Sorry it has been awhile. Madi is one year and a month today. And she has been busy since her first birthday.

Finally got to turn her car seat around this weekend. It's so nice to be able to see her while I am driving and easier to give her things. I think she really likes it. She also had her first boat ride Sunday. Of course I packed everything in the house to take to the lake and forgot my camera. Luckily mom had hers so I will be posting new pics of the big event soon. She had fun watching the waves behind the boat. She did really well with her life jacket, which I was worried about. I have had it out with her toys for a month now so she will get used to it. I have tried several times putting it on her and she hated it, so I didn't think we would ever be able to take her out in the boat. There was no wind at all and the water was like glass so it made for a very smooth first boat ride, which 30 minutes in to, she fell asleep!! Too cute.
Madi finally got her fourth tooth in on top and I think more are coming soon. Her cheeks are flushed and she is drooling like crazy. Now that she has all these new teeth she is finally able to eat table food. She loves hot dogs, lunch meat, chicken, cantalope, watermelon, cheese and bananas. I am having trouble getting her to eat vegetables. She ate carrots okay for about a week and now she doesn't really want to eat any vegetables. I think the texture is just throwing her off, she will still eat the baby food veges, so at least she is getting something.
It seems like she turned one and now she is really changing again. She knows what she wants and is finding her own way of telling me and you can tell she understands when I talk to her. Her new thing is that she will go get a book and bring it to me and then put her arms out and we will sit together and read her books. I ask her if she wants to take a bath and she gets excited and leads me to the bathroom. She will also lead me to her highchair if I ask her if she is hungry. It is a lot of fun staying home and getting to do and experience all these things with her.

This week is a little hectic. I am trying to get things ready for a vacation. I don't know if you can really call it a vacation since I don't work and Chris isn't going with us. But mom and dad and Jason and Tabatha are all taking vacation next week and spending it at the lake. So me and Madi are going out to join them. Chris has Wednesday off and will come out Tuesday night and Wednesday. It would drive me nuts to sit at home all week knowing they are only 30 minutes away. And it will be great for Madi to spend a week with Jason and Tabatha. It's going to be a lot of fun!! Dan and Jane are also going on vacation for two weeks. They leave Friday for California, so we need to do a lot of visiting this week before they go. And Chris' Aunt Joye and Uncle David and his cousins Tyler and Colter are in town this week from Texas, so we want to visit them as much as possible also.

I will have lots of pics to share the next time I post, which will probably be in two weeks. I hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July!

Love, Amy

VBS went really well last week and I had a lot of fun. I tried putting Madi in the nursery on Tuesday but she didn't last very long. They said she did okay for about 5 minutes after I left and then fussed off and on until they came and found me an hour later. And by then she was in total meltdown. I could hear her crying as they were coming up the stairs. So instead she stayed with Grandma Jane, which I know they both loved.

We also went to the River Festival on Friday with mom. Had a good time. Madi did pretty good but she wanted to get out of the stroller and push. Aunt Beth everybody loved her squeeky shoes!! They are just adorable. And of course Madi loves them also. I put them on for the first time and she just stood there and stomped her feet making them squeek, too funny!! But there was lots to look at and too many food vendors to choose from, and we didn't get our funnel cake. Maybe next year.

Tonight is the NRA banquet here in town. Chris is sponsoring again this year and of course his main goal is to win a gun. Madi is going with us but we will see how it goes, she is much more mobile for this banquet, it may be her last. She gets to sign up for all the kids drawings though, which gives Chris another chance to win a gun!! The rest of the weekend is party time. Patty Helm is retiring from the court house tomorrow and they are having a reception there. And Saturday evening is a party at their house (and we are finding a babysitter so we can have a good time, past 7:00 pm!!) And then father's day is Sunday!!

I almost forgot, we are one step closer to being farmers...Chris bought a tractor last Friday. He was so excited. It is a 1947 Farmall Tractor. I asked if we could paint it green so it would match Madi's new tractor toy she got for her birthday. He said no, at least I tried. Madi and I went out Saturday while Chris was mowing the land and she absolutely loved it. She just sat with Chris and it didn't move but she sure loved turning the steering wheel and being really high up. I got to drive it, it was pretty cool. And then Chris' dad drove it and Madi just loved watching it come close to her. Chris didn't get to drive it much that day, couldn't get Dan off it. I think we also have our house plans finally figured out, but knowing Chris, it will probably change a half dozen more times before it gets built.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads this weekend. Hope you have a great day!!

Love, Amy

I knew that it was going to be rough having 4 teeth coming in at the same time, but I didn't know it was going to be this bad! Madi woke up from her am nap on Wednesday and was running a temp. She ran 101-103 from Wednesday afternoon until Friday late morning. She was cranky, uncomfortable, and didn't leave my lap for that whole time. (If you ask Chris, Madi wasn't the only one in the house that was cranky!) It has been tough, but she now has 3 new teeth on top, one more to go! She was finally acting like herself this evening before going to bed.

Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow through Thursday. I am volunteering this year and now that Madi is feeling better, I am really looking forward to it. She was going to go to the nursery during the mornings but at least for tomorrow she is going to stay with Chris' mom. I was hoping she would really enjoy the time away from me and with other kids. But we will have to see. I don't want her feeling bad and then having a bad experience (not only for her sake but for the nursery workers also).

Busy week coming up...VBS, our 4 year anniversary (wow!), Chris' 10 year high school reunion (wow!), River Festival, and a baby shower.

Obviously I don't have any new pics to pass on. But I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love, Amy