definitely learn fast with dad!

Trip To Utah

At the end of June we headed across the country in our little Mazda 3 so Jake could do a rotation at Primary Childrens hospital. It was a tight fit in our compact car but we survived! Jake and I took turns sitting in the back with Madison and being her source of entertainment. After she lost interest in most of her toys she discovered her love for paper! She spent some good time tearing out pages in magazines and laughing in delight at the sound. She also learned not to put paper in her mouth:) Our first stop in the trip was in Des Monies Iowa. We were very lucky to have friends and family so stay with along the way. The second picture is of our friends Aup and Mark who were so great to let us spent our first night in their home. We are glad they didn't get any of the terrible flooding. The next day we drove through Nebraska and stopped in Omaha at one of our church sites called Winter Quarters. It is a place were pioneers took refuge form the cold winter months on their trip out west. They were an amazing group of people who suffered so many hardships. They buried so many loved ones in this area who weren't able to survive the cold and sickness. My heart just ached at all the stories they told, especially the ones of mothers who lost their children. I could not have been a pioneer. Our next destination was Denver Colorado. Madison loved the room she slept in that night because there was a giant Pooh Bear stuffed animal. She kept giggling and laughing in delight every time she looked at him:) The next day was definitely the longest leg of the trip. I think because it was the last. We headed to Jake's family cabin to spend the night with his parents and the road we took seemed so slow. There were many big trucks the slowed down traffic. We passed through Vernal and took a break to get on one of their dinosaur attractions. Finally we arrived in Utah with only a few diaper blowouts on the way. The funniest diaper blowout was when we were on our way to go inside and eat at a restaurant (this was actually on our way to Milwaukee). Jake was holding Madison out in front of him as he passed through a crowded waiting area past the tables and into the bathroom. I searched for a new outfit and had a bus boy take Madison's clothes into the men's bathroom. We made quite the seen as Madison screamed in the bathroom. Babies give you so many new experiences that make you the center of attention:) I also think it should be required that all bathrooms no matter how small the town is... should have changing tables. We had to get creative a few times.

Oakcrest Reunion!

I have a lot of catching up to do for the month of July so many of my entries will be scattered. Jake and I missed both of our 10 year reunion parties while in Utah (one was in June and one in August). I did however get the chance to drag Jake up to a girls camp I worked at for a summer called Oakcrest Girls camp. My sister worked at the camp the year before so at least both of our husbands were able to stay close amidst the squealing and singing that went on among all the ladies:) They were having their 5oth reunion and counselors for the past 50 years camp up to reunite and celebrate. It is a camp run by the LDS church near Kamas Utah. I worked with about 50 camp counselors and our job was to watch over 10-15 girls ages 12-14 for a week. The girls came from stakes all over the Utah valley and we did all sorts of activities with the girls. Here are some of the fun memories: cookouts, archery, bum sliding down a river, going down the zipline(as seen in the last picture), mud slides, carrying dutch ovens up a hill, overnighters on sleeping bags and tarps, building latrines, food/water fights, ash fights, pranks, cooking pancakes over a fire, singing, lots of singing, devotionals, skits, testimonies by the campfire, ash cakes, bears, no sleep, pranks, building fires in the rain, and having lots of fun!!! It was one of the hardest jobs I have ever worked because you put all your heart and soul in to everything you do (and of course you don't sleep because you are working with teenage girls who are up all night:) but it was one of the most rewarding. It has been wonderful to hear the experiences of girls who lives have been blessed and hearts changed by one week at a girls camp. What a fun job! Thanks Jake for coming up to experince part of my past:)

More of Milwaukee

After playing in the waves and drinking her bottle Madison fell asleep under her sun hat in the stroller, very cute. What a busy day:)

First Day in the Sand

Madison had her first experience playing in the sand today. I went with my friend Tracy to the beaches of Milwaukee and we had lots of fun enjoying the warm sun, cool breeze and blue sky of the great lakes. I was so proud of Madison for not eating the sand. She didn't even care to taste it, what a surprise.

Flying Baby!

Here is a picture of Madison trying to crawl. She puts her arms and her legs back off the ground so the only thing touching is her belly. She then proceeds to grunt in frustration when she doesn't move. It would be great for flying or diving, very aerodynamic!

Silly Daddy!

8 Months!

Happy belated 8 months old! Madison turned 8 months on July 21st and has been learning so many new things. She makes all sorts of new sounds and her favorite new thing is giving big cheesy grins and squishing up her nose. It is the cutest smile! She loves to hold our hands from a sitting position and pull herself up so she can stand. She is very stubborn and once she is in this position she will not let you sit her back down and straightens her legs as stiff as a board. She is a very strong girl. Her new desire is to hold our hands and walk all over the place. My back is getting quite the workout. It makes me wonder if she will skip crawling??? When she is on her belly she wants to move so much that she will fling her arms back in a very aerodynamic position, which would be perfect for flying or swimming, but only gets her frustrated because she doesn't move. She will just cry and fuss until she is in a standing position. She must be watching us and realize that we aren't crawling all over the floor so why should she:)
She also loves to dance to music and clap. Last Sunday when the choir sang she clapped when it was over. It was very cute because no one else was clapping but she just was so excited about their performance. She even sang along. She has a cute little singing voice and trys out many different pitches. I love her high pitches, it sounds so sweet:)
For the month of July we were with family in Utah and she just loves to play with other kids. She is fascinated by them and all that they can do. She is very observant and loves to check everything out. We also learned that she loves cats. We are staying at a home in Milwaukee that has a big beautiful cat named Poe. She screams in laughter and wants to be close to it and pet it. I just have to make sure she doesn't grab too much of the kitty's hair:)
We just love our little Miss Madison! Happy eight month birthday!

First Swim!

We haven't disappeared! I haven't posted for a long time. We have been very busy in Utah but I hope to do some catching up soon! Here is Madison's first swim. She loved it!

Lovin' Summer!

Bumbo Graduation!

Last week Madison officially graduated from the Bumbo (the blue seat she is sitting in). She had some good times in there but do to her recent storage of cute baby chub she no longer fits. Whenever we would lift her up those little chubby legs would get stuck and the Bumbo would come up with Madison. We didn't have a high chair yet and had been feeding Madison in the Bumbo. Our neighbor told us not to get a high chair but to buy a booster seat. They are transportable, easy to clean, don't take up as much room, and they are very cheap! Madison and I are a huge fan of her booster seat and she is having a lot of fun sitting at the table like a big girl:) What a cutie!

Thanks for Being Our Neighbor!

This is a picture of Madison and her cute friend Annie. We were so lucky these past three years to have such wonderful neighbors living in the lower portion of our duplex. Madison loved visiting Annie and their dog Sydney. Her eyes would just light up when she saw them and she was amazed at all the things Annie could do. Thanks Matt, Kerri, and Annie for all the fun times! We miss you and we are excited for your new adventures in your residency program.

Seven Months Old!

Madison turned 7 months old on the 21st! In the picture she is wearing a dress that I made for her! Yep, move over baby gap:) You can't see the full dress very well in the picture but the ribbon ties in the back and there is some cute lace at the bottom of the dress. It still takes me a long time but I hope to get faster. I really need some sewing lessons!
If you look close you can see her two bottom teeth that she got in this last month. Her personality is really coming through and she definitely knows what she wants and doesn't want these days. Madison is very observant of everything around her and she loves to watch people, look at patterns, watch the animals at the zoo, and she especially loves to watch other kids. She loves to look at books and turn the pages herself. She also loves to hold her own bottle and tries to feed herself the baby food. It can get so messy! She loves to sleep on her tummy and is trying so hard everyday to figure out crawling. She says ma ma and da da and learned how to shake her head no. We are having so much fun watching her discover new things everyday! We love our little girl!

Mother Daughter Outing!

This is the best picture I had to show where Madison and I went tonight (the little cafe is actually around the corner from Wixey). I took Madison on a mother daughter date to Likity Split which is just down the street from our house. Even though everyday is full of mother daughter outings, especially when Jake is out of town:), it is still fun to call it a mother daughter date! Likity Split not only has wonderful ice cream treats, they also have really amazing cheeseburgers. I enjoyed my meal and Madison enjoyed chewing on her frozen peach inside her mesh teething bag. After dinner we walked down the street to the park and watched the boats sail down the river. It was a beautiful day and I always love taking walks in our park. Usually we see lots of squirrels, a few bunnies, geese, ducks, and an occasional deer or beaver. I love it when all the fireflies come out and make everything sparkle. What a fun place to live!

Need a Place to Stay?

I was looking for a picture for the above post and ran into a picture that Jake and I took back when we first moved out to Ohio. We took a trip to the granary for a service project and we saw this motel on the drive home. We were amazed at the artistic lettering done with the medium of spray paint:)

Happy 28th Birthday!

I love this picture of Jake! He is such a cutie:) We did have a big surprise party for him a few weeks ago however today is his official birthday! He is in Guatelmala right now serving a medical mission for his OB rotation. Jake is having a lot of fun even though it is in his words "3000 degrees and 5000% humid". He is in the city of Flores, here is the link to information on the town with some pictures http://belizex.com/tikal-Flores.htm. We miss you Jake and we will be so excited for you to return:) Happy Birthday!

Happy Father's Day!

Jake! This is your first father's day as a dad! Madison is lucky to have a dad who is so hard working, caring, loving, and playful. As soon as Jake gets home he gives me a kiss and then Madison. He loves to come home and play with Madison and make her laugh. He is always happy to take her on daddy daughter dates so I can run errands or get things done. Originally Jake crossed his fingers for a boy but now he can't picture having anything else than a girl! He loves to spoil her with so much love and affection and already has a pink tackle box for Madison's first fishing outing. Madison loves her dad so much and her face lights up every time she sees him. Thanks Jake for being such a great dad.