My Birthday and The Easter Bunny

Well, last week was my 28th birthday and I celebrated with my family. Ruth Ann took me out to dinner at Tahoe Joe's before we had left for our Easter weekend trip. It was so delicious and they served us so much food. Above in the picture is my brother Jr, his girlfriend Jackie, our friend Maria, my Best-Friend Jeanette, my sister Victoria and of course, Jon and I. My brother Matt went too but he was taking the picture. We went to Dave & Busters which is like an adult Chuck-E-Cheese. We had so much fun!

Here's Maddie & I coloring Easter eggs. She would put the egg in the dye, hop off my lap for a little bit and then come back just in time to take it out.

Here's my best friend, also known as my little brother, Joseph. I miss him like crazy since I moved to Hanford but we talk every other day and we never run out of conversation. He's a 7 year old who has a lot to say about the world and of course, the second grade.

Here's Madison sitting with 5 of her 6 Easter baskets. She is so Loved and Spoiled. She wants to thank Nana Pappi & her uncles, Nina Vicki, Auntie Maxine, Ma (Grandma Ruth Ann) and Tia Kathy for her baskets and all her goodies. She got cups, clothes, a necklace, toys, her favorite snacks, juices, reading/color books, a Sesame Street movie, a couple of Disney Classics, Alvin & the Chipmunks,..... and the list goes on. These baskets were like the Mary Poppins bag- things just kept coming out. Thank you to everyone for all the nice gifts.

Daddy helped Maddie with the Easter egg hunt this year while I worked our camcorder and took pictures. It was so exciting to see her hunt for eggs since she was too young and couldn't walk last year.

Madison is counting her eggs with Daddy. When she found about 2 eggs, she would wonder off and then come for another egg,..etc. It was so funny! So she was kind of interested in the egg hunt. She had fun but I think Jon and I were more excited about the event and watching her.

Maddie and Daddy found 4 money eggs which was a total of $8.00. She made sure that she fed her piggy when we got back to Hanford.

Here's 4 generations: my abuelita Olga, my mom Patty, me and of course my precious cutie pie, Madison. I was really glad my grandma agreed to this picture because she doesn't like the camera too much. But she might be upset if she knew I posted this picture in my blog because she's in her house dress.

*** Overall, we had a nice Easter. I went to church and we spent the day with family. I had a nice birthday and got nice gifts. From the time I had walked in the door from work to the time that I went to sleep, Maddie kept saying " Happy Birthday, Mamma". She most definetly made my day.

*** Angela, Jon is going to send you a video of the egg hunt. He tried to add it to our blog but for some reason, he is unable to do so.

***Madison has been hanging out in the farm- ALOT! She helped Ampa unload the pigs about a month ago and then a few weeks later was there when twin lambs were born. When she went back 2 days later, she got to pet the baby lamb which made her day. When she goes in the pigs pen, she takes Ampa's bat to heard the pigs. It's amazing how she remembers everything Ampa and Maga teach her about the pigs and baby lambs. We have the cutest video of her with the pigs on the farm and it's funny how she has to wear her pink rubber boots and overalls just like Ampa. We'll try and post the video. We hope everyone is doing good.

Fun Filled Weekend!!!!

On Saturday, we took Maddie to have her Easter pictures taken at Sears. The photographer was really great and Maddie cooperated as well.

Here's Maddie and her new cousin Hayli. They met eachother for the first time and had alot of fun playing with eachother. Lisa, Bill and Hayli came to Hanford for Ruth Ann's birthday. We had a nice dinner with cake and ice cream. It was a nice day.

The Park and the Potty

Madison and Jon found a new park so they took me today. It's really nice and clean too. She just loves being there and has so much fun. There's this really cool swing that fits the parent and child and then it locks you in. Madison and I had alot of fun swinging on it. It's so nice to spend time with Jon and Maddie. I miss them terribly when I'm at work so I dedicate my entire weekend to them.

We finally brought out the potty this weekend. Maddie has been off her bottle for 2 weeks already and it's been great. I should've got her off along time ago. She doesn't rely on a sippy cup to go to sleep and she has never used a pacifier so we don't have that problem. She doesn't like to wear diapers and we have to be constantly chasing her to put it back on. So I put a pull-up on her which she doesn't like to wear but she is understanding the concept of pulling it up and down like underwear. When she goes to the bathroom, her toilet automatically plays music and we have stickers as a reward too!!! She is so excited about her potty. Once I'm done with the pack of pull-ups I have, I'm going to start using underwear because pull-ups are like diapers and we want to get rid of those not to mention save money on buying them. I'm going to try the plain cheap undies and when she is fully potty trained she can graduate to cute character underwear as a reward of becoming a big girl. I know it sounds cheesy but I want to make it fun for her. She has been telling us for months when she has to go the bathroom so we'll see how she does but I'm not going to push her.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here's Maddie and I making Valentine cards. We had alot of fun!

Daddy and Maddie making more Valentine cards.

Here's a picture of Maddie in Target with her Valentine's gift from Daddy & Mommy. As you can see, she was making sure the bike was coming home with her.

After her very quick bath, she raced to get on her bike before bed time.

Madison was being very silly! She crossed her arms, put her legs up and said, " Look at me Mommy!".

Last weekend was such a beautiful day so we spent most of our time outside. Ruth Ann and I cleaned the garage while Maddie played with her doll. Madison and I played soccer, her favorite game, catch and hide and seek. We had such a fun day especially because the weather was so nice.

This expression is a classic! This is Madison's 'Oh man, I've been caught and I don't like the consequences' look. I can't help but to laugh when she's not around.

Today was a nice Valentine's Day. Jon surprised me and took the day off so he and Maddie met me after work. We went to eat at the China Buffet and it was so nice to spend quality time with eachother. The only time we see Jon is on Sunday so today was a special treat!!! On Sunday after we dropped Auntie Maxine off at the bus station, Jon and I decided to buy our little sweetheart her gift. Since she hardly sees Daddy, she got her Valentine's gift early. She is the proud owner of a Radio Flyer tricycle. Jon sat her on it to see if she was big enough and he later admitted that once she sat on the bike, it was going home with us. All it took was a " Daddy, peeease" and it was in the back of the cart in no time. To make sure the bike was coming with us, she sat in the back with it and when we approached the cashier, she handed her the tag to scan it. She had the people behind us cracking up! On the way to the car, Maddie said, " Oh Tank You Daddy and Mama" and gave us both a kiss. She is so precious and her actions are PRICELESS!!! We just want to say Thank you to both our families for giving Madison Valentine gifts.

Madison is getting smarter by the minute. She is recognizing more of her numbers and ABCs. She knows her shapes and colors. Her vocabulary is increasing and we can understand her majority of the time. When I read her a book, she tries to repeat the sentence to me while she is pointing to the words but she skips a few words. May be she'll be an early reader like her Mommy. I read my first book at 3. She will start potting training next week so I'm very excited about that. For the last few months, she has been telling us when she's going to the bathroom so hopefully, we can time it a few seconds earlier. Madison is such a SMART kid and Jon and I are very proud of her.

New Jobs + Wedding = BUSY!!!!!

I have been at my new job for 2 weeks now and I really like it. For those of you who don't know, I work at the Avenal State Prison. It sounds scary but it's really not that bad. I was originally suppose to work in the medical clinic on facility grounds but I ended up on the other side of the gates. Jon has been at his job for a week and he is adjusting to it. We miss Madison like crazy but she is in good hands with her great-grandparents: Maga & Ampa Meyer. She has all her toys, movies, a bed and her own little room over there. She has a fun time with them. I'm not used to being without her but I'm adjusting. I'm glad I get home early enough to spend alot of time with her. I'm NEVER too busy or tired to play with Maddie. We don't see much of Jon because he works 12-hour shifts and doesn't get home until 11:00pm. His only day off is Sunday.
Well, our Wedding is approaching quickly. I'm so excited and more so because I finished my vows yesterday. I'm so excited that our families will be here to celebrate this special occasion with us. I'm so anxious to find out how Maddie will do as our flower girl. She surprises us everytime. See you all in a few days!

Bowling With My Nina & Jo-Jo

Here's Madison being Mommy's little helper in the kitchen. By the time you know it, the counters and Maddie are full of water but I don't mind. I really appreciate and enjoy her company.

This is one of her "Sneaky- I didn't do it" looks. She was clearly up to no good and thought she could get away with it because her Nina and uncle Jo-Jo were visiting.

All I have to say is that my little brother Joseph is the KING of BOWLERS! He is really good at it and not to mention competitive. He's pretty good for a 7 year old. I sure did have a great time watching him have a blast!!!

Here's Madison with her Nina Victoria.

Our precious little Maddie is quite the bowler. Her favorite ball was the pink one. She would wait patiently until the pink ball was available because she would not use any other ball.

STRIKE!!!!! Yes, that's right, my baby bowled not 1 but 2 strikes. She would gently push the ball and we thought ball would never reach the pins. So we waited and waited,..... and to our surprise Maddie got a strike. She began to clap and gave us all a high five. She and Joseph had quite the audience.

Here's Maddie with her uncle Joseph. He and my sister Victoria came to visit us for the MLK weekend. We were so excited to see each other. The girls went out and did wedding things while the guys went to eat and to the park. We went to dinner for Joseph, Jon's cousin's, birthday and back to his house for pie. After bowling, we went to the Tachi Palace Casino to check it out. I'm not a gambling person so I hung out with the kids while Jon and Vicky explored. I'm glad they came to visit and of course, I was VERY sad when they left. Madison woke from her nap and was not very happy when she couldn't find them anywhere in the house. She cried for about 30 mins. It was so sad. Thanks Vicki and Joseph for visiting us- we had a great time! Also, we want to say Thank you to Ruth Ann for letting them stay with us.