Madison Turned 11!!

Yesterday, Madison turned 11!! Yes, she was almost born on my birthday!

I remember my Mom and I went out for lunch on my birthday that year (2000) and I was having pains, but I didn't realize they were truly labor pains. We were getting ready to move into a rental house and so after lunch, we went over there to clean and get it ready. I remember standing in a kitchen chair, putting dishes away, and having to stop every now and then for pains. I still had no idea they were labor pains! Madison was 10 days early, so I guess I just didn't think it was the real thing.

Well, the next morning, I woke up early and I knew it was the real thing! But, I was determined to take a shower and do my hair and put my makeup on......I couldn't be going to the hospital looking like I just woke up! LOL!! After doing all that, I woke Morgan up and told him we needed to head to the hospital, which luckily was right down the road from our apartment. By the time we got there, probably around 8:30am, I was already 7cm! I called my Mom and was like, you might want to hurry because it won't be long! She made it though and Madison was born at 11:41am, completely natural. I remember feeling like that was the best thing I had ever accomplished! :D

We did go out to eat for her birthday last night and had cake when we got home. But, for her party, she wanted a sleepover this year, which we had Friday night.

I decided to get these little tin pails and tie ribbon to the handles and put some pens, candy, and gum inside for goody bags. I put each girl's initial on there using my cricut.

Our empty dining room was perfect for setting up the party stuff! Morgan brought these tables/chairs from his office and it worked out great. Not the best picture of me, but me and the birthday girl! Lily took this picture. :)

Madison sure is looking grown up these days! Not sure I'm ready for that. How did 11 years go by so fast?!!

I love this picture of her!
LOL....you can see Morgan's truck in the background......he drove around to the backyard to unload the waterslide!We had 10 girls total and Morgan was able to get a waterslide from his client for free again (woo hoo!), and they had fun for awhile. But, it got really cold really fast, even though it's been over 100 here every day! That wind coming off the bay really cools things down out back though, thank goodness!

I ordered spaghetti/salad/bread from a local Italian place. It is always so good and so affordable.....it was only $40 for huge pans of everything and we had tons of leftovers too. It was nice to have something different than pizza too.

After dinner, they did makeovers and played dress-up. I loved that Madison's friends wanted to play and do little girl stuff. So many girls are ready to grow up too fast and I'm trying to keep them young as long as possible! I will never be a mom who encourages her to grow up too fast.

She wanted to have bright colored cupcakes this year. I was lazy and just ordered them from Walmart, but they turned out cute!

After cupcakes and singing Happy Birthday, everyone just did their own thing. They played and watched TV and played on the computer. Morgan and I went to bed around midnight and I love this new house because we didn't even really hear them. At our old house, with them being upstairs, it always sounded like a herd of elephants jumping up and down! LOL!

The next morning, we had donuts and kolaches for breakfast and then it was time for everyone to be picked up. I think everyone had a fun time! And even though the ages ranged from 5 to almost 12, everyone got along really well!

Happy Birthday, Madison Ashley!!