Monday, January 6, 2014

November Fun

Crazy hair night at Cubbies...both kids had fun with this!
 




Madelynn has some hair...so I had to try a pony.  It didn't stay in longer than a couple seconds but it was still fun.
 


Carter had a Thanksgiving party at preschool and we signed up to bring the dessert.  So we made little turkeys out of candy and cookies.  Carter loved helping me make them and stayed until every last one was made.  It was some fun mommy/Carter time.
 





We stayed for the Thanksgiving party and really enjoyed watching Carter interact and learn.  We are so happy with his preschool!
 



Mixing the cornbread batter for the Thanksgiving feast.
 


We need to work with him on cutting.  We actually gave him his own pair of scissors in his stocking for Christmas so that we could start helping him learn how to cut.  I guess I should get on that...
 


Playing a fun game at his party.
 

Show and tell...
He was supposed to bring something he was thankful for (like a picture of someone).  He brought a picture of him and Max and Emma (our kitties).  Emma died the day after we took the picture of them with Carter.
 


Madelynn even got to enjoy the Thanksgiving feast.
 








These two were working so hard together and drawing pictures.  It was a sweet moment between the two of them.
 



For Christmas we painted some pieces from Create A Memory downtown and gave them to the four Grandma's.  The kids did really well.  I only snapped two pictures.  This one was a Christmas tree that Carter chose for Grandma with tractors (Jay's stepmom in Iowa).  I got so busy helping them paint and keeping the paint where it was suppose to be there I forgot to take anymore pictures :(  Fail.
 


More swim lessons...we did a lot more lessons during the fall.
 


Helping daddy hang Grandma's Christmas lights on Thanksgiving...and giving mommy a heart attack.
 


Silly face on Thanksgiving...another fail.  I only took a couple pictures on Thanksgiving.  We had dinner at my mom's this year with some of the family on her side.  It was a nice afternoon...and then we went shopping late that night.  We were able to have my cousin Carrie stay with the kids while they slept and Jay, Craig, and I shopped till about midnight.  It was fun and we got some great deals for Christmas presents!
 

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Christmas Family Photo Shoot

This year our friend Ashley took our family pictures.  We have so many talented friends and are thankful they are willing to take pictures of us.  It isn't always a simple task ;)
 









Friday, January 3, 2014

19, 20, and 21 Months!

Wow!  I got really behind on Madelynn's monthly blog posts.  So here is a catch up!  Just three more after this before she turns two.  Crazy!

Our Madelynn Grace...
She is this crazy combination of sweet, quiet and sensitive and silly, spunky, sassy, and stubborn.  It often confuses me.  She has caught the hearts of so many people at church because she goes to just about anyone, loves to snuggle with them in the nursery, loves to be read to by them in the nursery, and is just quiet and sweet.  And yet she has days at home where she is sassy to her mama, squeals at her brother when he takes something from her, and tells her mama no way too often!  She's a tricky little thing.  Even when she is being sassy though she is incredibly cute and sweet.  She is a funny little girl.

Some of the basics...
She is still super petite.  At her 18 month appointment she weighed 19 pounds which put her in the 10th percentile.  That is the highest percentile she has ever had :)  We have not weighed her since then.  She eats great, loves having a snack, loves her big blankie, little blankie, baby doll, and Minnie Mouse and insists on sleeping with those four items and those four only every nap and every night.  She goes to be about 7 and sleeps till around 8 every night.  Quite the change from her first nine months of life.  She takes one nap a day which can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half (not the best napper lately).  She wears 12 month clothes still but is starting to fit in 18 month clothes as well.  She is also still in a size three diaper. 

She seems to love music.  She walks around the house quietly singing all the time.  She also loves to dance.  When she hears anything that sounds anything like music she starts to move.  She has this one move that is classic Madelynn.  Her arms go up in the air, one higher up than the other and they start moving while she bounces up and down.  I must get it on video soon!

She has days where she is happy and content all day just playing with us and her brother.  She has other days where she wants to be held ALL DAY LONG.  I can't figure it out.  The last few days have been a bit rough so I am hoping that it means she is teething.  I want an explanation for her clinginess and crankiness. 

So far she is a perfect combination of a girly girl and a girl who loves all things cars and trucks.  She loves jewelry, my makeup, putting clothes on, wearing shoes, picking out her clothes and shoes, all things baby doll and pink.  However, she also loves playing with Carter's trucks and cars and driving them all over the house.  Basically if her brother loves something, she loves it.  She loves her brother so much!  She lights up for him more than even me.  He makes her day when he says "hi, Mady" in his sweet soft voice.  She loves to snuggle with him on the couch and watch cartoons.  She is always crankier and needy when he isn't here.  He walks in the door, she lights up and wants to play with him.  It really amazes me.  I pray all the time that this relationship will continue and they will be best friends forever.  Don't get me wrong...they have their bad moments too!  They fight and get mad at each other too...usually this just happens when Carter takes something from her (which happens far too often!) She follows him around the house all day long and loves to mimic him. 

She is obsessed with her grandparents and could spend every waking moment with any one of them.  She is sweet to people and makes them feel special.  She gets very shy around new people but will go to them if I hand her off.  She has fallen for a few different people at church and will reach out for them or go to them quickly if they ask her too.  It's pretty sweet.  She has a sweet soul. 

She is still very quiet...verbally.  She isn't saying much yet.  She does say mama, dada, me, no, uh huh, doll, baby, bye, more (just started tonight), and will repeat some things if we are lucky.  A few weeks ago in the car, Carter was trying to get her to say the colors.  He would ask her to say brown and she would say it.  She said five or six different colors after Carter told her what to say.  She hasn't done it since but I know she is capable of saying so much more than she lets on!  Someday she will talk.  She is able to communicate amazingly well though.  She tells us everything she needs by pointing to things and answering yes or no to our questions.  She understands so much too.  She understands almost everything we ask her to do or talk to her about.  I am not the least bit worried about her!  She slept late (meaning she didn't sleep for the first nine months), she walked late, and now she will talk when she feels like it.  That would be the stubborn streak that I was talking about earlier. She is also great at animal sounds and can say many of them!  She loves animals too...real and stuffed!

Right now she is 100% a daddy's girl.  This girl seriously LOVES her daddy right now and wants him almost all of the time if he is home.  If he isn't home she settles for me but if he is she wants him most of the time.  It's pretty sweet.  I will admit my feelings have been hurt a couple times but I am so thankful for a little girl who loves her daddy.  I pray that she will watch her daddy and how he treats his girls and understand how she should be treated by a man someday.

My Mady girl...
We love you so much!  I feel blessed beyond belief to have the privilege of being your mama.  There is no greater gift!  You are an amazing little lady with so much joy!  You are a special gift to us and anyone who gets to be around you.  Love you baby girl!

Here are a few pictures of our girl...
Carter had crazy hair night at Cubbies and Madelynn wanted crazy hair too.  She would not stop whining and pointing to her hair until we did it too.  She cracks me up!
 


She has hair!!!  I had to try a pony.  It didn't stay in very well but there is actually enough hair to try it now.  Very excited about this!  She was bald forever :)
 

Stylin' in her pink boots...
 


She got to come to Carter's Thanksgiving party at preschool and just fit right in.  She loves being a part of everything Carter was doing.
 


Super silly girl!  Special dinner on the couch together.  Carter looks sick but he wasn't...just very zoned on the TV.  They never get to eat dinner on the couch or watch TV while eating but Jay was working, I was being lazy, and I thought they would love it.  They did!
 

My silly girl!