Happy Birthday to Maddie

Happy Birthday to me - Maddie says. She has been so excited about her birthday. And in "Grand Portie style" we did Maddie's birthday!!! Birthdays are very important at our house and the normal birthday just will not do. Following that same philosophy we planned Maddie's birthday celebration.

- Homemade birthday cake and a test run of blowing out her birthday candles on the eve of her birthday. She was a pro at blowing out the candles

- Cupcakes for her class at school on her Birthday - October 18th., made with love by her Mommy!

- Followed by a birthday trip to Chuck E. Cheese with us and my parents. She quickly realized how much fun Chuck E Cheese was and decided to forgo pizza and just play. She eventually would snag a quick bite of pizza and then run off to play again. She had a grand time. We closed the place down.

- Birthday party for her friends and family at our house. Complete with a Space Walk/Slide combo, cake and ice cream and lots of good snacks. She had a grand time. Her big present was a swing set that Keith built the night before the party (that's usually how we operate - wait until the last minute to do something) . The moment she noticed that she had a swingset in her backyard she wanted nothing to do with the Space Walk and Slide. She played on the swing the entire day. We made her get off to come and sing happy birthday to her and open presents. After singing happy birthday to her she waved the candles out instead of blowing them - I guess the practice run earlier in the week was enough candle blowing for Maddie. Then on to the "Presents". You would think that all kids love this part of the party. Not Maddie. She opened a couple of presents and loudly stated - "I'm done with that" as she marched off to the swing set. That was yesterday morning and all of her presents are still not opened.

My sister got her a little kitchen set and we did open that for her and put it together . I have eaten more imaginary hot dogs in the past day than ever before. She loves that present!!!

I am so happy, beyond words, that I was able to spend her birthday with her this year. And a little sad that I missed the 2 before. She is such an amazing little girl. I look forward to many more birthdays with her. I did take a moment the morning of her birthday to remember the mother, in China who was undoubtedly thinking about the little girl born on October 18th, 3 years before and prayed for God to give her peace and comfort.

As the days have past since Maddie's birthday, I know she can't wait until next year, she absolutely loved her birthday and we loved celebrating it with her!

Just wait until she experiences Christmas!!!

October

October is a very busy month for us. Birthdays, Halloween, College Fairs, Basketball, Soccer, Cheerleading, etc.

Christopher and I recently went to Baton Rouge and attended a College Fair. 100 colleges were represented from all over the country. We went there specifically to talk to a few targeted schools that he is considering and to our surprise added a few more to the "Short List". He is still on the Medical School track but I think the end result will be geared toward Research, specifically Neuro/Bahavorial Science rather than a practicing physician. Our short list of schools consists of Springhill College ( a private Catholic college in Alabama). This school has an excellent curriculum for his major, is a small school with only 1400 kids and he would most likely be able to play basketball. This is my choice for him. On the list is also George Washington University in Washington DC, Baylor University in Waco, Tx and surprisingly Ole Miss. We will be visiting the campuses of these schools in the spring. Please pray for Christopher as he makes this very important decision. Christopher also went to Homecoming last weekend. Although we don't get much of a reaction from him it appears that he had a good time. He definitely looked handsome!

Lizzy has been quite busy herself. She is cheering for EDS and the football team has weekly games. Add that commitment to tumbling once a week, Cotillion once a week and Soccer twice a week (of which I am the coach) and it makes for a very busy week! Her birthday is October 4th and we do birthdays in a GRAND way at our house. She has already had a swim party and sleepover for all the girls in her class. This was only the first party for her. I will be taking her and a few of her friends next weekend to Houston for a big weekend. Seems like we party all month for her - lol.

Maddie was quite upset at Lizzy's recent birthday party. She cried and wanted it to be her Happy Birthday. I have been reminding her that her Birthday is coming soon. That seems to appease her just a bit. We are planning a birthday party at our house with all of our friends and family. Maddie loves to swing so she will be surprised with a new swing set in the back yard. I know that this is her 3rd birthday but it feels like her first birthday to me. I am so happy that I get to celebrate with her this year!

Halloween is coming so keep checking back for cute pictures of Maddie in her costume.

Hearing Update

We recently took family pictures. A good friend of our family offers professional photography services but has such a unique style that is so different from the normal family portrait and this is what I wanted. Normally Maddie is all smiles for the camera but wasn't on this occassion - that figures. lol However, we were able to get some beautiful and dramatic shots of her and the family.

I recently took Maddie to have her hearing tested on the request of the Speech Therapist from Texas Children's Hospital. Not surprisingly, she past in both ears! No hearing issues noted. After remaining very still and quiet for the test she immediately announced that she wanted a sucker and the nurse kindly gave her one for being such a big girl. During this visit I also learned that she has grown 4 inches taller and gained 3 pounds since coming home! WOW she is getting so big. Just a confirmation to how much she has grown, I just this week took out some winter clothes that we had purchased earlier this year and that she wore after arriving home. Some things she had long outgrown and those items that were too big on her fit her perfectly. She is getting so big!!!!

I have to reflect on how truly blessed we are that Maddie is so healthy in all aspects, well adjusted and developmentally on target. GOD is sooooo GOOD!