The Latest Happenings, Part II

Friday was a fun-filled day. We went to The Village (Redlands Christian Home) for the costume parade. The senior citizens loved seeing the kids all dressed up, and the kids loved getting candy. It was a win-win situation. Here are some pictures I got from that event…

Maddie was a princess, and Mackenzie was a goldfish. Some referred to her as the “beached whale” since the costume didn’t allow for her to move around much.

She started out happy…

It was nearly impossible to catch Maddie sitting still. This might be the only shot I have of her where she isn’t “on the go.”

Aliyah, the bee, had to check out Mackenzie, the goldfish.

I’m not sure what Maddie is saying in this picture, but it is definitely something very important!

Can you tell this is near the end of the morning…when everyone is ready to be out of their costumes?!! No more posing for pictures!!!

This is probably my favorite one of Mackenzie. I can’t help but laugh when I see those big fish eyes staring at me.

Later that night we went to a church in town that hosts a Halloween night…”Halloween Happening.” Marilyn, a friend from church, came along and helped me with the girls. (Mark was busy all day shooting a wedding in Redlands.)

All Sorts of Fun Things

Here are some pictures from the last few days. Nothing majorly exciting going on…just the usual kid stuff.

Maddie had fun hanging out with Dad on Saturday.

He was busy studying, and Maddie was busy reading right next to him.

Maddie got a couple of hats from Marilyn…a friend from church who watches her and Mackenzie sometimes. She just loves playing with her new hat…and she loves putting it on “Kenzie,” too.

Our jazz combo is back together again! We first played together for my graduate recital and have had a couple of gigs here and there. We have our first official paid gig coming up in early November, so we’ve started rehearsing. Last night we rehearsed in the garage…so much fun!

And here is Maddie drinking her very first hot chocolate…she loved it of course!

Here is a video of Maddie reading to Mark as he was studying on Saturday…

Ponies, Parties, and Friends

I feel like I have so many things to post…so here come a lot of pictures! We went to a birthday party this past weekend of one of Maddie’s friends who just turned 2. Maddie had a blast and even got to go on THREE pony rides! Notice the series of pictures…first she’s seriously anxious and uneasy, but by the end, she’s a real pro.

Holding on pretty tightly to Dad…

Dad’s still close by…

All by herself!

And here’s the birthday girl with her cool cupcake cake!

I had to post both of these pix…don’t you love how one girl is closing her eyes in each picture?! Mom Leonard, notice the cute “couch” they’re sitting on? I got it at a garage sale this weekend, and Maddie LOVES it! It reminds her of being at Gma and Gpa Leonard’s house.

We went to Oak Glen with a group of moms and their kids from church this afternoon. Maddie had a blast! Here are some pictures from our afternoon.

Our beautiful cousins

Maddie running with Cousin S.

Maddie and Mackenzie were spoiled by the cool older girls at Oak Glen.

Isn’t this such a sweet picture?!

And later today after getting home from Oak Glen, Sarah and Aliyah came to hang out with Mackenzie. Aliyah and Mackenzie had lots of fun while Maddie took a nap.

Aliyah tried so hard to get close to Mackenzie, but this is the closest that the Exersaucer would allow! She’s so sweet…always wanting to give kisses. We love you, Aliyah!

Recent Happenings

We have nothing majorly exciting going on, but I have some fun pictures to share. The first one needs a little explaining. It’s my birthday gift from Mark. He told me that he would take as long as it took to make an arrangement of picture sizes on our wall so we could finally get some family pictures up! We spent an hour or two working on our arrangement, and here’s our result. I can’t wait to post the final arrangement with the frames and the pictures!!

Mackenzie was so cuddly and actually fell asleep while we were working on our “tagboard pix arrangement.”

Maddie all cozy with Cheryl after swimming at Eva’s birthday party

This is probably one of my all-time favorites…so sweet seeing the two girls at the piano. It reminds me of my friend Kendra and me (even though we didn’t know each other at quite that young of an age).

showing so much concentration…even the tongue is sticking out

We got the sling that I had borrowed from a friend, and it came with a little hat. Even though it was about 78 degrees in the house, we had to put it on Mackenzie for a picture.

Maddie had a blast at a “playdate” organized from a friend from church. Thanks for opening your home and yard, Patty! We had a great time.

This isn’t the greatest quality picture, but I just love the shot of the two girls.

I LOVE this one! Aliyah is fascinated with babies and just loves hugging, kissing, and putting her fingers in Mackenzie’s mouth. We love you, Aliyah!!!

Maddie kept saying “dress dress” this morning, so I gave in…nice choice for playing in the dirt, huh?!

Trip to Montana!

Mackenzie and I went on a slightly last-minute trip to a wedding in Bozeman, Montana and had a blast. Mackenzie couldn’t have done a better job the entire trip, which made it so much easier for me. It’s pretty stressful traveling alone with a baby, but I have nothing to complain about. All Mackenzie wanted was to be held and cuddled, which fit well with our couple of days since we spent most of our time on the airplane.

Here are some pictures of the weekend…

Mackenzie in a sling that Rachel Treur let me borrow…It was awesome and worked perfectly for flying, and Mackenzie loved being in it! (Thanks, so much, Rachel, and I will wash it asap and get it back to you)!!

I had to get a shot of our rental car. Here’s Mackenzie by it in her carseat, all smiles the afternoon of the wedding.

It was so great to see Kari, and doesn’t she look absolutely beautiful?! Unfortunately, Mackenzie wasn’t so agreeable in posing for the picture.

This is a random picture I took of Mackenzie on Sunday after church. She’s in a dress that my sister Vonda let me use…so cute!

Nick, Julie, and Eva were over…Maddie and Eva had a blast together. Here they are kissing each other good night…so sweet.

A Fun Weekend

The pictures I’m posting are from the end of last week through today. We had a fun weekend in Escondido where I played for church, and we also went to the San Diego Zoo. I didn’t get pictures of the animals, but I tried to capture some of the excitement of that day.

I know she’s showing a bit more skin than is appropriate, but cut her some slack–she’s little and is still growing into her outfits!

Mackenzie is sitting in the jump-a-roo, thanks to the Schenkels who are letting us borrow it.

Play Doh and bubbles…two of her favorite things! Then you throw Daddy into the mix, and it’s just perfect.

There’s a swimming pool at Paul and Danae’s house, and Maddie loved swimming and jumping off the side to Daddy.

Mackenzie enjoyed watching everything in her bouncy seat in the shade. Even though she didn’t go swimming, it was still fun to put her swimsuit on.

The next set of pictures are of our trip to the zoo…

As you can see, Maddie and Caleb are pretty excited to get going!

This was taken during the sea lion show.

One of our highlights of the zoo was the “tree lady” who walked around, blending into the trees. Can you spot her in the picture above?!

Debbie Southworth was in Redlands for a short time, so we got together for a Starbucks and a nice visit. It was so fun to see her. It almost looks like my girls could be hers…all those blue eyes!!

And the following video is of our cute little “bat-girl.”

This One’s for You, J!

I was talking with my cousin Siri who is now living in California (yay!!), and she had mentioned how her son, J, was wondering why it had been so long since I had posted something on our blog. So, J, this HUMONGOUS (spelling??) post is for YOU! Many of you are my facebook friends, so I apologize for the redundancy. It was just way easier to use the same photos from the ones I posted on facebook. My time for blogging is limited.

So while both girls are napping, I’ll give a shot at explaining the next large batch of pictures that are from the last month or so. We’ve enjoyed a wonderful trip to MN as you can see by the many pictures. If any of you are interested, I have many more on our smugmug site.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

Maddie and Grandpa Leonard had lots of fun being goofy together.

We made a quick stop at the lake for a yummy lunch/dinner (Thanks, Vicki!!) and had to get a picture at the end of the dock.

I think this sweet photo was taken at the Leonard Family Reunion in the Minneapolis area (can’t remember which suburb)

We got this family picture at the Fargo airport. I think it was Mark’s greatest moment of his trip…maybe is one of the best moments in his life…seriously! When we turned around a corner at the airport, Mark was in sight, and Maddie SCREAMED and ran toward him. It was the greatest! We hadn’t seen him in over two weeks, so it was a fun moment for all of us. I’m just so bummed that I didn’t get it on our video camera.

It was great to see my grandparents. My mom’s sister Donna and parents drove to Watertown, and we all stayed in a hotel and hung out for a day.

Here’s Brad and his dog Marley and Mackenzie

Maddie loved riding the jet ski!

Here’s a fun shot with my dad and all of the grandkids.

And here’s a similar shot with my mom with all of the grandkids.

This is my oldest niece on the Dekkers side and Maddie.

Maddie was pretty much in love with the 4-wheeler, as you can see by this picture.

It was so fun to be all together…with all of us 5 kids. That doesn’t happen very often!

Camille and Carter caught two turtles while at the lake, and the little kids loved looking at them.

a close family friend, Beaver, Mackenzie, and me

Maddie loved riding the little Gator while at the lake…it’s the cutest thing to see the little kids riding their own toddler-sized vehicle.

One of the few chances I had to cuddle with Maddie.

Thanks for your patience in waiting a long time for me to post! Hope you enjoyed the pictures, J!

Eventful last Couple of Weeks

So, in the last couple of weeks, another school year has wrapped up, Mark has entered his “wedding season” for Mark Leonard Imaging, and we’ve enjoyed hanging out with cousins who are in the process of moving out to CA and getting settled. It’s been a busy and fun last couple of weeks, and I am way past due in needing to post on the blog. Thank you, Grandma Leonard, for your patience. You are definitely our most faithful follower.

Here are some pictures of some of the latest events in the Leonard household…

Charity had the magic touch–she got Mackenzie to sleep more than once when I was busy in the kitchen! (I will get more pictures of the rest of the Penn gang and post them).

We went to a local farm in Redlands that lets you walk through and see the animals. Maddie loved the goats!! She kept trying to imitate the sounds they were making.

I love the expression on her face in this picture. I think it’s when she was watching the turkeys and loved the sounds they made.

Her friend Eva wasn’t as excited about the goats. She liked the other animals, though.

The next few pictures were taken at Chick-Fil-A. I love taking Maddie there because they have great chicken and an awesome play area that Maddie loves. Sarah and Aliyah met us there, and the girls had a blast. Even Mackenzie woke up to give some smiles for the camera.

What a ham!

Can you see the smile under the pacifier?!

Such happy girls…

This last picture was taken at Stater Brothers (our grocery store). Maddie LOVED sitting in the “car cart.” In fact, when it was time to get back in the van to go home, Maddie threw a fit. I tried the whole “Bye, Maddie, I’m leaving,” and she happily said “bye bye” and stayed in her little car!! I finally just dragged her out with her kicking and screaming…what a horrible mom I am! (She somehow survived and is sound asleep in bed as I type).

And to close it off, here are a couple of cute videos I wanted to share…

Mackenzie’s Baptism

Sorry it’s taken me awhile, but I’m finally getting around to posting some videos from Mackenzie’s baptism. It was a great day, and we enjoyed celebrating with Mackenzie in her baptism. May God grow and work in her heart as she grows up!

Some Fun Videos

Here are some videos that I thought you might find enjoyable to watch.

Mark putting together Mackenzie’s crib

Maddie playing with Mackenzie

getting a haircut



Maddie playing with her friend Aliyah