BIG News

Madelyn learned how to drink from a straw today!!!!!!!!  Okay, okay....maybe this is not "big news" for most of you, but for me....it's HUGE!  I've been working with her for a long time on drinking through a straw and she just wasn't interested.  All of my friend's babies around Madleyn's age were doing it, so I wanted my child to do it too...OK?!?!? 

I've tried cherry Icees, caramel frappuccinos, chocolate milkshakes, and sippy cups with straws....nothing tempted her....until today!  After running some errands this afternoon, I made a pit-stop at McAlisters to pick up a sweet tea.  Madelyn had already gulped down a large sippy cup full of water, so I decided to let her have a sip of my tea.  I started out by giving her little drops of tea from the straw, just as I had done with all of the other drinks.  After a couple of straws full, I put the straw back into the cup and offered it to her again and she went to town!!!!!  The girl loves tea!  What can I say...she is MY child...why wouldn't she love sweet tea?!?!  Needless to say, I am so proud of her.  I don't know why drinking out of a straw was so important to me, but as far as I'm concernerd, today's feat was a major accomplishment!

Other than today's big news, things have been pretty mellow around here.  We've been going to The Little Gym on Mondays with a few of my friends and their little ones.  Madelyn LOVES her class, but she especially loves the playdates we have after class each Monday.  She has so much fun playing with her friends, and I enjoy the time with other mommies.  I am so thankful to have found such a great group of girls to spend time with!

Madelyn is in the process of getting all of her molars in at one time and she is biting/chewing on everything!  A few days ago, Madelyn was in her playroom and she bit a hole her ball pit which caused the entire thing to deflate.  I went to Target yesterday and bought her a new pit thinking it was the same size as the old one...WRONG!!!  This is what we wound up with...

You can't really tell from the pictures, but this thing is HUGE!  Way bigger than I ever expected!  Oh well, she likes it and that's really all that matters.  Now we just need to get more balls...the poor pit looks pathetic right now!

Weddings, Baptisms, Moves, Oh my!!!

Wow!  It's been awhile, but not for lack of anything to say......we have just been SUPER busy lately and this is my first chance to sit down and blog about it.

We headed to San Angelo the last weekend in June for Bryan and Brityn's wedding. 

It was wonderful to be in San Angelo because we had not been there since Thanksgiving!  We were able to see everyone in Garrett's HUGE family and that definitely is a feat in itself. 

All Of The Cousins

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and we are so happy for Mr. & Mrs. Bryan Black!  Madelyn had the time of her life at the reception!  She danced the night away and at times, she was the center of attention in the middle of the dance floor.  

Our child LOVES having all eyes on her.  She was having so much fun that we didn't even realize how late it had gotten.  We finally swooped her up from the dance floor somewhere around midnight and took her home to get some much needed sleep. 

The next day we went out to Spring Creek for Madelyn's baptism.  Spring Creek has been a part of Garrett's family for many, many years, so we thought it would be very special to have her baptized there.  My parents and grandmothers drove in from Waco and most of Garrett's family was there as well. 

It was an absolutely beautiful setting for a very important day in our lives.  I can't imagine a more perfect place for Madelyn to accept the Lord into her life.

Us with Brother Tommy & Madelyn's God Parents- Chad & Jill

We returned to McAllen the following Tuesday and have been busy with playdates, swimming, shopping, cleaning, laundry, birthday parties, and so much more ever since we returned!!!  It's good to be busy though...It makes the days here in the Valley go by much faster!

One last note:

Our good friends Carla & David found out they were finally getting the transfer they have been praying for and they have officially moved to Hurst (which is near Ft. Worth!) 

Their move is extremely bittersweet for us, but we couldn't be happier for them.  Carla and I became the best of friends over these past 2 years and I am sad to see her go!  She is truly one of the sweetest, most loving, angelic, people I know and I will miss her dearly.  I have a feeling we will be making lots of trips to the Metroplex in the near future!  Now we have an excuse to go to Rangers Games, Cowboys Games, Shopping, etc!!!  YAY!