First glance - The New House

 I finally took some pictures of the new house. I was holding off because I didn't want to *jinx* anything. Since we closed on our current house last week and are about 2 weeks from closing on the new one and moving in, I figured it was OK to officially document this move! Luckily Sabrina has kept track of things for me as they progressed, so I didn't miss out on early shots.

Warning: Picture Overload!

Kitchen and eat-in area... cabinets had just been installed... not complete.

 Kitchen and island area.

 Maddie's room.

 Another view of her room.

 Her view out of her window, the backyard and covered deck.

 Hallway bath.

 Front bedroom.

 Living room and stairs.

 Laundry room.

 Small hallway, laundry to the left, our room to the right.The kitchen, living room, and 2 other bedrooms are straight ahead.

 Our room.

Our tub and shower area.

 Vanity

 View from the door, the other door leads to the closet :-)

 View of the basement coming down the steps.

 Looking back up the stairs.

 Stairs and another portion of the basement.

 Basement bedroom.

 Basement bath.

 Unfinished portion 1.

 View from the back of the basement.

 Unfinished portion 2.

 Utility garage.

 Back patio and deck.

 Utility garage.

 The fire pit and backyard.

And last, but not least... the FRONT!

I ran out there today after work. They had put stone on the column on the front porch, installed the door handles, toilets, and sink fixtures. It is coming together!

And did I mention we are moving AND having a birthday party all on the same weekend?! Yeah... I am about to lose my mind. Thank goodness for grandparents' houses! :-)

Happy Birthday Camryn

Madeline's BFF turned one on August 24th. We celebrated Camryn last Saturday with a Hot Pink and Zebra themed party. Maddie had a blast. I loved watching her watch Cammie. She watched her attack, and I mean ATTACK the cake, and open presents. Hopefully she learned what she needs to do here in a few weeks!

 Camryn LOVED the cake.

 Ellie requested a picture with Maddie girl in Cammie's chair.

 Ashtyn wanted a picture too, and Miss Kaidyn snuck in.

 Maddie and Ash.

 Maddie and all the Big girls.

 The Yanez girls, sisterly love.

 Weebles! She screamed when this was handed off, and at that point she lost interest in opening presents.

 So Amie did the rest, with lots of help of course!

So excited!

11 Months

Madeline Claire you are ALMOST one year old! Where has the time gone? I feel like I remember exactly how it felt to be *patiently* awaiting your arrival this time last year. And oh how you made us wait. You have become such a wonderful little person. Every day with you is a new adventure and we are loving every moment!

At 11 months you...

• Wear a size 3 diaper
• Wear 9-12 months clothes
• Eat a breakfast of cereal, a snack of a banana shortly after, for lunch you will have a fruit and cereal plus whatever else we are eating, and for dinner you have a vegetable, cereal, and yogurt 
• Are known to eat off of our plates. You like spaghetti and quesadillas. 
• Walk behind all of your toys, you even push those that don't roll across the room, you will cruise down the furniture, but you have no interest in walking on your own. 
• Have 4 teeth now, your top 2 FINALLY came through
• Say Mama, Dada, and the beginning of Dog, you sign for more, and are starting to sign for milk and water
• Really like to point at everything, it is this cute point where your thumb sticks out... you look kind of ghetto!
• Dance along to music, you bounce up and down and shake your head left to right
• Sleep 12 hours still, with an afternoon nap thrown in as well
• Love to watch and laugh at bigger dogs, I think you think they are a super sized version of Turner
• Chase Turner and grab him now, luckily he just lets you
• Are now home with Daddy more, yay for new schedules!
• Do NOT like it if someone leaves the room, you just cry and cry
• Also don't like for us to get out of the car, even though we are coming around to get you out of your seat, it is not like you have ever been left in there so I don't really understand that one...
• Are SUCH a big girl now, but I love it when you will still snuggle in close to me and hold on tight... melts my heart every time

Maddie says, "I am super cool."

Meeting Friends, Old and New

When I went to Indiana University I made some wonderful friends! Unfortunately they all live a little too far away to see all the time. My friend Katie, also a teacher, lives in Columbus, OH, and had a daughter in February. My friend Holly, a nurse, lives in Indianapolis and is about to leave to become a travel nurse. Her first location looks to be Wyoming.

In December Madeline and I headed up to Columbus to go to Katie's baby shower and for them to be able to meet little miss. Now that Holly is leaving we all wanted to get together so she could meet the girls and I really wanted to meet Paige. We decided to meet in Cincinnati last Friday because it was about a 2 hour drive for everyone.

We originally planned to go to the Newport Aquarium, but they have a stupid stroller schedule and we weren't allowed to bring strollers in that day until after 4pm. So we decided to visit the Cincinnati Children's Museum first, and then head over to Newport for lunch. The museum was ok, it would definitely be better for big kids. Madeline had a place to crawl around and push things so she was happy. But we were inside in the air conditioning on a hot day so that was good.

A Surprise for Daddy!

On Saturday, July 30th I decided to have a surprise party for Brad honoring his accomplishment of making the Jeffersonville Fire Department. Luckily it was a success! He was surprised. I arranged with the guys he usually goes golfing with for an afternoon of golf and an arrival time back at our house sometime around 6:15. I alerted out family and friends and had everyone here around 6. Around 6:30 the boys arrived back and his words to me were "You did something." Yes, he was right, I sure did! We had about 50+ people stuffed into our house and backyard, it was packed! My Dad cooked out on the grill and we enjoyed cake and corn hole to round out the evening.

 Maddie has a special outfit just for the day!

 Cake table (the cake had an edible picture of a true Jeffersonville Fire Truck on it)!

 Surprise!

Good luck Daddy!

10 Months Old

 Madeline Clarie you reached DOUBLE digits!
You are just growing and changing everyday, here is what you are up to at 10 months old:

• Eat three "meals" a day and have a cup of milk after nap... no more bottles :-(
• Wear a size 3 diaper
• Say Mama  for everything and just recently added Dada into the mix
• Point at everything, we tell you what it is and then you move your mouth like you are trying to repeat what we said
• Sleep around 12 hours each night, with a 2 hour afternoon nap thrown in
• Cruise around furniture and are starting to really travel long distances walking behind a push toy
• Visited the beach for the first time and loved every minute of it
• Dance with your music table, you bounce up and down and shake your head side to side, ADORABLE
• Screech at things when you are trying to talk to them
• Follow us through the house
• Have a different crawl for different types of surfaces, if it is carpet then you are on your knees... if there is a bump, rug, tile, hardwood, cement, or sand your do a bear walk on all fours
• Love on Turner, you like to pet him which means you smack him... we frequently remind you to be nice

This picture is just so random I couldn't resist adding it, love the face!