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Happy 2nd Birthday Madison Marie!

On Saturday March 12th, my little Madi Marie turned 2 years old. I can't believe that my little angel has been with us for two years already.

She is quite the little character. She is full of joy and life. She plays hard all day long...she uses her imagination a lot, which is fascinating to watch.

Grammy and Grampa Hitt gave Madison a play kitchen for her birthday. It is amazing and the girls love playing with it. It will stay at Grammy and Grampa's house since the girls spend one day a weekend at their house.

I sure enjoy watching Madison transform into a big kid. There really is very little trace of baby left in her at this point. She runs and climbs, laughs and shows off, interacts with her sister and cousin, and overall is just no longer a baby at all.

Madison is our little cuddle bug. She loves to crawl up in your lap and play, watch TV, or read a book. She is really turning into a Daddy's girl. She loves to call him on the phone...and thinks that is who we are calling every time we make a call. She sits on his lap and plays with him any chance she gets. She loves to go out to his shop and hang out with Daddy. When we go out to say hi, I will often give her the choice about going inside or staying with Dad. She always chooses Dad.

Madi's birthday party was Saturday March 12 at 1:00. She did amazingly well even though she hadn't napped very well that morning. She stayed the night at Grammy and Grampa Hitt's house and came over to visit a couple of times that morning as we were decorating for the party. She was amazed at each transformation as she came in. First, it was the streamers hanging from the walls. Then the balloons. Finally, it was the cake and the table and the presents. She was pretty impressed I think.

Ya-Ya (Brandon's Grandmother) bough Madison the beautiful purple dress she wore for her party. It is so very feminine and dainty, I love it. When Madison changed clothes for her party, she got to pick which shoes she would wear...she choose the bright pink sequined tennis shoes. It was a pretty cute combination.

The kids had more fun with the balloons than with anything else that day. I kept the non-helium balloons around for a week or so. They would grab the balloons and punch them to get them to bounce around and make noise.

I made Madison's cake for her party. It was a fun adventure, but I sure didn't give myself enough time to get it done. (Note to self for next time!) I finished the cake about 20 minutes before the party started. Oh Dear. I was pretty pleased with the finished results.




Madison got lots of amazing presents this year. Mostly clothes, although there were a few other things that have been a huge hit since. Grammy and Granddad Cone bought her a pink John Deere wheelbarrow. It is a real wheelbarrow just smaller. I am excited for Summer to finally hit so that she can take it outside to garden with Ya Ya.

Madison is really into cards right now. She almost had more fun opening the cards this year than the presents. She takes the cards in and out of the envelope, reading the card to herself or others before repeating the process.





Madison got to blow out her first birthday candles this year. I was impressed that she was able to do so, we never practiced she just figured it out.

I love her little apron. It is a matching set with a Mommy sized apron I found last year for my Halloween costume. (I went as a 1950's housewife while pregnant with Emma, and Brandon went as the milkman. We got a lot of laughs.) I am glad that the apron now fits her. I guess it is time to start getting Madi in the kitchen to help out.


I sent Brandon to the store to get the cake mix for her cake. I was expecting a white cake or a confetti cake, or something along the lines of a kids cake. He came home with a Red-Velvet cake. I laughed at him, and he told me that Madison told him that is what she wanted...oh dear.

Madison Marie, You are turning into a beautiful big girl. I love your sense of humor and playful nature. You are outgoing and fun loving, and I love to see you show your affection. You are always giving your sister, cousin, parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents kisses and hugs. You are curious to see how the world works, and I am fascinated to see you learn these things. I love you so very much and I am so glad that you are mine. I love you, Mommy.

Emma 11 Months

Emma Lea Ruth is nearing her big first birthday. It is amazing that she is almost a year old already.

Emma is changing and growing every day. She is starting to figure out a few words...We have heard yeah, mom, dad...we laugh that it will be race between Emma and Madi to see which girl will talk first.


Emma loves the phone...This sure makes making phone calls a challenge right now. As soon as Emma sees my phone...she wants it and wants it now. She is very persistent and has a little temper on her. It will be interesting to see how she handles learning to control that.

The dogs are Emma's current favorite form of entertainment. She is learning how to throw, and is starting to be able to play catch with them. She giggles and squeals when the dogs bring the toy back.

Emma has two teeth on bottom and three on top as of this post. She is working on a couple more, with the next one on top only a few days away from being through the surface. She is still our little "vacuum" putting anything and everything she can find in her mouth. Yesterday while playing with Grammy Cone, Madison started trying to get Grammy's attention and pointed to Emma...who had found some blue fuzz and had it hanging out of her mouth...oh dear!

Emma and her sister are great friends at this point. I can only hope and pray that this continues as they grow up together. One of their favorite things to do is to sit side by side in the same chair in the living room and cuddle together in the mornings. It is adorable and wonderful to see them wanting to spend time together.

Emma Lea is getting so very close to walking. She will walk as long as she is holding onto one of your hands. She is letting go of things and standing and has attempted to take a few steps from one object to another. She just needs to gain a little more balance and some confidence and she will be gone.

Emma's favorite game right now is putting things in and out of containers. She loves to empty a box/bucket of toys or her pajama drawer, and then put the items back in. Such a good little helper...haha.

We all caught a nasty sinus infection this past month that ended the entire family on antibiotics. Poor Emma got the worst of it I am afraid, she was pretty miserable for a few days but luckily is back to herself now. Madison just finished her second round of antibiotics for the infection and I think she finally has it beat.

Emma loves her grandparents, and is pretty good about spending time with them. She is still Mommy's girl for sure, but is good with everyone else when I am gone. But boy, when I get home, she is my little leech...I can't put her down for at least 30 minutes. I love that my babies are excited to see me at the end of the day...I dread when that is no longer the case.

Here is Emma and Madi at Madison's birthday party (post to follow). The girls had such a good time at the birthday party. We are slowly gearing up for birthday party round two as Emma will turn one on the 6th. Her party is scheduled for the 9th...although I need to send out a change of time...Brandon will be out of town that week and won't get back into town until at least 3. Oops.

Emma is really good about giving hugs. She will lay her head on your shoulder and hold on tight. It is an amazing feeling to have her show her affection like that. She is also learning to give kisses...although they are usually open mouthed kisses at this point.

Both girls are turning into big cuddle bugs. They will sit and cuddle for hours, and I am loving every minute of it. My nephew Aiden, who still lives with us, doesn't cuddle for very long so I am grateful that my girls like to.

I can't believe that my little baby will be one in the next two weeks. I am amazed at how fast this year has flown. It has been a challenge, for sure, with these two girls being so close in age, but we wouldn't change a thing. It will be awesome for these two to have each other so close as they are growing up.

Emma Lea, You are such a sweet baby. I love that you cuddle and hug. You are changing so much everyday. I hope that I have documented enough so that we can remember you at this age down the road. I am excited to see the little girl and young woman that you will become. I see some amazing personality traits starting to emerge. I hope that you keep your persistence and learn how to use it for good...instead of fighting with mom. :) May you always know and feel that you are loved more than I can describe. With all my love, Mommy.