Today was a big day for Ashlyn! She got braces today. I'm not sure if excited is the word to use, but she is grateful to have them on for her teeth's sake. =) Let's just say that Motrin is her really good friend right now. Ouch! I think she looks so cute with them on, also. And she just looks so grown up?! How did that happen?? Way to go, Ashlyn!
Ice Skating with cousin Rinsley was one of the girls' favorite things they did last weekend. Rinsley came to stay with us for a few nights and we all had so much fun having her here. She showed us how it was done on the rink, that's for sure. Rinsley is an awesome ice skater and was just skating rings around everyone on the ice. She was doing these awesome jumps, and landing them, of course. =) And she has a great spin. Thanks for showing us your home territory, Rinsley. We loved it! =)
However, I did have to laugh that the largest advertisement on the wall at the rink is for the Gilbert ER Hospital! Good to know!!!
For Christmas, we surprised the guys with a day of paintballing at Westworld in Scottsdale. They spent New Years Eve Day at the indoor Westworld park. Knowing that this would be a fantastic way for the guys to flex a little muscle, expel a little testosterone and get out some of their aggressions, the girls were all for it. The guys were really excited about it and they had an awesome time.
We have been having so much fun with little Madelyn. She is such a great baby and just fits right into the family. These are some of my favorite pictures of her so far...
Mike took Katelyn and Lauryn to the ASU/NAU game on Saturday. This was their first ASU game ever and they were so excited to go. ASU won the game so that was a plus! Katelyn said "the cheering was way too loud" and Lauryn said "the fireworks scared her out of her mind" but other than that, they loved it! =)
The other day I was getting Brynlyn ready for preschool and she requested that I put "piggies" in her hair. I hadn't heard her call them by this name before so I said, "You want pig tails in your hair?" She said, "No! Piggies!" And then she started oinking like a pig. It just cracked me up. So we had to show off her favorite hairstyle: her piggies! =)
We have been having such a great week with our little bundle of love. Madelyn is such a great baby and is even doing OK going through the night, so we're not entirely sleep deprived. This is what she's been up to this first week on earth...
Sleeping on Daddy's chest. I'm not sure who is actually putting whom to sleep. =)
Getting ready to go to our first doctors visit. These darling pink shoes are so teeny tiny. I love it!
And of course she has been held ALOT this week. And she's received tons and tons of kisses from her sisters. She rarely ever is put down when the girls are around. They love holding her every chance they can get.
Almost every Christmas season we take a little trip up to Williams, AZ to ride The Polar Express train. The kids love it and it sets a great tone for the holiday season. This is the promotional video that they have posted on their website and our Katelyn is featured in the video! She has a quick speaking part at the very beginning of the video. She says "All aboard to the Polar Express." Thanks to Aunt Janelle for spotting this out for us or else we would never have known. This was taken a few years ago on one of our trips up there. You can see Ashlyn and Lauryn standing in the background. So cute and fun! Check it out...
funniest little smile (I know it's only gas, but still too cute! ha ha)
Brynlyn's face says exactly how she feels about "her" new baby
Lauryn loves holding Madelyn and wasn't thrilled about having to go to school that day
First Family Photo
meeting Granda and Papa
meeting Grandpa and Grandma Sugar
Ashlyn and Katelyn taking their first look at their new sister
I LOVE this picture! This pretty much sums up our life in a nutshell....surrounded by beautiful girls!
On Wednesday, September 1st we delivered our sweet little HEALTHY baby girl, Madelyn Jessie Jensen. She weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21-1/2 inches long. She is oh so sweet and scrumptious and we are just eating her up!!!
Everything went so well with the labor and delivery, we were truly blessed to have such a wonderful experience bringing this child into the world.
She is named after two of her great-grandmas: Susie's Grandma Madelyn "Dear" Thornock and Mike's Grandma Jessie Jensen. One of the greatest parts to this story is that she is born on Grandma Dear's birthday!!! It has been such a neat thing to have that happen especially when it was so unexpected and I wasn't due for atleast another week and a half. What a blessing and we felt it was definitely meant to be.
We're just so happy that she's finally here with us. =)
A group of girlfriends took me to Paradise Bakery for a baby breakfast celebration. It was so much fun and it was really needed on my part. I had such a great time that this should help me to get through the next few weeks of the last part of my pregnancy.
I love these girls so much and they are such wonderful friends!!!! Thanks again, guys. It was such a great morning and I really appreciated it.
Riki, Cydnie, Joey, Katrina, Nicole, Michelle, Me and Miss Brynlyn (who was the official "gift opener" ha ha)
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa
The worst thing that can happen to you, may be the best thing for you, if you don't let it get the best of you. ~Anonymous
For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. ~Audrey Hepburn
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. ~Mother Teresa
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
A mother's example sketches the outline of her child's character. ~Mrs. H. O. Ward
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~Plato
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln~
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! ~Henry David Thoreau~
The only things we can't do are the things we choose not to do. ~Nancy Graham~
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ~Jim Rohn~
When you expect good, it's available constantly, and makes itself a reality in your life. ~Alfre Woodard~
How can we communicate love? I think three things are involved. We must reach out to a person, make contact. We must listen with the heart, be sensitive to the other's needs. We must respond in a language that the person can understand. Many of us do all of the talking. We must learn to listen and keep on listening. ~Princess Pale Moon~
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing. ~ Benjamin Franklin ~
Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony D'Angelo
Marriage has less beauty, but more safety than single life. It's full of sorrows and full of joys. In lies it more burdens, but is supported by all the strengths of love. And these burdens are delightful. ~ 16th Century Bishop
People we love can surprise us every day. Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it. ~ Jodi Picoult "My Sister's Keeper"
Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life. ~ Brian Andreas
Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. ~ Emily Kimbrough
Be a lamp unto yourself; make of yourself a light. ~ Budda
Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything. ~ Benjamin Franklin
Happiness depends upon ourselves. To live happily is an inward power of the soul. ~ Marcus Aurelius
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~ C.S. Lewis
Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. ~ George Moore
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~
Aristotle
The whole universe is change and life itself is but what you deem it. ~
Marcus Aurelius
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. ~ Lao Tzu
Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one become rich. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Optimism is true moral courage. ~ Ernest Shakelton
Keep smiling...it makes everyone around you wonder what you have been up to." ~ Anonymous
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. ~ George Moore
