10 months and saying goodbye...

Our little girl (who isn't so little anymore) is now 10 months old! I can't say enough how quickly time passes. I'll admit that I miss her being immobile sometimes, those times when all she wanted to do was snuggle with Momma... but then I see all of the things that she has learned in such a relatively short amount of time and I can't wait to see more. Being a Momma has seriously got to be one of the best jobs in the world :)

So not only does this month bring new things like STANDING ON OUR OWN!! but it also brings some very big changes for the Marshall family. We will be leaving our home in Hawaii and moving back to our native state of Alaska. Talk about scary!! The house is looking bare, there are boxes everywhere and it's starting to finally feel real. In less than two weeks we will be saying goodbye to our first home as a family and moving on to bigger and newer things. (Prayers are appreciated!)
Well, weather permitted we will be enjoying our last couple weeks of Hawaii sunshine. Here are a few recent photos of our little angel.

 We will seriously be missing this sunshine...

 Something tells me there aren't many splash parks back home...

I had better get back to packing and cleaning. This moving business is no fun. We'll write again soon!
All our love,
The Marshalls

Easter Weekend and Some Ranting

Oh my, how things have changed. When did Easter become a second Christmas?!?  I guess it is easy to say that I'm a little perturbed about how materialistic this world is becoming. Christmas is no longer about Christ our Savior but more about the presents under the Christmas tree. Valentine's Day now warrants gifts for children other than Valentine's Day cards or candy, but real presents?!?! What the heck!!! Easter is no longer viewed as a celebration of our Lord's resurrection by children but more as yet another gift bearing holiday and a reason to eat more junk food. Add in candy from the 4th of July and Halloween and I can already see our dental bills racking up in the years to come. UGH!
Now keep in mind our daughter is only 9 months old. This means no Easter basket for her because honestly, what the heck does one put in an Easter basket for a 9 month old?! I am completely aware that every family does things differently and am in no way trying to put down those practices. But really people, can we please start teaching our children where these holidays originated from? I guarantee that I will be the first one snapping photos of Maddy as she runs around in her little Easter dress collecting eggs in the yard, but I will also be doing my best to explain to our little munchkin the real meaning behind such a beautiful day. Okay, end of rant.
On another note! We really did have a wonderful weekend, a very different holiday that normal, but none-the-less, joyous. Joe had to work on Saturday so that did put a little damper on the weekend festivities. There was no decorating (I'm not the best at holiday decorations other than Christmas anyway), no egg hunt (9 months old!!) and no Easter dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes as I am accustomed to. There was however a very relaxing Saturday for Madelyn and me, a beautiful Easter Vigil service, and a lazy Sunday morning followed by some fun in the sun with friends. Although very different from the norm, I would call Madelyn's first Easter a success. We will work on the traditions next year once we're back home. :)
Our days lately have been filled with packing up, selling anything we don't need and trying to downsize anywhere we can. Man, moving is stressful! There is however a saving grace. My mom will be here for two full weeks starting next Tuesday and I couldn't be happier! Visits from the Grandparents are always welcome here.

 Beautiful flowers from Grandma Marshall

Our little girl just as pretty as ever.

We sure are going to miss this sunshine!

 Momma and Maddy

All tuckered out after a long day. She let us sleep in until 9am!

Recap

 Here are some photos to recap our last couple of weeks. We had an awesome time while Sarah was here. Makes us very anxious to get back to Alaska near friends and family. I hope you enjoy!

 Madelyn enjoyed her first adventure of feeding herself very much!

 Hanging out with Momma at the beach.

 Loving the extra family time we've been getting lately.

 Our last night with Sarah.

 Oh, the way my child sleeps in her stroller....

We hope you enjoyed the pictures! We'll write again soon :)

Giggle Girl :)

Man, can this little girl's Daddy get her laughing!

9 Months!

Well it's happened. Another month has gone by and our girl is getting bigger by the day! I can't say enough how much I love being Momma to this little bit of sunshine. Here are the teddy bear pictures. It's getting a little bit harder each month. Haha!

 Just look at that face! I can't get enough <3

We've also been trying to get outside as much as possible these days. Which has been very easy since we have a visitor this week! Our friend Sarah from Alaska is visiting and we are having so much fun! Here are some photos from our latest beach adventures.

 Easter is just around the corner, and I cannot wait to dress little Miss Maddy up in her adorable Easter dress and show her off. Maybe next year we'll try an Easter egg hunt and basket, for this year we'll be enjoying a nice dinner and family time :)
We are trying our hardest to enjoy these last few months here on the island, even though we are very anxious to get home and start our life in Alaska. We hope you enjoy the photos! We'll keep you up to date on anything fun that happens here.
With all our love,
The Marshall Family

Our little big girl.

Do you know how strange it is to see a little person the size of a three month old walking around your couch?!!! SO. WEIRD.
Our little girl is cruising like crazy these days. Pulling up on everything, crawling everywhere, getting into the dog food, swimming in the water bowl.....
Needless to say she is keeping us busy. I am loving every single second of it. :)
It's hard to believe that she is almost 9 months.
Here are some snapshots of our girl:

 This is how she decided to put herself back to sleep..

 Enjoying the sunshine streaming through our windows for as long as we can!

 And enjoying the sunshine outside :)

 Like I said, she is standing and cruising on everything!

 Even the baggage claim at the airport...

I'll be posting photos this week for Maddy's nine month teddy bear shot!
Until next time :)

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!