Madelynn had a birthday... a month ago!

I am such a blogging slacker. Seriously, I need to get my little self in gear!

My sweet little girl turned a year while we were on our cruise. I was super sad to miss her first birthday, but everyone kindly reminded me that she wouldn't remember or care that I missed her first birthday. So we ended up celebrating her birthday with family a week later when we got home.

Madelynn is seriously the sweetest little girl. She is always smiling and always happy, showing off her four teeth and cute little cheeks. She has been crawling for a long time and just took her first steps last week. She will eat pretty much anything I put in front of her, which is so not like my other two who were picky at this age.

It's hard to believe that this little newborn is now...

this little trouble maker! Don't let the cute little grin fool you. Just kidding, she really is such a good baby even if she does like to make messes like pulling out all the lids from the kitchen drawer and all the folded clothes from the laundry basket.

In addition to Madelynn's birthday, we celebrated Celeste's and my 30th birthday. And Kelli's, even though she was in Utah and not able to come (maybe next year!). Mom bought us the All American Chocolate Cake from Costco (yummy!) and I made banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for Madelynn from the bakerella website.

It's not his party but he'll cry if he wants to. Haha, I had to put this picture in! Cole got caught sticking a wooden spoon into the cream cheese frosting (see it on his lip?) and this is the face he put on when Papa told him not to do that. Classic Cole.

Sorry it's a little blurry, but this is the scared look Madelynn gave me the entire time we sang Happy Birthday to her. She actually does this every time we sing it to someone. I'm sure it has something to do with the off-pitch, operatic, terrible way we sing it. It is kind of scary.

There is the cute smile! Love it! Don't ask me what the spoon is for. She was able to make quite the mess of herself without it!

Proof that Olivia pushed Rix out of the picture. And chose the chocolate cake over my cupcakes. I'm totally offended.

Did we really leave a huge sharp knife on the kids' table? Oops... That's a lot of trust. Anyway, here are the rest of the boys, including a portion of Bryce.

Madelynn had a lot of help opening her presents. She loves all of her new toys and plays with them all the time!

Oh, and Adam didn't forget about me. After our traditional Red Robin dinner (we also went to Olive Garden later in the week without the kids!) he stopped by Costco to get me some flowers. Thanks honey!

Here are some cute things about Madelynn for journaling purposes:

LOVES:

*Her blanket and binky.

*Blowing kisses

*Pretty much any food, especially mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, Spaghettios, ice cream, yogurt, peaches, applesauce, waffles, bananas and pb&j sandwiches. I know there's more, she just likes to eat!

*Watching Jack and Olivia play the Wii. She just claps and laughs the whole time.

*Following me around. Seriously, she's like a shadow.

*Dancing to music, by herself or carried by me or Olivia.

*Toys that make noise or lights, although she also likes the doll Aunt Kelli got her for Christmas. She gives it hugs and kisses!

*Baths and water. She gets so excited and crawls at super speed when she hears the bath water running.

*Getting into the dishwasher whether the dishes are clean or dirty.

*People- she's a flirt!

DOESN'T LIKE SO MUCH:

*Water in her face, although she's getting used to it since she sometimes bathes with Jack!

*Being told "no" or "stop"

*Strangers. Yes, she's a flirt, but that just means she likes you from a distance, not if you want to hold her.

*When you take the remote control away from her.

*Loud noises, like when Jack yells at her (not because he's mad, but he thinks it is funny it makes her cry)

*Being stuck upstairs when she wants to be downstairs. We're working on this.

Madelynn, we love you so much! We love your smile and how well you deal with two crazy siblings. I love how you are learning to talk even though "mama" will probably be your last word. You say "dat" for "that" when you want something and "da" for "daddy". I love your little quirks, like how happy you get when you find a new binky, or how you shake (literally) with excitement when someone is at the door. I think it's funny that you want to be just like your brother and sister even though you don't really know what they're doing. You are so curious about everything from the shower drain to the speck of dirt on the floor. I hope you stop putting things in your mouth because there are times you gross me out! Really, though, we love you!