Welcome Colton Scott Elyea

Welcome to another friend of Maddie's,
Colton Scott Elyea.
He is 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 20-1/2" long, born early this morning.
Kristen and Jared are doing really well. A little exhausted but hanging in there. It was a long labor for Kristen, but an amazing little boy was the result of it.

We are thrilled for the new family!! Many blessings!

Just a great picture

I had to post this one, just because. She's so darn cute. :) At least we think so.

Soooooooooo Big!!!

Maddie loves to show everyone what a big girl she is. We can't believe how much she has grown!!

Fashion Queen

What can we say...we have a fashionista on our hands. :)
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hosford, for the cute outfit.

Meeting Bobby Hull

On Saturday Tom and I were off to Frankenmuth for Casey Munger's wedding. Maddie stayed at my sister Liz's house for Saturday night and into Sunday morning. Maddie had quite an exciting day. She met Bobby Hull, a hockey All -Star. He took the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup victory in his 1968-1969 season. His son Brett Hull, was a huge player of the Detroit Red Wings. Very cool!! Bobby came to visit because my brother-in-law and his neighbor submitted their home ice rink into a competition and won. Bobby spent the day and signed autographs for fans of all ages....Maddie probably being the youngest. :)

Here is a great picture of Mr. Hull, my sister Liz and Madilyn. The other photo is of Maddie and my brother-in-law Nick with the rink in the background.

Madilyn's 8 Month Photo Shoot

Here are a few of the pictures that Melissa took on Friday. There are so many to choose from! Thanks Aunt Melissa!!

Fun With The Pokorzynski's

We spent Monday night at Ryan and Rebekah Pokorzynski's temporary home. We finally exchanged Christmas gifts. Sad isn't it!! It's almost February!! Here are a few really cute pictures of Ella, Gavin, Madilyn, Tom, Rebekah and myself. Ryan was busy cleaning the Playdough off the carpet...a Christmas gift to Gavin from us. Sorry guys! :)

Ryan and Rebekah are busy building a beautiful new home. Yup, they are moving into Rockford for good!! Wahooo!! All of us ( that have never left :) ) couldn't be happier.

Tuesday's With Aunt Tracy

Every Tuesday, Madilyn get's to spend the day with her Aunt Tracy. Most of the time, she gets to have lunch her her Uncle Dan too. Maddie sure is loved! Sometime soon she is going to visit her new friend Jonah Carlson, who just happens to be her Aunt Tracy and Uncle Dan's nephew. Thanks Aunt Tracy for spending these days with her!!

Day with Aunt Katie and Uncle Austin

On Wednesday Maddie got to play with Aunt Katie and Uncle Austin all day. My sister Liz who usually watched Maddie on Wednesday stayed home sick with the nasty flu thatis going around. Katie and Austin came to the rescue. I wasn't here to get a photo of Katie, but here is one of Austin and Maddie. There were also visits from Aunt Kellie, Both Grandmas and Grandpa Hosford. It was quite a day!! Not to mention Uncle Austin's "diaper duty." Sorry about that Uncle Austin!!!

A star is born.

This is Maddie's Jackie-O look. A nice look for the spring we think. :)

The One and Only Fanning Trait

Well, we all know that Madilyn has inherited a great deal of her looks from her Father...but she got one of my genes for sure!!! :) Look at that tongue!!!

Fun up at Grandma Courtrights

On Saturday Jan. 14 we went up to Mt. Pleasant for the Courtright Christmas party. When we arrived Grandma Fanning was holding Maddie and checked on her "buds" to see if there were any teeth. And sure enough....Well, we thought there was only one and then Grandpa Fanning said "There's two!!" And there were! Maddie broke her two bottom teeth at just over 7 months old.

Here is a great picture of Madilyn and her Great Grandma playing tug-of-war. Another picture of Maddie and her cousin Andrew. The third is of my Mom and Tom.

Two New Friends

Maddie has two new friends to play with.

Jonah Wesley Carlson, born Jan.17th, 2006 and weighing in at 8lbs 5oz and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. He is a healthy big baby boy and mom and dad (Sean and Kelli) are both happy and healthy. Jonah is here being held by his proud Papa.

Hope Ann Deuel. Born Jan 18th. She was 4lb 11oz and 17.5 in long. Born at 4:28 AM The whole Deuel family is doing well and Jen is felling super. Hope is here showing off her weight. :)

Congratulations to both of these families on their little blessings!

Daddy's Little Bug

Maddie sure does love her Daddy. Here she is with Tom on 1-4-06.

Sitting all by her self!!

Well, the day had finally arrived. Madilyn is sitting all by her self. Ok, so she might fall on her face once or twice but for the most part she is sitting up and playing with toys now. Let's hope that she does this for at least a couple of weeks before crawling everywhere!

Sleeping Beauty

Here's our sleeping beauty on 1/3/06. She had a hard day of playing with Aunt Tracy and then fun with Grandpa and Grandma Fanning.

Madilyn's First Christmas

Well, it's over. Our baby has had her first Christmas. Time is moving so fast, it's scary.

On Christmas Eve we sent the last Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Snellink's home. Here is a picture of Maddie and her Aunt Katie. They will be moving out this spring and into Mom and Dad Hosfords. On Christmas morning we attended a beautiful service with Dan and Tracy at Calvary. Madilyn was very good and loved the lights and music. Then it was on to brunch at Mom and Dad Hosfords. There we all exchanged gifts and Maddie got her favorite gift of the year, her new "big dog", Landon. He was a gift from her Aunt Kellie and she just LOVES him. She was blessed as we were, with many wonderful things this year. From there we spent the rest of Christmas day at Mom and Dad Fannings. We had a beautiful Christmas dinner there with my parents. We had a wonderful Christmas and were so happy to see so many of our friends and family.

Maddie's Favorite Christmas Gift- Landon

Here a few sweet pictures of Maddie and her new favorite dog, Landon. He is named after her Aunt Kellie's real dog Landon. Thanks Aunt Kellie for this great gift!!!

4 Month Photo Shoot

Here are a couple of the photos from Maddie's 4 month photo shoot with Melissa. We happen to think she is pretty cute. :) We already have her dressing like a golfer!!

Fanning Christmas

On Dec. 17th we spent the day at my parents celebrating Christmas with my three sisters and their families. My Sister Chris, her Husband Sam and my nephew (and Godson) Billy came down from Coleman for the day. My sister Vicky and her kids, Holly, Alicia, and Kellen ( also my Godson) came in from G.R. And last but not least my Sister Elizabeth and my niece Rebekah came from Rockford, just down the road really. Missing where her husband Nick and my other niece Isabella, who was home with the flu. Good food and family are always a wonderful part of the holidays. Here are a couple of pictures. One of course being Madilyn at her first Fanning Christmas party. Another is of my two eldest nieces Holly on the left and Alicia on the Right. Last is of Maddie and her Uncle Sam.

Rosie Gets A New Doo

Some of you know that both Tom and I are "cat people." We have both had cats for most of our lives. Rosie became apart of our family last fall as a gift from Katie and Austin. She is a pure bread Persian. With all the time we spent away from the house right after Madilyn was born, Rosie's coat got a little matted. Once it starts, it gets worse by the day. Well, I finally brought her in for a "lion's cut." She's a little self conscious, and Lilah our other cat won't stop teasing her. :) I think she looks great!

Meeting an Author

Madilyn meet her first children's book author today. His name is Jeffrey Schatzer ( AKA Santa Claus). He wrote The Bird in Santa's Beard. This is a wonderful Christmas story about Santa and a little bird friend. Not only did he write this story, he comes to Great Northern Trading Co. in downtown Rockford and signs the book. I honestly left feeling a little like a kid again and thinking "this could be the real deal!." :)

Peas Please

Here is Madilyn eating ( almost eating, most is on her face) her first jar of peas. What a great time that was!!

Madilyn's newest blood update

Madilyn had a doctors appointment on 11/30 and we were informed that she will not be needing anymore regular blood draws. Wonderful news to our ears!! Because of her history, she will need to have it drawn twice a year for two years and then once a year until she is five. What a difference from twice a week like it was for so long. We can't thank you all enough for the prayers and love . It has helped tremendously.

Visit from Garret Tenbrink

We had a visit from Mike and Garret Tenbrink last week. Garret is 10 weeks older than Maddie. Mike and Carrie should be proud of their little sweetie, he is quite the charmer already. :)

First time in a "Big Girl Chair"

Well, she's growing up too darn fast!! Here is Maddie in her highchair for the first time. She has a bit of growing to do to really fit. She thought she was something else!!

Story Time With Daddy

Right before bed time, is the best time for a great story. Tonights story was Good Night Moon, a wonderful childhood memory for many of us.

Aunt Nancy Stops In

Today we had a visit from Nancy Hager, a dear friend. Both Maddie and I were very glad to see her. A trip up to the Hagers cottage was Madilyn's first big trip, at just under a month old. Here is a picture on the 4th of July at the Hagers. In this picture is Madilyn, Jared, and his wife Brynne. Jared and Brynne are expecting this April. A big congratulations to the Hagers!! We are all so excited for you!