Six Months Old

Our little Maddie May is already six months old! We can't believe it. She is growing up so fast. She is such a sweet baby. She loves to snuggle with her family and play with her big sister. She blows bubbles and talks to us constantly and smiles at almost everything. Big sister Kailey can always make her laugh. She rarely ever cries unless she is tired or hungry, and loves to see new things. She is already determined to be able to follow her sissy around soon and is struggling hard to crawl by rocking on her hands and knees. I'm sure she'll be racing around our house soon.

How adorable is this little girl when she cries?

She loves to stick her tongue out

Kailey's Birthday--A Month Late

For Kailey's birthday this year she wanted a pizza pirate and princess party with her friends, so that's what we did. All the kids dressed up and we had a party at the park with lots of games. I think the highlights were Red Rover, London Bridges, and Red Light, Green Light. Maddie was a champ and sat and watched us from her stroller almost the entire time.

MMMM Pizza


Duck Duck Goose




Red Rover

She chose to have Rainbow Chip cupcakes with pink, green and blue frosting

All Things Kailey

Kailey has always had the ability to say and do things that make me laugh, but lately she has just been coming up with more and more stuff. Here are just a few highlights of our Kailey filled days lately.
She has decided that she wants to be a "working mom" as she puts it when she grows up. She wants to have babies like me and she also wants to be a paleontologist so she can dig up dinosaurs. We are going through a Land Before Time phase at our house and we are required to refer to her as Sarah or Littlefoot at almost all times. Unfortunately, with that we are also called Grandma and Grandpa when she is being Littlefoot. Imagine the looks I get in stores when my four year old is calling me Grandma. Its a bit embarrassing.

We went to the Griffith Park Observatory and they did a little show where they made a comet. Now Kailey loves to make her own comets around our house. All it takes is a ziplock bag and water and her imagination. Now I have to be very careful and supervise her around any water faucets so I don't have puddles around our entire house.

When we were driving in the car the other day this is the conversation that took place.
Kailey:"Mommy, when I grow up I'm going marry Joshy."
Me:"Um, okay."
Kailey: "Because then I can be part of his family and he can be part of ours. I'm going to wear a poofy yellow dress too."

A few days later, she said this: "Mommy, Josh is so cute with his curly white hair." Then, they were holding hands during the primary program practice at church! Boy are we in trouble when she gets older.

We also read a book about bugs a few weeks ago and Kailey became obsessed with mosquitoes. So now all we hear about is how mosquitoes love to drink blood...and how they have most likely drank her own blood at some point in her life. Oh how we love this curious little girl!

First Day of School

Today was Kailey's first day back at preschool. She has been so excited to go to "preffy K" as she calls it. Its the preschool for older kids (called Preppy K) and is three hours this year instead of two. Here she is all dressed and ready for school.

And of course we have to take a picture of Madeline when we have the camera out. Kailey actually took this one, isn't she a great little photographer?

Oh, How Time Flies!

So Maddie is 3 and half months old now (15 weeks) and I can't believe it! She has grown so much already! She loves to talk and coo to us and it is so easy to get her to smile! Kailey adores her and is such a little mommy these days. She loves to help me change diapers, get her ready in the mornings, and is constantly begging to hold her. She is also growing up so much and saying some of the the funniest things. This morning she came up to me with a big sigh and explained "Mommy, I have a lot of questions about life." Then she walked off. It was hilarious. If only I could answer all the questions she asks me these days. Here are some of the pictures we've taken and the things we've done since our trip to Utah.
Hanging out in her Bumbo seat at the park

First Trip to Disneyland (We went for Chad's birthday)




Sisters hanging out together

Picture Overload--Summer Vacation

For our big vacation this summer, we went to Utah. Chad's Grandma and Grandpa Birrell got off their mission, so we wanted to see them, and most of our family still hadn't gotten a chance to see Madeline yet, so we packed up the kids and away we went.
First we went to Salt Lake to visit everyone up there. We had a great barbecue with the family and Madeline got to meet her closest cousin (actually first cousin once removed) who is a week younger than her. Unfortunately I dropped the ball in the picture department and didn't take any pictures of them together! In fact, I didn't take a single picture in Salt Lake because my camera died and I kept forgetting to charge it! The Sunbeam teacher in Great Grandma and Grandpa's ward was the highlight of Kailey's trip. I've never seen a child come out of primary with so much loot before, and she keeps asking when she is going to get to go back to that ward and have another adventure.
In Cedar City, we did a lot of fun stuff. Annie came up from St George and Hillary came over and Kailey had a ton of fun swimming and playing with her cousins. I also got to see my handsome little nephew Carter, who I hadn't gotten a chance to see yet. He is a month and a half older than Maddie and I'm sure they will have a blast together when they get older. It was a wonderful trip and we had a blast seeing everyone and can't wait to go back again for Jamie's wedding!
Playing at Gram's house

Taking a nap with Carter

Hanging out with Grammy and Grampy



While we were in Cedar, we went to the Greenshow one night. Kailey had a blast watching the dancing and running around on the grass.
Daddy and Kailey


Enjoying a yummy raspberry tart


Kailey had a ton of fun making cookies with her Nana


Such Beautiful Girls







Having a snack and hanging out with cousins







While we were there, I was lucky enough to get to go to my friend Jen's baby shower. We've been friends since middle school and we were roommates at BYU. She lives in Texas and our trips to Utah just happened to coincide! Next time we see each other, we'll both have babies!

Fourth of July Celebrations

For our holiday weekend we decided to take a mini trip to Fresno and Yosemite. Chad was super excited to go back to his mission and see some of the places he went, and I was super excited to go to Yosemite since I've never been. We drove up on Thursday and spent the day driving around Fresno and visiting some of the old places Chad went. It was so fun watching how excited he got when he passed a place that he'd lived or a place he remembered going to frequently. Our girls were both so good and cooperated well in the car. It was tough getting Kailey to sleep that night in our hotel room. She was so excited to be in a new place and to share a room with her whole family! We were all exhausted by the time she went to bed, and of course she was up bright and early and ready to play again.
We had a blast in Yosemite. They had lit some controlled fires and some were right next to the road, so driving into Yosemite Valley it was hazy and everything glowed orange. When we got out of the car, there was ash falling down. It was crazy. Kailey especially loved the Indian Village and the movie we watched about Yosemite at the visitors center. We even went on a hike! Thank goodness for our Moby Wrap. Maddie stayed in that the entire time and slept her way through the park. Since our kids were so little, we had to stick to the small hikes this time, but we are already planning a trip in the future to do the bigger hikes.
Saturday was our relaxing day. We drove home and spent the rest of the day hanging out around town and at home. Kailey loved throwing the pop-its we got her, and we all enjoyed a nice long nap.
The fires in Yosemite. It's through the car window, so the picture isn't the greatest.

Hiking




Kailey in the Indian Village

Our Fourth of July Girls