Russells Roost

Madi's 4th Birthday

2011-04-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

For Madi's birthday we decided to take her to the bowling alley. She had never been bowling before and we thought it would be a fun thing to do. She loved it and Mya loved cheering and clapping for her. Mya even got to bowl a few balls for her. Their favorite part was running over to the ball return and watching it spit the ball back out. They thought it was great!!

The bowling alley also had a huge arcade so we let the girls "play" the games (we didn't put any money in). The manager saw us "playing" in there for about 30min and decided (since we were the only people in there) that he would put a few games on a game card for us and let us play a few for real! Madi had lots of fun. Her favorites were air hockey, and a game that her and I got to sit in a Jeep and shoot at giant bugs before they attacked us. Mya spent most of her time on the dancing game shaking her booty to the music.

After the bowling alley, we took her over to the Rainforest Cafe at the Arizona Mills Mall. We walked through the fun gift shop and ate lunch right next to the monkeys and elephants. The girls loved it!

Later that evening we had a few people over for cake and ice cream. Since I didn't let her be Robin from Teen Titians for Halloween, I decided to make her a Robin birthday cake. The kids thought it was pretty cool!

Enjoying her cake with cousin Cameron.I can't believe that Madi is already 4! She told me that she didn't want to be 4 because she liked being 3. She wanted to stay 3 forever. I wish she could too! But, then she decided she was okay with being 4 when she discovered that it meant she gets 2 gummy vitamins instead of 1. hahah!! Kids are so funny!! I love my Madi girl so much! I love spending my days with her and Mya. I had a great day with my family!

Halloween 2010

2011-04-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

This year Madi really wanted to be a superhero for Halloween (big surprise). She kept going back and forth trying to decide who she would be. So I finally made her pick one (that would be not too hard to make) and then I decided to have Mya go as a superhero too! I thought they looked so cute!! Even though Mya got called a boy most of the night. We had a lot of fun at our ward Halloween Trunk-or-Treat. The girls especially loved the cake walk!

This is Madi with her boyfriend Owen. They are such cute little buddies!!

I did a really bad job at taking pictures this Halloween. These are the only 2 pictures I got of actual Halloween night. We had our good friends Brandon and Alyssa over and my brother Cody was in town that weekend too. So, I made us all a yummy dinner and then we walked the kids around the neighborhood. I love Halloween in AZ, the weather is perfect for a night walk!! While we were trick-or-treating, Madi made sure to correct everyone who would call her little sister a boy! She was so funny! We all had a really fun night.

Mother Natures Farm

2011-04-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

We love going to Mother Natures Farm every year before Halloween. They have so many fun things to do.

Bounce houses

You get to pick a pumpkin and then decorate it (or yourself) and take it home!

They have the tractor ride, and the farm animals. And this year the momma pig was nursing about 10 little piglets. It was really cute to hear them all oinking and watch them trying to get their turn to eat.

They also have this fun little play house that Mya loved!! We always have a fun time here!

Girls Trip!! Woohoo!!

2011-04-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

So, just a little explanation before I go on with the trip. At the end of our stay at my parents house, my Mom and I shaved Mya's head because one side of her hair looked like the above picture and the other side looked like the picture below. She had a habit of pulling her hair out on one side of her head. She liked to have it wrapped around her thumb while she was sucking her thumb. So, we had to do something to help her stop.

The girls and I went on a girls trip to CA for my little brother Corys missionary farewell. Seth had to work so he didn't get to come with us. I was a little worried to drive all that way without Seth but, the girls did great all the way there.

Here is what Mya looked like when we got out of the car. This is what happens when you keep handing back red vines to the kids while you are driving! :)

We had lots of fun playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and Cory. The girls always love playing in the pool and then sitting on the back porch eating Popsicles.

Here is what Mya looked like right after we shaved her head! Poor girl. But it did work and she doesn't pull her hair out anymore!

Saying goodbye to Cory.

Alaska Girl

2011-03-31T23:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before or not but, Madi LOVES superheros!!! Almost everyday she asks me, "Guess who I am!" and I have a long list of superheros to go through before I get the right one. There's Spiderman, Dash, Violet, Elastigirl, Batman, Robin, Starfire, Raven, Wolverine (who she refers to as Walgreen's..hahaha) Shera, Word Girl, just to name a few. So I wasn't surprised when she made up her very own superhero ALASKA GIRL! I have no idea why she picked that name. She didn't know (until I told her) that Alaska was a place. But I thought it was pretty funny. She likes to dress up as a superhero whenever she has a chance. She will ask me to clip a dish towel around her neck with a chip clip for a cape whenever she gets her hands on one. This time we were doing the laundry and she thought that her Dads red shirt looked like the perfect Alaska Girl cape. Because "Alaska Girl wears red, and she has spiky things in her bones that will hurt you if you touch her. So don't touch her." We had fun putting together a little costume with what we had laying around. She is such a funny girl!

4th of July

2011-03-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mya driving us to Grandma and Grandpas house!

The girls hang'n with their dogs!

Madi and Grandma enjoying the patio

I some how only managed to take a few pictures of our trip to Ramona, CA to be with my family for the 4th of July. But, this awesome video that my brother Austin made while we were all together says it all!! WE HAD A BLAST!

http://www.vimeo.com/13136259

Dripping Springs

2011-03-30T16:22:00.001-07:00

We went out to my grandparents winter home here in AZ. It is less then a 2 hour drive for us, so it is a fun day trip! The girls had a blast playing out in the desert. Madi loves looking for rocks with Grandpa. They both loved riding on the 4 wheeler! It is always nice to visit them!

Mya's 1st Brithday

2011-03-30T15:45:00.001-07:00

We had a really fun day playing at the park. She loves to swing!! While she was napping, Madi and I made her a Chocolate Doggy Cake! She loved it and made a big mess of herself! We love our little Mya!

Catch up

2011-03-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

It is going to take me a while, and I am sure it is going to be old news for most of you, but I am going to try and catch up a little. I am sad that I stopped blogging because I love to go back and look at my old blog posts. I kind of use it as a journal of our family. I left off in May 2010!!! So, here we go!!

Red Head

2010-05-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

I Think it is safe to say that Mya is going to be a red head! I have been trying not to get my hopes up, because I have seen kids hair color change from red to blond. But, I think her color is here to stay! And it is really curly too. I will have to post a better picture of it when I get it wet because it is so cute! And she has the temper to go with it!

See what I mean! Those pictures where seriously taken 10 seconds apart. She wanted to hold the camera and I wouldn't let her! So she let me know it!

No More Helmet!

2010-02-08T20:28:00.001-08:00

Monday was Mya's last day with her helmet!! We are all so happy to be done with it! It was a lot less of a hassle then I thought it would be, so it really wasn't bad. She only had it on for 3 months and she is now in the normal range! It took a lot less time then they thought it would. She was so good about it. She never seemed to mind that she had it on unless she got sweaty and her head started to itch. So, I would take it off for a few minutes and let her rub her head on things. It was funny to watch her rub her head on the couch and on the carpet during her 1 hr of freedom everyday. It must have felt so nice! I also decided that it was perfect to have on during those months while she was learning to stand. It has saved her a lot of head bumps! And Madi got very used to saying " It's okay. Because of course she has her helmet on." every time she would accidentally hit Mya on the head. All in all, I am glad we did it.

Totally Bummed!

2009-12-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

My little brother Cody and his wife Stacey welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world yesterday afternoon. They named her Preslie Jane and she is oh so cute! Now, why would I be totally bummed about such good news? Well, we were supposed to be leaving today for California to spend Christmas with my my parents, my youngest brother Cory, and my brother Cody and his family but it looks like we will be staying here. Madi got croup on Friday and she has been sick every since. I thought she was getting better but last night she got worse! So, instead of going to California and getting everyone out there sick, we decided it would be best to stay here. That is why I am totally bummed!! Not only do we not get to be with everyone for Christmas, but I don't get to meet our new little Preslie. They will be moving up to Idaho in 2 weeks so we probably won't get to see them again for a little while. So, I guess I better go figure out what I will be making for Christmas dinner...

Hello Helmet Goodbye Plagio!

2009-11-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

If you have talked to me at all in the last few months then you probably know that I have been going back and forth about weather or not to put a helmet on my little Mya. She has Plagiocephaly. Here is a quick lesson on Plagio that I found online.

What is Plagiocephaly?

Plagiocephaly often results from external forces applied to the soft infant skull.
There are actually three different types of misshapen heads. As causes of plagiocephaly are combined, it’s not uncommon to see heads that illustrate two of the deformities.

A parent’s first instinct is to wonder “what did I do to my baby to cause this?” Guilt is common, but there are many factors that can contribute to plagiocephaly and chances are, it was nothing you did intentionally. A baby’s skull is so soft and malleable until the sutures fuse around two years of age. For this reason, any external forces, whether during the pregnancy or in the infant’s daily life, can contribute to the head shape.

So, hopefully that filled you in a little bit on what is going on with her head. Of course all of those pictures are worse case pictures. Her plagio isn't as bad as the picture. You wouldn't notice it if I didn't point it out to you. We have been working on repositioning her while she sleeps since she was 3 months old. It just hasn't helped the front of her head as much as we would have liked it to so, she has some asymmetry in her face now. If the bones in your head aren't aligned then the bones in your face and jaw won't be. That is my main concern. Because, lets face it, she is going to have lots of red hair that will cover her head shape anyway right (fingers crossed). So we finally decided to just get the helmet and get it over with. The helmet holds her head in place where it sticks out, and leaves room for growth where it needs to fill in. They digitally scanned her head and made a Styrofoam head that they poured a mold on to make the helmet fit just perfect. It was pretty cool to see the scan come up on the computer while they scanned her head. She has to wear it 23 hours a day. I only take it off for cleanings 1 hour a day and to let her head breath. The Dr. said she will most likely have to wear it for 4-6 months. She just got it yesterday and she has been so good with it! It doesn't seem to bother her at all. We slowly make our way up to the 23hrs a day. Today she has to have it on 2hrs, off 1hr repeted all day. And then she gets it off while she sleeps through the night. By day 7 she will be wearing it full time. I am so happy that we finally decided to get her in the helmet, so I can stop worrying about it and we can just get it fixed already! Our insurance doesn't cover it and it is a $1,600 helmet!!! But, I am sure that most parents would pay anything to help their child. I would hate for her to notice it when she was a teenager and then find out that I could have fixed it! Talk about a guilt trip for the rest of your life! I think she looks cute in it. Next on my list is to decorate it so she looks extra cute!! We are so grateful that we have the opportunity to fix it! I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!

Happy Birthday Madi

2009-11-08T13:58:00.001-08:00

So, Madi's Birthday was on a Sunday this year. We decided to just have a low key birthday. We went to church and then came home, had some lunch, and went on a walk because it was a beautiful day!

Madi had lots of fun chasing Seths car all around her favorite place in the basin behind our house. Mya just watched in her stroller while munching on a piece of watermelon.

We all had a good time enjoying our nice weather! After that, we headed home to put the girls down for a nap so I could get started on Madi's birthday cake. It was a lot of fun! We decided to have all of Seths family come over for birthday cake and presents after dinner. Madi was so excited to have all her cousins come over! Madi had a great time with everyone! Here are a few pictures!

I thought I would ask Madi this year what kind of birthday cake she wanted but I just kept getting answers like, a bath cake, a light cake, a mommy cake (pretty much whatever she was looking at at the time). So I gave up on that and just looked online until I found something that I thought she would like. I surprised her with it when she woke up from her nap. She really liked it, and all the kids had fun eating the cupcake cones.

She got lots of fun presents! Here is Seth putting together her new scooter!

We love our little Madi Buns so much! She is such a cutie pie! I can not believe that she is 3 already! How the heck did that happen?? She is starting to test us more and more as she gets older. Just reminding Mom and Dad that we need to step up our game ;) She is getting too smart! She loves to play outside and get dirty! She loves drawing on the side walk with her chalk, playing hide and seek (or "hide the sink" as she would say), playing "Not It" (tag) and playing school. She is so much fun to have in our family. Thanks to everyone who came over, sent birthday gifts, and called Madi on her birthday! She had such an awesome day! We love you all!

Halloween

2009-11-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween time!! I love decorating my house, especially now that Madi can help, and I love picking what I get to dress my girls up as. I know that won't last too much longer with Madi getting older. I decided to make the girls costumes this year. My mom always made ours so I thought I would give it a try. One little problem with that is that I don't sew! I have a sewing machine and my mom showed me how to use it when she gave it to me, but I almost never use it. So, I had to watch a YouTube video and call my mom 3 times to figure out how to thread the bobbin and the machine. After that, it wasn't too bad. I sewed Madi a little Tinkerbell dress and Madi her and Mya some wings. I already had made Myas tutu. So this is what they ended up with.

I had fun making them, and I was glad that they looked different then all the other Tinkerbells, and lady bugs we came across. We got a lot of use out of them. First we had our ward fall festival at a park. It was freezing cold!! So they had there costumes on for about 5 min and they were both crying so I ended up layering every piece of clothing in my bag on them. I ended up having to go back to the house to get a few more jackets and hats once Seth got there. Madi had fun trick-or-treating around every ones blankets, so it ended up being a good time.

The next day Madi had a Halloween party with some of her friends. We all planned a game or an activity for the kids and brought a spooky treat! It was a lot of fun.

On Halloween day it warmed up (thank goodness) so Madi didn't freeze in her little costume. We made it through our little neighborhood and she was done. So we came home and she had fun handing out our candy to the kids.

The next day was Madis 3rd birthday! So I will post about that soon!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

So...here are a bunch pictures from our wonderful trip to California for the Labor Day weekend! We had so much fun playing with everyone! It was so nice to spend a whole day outside and not get too hot. I forgot how nice it is out there in September.

Madi enjoyed playing in the different tide pools. The guys went off and jumped and snorkeled by jump rock while we played with the girls in the water and under the umbrella. It was so nice!

They were pooped on the way home!! On Monday morning we took the kids to the Golden View farm to feed the animals. They have ducks, bunnies, goats, a pig, roosters, and chickens. There was a play ground next to the farm and Madi kept asking the whole time if she could go play on that. So after we saw all the animals we let her go play. It wasn't long before she had us all up in her "castle". She didn't want to leave!Chloe, being the older one, was nice enough to read some books to her little cousin Mya. They are too cute!!

Madi had so much fun playing with the side walk chalk with grandpa in the backyard. They played hop scotch and drew lots of blueberry cookies!! They had so much fun together.

My Mom and Dad were nice enough to watch all the girls while Cody, Stacey, Seth and I all went to the beach so we could play in the water on Monday. We had a lot of fun! Even though the waves were pretty lame. The guys had fun jumping into them from the shore, trying to do flips over them, while Stacey and I visited. We even watched some dolphins jumping around. We had such a fun time with you guys! Can't wait to do it again.

Tutu cute!!

2009-08-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

Just some pictures I wanted to share of Mya in her little tutu!

She doesn't really know how to sit up on her own, so she tipped back and her bald head ended up in the grass. She wasn't a fan!

Birthday Weekend

2009-08-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

This past Friday was Seth's 30th Birthday! We had such a fun day (even though Seth had to work) Since it was his big day I decided to be a good wife and get up and make him some breakfast. I totally would do this everyday, but he isn't much of a breakfast person, he would rather sleep 5 more min. then eat breakfast (I am the opposite... I live for breakfast) so, I don't know if this was more for me or him, but whatever, he liked it. Then after the girls got up and around, we went and got him some birthday balloons and a cute pink cupcake (Madi picked it out) from the bakery and headed out to his work to surprise him. Madi was so excited to give him the balloons, she did a good job and carried both the balloons and the cupcake in, without loosing either one, then yelled a super cute and excited "Happy Birthday Daddy" when she saw Seth! It was too cute! Then we kidnapped him from work and took him to Joe's BBQ for some free birthday lunch (can't pass that up). Later that evening our good friends Rachel and Levi came over and we ordered pizza and waited for my parents to arrive from CA. When they got there we visited and got the girls all situated so my parents could watched the girls while we (Rachel, Levi, Seth and I) went to Sun Splash for their "Night Splash" It was so much fun hanging out with just the adults. This is the first time, since we had Mya, that we have gotten to do something fun like that without them. We had such a good time!! And the girls had so much fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa (For the full story of the water park, go to Rachel's blog http://teamsugden.blogspot.com/) After the park closed we came home and had birthday cake and watched Seth open his presents! It turned out to be a really fun day. We love you Seth!!!

The next day was my Moms Birthday!! So we partied all day Saturday too. We started off her big day by going out to breakfast at the Cracker Cafe (best breakfast place ever!!). After that, we came home and Madi played a little game of living room baseball with Grandma and Grandpa.

Then we got all suited up to go up to Water Wheel in Payson. It was only 95 degrees there, as opposed to our 110 in the valley, so it made it really nice for hiking and swimming in the water! We had lots of fun swimming and exploring around the different rock, waterfalls and pools.

Dad taking a cat nap on the rocks

While we were there, I discovered Mya's FIRST TOOTH! I can't believe that my baby already is big enough to have a tooth!!..... It was so nice and relaxing up there that we stayed until the mosquitoes came out. On our way home we stopped for some Mexican food. Madi slept on the restaurant bench the whole time while we all ate (except Mya, she was too busy spitting raspberries and giggling at Grandma and Grandpa ) and then we headed home. Not without stopping at Nelson's Frozen Custard for some desert ;) We all were so tired when we got home but still had it in us to sing happy birthday to Mom and watch her open her gifts. It was such a wonderful weekend!!! Thanks for driving out to spend time with our little family Mom and Dad! We love you guys!

Rats Nest

2009-07-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Every morning when Madi wakes up, she has the biggest rats nest in the back of her hair! It is so awesome! Until I have to brush it out. Then its not so cool. I guess I could just brush some smooth hair over it and pretend like I meant for it to be that way. :) The girl does need a little volume!

Mya doesn't share Madis morning hair problem, she has her own hair issues! Or lack there of!

Idaho Trip

2009-07-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

We decided to ditch the heat and make our way up to Idaho last week. We wanted to be there for the 4th of July. We drove all the way there :( Not my favorite thing to do with a new baby. It took us 13 hrs to get to Orem thanks to the Hoover Dam (a picture of the new bridge incase you haven't been there in a while.)
Not to mention the frequent stops for feedings and potty breaks!

We ended up stopping to feed the baby next to an Indian art shop. So, Seth and Madi got out to stretch their legs and check out the shop. Behind the shop there was a really cool koi pond with a grass area and a bunch of peacocks walking around. Madi had a blast chasing them all around.

We stopped in Orem for the night with Seths Grandma Rush and then left as soon as we got up the next morning. Just 3 1/2 hours to Idaho Falls

It would take forever if I were to tell you everything that we did, but Madi sure had fun getting reacquainted with all of her cousins out there. They had only seen her once when she was 9 months old.

Playing in Jareds backyard!

Twinkies at Rigby Lake!!

Building sand castles with Jasmin at Rigby Lake

Swinging at Rigby Lake

Sand wedgies at Rigby Lake

4th of July parade in Rexburg

My brother Cody and his cutie pie Chloe!
Mya wishing she could eat the candy Madi kept putting at her feet

We had such a good time visiting with all of our family!! We got to do so much in the short week that we were there!

We had a bonfire at the sand dunes, played at lots of parks, Rigby Lake, Fire works, Parade, Played with JD (Garrisons dog), Went to Craigos (twice), Stayed up until 2:30 am talking, hung out with old friends. The weather was so beautiful! We even got a rain storm! We love you all. Thanks for a fun week!

The latest

2009-05-18T22:07:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess that I should post a few pictures or something so that you know that we are still alive over here. I have been so busy and I have nothing to really show for it. My house is always a mess ( I should be cleaning right now) and I don't have time to do my hair anymore. I don't know where my days go but they seem to be going by faster then ever! Anywho... here is what we have been up to lately.

We got a new car last week!!! I have been wanting a new car since we moved here 5 years ago. Seths sister Chelsea was nice enough to give us her old car right when we moved here and I have been driving that for quite a while, but we finally had enough money to get something more reliable for our little family. So, now we don't have to rent a car when we go on road trips!! YEAH! It is a 2006 Accord and I really like it! I also potty trained Madi last week ( I won't add a picture for that one) and she has been doing really well. I had been putting it off because I thought it would be harder then it was. Maybe it was good that I put it off because then she was really ready when I finally did it. So ...less diapers to buy and change!!! Other then those 2 things I really haven't been up to much. Just hanging out with the girls. Here are a few of the latest pics of Mya. She is such a big girl and is in the 90% for her weight and height and all that stuff. We had her 2 month check up last month. She is such a cutie! She loves to smile at us now and it is so much fun.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Mya July

2009-03-19T15:43:00.001-07:00

Just wanted everyone to know that she finally came. She weighed 9lbs 9oz. She is a big girl and she is so much fun! So far she is a very happy baby. We all love her so much! Madi is starting to interact with her more now. I don't think she knew what to think about her at first. But we are all doing well. Thanks Mom for all of your help this last week! You are a life saver! I will try to post more later when we get this whole sleeping thing figured out.

Still no baby!!

2009-03-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still pregnant! I did have an appointment today and they scheduled me to be induced on Wed morning. So hopefully I will have some pictures to share with all of you by this weekend!

It's Almost Time!

2009-02-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post about my pregnancy one last time before our little baby girl comes. I can't believe that it is less then 2 weeks away! I am SO excited to have another little girl, and to see what her personality brings to our family. I have been busy this week getting all of Madi's old newborn clothes out of the attic and washing all the burp rags and things in the baby laundry soap. It has been fun looking at all of the newborn stuff. It brings back lots of good memories. Yesterday I spent just about 2 hours on the computer looking at old pictures and videos of Madi as a newborn. Our computer has been broken forever and thanks to Levi, (our good friend) it is working again so I was able to see all of our old pictures. Needless to say, it is all I can do to not think about having this baby.

I am so happy to say that we have come to an agreement on what her name will be. After months and months of switching back and forth. We have decided to name her Mya July Russell. Madi calls her "baby July" and Seth calls her Mya when he is talking to me and July when he is talking to Madi. So, I am curious to see which one sticks when she finally gets here.

I also just wanted to say how much I LOVE being pregnant. Even though it is hard to sleep at night towards the end, there is nothing like feeling your baby move inside of your tummy. I am always putting my hands on my stomach when she is rolling around because I can't get enough of it. It is the strangest feeling. Sure, I could do without her punching me in the bladder, the constant pain in my pelvis, and the crazy leg cramps that about take me to the ground. But other then that, I am very blessed with easy pregnancies. I have even been able to workout during this whole pregnancy, which was a goal of mine this time. I don't even get winded walking up the stairs in my house, which was my work out at the end of my last pregnancy.

Well, I guess keep watching for the big day, I will definitely post some pictures up when she comes. Hopefully she won't decide to wait until 10 days after her due date like Madi!

Hole in the Rock

2009-01-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of my week is going to meet Seth during his lunch break. We do it at least once a week. We try to find different places to go. We do all kinds of things like go to parks and have picnics, hang out at the free water park right next to his work (when its hot out), go to different pet stores, or just go out for something to eat. A few weeks ago we went to Papago Park in Tempe and took Madi up to the Hole in the Rock for the first time. Seth and Madi beat me up the back of the rock, (surprise, surprise) and then when I got up there, they were no where to be found. Then I heard a lady say "that guy just took that little girl all the way up to the top" and I knew that she was talking about Seth. He (I'm sure knowing that I would have been opposed to the idea had I been up there) held her and took her all the way up the rock. I know that he has excellent balance, but I think that is part of my job as the mom to worry a little. But, he did tell me that she reminded him about 5 times while they were up there "Don't fall daddy". So I guess she does have a little bit of my caution and not all of Seths dare devil in her!

Birthday Weekend

2009-01-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend my parents came out to visit for my 28th birthday! We had such a great time together. We went out to the Superstitions and played around out in the desert for a little while. Madi loves being outside and she was our little trail blazer. My mom and I just fallowed her through the bushes while the boys drove Seths Baja around. It was such a beautiful day! We went out to dinner with Aaron and Christen and their family later that night and had fun chatting and watching the Cardinals play on the big screens at BJ's Pizza. It was a good night. My actual birthday was on Sunday and since we have 8:30am church now :( we got up early and went to church. It was ward conference so we all got to sit together the whole 3 hours which was a real treat for me since I have been in the Primary for a while up until last week. Then we came home and my Parents had to take off, but Seth, Madi and I enjoyed the rest of the day together. It was another great Birthday! Thanks to everyone for all the gifts and phone calls! I love you all!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas at home in AZ. Seths Mom and her husband David came down from Idaho, along with his brother Garrison. We had such a fun time! We love you guys! Here is some of the fun stuff that we did together.

Unfortunately it was not our usual sunny AZ weather while they were here, but we still were able to enjoy being outside (when it wasn't raining!). We had a lot of fun playing at the park while Seth and David drove Seth's RC car around. Then we made our way over to Culvers for some frozen custard!

On Christmas Eve Seth had to work, so we met him for his lunch break at Tempe Town Lake to play catch and frisbee. Later that night we decided to build some graham cracker houses. It turned out to be harder then we thought! It was a lot of fun though! Madi had fun eating the candy off of my house while painting my arm with frosting. Can you guess who's is who's?

Getting ready to head to bed before Santa comes!

Madi opening her "orange" present from Santa. He also put an orange in her stocking just to be sure that he covered all his bases since when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said "orange". I tried and tried to get out of her weather she wanted "an orange" or an "orange toy" but we never got it figured out. She was so excited to see her orange present under the tree when she woke up. So, I guess that it was just fine.

David showing us "hes still got it" with his yo-yo that he got in his stocking.

Madi testing out her new toy food, she did this to almost every piece.

Grandma and Grandpa Judd Christmas morning

I had to put a picture in of Madi in her Christmas dress. She was happy, I promise.

I think that my favorite part about Christmas is spending time with family. It usually is family that we haven't seen in a while so it makes it exciting. I also loved getting to spend so much time with Seth since he had some unused vacation time to use before the years end. It has been a very fun Christmas. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family to spend it with.

First Santa Visit

2008-12-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

We went to this outdoor mall last night with Aaron and Christen and their girls after eating at In N Out across the street. They had things decorated for Christmas and there was a line setup for a Santa Claus outside. So we got in line so Madi, Monroe and Patsy could see Santa. There were a couple small children around Madi's age that were in line before us and a couple of them started crying when they were put on Santa's lap. So we told Madi that Santa is "really nice and he's going to ask you what you want for Christmas" and she said "yes, Santa nice". And so it was her turn and we put Madi on his lap and Christen took a couple pictures. Madi was wearing a sweatshirt with a big pocket in front and pulled a little yellow flower from her pocket and she gave it to Santa (see pictures). I thought that was pretty cool. The Santa was an old guy with a "real" white beard and hearing aids and he looked like a really nice old man. It looked like he liked the little present she picked for him. She must've picked it earlier when she was playing in the gravel from one of those weed looking plants that does well in the desert. Anyway, Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said "an orange". Thought that was pretty funny, also reminded me of stories I've heard when kids would get oranges for Christmas because their families were so poor that's all they could afford. So that was kind of a cool experience. I really wasn't looking forward to the Santa thing because we had to stand in a line for a little bit , but thought it was well worth it after seeing how Madi reacted. She's really a good little girl. I feel lucky to have her.

Seth

Thanksgiving in Utah

2008-12-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun time in Utah with everyone! It was so nice to have all of my family together. It has been a long time! I love my family so much. All of my brothers and their wifes are so much fun! I am so glad that we have such a great family that all gets along. I wish we all lived closer together, but I guess it makes it all that much more sweet when we do get together!

Madi playing with Aunt Sara in the grass

It was also really fun to watch Madi and her cousin Dylan play together. They were such good buddies! I am so glad that she had someone to fallow and run around with while we were there. Some how I managed to not get any pictures of the cousins together! I will need to do that for sure next time!

Stretching our legs on Rainbow bridge on our drive home!

Happy Birthday Madi

2008-11-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

November 1st was Madi's 2nd birthday, and I am finally getting around to posting it. My Mom was here to celebrate with us, (Dad could come, he was needed last minute for Prop 8 efforts in California, which payed off YEAH) so we all went to the Phoenix Zoo. It was so much fun. Our favorite parts were the monkey village and the new water play area! In the monkey village you get to walk around in the monkey exhibit pretty much. The cutest little squirel monkeys running around and above you, jumping from tree to tree. It was great! And the water play area was a nice retreat from the warm weather. Madi would have stayed there all

day if we would have let her. Good thing we found it towards the end of our visit at the zoo because she wasn't to interested in anything that we went to see after that. It could have been because she was enjoying her first churro.......yumm.

After the zoo, Madi took a 3 hr nap! She ran almost the whole time at the zoo, so we weren't too surprised. So, that gave me plenty of time to make dinner and finish decorating her cake. We hung out and did the usually presents and birthday cake celebrations. It was such a fun day!

I may be a little biased but, she is the best little girl anyone could ever ask for! I am so grateful that I get to be her Mom! She makes me laugh everyday! She is so sweet and is so much fun to be around. I love watching her dance and sing when she doesn't think anyone is watching, especially if she is in front of a mirror (then she really hams it up). I love listening to her laugh the way she does when she is rough housing with her Dad on the couch. She is just perfect for me and Seth and we couldn't ask for anything more! We love you Madi Buns!!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

I know I am late posting this, but I have been gone all week since Halloween. So, I just wanted to post a few pictures of what we did this year. We had our ward trunker treat first. We took our friends Rachel and Levi with us, they used to be in our ward so it was fun for them to see people they haven't seen in a while. And it was fun to see how many people didn't even know who Levi was because of his scary costume. Madi was a ballerina, Rachel and I were witches, Levi was goth and Seth was mullet man.

And that is not cheese from Owens hamburger on Madis face, although it did look very tasty. We had a good time with our ward friends. After that we headed over to some friends in our wards adult Halloween party that they had in their back yard. It was decorated so fun and they had all kinds of yummy finger foods. We decided to go last minute so we ended up bringing Madi with us. She loved it and didn't want to leave. They had a trampoline and she hasn't been on one of those since she has been so into jumping. So, she thought that was the coolest thing ever. She especially liked it when dad would hold her and jump high! (Not really, it just seemed high because he is so much higher off the ground.) On Halloween day, my Mom drove into town just in time to get to go to Seths work with us to go trick-or-treating at his office. It is really fun to see everyone with their kids at Seths work and get to hang out with all the nice people there for a little bit. I think it is a fun little tradition they have. And Seth loves any excuse to show off his little Madi to his friends at work!

Later that night we went out and watched Madi trick-or-treat around our neighborhood. It was fun to have my mom here with us! We wish that Dad, Austin and Sara could have made it out, but we still had fun.
Needless to say, Madi got some good use out of her Halloween costume this year. And I could never get enough of hearing her say "Turkey Beet". We had been practicing "trick-or-treat" all month and I would have to say that we got pretty close. And I don't think that I have ever heard "Mommy open it?" so many times in one day. Just about every time someone put something in her bag she would reach in and pull it out and ask me if she could have it right then. It is a hard concept for a 2 year old to understand "When we get home" I guess. What a fun day!

Mother Natures Farm

2008-10-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Last night for Family Night we decided to go check out the Mother Natures Farm right by our house. It turned out to be a lot of fun! We practically had the place to ourselves and it was about 86 degrees outside, so it was perfect. Seth and Madi had the whole bounce house to themselves. Madi thought that was the coolest thing ever! She had never been on one before. I had a lot of fun watching the two of them play. They had a really fun hay stack maze for the kids and Madi loved that as well. It is always so fun doing something with your little one for the first time. I was surprised that she got the concept right away and she led the way through the maze. We made it through with only a few suggestions from Seth. As soon as we got to the end she turned around and said "Again!" so we let her walk through a bit by herself. There was a lot to do and we had such a fun night! I love Family Night!

The tractor hayride

Feeding the baby farm animals

Searching for the perfect pumpkin (notice the baby snuck into the picture)

Decorating our pumpkins with stickers (Seths, Madis, Brits)

Ultrasound

2008-10-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

So today was the big day! And to Seths disappointment we are expecting another Girl! We both were taken by surprise. I really thought that it would be a boy this time. But, The Big Man upstairs had something else in mind. I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed at the news at first. But, after making a few phone calls to family and friends, I feel much better and I am excited for our new little girl! I think I just had convinced myself that it was a boy, so I just didn't know what to think when the ultrasound tech started to type the word GIRL on the screen. I wanted so badly for Seth to have a boy this time so he could be excited for the baby to come. Better luck next time, right? I know he will be so excited as soon as he sees her, just like he was when he saw Madi the first time. The ultrasound went great and she looks healthy! She was very co-operative and had her back facing up when we started the ultrasound and the tech was able to get a clear look at her brain and spine. Then she flipped over for us so that we could look at her limbs and her face. She already is a very good girl! I am so grateful for Madi, when I went to pick her up from my friends house after the ultrasound I was feeling pretty bummed, I told Madi that we were going to have a girl baby and she jumped up and down and said "yeah, girl baby!" I know that she has no idea what all of that really means but I was so glad that she was excited about it, and it helped me to smile. I think she will be grateful for a sister. Since I don't have any sisters, it will be fun for me to watch them together.

quick note

2008-10-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will finding out the sex of our baby on the 14th. I finally got a date set, so be looking for a new post in 12 days (or a phone call from me).

Gimmpy

2008-09-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last night, Madi was standing on a chair in the kitchen helping me make dinner, like she sometimes does, and the chair toppled over landing on her foot. I had walked over to the pantry to get something out really quick (like 3 steps away) and I think she climbed up on the back bar of the chair and it went down. But I didn't get to see it happen so I am not sure. When I looked at her at first I thought she had hit her face on the floor but she kept saying "Owie feet". Her right foot was a little red so I guess the chair landed on it or something. She wouldn't walk on it at first but we went outside and found a little puppy to play with and she limped around on it a little, but definitely not her normal self. So this morning when she stood up to walk towards me for the first time and was still limping and said "owie feet" again I decided to go get it checked out. The x-rays looked fine but they still wanted to put her in a splint just in case. She won't put her weight on it when standing still and the Dr. said that that is not normal for someone as small as she is unless there is really something wrong with it. She likes her "boot" and is already walking around on it. She looks so cute but I feel bad for her. But hopefully she gets better quick and there really is nothing wrong with it. And I guess I should get everything out of the pantry before I put her up on the chair next time! :(

A Cool Sunday!

2008-09-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

We were so excited to have a cool day (only 91 degrees) so, we took advantage and decided to go on a picnic. I have been wanting it to be fall all week long, so I was so happy to have a little break from the heat. We just drove around until we found this really cute neighborhood that had a park in the middle of it and we decided to have lunch there. It was so quite and peaceful. We were the only ones there and I think that we only saw 2 cars drive by the whole time we were there. Madi loves to be outside so she really had a lot of fun looking at all the bugs and letting them eat whatever she dropped on the floor. While she was eating some fruit salad, I helped her poke a kiwi with her fork and she looked at me and said "biggy daddy wee wee" and Seth looked at me with a confused smirk on his face. I just started laughing and told him that "wee wee" is a kiwi. Apparently I had poked the biggest kiwi in the bowl and she refers to big things as "daddy" and small things as"babies". Sometimes if she doesn't know if it is big or small it is a "mommy". It was just too funny because Seth doesn't know what she it trying to say a lot of the time because he doesn't get to stay home with her all day like I do. He has been asking me to interpret for him a lot lately, since she has become quite the chatter box. After we ate, Seth and Madi had a lot of fun jumping off the different levels at the park we were at. I think Seth had more fun trying to catch Madi in mid air with the camera so here are a few of the pics. Despite our cool 91 degrees she got pretty hot, so we let her hang out with the ice pack from our picnic and she seemed to like that. She put it on different parts of her hot face and she would say "burrr cold". We had so much fun hanging out as a family and enjoying the outdoors.

Latter that evening our friends Rachel and Levi came over and we all drove to North Mesa and hiked to the top of a little butte to watch the sunset and fly Seths plane. While we were driving to the butte, Seth interrupted the conversation to ask if anyone thought that it smelled like throw up in the car. I just told him no and kept on with the conversation. Later Levi (who was sitting in the back seat with Madi and Rachel) told us that he thought that it smelled like dog poop. Well, when we got to the butte and I got Madi out of the car, I discovered the smell was an explosion of diarrhea in Mads pants. Rachel and Levi must have had a really fun car ride to the mountain but they didn't seem too mad ;). So, don't think that I just decided to take Madi hiking with no shorts on. Anyways, I took care of that and we made our way up the butte. I carried Madi on my back and tried my best not to trip over the rocky trail. When we reached the top we enjoyed a beautiful view and sunset while Seth flew his plane above and below us. There was a great breeze up at the top of the butte and lots of rocks and dirt for Madi to throw. We had a Fun Sunday!

2008-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

#2

2008-08-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are expecting baby #2 in early March! We are very excited to find out what we are having, but that seems so far away. I am 12 weeks along so we have about 6 weeks to go before we can find out. Seth has informed me that we will be stopping at 2 if this next one is a girl because he doesn't want to have 3 girls. ?? I am not really sure why he is so apposed to having a lot of girls. I think Madi is so much fun, so 3 or 4 more just like her would be fine with me! He gets so excited to see her every time he comes home from work so again, I am confused at his only 2 girls rule? He always tells me he doesn't want to be one of those people that keeps trying and trying for a boy and they end up with 7 girls. We only have 1 girl so calm down right? But we shall see how everything turns out.

Madi came with me to hear the heart beat for the first time a few weeks ago and she was very excited to get to hear the baby. The Dr. sat her up on the table with me and she watched very carefully as he searched for the heart beat. She thought that was pretty cool and is already asking "where baby go". I can't wait to see how she is with the little one. She will be a good little helper I am sure!

Austin and Sara's Wedding

2008-08-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is my first time doing this so sorry if it is boring! We just got back from California a few days ago. We went home for Austins wedding. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! They had a huge tent set up in the field behind my parents house where the reception was held. It was set up 3 days before the wedding, so Madi had lots of fun playing out in the field back there. The gate to the field from the back yard was open just about the whole time we were there, so Madi just saw it as an extension of the back yard and ran her little legs off! Junior (my parents dog) did a pretty good job of watching after her as usual. (don't worry, we watched her too) The first day that we were there, Seth, Austin and all of Austins groomsmen went out to San Diego for an all day bachelor party. They went to some man made wave thing that you surf on, and then to the beach for some playing and surfing, fallowed by El Torrito for dinner. That same evening, I went out to dinner with the bridesmaids and Sara. It was fun to get to know all of Sara's friends and her sister. Sara's Mom and sister Jess are so much fun by the way! I am so glad that they are part of our family now! On Friday we all got busy setting up the decorations in the tent and doing wedding stuff. In the evening Brittany (Seths sister) and her husband Adam came down and visited with us. We went to the beach and watched Cody and Seth fly their planes. Madi played in the sand and watched Aunt Brittany play in the water. Seth joined her a little later. After we got Madi down for bed Seth, Adam, Brittany and I all went out for some milkshakes and just visited. It was fun to see them. Saturday morning we got up bright and early and drove out to San Diego for the sealing. It was so nice! Austin and Sara are so cute! It was fun to watch them all weekend. After the sealing we did the usual, take pictures and eat a tail gate party style lunch in the parking lot afterwards. Madi had a lot of fun playing with Seth on the huge grass hill and blowing all the dandelions. It was a perfect day outside! Afterwards we all drove back and got everything ready for the reception. They had a nice ring ceremony under a huge tree. Madi was the ring bearer and she did so good! I was so proud of her. She practiced only 2 times right before the real thing and then she didn't even get scared when all the seats were filled with people. Not like we were surprised (she is a huge ham). It was so cute to watch. Seth walked with her from the backyard to the very last row of chairs and then she walked the pillow up to the bestman all by herself. I wish I had a picture of that! But, anyways the reception was a ton of fun! We all danced and had a good time being together with everyone! We missed all of our family that couldn't make it! But we still did our best to have fun ;) On Sunday we all were dead tired but managed to have a little surprise baby shower for Stacey in the back yard. It was fun as well, we really surprised her! I totally for got to take pictures at the shower but maybe Cody took some and they will post them on their blog?She got all kinds of cute stuff for her little girl! Thanks to everyone that participated in my silly games and came to the shower. I have made this blog too long I think, but oh well. It was a fun long weekend with my family! Oh yeah, and thanks Cody for all the pictures! Your camera is awesome!