Miss Maddie Modeling

Maddie is usually a stinker about letting me take her picture, but on this night that's all she wanted to do. She kept going to different locations and doing different poses. She would immediately want to look at the picture after I took it. I think we have a future model on our hands.

Showing off her new "Valentine" tree (we had to improvise to get her to take down all her Christmas decorations and tree).



Future Mousekateer.



Katie Kangaroo and Baby Joey. An exotic shoot in Australia.



Sneaking a peek.



E.T. impersonation.



I think she's going for "saucy" here.



This is her vogue pose.



Mona Lisa smile

Christmas

Maddie's fantastic Christmas.
She gets plenty of time on her tricycle, cruising to the park, cruising around the block, cruising at the zoo...she always asks to ride her tricycle to whatever destination we're going; near or far.


We were about a month too late in buying her the Cars dvd, she has yet to watch it even though we ask everyday. (As opposed to watching it EVERYDAY at her cousin's house the previous months). But she is quite fond of her Cars garage from Grandma and Papa. Every so often, when she decides she can entertain herself for a few minutes, I can hear her in her bedroom playing with her cars. I love her little sense of imagination and pretend conversations.



Of course Christmas was a lot more than just presents for us. Maddie really understood a lot the birth of Christ and who was involved. She loved all of Grandma's Nativities and visiting the temple lights to see baby Jesus. Although, she was always concerned that there was no angel at the temple. And we went once during the day when baby Jesus was inside "taking a nap", she was quite distraught at his disappearance. I loved being a mom during this time of year and teaching my daughter about Christ and how special he is. It's so fulfilling to see your child learn and understand such important topics.

New Year...New Attempts

High lights and some low lights of 2010.

At the beginning of 2010 I never thought we'd be where we are now...living with the inlaws. We're so grateful for their kindness, but hope 2011 goes a little better in some areas. Here's a year in review for Jessie Lewis; a list of things I remember most (in no significant order).

1. Maddie learning and talking and growing! She went from speaking words to speaking full conversations. She had a few encounters with the potty, but has remained faithful to her diapers. She loves to sit and listen to us read her books every night and often throughout the day. She's loving joy school and doing well at remembering her letters, and definitely loves all her friends.
2. Anniversary date with Casey (and dates in general). Ice skating and dinner with my main man was so much fun.
3. Maddie's 2nd birthday was so much fun to plan and create. I'm excited for this year's!
4. Last year I made a goal to read a book a month and I was so close to succeeding. I loved reading a new genre each month and hope to continue trying new books.
5. Summer checklist was a fun adventure for the Lewis family.
6. We were so happy for Tasha and Derek and their fun Vegas wedding.
7. Maddie's emerging diva. We've had several recent meltdowns (and I mean meltdowns) concerning mom's choice in her wardrobe or in having to dress at all. Getting dressed for church is always fun, as is trying to get jeans on this kid.
8. Wonderful sewing nights with my friends, cabin trips, girls' nights and farewell parties.
9. Babysitting my nephew Chase. He turned one in June and is just getting more and more fun to be around each week. Maddie loves going to his house and is learning to love being nice to him.
10. And of course, the big move. Unfortunately we couldn't afford to stay in our condo and had to trim our already trimmed budget. We're working hard to find Casey a job at a hospital and hopefully get some student loans to help us out as well. We're so excited for Casey to get into his "real" classes, the ones that are specified to his Business Administration major.

I truly think this upcoming year is going to be a good one for us. I'm excited to see what comes of it. And of course a post on new year's day must include a list of my resolutions. So here goes another attempt at bettering myself on an upcoming year.
1. Study/pray everyday (this seems to make the list every year)
2. Sew a wearable garment for myself (I had to add "wearable" because I've attempted clothing in the past, and have yet to wear them)
3. Read one classic novel.
4. Make one pretty cake.
5. Learn to identify one new bird (yes I aspire to become a bird watcher)
6. Learn to identify one new tree/plant (yes I aspire to become nerdier)
7. Learn to play one new hymn on the piano
8. Learn to drive Casey's scooter
9. Make a quilt
10. Make one family movie (I'm soooo behind on home videos)

Make it a good one folks!