Baby girl, there is something that I want you to know. It's simple... we are so in love with you.

a little of him. a little of me.

Dear Madelyn,
There are some days when I look at you and see so much of your Daddy in you. Your sweet smile. Your fun loving personality. Your nose.And then there are moments when I see so much of me in you. Moments like this one when I see that you are just as graceful as your mother.
Each day it is more and more obvious that you are going to be just as clumsy as I am. I'm sorry baby girl.

Love you and your two left feet,
Mommy

d.i.r.t.

Hi, My name is Madelyn and I love dirt. I love to dig my hands in the dirt. I love to rub dirt in my hair. I love to eat the dirt. I just love dirt. I am thinking of asking Santa for a big pile of dirt for Christmas.
I guess play time at the park will have to do for now.
Sometimes when I start to eat too much dirt, my mom puts me in the swings. She thinks that I don't know her tricks, but I am on to her.

That's OK though, I love to swing too!
I love dirt. I love to swing. I love the park!

craft fair day take 2

My sister and I spent the weekend at the Rose Festival Arts and Craft Fair inside the Rose Garden. The scenery was gorgeous. The roses were so pretty and it appeared that there were thousands of people enjoying all the festivities outside the rose garden gates. On the inside, it was somewhat sssslllloooowwww. Ha! We still had fun anyway and although around lunch on Saturday we thought we were going to be in the whole, we ended up doing quite well when it was all said and done.

Luke-the-Amazing took care of munchkin while I got my craft fair on. They came to see us Saturday afternoon which was a much needed bright spot. I missed my girl (and husband of course :) ).

Sunday we were a little late setting up because there was some confusion on the start times. No big deal though considering we didn't have our first customer for a couple of hours the day before.

Rach, Mom, Madelyn and I on Sunday afternoon. Mom kept us company a lot and took care of the babe on Sunday.

Madelyn said, "Grandma" perfectly that afternoon! We all freaked out when we heard it. Way to go Maddie Kate!

I didn't take many shots of our booth, but here are a few that I did get. These Christmas bibs were gone pretty quickly. I only ended up bringing one of ten home!

My sister makes the coolest hand stamped tiles. I love all of the Christmas tiles and ornaments that she had for sale.

I am thankful we had a fun weekend outside, for friends that stopped by (how cute is Ella??), beautiful weather and making our booth space fee back plus some!

We have three more shows this fall that we are getting involved in. It is so much fun to get to spend hours at my sewing machine with a purpose but my favorite part is meeting all the shoppers!

Please.Slow.Down.

When did she get so big?This time last year newborn diapers swallowed up her tiny hiney.

Now she is walking and learning how to run.

Time, Please.Slow.Down.

longest week of my life

Saturday
Last Saturday I took Madelyn to the doctor because it seemed as though her reflux had been undeniably bothering her. I was thankful that our pediatrician was the one on call and there for the Saturday clinic. We have seen a couple of the others and when you have spent as much time with the doctor as we have, it's just so much nicer seeing the one that has seen your child through it all. She was chipper and playful and climbed all over the furniture.I felt like such a failure when he said, "Gosh, her right ear is definitely infected!". I kept thinking about how she had acted the previous few days and couldn't come up with anything that would have led me to believe she was sick. We talked about the reflux and got the prescription for the ear infection.

After that, we met Luke at Chick-fil-A for some comfort food while we waited for the pharmacy to get her antibiotics ready.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the house cleaning and hanging out. Madelyn thought it was more fun to throw everything out of the pantry while I tried to clean everything up. The story of my life right there, folks. You know what though? It makes me smile every time and nine times out of ten I take a picture!

Sunday
It was obvious by Sunday that Madelyn's ear was really bothering her. We both stayed in our pajamas for the better part of the day and just played and read books in between naps. My mom came over to watch her while I took some family photos for a gorgeous family at the Children's Park.

She loves time with Grandma and I am so thankful that at this stage in our lives we are so class to willing (and free!!!) babysitters!

Monday
I was starting to get a little stir crazy by Monday morning but it was dreary so we couldn't even play in the yard. Madelyn seemed to be feeling well most of the day. She was extremely clingy, but very playful still.

She discovered that climbing IN the dishwasher was way better than just pulling everything out.

She cried out that night at about 11pm and when Luke went to check on her, she felt really warm. We took her temp and it wasn't that high. I honestly thought it was from two things: 1. teething 2. she was in long sleeves and pants snuggled under a big blanket and our room was hot.

We put her back to bed and she slept well through the night.

Tuesday
When Madelyn woke up feeling a little warm and looking very tired. Instead of climbing down from the bed and playing she just laid in my arms. Luke left for work at about 8am and Madelyn and I just snuggled in the recliner. At about 9am I took her temperature and it was around 101.3. At 10am it was 104.2. I called my mom because her breathing sounded very labored and she had not moved at all for most of the morning. After that I called the doctor's office and just about the time the nurse picked up, Madelyn started to have a seizure.

It was short and terrifying. I called 911 and she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She pretty much laid on Luke or I the entire time we were there. They told us it was a febrile seizure (which was a huge relief) and we were discharged that evening. We were both SO tired. I'm not sure either of us moved that night when we went to bed.

Wednesday
The next morning we followed up with the pediatrician. While Madelyn still didn't feel well, she looked 100 times better than she did the day before!

Waiting to see the doctor + sleepy, sick one year old = no fun at all.

Waiting to see the doctor + sleepy, sick one year old + Netflix for iPhone = bearable.

We found out she had a common virus on top of the ear infection and that just further confirmed that her seizure was caused by her fever.

Thursday
I was in total shock that Madelyn was so playful and back to herself just a few days after our hospital ordeal! She gladly modeled a clip and dress that I made for the craft fair. Since she was feeling better (not totally well, but better), she spent some time with Luke while I got busy sewing and making things for our craft fair.

Friday
Madelyn and Daddy hung out all day. They ran a few errands, played together, took naps and enjoyed their time together. I was so thankful because I was way behind on getting things ready for the craft fair. I spent the day upstairs with my sewing machine trying to do some last minute things that I had put off.

I stayed up WAY too late just about every night sewing. As much as I know that's not the most ideal, I am not one of those people that can get it done during the day. Madelyn loves to actually play with me now, so if I am sewing she right there trying to press on my foot pedal.

God really began a work in my heart this week that is almost too big for words. Maybe some day I will be able to articulate it. Maybe not. Either way, I feel challenged, burdened, blessed and as though I am way outside of my comfort zone. It's exciting and scary. I'm a control freak and planner by nature and for the first time in my life truly realize how many times that has stopped me dead in my tracks from being obedient. I am looking forward to the days ahead (and glad that the longest week of my life is behind us!!).

Pappy's Pumpkin Patch

Two Friday's ago (even though this past week has actually felt like a whole month), the three of us spent the morning at the Bell Family Farm just outside of Tyler. I am pretty sure that Mr. Bell and I would be friends if we knew each other. From what I hear, he sounds like a fantastic guy. He opened Pappy's Pumpkin Patch with one goal in mind: providing a place for families to spend time together and make memories regardless of their income. The activities are free. If you want a pumpkin, you buy it. If you don't want a pumpkin, you don't buy one. Of course we bought two after hearing a little about the farm and Mr. Bell.

I think a family trip in mid October to Pappy's is going to be a family tradition at our house. When Madelyn is older there are will be so many more fun things for her to do...play on the playground, face painting, train ride, picnic, hay bale maze and more!

This year, we just enjoyed watching Madelyn walk through the pumpkins and took LOTS of pictures!I know it wasn't technically her first pumpkin patch since we had gone that week to another, but we didn't actually go see the pumpkins at that one so I took her picture in the little cauldron just for kicks.

Madelyn and I took the hay ride to the pumpkin patch while Luke followed behind with the camera to snap some pictures.

Madelyn loved the pumpkins.

She also loved to watch all of the other little kids and their parents. I have a feeling she is going to be a people watcher like her mommy.

She and Daddy worked hard to pick out some pumpkins to take home with us.

In the last few weeks Madelyn has really had a lot of time outside among the elements since the weather has been nice. Unfortunately I think she has consumed about a pound of dirt! Every time I turn around she's grabbing a fist full and going straight for her mouth (makes me gag just thinking about it). Hopefully this dirt eating phase doesn't last long!

We can't wait to go back next year!

Litlle Miss...

In To Everything!