A few birthday pictures... finally!

I've finally gotten the birthday pictures off of Jason's camera. Aunt Amy sent some she took as well. Here are a few. We had a small party on August 1st on her actual birthday and then an open house at our church on August 4th. The kiddos had a big time crawling around the fellowship hall and under the tables. Maddie's cousins, Lilli and Thomas, have a lot of fun together. Maddie LOVES being around other kids and playing. Of course we had a sheepy themed party. This is probably the only year I'll be able to decide on the decorations. Next year she'll be into some character I imagine. Once we got back to CA, mommy and daddy got her a few birthday gifts. We didn't want to take things back on the plane trip so we waited. I guess she had three b-day celebrations. She liked her cakes. Angela made the sheepy cake (the most adorable cake I've ever seen) and the large sheet cake. Grandma Petra made her first little b-day cake and cupcakes for the small gathering. You can see she enjoyed smooshing up the little cake! We still can't believe she's almost 14 months old now.

And last but not least, here's a short video of Maddie's first pool experience. It was on July 22nd so it's been a while.

Walking and talking!

Happy Birthday Pappy ~ and Happy Grandparents Day!!!

Happy Birthday to Maddie's Pappy. He's in KY so we can't celebrate with him. We miss a lot of birthdays and holidays being out here. We were so lucky to be home for Maddie's birthday.

Same ol' going on here. Another huge pile of dirt. More bulldozers. More beeping.

Jason should be back today. He's been in KY since Wednesday. This is my and Maddie's longest stint by ourselves. It hasn't been bad really. Just can't wait for Jason to get here so I can do something without some little person hanging on my leg. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see him too since he's the fun daddy. She's started repeating "no, no" when I tell her to quit doing something. Funny, but not funny.... She has a lot of words she likes to say and is getting quite understandable. Moon, Lexie, ball, night, light, mama, dada, and of course, no no.

By the way, these girls are the bravest people I know. They had a kidney donation procedure between the two of them in August. They are both doing well and I'm so proud to know them. We sure miss them and can't wait to be able to see them in December. We all enjoy stamping and I look forward to a stamping get-together. This picture was before the surgery. Thank God for His blessings on them and on us for having them in our lives.