Bella's 3rd Birthday

Bella and her belly turned three on January 17th.  We love this nugget so much.  Uncle Jeremy is admittedly her favorite Hurst as she often tells him she misses him so much, and is so glad he comes back to her house.  Unfortunately Jeremy was unable to attend,but his absence went unnoticed as Bella was the belle of the ball.  She was so adorable, as were all of her guests.  Madelynn and I were glad for the invite, and had so much fun celebrating the birthday of 'baby' Bella!

Bella and Guests

Bella's 3rd Birthday Party Montage by Elly

 Since it is my blog, here is my adorable daughter.  I wanted a cute photo of her in her pink party dress, but the kid was all over with place with her face.  No matter the expression, this kid crack me up.

Spending Time with Poppa

Madelynn is a very loving child.  She loves hugs, and piggy back rides.  I love yous and games.
Madelynn's maternal grandfather doles all of the foregoing to Madelynn on a daily basis, and as a result Poppa Dave is one of her favorite people.

Every day when she gets home Madelynn has to run downstairs to greet Poppa and ask if he will play a game, read to her or spend time with her.  It doesn't matter the activity as long as Poppa Dave is around.

Madelynn and Poppa Looking Through Poppa's Photo Album

Playing Aggravation on a Board That Has Seen 4 Generations of Bowdens

Saturday Swimming with Poppa and Pooh Bear

Madelynn Learning All About Vinyl and Turntables

Tea Time

To say my child is spoiled is an understatement.  What started out as an imaginary tea party for her teddy bears turned into a real tea party complete with invitations, peppermint tea, outfits and cake.

Madelynn made three costume changes before settling on her purple ball dress and a white sun hat.  Joining her with costumes were Poppa Dave and Angie.

Madelynn was all smiles, and giggles as she sat down to enjoy her after dinner tea with the family.  She even learned from her father how to stick her pinkie finger out while drinking.

I keep assuring her there are perks to being an only child, and this is one of them. There is no doubt how much this child is loved.

Teddy Bears are Gentle Ladies & Men too.

The Invitation and Spread

Ms. Scarlet Hurst

Costume Changes Abound
She settled on the outfit in the top left corner.

 

A Quick Note on Catching Up

I was going to start catching up from November and working forward, but I changed my mind. It will be easier for me to review the most recent photos and go backward from there.  The posts I am catching up on will have the label "Catching Up".  One will be able to review posts by clicking that label, and have all the posts pop up in one spot.

Thank you everyone for your patience!  I hope you enjoy getting up to date with the Hursts.

Halloween!

While shopping for Madelynn's birthday party, we were fortunate enough to pick up her Halloween costume. For the previous two years she has gone as some kind of incarnation of fairy, and this year was no different.  She chose the Spider Fairy costume.

Of course because it is Utah, and cold alterations had to be made for the nugget and she didn't look quite like the girl in the stock photo, but if you ask me she is cuter.  We did a ballet bun, added some warm pink capris and a pink long john shirt.  Madelynn only weights 32 pounds and chills very easily.  Unfortunately the tiara was really flimsy and didn't make the trip from Salt Lake City to American Fork...again I still think she pulled it off and was once again a super cute fairy.

Dad and Angie dressed as Coke products. I dressed in scrubs, and Jeremy wore his zombie shirt from last year.  Mom and John didn't dress up, but they went to an allegedly cool, new park called Evermore.  The photos they took were Halloweeny and I thought it fit with the collage.

Since we live on a fairly busy street that doesn't have a lot of homes to trick or treat on we decided to travel down to Dad and Angie's.  Of course, it was Madelynn's idea to call Grandpa Dave (as she affectionately calls him) to see if he will go with her.  She had asked for Uncle Darren to come around with her, but he had to work.  She was excited to see her uncle once he did get off work, and stopped by Dad's house for a quick visit.

Madelynn made a haul with the candy.  It helped that we didn't get a start until 7:30 or so and everyone was winding down.  About half way through the walking she claimed her little legs couldn't possibly carry her any further.  I didn't get any photos of Madelynn being carried by a giant coke bottle, but here are some cute shots of her knocking.

Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for the Gibson clan; Elyssa, Matthew and Bella celebrated Halloween in Texas. I couldn't let a Halloween blog go without photos of my beloved niece and nephew.  I'm sure they had an amazing time with their grandparents and uncles.  They don't get to see them very often, and it was great that they were able to experience Halloween with them all.  Ms. Bella was Super Girl, and Matthew was Darth Vader.

Jeremy and Madelynn

Jeremy is a really great father. He is an amazing human being, but that man was born to be a father. Especially a father to a little girl.  Jeremy and I were watching You Tube one day and came across a video about making a rainbow bracelet using hair bands.  In a home with two females we had plenty of those lying around the house.  

Jeremy showed Madelynn the video and asked her if she would like to make them for herself.

 She readily agreed and together the two of them each made a bracelet.  

Madelynn asked her father to wear his bracelet to work, which he did. Jeremy has never been one to care about what others thought of him. A trucker at his work did ask Jeremy is he was a 'queer'. Jeremy responded with "So what if I am"?  The truck apparently had no response.  My husband has never been shy about expressing his opinions on equal rights, and does not find it offense should one mistake him for a gay gentlemen.  He is a shining example of a man, and a human being for our daughter.

Madelynn and Peyton

My cousin, Brandi, had little Peyton in January and ever since Madelynn has been enamored.  It is a weekly ritual for her to ask to see the newest photos of 'her' Peyton.  Madelynn finally got to meet the cutest little red head when my cousin Brittany got married in August.  The whole trip back from Idaho Madelynn couldn't stop talking about how cute Peyton was, and how Aunt Brittany looked like a princess.  

Madelynn with Mr. & Mrs. Tony Pollmeier

Madelynn & Peyton's First Meeting

My father Dave, Madelynn, me, my cousin Brandi, little Peyton & my aunt Debbie

Lack of Posts

I'm attempting to catch up on the blog.  I was looking at it the other day and when I first started this in 2009 I had written 90 posts.  The number is probably so high because it was the year Jeremy and I got married, and had Madelynn.   I started this blog because I wanted my grandparents in Washington to see what we were up to, then it became an easier way of keeping those who had heard about Madelynn's situation up to date.   We moved to Washington and it was a way to keep Madelynn's grandparents up to date on what was going on.  We were pretty active when we moved back to my home, and now that we have moved back to Utah the posts have severely suffered.

This year I've written 15. 15! It isn't so much that nothing note worthy has happened in 2014 as I haven't been proactive about it.  I'll attempt to remedy it, because I know how happy my grandmother gets when there are new posts.

The pictures are from an August evening in West Valley.  Ms. Madelynn has very particular taste in hand soap.   She loves Bath and Body works.  Madelynn informed me earlier in the day we were out of hand soap in the bathroom and insisted we go to the mall to get some more.  While I was inside to get the soap Jeremy and Madelynn found a splash pad.  It was mid-August so the night was very warm. As one can see from the video, Mads had blast.  I returned with soap in hand, and a very wet child.

It is Only Hair

In July I decided I wanted a change in hair color.  Darren's wife, Elyssa, was gracious enough to offer her services.  The family went over there for some hair cuts, and to spend time with each other.  

Jeremy didn't need his hair done, and opted to spend time with Bella in the living room watching Frozen.  Bella loves her Uncle Jeremy, and always seems quite delighted to be around him.

Madelynn needed her hair cut.  Much to Madelynn's chagrin, Elly had to cut a couple of inches off to even it all out.  My mother had cut Madelynn's bangs previously, and the hair needed a trim.  Elyssa did a wonderful job, though ever since Madelynn has been asking for me to make it longer.  The concept of hair growth eludes her.

I was going for a red vixen-esque look, and to achieve it Elyssa had to bleach my hair.  For a brief moment Madelynn and I had the same hair color.  We were two blonde beauties.

The three cousins enjoyed each other's company.  It was a long day, but they didn't seem to mind one bit.

Elyssa is very talented, and my hair turned out great.

Unfortunately, red does not last for very long and it soon turned orange.  Still wanting to stick with the slightly punk rock, alternative look I decided on purple.  Madelynn, still fascinated with the idea that she and I could have the same hair color asked if her hair could be dyed. I obliged because 1) she's five , 2) there isn't a dress code for her to follow and 3) it is only hair.  It grows back.  Jeremy's stepmother told him it looked weird, and she didn't care for it.  The hair color was a hit with Madelynn though, and since she is my family, that is what mattered.  Her blonde pixie hair will grow back. She will be a little toe head again, but a brief time when she was four & five she got to rock an unconventional hair color and be like Mom.

Madelynn and Her Bike

Madelynn isn't really the type of child who asks for things. When she requested a purple bicycle for her fifth birthday we were more than happy to oblige.  We were fortunate enough to find the perfect fit for her. 

Stock Photo for Clarity

 The day of her party it poured.  Fortunately, Sunday was a beautiful day for bike riding.

 

She can't quite figure out how to brake properly.  Instead she opts for jumping off the bike when it is time to stop. It really is quite funny to watch...only when she has her helmet on and lands in the grass. I've post several short videos of Madelynn riding.  The last one is my favorite because of her "Hi, Mom" in that little voice of hers.