Madelyn is seven

Oh, it's so hard to believe, but it's true. My first baby isn't a baby at all anymore. Being hormonal and pregnant and celebrating birthdays of my other kids makes for a lot of trips down memory lane and teary eyes. I just keep thinking about how fast seven years have gone by. When I was exhausted and really hormonal and holding Madelyn during her first few weeks of life, the thought of what she would be like when she was seven didn't cross my mind. But now this baby (not a baby) is seven and I do wonder what her next seven years will bring.
And, now that I'm pregnant with baby number 4, I wonder what this new baby will be like when he/she is born, 6 months old, 1 year old, 5 years old, seven years old, etc.

Madelyn is smart, pretty, funny, logical, and inquisitive. She is also determined and we're working on keeping that determination focused on postivite things. She is so head-strong and independent. This can make parenting a challenge at times, but I know it will serve her well as she gets older. We just have to make sure this independence is channeled in the proper direction.

For her birthday, she took cupcakes to school and we celebrated at home. We will have a bigger family celebration next month.

We love you, Madelyn, and are so glad you are part of our family.

She did get her ears pierced, which was a pretty incredible adventure and a topic for another post.



I'm surrendering part of my pride by showing you this picture of the cake. The structural integrity was quite poor. It was delicious, though, and Madelyn didn't seem to mind.

Pierce's Morning Adventure

It was time. I had exhausted my expertise in taking care of Pierce's hair cuts. I was fine when his hair was thinner and when my mom could touch it up and correct my mistakes. But, Mom hasn't had the opportunity to fix my mistakes lately, and I was at a loss as to how I could tame his increasingly messy hair. So, JD and Pierce headed into the big city yesterday to visit JD's barber. Pierce was able to spend a little time at the office, too, which I think they both enjoyed. The barber told JD that he was having trouble figuring out what the last barber had done to Pierce's hair. JD was kind and didn't divulge my inadequacies.

Getting started:


In the process:


The finished product:


Can you look a little happier bud?

How about a muscle shot?

Isabel

is still pretty hard to photograph.

She tries to hide.


When she does come out of hiding,

she throws her head back and says "cheese", so I can't really see her face.

But sometimes, she'll look at the camera

and stick out her tongue.

Oh, she's a turkey, but she's such a cute one. And she's a talker, completing 10-12 word sentences on a pretty regular basis. And did I mention she potty trained herself? She started showing interest right before we left for Italy (late September). Mom and Dad worked with her a bit while we were gone. Within a week of us being back, she was pretty much done. It was seriously the easiest, least stressful thing I have done as a parent. That's probably because I didn't really do anything. She got her bottom 2 year molars and is working on the top two. She loves singing and learns new songs so quickly, and she's really starting to love reading. I love this sweet girl so much!

Winter? What's winter?

I enjoy a good snow as much as anyone, but I think I enjoy 65 degree January days better. School was out Monday and Tuesday for teacher work days, and the weather was perfect! Tuesday was the best because our good friends, who we just got back from a year in California (yipee!), came for a visit. The kids played outside, and Melissa and I got some good chat time in.