First Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Adventure

What a fun Tuesday afternoon (last week). Madelyn was invited to her first official birthday party for her friend Carter...turning 2. And it was so fun watching her explore this kids "wonderland" for the first time. She acted like an old pro. She loved climing up and down the slides, and especially loved sitting in anything that resembled a car. She's growing up so fast. And she sure loves being the center of attention whenever she gets the chance!

Here she is trying to snatch Carter's special birthday crown She's such a little flirt!

The "Blizzard" of 2008!

Yes, we're officially "snowed in"...literally! The snow started coming down yesterday around noon, and hasn't let up yet. Currently (2pm) we have approx. 15" of snow...and it's still coming down rapidly. Most of Ohio is under a snow emergency status and they're asking everyone to just stay inside. Well, to be honest with you, I don't even know if we could get our car out of the garage if we wanted to! In our back yard, the snow drifts are at least 3 feet deep. So pretty to see...especially since it's a Saturday, and we really don't have anywhere to go. Madelyn likes looking at it, but doesn't want to touch it. Maybe once it stops we'll take her out to play! We're lucky to have amazing neighbors that keep shoveling our sidewalk today. Thankfully...because Gary, me and Madelyn are still in our pajamas, and plan to stay this way all day long.

I very carefully opened up our back door to take this photo. The snow drifts are amazing in our back yard. Maddy would get buried out there...for sure.

Maddy's New Favorite Toy

Madelyn has a new love: mommy's purses! All day long, she gathers my purses from around the house, and fills them up with her favorite things as she carries them all around the house. In this photo she's carrying my NEW bag that Gary just bought for my birthday. I love it! And I think Madelyn loves it even more. We seriously fight over who gets to use it on that particular day!! In this photo you'll see that Maddy had just put the entire contents of the "bib drawer" into the bag. You'll notice the handful of bibs that didn't quite fit, so she left them on the floor. Oh, and don't you just love her mismatched pajamas! What? Pink Cats and Red Snowmen don't go together??

Valentine's Day Memories

Madelyn and I had lots of fun baking cookies on Valentine's Day. I was brave enough to let her help me with the whole process. Lots of flour all over the floor and sticky hands, but it was worth it. And the great thing is they tasted delicious. This was our special gift to Daddy.

And when grandma came over later that day, she brought lots of fun treats for Madelyn too. What a "sweet" day!

Pacifier Passion

Our little Madelyn is very much in love with her pacifier. We call it "paci", and well...I thought these photos would give a good depiction of her passion and love for the paci. Usually we only offer it at naptime, bedtime and in the car. But if we don't hide them well enough during the day, she's bound to find one and excitedly pops it into her mouth. It's like a found treasure for her. So, on this particular day I wanted to take some photos. She had the paci in her mouth, so I proceeded to take it out, thinking the photos would be much better without her little friend in the mouth. And here you will see what happened. Luckily, I still managed to capture some great moments. Big croccodile tears when I took paci away, and then expressions of joy when I offered to give it back to her. So funny!

As you can see, in the end, she won the pacifier battle. At least on that particular day!