Maddie turns 1 and takes first few steps

Today was the big day. Madilyn turned 1. It is so hard to believe that a whole year has passed. Not only did she turn one today, she walked 5 steps on her own. It was a huge day in the Hosford home. :) Before we know it she'll be in school, driving....on her first date. AHHHHH!!!! :)

Maddie's 1st Birthday Party Fun

Well, it's here and gone already. We celebrated Madilyn's 1st Birthday (which is actually the Wednesday the 7th) on Sunday. The party took place at the Hilltop Pavilion at the John Ball Park Zoo. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was a perfect day. Maddie was very excited to see so many friends and family there. She would like to say a big THANK YOU for all of the wonderful gifts that she received. Everyone was so generous. Here are a few great pictures.

Do'n a little yoga.

Here is Maddie practicing her yoga. She has perfected the down-dog. :) Hopefully this isn't a show of her keyboarding skills. :)

Photoshop Fun

So....I'm a little addicted to Photoshop. The crazy thing is, I don't anything yet. :) I do have about 1.5 Million pictures of Maddie, so once I know what I'm doing....it will be fun. Here is one that I've been playing with. Thanks Melssia and James for all of your advice and knowledge...even if it does make you computer geeks. :)

The Best Day to be a Mom!!

What a wonderful day to be a Mom.

This was my first official Mothers Day and it was just great! Sleeping in....a great breakfast....Flowers... Gotta love it. :) Tom also gave me a book that should help me with a computer program I'm working with. ( I know...nerd...) You really can't count Photoshop as a NERD computer program...Melissa & James, thoughts??? :) I can't wait to dive in, start creating and this book will help me a great deal. So thank you Maddie and Tom. :)

We went to my parents this afternoon, to wish my Mom a happy Mothers Day and had a wonderful prime rib dinner. Always a spectacular meal when my Dad cooks. I only wish I got half of his cooking skills. :) We then went over to Tom's parents and wished Grandma Hosford, Great-Grandma Hosford and Great-Grandma Snellink a happy Mothers Day. Maddie Loves her Grandma's that's for sure. She can't get enough hugs and kisses.

We would like to wish Happy Mothers Day to all the special women our lives...all the new Mom's this year ( we know a few) :) and all the new Mothers to be. ( especially Aunt Tracy) It is the most wonderful thing that any women can do, to give life and unconditional love.

Not so Happy....

I had to post this picture! I can't tell you the amount of people have said to me... "Lauren, Maddie is just all smiles, all the time!!" Well.....for the most part she is, but there are times when doesn't get her way...Here's a PERFECT example. :)

Lunch With Aunt K.K. and Grandma

On Friday Maddie and I had lunch with Aunt K.K. and Grandma Hosford down at the good ol Corner Bar. We saw Uncle Joel and Aunt Sabrina there. Great food and great company. Can't ask for much more than that!

WONDERFUL FAMILY NEWS!!!!

For some REALLY AWESOME news about Dan and Tracy Hosford please click on the following link:

http://dandthosford.blogspot.com/2006/05/guess-what.html

Snuggling with Grandpa Fanning

Here is a wonderful Picture of Maddie snuggling with my Dad. She is truly blessed to have four wonderful Grandparents, five Great-Grandparents, and One Great-Great-Grandmother. Amazing! She is very loved.

Where's Maddie???

One of Madilyn's newest things is "finding" anyone who calls her name. She will be across the room and if you get on the floor and say "Where's Maddie??" she will totally halt, turn around and make a straight line to you. Crawl like crazy to get to you and then she'll take your hands down. Kind of saying "Here I am!!" Sooooo sweet. Here are three pictures that sort of tell the story...

Madilyn's Baptism

A huge thank you goes out to all that were at Madilyn's Baptism. It was such a wonderful day for Maddie and having family and friends there made it all the better. A new life has started for her, as she became part of the Christian family today. Even with a ear infection, she was such a trooper. Uncle Dan and Aunt Rebekah took on a huge task today in becoming Madilyn's Godparents. We can't thank them enough for being the role models that she will need in future.

Here are few great pictures of today's events. A four generation photo, of my Grandmother, my mother, Maddie and myself, so so special. Another of Madilyn and her Grandpa Hosford making silly faces. :) One of the proud Godparents, Rebekah and Dan. Of course the action shot, which she did very well I might add. Not a tear! In fact, she bent backwards to go into the water! And then of our family.

Playing Motorcycle With Uncle Nick

Maddie loves her motorcycle rides with Uncle Nick.
I'm sure the airplane rides will come next!
We love you Uncle Nick!

More Spring Break Pictures From Melissa

So we just can't get enough of Melissa's pictures!! Here are a few more of Maddie on spring break.

Soooo Determined...

Here is a neat picture of Madilyn working hard to pick a toy up off of the couch. She has started to stick her tongue out while working hard at something. So cute.

Aunt Tracy's Birthday Picnic

A rainy sunday afternoon, but still much fun! We spent Sunday afternoon at Townsend Park celebrating Tracy's Birthday. Her actual Birthday was April 16th. We met Jonah Carlson for the first time. What a sweetie. Here's a wonderful picture of Tracy holding her nephew and one of Maddie and Jonah. There is also a picture of Tom and Dan...man they look alike...weird. :) The last is a GREAT picture of Maddie and her Uncle Dan. Maddie has a tough time once in a while, figuring out which one is Dad and which one is Uncle Dan. :)

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful time on Sunday celebrating Easter. We started with Easter mass at Our Lady of Consolation and brunch at my parents. Then we had Easter dinner at Mom and Dad Hosfords. A day of eating that was one for the books. :) Maddie was all sassy in her yellow Easter dress, and I was even able to get a yellow clip in her hair!!

It was Tracy's 25th Birthday Sunday as well. Although we did our celebrating on Saturday at MoJo's. :) Happy Birthday Aunt Tracy!!

Gulf Shores Pictures

Here are a few GREAT pictures that Melissa took while we were down South. Thanks Melissa for the wonderful shots.

Home Sweet Home, Although Missing the 80 Degree Weather!

We have made it home safe and sound from Alabama. We had a wonderful time in the warm, 80 degree weather for sure. The ride down was one for the books. And the ride home...Made National News!! We know how to make a trip worth while!!

Maddie got the Rota Virus and was very ill for the car ride down. After 6 outfits that were...lets just say not in good shape and a stay at the hotel that didn't consist of sleep. We were ready for a nice vacation. Maddie was still very sick for the first few days, wanting to sleep and not eat. She finally starting feeling better about Monday and we got our old Madilyn back. With a new found attitude. :) There were others that got ill, thanks to our little maddie-poo, grandpas and Aunt KK. Both were under the weather for a couple of days. ( Maddie says she's sorry)

Madilyn and I spent most of the time at the beach or laying out at Grandma and Grandpas deck with Melissa, Jackson, Grandma, Aunt KK and Uncle Austin. Tom got a few games of golf in with Grandpa and Adam and spent time with us too. Tom and Maddie spent lots of time in the pool and even touched her toes on the ocean. Melissa, Adam and Jackson enjoyed the sun and fun as well. Jackson was a trooper on the way down getting a little sick towards the end of the trip. Again, thanks to his girlfriend. :)

All in all we had a wonderful time in Orange Beach and couldn't have asked for better weather. Of course we ate well, as we always do down there. If you have never tried Royal Red Shrimp you haven't had shrimp. Lots of grill outs and good drinks. There there was the ride home...

We left Friday morning and were making great time. The kids were doing fantastic and we were on a role. I opened my fat mouth and said "Well, we know the ride home can't possibly be any worse that the trip down..." What in the world was I thinking...

Then we entered northern Alabama. We hit weather that we have never seen before that day and night. We stopped numerous times due to either not being able to see, poopy diapers or the fact the a tornado was near by. We didn't know just how horrible the devastation was or just how lucky we were until we got out of Nashville. We saw a church (that was also on CNN.com) that was torn in half by a tornado. Katie and Austin were so close to all of this and we are SO thankful that they didn't get hit. Grandpa and Grandma were also ahead of us, but were lucky to make it through ok too. God was truly watching out for the Hosford family. It is good to be home thats for sure.
I am only going to put a couple of photos on here now. Melissa ( if you can believe it) took MUCH better pictures and I am going to wait to get those to really go to town. :)

Two More Teeth!

I don't have a picture yet...Because, well Maddie wasn't in the greatest of a moods today. :) She broke her two top teeth. Not the most fun, that's for sure. But she is having fun trying to figure out what they are. Thank you Aunt Tracy for taking such good care of her today. She needed lots of cuddling time.

Getting Ready to Head South

These next few days will be exciting as we pack for our vacation to Alabama. I'm way behind and already stressing...Typical. :) Maddie is going to be one sassy pants, with so many cute spring outfits. She hasn't been in the greatest of moods lately, although you would never tell from this picture. She has an ear infection, and is teething. Good times. Anyway, please keep us and all the travelers in your prayers. Bama or Bust!