1 Year Old

Maddie had her one year check-up on Friday so we now have "official" measurements for her instead of us doing it here at home!!! Here are her 12 month stats. . . . .

Weight - 19lbs 3oz - (20th percentile)

Height - 29 3/4in - (70th percentile)

Favorite Fruit - Banana

Favorite Veggie - Carrots

Favorite Drink - Sugar Free Crystal Light and Whole Milk

Favorite Meal - Mac & Cheese

Favorite Snack - Gerber Cheese Puffs

New Tricks -

**If you burb. . . .Maddie burps too

**Walking everywhere all by herself

**Bouncing balls and playing catch

**Opening drawers all over the house

Likes at 12 Months -

**Crawling and exploring the BIG playland at the YMCA Kid Care

**Eating. . . .like that would change??

**Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney

**Swimming Lessons at the Y!

**Dancing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dislikes at 12 months -

**Can you guess #1?? Yep - napping!!!

12 Month Check-Up

Taking a stroll around the house in my wagon


Birthday Party w/ Maddie's Friends Keegan (3/12/09) and Ella (3/13/09)

Yummy!


Still eating. . . .


After we hosed the kids down we all got to open presents!

Look what my mom made me!!!!

"Whose is the cutest?" Well me of course. . . .

Another busy day ahead of us today. . . .we have our 12 month pictures with our favorite photographers and then we are off to Shrimp class!!!!! Happy Sunday!

Has it Really Been a Year?

So I find myself thinking back about it all. It just doesn't seem possible. Did a year really pass us by? Did I wake up and realize that my daughter is now a very active, energetic, excited individual? It is hard to fathom that this last year has gone by this quick. I sat down with Jamie and asked her when did "years" become so short. I remember thinking back on my life and when I was in grade school to middle school summers used to feel like years. Even in college semesters used to feel like years. So the question remains, when did years become months, when did months become minutes, and when did minutes become seconds in the life that I lead.

My daughter has blessed my life and my livelihood ever since she came into this world. She has created a new escape for me to go to when I have had a bad day. She has become my little friend that I play with at the end of the day. She has become my confidant when I have had a bad day, and Mom is at work. She has become my whole life outside of my beautiful wife.

Madeline Elizabeth Froh
Born 2-25-09

~In one year you have changed my life. I hope I have changed yours for the better as you have mine.

~In one year you have made me happier than I have ever been. I hope that your life has seen its beginnings of happy times and continues to be that way.

~In one year you have blessed me with humility. I hope that you always understand where you came from and know your beginnings.

~In one year you have loved your family with no limitations. I hope that I can learn from you to be as open and forgiving as you are.

~In one year you have been the constant positive note when it seems that my song has gone flat. I dream that I can contain the excitement that you contain for life.

~In one year you have made me realize that my life has just started. I hope that some day you feel as I do. So you can realize the impact that your own child has.

I used to talk about how the other day was my wedding. Now I talk about how yesterday was when my daughter was born. My days have become seconds. My months have become minutes. My years have become months. Time is flying so fast. I hope that I can be all that my wife and my daughter want and truly need me to be.

To my daughter: I love you with all of my life. If you need anything at all, please ask as I am willing to sacrifice for you.

To my wife: I love you with all of my life. Thank you so much for the wonderful gift you have given me. Our daughter is perfect and I owe the majority of that to you!

Love,
Dad

Has it really been a year???

Good Morning . . .

I have started most of my monthly milestone posts in shock that Maddie was getting so close to her magical first birthday. Well, yesterday she turned 1 officially. Wow. . . .it doesn't seem possible one bit. This week I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the past year and what we have gone through as a family of 3. By far this year has been the hardest year that I have ever gone through, but at the end of the day - it has all been worth it by far. Our lives have taken a turn down a different path filled with early bedtimes, outings to the zoo, and play dates. Do we miss the last minute decision to hit up a restaurant, happy hour, and endless Brewer games? Sure we do - we would be kidding ourselves to think that we didn't miss those days. However, the decision we made to start a family is the best decision we ever made. Relationships we have with our family and friends have changed, but those changes make you grow as a person and learn new life lessons.

The last year has not been sunshines and rainbows by any means. Learning the needs of a little person who cannot communicate with words was a difficult tast. But, we survived and that is all that matters. Sleepless nights, Pat on the road for work, rashes, breathing problems, and teething are all masked by giggles, hugs, first steps, and smiles. I know that I have grown a lot as an individual over the past year. I know that I have had an influence in Maddie over the past year, but she has had an equal influence over me.

Maddie. . . .

There are so many things that I want to say to you that I don't know where to begin! Your smile and laughter is all I need to get me through a day.

**I love the fact that you have such an active personality . . . . . .

**I love the fact that as soon as I say the words lunch, food, hungry, or snacks you start to smack your lips

**I love the fact that you have such a sense of humor with all of your silly faces

**I love the fact that 20 minutes of rolling around in our bed takes away all of the stresses of the day

**I love the fact that you have such a sense of adventure and curiosity

**I love the fact that your face lights up when I enter a room

**I love the fact that I made the decision to put my career on hold so that I could have this precious time with you

I could go on and on little girl. Please know that you have added such meaning to my life and that I don't know what I would ever do without you. This past year has been such a blessing and I can only anticipate the joy that the future holds.

Happy 1st Birthday Maddie, I love you with all of my heart!

Mom

PARTY . . .PARTY. . . .PARTY!

Morning -

Well, it happened, we had Maddie's first birthday party this weekend!! Pat and I had a multitude of emotions as the day approached, happened, and passed. We were in shock that our daughter is now a TODDLER (how did that happen), we were anxious for her special day, we were filled with gratitude due to our family and friends, and of course were sad to see the day come and go so fast! It was a tight squeeze to get everything in the house, but it didnt matter. . . .everything worked out great!!

Here it is. . .the cake that Pat and I made for Maddie!

She got a couple things. . . .


Ripping open a big one from Uncle Court and Aunt Shari!

Her first bible - it had a bear on the front - she felt the need to give him a kiss! So sweet!

What's this?????


Took no time for her to dig right in!

Yummy!

What are you looking at??????????

Her new obsession. . . .dogs!! She kisses the tv when she sees them!

The weekend wrapped up with Shrimp class! She is waving to Gma and Gpa Tamminga who came to watch before they left on vacation!!

What a wonderful weekend for all of us. I want to thank our family and friends for being a part of Maddie's special day - you all mean so much to us and are so blessed to have all of you in our lives. We love you!!!

Jamie, Pat, and Maddie

Happy V-Day!

The Froh household has been a busy one over the past week!!! We are quickly approaching that special birthday for Maddie! Pat and I were talking, and if we didnt have such a stubborn child - this week would have marked her first birthday! I remember those emotional few days like they were yesterday! But, at the end of the day we still welcomed our healthy and beautiful daughter with no problems!!! This weekend Pat and Maddie made my birthday extra special with a fun day planned for us! Yesterday I had to work at the Y, but they brought me flowers and lunch and we hung out while I worked! Then. . . .after work it was time for shrimp class! I got the chance to hop in the water with Maddie this time. Wow, we had so much fun! Here are a few pictures from our first Valentines Day as a family of 3!!!

Our little valentine decked out in red and pink! (Pat dressed her too!)

And I wonder why my phone barely works - look who always has it!

Blowing bubbles. . .

Maddie's favorite part of class - jumping in! She can barely wait for me to count to 3!

Kick kick kick kick. . . .

This week will be busy as we prepare for the birthday party on Saturday!!!

Maddie Driving Already

Maddie loves playing with her lion. She can walk behind it and she also loves to ride on it when we push her. She even helps with making the car noise. Don't tell anyone but she drives like her mom....

Swimming Swimming In The Swimming Pool!!!!

Well our little one was like a fish in the swimming pool. Sign her up for Swim Team!!! She is ready to follow in her Mom's footsteps already. It was such a great experience being able to watch her giggle and laugh. Its awesome that she is not afraid of the water. Below are the videos that Jamie took while Maddie and I splashed around at her first Shrimp Class at the Y!

Wait there is more!

WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!!

What a blessing both my ladies are. They sure know how to light up my world.

This is what life is all about!

Pat

Our Little Shrimp

What a great weekend!!!! We have had a lot of things going on lately that it was so nice to have a relaxing weekend! Saturday Maddie spent the day/night with my parents so Pat and I could spend the day together and go on a date!! We did some shopping for someone's first birthday, hit up a movie, and then ended the day with a nice dinner downtown. It was strange not having Maddie with us, but that didn't stop us from talking about her! When we picked her up yesterday we were so anxious to spend the day lounging around. . . .until it was time to go to her first swim class! Swim class today. . . .high school tomorrow? It is so hard for me to believe that she is almost a year old already. We can both see a big difference in her, it is amazing! Here are some shots of her over the past few days!

One of Maddies favorite things. . .opening the mail!

And playing with shoes. . . .

And climbing up and down on the furniture. . .

And eating of course. . . .spaghetti!

Here are some pictures from our first swim class! Pat decided he was going to get in with her for the first class and I would take pictures. At one point I actually got choked up (big baby. . .I know) because she was having SO MUCH fun! Her giggles said it all!

1 . .2. . .3. . .JUMP!

Riding the raft with the teacher

Dancing and singing with daddy

More dancing and singing. . .

More to come later this week I am sure . . . . . we always have something new and interesting to report! Have a great week!

Goodbye January. . . .

I can honestly say that we are happy to have January behind us!!! My 30+ hour weeks have come to an end which makes me one happy girl!!! Plus, with January gone, that is one more cold month that we have make it through. I personally cant wait for spring to get here. Maddie has so much energy that it will be nice to get her outside once it warms up!!

The last week of January Pat and I got to experience 2 new things. Tuesday I got to watch my friend Shiela's little guy while she had a meeting at work. Everything went fine and we had a great time, but 1 thing is for sure. . . . .I tip my hat off to parents of multiples!!! With Keegan and Maddie both mobile, it was funny to see them both take off!!!

Keegan and Maddie playing!

To wrap up the month of January, we got to welcome a new baby to our circle of friends. . . .Sophia Marie Castillo was born on her due date!! We made our way to the hospital to meet Maddie's new playmate! It is a blessing to watch your friends enter the wonderful world of parenting!

Introducing. . . Miss Sohpia Marie

Maddie checking out her new friend

Pat hanging out with Sophia

We wrapped up the weekend spending some time with friends! I won Brewers on Deck tickets from Fox 6 this week so Pat and Ryan headed downtown with Louie and Jordan to see what autographs they could get. From what they described, it was very busy!!! Each player gives out 250 autographs. . . .Ryan was #250 in Robin Younts line! (Talk about lucky!) Pat was able to get a few shots of him getting a jersey signed. I think my favorite story of the day. . . . .Ryan says to Kari and I . . . . .

"So I am in the bathroom doing my thing when in walks this guy who starts "going" right next to me. There are plenty of urinals open and he decides to stand right next to me. I briefly look at him and realize, IT'S ROBIN YOUNT! Yep, thats right, Robin took a pee right next to me!"

GREAT story Ryan, I love it!!!

The jersey Ryan picked out for the event!


Just hanging out on a Sunday afternoon!


Big smile for mom. . . .no nap so I decided to snap some shots!

Have a great week!