The boy was away, so the girls must play

This is a backtrack post, but I had to write about our fun weekend up north from a week ago. After we dropped Logan off for the mission trip, Maddy and I drove up to see Jane (and Juno and Stewie.)

Marme and Jimbo came to Aunt Jane's house on their way into town. We stayed with them the next night at the ranch.



Maddy had lots of fun playing with Juno through the window and chewing on her toys when I wasn't looking. She loved chasing Stewie, although he really wasn't a huge fan of it.



After a trip to TCBC we made the grandparents tour. Walker? Check! Stanton? Check! Taylor? Check! We saw them all!

At Granny and Grandad's Ruby helped Maddy play with baby dolls and Granny's horse collection. She "arranged" all of the magazines on the coffee table and helped Grandad throw away a few magazines he had in mind for Jimbo.

We had a hard time getting everyone to smile at once.



Speaking of Ruby...hasn't she just turned into such a little lady. She is going to hit double digits in September! Can you believe it?! I love this shot I got of her.



Maddy, again, had lots of fun chasing Grandpa's puppy, Sammie, all of over the kitchen. Sammie likes to howl (like all Beagles do), but Maddy wasn't too fond of that. So she admired her from the window some more.





Grandpa also had some pretty green grass that we just couldn't pass up. Maddy was ready for a nap, so the pictures weren't that great, but oh well!



Then, last but not least, we got to see Mama Joyce. (What a beauty she is! There is a reason I kept that J. in my name and she is it! I sign my name at least 8-10 times a day for patient reports and such and each time I do, I get to think of the amazing woman whose name I get to carry on!) Maddy likes to "tidy" up Mama Joyce's papers on her foot rest. She puts things on the floor, picks them up, and then does it all over again. What a good little helper.



Back at the ranch...Maddy got to swing with Jimbo...of course.



We made it back to SA just in time to start my first full week of work. Now, Daddy is home and we're pretty excited to have him here, healthy, and happy.

While you were out...

While Logan was on his way home today, Maddy and I explored a bit of the city we hadn't seen yet...and Maddy got a haircut. That's right, her FIRST hair cut ever! She hopped right in her little black car, started watching "Baby Einstein" and was set.

Here is her before...



Here is Maddy after! Those bangs don't hang down so far now and we can see her pretty eyes!



After driving around for about an hour to find a park with shade AND swings (the two aren't found together easily) we decided to just head out the the Castle Hills area to "explore." I haven't spent much time there and I decided there had to be something we hadn't seen yet. Boy were we right!

Burger Bistro had a sand box/play area that was so much fun! And a balloon lady! And Maddy ate for free! This was the first time I have seen Maddy in a sandbox and she LOVED it!

She made her a ladybuy to match her bib. Does she know us or what?!


Hard at work in the sand.


Then we made our way to HEB Plus! Why have we lived here for a year and never been there. It was so great! I found this little wonder there. (Yes, I've seen it at other places, but we couldn't leave empty-handed!)



Here's a little video of the bubble maker in action.


By the way, Logan is sick. He drove about 10 hours today with a lot of sickness! Please say a little prayer for him that he can get some rest from his trip get better too.

The search goes on...

So....as you can assume by the title, the house is not ours after all. It's a long story and I'm sure I'll explain it to you some time, but for now we will continue our search and just keep praying for the right one. We've been a little bummed out (as you can imagine), but we're doing better now. Our realtor is on speed dial now so as soon as something new comes about, we'll go see it I'm sure.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue the search and as Logan travels to New Mexico with the Senior High students from church this week!

Accepted!

They actually accepted our offer! This is Maddy and Logan walking into view the house we hopefully will finalize in purchasing very soon. We visited it yesterday and I just knew we needed to put the offer in very soon. Luckily we did because there was another offer out there and we outbid them by just a hair. The realtor called us this evening and told us that our offer had been accepted and we will get the ball rolling on things now. Please pray that everything falls into place since Logan is leaving on Saturday for a week!

This isn't a great picture, but I knew I needed to share it for anyone that reads this. Click here for more pictures!



Here are the ones that got away....

The Tree House...there were so many amazing trees here that we just loved, but they didn't love our offer. :o(



The Tile House...this house had amazing Mexican tile all throughout it just like my parent's old house in Mineral Wells. I guess it will be someone else's job to find all the perfect rugs for that house. Oh well!

Ladybug Birthday Party!

There are so many pictures to post for Maddy's birthday and just not enough time to wait on silly Blogger to post them. Here are some of the best ones and I will post more to Facebook. We had an amazing time enjoying Mary's amazing fruit creations, ladybug strawberries, wearing ladybug antennae headbands, watching Maddy eat her cake, busting the pinata and just having a good ole time. I was so grateful to my mom and dad for hosting the party and for everyone who came out. And, thanks to everyone who took pictures, especially Jane and Cari! Thanks again to everyone for making it such a special day for our little (one year-old) Maddy Bug!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

ONE!

Can you believe this little girl is ONE year old today?!! I really can't. All week long we have been reminiscing about what we were doing a year ago from whatever moment we can recall...

July 5th...watching fireworks at the lake and being soooo uncomfortable
July 7th...going to the hospital and then going back home because they said, "Sorry, no baby today."
July 8th...going to Bed, Bath & Beyond and deciding today was the day and we needed to go home
July 9th, 2:57 am...came a tiny little, beautiful, 7-pound, healthy, pink ball of something special.




Madeleine,

Words can't describe what this year has meant to me. You bring out the best in me and help me to see how I can change the not-so-good parts about me as well. Your birthday is the first of many milestones. I think it helps us all to remember that God is in control and as the years go by quickly, He will continue to allow you to flourish my sweet girl. You are an absolute joy to be around and everyone tells us (A LOT) how cute you are. We say we get a little tired of it, but how could anyone ever get tired of hearing how adorable you are my little one! You have your daddy's nose and eyes and you have my lips, dimples, and a few curls.

Maddy Bug...that's what we started calling you right after you were born....you love to "unpack" everything you see from every box, drawer, cabinet, bag, purse, etc.



I love that you love me when my hair is a mess and I don't have on cute clothes, or makeup, or I haven't showered in a while. You will eat anything we put in front of you...even mushrooms!



You are sassy and will shake your head "no" repeatedly when you do not want something. We starting teaching you "yes" today to make sure you knew you had another option besides, "no."



You always smile when we pick you up out of your crib in the morning and will "talk" to pictures of when you were a "baby" at your door. When you rest your head on my shoulder, I feel so confident in my abilities to be a good mother.



So little one, thank you for loving me and for simply being you. You are a treasure to me, your daddy, and a whole lot of other people....and especially your Father in heaven. He loves you the most sweetie and He is really excited for your birthday today. You made it kid....a year! Wow. I still can't believe it. I hope you have an amazing rest of your birthday sweet girl. Now...let's eat some cake...and I will cut it, of course! (Don't worry, I'll teach you that soon enough.)

I love you,
Mommy

These days

Here are just a few updates of what Maddy has been up to these days.

1) She found out that she is pretty good at opening the front door. We definitely have to keep it locked now! She tries to open all other doors, but luckily those handles are a little more difficult to maneuver.



2) Her ladybug swimsuit is our favorite new attire for the summer. We have been in the water almost every day and she LOVES it! When we first started taking her in May, she wasn't so sure about it. But now, she is a little fish!



3) Since she is the Birthday Girl this week, I decided she is going to wear her birthday girl shoes ALL WEEK! My mom bought them for her in the spring and since she really won't be able to wear them again, a week's worth seems just about right.



4) Maddy now LOVES to watch, "My Friends Tigger and Pooh." Well, at least the opening of it where they sing. She wiggles and grins every time it comes on. Good thing we have them recorded for when things go bad...Pooh and Tigger are there to the rescue. (Please don't laugh at my horrible part in the pigtails. It's hard enough to get her still, getting them even just isn't an option!)



5) Nana and Uncle A are on their way to the apartment right now! We're going to get things for the birthday party today and go to the Natural Bridge Caverns tomorrow I think. Should be a fun week with them!

Independence

Spoiler: there are no pictures in this post. I went to Friendswood with my camera, but without the battery charger so alas...no pictures. I took some with my phone, but they just aren't that great.

We spend the weekend in Friendswood with Logan's brother's family. We swam just about every day, went the the Friendswood parade on the 4th, watched fireworks, and ate lots of yummy food. On Sunday we travelled into the city to see some friends. First, we visited with Kyle and Amanda in West U with their new little guy, Eli. AND...we also got to see Sofia and Mike's new house in the museum district in Houston. Again, no pictures...big bummer...I know!

Now we are back home and enjoying a little down time. Why the extended vacay you ask? Well...due to a little bit of paperwork troubles with the Texas state licensure board, I have to....get to stay home for a while till my state license comes in. So I will just finish (ahem) start planning Maddy's birthday party for next weekend and get things ready for Logan's mom and brother to come in town on Wednesday. We are super excited! Come on down Nana and Uncle A!