More first birthday...

This is one funny kid. We know she isn't really all that into solid food, but we thought she would devour her birthday cupcake without a problem. Boy, were we wrong! Even with Lulu and Lili showing her how it was supposed to be done, Madeleine wasn't interested. We were finally able to get her to take two bites of frosting by putting it on my finger and putting a Cheerio on top of it. This baby would eat dirt if you put a Cheerio on it...

After a quick bath, Maddie got down to business opening her presents and playing with Lili and her cousins. She is such a "busy" girl - always go, go, go. She is happy to entertain herself, so new toys were (and still are) such a treat!

I will post more pics later, especially from my sister's visit this week. Thank you to all of our family and friends who remembered Madeleines 1st birthday and helped to make it such a memorable one!

Madeleine's first birthday!!!

Sorry we have been a.w.o.l! I have been busy working, helping uncle Christian move, training for a race in November, and making multiple visits to the dentist's office. After it took four visits to get a new crown to fit right, it turns out I have to have a root canal on Monday. Great. In the meantime, I am completely hopped up on pain meds and it feels awesome! I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I was in more pain with this dang tooth than I was when I went through natural childbirth with Madeleine. After the drugs kicked in last night, I had a new appreciation for how women must feel when they get their epidural. I just might have to ask the dentist for an epidural....

As a distraction, we made a visit to a pumpkin patch yesterday with our friends Marti & Jim and their daughter Liliana. The problem was that it was 83 degrees here yesterday and we were sweating our little pumpkins off! Good news for Maddie, I can't resist a cider donut and I decided to give her a taste of what's coming next week (birthday cupcake!). She had never had anything processed or sugary before and, I think it is safe to say, she liked it!

Quack, quack!

Maddie's first encounter with real ducks and geese. They were bigger that she is!!!

Minnesota

We travelled to Minnesota this weekend for Bryan's grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary this weekend. 65 years! Amazing! I hope I still like Bryan in 60 more years.... :)

We were blessed to have Bryan's sister and his brother-in-law visiting as well. Maddie got in some quality time with them, as well as with the rest of the family. We can't wait to see everyone again soon!

Play group

These are all of Madeleine's friends from my mom's group. Anastacia, Patrick, Isabella, Finnegan, and Patrick. How cute are they!?!

All growed up!

This was last Halloween, when Madeleine was 7 days old.

This was last week.  Hehe! :)

Just Chillaxing in Chicago

We are so excited that our little bug has enough hair for a mohawk!

Uncle Christian has been living with us for a month or so and, although Madeleine (oh, yeah, and us too) will be sad to see him go, he has found a job and his own place. Good thing we are getting in some quality R&R in the meantime. Mizzou game, anyone?

September already?!?

I can't believe that the summer is already over! I have been meaning to blog but I have not had time...until now, when John McCain started putting me to sleep. Gosh, I'm nervous for Nov. 4th!

We have had a busy summer - traveling to California for a family reunion and St. Louis for the birth of my best friend's baby (and then again for the Missouri vs. Illinois game), Bryan's 30th birthday and, of course, the triathlon. We are pretty tired going into the Fall but we are energized by Madeleine's enthusiasm stemming from her newfound ability to move, move, move! She is now ten months old and is cracking us up with a modified one-legged army crawl. She loves to say "uh-oh" and "mama" and is meowing on command. She is enjoying my brother, Uncle Christian, and his dog, Carter, who are living with us for a few months. I enjoy her company every minute of every day.

Bryan and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary today. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Unfortunately, we have not been in a very celebratory mood this week because I was in a traumatic car accident on Tuesday. Luckily, Maddie wasn't in the car and I was not physically harmed, just shaken up.

We are looking forward to the next few months - Nana Carol and Grandpa Bob are coming to visit, we are traveling to Minnesota for the 65th wedding anniversary of Bryan's grandparents, Bryan has his law school reunion, and Maddie's first birthday is in the end of October. Wasn't she just born yesterday?!?

Baby William Kane Hill. Welcome to the world!!!