Maddie's 1st Birthday Party

 

Maddie had her 1st Birthday party on August 15th, it was mostly family with a few friends. She had a blast. We had a few mishaps beforehand. The cake was way too small, usually I order 1/4 sheet (for 20 people) and I end up having tons left over so that is what I got and WOW it was so small, my nanny bought an extra cake for us at the store. I go to get balloons to put outside and the place is out of helium...what the heck!!!! However, the kids had a blast they swam and the grown men got yelled out for being in the hot tub in the lightning. The kids did arts and crafts and watched a movie and ate popcorn while it poured. The guys got a little toasted, but nobody got sick, however I am sure there were a few close calls. Maddie loved her cake and all her presents, she kept saying ooooooooooooooooooo when she would see one she loved. Overall it was a very special day for our little girl.

Cloth Diapers

Most of you know that I have been using cloth diapers. So I decided to let everyone know the ones that I have found that I love the most.

I can't say enough about Smartipants (www.spartipants.com), you can get 3 diapers for 39.95 and they are a one size fits all. They are by far the thinnest cloth diapers I have came across and Maddie can wear them under her clothes, where other diapers I have tried she can't. They have inserts that come out in the wash so you don't have to take out the inserts before you wash them. I only have 3 of them however I plan on getting a few more packs of 3 especially for when the new baby comes.

GAD, green acre diapers are very cute, they aren't a one size fits all but they very cute designs on the butt which are cute for just hanging around the house. They also have inserts that are little more bulkier than the smartipants.

Bum Genius AIO are great for night time use, they also aren't a one size fits all, however it is easy just to plop one on at night before bed and they have velco's which are easier than the buttoned smartipants and GAD.

So far I dislike the cheapest way of going...of course, which are regular cloth diapers with diaper covers. They are so bulky which Maddie can't wear with clothes and the velcros seem to leave marks on her skin. I have 4 covers and 24 cloth diapers, which the 24 cloth diapers I have way too many of so I will probably get rid of some or just use them as burp cloths. However they are okay for just hanging around the house in a diaper. The diaper covers also aren't a one size fits all there are different sizes and even the cloth are different sizes.

A must have is a the Whamies diaper pail liner, I have a regular lid trashcan in the bathroom with the liner in it and I throw the pee ones in there and if they are soiled I use rinse them out in the toliet...I know gross but I wash my hands after and I throw them in there.

Also a must have is the bummis diaper liners (which look like dryer sheets) I believe there are 2 different sizes but they are used to catch the poop in the diaper so it makes cleaning the diaper easier. You just put one of the liners in the diaper and if they poop you just flush the liner.

So summary, 100% will get more Smaripants for Maddie and the little guy. Maybe so more AIO Bum Genius for night time use, however I would have to get different sizes so might end up being 2 expensive. Another diaper pail liner and of course some more bummis liners to catch the yucky poops. I also have a wet bag for when we got out of the house, however I have yet to venture out of the house in cloth diapers, however I have been using regular diapers for out of the house use and I have only gone through 1 pack of 4 in a month so that saves a lot of money. I have ventured to use cloth wipes yet, I still buy the costco back of wipes for 15 bucks I still think you can't beat that price for all those wipes.

Maddie is walking

My sister in law Melissa wanted video proof of Maddie walking so I took a few videos of her. She wasn't being very cooperative tonight, she usually walks a lot more than what I got on the video, but here is a little example of what my princess does. She has beat all the boys, Talan started walking at 12 months, Noah at 13 months and Maddie officially was a few days before 11 months so I am proud of that. She has been crusing for quite sometime, however she recently in the past week has been experincing walking from the ottoman to the couch and doing it over and over. Now she just walks everywhere.

Maddie's Photos from Picture People

So I bought Maddie an outfit for her birthday party and also just because she is my only princess, however I wanted her to get some pictures taken in it so I took her to picture people today. Here are the photos I got of her. The 1 that has the 4 pictures is going to go up in her room and the other 1 was the only one we got of her standing, she was being stubborn and kept crawling towards mommy. However in the picture of her standing she looks exactly like her daddy smile, cheeks and chin. She is so damn cute, everyone kept stopping me to tell me how cute she was.

What can I say about Noah

Well I sometimes buy powdered doughnuts for the kids every once in a while. I went to the bathroom this morning and this is what I found. Noah had taken out each doughnut and put it on his plate and then said to me............."whoa mommy that is a lot of doughnuts!"

Maddie loves her dogs

 

As seen above, Maddie has discovered her love for her dogs Zuka and Bella. This is what she does sometimes during the day, not only with Zuka but with Bella too. The dogs love her and just let her do whatever she wants. They wag there tales and it hits her in the face and she just laughs.

Michigan Trip

 

We did many activities in Michigan, which included lots of ice cream eating, horseback riding and canoeing. I got to ride in the wagon again for the 2nd year in a row and will probably have to next year because of the new baby, unless I can talk someone else into doing it and letting me ride a horse. Talan got to ride his own horse this year and led the trail group. I was in the wagon in front of him and he TALKED the girls ear off the whole time, she was laughing at some of the things he was saying. Noah rode with his daddy, however next year he can ride on his own horse and will get to lead the group. Our favorite activity is canoeing, it takes us about 90 minutes to canoe down this part of a river, it is so peacefull. The boys did great, Melissa stayed home with the babies so it wouldn't be too hard on them. Also the boys wanted to go tubing, they were scared at first but after a few minutes they loved it and kept asking to go faster.