Happy 3rd Birthday!

Madelyn was lucky enough to have two birthday parties to celebrate turning 3 years old! The first one was at Grammy and Papaw's house. She requested a puppy and kitty cake for the special occasion.

She had so much fun blowing out the "smokes" (candles) that we had to do it twice!

Her second party was a Dora party with all of her friends. She was SO excited to have so many special guests coming to her house!

About an hour before the party started she said she was going to get ready . . . and two minutes later she looked like this! She thought some lipstick would complete her party look!

Here's the group of friends posing with Dora.

As you can see, the birthday girl loved having Dora here and getting lots of attention from her.

They played "Ring Around the Rosie" MANY times!

Madelyn sang, danced, and jumped.

The girls enjoyed storytime with Dora.

Then it was time to "break" the pinata by pulling strings on the bottom. Loads of candy fell out everywhere!

They used shakers and maracas during many of the songs.

Finally it was time for cake! A special strawberry cake had been prepared for the big day. Dora helped serve the cake and ate at the table with Madelyn.

Madelyn was very happy to be able to blow out the "smokes" again! That's definitely her favorite part of birthdays.

After eating it was time for more jumping!

Finally it was time to say goodbye to Dora at the end of the party.

Nana's special gift for Madelyn was a beautiful dance leotard, slippers, and a handmade tutu. She danced and twirled all afternoon! She will enjoy wearing her new dance outfit for dance lessons this fall!

Happy 4th of July!

We proudly wore our red, white, and blue and celebrated July 4th with our neighborhood parade! Madelyn was very excited to be a part of the parade instead of just watching it.

Golf carts, bicycles, tricycles and scooters made up the parade.


Madelyn and Sydnie discussed their parade strategy.


What patriotic cuties!

She decided to ride her tricycle with Daddy following behind with her pom-pons. Sydnie chose to run part of the parade and ride in her wagon for the rest of it.

Madelyn rode her tricycle the entire 1.5 miles of the parade route. She didn't even seem tired or hot!

After the parade, she posed with the fire truck that escorted us through the streets. What a fun morning!

3 Year Pictures

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from Madelyn's recent portraits. The photographer took over 120 pictures, so it was hard to narrow them down!

Happy Fathers Day!

We took Daddy out to lunch to celebrate Father's Day. He is such a wonderful daddy! He is patient and kind, and he is always a doting father to sweet Madelyn. We love you, Terry!

A sweet kiss for Daddy!

Helping Daddy read his cards.

Madelyn was SO proud of her special gift for Daddy. It was a recordable picture frame that had her voice telling him how much she loves him. She pushed the button over and over for him to hear!

"Listen one more time, Daddy!"

Ft. Worth Zoo

We spent a wonderful morning at the Ft. Worth Zoo! It was Madelyn's first visit to this particular zoo, and she loved it.

She was determined to pick up all the sticks on the way from the car to the gate. She had quite a collection by the time we got into the zoo! You'll notice her new orange camera tucked under her arm that Grammy & Papaw sent her. She was excited to take her own pictures at the zoo!

She watched the monkeys very intently.

When the beautiful white tiger put his paw on the glass next to Madelyn, she "touched" it and thought that was so neat!


Although she had talked about seeing a giraffe for days prior to going to the zoo, she seemed more interested in looking through this machine rather than watching the giraffe.

Watching the elephant roam around held her attention for awhile.

She couldn't resist climbing on the baby elephant statue!

Another view of the elephant with Daddy's help.

A highlight of our visit was riding the Zoo Train from one end of the zoo to the other. Here she is giving a little wave while riding with Daddy.

Here are Mommy and Madelyn riding the train on the way back to the front of the zoo.

Her favorite part of our zoo visit was the carousel. She could have ridden it all day!

At the petting zoo she was able to touch a baby calf. The calf licked Daddy's hand first, then he licked Madelyn's hand.

"Ooh, that calf's tongue felt like sandpaper!"

A Playdate with Karson

Madelyn visited her friend Karson today for some playing and lunch. They were super sweet and well-behaved, even during lunch out. What cuties!

The children played while the mommies talked. It was perfect for everyone!

Sweet Karson willingly shared his toys with Madelyn. Her favorite was the little red Clifford dog.

A goodbye hug at the end of a fun day. We hope to play again soon!

Fun at the Pool

We visited our neighborhood pool last weekend, and Madelyn had a great time!

She spent all of her time in the kiddie pool, and her favorite toy was this kickboard.

She decided to use it to surf around with Daddy's help! She rode all around the pool on it.

We may have to move to California with cousins Ivy and Garrett so that Madelyn can become a surfer girl!

This happy girl had a good afternoon in the pool!