All I am is Yours

"I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned

In awe of the one who gave it all

I'll stand, my soul, Lord to you surrounded

All I am is Yours!!"

Do You See What I See?

Do you see what I see???

Monday I took Maddox for his very first eye exam.....he did fantastic. He stood in a chair, put his chin on this machine, stared in the machine to get his eye scanned.....everyone, including myself and the doctor were surprised that they got an accurate reading. Maddox loved looking at all the lights and following them with his eyes. They had to dilate his big brown eyes and I was definitely concerned on how he would take that because it burns; however, he cried for a second and was over it. The staff was so good to him and made him feel very comfortable (thus helping this momma relax and feel at ease) The best news is everything looks great and there are no signs of amblyopia (the eye disorder I have). I could not be more proud of my little man and how well he behaved at the eye doctor!!! So for now, we are finishe worrying about his beautiful brown eyes and we will "see" the doctor next year (I am sure eventually we will be regulars there because of our horrible eye sight....but no glasses are "seen" in the near future.

Seriously

Its been a scorching, scalding, searing, sultry, superheated, sweltering, sunny, Sunday, surrounded by a smiley, sweaty, spirited, sweet, speedy, spiked hair, spunky, sometimes serious, sonny boy, who we think is super......seriously!!!

Joys of Mommyhood

One of my favorite parts about being a mommy is the amazing opportunity to observe such a sweet little boy on a daily basis! This child makes my blood pressure go through the roof with his strong will and spirited personality....but the same child brings me more joy, happiness and laughter than I ever could have imagined! Maddox is so clingy to me right now and while at times it can be very exhausting to hear the non stop "momma' throughout the day.....I love the fact that he wants me around and gets worried when he can't "find" me. He is so funny, loving, passionate, spirited, energetic, and creative. He is well on his was to learning the alphabet....if fact, if you ask him to go find the letter "M" on his refrigerator magnets, he will bring it to you every single time.....and tonight we made it through "F' when repeating the ABC's. He "reads"(points to letters and babbles something that you can't understand) all the time and loves for you to clap for him! Oh I cannot express how awesome this little boy is to me, so I will leave you with some pictures and you can decide for yourself!!!

What's Yours is Mine

Whats yours is MINE.....

There is a new word floating around the Kalivoda house.....and you guessed it...it's MINE! Maddox has entered the glorious phase of whats yours is mine and whats mine is.....well....mine of course! This is a newly found word and it is vocalized on numerous occasions. The funniest time this word was voiced, was this evening when Brad came home from work....we were saying our usual hello's and Brad gave me a hug....Maddox looked up at Brad with the most distasteful look on his face and said "MINE" (referring to me of course) hahhaah.....while, this phase is a "fun" one...teaching how to share and that giving is much better than receiving and that not everything you place your eyes or grubby little hands on is in fact YOURS.....I have to admit, hearing my small (well, he is quite big if we are being honest) little man stare his daddy square in the face and declare that I (his mommy) was in fact HIS....soon enough he will learn the truth in reality.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend trip to the lake!!!

This was the common theme for the weekend...."no Daddy, I want to go THAT way"

Enjoy the Moment

I hope you have had time to sit and ponder the small things in life!





I hope you put your feet up...... RELAX a little....


Have a great weekend....explore your curious side and enjoy the moment!!

Pictures

My sister-in-law, Kameron, sent me a few pictures that she took while we were on vacation in Pagosa Springs, CO.....I just loved them, so I thought I would share the joy!! The 3 Voda's at the beautiful waterfall
Taking Maddox for a walk in the morning

Sista!!

Maddox and Uncle J (OK)

Look at those chompers...and that crazy hair!!! Priceless

Strollin with my homies

Me and my little man on our walk

Wee

Not Me Monday

"Are you feeling guilty for not washing your child's swimsuit after they wear it? Feel greasy because you don't wash your hair every day? Overcome with embarrassment because your child was rude while out to dinner? We'll don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!" (taken from MckMamma's blog)

This week I did NOT walk into the kitchen as see my son standing in the dog's water bowl happy as could be, with water splashed everywhere and his shoes soaked....how long was I out of the room????!
I did NOT get so freakin hot in the car in this 100+ weather that I had to take my bra off because I thought I was just going to melt and was getting super aggravated at how hot I was...and if this were the case (which in fact it was NOT) I most defiantly would NOT blog about it...who would want to read such a story...NOT me!
I did NOT put my son's shorts on backwards all morning and wonder why he was so aggravated in the car....they were NOT giving him a major wedgie...NOT me, I always have everything very together and would never not notice front pockets on my son's bum!
I did NOT clean out our ridiculously messy closet and find 3 pairs of shoes I completely forgot I had....I would never let things get so unorganized that I wouldn't know what shoes I owned!
I did NOT let Maddox play with a hose to the vacuum for over an hour just so I could get a few things done around the house...no no no, NOT me, it is always educational toy play in this house!!!

What about YOU.....what did you NOT do this week???

Time Flies

I cannot believe that as of yesterday, I now have a 19 month old running, screaming, laughing, hugging, smiling, sleeping, crying, mess making, giggling, fish loving, dancing, drumming, little boy who I have the awesome blessing of "playing" with everyday!!!

Gosh, time just Flies

Week of Fun with Kayley

As I mentioned in the previous post, we have had some pretty exciting weeks lately. When we returned home from Colorado, my 13 year old cousin, Kayley came with us and spent the week in the Voda house!!! Oh we had so much fun! We started the week off right with Chick-fil-a breakfast followed by an afternoon of shopping!!! We baked brownies, watched a marathon of FRIENDS, ate cookie dough, went for long morning walks to the park, I introduced her to Taco Villa Dr Pepper's, shopped, shopped and shopped some more!! She will be starting High School later this month, so I helped her find some clothes for school, a new book bag and some super cute shoes. I loved having her here with us, and Maddox thought it was great to have someone other than me to play with everyday! It was super sad to watch her leave on Saturday morning, but we have some awesome memories of a fantastic week!!

This is probably one of my favoirte pics from this week. We found this "awesome" outfits at Rue 21 and I thought they were hillarious so I insisted we try them on. They are all one piece, the neon zebra pring sewn to shorts...hahahha!!!

Our first night of baking....brownies!! Yummm...and the batter was even better! We visited Brad at work

Getting comfy on the couch, eating cookie dough, watching FRIENDS

Long morning walk to the park

At the airport

Sporting some of her new clothes and a sassy pose!!

Bye Bye Kayley!! Thanks for spending the week with us!!!

Family Reunion

Whew! There is a lot to write about because we have had some pretty exciting weeks lately! I will first start off with our trip to Pagosa Springs, CO for the second annual Malone family reunion.

It is a nine hour drive from Lubbock to Pagosa Springs; therefore, we took our time getting there and split the trip into two days.....my mom, granny, brother (Uncle J or OK as Maddox has called him lately), sis-in-law (Aunt Kam), niece (sweet little Mollie) Maddox and I left Sunday morning with our goal being Sante Fe, New Mexico (Brad met us in Colorado Wednesday evening). We weren't in any hurry; therefore, we stopped when we needed to and the babies did great!! When we arrived in Sante Fe, it started to rain, so we played in the hotel lobby, ate pizza and simply enjoyed being out of the car!!

Uncle J enjoying lunch on our way to Sante Fe

Maddox munchin' down on his cheese-less pizza after his bath (he was STARVING)

Me and my boy!!

We then loaded up on Monday morning and finished the drive into Pagosa Springs. Oh my goodness.....this cabin exceeded all my expectations!!

It slept 17 or so of us comfortably, had a game room, two of every kitchen appliance and a pool table. Out the back door was the nice patio that connected to a dock where you could fish, go cannoning or hang out on the pontoon boat. Not to mention the beautiful scenery all around us. My favorite part was the ability for all of us to hang out in the house, enjoy our meals together and be together throughout the evening....playing games, talking, and laughing.

My mom and Aunt Karla enjoying some time outside!

Sweet Granny watching the kids play

Uncle Gary pondering his next plan to pester someone I am sure!! Hahah!!

My brother fishing (no fish were caught this trip but it was not because of a lack of trying...Jason was out there for hours everyday!!)

Sweet little Mollie being her sweet little self

Uncle Gary showing Maddox his awesome juggling skills

Ahhh....a Sonic run!!! My cousin Kayley enjoying her double vanilla Dr Pepper (and me playing around with some settings on the camera!!)


Me and my cousin Kayley playing!!

Perfection!!


Overall Maddox did really well....I was super impressed with how he traveled...he was a champ, especially on the way home, we only had to stop twice on the 9 hour drive home!! It did take Maddox a while to warm up to everyone every morning (we do NOT have a morning person on our hands), but by the end of the trip he was actually playing and laughing with everyone. He did test the boundaries and want to know if the rules still applied although we were out of town....but overall he did GREAT!!! He loves being outside, so every chance he got he was playing outside trying to find the fish, watch the ducks, laugh at the birds and pet the puppies!! Thank you to all of my family that was on this trip, you all were so good to Maddox, you were patient with him, loved on him and played with him every chance you had. Thank you for helping us create these fun memories for him!!!

Chillin in the truck wearing Momma's sunglasses!!!

Daddy and Maddox playing

Lemon Face!! (Maddox "enjoying" a bite of lemon)

Nothing better than being hand-in-hand with Daddy

We had a "flying" good time in Pagosa Springs!!