Easter Dress

Thirty years ago this was my Easter Dress, hard to believe that it's still in such great condition! Thanks to my mom who saved it, Madeline will also get a chance to wear it! Hopefully it fits, I haven't tried it on her yet. She will either be wearing it to the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, or Easter Brunch on Sunday. We'll have to play it by ear, but I simply cannot wait to see it on her! I know it's going to look great. Thanks mom, not only have you given me amazing memories over the years, but you've also saved some of my most precious ones for me to share with my Madeline. I could not be luckier.

Fun Outside!

Madeline loves being outside, in fact she practically screams bloody murder when we have to bring her in. The other day she was looking outside longingly, so yes of course we took her out. So much exploring to do since this past fall...I mean she can walk EVERYWHERE now, and run too! So much fun :)

Longingly looking outside...

We even got some swing time in!

Exploring.

Who does she look like most in this photo?

Ugh, I don't think I like this prickly thing!!

Thank you Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark!

We would like to give a HUGE thank you to Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah for taking such good care of Miss. Madeline while we were on vacation! Brad and I slipped down to Costa Rica for a few days for a wedding, and we really couldn't have done it without them. While we missed Madeline like CRAZY, it was nice to have some time together, and being able to skype with her daily helped our separation anxiety :)

As you can see from the posts below, Madeline kept them quite busy, with not one, but two visits to the children's museum in Richmond. The first time Mark took her solo, extra props to him for that :) So does this mean Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark are ready for a little one of their own? We'll see!

Click here for more photos from Costa Rica, and hopefully we will see more from Madeline's visit too!

Easter Crafts!

After nap-time yesterday I decided to break out some of the crafts for Madeline to do. First up was the Easter Basket craft! I had to help Madeline out with this one a decent amount b/c the stickers were soooo sticky she couldn't get them off of her hand, which she did NOT like. We were just getting started when Daddy came home from work and helped!

Checking it out...

And deciding she wants to wear the basket...go figure.

So proud of herself, and a pretty basket too!

Then we decided to make some blueberry muffins with some festive Easter Sprinkles!

Let's Do This................ Again!!!

Maddie had so much fun visiting Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark, every day was a party!!! Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark had just as much fun, if not more. Everyone can't wait to do it again!

Playdate with Alevia Marie

When Madeline visited Aunt Sarah & Uncle Mark she had an opportunity to meet Alevia Marie for a playdate. Alevia Marie is getting so big and getting ready to be a big sister! She was very kind to Maddie and shared all of her toys. Thanks Alevia Marie!

Working in the kitchen

Sharing some tea, Alevia Marie is so good at sharing.

Swing Time!!!

Alevia Marie pushing her mommy (and baby brothers!)

Down on the Farm

Having fun at the Children's Museum of Richmond.

Giddy Up Doggie, This Is Fun!!!

Round One - Winston

Round Two - Annie

Round Three - Winston Again

Toddler Room

Today was Madeline's first official day in the toddler room. From the teacher's report she had a fabulous day-Whew! She didn't have to go back into the baby room once, not even for a nap. Madeline made it until 12:30 p.m. when I picked her up with out napping. Who knew?

The five-minute ride home was a different story, she couldn't keep her eyes open. So it was strait up to bed for a nice long nap. Over all I think Madeline is loving the big kid room. She is amazed by all of the older kids and loves her new teachers, not that we will ever really leave Nancy, Jenah, or Alaina, I mean c'mon now?

Pants on the Ground...

THIS is how my daughter decided to walk around the house tonight. Clearly she was very proud of herself...watch out Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark, she's starting to like taking her clothes off.

Clearly, very happy with herself.

Disciplining the gate...her new thing is to point and talk very sternly to you as if you were bad. I just found out today it's because that's how they tell them no at day care. LOL.

Mmmm Lemon!

This past weekend we were lucky enough to have a visit from Mamaw and Papaw Howe, and Uncle Justin even flew all the way in to visit us too! We were so lucky! Since the weather wasn't too spectacular we decided to hop out for a bite to eat...while we were at lunch Madeline kept grabbing for my lemon. So I let her have it, at first, not much of a reaction, then WHOA!

First sample...hmmmmm?

Okay this is tasting weird.

Ugh, what IS this thing you gave me?

*Shivers*

A Hike in the woods...Or not

A few weeks ago, Brad, myself, Madelin, and our friends Ben and Rachel decided it would be a great idea to go on a bit of a hike. It's had been so cold and we finally had a break in the weather and we were determined to take advantage of it. So we bundled up Madeline, snow pants, jacket, snow shoes, hats, gloves, and the doggies and we headed to Tussy mountain. Now we are well aware that the snow stays on the Mountain longer than in our area...but we thought it would be okay...well not-so-much. We made it about 3/4 of the way to where we were headed to park when we found some fellow travelers stuck. So Brad and Ben being the good guys that they are got out to help these guys. Geeze-o-man, we were there for over an hour and half. Madeline was quite the trooper. She hung with Rachel and I and watched the boys display there muscles. Ha. Eventually the car got out, and we all made it back down the mountain, however by that time it was time for Madeline to nap and we weren't too keen on trying to go any further up the mountain. Oh well, you can't say we didn't try right?

Fun with Window Clings

The other week I pulled out some window clings for Madeline and I to decorate the windows with. They've been up for about two weeks now, and aside from the occasional piece in her mouth she has been very good with them. Though I have been warned by other parents to not let them near the walls as they stain. Yikes!

Nice and Easy...

Madeline's new favorite show on TV is Yo Gabba Gabba. She gets so excited when it comes on, it's quite hilarious. Well the other day we were watching and Daddy and Madeline joined in on the dance...Enjoy!

Totti

This one's for you Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah! This Totti Jersey fit's Madeline quite well, it looks like we'll get a good bit of wear out of it :) Though, the pigtails and the bow came out about 5 minutes after I did her hair. She looked great for those five minutes :) Thanks for getting this for Miss. Madeline on your big honeymoon trip!! You're the best!

Swim Lessons!

The bad news is we didn't make it to Richmond this past weekend, the good news is we got to go to Madeline's last swim lesson! It was my first time making it to this several week session. I had been in Harrisburg the past six weekends helping out with the family. So it was so great to finally get to be there with her! Madeline LOVES the water, we learned how to blow bubbles, kick, jump, and use the noodle, which she was not a big fan of AT ALL! I definitely want to go every now and then, it was great exercise! However I think it took a lot out of Miss. Madeline, she took two long naps :)

HIYA DADA!

Saying hi to our buddy Zach!

Kick, kick, kick!

Noodle time!

Cup Cake

Unfortunately we couldn't make it to Cora's First Birthday party last weekend...Miss. Madeline had the stomach bug on Friday night, and then Mommy got it all Saturday night into Sunday morning. We weren't about to share it with our friends. Daddy was well enough to drop off the gift to Cora on Sunday, and Cora was nice enough to send home some of her cupcakes from her big party! Madeline thoroughly enjoyed digging into this beautiful cupcake. Thanks so much Cora and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Mmmmmmmm!

The end result...a mess, but totally worth it!