It's Official!!

We are mobile! I mean really mobile... I mean "I see something across the room that I want, I'm gonna get it!" mobile.

I don't know that I'll ever understand how kids can go from not doing something to mastering it in a matter of minutes. Madelyn is a crawling fool these last two days. Which means Momma is a nervous wreck running around making sure there's nothing she can hurt herself on. Needless to say, working out has gotten much more interesting since Miss Maddy has decided she wants to play with the weights...
Hope you all enjoy this peek at our little princess!

Dreaming of days to come...

From the moment that we decided we were moving home I feel like we've been stuck in Limbo. Whether we are waiting on information from the Marine Corps on when we will actually be leaving island or trying to figure out our own crap: transportation, school, work, childcare, living arrangements; it seems like we are always waiting on something. Looking at it in hindsight now, it actually should be a very stressful situation. Yet somehow, may it be our faith in God's plan for our family, being too distracted with Madelyn to care or just outright luck, we are only looking forward to what the next few months and years hold for us with excited anticipation.
Joe and I find ourselves dreaming on a pretty regular basis of all the things we will be doing once we're home.
His dreams usually consist of fishing, hunting, hanging out with the guys, riding sleds again in the snow, playing in the snow, playing with Maddy in the snow, having Maddy see snow for the first time... okay so for the most part anything that involves SNOW.
My dreams have a little wider spectrum. I can't wait to raise my kids in the same state that I grew up in and loved. I can't wait to watch Madelyn discover that sticky white stuff that falls out of the sky for the first time. I seriously can't wait to have a home, in one place, and NOT MOVE for a very long time and have my children recognize this place as their home (even if this last one is going to take a little while it is at least a possibility now that we won't be in the military anymore... I am very tired of moving by the way). I am also very very very excited to get back on the ice and start playing hockey again, with any luck Maddy will be skating in no time!
Everybody dreams, it is just very nice to know that your dreams have the capability of becoming a reality.
But alas, for at least the next three months we are stuck in Paradise. This last weekend we went on a beautiful hike. Here are some photos :)

 Above are some ancient ruins that are located about ten minutes off the main highway near base. This was a summer palace of King Kamehameha III.

 There's our beautiful girl!

 

 Family shot

Our friend David at the base of a beautiful waterfall we hiked to.

I'm off to dream of more things to do once I get home! Hope you all have a beautiful night.
All our love!
The Marshall Family

Holy Smokes, 8 months!

Another month down. I swear every single month I am amazed that this little human has grown so much. She's come a long way from the 4 pound 2 ounce little baby that I brought home from the hospital. Check this girl out!

 The teddy bear pictures are getting more and more interesting the more she can move.

But you can at least you can see how big she's gotten :) A whole 14 pounds 1 ounce!
We've been enjoying more of a schedule these days. Maddy is up to eating three times a day like a big girl and although we've had a few setbacks, sleeping has been going well for the most part.

Madelyn hasn't quite figured out crawling yet, but she's SO close. She manages to get around pretty well though... and she gets into EVERYTHING! The xbox is her new favorite.

We also got to spend some time out in the grass this past week. She was very interested, especially interested in eating it.
This weekend Joe gets a whole 4 days off work so we're off to explore the island a little bit tomorrow. I'll be updating photos afterward.
Oh and if you hadn't noticed, our family is off Facebook for the Lent season so we'll be back after Easter, until then you'll just need to keep up on here.
We'll be posting soon!
The Marshall Family

Blocks and Boxes and Standing, Oh my!

This last week has brought us many new adventures with miss Madelyn. After discovering her standing in her crib (still in the infant position I might add) we have lowered both her crib and the pack n' play as well as begun baby proofing for the soon to come days of crawling.

Other exciting little things lately consist of Maddy getting her first set of wooden blocks, which she absolutely adores, and discovering the fun of boxes!

Honestly, what could be more fun than having children? I don't believe anything :)
Until next time!
The Marshall Family

Sweet Love

I've always had mixed feelings about the month of February. Throughout the duration of our relationship, Joe and I have spent the majority of our Valentine's Days separated... Even though he always manages to come up with something sweet, being apart doesn't make for a very romantic holiday. This year however we have a little someone that makes all the pink, sparkly, over the top madness that surrounds this one day totally worth it! Our little Maddy Grace.
Seeing as how our little princess is only eight months old, there won't be too much Valentines craziness going on this year, but having this little sweetheart makes me excited for the years to come.

 How can you not love that face?!

 This last weekend we spent some much needed time at the beach to say goodbye to one of our good friends. These next few months will hold some very sad times as many of our closest friends are coming up on the last of their time in the Marine Corps. Before we know it we will be in their shoes and headed back up north to Alaska.

We also celebrated our very last Marine Corps Ball on the 31st. Such a fun time, but as always it went by much too quickly.

 Then came Super Bowl Sunday! Madelyn had to represent for the Cardinals since we were short a 49er's jersey. We spent the day at a friends house and ate a ton of food that was absolutely terrible for us. It was glorious :)

 Today Daddy is on duty so Mommy and Maddy will be spending the day together. Our newest project is trying to re-vamp her feeding and napping schedule in attempts of a full nights sleep. There have been far too many early morning wake ups (by early I mean 4am) lately for my liking... I'll send you off with one more photo of our sweet girl. I don't know about you but I just can't get enough!

We're off to explore Miss Maddy's crawling capabilities in the living room. Until next time!
With all our love,
The Marshall Family