Happy Birthday, Maddie Mae! (Part 2 of 2)

My parents drove me and Maddie down to Pasadena to meet up with Brant and help us move into our new apartment. It was an overwhelming blessing to have them with us, helping us get settled and making our home feel more like a home. Thank you, again, Mom and Dad for being here for us.

One of the benefits of having them down here with us was the opportunity to celebrate Maddie's birthday with family in our new town. We celebrated by leaving our disorganized apartment for the afternoon, and driving to Santa Monica! We had a great time walking along the beach, exploring the pier, and putting our feet in the water. It was very crowded, but very Californian and warm! :) We are excited to make many trips to the beach, hopefully a few times every month! Wohoo!

Mom, Brant and Maddie, basking in the sunshine!Brant totally fits in as a southern Californian. We are going to like it here!Along the beach, they have all sorts of bars and rings to workout on. I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to swing and play on the rings because they looked like fun. :)The Birthday Girl!Tucker is not able to live with us in our apartment in Pasadena. Another huge blessing from my parents is the fact that they are letting Tucker live at their house. This is amazing for many reasons, but also very hard and sad for us. We miss him a lot. He was able to be with us for the few days my parents were here, before they left for Portland.Our little walker! She is so close!!My wonderful parents, loving the California sun!Us!Me and my girl.Grandpa and his Maddie Mae, dipping their toes in the surf.Maddie got a new set (her first set) of wooden blocks. They sure do taste good!
She loved listening to us sing to her!
Time for real birthday cake...hmmm...she isn't too sure about this sugar thing...
Maybe it isn't so bad!That is about all Maddie wanted to do with the cake. I think it was a little late in the day for her, as she was acting tired and not too interested. But it was still photo-worthy!
Saturday brought Maddie's true, real 1st birthday. We gave our gift to her - a new walker/car-type toy. It is super fun and she loves it! We love it too - there are no battery operated sound affects! :)Finally, a few pictures of Maddie enjoying her new bedroom. She got a fun new chair from Grammy and Pop-pop, which she LOVES to climb up and sit in, while "reading" her favorite books. Cute!!I can't believe this was where we were a year ago...And look at us now!Happy Birthday, Sweet Madelyn!! We love you forever!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Madelyn! (Part 1 of 2)

Our little baby is officially a 1-year-old! What?! Crazy, I know! Maddie Mae celebrated her 1st birthday officially on June 19th, but we had a couple of pre-birthday celebrations with her, leading up to the big day.

We celebrated in Portland prior to moving down to Pasadena, with our immediate family. Brant was en route across the country, so unfortunately he was not able to be with us. I was given permission to have a birthday party without him, however, the only catch was that Maddie did not eat her first birthday cake without her Daddy present. That didn't stop us from having a memorable party! :)I put pink streamers and balloons up around my parents' house in preparation for our celebration. Maddie supervised my decorating...We were going to have a backyard bbq with an ice-cream sundae bar for dessert. Yummy! Maddie's special treat? You'll have to read on to find out...

The guests all arrived and we mingled, oohed and ahhed over how cute Maddie and her older cousin, Ellie, were, who were oblivious to the fact that they were the focus of our attention. Ellie knew something different was happening, as was evident when Maddie started opening her presents. Ellie was excited about the presents, but wasn't sure what to do about all of them. She was particularly fond of the presents she had given to Maddie (as they were a baby doll and stroller, just like hers at home!). Maddie, on the other hand, thought they were all great, but was very interested in her reflection off the glass door to the fireplace, and the stray balloons floating around the floor. :) Aww, to be 1 and not care. :)Maddie did enjoy walking with her new stroller, and has since enjoyed putting her baby doll into the stroller (with my help), and talking and walking her around the house. Cute!After we opened presents, we stripped Maddie down to her diaper and strapped her into her chair. We sang to her and served her a cold, personal cup of red jell-o. That's right! And she loved it!!It was actually my sister's idea, and it turned out great! My dad might beg to differ...he found it awfully funny to watch, but soon after, took a look at his floor and saw red jell-o all over the place. We quickly scooped up the pieces, dodging additional pieces that Maddie was chucking onto the floor, and put towels down. (Note how Maddie is yelling and throwing the jell-o with passion, while Ellie is quietly pondering what the heck is going on, and attempting to eat her jell-o with a spoon). :) Needless to say, it was very memorable and she deserved a good scrub-down in the bathtub immediately afterward!Please watch for my next post, to read about Maddie's second 1st-birthday party, in Pasadena!

We're Back In Business!!

Hello Blog Readers!

I've been absent, but with good reason... we've had no internet until this morning. But have no fear, we are up and running now, so my blogging will become regular once more. Whew!

I have lots to post about, including the ever-so-monumental 1st birthday of our sweet baby girl! Not too mention pictures and posts about our new home and life in Pasadena! However, I must wait until tomorrow to begin the updating, as we already have a full day ahead of us.

Please stay tuned!!

Vacation in Paradise: Part 8 of 8

(Editor's Note: Please scroll down to Part 1 of 8, and read up. I don't know how to change the order...sorry!)

Kauai, Hawaii:

Paradise.

Romance.

Sun.

Beaches.

Happiness.

Relaxation.

Family.

Joy.

Beauty.

Paradise.

We miss you already, but are beyond blessed to have visited you this year. See you real soon!

Aloha!

Vacation in Paradise: Part 7 of 8

Hula Shows and Sunsets were another highlight of the trip. We made it to a couple of different hula shows. One night, the family split up to partake in different activities. I, along with Maddie, Seth and April, and their 3 girls, decided we wanted to take a walk along the beach to see the torches light up at the nearby Sheraton Hotel. Additionally, we were going to take some pictures of the sunset, which was stunning. At the end of our walk, we stumbled across a Luau show that was taking place right alongside the public beach. Just our luck! We didn't have to pay the $100/person price for the show; we simply stood on the public beach and enjoyed it from the side. It was awesome!

We also went to The Grand Hyatt Hotel (which you really should check out online for yourself) for a fun Hula show. Brant was one of the lucky guys in the audience who was selected to learn how to hula. He was a great sport and got into it, shaking his hips and all! We all loved it, and secretly, I think he did too!

My favorite new picture of these two.

The setting was indescribable.

Wohoo!! Look at him go! He's such a good sport, and the cutest one up there! He didn't need to bring his baby girl up there to shake his hips, like the other guy in front of him. Ha!

Lastly, we went to a hula show put on in a local shopping mall. I jumped at the opportunity (along with two of my nieces) to learn the hula. I wasn't as cute as Brant, and let me tell you, it is a LOT harder than it looks!

Its all about the hips. Okay, and maybe the feet..and your core, too. Its hard!!

And, SNAP!!

My biggest fan...she thought I was THE BEST!! :)