Look who's 1 year old!!!

Madeline is 1 year old!!! 

Can you believe it?  I sure can't believe my baby is 12 months.  It seems like just the other day I was bouncing Maddy around the house, with the water running and the stove hood blowing, while singing to my voice went hoarse.  I didn't see an end in sight.  I thought I would be swaying her back n' forth and whispering hush until she went off to college.  I actually was counting down the days until she went to college (okay, not really).  Now that things have calmed down considerably, Jon and I couldn't enjoy our bundle of joy more if we tried!

We celebrated Maddy's actual birthday with family at a local restaurant in downtown Milford, Red Dog.  We all enjoyed burgers, and they made Maddy a special soup (honestly, they really did!).  We later had cake at home.  Maddy was timid at first, but soon dove into the frosting and barely came up for air.

The next day was party time!  Maddy had a little over 30 of her closest family and friends over. What a special day!

 

Christmas Cruise, Part 2

For Christmas this year, Maddy, Jon and I spent 7 days and nights on the Freedom of the Seas.  We savored the good life, spending time with family.  Maddy splashed through the kiddie pool every day, became an ice cream cone addict (just the cone, no ice cream), was a trooper with 2 hour dinners and LOVED all the sightseeing from her stroller (just as long as we kept the stroller moving, that is!).  Jon and I enjoyed taking full advantage of our babysitter (aka Grandma) and relished our daily trips to the adult pool, as well as nights out!

Mommy and Daddy unpacking, Maddy catching up on some good reads



Cousins!!!

 

Little snack before off to Christmas Eve dinner (and that's why the stateroom attendants get the big tips!)

Maddy pulling Nola's hair...and shockingly Nola is still smiling

Santa Shipwrecked



Gifts from Santa!



Enjoying a cone on Labadee (a peninsula of Haiti)

Beach time with Grandma & Grandpa

Splash Zone!

Enjoying yet again another cone

Meeting Shreck (much scarier than Santa)

Another matching outfit...cuties!

Peek-a-boo!

Playing with Aunt Bebe

This was our wake up call every morning...precious

Christmas Cruise, Part 1

Following a recenet tradition, my family set sail on December 23rd for our second Christmas Cruise!  However, before we set sail, Jon, Maddy and I relaxed in Florida for a week and enjoyed soaking up the rays.  Below are a few of my favorite photos from our pre-cruise vacaction at my parents condo on Bonita Beach!

Annual Frankenmuth Trip

Following Tradition, we made our annual trip to Frankenmuth earlier this month.  We visited Bronners and Zehnders as we do every December.  At Bronners Maddy picked out a nutcracker (I buy one every year) and a Little People's Nativity Set (so adorable).  Then at Zehnders we all enjoyed a chicken dinner while Maddy devoured the butter noodles...yummm!  Frankenmuth is always busy this time of year, however, I must say Bronners was extra busy...border line insane.  Maddy was hungry and tired and all the people was a bit much.  She calmed down at Zehnders, where she met Santa!

10 Months!

So Maddy's 10 month post is a little late (okay, very late), but that's just because the photos we took of her in her adorable onesie with stickers was stuck on our camera. Our computer was out of space and we couldn't download the photos.  However, we got a hard drive and I'm back in business! 

10 months has been very similar to 9 months, but the big thing this past month is Maddy has her two bottom teeth coming up (slowly, but surely)!  Also, Maddy has been practicing standing on her own and taking a step or two.  Very exciting!  She's still not a huge fan of eating, but she is trying more and more foods.  She seems to like peas (sometimes), she gobbles up crackers (most the time) and enjoys soup (usually)!  Some days she takes her bottles before her naps and bedtime, some days not so much.  She is very adventures now and loves opening the little cabinets on the kitchen island, and crawling as fast as she can while we chase her.