It's COOOLD Outside! and I am a little grumpy :-(

We have not had a whole lot going on lately so I don't have very many pictures on my camera right now. I think I have been a little depressed. I am tired of winter but I think we have many more days to go until Spring though. We had some gloriously nice days last week but as much as I loved them it was just a teaser because now it is deathly cold again. :-( I am trying to have a better attitude but I don't know how successful I have been the past couple of days. Just ask Malcolm. I would not be surprised if at these times he wonders what he has got himself into marrying a girl from Texas and Washington who is very whiny about the cold. :-{

Can has got me very irritated as well! I need/want my part-time job and they are driving me CRAZY! I am not from some remote country! Just the neighbors down below! Hello! I think I need a break from life. Sorry, I guess I am not in the best mood right now. I think you are getting a glimpse of a down, trying day. See I have them too!
I HAVE had a good day today. I got up and went to tap class and actually did pretty well. We are meeting on Saturday mornings at 8:30 in addition to our Tuesday night class and it is really helping. After tap we went to IKEA to meet some friends for breakfast and then some shopping. It was a fun morning. Now I feel better. Just needed a little perspective and typing this out helped. How about some pictures of my sweet kids to continue to end this post on a positive note. Hope you have a good weekend so far.



Last Saturday we had a mini tea party with the neighbor girls. I think Madalyn really liked it. I guess I should start planning our Valentines tea party. lol Too many parties for this Mommy.

Happy Birthday Papa

Today is my Dad's birthday and I want to wish him a very special day. I wish we lived close enough that we could celebrate with him. We did have a fun (but not long enough) time when we lived in Abilene and they were living in Dallas that we could go for the weekend to celebrate with him and could see them quite often. I am glad that we had that time.

My dad is such a giving and loving person. He is always using his gifts to bless and encourage others. Whenever I call their house these days he is always out to lunch with someone being a listening ear. I have watched and learned from him what service to others is by all of the time, love and energy both of my parents have given to the youth groups in our church. Thank you for showing me how to love others and be Jesus' hands and feet!

Dad, you are such a great Papa and my kids are so blessed to have you. I am thankful for the way that you play with them and make them feel so special. I love how you notice all of the cute, funny things that they do and laugh and think that they are they cutest, smartest kids ever. Which they are! Ha! Ha! :) I have been so blessed to have you as my Dad! I love you!

Suzanne

Some Pictures and Update on my Sweet One Year Old!

Sweet Connor turned one on December 28th! We had a little party with Lilly, Auntie KK, Nan and Papa had a great time. I don't think I ever put down on here that when we lit the candle on the cupcake Connor swiped his hand through it and burned it a little bit. He cried for a little while but i think it scared him more than hurt him. It never got really red or anything and he was using it pretty soon afterward. I am planning a little family party for him while Grandma and Grandpa are here so that should be fun too!

I took him for his shots last week and he did really well! I don't know why but they don't do them in the leg after they turn one. He does great when done int he leg because his thighs are so thick he does not even feel them. He did great with them in the arm too but I could tell it hurt him a little more. :( He weights 25 pounds and I can't remember his height at the moment but he is in the 50%tile. He is in the 80%tile in weight and 60%tile for head size. All in all she said he is doing well and she does not have any concerns. Connor likes to eat and he loves bananas, carrots, peas, apple sauce, yogurt, avacados, and my pancakes with no syrup. He is jabbering up a storm these days and even if he is not in his rocking chair he will just randomly start rocking back and forth singing the Rocking song. SO Sweet! He is understanding the word no when we tell him not to crawl up the stairs. He has learned to go down them backwards (which is really cute) but it makes me really nervous with our steep stairs and tile at the bottom. He will start to cry but will come down. He doesn't like it but he listens and obeys. Welcome to dealing with this for the rest of your life! :) Wow! Submitting our will happens from the very beginning! I really learn a lot as a parent about my relationship with God. He still says Daddy the most and mama sometimes. He really is just a happy, easy going little boy.

Our sweet girl is such a great big sister and it is so fun watching them kind of start playing together. She just updated Madalyn.com with a craft idea so go check it out. That's all for now.

Introducing Madalyn.com and Connor Singing Rocking

Okay, so it is very embarrassing to post this video of Connor but it is the best one I have of him singing this little song. I can't seem to remember that when I am using the camera for movies that I should not turn it this way. lol Malcolm just shakes his head! :) I have tried maybe 4 or 5 times since taking this one to get a better one where I have not made this silly mistake but to no avail! The grandparents REALLY need to appreciate this one! :) I walk around singing awking, awking now. He is really starting to just jabber away all day. So sweet! Enjoy!



Now, this video I don't even know what to say! Madalyn loves her Fancy Nancy books and she also loves her Gigi books that are kind of like Fancy Nancy but she talks about being God's little princess. They are great books! I think our girl has been playing on Barbie.com a little too much lately as well. All of these together have inspired Madalyn.com. She is just so imaginative and creative and thinks that life is a party! I would say that almost everyday she wants to throw some grand tea party and invite all of her friends. This Saturday we are suppose to be having a Ba Ba Butterfly tea party and she wants to invite six of her friends. I have been trying to tell her that this Saturday it will only work to invite the neighbor girls and have a low key tea party and hopefully in February we can have a grand tea party and give out invitations to our guests. Whew! I don't want to be a downer and dampen her spirits but it is hard for a mommy to throw a grand tea party every other day. :) She is quite the little entrepreneur (like her Papa) with the whole selling her DVDs at Wal-Mart. She is so fun and I think that I need to stop "trying to get stuff done" and stop to have more fun with her in my day. She is such a blessing! We created her Madalyn.com website as a blog and the address is madalyncom.blogspot.com if you would like to check it out. :)

Christmas 2008 - My Longest Post Ever!

So, you are going to have to scroll down to the bottom and read up if you want hear about our holidays in chronological order. I decided to do one massive post with my pictures so I could get it all done at once so get ready for a long one. :) We had a great time, fit lots of stuff in (including getting sick) to our two weeks and still did not get to see everyone and do everything I wanted to. Oh Well! I guess we will just have to go back this summer! :)



Connor with Brenda. We got to have lunch with our friends Kevin and Brenda. They are such a blessing and encouragement to us!

Mom and Dad at the party. These are the only pictures I took! :(

More decor

Table decorations for the anniversary party. I think the place looked really cute and western!

Nan, Madalyn and Lilly having a tea party. Guess who's idea this was and set it all up?

Connor getting frosting everywhere! He really liked his first cupcake! Surprise, Surprise!

Auntie KK and Lilly

Love them in their hats! Couldn't resist! :) They had on their hats but were in their own little world talking and catching up. It was so great seeing our friends Kirk and Nat!

Connor did not like his hat!

Me and Connor with Red Robin. I look pregnant. Thankfully, I am not but sad that it looks that way! :) I wish we had a Red Robin in Calgary!

Anutie KK and Lilly with Red Robin

Sweet one year old boy! I have decided that I each year for Connor's birthday I will have his party on Jan. 28th with his friends. It will give it a little space between Christmas and give us something to look forward to so be looking for an invitation if you live close.

Opening a present

They were singing to the birthday boy and girl

Chloe, Madalyn and Camille - These girls play so well together and Madalyn loves them!

Birthday party at Red Robin for Connor and Lilly. Nat, KK and Lilly

I have to talk about what we did on Monday after "the sickness" passed because it was one of my favorite days of the trip. My mom and dad have some really good friends, Barbara and Kerry, and Kerry works for Columbia Sportswear. Columbia has an employee store that is so much fun to go to because the prices are so great. Malcolm got a 200.00 jacket for 90.00 and it's Columbia! Employees can put some of their friends on a list to be able to go to the store and my mom and dad made the list and are able to bring some friends as well. Yay! So, Monday we all got to go on a little shopping spree at the store and then ended the day eating dinner at P.F. Chang's (my fav Chinese restaurant). It was the perfect day and I did not take one picture!

Bath time! He is just too cute!

Remember on my Thanksgiving post I talked about the horrible apple pie I made Malcolm. Well I made him one to redeem myself and I think it looks pretty good. Malcolm got to have a piece a couple of days later after "the sickness" and I did not have one bite of it and I think we threw more than half of it away! Oh well! I should confess that it was a combined effort in the making of the pie. My Mom did most of the crust and my dad peeled the apples for me! Thank you!

Before the sickness! We worked so hard all day long on this meal and in the end it was for nothing. We did not even get to have dessert before it struck!

Funny Connor boy

Malcolm's new golf bag

Connor and Papa - He wouldn't sit still for long!

Nan's present - a digital frame

A flurry of activity. I think we all got sufficiently spoiled!

Nan opening a present

Sweet Lilly girl

Auntie KK and Madalyn

Nachos anyone? I think I had too many of these so I did not have room for the great dessert below. I thought we would get to bring it home but we didn't which was probably for the best! :)

Nan and her sopapilla cheesecake for dessert. Very good and I did not get any that day!

Fiesta Dinner on Christmas day. My mom and dad have some friends who invited us over for mexican food and it was so good. I could get use to that tradition! Especially since we all got sick after our turkey dinner! :{

We finally got to be with sweet Lilly girl again! She is too precious and Madalyn LOVED her so much!

Listening to music with Nan

Madalyn and her MP3 player which she calls an ipod. :) Santa brought her a Hannah Montana one but we could not figure that one out so she ended up with a pink disney one. When we told her we had to get her a different one she could not understand how Santa brought her one that did not work.

Sweet Connor and some of his stocking stuffers

Papa, Madalyn and Connor on Christmas morning. I am glad that Santa knew where to find us!

Cookies and milk for Santa. Santa got his favorite chocolate chip made that night. Lucky guy! ;)

Beautiful drive but horrible roads!

Connor and his new front facing car seat. He loved it and smiled almost the whole way!

The cute little log hotel in Bonners Ferry that we stayed at on the way. It is so cute and at a great price too!

The gingerbread house our family made at our care group the Friday before we left. This years was the best one I think we have made since we started making them a few years ago.

Mom and Dad Anniversary Video