Long to-do lists

We have been crazy busy the past few weeks doing things around the house, getting ready for Madison's party and a ton of other errands, etc.

Last minute touches for Madison's party. I'm so glad we started early this year. Now to finish this project and to buy the food and we should be done!

Finally got 4 more frames added to our gallery wall going upstairs. I may switch the far left 8x10 with the far right 4x8. Not sure I'm loving that layout.

Our new bushes have grown about 6 times their size in 2 months! They are so pretty and have baby's breath looking flowers on them that you can't see here.

Our other flowers that we planted are doing really well. We stopped buying at Lowe's and started buying from a local nursery and it really shows. Mulch also seriously helps!

This has been Alan's project lately. The rocks are actually a reddish, brownish but it's not showing up great in the pic. We only bought a few rocks to make sure we liked it and we are loving how it looks.

 So Alan went out around 8:30 Friday night to buy 70 more bricks and more paver base to finish off around the front of the house. He finished it up on Sunday.

My latest favorite thing. I mentioned last week that we had got one that didn't work out. Well I found an over the door hook that's working great! A place to hang my purse, our keys and Madison's library book bag for returning books.

I redid our hanging baskets. I've never done vines or greenery in there but I'm loving it! The lady at the nursery helped me pick these out and they are really growing. See that thing on the right sticking out? That's new growth just in the past week.

Getting Madison ready for school tomorrow. We had a nice talk with one of Alan's friends who has sent her 3 kids there and she had great things to say about it. It's nice to hear encouraging words from someone who's experienced it. We had a parent tea on Monday to meet the teachers and get familiar with the class. It went really well and Madison really warmed up to the room after a few minutes. We also moved her from her original 3 days to all 5 days a week. Today was her last day of gymnastics, also. She will have music at school twice a week(and an additional time at a church music program we start in a couple of weeks) and gym once a week. I'm hoping she falls in love with it quickly!

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving-Part 2

This is a continuation of my Thirty Days of Thanksgiving post.
These are in random order as well as the first part

Day 15-Heat and a/c
Something we take for granted and complain about the bill but lots of people aren't as fortunate to have power, much less heat and a/c to stay comfortable.

Day 16-Food
Other than the obvious, I also enjoy it :) (and so does M)

Day 17

Thankful for our home. If we hadn't moved here, we wouldn't have Madison, Wilma, Toby or Sierra. Our house is big enough for our family and we've made good friends and feel safe here.

Day 18

Thankful that Micki has been alive for 10 years today! I got her when she was 9 months and she's been through more than a dog should. She's been there through my happy and sad times and I can't imagine her not being around. Happy Birthday Micki!!

 Day 19

Thankful for our other 4 crazy animals, Wilma, Toby, Sierra and Cameron. Given the chance Toby would eat Madison but he is Micki's best friend and I'm so glad they loved each other from the second they saw each other. He's so loving and sweet, except to Madison :) . Sierra runs when M gets within 10 feet but she is Cameron's girlfriend. Wilma and Cameron have also been through a lot more than any animal should, right along with Micki. Madison still loves all of these animals regardless and laughs at them constantly!

 

Day 20

 Thankful my Dad isn't in pain on his 62nd birthday today. Also that we had a relationship for a few years after not speaking for 10 years. His death last year was the hardest thing I've ever went through. 

Day 21

 Thankful for medicine, Allergy eye drops, a Pedi that worked us in and an understanding photographer who rescheduled our pictures for the second time :/ Hopefully Madison feels better very soon! 

Day 22

 Thankful I stood in line over an hour to get most of Madison's Christmas! I saved as much as I spent so it was well worth it! It also gave me a chance to talk to my BFF on the phone for a bit while standing in line

 

Day 23

 Thankful for a best friend like no other. We've been best friends for years and every year it seems like we get closer and closer. She's trusted me with her son if anything ever happened. We don't see each other or talk often enough but when we do, we talk until Amanda's phone gives her the "battery too hot" warning. Ha! I know more about her than I probably should and no conversation is complete with a "tmi" or "What did Dr Google say?" Involved. I wouldn't know what to do without her!

 

Day 24 

 Thankful we found a cabin to go to the mountains. Thankful we are able to go.

Day 25

 thankful that M loves music as much as I do! 

Day 26

 Thankful for gorgeous mountains and that we live close enough to go see them

 Day 27

My phone and the internet

Day 28

 Thankful the cashier gave me a $4 off coupon today. I needed it :/ 

Day 29

 Thankful for Mommy time which means I can finally get decorated!

Day 30

Thankful for good smelling stuff

Happy 1 year, Madison!

 
Wow, this year has flown by! I can't believe a year ago today, I was the most nervous I had ever been in my life! At 4:22 pm, after 8 hours of labor, our gorgeous little girl was born! She has grown so much and is so very smart.

She learned how to say "Uh Oh" early in the month. Sometimes she says it clear as day but most of the time she just says "Uh" or "Oh" when she drops or throws something. I also think she has learned to say "I get it". I am constantly saying that to her when she's reaching for something. She has been saying it a few days when she goes to get something. Maybe I'm crazy but I swear she is saying it! She also says "Hey" but it sounds more like "eeeeyyyyyyy" hehe It's cute :)

One night this month, she woke up from 11-1am and then up again from 4-7am. I thought she was teething because she had been acting funny for a few days. That brings us to this picture. This was at breakfast. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the crib...

And this one was at lunch.. "I am not sleepy, I am not sleepy..."

Enjoying some pasta :)

Eating her first icee. She loved it! 

and a video of it..

She's become really good at copying us. Here's an example:

Her new favorite thing is the food pouches. I bought her some while at the beach and she loved it! I have now stocked up on them for car rides.

She barely wants us to feed her anymore. She likes playing with a spoon and 'dipping' it into her food bowl if we are feeding her something messy but we usually have to end up giving it to her because she refuses to eat from us most of the time.

She has started really loving to read. She will flip through a book the entire time we are in the car and jibber jabber. I love this video! Most of the time the book is upside down but it doesn't matter to her :) Listen out for her to say "Yellow". I know she isn't saying it but it sounds like it and I swear she said "Purple" right after me the other day.

This video was in our beach trip blog but it's so stinkin' cute I had to include it in this one too. This girl loves her some music!

Along those same lines is this one from the library story/music time

Alan coughed the other day and she just died laughing! So of course he did it over an over again and she thought it was just hysterical! Of course the next day she didn't laugh at all when he did it.

She's learned how to take the lid off of her Puff container and get a Puff out on her own.

Her and her Daddy had been doing this over the weekend.. Cute.

Naked baby!

Tall girl!

Blueberry mouth to match her blueberry eyes.

She fell last week and hit her head on the corner of the baseboard.. It was awful :( She cried real hard until I swooped her up and she pretty much stopped right then. She has her mama's pain tolerance for sure! She's a tough little gal!

Alan met us at the library for muic time and then we took her to lunch and to the zoo(blog post to come later). We stopped and got her a cupcake on the way home to eat after supper.

Listening to us sing "Happy Birthday"

"Is that mine?!"
(We gave her 1/4 of the icing and half the cake)

Yum!

This year has been nothing short of amazing. She is the best baby and we are so blessed to have her in our life. She is always so happy and full of love and smiles for everything! She has this little personality that bursts out! No words can describe how we feel for her. Our love for each other has also grown. To see the person that you thought you loved with all you have before you had a child, play and be silly with your daughter is a feeling you can't describe. Mama and Daddy love you so much! Thank you for blessing our lives this past year and the years to come.

Instagram photos

I downloaded the Instagram app the other day and have been using. I'm starting to love it! I like looking at things that the people I follow are posting and I like using the different effects on the pictures. Username Alanandcrystal to follow me! Here are the pictures I've taken so far:

Sweet, tiny baby feet!

Madison and Daddy on Memorial Day

"Where's the steering wheel on this thing?!"

Gorgeous country sunset

Needs a few more toys, dontcha think?

Lazy morning with Wilma while Madison was sleeping

After Madison woke up.. She must have been sleeping good, look at those red marks!