Easter!

This year we spent Easter in Parkersburg, WV. We were supposed to have everyone up to State College for the weekend, but unfortunately Brad's grandma passed away. So we packed up the car and headed home for the services. Grandma Violet was buried on Good Friday, which would have made her happy. It was nice to be back in Parkersburg and support Great Papaw Bill, as he and Violet had been together for 40+ years. It must be so difficult.

Since that same weekend was Easter, well of course we had to dye some eggs, and help the Easter Bunny hide his eggs and baskets, yes more than one...spoiled little girl!

Grandma and Madeline dyeing eggs...it went by very quickly, about 10-15 minutes tops!

Such concentration, I think after this one Madeline decided it was best to just use her hands to dig the eggs out of the dye. Awesome.

Mamaw, Great Papaw Bill, and Madeline.

Our eggs, yes I think all of them are cracked, but it was fun!

Madeline is doing so well in a big-girl bed, she even slept in one at Mamaw and Papaws! We could not be more proud of our big girl!

Finding the eggs on Easter Morning, and stopping to open each one along the way!

The Easter Bunny hid a lot of eggs!

Nothing makes this gal more happy than chocolate, and I'm not kidding.

Finding Mamaw and Papaw's Easter Basket for Madeline!

And finally finding the one from mommy and daddy.

Munchin' on some bunny!

Columbus Zoo!

While we were in Parkersburg, we decided to take a day trip to the Columbus, Ohio Zoo! It's only a 2 hr. drive and with all of the rain we have had lately we were eager to get outside. Even though it wasn't the nicest of days. Madeline had a blast! Her first Zoo experience was a success! We saw Bison, Bears, Foxes, Monkeys, Elephants, Lion "Kings" (as Madeline would call them), and so much more! We cannot wait to find another zoo to explore!

We saw so many animals and took so many pictures that I had to pair them down a bit...so here are just a few!

The Zoo even had rides! And at only $1 per person, how could you say no? Madeline loved the "Choo-Choo!"

Daddy and Madeline checking out the black bear.

Ridin' a Polar Bear!

Polar Bear! We were lucky they were up for a swim, as we learned they usually aren't in the water!

View of the polar bear in the underground tunnel!

HUGE Brown Bear.

Fun with Uncle Justin on the Carousel, it was so much fun, that Daddy got to go on for round two!

Madeline got up-close and personal with this Orangutan! It was hilarious! They were nose-to-nose through the glass at one point!

Let Her Dance

This song has been brought to you my Madeline. It's the closing song at the end of the movie "The Talented Mr. Fox," and she LOVES it! We listen to it at least 10 times a day usually back to back. We dance, Madeline and Miss. Fox dance...it's a great time. So I thought I would share it with you all, so that YOU can all dance. Get on those dancin' shoes!

Easter Egg Hunt!

This past weekend we got all of the kiddos together for an Easter Egg Hunt! Annie, Dave and Zach were kind enough to host the party, and their back yard was perfect! While the mommy's got all of the kids full with pizza, the Easter Bunny (Dads) were busy hiding the eggs! They were so excited and they had a blast! Hopefully this will be an annual tradition!

To see all of the photos click here.

All of the kids ready to fill their baskets! they were truly adorable. They all stood at the door and said cheese for several minutes! Ha.

Madeline and all of her eggs!

Mommy and Madeline. :)

Big Girl Bed

Yesterday we finally got Madeline into her big-girl bed! She we so excited when we showed it to her she didn't want to get out! She immediately covered herself up and said "nigh nigh." Who knew? I went over with Madeline how Big Girls stay in their beds and they don't get out, and there is no jumping in a big-girl bed either. I think I repeated this about 20 times. "Do you understand Madeline?" She kind of nodded yes, so we read our book and it was time for our nap.

To my surprise she did great! She got out of bed once, and then 10 minutes later was asleep! After nap she got her special surprise (a new night light that's a lady bug. Her shell displays the stars and the moon in three different colors and turns off after 45 minutes). She loved it. And I was so proud of her. Madeline was apparently very proud of herself too, b/c I got several hugs throughout the afternoon and an "I love you momma." So sweet.

Then bedtime rolled around. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Bath, books and in bed by 8:15 p.m. She didn't get out of bed once. She played for about an hour and fell asleep! I was so amazed!

And where we are today. Nap time. She got out of bed 2 times, the second time I walked in she was sitting in her chair reading books and greeted me with a "Hi Momma!" I scooped her up, put her back in bed and closed the door. Fifteen minutes later-Silence. She passed out at the foot of her bed, hugging her ladybug night light. Too cute. I covered her up and closed the door.

All in all, it's not going any where near as bad as I thought it would! YAY! Let's knock on wood, cross all fingers and toes that it keeps going this smoothly. I know it takes up to 3 weeks for something to become a habit, so let's keep those good vibes going for a few weeks! :)

Really bad photo, my camera died, so we had to use the camera phone. Better pictures to come later. Besides her room isn't 100% complete yet.
She's saying "cheese!"

Playing with her new nightlight!

Thanks Grandma

Madeline wanted to send out a special thank you to Grandma Ayres for her awesome package she received in the mail the other day. Coloring book, crayons, lot's of stickers and chap stick (that mommy has hidden from her at the moment). She loves it all!

Cupcake

While I was away for a girls weekend in Wilmington, NC Brad sent me this cute video of Madeline eating a cup cake. Madeline Looooooves cupcakes, there is nothing she won't do for a cup cake ;)

Bubbles

Last week it was also warm enough to be outside and blow some bubbles! Madeline absolutely loves bubbles, I think we might have to let the Easter Bunny know! So we spent some time blowing away, Madeline even taught Miss. Fox how to blow bubbles! Lately she and Miss. Fox have been pretty close, they do everything together :)

We even got in a little swing time.

Spring like weather at the Park

Last Tuesday, well over a week ago, it was 73 degrees in State College, sadly today it is a balmy 44 degrees. This weather had better perk up soon, I think Phil was waaaaay off in his prediction of an early spring this year. Anyway, we took advantage of the great weather and spent some time at the park down the road from our house. It was a bit windy, but that didn't stop Madeline.

So excited we had to run to the park!

Riding the horsey, I think she also takes after her Aunt Sarah for this one, if you know what photo I am referring to ;)

Fun times on the slide!

Steering the ship!

Cute tooshie steering the ship!

Exploring.

Gymnast?

I swear she is my sister's child...

Smiles :)

Aunt Sarah sent us this photo of our little guy full of smiles today! Can't wait to see those smiles in person in just a 15 days, not that I'm counting!

Roooarrrr

Another phone photo, so sorry about the quality. But I had to post a quick THANK YOU! My cousin Beth who lives out in Colorado sent Madeline this cute fleece yesterday. It fits her perfectly, and will be great for this spring and fall weather. My little lioness will be ready to go roaring down the slopes. Thank you so much for thinking of us! And yes, still wearing the boots from Olivia. At least these boots are getting their wear!

Girly Girl

About 2 weeks ago, I painted Madeline's nails for the first time. I found a nail polish that dries in about 60 seconds. Perfect! Madeline looooooved it, and if you don't believe me, see the photos below. I'll have to do her toes for this summer! (Photos are from my phone, so not great quality...sorry)

Sh'Bam!

Sh'bam! You read it right, sounds a little like what Emeril says right? Though it's on the far end of the spectrum of food, it's exercise! And yours truely just officially signed up to get trained to teach the class! I passed it through the first two rounds of "interviews," one being to actually take the class and make sure you are actually coordinated and second an actual interview.

We are set to hopefully release this at the club I got to at the end of April. It's a lot like Zumba, but better. It's to current and old music remixed, not all latin. It's amazingly fun and you seriously sweat your butt off. I'll keep you posted as to how it actually goes, but I head for a weekend of training at the end of March, yup all weekend. Eight a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday....kind of like when we used to go to dance weekends in highschool!

If you aren't familiar with Sh'Bam, check it out here! Or head up to State College and take one of my classes! YAY! Here is another video of more of the class idea, though without all of the glitter, ligths and matching outfits...ha this is more one of their prmotional classes.

That's Mrs. T to you!

Madeline loaded herself up with a bunch of necklases the other day, and I could help think of Mr. T. The boots, are Olivia's and we haven't been able to take them off since playdate the other day. Yes, we have even napped in them.

Bliss

Hanna usually goes with me to get Madeline up from her nap. Madeline loooooves Hanna, and I think deep down Hanna really loves Madeline too, she is just a bit rough with her at times. She'll get there. Yesterday I decided to put Hanna in the crib with Madeline to get her going. And Madeline was in HEAVEN! Complete bliss. Hanna on the other hand, was not so happy. Oh well.

Hanna is in there, hiding in the right hand corner! Ha.

Loving it!

Movie with Momma

Whenever I put in a movie for Madeline she insists on sitting or lying on my lap right where we are. Yesterday as we were watching Pocahontas (Uncle Mark aren't you proud? Teaching her some family history. ha, she insisted on lying on my legs. It's really pretty sweet until your legs fall asleep. Daddy decided to capture the moment.

How we usually are, Madeline must have been in the middle of a blink :(

Being silly.

Can you guess?

What are on Madeline's feet in these photos?

No? Give up? Okay, okay, I'll fill you in on the story. A few weeks ago, Madeline was downstairs with daddy playing, which is not out of the ordinary. At one point she came up the stairs into the kitchen.

Now get a mental picture: She was incredibly proud of herself, with a HUGE smile on her face and almost marching (big steps), and looks at me and does a little side wave and says "Hi Momma." Not out of the ordinary, I say "Hi Madeline." She keeps marching...so I figure something is up. I look down at her feet and I swear I almost peed my pants.

Madeline had at decided that the silicon covers to the Wii Game remote controlers would make great shoes. I think I laughed for a good 5 minutes before I grabbed my cell phone, took a photo, grabbed the good camera, took more photos, and then walked her down to daddy to show her what she did. As one of my friends would say "At least we know she will be a problem solver." Ha. Indeed.

Me and Mr. Timothy

While we were in Harrisburg Visiting, Timothy and I were wearing matching outfits! He had on his little train overals, just like our big brother Timothy had always worn, and since we matched, well we had to get some photos together. I miss my little man, but at least I'll get to see him in about 2 weeks :)

Check out the socks!

Love him.