We Call her Maddie Moo-Moo

She turned six months old on Sunday.

All I can think is "ooooooooohhhhhhh" where did the time go?

Half of a year.

In pre-baby days a half of a year was a long time. In post-baby days it goes by in the blink of an eye.

Sweet Sister Maddie Moo-Moo,

You are a true delight. You make our hearts swell with your free-flowing and gracious smiles. I feel better about myself when I'm around you because you are so quick to flash me your toothless (but not for much longer) grin. You have the kindest blue eyes. I can already tell that you are going to have a very gracious spirit. I'm taking in your sweet snuggles as much as I can because I know before long you will be off chasing your big sister and won't have as much time to cuddle. In an instant you stole my heart for the third time. I love you sweet girl and we are so blessed to call you ours.

My love,

Mama

PS- I promise we'll stop calling you Moo-Moo before you start Kindergarten, you have my word!

Beach Trip

A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach with a big group of friends. Five families totaling 10 adults and 9 children - we had them outnumbered this year, but next year they'll have us beat! I think the trip was overall a resounding success. It was a way different beach trip than I am used to, but we made it work. It was really great to just get outside of our normal day-to-day routine. Some of my favorite times were after the kids had gone to bed and we just sat out on the balcony and chatted.

Hannah Cate loved spending time with the boys and I think she has officially developed her first crush. She has been talking about Peyton ("Pake") ever since we left. She really does thrive in social settings and loves being around other kids. Every time we left to go to dinner, etc. she would ask "Home to condo?" It was really hard to explain to her on the last day when we were leaving for good that we were going home-home and that "home to condo" was just a vacation. I think she wouldn't have minded staying forever!

Maddie was a little trooper. Sleeping on the go when needed and overall going with the flow. She's really coming into her own and developing her own sweet personality. I'm so thankful for her happy disposition.

Nothing like a little dinner and napping. I think we made a mistake at dinner this night. We went to a place in Alys Beach called George's. Great food, great atmosphere, but we really paid ($$$) for it!

So glad our girls got his gorgeous blue eyes!

Ethan

Thomas (aka T-bug)

Robert

Peyton, Ethan and Jackson

Hannah Cate attempting to play with Finn - he wasn't so interested!


Hannah Cate has developed a great love for the ocean (osh-ee) this year. She loves to play in the waves and screams over and over "waves get me"!

Sweet Maddie. I love this girl!

Loving on my sweet girls!

I did celebrate a birthday that ends with a "0" while we were at the beach. The girls planned a little cake party after dinner that night and it was a good day. Matt surprised me with an upcoming vacation that we'll get to go on just the two of us - can't wait!

Kids playing amongst the local paparrazi!

This was our second attempt at the beach with Maddie. Attempt one officially failed. We were there for less than 10 minutes and hung it up. Day two we went armed with a plan and it was a much better beach outing! Maddie stayed perched in her bouncy on the beach chair and all was good!

Self portrait!

No oil made for great beach and ocean time.

Shands-man. Probably one of the most self-entertaining, wild-man kiddos I've ever been around!

There's nothing like a good nap on the beach! I wish that could have been me!

We had a great time and can't wait until next year!

June 10th

2008:

2009:
2010:

Her Party

We had Hannah Cate's Birthday party at our house and I tried to focus the party on all of her favorite things. We had bubbles and sidewalk chalk and all of her riding toys for the kids to play on in the back yard. For her birthday, Matt and I got her one of those inflatable jumping things that will stay at our house and hopefully provide hours of entertainment (so far so good)! Hannah Cate is not a big fan of traditional birthday cake, but she loves chocolate chip cookies, so we had cookie cake and ice cream (chocolate is her favorite). We had her favorite snacks - goldfish, cheerios, teddy grahams, Yorks and mini Vanilla wafers. The weather was great and we all had a great time. After the party, our family plus the Kellum's and Hensley's stayed and we had one of Hannah Cate's favorite dinners - pork tenderloin and rice, plus salad and rolls for the adults. She got lots of fun new toys, books and even some new clothes from her friends and family. It was a great Birthday party and I'm extra thankful for my sweet sister that volunteered to come down early and help me get ready. I never could have made it through the weekend without her. Each time we are together it makes me extra thankful that my girls have each other!

I set out to make sure I did a better job with the camera this year than last year. Definitely a success!

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Happy Birthday to my Sweet Baby Girl!

Hannah Cate,

I can't believe that today you are two years old today. I can still remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. You have been everything I imagined and dreamed of and more. I feel so privileged to be your Mama and to get to share my days with you. You are quite literally growing up right before our eyes and it's been exciting to see what each new day with you brings. You are such a joy and I love you to the moon and back.

Mama

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today I took a test that would make known one of the greatest blessings we will know in this life. When I announced to the blogging world that we were expecting again, I left out a tiny detail because I was really too embarassed to admit it. I still remember it so vividly and it's probably a time in my life that I will never forget. I was sitting in my bathroom, the lines had just appeared, I had deciphered that it meant I actually was pregnant, I was in shock but I was smiling and really just about laughing at the thought that I was pregnant again - UNTIL - my still-little-itty-bitty Hannah Cate crawled into the bathroom and into my eyesight. And I lost it, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I wasn't sad for me, I was sad for her. I felt guilty that I was going to have to split my time when she still needed me so much. She was still so little. How was I possibly ready to love another baby as much as I loved her? My sweet and wise husband reminded me later that we still had 7 months and that Hannah Cate wouldn't be so itty-bitty when the new baby came along. That has proven to be so, so true. As I look back at pictures from the time we found out and now, Hannah Cate has grown so much and has gone from a crawling baby to a running toddler. Not to mention the fact that she absolutely LOVES her sister. The saying "shared joy is double joy" comes to mind because Hannah Cate has truly shared in the joy of Maddie and it's added a whole new and exciting element to having a baby. And the "can I love two factor" has never crossed my mind again since I first held Maddie in my arms. I love her just the same!

My sweet Maddie-girl, I'm so glad that you are ours. I'm terribly sorry that I ever once doubted whether or not I was ready for you, because I love you so and cannot imagine our lives without you. I will forever thank the Lord for the true blessing that you are!

This and That - Hannah Cate

I realized the other day that my baby girl is quickly approaching the two year mark. How is that? Where did the time go? Even with all that we have going on these days, I still remember the day that Hannah Cate was born like it was yesterday. However, the small details in between, not so much! I thought I would do a quick recap, more for myself than anything, of the things Hannah Cate is saying and doing right before she turns two.

(Feel free to stop reading now because this will likely be boring to most.)

Hannah Cate can repeat everything we say these days. We call her our parrot. Most of the time it's very cute, but I'd be lying if I said there were not a few times when we would rather her not repeat everything we say!

1 week old

Some of our favorite things that she says - in Hannah Cate style:

Paci - sounds like "pas-eye". When she's extra desparate, the "eye" is extremely drawn out!

Sister - sometimes sounds like "sis-tuh" and sometimes like "sissy". Now she has started actually saying her name from time to time. Sometimes just Maddie, sometimes Moo-Moo and sometimes the whole enchilada - Sister Maddie Moo-Moo.

3.5 Months Old

When she first started talking her version of Yes, came out like "ssssss" and always was accompanied with a quick nod of the head. Now, instead of yes, her answer is "K" or "Uh-huh".

Milk (comes out "nuk")

Water (comes out "ag-wah" and sounds very much like Spanish)

One of her first very distinguishable words was outside (ah-side) and she still says it quite often!

7 Months old

Blue ("bwooooo") - the first color that she learned. Only problem is that now everything is blue! We are working on the other colors and she can usually pick out purple and black now too.

I'm Sorry - This is one of my favorites because it's so sweet when she says it. At first is sounded more like "I Sahr" and now now it's "I Saw-ee".

It melts my heart when she says I Love You, which comes out as "I Lov-ee". Sometimes when I say to her "Hannah Cate, I love you" and she doesn't respond back, I'll ask her "Hannah Cate, do you love me?" to which she will respond "I love me". So cute!

Some of her favorite foods are cheese, chicken (chick-uh), rice (yice), green beans, peas, yogurt (yoki), cookies (cook-cook), York Peppermint Patties, bananas (nami) and pork tenderloin.

10 Months Old

She has a fabulous memory. Many times we'll tell her that after her nap we'll go do something and she'll wake up and immediately remind us of what we promised.

She still absolutely loves books. When she plays by herself in her room, the vast majority of the time when I go to check on her she's pulled all the books off the shelf and is "reading" them.

She's a great sleeper. She goes to bed between 7-8pm and sleeps until 8am. She's also been known to sleep-in until 9, 10, 11am. She takes an afternoon nap for 2 1/2 -3 hours. She sleeps with at least 1 of her 4 lovies - Prissy, Theo, Lambie or LaLa - and her green blanket ("bankie").

15 Months Old

We made strong strides towards getting rid of the "pasi" but with the arrival of "sistuh" she reverted back to wanting it all the time. We opted to choose our battles and gave in. Some days are better than others, but it's our goal to only use it during sleeping times.

Her absolute favorite song is "Soul Sister" by Train. Random, I know for an almost-two-year-old. I really can't remember how it came to be her favorite, but it's stuck. Now everytime we are in the car and the radio comes on, she demands to hear "So Sis-tuh". It's really hard to explain to an almost-two-year-old that I can't magically make a song come on the radio! We've also been known to have a jam session to Beyonce's "Single Ladies".

18 Months Old

She loves to write names. Everytime she sees a piece of paper and a pen - she starts calling out "name, name, name" until you give in and let her start writing. After she's "written a few names" then she hands the pen over and starts telling you which names to write.

She can now call all of her grandparents by name, quite a feat given the fact that she has eight! Nini and Da (started out Dee-da), B and Pops, Mimi and Papa, G-Daddy (started out Granddaddy, became Bubba for a little while before landing on G-daddy) and Rose (pronounced "Wose"). She's actually really good with names and remembers names pretty easily now. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we write them all the time!!

21.5 Months Old

Some of her favorite things to do are go to the pool and park and jump (on those inflatable things). She also loves to go to the beach and ocean ("osh-ee"). Last year she was not a fan of the sand and this year she has certainly warmed up to it. She loves to chase the birds ("buh-dees") up and down the beach. She also recently really warmed up to actually getting into the ocean. We played in the waves for an hour one day and she loved it and laughed so much. She would say "wave get me" over and over. I've been so sad about the oil on many levels, but really sad that she's going to miss out on the fun this year since it's already hit our beaches and no swimming is allowed.

She loves, loves, loves her sister. I've been so pleasantly surprised at the transition she has made. She is a great helper and really does love on Maddie every chance she gets. She's a great big sister!

At 18 months she weighed 25 pounds and at 23 months she weighed 26 and a half pounds.

24 Months Old

I really cannot wait to see what the next year brings. I'm naturally sad that our first two years are over and they have literally gone by in the blink of an eye. However, with each new stage that we enter with Hannah Cate I find myself loving her and loving being her Mama even more. Bring on the two's!