Dear Blog, From Maddie

I woke up this morning and everyone was making a big deal about something. First, mommy came into my room with a camera and kept saying "Happy Birthday Maddie!"



Don't make fun of my face. You'd look a little disturbed if someone barged in your room at 6:30 in the morning with a big, black piece of plastic that flashed white lightning in your eyes too. Then, she kept doing it while I tried to drink my breakfast.



Mommy got me dressed in the "special" shirt she's been talking about for weeks and I proudly showed it off while I strutted around the house. I am LOVING this new skill they call walking, by the way. I have to practice it whenever I get the chance.



We said goodbye to Daddy as he left for work, then we ate more breakfast because I really can't get through a day without my cheese in the morning. The stars and cheerios are just a bonus.



After breakfast, I got my hands on some of Jacob's toys.



He just loves it when I do that. Can't you tell?



Don't be alarmed. I always go back for more.



And Jacob's usually ready and willing to give it to me. See? I love every minute of it.



We went to the grocery store to get some food for my party this weekend and Mommy picked out a couple of cupcakes to celebrate my birthday tonight. We came home and would you believe I took a TWO hour nap? Mommy had to wake me up so we could go to lunch with Jaemie, Owen and Nathan. But she knew that would mean my afternoon nap would suffer. Boy was she right. Lunch was great. We met at Chipotle and I am a big fan of the black beans and guacamole. I also love dancing in my high chair with Nathan and watching Owen and Jacob tackle each other in the booth. They love to wrestle wherever they go (much to our mommies' dismay). Jaemie, Owen and Nathan gave me a penguin puppet and a little purse filled with goodies for my birthday. Unfortunately, Mommy forgot to bring the camera along to capture the fun. We then went to TJMaxx so Jacob could pick out his birthday gift for me. Would you believe he picked out something that he would want to play with? Big surprise!

After my short, hard-to-get afternoon nap, Mommy took me outside to get some pictures to commemorate my birthday while Jacob slept.

I am a BIG fan of the playhouse outside. I love to open the door, go in, close the door, open the door, go out, close the door, open the door, go in, close the door, you get the idea...





Mommy love, love, loves this picture of me that she even posted it on Facebook.



Jacob finally woke up and then we decided to go on a wagon ride. Nanny made these famous while she was visiting this last week. Notice Mr. Penguin Puppet came along for the ride.



Jacob loves to entertain me while we ride.





Behind that mischievous smile is a heart of gold.



And I do believe...a heartbreaker someday.



But for now, his affection clearly goes to me.





He's a pretty special big brother.



Daddy came home from work and we got to sing that silly song and eat our cupcakes.





I still don't know what to do with that dome of sugar yet though.



Mommy and Daddy keep talking about the "real party" on Saturday. Can't wait to see what that's going to be all about. If it's anything like today, it should be a good time!

Happy 1st Birthday Madeline Grace!

Our little walker

I forgot how darn cute it is to see a barely 1 year old walking around like Frankenstein. She is walking everywhere now! In fact, tonight we went to Talbot's Toyland and she wanted out of my arms at every chance so she could walk around and explore the toys herself! Ahhh, I just can't believe she's already entering toddlerhood. Wahhh!!

Exhaustion at its finest

We - finally - moved back into our house last Thursday. When the moving truck arrived, it was questionable whether that huge thing would make it up our street but indeed they did, with lots and lots of 100 point turns at the bottom of the hill.



I always forget how torn I am on moving day. I am always, always, very excited. Especially because, for us, it usually means that we are finally seeing our things again after living in corporate housing for a short while. As I watched our bed roll out of that truck I thought I heard angels in the background singing "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" (okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration but when you've been sleeping on a pull out couch in the middle of the living room for 30+ days and your back is KILLING you, it's a darn great sight to see.) I imagine Jacob feels the same way when he saw the boxes and boxes of toys unloading before his very eyes. Those were treasures he hadn't seen in some time.

But then, about an hour into the unloading, panic sets in. I can tell you exactly when it happens. It sneaks up on you suddenly when you realize you can barely see the floor anymore because you are surrounded by furniture and boxes. For me, claustrophobia sets in and I feel the need to start unpacking and putting things away as quickly as I possibly can. The elation that I felt a short time ago turns into pure panic as I realize that there is SO MUCH to do and it is going to take FOREVER to get settled in this new place. And the words "How the heck do we have SO MUCH STUFF" escapes my frustrated lips at least a hundred times.

So, Mark and I hit the unpacking hard this weekend so we could get as much done as possible before he is gone for the next couple of weeks for work. Our focus was the new playroom. Let me tell you -- building this playroom was the best decision we've ever made. The playroom also became the dumping ground for any and all boxes we couldn't immediately identify a home for so when the moving truck pulled away, the room was floor to ceiling boxes. NO JOKE. Every time I looked at it, I wanted to cry.

But, back to the playroom (I have lots to update on). We decided to convert our garage to a playroom because we absolutely knew that the toys would overrun this little house and we really wanted Jake and Maddie to have a place to play. Since the garage is right off of the kitchen, it was a perfect spot. After entertaining all different types of conversions, we decided to do it all -- build a back wall, ceiling, cabinets, and add carpet to make it look like a real room. We hired a contractor to build the wall and ceiling but my amazing husband, (Oh SO amazing husband), built twelve (I repeat TWELVE) cabinets. And these were not small cabinets people. He did a few each night and I have to say, they look incredible. We decided to paint the room a pretty apple green and the room really looks amazing. We spent all kinds of hours unpacking it and getting it ready over the weekend so the kids would have a place to play while Mommy worked on the rest of the house and it has been a HUGE help. Jacob loves playing in his new room and we even put a little TV out there where he can watch a show or movie. I don't think he's ever going to want to play in his own room! Honestly, why would he?!

We have a few more small touches to add (touch up paint, base boards and an awesome wall mural) but this is how it looks so far. Amazing!



I love that we decided to keep our old refrigerator and put it in the playroom. Just extra room for drinks and snacks!



Look at these awesome cabinets Mark built! I wish I could show you the inside of all of them. Stacked to the max with toys.



That door in the back goes to a small storage space which is also very nice to have.



I also love that I can do laundry in here and we stacked our washer/dryer to save space!



Slowly but surely the rest of the house is coming along. We haven't slept much in these last few days but it's been worth it. The fact that I am even taking time to blog is proof enough that things are starting to look normal around here because I feel okay about sitting down for 30 minutes to do something other than unpack. It's great to be back in our old home. It just feels like an old glove that fits perfectly.

First Steps

Maddie is officially taking her own first steps! She's not "walking" around but she is letting go of her hold and taking steps to get to where she wants to go. She eventually falls to her knees or butt, but she's taking more and more each day. She seems quite proud of herself too. Check it out!





As a sidenote, Jacob fell asleep like this yesterday during nap. I don't know why I find it so hysterical!

Playgroup reunions

I should have posted some pictures of our playgroup reunions a month ago, but I kept forgetting to bring my camera out with us. From the day we arrived, we've been spending lots and lots of time with our close friends, Jaemie and Owen and their new addition Nathan, and we jumped right back into our playgroups on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. It's so nice to come back to friends and pick up right where we left off, as if no time had passed. This is a luxury we didn't have when we moved to Chicago and Dallas and I have a new appreciation for it. This transition would have been so much more difficult without these awesome people. Thanks friends, for inviting us back into your lives!

On this particular day at the park, Maddie finally opened up to Jaemie (she's still in her "stranger danger" phase) and only wanted to be held by her! I think Jaemie liked it :)



There are SO many new babies in the group, including this beautiful girl, Katelynn. It's so good to see her mama Cathy and big sister Sheri again!



Big sister Sheri



These 2 beautiful girls, Emma and Elin are as inseparable as Jacob and Owen. And they (or their mamas I should say) have the best taste in accessories! I need to take some notes.



Luke is also a new big brother to Elliott. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Elliott or Mama Kristen but I got a cute one of Luke playing underneath the picnic table.



Maddie LOVES to walk holding your hands



Owen and Jacob entertaining Maddie



Baby sister Annabel (big sis is Elin and Mama is Lindsay)



Owen and Jacob didn't have any problem picking up where they left off. The best part is that they can communicate better now so hearing them talk to each other is hysterical.



Lindsay and Maddie -- Maddie was a little gun shy at first but then she warmed up!



We were missing our friend Marcia and her sons Warner and baby Griffon on this day so they aren't pictured here. It has been such a blast reuniting with everyone!

Are you kidding me? 11 months?

Now that Maddie has hit the 11 month mark, I need to get on planning something for her 1 year birthday, STAT! How did it come so quickly? I sound like a broken record...

Want to know one of the most exciting things about our 11 month old? Her hair is so long, I can put it all up in a ponytail! Okay, so maybe this is only exciting to her girly girl mom, but I can't get over how long her hair is and how stinking cute she is with it all pulled up!

Is she a little princess, or WHAT?











Apparently, this is Jacob's new signature pose



You've probably noticed that I dress her in blue quite often. I can't help it. Whenever I see something blue for baby girls, I grab it (since it's pretty hard to find) as I just love the way her blue eyes sparkle when she's wearing that color. And, as an added bonus, other people notice her eyes more too and inevitably say "she has the most beautiful eyes!" which mama just can't get enough of.

More about Maddie at 11 months:

• Her favorite food right now is a whole, just peeled banana. Now that she has her top and bottom 2 chompers, she loves (LOVES) to bite a full banana while you hold it. She can eat an entire one.
• She still sleeps 12 hours a night from 6:30 pm - 6:30 am and takes 2 solid naps a day. We give her a bottle, place her in the crib and she goes to sleep all on her own without crying. It's fantastic!
• She's obsessed with sippy cups. Especially if they happen to belong to random strangers at the park. She's always got a hold of someone else's sippy cup. You have to watch this one closely. But here's the thing. The only thing she likes to do with a sippy cup is sip out the water and then spit it out of her mouth, all over her clothes. I've learned my lesson too many times NOT to give her one in the car. She ends up being soaked from head to toe when I take her out b/c she's emptied the entire thing on herself, all by drinking and spitting. Yuck.
• I keep thinking she's going to take off walking any day, but she's such an efficient crawler and cruiser that when she needs to get somewhere, crawling is her preferred mode of transportation. I think Jacob walked around 11 months because he was not such a great crawler!
• She's kind of saying 4 words: "Dada", "uh-oh", "cheese" and "hi"
• Knock on wood (I'm knocking hard), but she is getting better in the car. She has started taking her paci more in the car which has been oh so helpful.
• The girl LOVES music. Black Eyed Peas seems to be her favorite. Immediately when I turn on "I Gotta Feeling", she is screeching at the top of her lungs and bouncing her arms and legs up and down. Jacob thinks it's hysterical and always says "Mommy, Maddie really likes it! Let's jam!"
• She signs "more" when she wants more of something but that's the only sign we've really emphasized and taught her. (Bad parents!)
• She's going through a "stranger danger" phase and hates to be held by anyone she doesn't know but I'm hoping this passes soon because I know there are many of you out there that would love to cuddle with her!