Cousin Brittany

Madi's cousin Brittany was here visiting all last week. What a FUN week for Madi to have another cousin to play with. Brittany will be turning 9 in October and starting 4th grade in the fall. Knowing that I had taught 4th grade for 3 years, Brittany requested that we play school! Growing up this was one of my favorite things to play, so I was happy to oblige. When Madi would go down for her nap, Brittany would set up her desk, and I'd start loading on the assignments! Thanks to a great resource book her mom had picked up at Costco, Brittany had TONS of stuff to work on. We did math, reading, writing, and even geography!! After Brittany completed her assignments I would grade them, putting stars by all the correct problems and have her redo any wrong answers. Brittany ASKED for me to assign her homework, and would even ask for more! While the novelty of playing school only lasted 2 days, we sure had a lot of fun!


Madi seemed to be very interested in what Brittany was working on. I just hope Madi lets me play school with her when she gets a little older. I'm hoping to start next year!!


Brittany was so sweet to include Madi during recess time.



She even let Madi join in on all the outside jobs!


Madi decided that mowing the lawn was MUCH too hard of a task!


Following with the "school" theme, Brittany asked that we take field trips during the day. One day we went to All Pet Headquarters where there were lots of different animals, but most importantly- puppies galore! We were able to watch the puppies interact and even take them out to hold, pet, and play with.


After the puppies, we stopped by the Camarillo library to see a juggler extraordinaire! Brittany was even called out of the audience to be a helper!


What a great week with cousin Brittany! Madi is now back to having her own bedroom and sleeping in MUCH later! THANK GOODNESS!! Spencer and I were getting very tired of the 6:30 or even 6am wake up time! Madi just loves Brittany so much that when she'd wake up in the morning and see Brittany, she'd instantly want to play! It's amazing how just by having her own room, Madi quickly went back to sleeping in until 7 or 7:30am! MUCH BETTER!

Madi's 1st Birthday Party!

To celebrate Madi's 1st birthday, we decided to have a small party with family and close friends. Madi was SUPER excited about HER day and all the people coming over! After a great 2 1/2 hour nap in the morning, she was happy and ready to PARTY!!


To preface this party, may I begin by saying how silly I used to think parties for one year olds are. The kid doesn't really care if there is a party and they are certainly NOT going to remember any part of the party in the years to come. So basically, the party is always for the parents. However, after having Madi, and spending almost every moment with her for the past 12 months; watching her grow, develop, and learn many new things, her first birthday was DEFINITELY a day to celebrate! It's hard to describe the feeling that I had all day (it was very similar to how I feel when it's MY birthday), but I was just SUPER excited for it to be June 28th. With this said, it was VERY important to me that everything on her day go smoothly. I didn't want to feel stressed out or overwhelmed with anything! I made her cake the night before and even skipped my morning run to spend quality time in the morning with Madi. Thank goodness for all the help Spencer and I had in making this a special day for Madi (thanks mom, dad, Jocelyn, Lindsay, and Shaun)!!

Madi's guests began arriving a little after 1pm and they quickly headed outside to play.


While the kids played, the adults visited and munched on fruit kabobs (complete with mangos, strawberries, pineapple, bananas, grapes, and apples), chips, a delicious chili bean dip, salsa, and watermelon! Spencer used our video camera the whole day and got great coverage of the food, friends, and FUN. But since I was busy visiting and entertaining Madi, I forgot to take pictures of all those extra details. Luckily, I did get a picture of the cake table.....


With a closer look at Madi's cake- made by me and decorated by Spencer (with help from his mom:)


We decided to put Madi on a sheet, in the grass and let her "go at it" with her cake. Initially, I thought that she'd dive right in. However, she surprised us by being quite dainty. She first grabbed the elephant off the top, then began by taking a taste of the delicious pink frosting.


After only eating the frosting, and not really understanding that she could reach in and get some cake, I moved her to a table with her friends. I thought that maybe seeing them eating cake would help her understand how it should be done. Not really! She sure had a FUN time though! I think next time we'll just do a cupcake!


After rinsing off in the sink, and a quick outfit change, Madi was ready to open a few presents!


Since not all of Madi's friends were able to make it to her party, I thought I'd also include a picture of her opening a present from her friend Lexi that arrived earlier in the week (thanks Lexi and Lexi's mama- we miss you)!


With an early birthday party the week before, presents throughout the week, and a grand finale on Saturday, Madi was one lucky birthday girl! I was seriously sad at the end of the day when I put Madi to bed. I almost wanted to keep her up a little bit longer just to stretch her day out a little bit more. What a GREAT 1st year!!

Happy Birthday Madi!

Madilyn Kaye Jenkins, born June 28th, 2007 at 8:34am: 7 lbs. 11oz. 20 1/2 in.


She was all smiles, even at one day old!



Today is Madi's 1st Birthday!!! WOW!! Happy Birthday Madilyn! It's crazy to think that we now have a ONE year old! I can hardly believe how fast this past year has flown by! Even more, I can't believe how much one little girl has changed our lives SO much!! Madilyn is the love of our lives. Her smiles and laughs melt us so quickly! Like every other first time parent, we are obviously very obsessed with our child- but it's kinda hard NOT to be!! Not much has changed since my update a week ago of all the new things that Madi's been doing. I've been trying to think of something Madi would like to look back at and read in 20 or 30 years from now when she's having children of her own, to remember how she was as a one year old. So, for her first birthday I'd thought I'd include a few of her likes and dislikes. While most one year olds tend to be very similar with the foods they eat and the games they play, I'll try to keep it specific to Madi.

Some of her likes include: Sleeping with her lamb, Pendleton; being tossed up in the air; her bed; waking up early (WAY TOO EARLY for mom and dad); ear piercing squeals (when she's excited); sleeping on her stomach, or on her knees with her bum up in the air (very different from the back position she preferred her first 9 months of life); "talking" about everything (she can carry on quite the conversation); kids; dogs; pointing at things and saying, "what's that"; pictures of Jesus; chasing, and being chased by dad; snuggling against Spencer or I when shy or unsure of something (this is a new thing she does that we absolutely LOVE); BOOKS; being outside; and most importantly- being with her MOM and DAD!!!

Some of her dislikes include: forced cuddling; baths (this is a recent dislike that we can't figure out since it used to be one of her favorite things); missing a scheduled nap; not having her own space (this is something she's inherited from her mom); outfit changes during the day; diaper changes when she's occupied with something else; and NOT being with her mom and dad!!

Madilyn, we love you so much!!! Thanks for a fabulous first year!! You've made our job as parents the best job ever!! We look forward to all the many years of fun ahead!




Stay tuned for pictures from her BIG birthday bash!!!

Happy 96th Birthday Grandma Jenkins!

While it's always fun to come to Half Moon Bay, this trip had a VERY special purpose!! Spencer's Grandma turned 96 years old on Sunday!! Way to go Grandma!! Spencer and Grandma are very close-they talk on the phone every week without fail. For a very remarkable women who has lived a remarkable life, I asked Spencer to help me write a little tribute about Grandma Jenkins, aka "GG" to the great grandkids. Norma Bailey (Jenkins) was born June 22, 1912 in Revere, Massachusetts. Being a New Englander, she is strong, resolute, opinionated, and of course has that "Yankee Pride." She has never been afraid to "break the mold!" Not many women can say they worked in a shipyard as a welder of submarines during WWII! But, Grandma Jenkins can! She is a pioneer. On a train passing through Salt Lake City, Grandma struck up a conversation with a Mormon missionary just leaving on his mission. That initial conversation led to her being the first person baptized into the LDS church in Kittery, Maine. She eventually made her way to Utah, met and married a Wyoming cowboy (Spencer's Grandpa Howard Jenkins, "Papa") and the rest they say is history. Her husband, two children, five grandchildren, and soon to be nine great-grandchildren will all be eternally grateful for Grandma's pioneering spirit!! Grandma is always evolving. Grandma is a talented painter, pianist, and organist. But, after losing almost all of her eyesight, she did not cast aside her artistic ambitions, but reinvented herself-she taught herself to use the pottery wheel, learned to play the drums (and really knows how to throw down a beat!), took up writing and published three books, and that's not including her numerous short works of personal memoirs, poetry, and short narratives/memos on whatever is on her mind. Only a few years ago, she got her first computer and learned to use the word processor and email. She truly is an amazing person. Even with her poor eyesight, she has not given up her love of reading. With books on tape, she "reads" book after book after book. She is Spencer's most trusted book critic. Every Sunday, Spencer calls Grandma and always makes sure to ask her what she's reading and what books she recommends. Who needs the NY Times Book Review when you have Grandma!! So, here's to a remarkable woman!! Grandma, Happy 96th birthday. We love you!




What a GREAT birthday celebration!!




Four Generations!

Half Moon Bay

What a sweet reunion this past weekend was!! Early Saturday morning, Madi and I said good-bye to my Dad and headed over to Half Moon Bay. Spencer, his parents, and niece had all driven up the coast from Camarillo, arriving late Friday evening. Coming to Half Moon Bay is always a treat- Aunt Fay and Uncle Bob live right down the street from the beach! It was a gorgeous day and I was excited to spend some quality time with Spencer, while enjoying the glorious weather! After a yummy BBQ lunch and nap for Madi, we headed out through the field to get to the beach.



Ahhhh.....the LIFE!!!!


Madi was so glad to have her daddy back, and Spencer sure was glad to have his little girl back!



Silly Grandpa Al, showing off his catch of the day!


A day well spent with the person Madi and I both love best!!

Week 2

At the close of our second week here in Brentwood, Madi and I are sad to say good-bye to Papa (Gram and Aunt Karlee have already left for Utah), but we anticipate our reunion with Spencer! I was surprised at how hard this was for me to be away from Spencer for 2 whole weeks! I'm pretty sure that it's also been a little hard for Spencer, especially when he hears about all the things that Madi's been doing, and feeling like he's missing out. It's crazy how much a baby learns and grows in just 2 weeks! Spencer looks at pictures and comments how she already looks older. Some of the things that have happened while we've been away include:

1) Madi learning LOTS of new words! Some of my favorites are "glasses", "Jesus", and "bless you". When she sees me wearing my sunglasses, she'll point and say "glasses", then proceed to take them off my head! She began recognizing Jesus at the beginning of the month. She saw a picture, smiled, and began waving frantically. She'll now say "Jesus" and wave when she sees a picture of Him. "Bless you" was a one time deal, but it sure was cute! I kept sneezing and after the third or forth sneeze, she said "Bless You!" I thought I was just hearing things, but my mom was there as a witness! It's been fun knowing that she understands most everything I say to her now, and I've really enjoyed trying to distinguish was she is saying in return.


2) Turning Madi's car seat around (forward facing). We originally were planning on waiting until AFTER Madi's birthday, but for convenient purposes, I figured that doing it a week or two early isn't that big of a deal. Madi's been pretty excited about it!


3) Swimming in a real swimming pool for the first time! Madi's done the hot tub and baby pools, but not an actual BIG pool until last week! It took awhile to get used to the cooler temp (aLOT different than the 85 degrees we've had the hot tub set to), but once we got use to it, it sure was refreshing!!



I HAD to include some of Madi's hot tubbing pictures! She loves her new floatie that we've FINALLY got to use!




4) Break through of Madi's FIRST tooth (bottom right)!! It was exciting when I first noticed it cutting through her gums and felt it sharp against my finger. Perfect timing too- right before first birthday pictures next week!


5) Blowing kisses. This consists of kissing her hand while blowing against it at the same time!


6) Folding arms for prayers. Madi still needs some practice with this one. She only does it when SHE chooses to, not on command which I'd like!

7) Going UP stairs. Not a picture of this one. She was already on the forth stair when I caught her the first time and it made me nervous leaving her there to grab my camera. We just have to work on going DOWN the stairs now!

Madi can't wait to see her dad tomorrow and show him some of her new tricks!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today we celebrated my mom's 52nd birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! What a HOT mama!!


With only 10 days until Madi's birthday, mom voted to turn HER day into a joint celebration for her and Madi! What a GREAT day we had! I was able to take them both out for a nice relaxing lunch this afternoon.


Then later in the evening I made everyone dinner, followed by a delicious Cold Stone ice cream cake from Roxy!!! Mom and Madi were both in heaven!! Madi couldn't even wait long enough to smile for a picture before diving in!




BOY was it GOOD!!



After dinner the presents were pulled out! Madi was thrilled to get some "Little People" friends from Roxy!






Next Madi opened a little baby doll from Gram and Papa. The baby talks and moves, which Madi was totally in awe with! She carefully fed the baby her bottle.....


Checking to see if it was any good!


Thanks mom, dad, and Roxy for the GREAT gifts and FUN birthday celebration! And thanks mom for sharing YOUR day with Madi! We love you!!