12 month update

You are walking up a storm these days. You still LOVE waving at everyone, sometimes even throwing in a double wave. You have the best smile and laugh. Luckily, you love to share those with us! Your favorite stuffed animals are "bun-bun" and "pinkle-potomus." You have lots of awesome toys, and you like turning the pages of your cardboard books. You are drinking whole milk now, gone are the days of measuring and mixing formula. You are eating whatever you want, which usually isn't too much. You love "petting" the dogs, i.e. playing them like bongo drums. You just started pointing at things. You still love bouncing with Daddy. We both love you more than you could ever imagine!!

Happy Birthday Madeline!

Hi Madeline! Today you are one whole year old. Unbelievable. Poppy and Granny came to visit for the weekend, and we had your birthday celebration last night. CJ, Mary, and Naomi also came over for the festivities. Mommy was a slacker and feels bad that she didn't plan a big birthday bash like she wanted... but at least she got you a pretty cool cake. And a cake for the adults to share:And Daddy got a few Care Bears decorations:Madeline loved pulling the tissue paper and everything that was in the way of the soccer ball (her favorite gift) out of the bag:Getting ready to dig in:Gently as first:Then things get a little messy:

Daddy got slimed!

Auntie Jenn

Auntie Jenn came to St Louis to visit Madeline for her upcoming birthday. We had a blast hanging out, and even got to see Sex and the City 2 last night. More of Madeline's pictures are up at rachelhillphotography.blogspot.com, so check them out. If you want to see ALL of the pictures, they are at www.rachelhillphotography.zenfolio.com/madeline and the password is o'toole. Enjoy!

Photo shoot

This morning, Madeline had her 1 year old photo shoot at Tower Grove Park with Rachel Hill. In a couple days, we'll be able to see her pics at http://rachelhillphotography.blogspot.com/. I'll definitely let you know when they are posted.

The kitchen

We used to feed Madeline in her room (with the gate closed). But that was starting to get pretty messy, so we moved her chair into the kitchen. This turned out to be quite a treat (literally) for the dogs. She loves sharing her food with them. At least they make the clean up a little easier for Mommy!

Daddy and Madeline found another fun activity to do in the kitchen... throwing treats to the dogs out the window! Madeline could look (or try to climb) out the window all day long:

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Aye, aye, aye, aye! Madeline multiplied by 3 and took fifteen steps in a row today!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear Daddy,

I hope you had a great 31st birthday today! I love you so much. Thanks for being such an awesome Daddy :) You are the best.

Love,
Madeline

p.s. don't forget, my birthday is coming up pretty soon!

Milwaukee

We had a great (but way too short) trip to Milwaukee this weekend! We stayed 2 nights with Aunt Betts, who is an awesome hostess! Madeline had a great time toddling around Aunt Betts' house. While we were there, we got to visit with Julie, Al, Angela, and Blake. We had a wonderful time, but somehow managed to take NO pictures, boo-hoo. On the way up there, Madeline got to meet Will (Chris and Stacy's son), who is just a couple months younger than her. They had a great time getting to know each other! We also got to visit with Aunt Arlene, Uncle Lou, Cathi, Joe, Claire, Carson, Debbie, and Eric at Carson's first communion celebration. It was a lot of fun, but of course, way too short of a time! Aunt Arlene brought lots of new books for Madeline. Here she is enjoying one of them with Daddy: