Finally an Update!!!

We have been very busy lately at the Smith home! School is in full swing and we are enjoying every bit of this fall weather. Maddie has been a ball of joy. She is growing and learning more and more everyday. Josh and I are amazed at the things she is doing, learning and teaching us all the time.

A couple of weeks ago, Maddie and I spent a Saturday morning at our local park. She has such an adventurous spirit and loves being outdoors!!

We never knew how much love you could have for a child but our hearts are overflowing!

On another note: As most of you know I am a Special Education teacher and I teach a wonderful group of students with moderate mental and physical disabilities. These students are an absolute joy to teach and the reason I love my job. I have set up a project on donorschoose.org to help get some new materials for my students. If you are interest and willing I would really appreciate you taking time to read about my project and donate if you feel led to. You can view my project here! Thanks so much!

Oh yeah....one last thing!!!!!

Maddie will be a BIG SISTER IN MAY!!!



We are very excited!!!!!

Easter and the Lake

Easter morning began with a visit from the Easter bunny!

Next, we headed to church and tried to squeeze in a family photo shoot on the way.
(Note to self: A family photo shoot with a two year old is nearly impossible!)

After church, we spent a great afternoon with Josh's side of the family. We enjoyed great food and a really fun Easter Egg Hunt!

THE LAKE

Saturday, the three of us traveled to Dadeville to spend the afternoon with Mollie and her Mom on Lake Martin. Maddie loved the water, watching the boats, fishing, and geese watching!

"Bless You Me"

The past few weeks we've been trying to teach Maddie to use words like Thank you, Please, Good morning, etc. She has also started telling anyone and everyone "Bless You" every time they make any noise that sounds like a sneeze. Well, yesterday I heard Maddie sneeze while playing in her playroom. In her cute little voice, she followed that sneeze with a "Bless You Me." She's said it a few more times since then and I can't help but laugh every time! Ok, I'm changing gears here and want to share a couple of pictures of our home. I recently painted our front door during my Spring Break. Yes, I've probably been watching too much HGTV, but I think this latest project turned out pretty well! What do you think?

A close up:

The lighting in the picture below makes it a little difficult to see but maybe you'll get the idea.

I snapped a couple of pictures before and after church today. We are loving springtime at our house.

I'm changing the subject one more time.....Josh, Maddie, and I loaded up in the car Friday afternoon headed for Tuscaloosa. Josh and I were going to the Sugarland concert and Maddie was going to hang out with Nana and Pop. Well, about an hour into our trip we realized the we're driving straight into the middle of about four different tornadoes! We ended up turning around in Clanton and coming back home. Luckily, we found out an hour later that the concert was canceled. So....what do you do on a Friday night during a storm when all of your plans have been changed? Well, you put on your cutest dress up clothes, turn on a Barney movie, and dance the night away. At least that's what we do at our house!!

Have a wonderful week!

"Birthday Weekend"

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of Maddie's 2nd Birthday! We have made her birthday and all-weekend affair and it has been so much fun! We started Thursday morning (April 7), her actual birthday, by doing a practice round of blowing out candles in her blueberry muffin! She did very well!

The swing set below was her gift from Josh and I. She has loved it and I'm sure I won't be able to keep her off of it this summer!

She made sure she got her birthday kisses from Cody!!

I took off work to spend the day with her but we did make a trip to daycare for snack time so that we could share cupcakes with all of her friends! They loved them!

Maddie is checking out all of her gifts on the way home from daycare.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

This year we chose a "Barnyard Bash" theme because Maddie LOVES animals. So, to go with the "Barnyard Bash" theme.......why not have a cow cake?

and cupcakes that look like chickens, pigs, and cows!!! I had so much fun making these for her even though I was up half the night!

She loves the sandbox Nana and Pop gave her!

We had a big surprise planned for Maddie......pony rides!! She loved petting them at first....

but once she got on it she wasn't so sure!!

After a little reassurance, we finally talked her into riding with her friend Camden! They were too cute!

After that, she was ready to do it all by herself!!

I think we've got a cowgirl on our hands!

Just chillin'

Next, it was time to bust the pinata!

We had to have a little help from Zoe...look at that swing!

Once again...the jump-o-lene was a big hit! This was a Christmas gift from Uncle C!

We had lots of help opening presents!

She loves her new basketball goal from Uncle C!!

Then, someone brought out the bubbles and you would have thought the child had never seen a bubble in her life! She went crazy for them. It was precious to watch how much fun she was having!

Zoe and Lydia joined in on the jump-o-lene! I love Maddie's facial expression in this one!

Once things kind of slowed down and the sun was really warming things up we brought out the sprinkler. Oh my, this was fun!

Cody is such a good sport. Maddie thinks it is hilarious to pull on his tail and he just calmly lets her do whatever she wants. They do love each other!

A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS

This morning, we traveled to Calera, AL along with Nana and Pop to ride THOMAS the TRAIN!!

She looks pretty excited about this train ride!

Playing with Daddy in the Imagination Station!

She was not sure abut Sir Topham Hat!

I think her favorite part (besides the train ride) was the petting zoo. Like I said before, she loves animals!

Our trip to see Thomas the Train was a very nice end to a wonderful birthday weekend! It makes us so happy to see our little girl happy! We can't believe she is two years old. Before we know it she'll be leaving for college so we will cherish all of these memories for sure!!!

Happy Birthday Maddie!