outdoor spring fun!!

Spring is certainly here...in Seattle!  The flowers are all in bloom and we've had quite a few warm and sunny days so far.  I love spring in Seattle...the flowers are so vibrant and plentiful...I'm sure in part due to all the rain and cooler temps ;)  A perk...some may say!

Because of all the great weather, Madelyn and I have been able to get out and enjoy some fun things around town.

A trip to the zoo with my friend Michele and her son Lachlan for starters...

Some animal highlights!

I think the animals were really enjoying the sun too!  Most of them were out and about soaking in those rays :)

A little fuzzy but you can still see the pure elation on their faces :)

Parks, Running, Balls :) yay!

I think it's safe to say that Maddie is a "shoe girl"!  She absolutely loves taking them on and off, walking around in them (all day!), and picking out a particular pair that suit her that day ;)  It's pretty funny...and very girly ;)

SO fun!

these two are only about three weeks apart in age and they see quite a bit of each other...

The start of spring wouldn't be the same without a visit to Greenlake!

Loves a good under-dog!

Madelyn and Mia have truly been enjoying each other these days.  It is just precious to see their faces when they see each other!!  They really do love each other.

Just gabbin' it up on the swings!

OH MY!!! when did our girls get so big???

Watching the ducks at Greenlake and tickling the water with their toes...

"Here duckie duckie..."

Not a big fan of being barefoot...

Nothing better than some chubby toddler toes :)

Climbing....

...is what we do best!  We also visited the Seattle Gymnastics Academy recently with a group of friends (unfortunately in all the excitement we didn't get any pictures!!) and Madelyn loved all the climbing, bouncing, jumping, balancing, and running that she got to do there!  

An evening  home game at the Seattle Mariners is another springtime favorite in our house!  Kurt's good friend Landon came to town to visit with his girlfriend, Michelle, and we were sure to enjoy the spring weather as well!!

Easter Weekend!

Our Easter weekend this year was fairly mellow.  On Saturday we went to the Seattle Zoo for a fun egg hunt and other festivities.  Maddie is still a bit young to really understand or care about these things, but it was still fun!!  

Here's Maddie all ready to go, easter basket in tow ;)

Here's Mia, definitely excited!  She is about 4 months older than Madelyn and I think she caught on to the whole idea a little more quickly!

Lindsey trying to show Madelyn what to do...

"OHHH...now I think I get it!!"

Madelyn is so funny about different textures...she has this same face when we put her near a sand pile or a patch of dirt!!  Not your typical toddler in that regard, for sure!!!

That face just cracks me up!

And here's the guys...the usual setup~discussing business while the mommies are chasing the girls around :)

comparing stashes....

"Hmmm...it would be pretty easy to just snatch an egg from Maddie's basket!" 

"Is there even anything in these eggs???"  

And...dumping out to start again!

The toddler egg hunt was REAL difficult...there weren't many eggs and they were hard to find ;)

Madelyn couldn't get enough of this super-soft little bunny!!

"Daddy, can we get a bunny one day???"

Girls with their dads!

Pretty precious!

It has been really neat to see how Madelyn's heart seems to have a real softness to it and we pray toward Jesus as well.  We read a lot of books about Easter this year and talked about Jesus quite a bit.  Madelyn has now decided it necessary to pray before ANYTHING she eats.  Even in the Costco frozen food aisle, she needed to stop and pray for her sample ;)  As I put her down to sleep one night recently, we had just finished praying and I was telling Madelyn how she could talk to Jesus after I left the room if she was scared or wanted to talk to someone...her sweet response was wide open eyes and a nod "yes".   Kurt and I pray all the time that she come to know Jesus at an early age and it is so fun to see her reaction as we talk more about it.  What a wonderful fact to know that Christ died for us and yet still lives today...I can't wait for Madelyn to really know that!!  

Maddie exploring her easter basket treats after church... 

Happy Easter from our family to yours!!

A little bit of this...A little bit of that...

Madelyn is really becoming my buddy these days!  She makes me laugh and loves to converse with me!  Not that I often know what she is saying, but she definitely gets her point across and we have a blast together all day!  Kurt and I feel tremendously blessed with having Maddie in our lives!  As I sit here and type, I can hear her over the monitor sweetly talking and singing to her babydoll in her crib after her nap.  I sure do love her!

One of my favorite places in Seattle is University Village, which houses most of my favorite stores ;)  It is quickly becoming Madelyn's favorite too :)  Not because of the stores, but the wonderful little play area right in the middle of it all!!  What a pair we are!  

Not very often do we find Madelyn without a snack in tow!  For such a tiny little peanut, she sure does have an appetite!  

Maddie's sweet little friend Finley!

Kurt's parents came to town this past weekend and were able to spend some great quality time with Madelyn...

Papa reading to Maddie...

It was Kurt's 27th birthday last week and his parents treated us to a wonderful dinner at the beautiful Salish Lodge!  Thanks so much!

us :)

And....drumroll please..................................................................................................................................

Madelyn got a potty!!  I realize it is a bit early to really start training her, but a friend has a little potty and every time we visit, Madelyn just loves sitting on it.  Very fascinated with it!  So, I wanted to get one just to introduce her to it...

Imagine this face with lots of squeals of excitement...I think she liked it :)

"Let me just see here..."

Note the tongue out of her mouth....concentrating very hard!

"Mom...I don't feel it right that you are snapping away!!"

What a big girl!  And...I'm happy to report that she actually has gone pee-pee in the potty twice since first getting it!!  Now I won't keep you abreast of all of Madelyn's potty-training stories, but I was just so proud, I had to mention the first time ;)