Happy Anniversary

On October 14th, Matt and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I still have so many clear memories from the day we got married. One of the best decisions I ever made. We have been together for 10 years and had plenty of ups and downs, but everything has been worth it to be to where we are today. He is my best friend. I love having him by my side. He is such an amazing person, husband, and father. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I am so excited to grow old together!!

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was so much fun. Madison dressed up as a bumblebee and Mallory a Ladybug. Cutest bugs in town! Madison loved her costume. She never complained putting it on. In fact she got very excited. She was even adorable at 'stinging people.' She would grab her stinger and say "buzzzz" as she backed up toward the person. Hilarious!! This was her 3rd halloween, but the first where she actually understood how the whole trick-or-treating things goes. Once she caught on though...there was no stopping her. :) We ended up with way too much candy. Most will make for great church treats though!!

Mallory Jade Dixon

In November of 2010, Matt and I were getting ready to have company stay at our house for Thanksgiving. I told Matt, "I think I'm pregnant". It was quite a shock since I was on birth control and we weren't planning on another baby at the time, obviously. So we snuck off to Walmart without family and bought a test. Positive!! That same weekend my sister, Kristin, had her first baby boy, Felix. It kind of made me excited, but also really hard to keep my mouth shut. I had only taken a home pregnancy test. For Christmas we told the family. We used onesies from when Madison was a baby and wrote "Coming soon 8/1/2011". They were of course excited. Well, 9 months later we had a beautiful baby girl. We named her Mallory Jade. She weighed 7lbs. and 18 1/2 inches long. She was a BIG surprise in more than one way. We didn't find out her gender, but Matt and I were just sure we were having a boy. In fact we barely thought of girl names (more 'justincase'). So after she was delivered I asked what it was....it was a Girl. I practically jumped up. What???? I was shocked. Now 3 months later of full bliss I am so happy we have 2 girls. They are just so sweet and precious. They sure have a done a number on their daddy. His heart gets bigger everyday for them. Madison is such a good big sister. She just loves "Peanut" (that's the nickname she gave her) :)

Update on our clan

I was re-reading my previous posts. Some were how we were looking for a house. That sure brought back some emotions. That was a very stressful time. Something I am glad I am no longer doing. Matt bought our first home in June of 2010. I can't believe we have already been in it for a year. We love it. I am so grateful for the home we found. I sure put my foot in my mouth a lot though. I remember being so frustrated that other houses didn't work out. Thinking we would never buy a house, etc. The house we ended up in cost less than most we looked at, already had a finished basement, has a great ward/neighbor (which helped me become active in the church again), and we love the area. It helped me remember to be a little more patient with big decisions and let God do his thing :)

Happy Easter

Last weekend was Easter. I think it will be the new favorite holiday. She got to eat candy before breakfast. Who wouldn't love that!? When we first showed her her easter basket, she just smiled. She wouldn't go to it though. She just stared. I had to go sit by it and then she finally came over, and even then she wasn't that interested until she saw stuff inside the basket. She loved opening the plastic eggs and finding surprises inside. She really likes the mini robin eggs. It was such a fun morning. Thanks Easter Bunny for coming to visit.

Walking on sunshine

This has been going on a few weeks now, but Madison is walking everywhere. She won't even crawl anymore, it's that serious. She also has a favorite blanket that drags along with her. It's pink and has monkeys and colored balls on it. When she was a baby, I was not good about putting shoes on her feet, so now it is a struggle to put them on (she curls her toes so it's hard to put them on). I did teach her that when we go outside she has to wear shoes, which she only tolerates because she wants to go outside. Most days she will find her coat and bring it to me. When she has her shoes on though, she will NOT walk or even stand. She turns into a "wet noodle" and flops to the floor and starts whining. It's annoying, but quite hilarious. Someday well get there, we better anyway cause I refuse to always carry my child just because she has shoes on her feet. It's a little backwards.

Madison's Birthday

Wow! I am trying not to get emotional, but I cannot believe how time flies by so quickly. 1 year ago, tomorrow, I finally got to meet my beautiful baby girl. I want my little baby back that loves being held and want to constantly snuggle. However, we traded the snuggling for wiggling and a few other, more exciting things. I have loved hearing Madison laugh, say "mama" "daddy" and "wow" (my new favorite word), blow kisses, starting to stand up on her own, become stubborn and independent when it comes to feeding herself, the list goes on and on. It has been a wonderful year. My happiness grows everyday I get to spend with my little girl. I never knew parenthood would be such a wonderful thing. The tantrums, dirty looks, and dirty diapers don't even matter cause her smile wins my heart everytime. I am very blessed to be Madison's mom and wouldn't trade it for anything. Happy Birthday to my little sweetheart. I love you!