Mischievous Madeline

Our little Maddie is getting so big and growing up so fast! And getting into so much mischief! I like to tell Chad that I didn't realize just how good Kailey was until Maddie! Before her, we never had to hide markers away, check our garbage cans for items we don't want thrown away, or put everything up high--very high so she can't climb and get it!
She wants to be exactly like her big sister and is constantly chasing her around and especially loves Kailey to read to her. They are so darling together and I love watching them interact.
Maddie is our little miss independent. She has to do everything by herself, especially feeding herself. If we even try to give her something, she will spit it out or won't even open her mouth for us. I'm constantly cleaning up the kitchen floor because of this.
She is a climber! I should have known when she started trying to climb up the outside of our stairs at six months old that we were in trouble! One day I laid her in her crib for a nap only to hear suspicious noises a little while later. I went in and she had climbed out of her crib and was quietly playing in the dark. She will also climb on top of her little play kitchen by only using her arms to pull herself over! She is super strong.
Chances are that if she is quiet, we are in trouble! The other day I was trying to get ready for the day and I hadn't heard Maddie for awhile. I thought she was safely playing in her room where everything was Maddie-proof. Of course I was wrong! I walked in to find my baby covered in green marker! It was all over her face and hands. Somehow she climbed up on the desk and retrieved the markers that were pushed far against the wall where she couldn't reach.
The next day she decided that my running shoes needed to be in the shower with me. At least it wasn't my cell phone!
Here she is after she got into the paint and painted her slide and herself. I really do watch her, but she is super quick. I had just sent her and Kailey to play on the deck and ran downstairs to do some cleaning. This is what ten minutes of cleaning got me--a toddler who had to have a bath, clothes to wash, and a slide to clean!
She loves to read! Here she is reading her own book and having her big sister read her a bedtime story.
Eating yogurt all by herself! I tried to feed her at first and she cried like her heart was broken, so I gave her the spoon and she happily ate it herself, though I think more was on her face then in her tummy.
We love our little Madeline! She brings such joy and laughter into our family and is so darn cute that it's hard not to laugh when she gets into mischief.

October Happenings

We had a very busy October filled with parties, Red Ribbon week at Kailey's school, and of course Halloween. I'm just now finally getting around to posting about it!
Kailey and Maddie were strawberry themed for Halloween this year. Maddie was a strawberry fairy while Kailey was Strawberry Shortcake. They looked so adorable! Maddie even won the best kid costume contest at a party our friends had.
I spent a lot of time at Kailey's school the week before Halloween helping carve pumpkins, having a Halloween parade and going to a Halloween party. The party was extended a few hours when her school got put in lockdown because someone robbed a bank close by and ran towards the school. It was an exciting day, that's for sure!
Kailey had her first ever pajama day at school and they even carved some pumpkins!
Carving Pumpkins at school
The finished product
Her first ever Pajama Day!
Her class showing off their pumpkins
Maddie waiting for the Halloween parade at Kailey's school. Each kid got to walk in the parade and show off their costume.
Kailey walking in the parade
My little Strawberry Shortcake
Having a Halloween party and eating cookies. Luckily we had plenty of food to feed the kids lunch during the lockdown.
Ready to go to the Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treating
Maddie got the hang of things really quickly, then we spent the rest of the time chasing after her.
Me and my girls

Kailey's Birthday Party

A couple weeks ago, our little girl turned 5!!! I know, we can't believe it either. She requested a "Dinosaur Birthday Party", so that's exactly what she got. We planned it for the park, and luckily it turned out to be a beautiful day!
Here is the cake--her Dinosaur Island Cake. Chad tells her these little Dinosaur Island stories that he makes up for her every night, so I did my best at making a cake for her.
Maddie spent most of the time climbing up and down the stairs, much to our dismay.
Each child got their very own special dinosaur masks to wear and play in!
Blowing out the candles and eating cake!!
Maddie insists on eating everything by herself with a fork these days.
Opening Presents
We saw this shirt in Target a few weeks ago and Kailey ran over to it, begging me to buy it for her. I told her no of course, then when she wasn't looking, snuck it into our cart for her birthday. She was so happy when she opened it!
Opening presents is fascinating!
All of the kids gathered around and inspected this present, talking about it for quite awhile. It was so cute to see all their heads bent over, discussing it. It was a box of all sorts of dinosaurs.

Our Little Artist

Kailey has turned into a little artist. She loves to color and draw all sorts of things. Here are a few examples.
A horse (My favorite)
A Pig
An Ant (Chad's Favorite)A birdA family of black bearsMoose

Our baby is in KINDERGARTEN!!!!

Kailey started her very first day of kindergarten yesterday. She did great! She was very nervous before it started, telling me that she didn't want to go and was scared, but she gave me a hug and kiss and walked into her classroom without crying. Of course, somebody had to cry--so I did.
Maddie really missed her sister. She walked around the house saying "Kay? Kay?", trying to find her, and she was super excited to see her again when we picked her up. The first thing Kailey did when we picked her up yesterday was run up and give Maddie a big hug and tell her that she missed her. Oh, so sweet, those two sisters! She absolutely loved school and kept telling me that she couldn't wait to go back today! We are so proud of our big girl!
Her first day
Her second day. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her at school yesterday, so we did today.
Maddie saying goodbye

Yosemite

For our second camping trip of the summer, we went to Yosemite! The Candells in our ward are super awesome and reserved a group camping site for a group of families. We were only able to go up a couple of nights, but it was so much fun! We hope to do it again next year and hopefully stay longer!
Glacier Point
Hike to Bridal Veil Falls
The Visitors Center and Indian Village
This is how Maddie spent the hike to Yosemite Falls
Kailey was really into posing for the camera on this trip
Dirt--the BEST part of camping according to our kids
Sitting around the campfire eating a snack