Our little gymnast

The end of July Madelyn participated in a day of celebration where families came and watched the gymnasts perform.  They rotated around so we could see all they have been working on this past year.  Madelyn started gymnastics at the beginning of her first grade year and loved it from the start.

She has moved up a couple of times and now goes to the gym twice a week.  I don't think we'll ever have her compete because of the enormous time commitment, but I'm happy to see her doing something she loves and developing her talents.

 

 

So proud of our little Madelyn!  Our whole family went to watch her and we ended up signing Bruce and Naomi up for classes as well so now we are at the gym a lot!

Birthday Girl Madelyn

Madelyn celebrated her 7th birthday a couple of weeks ago.  She was so excited for her birthday to come.  She wanted to wear make-up for her special day.

Like every other little girl in the world, she loves the movie "Frozen" and has been working hard the last two weeks to memorize it!

 Anything that comes from one of these boxes has to be exciting!

 Madelyn requested cupcakes for her birthday so Elizabeth made her this little tower.

 

We had a lot going on this month so I wasn't planning on having a party for her, but Madelyn couldn't bare the thought of not having her friends over so we threw together a little party last minute.  She has such cute friends!

She has outgrown her bike so she and Aaron picked out this new one for her.   

Madelyn is such a joy to have in our family.  She is very outgoing and has lots of friends.  She is a great big sister to Naomi and a good student.  She loves gymnastics, American Girl dolls, crafts, swimming, and smiling!

Spring is here!

 It's been warming up and we couldn't be happier.   

Our kids love looking at these trees with all of the beautiful blossoms.  Naomi has requested we move this one over to our property.  If only it was that easy...  We aren't sure why, but the previous owners must have cut down the  trees so we are lacking for shade in our yard.  Justin doesn't mind because it makes it easier to mow!

Toothless grin

One of Madelyn's front teeth has been out for a few months.  I was afraid it was going to grow back in before the other one was out, but thanks to a collision with a friend, the other one is now out.  I love this grin!

Labor Day Weekend

 Friday night after work and school, we headed to Columbia, South Carolina.  We went to the temple to see our good friends, the Duludes sealed to their baby they adopted six months ago.  It was such a simple, but beautiful ceremony.  He is theirs forever.  What a lucky boy to have such wonderful parents.  Can you tell how much our kids love little Daxton?

Sunday night we had our friends, the Mowers, over for dinner.  They are moving this week to Florida for more schooling.  We are so, so sad!  These girls play together as often as possible.  

Naomi wasn't very cooperative with the pictures, but you can see they all have matching shirts on so they can remember each other.

Amber with her sweet kids, Parker, Kaylie, and Payce

Parker loves hanging out with Will and Bruce.  They are so cute with him (most of the time).  He calls them his boys.

We have spent all summer at the pool with the Mowers.  I guess it's only fitting that we were there today, the last day it's opened for the season and their last full day here.

Too many cute pictures...I know!

Payce is such a happy, little guy.  Our girls can't get enough of him!

Barbie House (Alas!)

We decided about five days before Madelyn's birthday that we were going to make her a Barbie house.  Her friend Emma has one that she used to love playing with in Indiana.  Four days before her birthday, Aaron and I went to Lowe's and bought the lumber.  Aaron came home and built it that night.

We ordered the furniture online from Amazon, but didn't get very far with the decorating by her birthday.

Here she is about two weeks later and her dollhouse is looking a little more finished.  I had so much fun decorating it and picking out all of the rooms (with a little help from Elizabeth and our friend Sarah). 

Even Justin helped a little (there was duct tape involved).

 We still need to get a little more furniture, but we're basically done with the decorating.

The girls have already been busy playing house.  So fun!

In case anyone is wondering, the "wallpaper" is scrapbook paper.  I used "yes paste" to adhere it to the walls.  It's a pretty sticky mess, but it works really well.  Enjoy your new digs, Ken and Barbie!

Happy Birthday, Madelyn!

Friday Madelyn celebrated her 6th birthday.  She couldn't have possibly been more excited!  She has been counting down the days for a couple of weeks.  We had a low key party for her at our house with just our family, her friend Kaylie, and Adam and Sarah who are almost family.

Aaron made Madelyn this Barbie house for her birthday.  Problem is, he didn't start it until Monday so I didn't have time to get it decorated.  I promise there will be another post on that soon.  She and Naomi have already had fun playing with it.

This little girl lights up the room with her smile and is so full of life.  She is very outgoing and has thrived in kindergarten this year.  We are so grateful she is part of our family!

Dribble it, Pass it...

...we want a basket!  This is Madelyn's favorite cheer!  The Baptist church here runs a basketball program that Will and Bruce are playing in and Madelyn is cheering for.  She has been so excited to participate.  She is having a great time.  It's pretty cute to hear her cheer.  The woman who is teaching the girls has a strong southern accent and Madelyn repeats all of the cheers the way she is learning them...accent included.

Will is in a league with 3rd thru 5th graders.  Being a 3rd grader himself, he is one of the younger ones.  He doesn't take shots very often, but he is a good little passer and great on defense.

I didn't get any pictures of Bruce's game because I was in with Madelyn for team pictures.  Aaron is coaching both boys teams.  Bruce has practice on Monday nights and Will and Madelyn practice on Tuesday nights; games are on Saturday mornings.  It's been pretty busy for us, but it's really fun watching the kids participate and it's been good for them to get involved and make some new friends. 

2 Wheels

It seems like overnight this girl grew up...first she lost a tooth, then she started kindergarten, and now she's riding without training wheels! She is loving every moment of it and is so proud of herself with every accomplishment. Last night she was turning really good and starting out on her own and was just beaming with pride!

This was after one of her first solo rides...fist bump with Dad! As a side note, guess what day this was taken? Yep, Saturday. It was Ohio State's first game of the season. I came home from running to see Aaron sitting at the table eating breakfast with all four of the younger kids in scarlet and gray. We had to make Buckeyes in honor of this special time of year.

BFF's

Our boundaries changed for the congregation we attend at church at the beginning of the year. We were sad to no longer meet with some of our friends, but loved the opportunity to make new friends. Madelyn's first Sunday she came home talking about Piper and asking if she could play with her.
It's all history from there. They love playing together and Naomi loves playing with her younger sister, Odessa. This week they left for Arizona. I know our girls don't really understand what this means, but I'm sure I'll be asked more than once when they can have the Richardson's over again. We will miss them, but we're happy they will get to live closer to family again!

1st Lost Tooth

While we were on vacation, I was helping Madelyn brush her teeth and noticed she had a wiggly tooth.  She couldn't have been more thrilled.  All of the sudden, she had to be careful what she ate and she was constantly wiggling it.  When we arrived home, it was the first thing she had to show Aaron (and everyone else).  Last night, it came out.

She was so excited to put it in this little plastic tooth under her pillow.  She was up bright and early this morning to check if the tooth fairy came!  I think this is a sign she is growing up which thrills her to no end.

Swimming lessons

These three kiddos have been taking swim lessons the past two weeks at the high school.  Yesterday was their last day.  They all did great this session.  Will passed to the next level.  Bruce and Madelyn both need a little more work, but made a lot of progress.  Naomi can't wait until next summer because you have to be four to enroll them.

Cute ballerinas!

Yesterday Madelyn and Elizabeth had their end of the year ballet recital. It was Madelyn's first ever dance recital, but you wouldn't have known it. She danced in front of a huge audience and didn't seem the least bit shy. She has loved dancing this past year.

This is Elizabeth's seventh year of dance. I love watching her dance. She dances with such poise and elegance.
Here's a picture of Elizabeth with her first ballet teacher, Miss Brittany. This is still our favorite dance studio!

Madelyn has been concerned all week about getting flowers after the recital. Aaron did not disappoint. She was thrilled to receive her little bouquet of flowers.