Madi's Birthday! (finally...)

So I know this post is WAY over due, but at least it's hear now! So for Madi's 1st birthday we were all sick! We didn't really celebrate to much the day of, but we did have a fun day. First I took her to get some Birthday balloons, then later in the day, John took her to get some Birthday books. :) We had pancakes for dinner as her birthday "cake" and she loved them!

I also made carrot cake cupcakes, and she LOVED those too! She is a big fan of carrot cake, and it makes me feel a little better about giving her cupcakes.

The cupcakes we're heart shaped!

She was unsure at first, but quickly got the hang of it!

Yummy carrot cake!

This was my first time with the heart pan. I had to try different ways at frosting them! I know thats kinda bizarre to worry about, but circles are easy, hearts weren't. So these were my practice cupcakes.

Mealtime has now become play time for Madi as she decides spoons are toys. But isn't she SO cute?!

These are the few friends she had over for her Birthday once we were all feeling a little better.

The cupcake she ate at her party had a little frosting on it, so she liked it even better then the first ones.

Such a silly sweet girl! She picked out pink spoons for her party and ended up playing with one all day.

Happy girl loves her balloons too!

Showing off her Birthday dress! (that's still a little too big)

What a dollface!! This was after her party when it was time for a nap. She was slowing down a little, but still being cute as ever!

I wanna thank everyone for her presents, and books! She LOVES every book she owns and they are what she plays with 90% of the time! ( the other 10% is probably getting into the kitchen cupboards!) Haha!

I am so glad she had a good 1st Birthday! It was small, which I like because she really isn't going to remember it, and it will be easier to outdo next year! I love you little bug!!

When Mommy Doesn't Baracade the Kitchen...

Okay, for all you moms out there, I know i'm not the first one to go through this. This is what Madi has been trying to accomplish for weeks. I finally gave her a few minutes "unchecked" and this is what I found. She suprisingly hadn't gotten it all out yet. I think she was held up on the cool metal lids she found that make such a great noise. (which led me to my discovery.)
At first I could tell she thought she was in trouble, but I just had to laugh, cause it was my own fault.
I hope you enjoy the innocent curiousity that childern have! I know I do, if i didn't I'm sure I'd go insane! :)

Does anyone know of any cupboard childproofing that doesn't involve drilling into the wood?

Paying it Forward

So my cousin is doing this pay it forward thing. This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones! Good Luck!

Playtime and Drama Queen

The last few days Madi has been having a hard time being inside. She's been bouncing off the walls and really dramatic. Today I got her out of the house and we went out to play on the tennis court. We took along a ball and her radio flyer rocket from grandma. We had fun and mainly, SHE loved having space to run! Well, she's only been walking for a month so she isn't a pro. She did a couple of face plants while chasing her ball. It isn't anything big, and she got over it pretty quick, but I still feel really bad and had to show a picture of her poor little face.

Her nose and her forhead are what got the brunt of it. She's been a good sport, but the longer we get into the day the brighter her poor little red nose gets.
Lucky for us her attitude greatly improved when daddy got home this evening.
I also think part of her emotional problems are because she might be trying to widdle out one of her daily naps. So I think this might be the start of her "one nap a day" phase. I'm scared, but hopefully it means she'll actually take a good solid nap and no longer be so moody...? Wish us luck!

Bow-Makers Anonymous

Most of you know, I love making bows and headbands for Madi. I think the obsession started when Madi repeatedly was called a "cute little boy" by a few strangers. For those of you with little girls you know, its hard to find any headbands in colors other than the typical spring pastels. And they are all small and tend to dig into the poor baby's head! So this is where the obsession started. finding colors to match her church dresses, and finding something bigger than a fingertip.

This first photo is of the beginnings of my bow making. I still found the bands too skinny, but I could choose my colors and have bigger bows.

This second batch is when I got a hold of some strecthing elastic, but my Jo-Anns no longer carries it. Oh, and I made a few of these interchangable, so you only need one band and countless bows in a variety of colors and styles!

These are the bands I use all the time now, and have been making everytime I go to a baby shower! The two at the top of the photo that are puffy are made so I can intechange bows in them - to choose the accent color! I must admit though, when making them for friends, I usually run out of time and buy a pack of bow clips. I make some of the bands with a small band around them that bows can be clipped to, again, making them interchangable. The great selling point with these ones are that when your baby girl gets enough hair to longer wear headbands, the bows cans still be used as hair clips!

The latest development in my bow making is that I bought a device that holds the ribbon as I twist and fold it in place! It is so helpful, and has cut the time down incredibly!!
John thinks it's an addiction, but I LOVE IT!!

Sunny San Diego Fun

Okay all you "None Californians", this is how we've been spending our January! Every area has it's own kind of fun, you get snow and skiing - we get Sunshine! Madi and I went to the park with a friend and loved it! It was a beautiful day - not too hot, and definately not too cold! Madi LOVES the swings and couldn't get enough of them!

She liked to watch her feet and the ground flying beneath her! It was really cute to watch her!

This second batch of Photos was fun at the beach, a few weeks ago! It was great, a little windy, but very fun! Madi had been to the beach a few times before- but it was before she was mobile so it wasn't to much fun. This time was great, she did a lot of exploring, and unfortunetly some sand tasting, and even chased a few seagulls!
I hope you enjoy the photos!

I love her trail of little footprints in the background of this one!

Taking a timeout for treats

Playing football on the beach

watching the seagulls and thinking about a chase! :)

25 Random things about me

I got this on Facebook, but i'm putting it up here too.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
1. I am a people pleaser.

2. I live in the land of perfect weather and often complain about it.

3. I love everything about the rain, except how other people drive in it.

4. I'm terrified at the thought of getting pregnant again, but know that I want more children.

5. I am a lazy perfectionist. I stress out when something is out of order - but you'd never be able to tell by looking at my cluttered house - I don't know where to start.

6. I love to read, but can rarely find a book that sounds interesting enough to start.

7. I've always wanted to enter Madi into a beautiful baby contest, but can never choose just one photo and I'm scared of rejection.

8. I'm addicted to making baby headbands and the more I make, the bigger they get.

9. My second semester at college I wore a skirt 98% of the time - purely by my own choice.

10. I actually only dated my husband for two weeks before we moved away from each other and we were never actually boyfriend/girlfriend.

11. I'm addicted to the Ellen Degeneres Show.

12. My cake was the only thing I liked about my wedding reception. But it was BEAUTIFUL!

13. I'm obsessive about my pillows - I can't stand having other people squish them.

14. The longer I'm a mom, the more of a germ-a-phob I become. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

15. I was arrested when I was 10 years old.

16. I love the smell and feel of launrdy out of the dryer. If I still fit, I'd probably curl up on the basket like a child.

17. Everytime I visit my family in Oregon, I seriously consider never leaving.

18. I work out at Curve's 6 days a week and can't see any results yet.

19. I'm very protective of my mama and want to protect her from the big bad world.

20. I was 17 yrs. old the first time I rode in a plane.

21. I went on my first date with my husband because I had asked him to help fend off a stocker.

22. The day I had Madi was probably the happiest and scariest day of my life. I really wasn't ready for a c-section.

23. I don't kiss Madi on the mouth for fear of causing her to get cold sores.

24. I have reoccuring dreams. Some I've been having since I was 6 or 7 years old.

25. It has taken me 6 days to compile this list.

So some of these might cause a stir, but it's a list of things that not everyone knows about me. I hope you just have fun with it! :)