M at the park this spring.

So our new favorite thing to do is go to the park. Now that it is getting too hot to do this, I was reminiscing about the fun stuff we have done this past spring. I can't wait until it cools off again!

We met my friend Bethy and her little girls Ella and Sophie at the train park for lunch. It was a little nutty (and windy of course), but so fun!




Those pictures just make me laugh!


We also went to watch daddy and his bands play at the TCA. It was a Music Under the Stars concert. She is starting to be that kid that yells "da da". So these are the only concerts we can go to for awhile.



We might try and hit the park a few more times, but I am pretty sure we will start heading to the pool soon!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jake!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jake!!! We love you!!



Thank you for trying so hard to make me happy!!

San Diego Trip and Playtime with Ella

San Diego is by far Josh and I's favorite place to visit. It is about a five hour drive away, can be inexpensive and is always beautiful! While we are there we love to go to Sea World. We also love the zoo and have been wanting to go to the wild life park for awhile now. We just haven't gotten to everything the city has to offer since we also just love to hang out on the beach, eat meals on the pier and stroll on the boardwalk. So San Diego is never boring for us. So much to do! This past weekend was a real treat since Josh's band was competing in a wind band festival just 50 miles north of San Diego. He decided that after the festival he would take the band to play on the USS Midway, which was amazing. To tour such a grand vessel was just so cool! I love stuff like that. You get to see what it is like for sailors to live on ships like that and you get a history of the navy throughout the tour. That was very neat. After the tour the band played on top of the ship. The weather was gorgeous and the concert was very fun. Then we ate lunch at Sea Port village (one of our favs) and then finished the day out at Sea World. I was very excited to see how Madelyn would respond to the animals. However, when we got there she was taking her nap. So it wasn't until the star fish that we got to see her interact. I think she liked the moss on the side of the rocks more than the star fish. She was very interested in the dolphins swimming around though. I about lost all feeling in my knees as I had to bend down for her to see them underwater. We went from there to see the dogs and cats perform in Pet's Rule. I thought for sure this would be her favorite show. She loves dogs and cats! However, with all the little kids (and mommy) yelling for her favorite dog she just lost it. She does not like being startled (like mommy) so as soon as people started screaming she cried like someone was beating her. The water works and sobs just wouldn't stop. I felt so sad for her. Good thing we were off to the penguins after that. She loved them! She also really enjoyed the night time shows of the sea lions, but she slept through the Shamu show. It was a really fun weekend!

Here are some pictures from our trip. Again, there are not too many since our camera is being so funky. But we hope you enjoy the ones we have!

And here is some footage from Ella and Miss M's play-date. One of her favorite things to do right now, "So Big".

M's first Easter

We had a very fun weekend. The Lord is risen and our lives have been so blessed! Thanks be to God for such a wonderful sacrifice. We appreciate your blood for our sake.

M joined daddy at the Easter parade.


As you can see it was a very exciting parade...

On Easter Sunday we met up with Regan and Ella at church before meeting up with the family for lunch and an Easter egg hunt.



I thought this picture was funny. The girls are easily distracted...

And our family!

8 months

(Yes, this picture is a little fuzzy. Sorry. Our camera is on the fritz. The flash no longer works and it is dying more and more each day.)

This little girl is so cute and brings us so much joy that I wish I blogged more often. As you can see I am even behind on this entry. Life is just crazy and Josh and I are so busy lately. One of these days I will be better about this... Anyway, Miss M is 8 months old and we just enjoy her more and more every day! I feel like the past week has been huge in her development too.

At eight months she is:

- 20 pounds

- 28 inches

- saying "dada" and "mama" on a regular basis (and I think this past week we have started to see that she knows who we are.)

- clapping and saying "yay!"

- throwing her hands above her head when I say "so big"

- rolling onto her stomach and pushes herself backwards (no crawling yet)

- eating meat (just turkey so far, and doesn't really like it)

- eating fruits and vegetables blended in the blender (loves pears and squash!)

- shaking her head when you ask her a question (apparently mom does this when I ask her something. I say "yes, yes" and shake my head up and down)

- waving bye, bye (which is also hi and sign language for more- she does all three)

- learning baby signs (can copy mommy but is not knowing what they are yet...)

- standing on her own if she is holding on to the furniture

- loving when her daddy gets home, and is as adorable as ever!

Here are some pictures from the last month:

M just loves dogs! Every babysitter she goes to has dogs. She was just cracking Paulette up when they played catch with Marley. So I had to get it on video. This is the toned down version of her squeals...

Here she is playing with Papa at Ella's birthday party.

And here she is playing with her toys. She just cracks herself up sometimes. I love it... You can also see how dad is trying to get her to be a brass player. I call is spitting. Josh calls is buzzing. We'll see who wins that argument when she has food in her mouth.

We love you M!!!