Shoes!

Well, I think I might have made a mistake going shoe-less all summer for Maddy.  It's not really necessary to wear them (or socks for that matter) in this weather.  So I broke out her hot pink converse high tops the other day and she practically had a fit when I put them on.  I think part of that is that they don't fit well b/c her foot is so fat.   Anyway, she was fascinated with them the whole time they were on.  We also bought her 2 more pairs of shoes for fall/winter at Target. They are adorable little shoes, I love them! They really do have the cutest stuff there.  Anyway, here are some pics of Maddy in her shoes, hopefully we won't have a hard time when we go home tomorrow b/c she will have to wear socks and shoes when it's 39 degrees on Monday morning! Yikes.  I think the coldest it's been here is like 68. Keith's parents were here this past week and we had a great time with them.  They took me out to a nice dinner for my birthday :)  I'm going to have to get some more pics from my mother in law b/c mine didn't turn out to well.  All for now, and I'm totally excited that I'll be in my beloved mountains in 35 hrs. yay!

Wordless Wednesday

My baby sister turns 17 today!

I remember a certain night in October 17 years ago when I was waiting anxiously to receive a phone call from the hospital.  Mom and Dad had promised me they would call 

me first to tell me what the new baby was.  Around 7:30pm the call came and I remember standing on the time-out chair in the kitchen when Mom broke the news to me: "It's a girl"! I really can't tell you the elation that washed over my soon to be 9 year old self.  I ran down the hall in our house and began jumping on all the beds with joy.  I finally had a sister.  I have to say that because of our age difference I have definitely been mini-mom most of her life (sorry about that Jo).  However, I am totally enjoying this new grown up side to Jo and our friendship that has been growing for some time.  

I have spent the last few weeks sending Jo 17 cards, each containing one reason why I love her. I'd thought in her honor I'd share them with the blogging world too! 

1) She can always make me laugh or smile 

2) She is super talented (musically, taking pictures, etc.)

3) She is affectionate (who in our family isn't?)

4) She's growing up and impressing me every day with who she is becoming

5) She understands all the inside jokes from our childhood. I won't mention the one including a certain brother in a robe b/c he might kill me.  No one but us thinks it's funny anyway! haha.

6) She is a fabulous aunt to Maddy!

7) She's honest.  If you ask her what she thinks, she'll tell you. 

8) She laughs at the same things I do and we are both way too easily entertained

9) Wherever we go, whatever we do, we'll always go through it together

10) She is responsible

11) She spared me from having three brothers (no offense Al & Jeff, love you both a lot, but I wouldn't trade my Jo Jo for ANYTHING)

12) She's loves Jesus and maintains integrity

13) She is beautiful, inside and out!

14) She is committed to work in school, sports, piano, church, etc. 

15) She is one of my best friends

16) She cares about our family.  It's a testament to our parents (and the Lord) that we all actually like spending time with each other.  We always have a good time!

And,

17) She is the best sister in the world! And she's mine :)

Jo I'll love you always, Jenn

Look I'm Sitting Up!

Maddy had her 6 month dr. appointment yesterday.  She weighed in at 17 lbs. 13 oz. and 26.25 inches long.  She's getting big :)  It's amazing to see how much they grow in the first year! She's rolling over and learning to sit up! Keith put these wrist rattles on her and she was trying her hardest to get them off.  It was so funny!

Family Time :)

Mom and Dad came to visit earlier this week, we had a great time!  After we picked them up from the airport, we went to eat at Landry's. Yum! On Monday morning we went down to the French Quarter and shopped at the market and in a few stores.  It was actually enjoyable! All of my previous experiences there haven't been.  So, I've discovered morning is a good time :)  Mom & Dad brought their camera, so we decided to take some 6 month pictures.  I think they turned out good, and don't worry, Mom was standing with her hands up when Maddy was on the window sill.  On Tuesday night we went to a steakhouse that was amazing.  They have only been re-opened for 6 weeks due to hurricane Katrina.  For a while, Maddy has been watching with great interest what we eat and drink.  Last week I tried to give her some water out of my bottle and 

ran out of her mouth down her shirt!  But, Keith gave her some water out of a glass and she drank it, proud to be a big girl :)

We had a great time with Mom and Dad and are looking forward to Keith's parents coming in a few weeks hopefully!

Howard Brothers

For those who don't know, my Dad is in the Hardware business.  A lady in our church from home made Madison a onesie with the "Howard Brothers" logo on it, so here she is supporting the company! And another one of me and her....she's wearing a 12 month onesie! I stepped on the scale with her yesterday and the difference you ask: 17.5 lbs. Wow she's a chubster, but a cute one!

6 Months old!

6 months is not so bad when you think, hey it's just one more than five.  However, when you start to consider it's 1/2 a year...that's just crazy.  I'm not sure how Madison managed to be able to wear one sleeper from birth until now, but Shana bought a magical outfit! (Thanks again!) Here is our growing girl. The first picture is at about 2 weeks and the other was taken today! And I promise it's the same outfit, you can see it didn't quite fit her yet.  Add 10 lbs. and today is what you get! 

Deleted blogs and power outages (Hmmm....) 2

Well friends, Keith accidentally deleted our entire blog.  Needless to say I was devastated and angry, don't fret, about 30 minutes is all I can take of a mopey face and all is forgiven.  Luckily, I had saved the stuff from my latest post elsewhere so here it is again:

Hello again from NOLA!  We had a very nice mini-vacation thanks to hurricane Gustav, and now we're back!  We got some moderate wind from hurricane Ike, which caused us some loss of power. (And that unfortunately includes air condition in our 85, feels like 110 weather) You can imagine my 'what are you trying to teach me from this Lord?' attitude when we arrived at church this morning and there was no power.  I think that question came to mind on the third verse of All Creatures of our God and King when I had sweat running down my leg.  Of course I can laugh about it now...  The pics in the slideshow below are of our apartment here (for those who have asked), and a few extras. Enjoy!

Deleted blogs and power outages (Hmmm....)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com