Ringing in 2012!

The last few weeks have been so fun! Madeline had her first Christmas AND her first birthday. Chris celebrated his 28th birthday and has had two weeks off work to relax. We have had a lot of family time.

Here are a few photos from Maddie's Christmas.

Ooh, I've never seen this toy before!

The next Top Chef, Madeline Hughes!

Mom and her girls

I love my new ride!

That is the biggest ball I have ever seen. It's shiny. I would like to put it in my mouth.

Chris also had a birthday- he turned 28 on the 28th. He has really enjoyed his time off work. After such a hard year, he really deserved some down time. He goes back on Tuesday and starts his new job as a Client Energy Manager. I know he'll do great!

Madeline also has big changes coming her way--she is graduating to the toddler room at her daycare. She will be getting new teachers and making new friends. There are a lot of changes to her new room that might be a challenge (no bottles, no cribs, no high chairs!) but there are a lot of changes I know she'll love- outdoor time, arts and crafts, more room to RUN, etc, etc. We'll keep you posted on her transition.

2011 was a fantastic, wonderful year for the Hughes family. Chris and I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings!!

Much love from us to you!

2011- The fastest year of our lives!

One year ago today, around this time, Chris and I were staring in awe at our just-born little girl! Madeline Lea Hughes was born 12/27/2010 at 8:36 pm. She weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz. She was PERFECT in every way. Flash forward one year. We have a silly & sweet one year old girl. A walker, a talker, and a very busy little girl. And, she is still perfect! :)

I honestly cannot believe that our baby girl is one. I don't even think we can call her a baby anymore. It has been such a joy for Chris and I to get to know this little baby that we created. She truly is a gift from God. Every milestone, every "first" has been more exciting than I could dream of.

Here are a few pictures from that night, one year ago.

What the heck just happened to me?

All better. My mommy is holding me for the very first time!

Maddie also had her first Christmas this weekend and had so much fun spending time with her grandparents, aunts and uncles and her cousins. I'll post about that later in the week. For now, I just wanted a post devoted solely to our precious ONE year old Madeline.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MADDIE!!

Our little runner!

Tonight Madeline and Chris had some daddy-daughter bonding while I was out to eat with Danielle. When I called Chris, he had been chasing Madeline around the house. (She LOVES to be chased!) Here's a cute video he took when following her. Yes, she's holding her pants in her hand. No, I don't know why.

It is officially one week until our little baby girl turns ONE! Can you believe that?

I have been trying to upload a video of Maddie walking but I cannot seem to get it to work. I think I found a solution. Here's a video from Chris's phone of Madeline walking across the room to me. Look at her go!

And- a couple of pictures from the last few weeks.

Madeline in her UK tutu (her aunt Laura made this!) cheering on the CATS! The tutu was our good luck charm against UNC. Unfortunately, she didn't wear it when we played IU...and you saw what happened. She'll definitely be wearing it against UL!!

We took a trip to the zoo and had a lot of fun. Madeline pointed at the animals and said "ghh." I think "ghh" is her go-to word. She uses it for everything except "mama" "dada" and "Stella." .

Random list of gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone! We had a wonderful long weekend off from work!

We spent a lot of time with family and getting to know some new friends.

Mercedes invited four of her international friends from Georgetown home with her to experience an American Thanksgiving. We invited them over for dinner one night and we had a great time talking to them about their home countries and experiences in the US.

We had Thanksgiving with Chris's parents--delicious! Snapped a few photos of Madeline and Dane in their matching Christmas tree hats. Do you know how hard it is to get an 11 month old and a 2 year old to sit still for a photo? Here's our best shot.

Madeline is at a really funny stage right now. She will purposefully laugh to get you to laugh at her. She has also learned to clap- she claps all the time!!

A photo of the three of us. Stella is running around somewhere during this one.

A big story in our house is that Madeline is WALKING! She is ALL over the place. I will post a video later in the week for you.

More pics and posts to come on our long weekend but for now I leave you with a little random list of gratitude.

SO THANKFUL FOR...

My grandma's chocolate chip cookies-I will never make them as good as her!

Gorgeous fall weather

Costco

Reality tv shows

Long hot baths

Good books that make me think

Good books that require no thinking

Hot chocolate with lots of whip cream

Silly crazy Stella who loves us unconditionally

A best friend who knows all of my secrets...and likes me anyways!

Madeline getting to know all four of her grandparents (and a great-grandma!)

A husband who makes me laugh even when I don't feel like it

A healthy and happy family

What are you thankful for?

Perfect lazy weekend

Usually, Chris and I have weekends full of activities. As two busy parents, it seems like we are also running somewhere. This weekend we didn't have any major plans...and it was awesome! Friday night, we got pizza with nana and Grandpa Hughes and then watched a Redbox rental. On Saturday, our BFF's Kyle and Danielle came over for dinner. It was nice to just catch up with them for a little while. Danielle is pregnant which is so so so fun!

Here's a pic of Maddie chilling in her "lazy Saturday" clothes. We realize this outfit makes her look a little bit like a rapper. You can just call her Puff Maddie.

On Sunday, we cleaned the house and ran some errands. We took a walk on the Anchorage Trail and Chris snapped a few shots of Madeline playing.

This kind of looks like a senior picture. Maybe we'll take her back in 17 years!

Me and my girls! It was impossible to get them both to look at the camera at the same time!

And the best two!

Sweet ladybug baby!

Here is Madeline on her first Halloween!

What's new with Madeline:

She is so close to walking! She cruises around the coffee table and can walk holding on to one of our fingers. She is starting to eat more and more table food which is pretty fun On the down side, she had her third ear infection last week and got sent home twice from daycare with a fever. Depending on how her winter goes, she might be going to the ENT in the Spring. Let's hope not.

Happy Halloween!