dancing, dancing, dancing

Only two more months and Audrey will be up on stage, performing at her very first dance recital!! She is so excited about being able to dance on stage in front of her family and friends. About a month ago, we got a sneak peek at her costume. When she tried it on to make sure it fit, she did not want to take it off. The dance recital could not come soon enough!

ready for dance

point, flex, point, flex

practicing for the big day

first position...

...plie

dancing with her friends, Bella and Julie

time for tap

Sorry the lighting is so bad, but I love this picture! This shows all the little dancers in her class and her teacher, Miss Erin.

the "freeze" dance

so much grace and class as a ballet dancer...silly girl!

madison - 10 months

Madison is 10 months old and "army crawling" faster than she was last month, but not up on her knees yet. Now that she is mobile, her small space in the living room has expanded to the kitchen, hallways, and bedrooms. She has learned that opening and closing doors and drawers can be lots of fun. And since she has learned to move quickly across the floor on her tummy, she loves to chase Audrey around the house, squealing with delight as she goes. For the few minutes that Madison takes a break from crawling and sits still in our lap, we read a couple of her touch-and-feel books or play with one of her musical toys. But really she finds the most joy in watching, playing with, or loving on her big sister.

Audrey holds such a special place in Madison's heart. If Audrey leaves the room, Madison immediately looks around, frantically searching for her best friend. As soon as Audrey returns, Madison's face lights up with a smile. The love these two girls share is very apparent and genuine, it's a strong bond that we pray will never be broken.

zoo fun

The weather was beautiful last Friday...a perfect day for the ZOO!!

Nani, Papa, Kaleb and Abby, and Audrey's sweet friend, Gabi, all went to the zoo with us. What a fun bunch!!

besties

watching the elephants eat their breakfast

for the first time, madison was able to really enjoy the animals

the monkeys were so loud that morning

cousins

mommy loves her girls

madison's dedication

Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning at The Well Community Church, we had Madison dedicated. A baby dedication is a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways. As Madison's parents, we made a promise to the Lord to do everything within our power to raise Madison in a godly way, prayerfully until she can make a decision on her own to follow God.

Our dear friend and pastor, Brad Bell, holding Madison. Brad was the pastor who married us, and he also dedicated Audrey when she was Madison's age.

Brad giving us instruction on how to raise sweet Madison in the ways of God.

praying

quick family photo

both sets of grandparents

snow day

Last weekend, we decided to drive up to Shaver Lake for the day. The weather was absolutely wonderful and there was plenty of snow for us to play with!

mommy and audrey ready to go sledding...

...daddy and madison too!

the first time down, audrey rode with mommy

as soon as the ride was over, she looked at me and said she wanted to go "all by myself"

madison's first time going sledding

the higher and faster, the better!

what?

daddy and madison

daddy and his snow bunnies

breaking for lunch

mommy and sissy

madison preferred to eat the snow instead of sledding

sisters

the girls

family pic...a little far away, but at least we got one

big girl bike rider

Audrey absolutely loves riding the "big girl bike" that we got her for Christmas!! We love watching her ride back and forth, from our house to the neighbors' house. She loves riding down to the mailbox when we get the mail, but she is immediately upset if we turn around to go home and don't continue around the block. On the days that we do go around the block, Audrey goes up and down each and every driveway. She has only fallen a handful of times, but she is a tough little girl. We hardly hear her cry or even complain. She gets right back up and climbs on her "big girl bike". Audrey is fearless!! She rides her bike as fast as her little legs will peddle. Almost every day she asks if she can ride her bike to the park and back. It's quite the trip for a 3 year old!!

climbing on for the ride

she always wears her helmet...safety first

so proud!