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Maddox has a friend.

 

His name is Kayden.

 

Kayden and Maddox's birthdays are just days apart.

 

We were tickled to be invited to Kayden's 1st birthday party.

 

His party included a photo booth. I've seen this done a handful of times. It's always so cute!

 

Krista's husband, however, had a pretty sweet set-up with his iPad. It was mounted on a tripod and the app actually took photo booth style pictures. It was really entertaining and really easy to use.

 

One of my kids really REALLY enjoyed it.

 

 

Holynd is very photogenic.

So Very Thankful.

My kids seem to love projects.

I try to have little things planned during the week for them to do.

Keeps life interesting I guess. With two very creative little girls, it keeps the house messy too.

Last week, I decided to do something easy.

A Thankful Tree.

I initially planned it for later in the week, since the beginning of the week can be so chaotic around here. (Ha! Like things ever calm down around here! In this house, the word 'calm' doesn't even exist.)

We had play day on Wednesday and I just all the sudden decided that we'd do it that night. So, I left my friend Nicole inside while I went outside and cut branches off all my bushes outside.

I found small fall-colored paper and cut out "leaves" for our tree.

That night I asked the kids what they were thankful for. My plan is to save the leaves and mark the year they were done. Every year they will be saved. I figured it would give Matt and I a good laugh later on in life.

This year did NOT disappointment.

Holynd was trying to be really sweet. She was thankful for Mommy, Daddy, Maddox, Sloane, spoons and letters.

Sloane was a little bit more honest. She was thankful for lunch, dinner, pizza, her mimi's (blankets), and food. I wasn't surprised even slightly.

This year, because Maddox is still little, I let the girls fill out his leaves. Holynd said that Maddox was thankful for trees that grow. Sloane said Maddox was thankful for dinner. Surprised?

Matt and I also filled out leaves.

I was really happy with my little project. Holynd likes to find her leaves. I love that she's starting to read and sound words out. It's fun to see her recognize certain letters and remember what she had said she was thankful for. I'm really just floored at how much she has learned already.

 

I think if Matt and I started listing off everything we were thankful for, we wouldn't finish for weeks. Maybe even months. I can't even begin to describe how much happiness our kids give Matt and I. We are truly blessed beyond measure. I'm very excited for what's to come.

 

Everyday I climb into bed exhausted. Seriously. It happens everyday. Matt will look at me and ask, "Bad day?" To which I'll respond, "No. Just 'day'". We really do have our hands full, but I'd rather have them be full then empty. 

Shout Hooray!

I know. I know.

 

One of our favorite holidays went by and I didn't update about all the fun we had. (And we had a lot of fun!)

 

The day was immediately trumped by the following day.

 

Which, of course, was Pudman's FIRST Birthday!

 

I might be biased, but I think my Pudman is the cutest, sweetest, smartest little boy to ever set foot on this planet.

 

Maddox is happy and content almost all the time.

 

He was a little unnerved about all the attention he received over his birthday, but he seemed to enjoy both his birthday and his birthday party. (Which happened a little later.)

 

His birthday started with a donut-run with the whole family.

Maddox was really excited that he got an entire donut all to himself.

 

Next up, a birthday present.

 

I wanted to wait to give Maddox most of his gifts at his birthday party.

However, Matt and I were really excited about this birthday shopping experience and we just couldn't be patient!

 

We changed our minds a few times before we finally settled on...

 

 

A big Dump Truck.

 

We didn't realize how big this Dump Truck was when we ordered it. It was a lot bigger then we had pictured, but Maddox loved it. He even loved riding in it. Well, until I stopped pushing him to take a picture.

 

I had so many ideas of how we would celebrate Maddox's birthday. I stressed about it for weeks, but in the end I decided to do exactly what I knew Maddox would want to do.

 

Skip dance class.

 

Maddox's birthday landed on a Thursday, which is the day Holynd has dance class. Maddox HATES to go to dance class and wait for sissy to get done. It's probably one of the only times he acts out.

 

So we went to lunch and I let the kids go crazy eating Halloween candy all day long.

 

Everyone was in heaven.

 

It was the perfect day.

 

*****

 

A few things about Maddox at 1 year old.

 

Maddox looks like his G-Pa. A lot.

 

 

Maddox isn't high maintenance. Not even a little bit. He reminds me a lot of Matt. Matt doesn't like a lot of fuss over his birthday and I knew Maddox would want the same thing.

 

Maddox is still tall and skinny. Just like dad.

 

Maddox likes to talk. His favorite thing to do is ask, "That?" and point. I think he has picked this up from Sloane who is always asking, "What's that?" and "Why?".

 

Maddox is really laid back. He also gets this from Matt. It takes a lot to upset Maddox.

 

Maddox isn't afraid to stand up for himself. Lately, the girls have been coming upstairs to tattle on Maddox. "He won't let me have his toy!", "Mom! Maddox growled at me!", "Mom! Maddox pulled my hair". It's really hard to get mad at Maddox because I know he's only doing it because they girls pick on him relentlessly.

 

Maddox gave up the binkie and baby food. Actually, he gave up baby food MONTHS ago. Once I gave him a taste of a regular meal, he refused to go back to the mushy stuff. I don't blame him. Even the expensive stuff looked pretty nasty. Maddox really loves beans and Homemade Chicken and Dumplings.

 

Maddox is the easiest baby to take anywhere. Even when he's tired. (This does NOT include dance class). I've had Maddox almost completely fall asleep while sitting up in the cart at the grocery store. He just doesn't like to cause a lot of trouble.

 

Maddox's favorite snack is Ritz Crackers. He also LOVES broccoli - it doesn't even have to be cooked. He and Holynd are very much alike in what they like to eat.

 

His favorite toys are balls, trucks and cars. He loves to play "catch". I'm sure this makes Matt so happy. :)

 

Maddox will stand and walk around furniture, but he has yet to walk on his own. He seems nervous. I really don't blame him. I wouldn't attempt to learn to walk in this crazy environment either.

 

Maddox has 2.3 teeth. One of his top teeth cut through yesterday and he has another ugly bump right next to it. He's not a bad teether, but he definitely lets me know when he's ready for some Tylenol.

 

I really can't believe how fast the year flew by. I know enough to know that there's quite a difference between 12 and 18 months. They grow and learn A LOT! This is really when they grow out of being babies. I'm a little sad, but I'd be lying if I didn't say this is one of my favorite ages.

 

We love you Pudee.

 

 

Smack!

 

My Noanie.

 

She's funny.

 

Sloane is very VERY different from her sister.

 

Today, we stayed home from church.

 

Everyone had been fighting colds. I finally ended up with it. I drew the line at taking three kids with runny noses to church when I didn't feel the greatest.

 

While we were having lunch, Holynd started screaming about a spider.

 

This happens a lot, so for a minute I didn't really notice.

 

When I realized that Holynd was screaming about an actual spider in the house, I went over to see what was going on.

 

I immediately saw Sloane roll her eyes, walk over to the tiny spider and

 

SMACK!

 

she killed it with her bare hand.

 

Wow. Go Sloane.

Snow Angel

*One of our favorite traditions: Ride To A Witch at Gardner's Village.*

 

*Two Little Witches. I love them.*

 

******

This morning I woke up to go running. When I looked outside I almost wanted to cry. It was raining and it looked COLD. Really really cold. I'm getting really addicted to running, so I've really been hoping that it would stay semi-warm for a little longer.

 

I was bummed, but I decided to go downstairs and do some yoga while Matt helped the girls with breakfast.

 

When I came upstairs, Holynd was really really excited.

 

She was about ready to explode.

 

When I looked out the window, I knew why.

 

It was snowing.

 

When she realized I had noticed the snow, she started shouting...

"We can make snowmen! And snow angels! And we can throw it in the air and play and play! Mom! The snow is out there! I need my coat! We have to go play in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

It was a little easier to swallow my frustration when I saw how excited Holynd was about the snow.

 

My reasons for disliking (strongly disliking) winter are probably dumb for most everyone else.

 

Yes, I love that we have snow during Christmas. I could never live in a place where it was sunny and warm during Christmas. It just wouldn't be the same.

Yes, I love hot chocolate and warm soups.

Yes, I love that my home feels all warm and cozy while snow falls outside.

 

I'm basically fine with winter up until January.

 

When the holidays are over, all the sudden winter gets very depressing.

 

However, seeing my little girls' face this morning makes winter seems much more bearable.

 

Here's to snowmen and snow angels.

 

*****

Sidenote: Let this be remembered as the year I started Christmas shopping EARLY! I never do this because the shopping is one of my favorite parts of Christmas, but I came to the realization last year that it's really hard to shop for three kiddos in such a short amount of time. This little blurb is for you Nicole. ;) I will never forgetting the never-ending packages that would start showing up at ReMax starting in September. You are my inspiration.