Happy 1st Birthday Madeleine!!

I cannot believe my beautiful baby girl is turning ONE today!! Most days, I still cannot believe I even have a little girl! Everyone has always said girls were so different than boys....and they were RIGHT!!! She is definitely much more dramatic and knows what she wants (and she wants it NOW!!). Everything is either the best of times or the worst of times, she rarely has an in-between!

She has her demanding or upset moments, but they are nicely and beautifully sprinkled with the most precious, heart-swelling sounds of squeals and squeaks of delightment when she sees her Daddy for the first time everyday or she sees her brothers when they get home from school or she sees the bouncy ball (or whatever) she wants. Yes, the bads in life are much more dramatic with a girl, but the GOODS are also much more dramatic!! And, the good dramatics SO outweigh the bad!!








The difference I like to see the most is the side of the boys she has brought out. They have a side of them that is gentle and sweet. That is hard to see in a house of loud, wrestling, fighting boys! They become big teddy bears when they get down on her level to say hello or play with her or comfort her. Every morning when Mady wakes up and I get her out of her room...you would think it was Christmas in this house. The boys pitch goes up about 10 octaves as they attempt to talk in a girly baby voice. There are many hugs and kisses and "Good Morning Princess Pooter Tooter" (which, of course, has ended up a favorite nickname for her from her brothers), or "Did you sleep well Sistee?" or "How is the Pretty girl this morning? Are you in a good mood this morning?"

That is right. She is spoiled already. She is RARELY called by her name! But, the names they do call her - they call with such affection that it is hard to do anything but smile! The funniest part is that it is her BROTHERS that spoil her the most (okay...Daddy is right up there with them!). They always want to be around her, playing with her, ANYTHING to make that little girl smile her big smile and show off her dimples!

As smitten as the boys are with her - it works both ways!! The guys in that little girls life ALL hung the moon in her eyes. She sees any of them and instantly lights up. Oh, how it melts this mamas heart!! She is a busy little girl that is always going, but she loves to crawl on the floor from boy to boy to boy to boy to Daddy and back to boy again!!









What a joyous ride the first year of having a girl has been! She can definitely challenge us, but the boys are REALLY good at that too! I am so blessed beyond words!!

Happy birthday Mads! We love you very much!

Scroll down for a post from her birthday party.

Boy Reading Selections

I stopped by the library to get some requesting reading for the older boys. As I was checking them out, I had to chuckle because I don't see this ending well for me. My reading selection included a couple of Sherlock Holmes, a couple of Calvin and Hobbes and several Captain Underpants books.

Why didn't I pick up on these titles when request were made?

Madeleine's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Mady's first birthday today, because - well, Monday evenings are usually typically not great days!

This morning we went to the arboretum to take her first birthday pics. Those are to come Monday.

We didn't do a whole lot, since it was just us. The place we ordered her cake from gives you a smash cake for first birthdays. It was pretty big! And the cake is HUGE! It is a chocolate cake with bavarian chocolate creme. YUM!!!!!

She did not really like either cake (her cake was angel food), but she LOVED the frosting. She kept sticking one finger in the frosting and then sucking it off her finger. She never really got too into tearing up her cake...most of the damage done to it was Daddy cutting it up trying to get her into it.

After not very long she was looking at her hands like "What have I done?" She was ready to get her hands and face clean....which gives me a little hope of her being a girly girl!! ;) My boys all LOVED the messy part of their first cake!

For her birthday she got a little purse that came with a (wooden) phone, lipstick, keys and then a wallet and mirror and a little stuffed dog. She also got a bathtime doll, that came with a few bath toys and an empty bubble bath bottle (which she loves). She was quite happy with all of it. She also got a charm for the charm bracelet we are "building" as she grows up.






















I have seen a couple of different cake knives where they are given for a first birthday and throughout until their wedding. I loved the idea and tradition of it, so Daddy and I wrote a poem (which we are NOT poets!!) for her (that is the frame on the table). This is the poem:

Here is a gift for Madeleine's first birthday
A gift for you to use in a very special way
This beautiful and shiny knife
To be part of the special moments in your life

A girl, we never thought we would see
To watch you grow and be who you will be
You stole the hearts of us all, I believe
It will be a sad, yet joyful day when you leave

Many memories will be made for you from now until then
And with your groom let new ones begin
On your wedding day you will take
A special "something old" for your wedding cake

The Zoo

Sunday we went to the zoo for Andrew's birthday. We went early, before it got to warm and crowded. It usually only takes about 2 hours to walk our zoo. On the kids birthdays they always get to choose where we eat either lunch or dinner. Andrew wanted mexican food (it is bad if the three year old can name the mexican food joint like it was McDonalds) so we went to eat mexican. He was given three free sopapillas since it was his birthday (the kids also eat free all the time - which is why it is one of our favorite places). It was the first time he had ever had them and he LOVED them! Then we went for a walk on a local trail and headed home.

Everytime someone would say Happy Birthday to Andrew, he says Happy Birthday back to them. I guess he thinks it is EVERYONES birthday!

Daddy's birthday is Friday and he told Andrew that he could have it! I guess he will be turning 4 Friday :)
we were the first ones in the zoo. When we stopped at the elephants, this one walked up as close to us as she could. She kept stretching her trunk across the ditch towards us. We thought maybe she was just happy to see people. After a couple of minutes she turned around to where her butt was facing us. I made a comment about not wanting to stand down wind as I moved from behind the elephant. The boys, however, climbed up on the gate to get a closer look. Seconds later she did what I would expect (because I live with so many guys. She let out a huge fart! I died laughing as the boys took off running and making gagging sounds.

concentrating on an animal

more interested in the water than the otters

If you know about Andrew's birth you see the humor (and seriousness) of this sign for me :)

looking at the cats

Isaac on the playground

Mads in a hippo mouth

taking a walk with Dad

Andrew on the playground

Bryce on the playground



Caleb on the playground



Caleb, Isaac and Bryce petting a donkey

Isaac the prarie dog

Caleb the prarie dog
Mads is unsure about touching that goat

But she likes Daddy petting it

baby rhino

Funny Kids

This morning the two are really making me laugh (when Mads gives the screaming and clinginess a break). Andrew went and got Mads blanket (she has become attached to her big pink blanket) and wrapped up in it. She tried to tackle him! When that didn't work she hung on him until he tripped and fell. Then she took her blanket and "ran" (a crawling run because that is still faster than walking) with it!





Right now, they are both lying on the living room floor. She touched the bottom of Andrew's foot and he started laughing (it tickles). So, now she keeps touching his foot and then laughing at his laugh.

She JUST started really walking just over a week ago, and now she is trying to do somersaults. I made her do one yesterday while we were playing and it was so fun that she attempts it on her own, frequently. She gets up on her head, hands and feet and then she falls over to the side, laughing hysterically.
This was the best picture I could get at her attempts. When she sees the camera she stops trying to do the somersaults and starts showing off!

The last couple of mornings she has been putting on Andrew's cowboy hat and playing with his gun (always at the same time). At least she has toe nail polish on!!