15 Months

After meeting my family for dinner, Mattilee held Addie Brown's hand on the way to the car. She giggled and squealed the entire walk. She loved holding her cousin's hand!

Helping Mommy bake. I love that there is a little bit of chocolate on her tummy. That is exactly why I took off her dress before getting started.

Yummy!

We spent a weekend at Liberty Day festivities in Columbiana with great friends and this is the only picture I have of the entire weekend. :(

At the lake, Jackson and Mattilee loved sitting in this big rocking chair. I love this sweet boy, and he is so great with Mattilee.

At Mattilee's 15 month checkup she was 31 inches and weighed 20lbs and 14 oz. She was in the 75% for height and the 25% for weight. She showed off for the doctor by signing some words to him and showing him where body parts were and animal sounds. We've had a wonderful month getting together with friends and visiting family but I regret to say that I haven't taken many pictures. I've got to get better about that.

Mattilee is almost 16 months now and learning new things everyday. It's such a joy to watch her develop and figure things out and how excited she gets about little things. I'm amazed at how much she understands, remembers and can do. She can tell you where anything is on her body. When asked where something is she usually wants to identify it on everyone else after she identifies her own. So if I ask her where her nose is, she touches hers and then makes her way to everyone in the room touching their nose. It's usually this same way with kisses; if she gives one person a kiss, she wants to then go around the room and give one to everybody. :) She can tell us what almost every animal says or she can do a motion to signify the animal. Like when asked about a giraffe, she touches her neck to say it has a long neck, or for a flamingo she stands on one leg. She's added a few new words to her vocabulary. She loves to sneak up to you and say "boo." She identifies everyone's booboos, she can say car, book, shoe, brush, hot, cold, cup, butterfly, etc. But honestly, she would rather point to something than say it. We have to ask her to actually say what she is pointing at otherwise she just grunts and points. Anything she likes she says "ooooh." Its mostly about pretty, girly things; she's such a girly girl. She can go get almost anything I ask her to. Last night I asked her to bring me the book Goodnight Moon and she brought it to me! She has tons of books so it's so cool that she is learning to differentiate things. She can identify and remembers so many people. In the car recently I told her that she was going to see friends Grayson and Hayes (she loves them both so much) and she squealed with excitement, and then squealed again when she saw them. She is so much fun and I truly love every day at home with her. I'm so thankful for this time.

We find out in less than two weeks if Mattilee will have a baby brother or a baby sister! We're so excited to find out and can't believe it is already time. This pregnancy has flown by! I guess because she keeps me so busy. :)

Memorial Weekend Beach Trip 2011

The wonderful crew that we went to the beach with Memorial Weekend! This is the only picture taken all weekend with the whole gang. I can't believe every one of the kids was looking at the camera! That never happens! :)

Mattilee bumped her head the first night in the condo and had this pretty bruise for all our beach pics.

This is how Mattilee "gives kisses." Its so sweet! She was obviously wanting to give me a kiss while I was taking her picture.

Such a happy girl!!!

All of the kids with the wonderful daddies.

At AJ's for dinner. The "big kids" had a table right beside us.

Sweet Girl:)

All of our precious sweethearts!

Family portrait. We don't do enough of these.

Mattilee having fun with Daddy in the pool.

Another family pic. I think it's been Christmas since we've gotten a picture with all three of us. I've got to do better about that.

My precious beach babe.

This year we got to spend the long Memorial weekend at the beach with some of our sweetest, closest friends. It was kind of a last minute decision to go which led to our last minute reservations, but it ended up being the best trip! We stayed in a condo with three other families with a total of eight adults and seven kids. The kids were all precious the entire weekend!! I couldn't believe how well behaved they all were and how well they all got along. Our little diva, Mattilee who likes complete quiet and darkness when she sleeps, had a little trouble sleeping in the condo with fourteen other people but we were eventually able to get her to settle down every night. Even though she was running on a lot less sleep than she usually gets, she was in the best mood the entire time and had so much fun. I think she just loves being around the other kids and of course, she loves the water! We spent each day at the pool or on the beach and stayed until it was time for lunch. We'd all go up for lunch, and naps for the little kids, and then head back out for more fun in the sun. The first night we all went out to eat at AJ's and it was delicious! Then we went to Dippin Dots and to this place called The Track with go carts, a train, a carousel, etc. The second day we decided not to go out to eat so that the kids could have more time to play in the pool without having to go in early to get ready. So, our wonderful husbands did a shrimp boil with corn and potatoes and it was the perfect meal! Every night when the kids were asleep the wives just hung out and talked (and made one late night Krispy Kreme run) while the guys played poker. It was such a great trip; Matt and I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with such great friends and their sweet kiddos. These families are such a blessing to us and add so much to our lives. We hope we can all go again!!

Growing Hope Family

We're expecting another baby around Dec. 8!! We are so excited that the Lord is blessing us with another little angel. For a couple of weeks I had been having a few symptoms that made me question whether I was pregnant. I took a pregnancy test on Tuesday, April 12 while Matt was at work. I spent the first few hours with a combination of emotions: excitement, thankfulness, surprise, etc. I shared many hugs and conversations with the big sister-to-be since she was the only one here to share the news with. Then I got to work on making Mattilee a big sister shirt. I didn't tell Matt the big news even though I talked to him a couple of times on the phone that day. It killed me, but I wanted to wait until he got home from work and have Matti dressed in her big sister shirt. I had the video camera rolling when he got home but he thought I was just videoing Mattilee's excitement when he comes home from work so he didn't pay much attention to it. It took him a while to notice her shirt, and I actually had to say "look at what she's wearing" before he realized it. His response is priceless and I'll always cherish that video.

We had our first Dr. appointment on April 25 at about 6 weeks pregnant. We got to have an ultrasound to see the little peanut and see that sweet heart beating. It's an indescribable feeling to see that precious growing baby up on the screen.

At about 10 weeks we went back to the doctor and got to hear the heartbeat. I had forgotten what a sweet sound it is! The heartbeat was 161-163. The whole pregnancy process is such a miracle. It's so hard for me to see how someone can go through pregnancy and the birth of a baby and not believe we have a perfect, loving, creative God orchestrating everything.

We go back to the doctor in two weeks for our 14 week checkup and then at 18 weeks we'll have our ultrasound to find out the sex! Please join us in praying for this new precious baby we will get to meet in early Dec.!

Easter 2011

This is the second Easter that we've gotten to celebrate with our little angel. Even though she doesn't understand the Easter story quite yet, Matt and I enjoyed telling her all about it and we look forward to the day when she can comprehend the Lord's sacrifice for her and what his resurrection means.

Although Mattilee would walk short distances or take a few steps at a time, she really became more confident and started walking the week after Easter. Still, she would resort to crawling sometimes because I think to her it was more efficient. Now that she's gotten much better at walking, it is her preferred way to get around and she walks everywhere. She's got such a precious little walk. It's so much fun to see that precious little body being carried by those sweet legs and tiny steps.

Spring Break and 12 month Check Up

"Miss March"

Matti's Aunt Ashley and Uncle Pat gave her this precious Miss March outfit for her birthday. So Cute!

Mattilee "talks" pretty much all the time so when she is quiet it almost always means she is into something. This is how I found her after a minute or so of not hearing anything from her.

Mattilee with her KitKat

Her birthday present finally came in. She loves her new bean bag. :)

The house we stayed in the mountains. We had so much room which was so nice for our growing families!

Fun with Daddy

Feeding the ducks with their daddies. Matti ate the bread instead of throwing it to the ducks:)

Happy Girl:)

Having fun with Gigi!

Mattilee and Addie Brown

I've been a horrible blogger. I can't believe I haven't blogged about our Spring Break trip by now. My parents took our family to the mountains for Spring Break. We had such a great, relaxing time. I love spending time with my family and it was nice to spend a few days with them.

At Mattilee's 1 year check up she was 29 3/4 inches long and weighed 18lb 15 oz. She is now 13 months and 2 weeks and weighs a little over 20 lbs and has gotten taller too. She's growing so fast! We have a sofa table that she loves to pull up to and stand under. It seems like just a month ago she fit underneath with at least an inch of clearance, now she barely fits underneath.

Matt and I are constantly amazed at everything she's learning.

-She can now say Momma, Dada, Pop (bop), Bobo (Matt's dad), ball, bird, baby

-She roars like a lion when we ask her what a lion says (it's the sweetest little gentle roar:)

-She recognizes so many different people by their names.

-She can also recognize and point to so many different things: lots of animals, toys, different foods, and we're starting to learn colors.

- She can do the movements to songs like If You're Happy and You Know It and Patty Cake

-She signs "please" and "all done" and we're working on "thank you." It's neat that even though she can't say these words yet, she knows their meanings and how to use them. Everything she sees that she wants now she signs "please." It's so sweet!

- And she started walking last night!!!!! She's been taking a few steps here and there but has been so hesitant to really let go. Last night at Matt's parent's house she walked several times in between Matt's mom and me. We would all clap and cheer for her and then she started taking a step or two and clapping for herself! So cute!!! I hope to post a video of her walking soon.

Happy 1st Birthday Mattilee

Mattilee had a butterfly birthday party! I know this picture is blurry, but I loved her invitations and wanted to remember them.

I made her birthday outfit. I felt kinda silly making her an outfit to wear one time but I was reminded that most birthday outfits run for $30 or so; that made the $4.39 I spent on fabric seem pretty reasonable :)

My big one year old!!!

I was so pleased with her cake! I thought they did a great job decorating it and it was yummy! Delicious Bakery in Alabaster made it. I'd highly recommend them.

Her smash cake!

Butterfly Birthday Decorations:)

A "timeline" of her year. It was so neat to see how she changed from month to month.

Butterflies everywhere!

A sweet friend gave me this Special Birthday Knife to use to cut her cake at every birthday and then she will also use it to cut the cake at her wedding. It came with a sweet little poem. Such a thoughtful gift!

Digging in!

Yum!

Mattilee and cousin Addie Brown. I wish I had gotten better pictures of Mattilee and the sweet kiddos at the party.

Matti, Addie, and Jackson in the tunnel! They had so much fun with this gift from Kit Kat.

Matti laughing at Jackson following her through the tunnel.

This is the only picture I have in her birthday hat. I forgot to put it on her while she ate her cake.

I officially have a one year old. It just doesn't seem right! Where did this last year go?? This week I came to the realization that her precious life is never going to slow down. In fact, it might seem like it's flying by even faster when we become busy with little brothers and/or sisters and with extra- curricular activities, etc. So I just have to continue to enjoy every minute I'm given with this little angel and get as much as I can on video. :) This past year has definitely been a major highlight in the slide show of our lives. We've changed. She's changed us. The Lord has changed us through our precious angel. Since we found out we were expecting a year and about 8 months ago, we've prayed that the Lord would mold us into the parents He wants us to be. We're not there yet; He's still molding of course, and will be throughout her life. But I've fallen more in love with my husband by watching his heart just overflow with love for our daughter. I've also come to admire and respect him even more as my helpmate and our provider; he works so hard and he never complains. His selfless, serving heart is constantly encouraging me to consider other's needs above my own. We've grown as individuals and as a couple by sharing in this precious journey together. I'm excited to see the Lord continue to work in our lives through this sweet experience.

As we've been celebrating over our little angel's life I can't help but think of how much more the Lord rejoices and celebrates over us. After all, He is love. He's the giver of all sweet gifts including children and the ability to love. So when I look at my child and think my heart will just explode with love, how much more is His love abounding for me and all His children?!?While spending the last week celebrating Matti and the year we've been given with her, this verse keeps running over and over in my mind:

The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17