laying low

Poor MK really wasn't feeling well last Friday. Other than a photo session in the morning, we laid low at the house.

It was pretty chilly outside, but Madelyn was getting a little stir crazy so Luke bundled her up and took her out for a few minutes.

I love cold weather but now that I have a toddler I might not love it quite as much. She loves the outdoors so we may have to just go out in five minute increments.

11.04.10

My birthday was last Thursday. Madelyn and Luke had a home made card waiting for me and lots of kisses. Luke worked from home all morning while Madelyn and I alternated between playing and cleaning. We met up with some friends for lunch at Jason's Deli. We officially order Madelyn a kid's meal when we go out to eat now. Usually she eats most of it, but she wasn't too excited about the grilled cheese sandwich that day.

I love watching she and Luke walk together. Not too long ago he was carrying her in her baby carrier and now she's holding his had and walking beside him. I know it won't be too long and she will be walking 10 feet behind us to avoid being seen with her dorky parents. Ha! Can I tell you that life at my house can be described in many ways, but above all I think that it is always fun! At any given moment you never know what you are going to see when you walk in to a room. This sight, was too funny not to capture though. Madelyn and Luke wearing the gnome hats I made while MK eats a snack and Luke does some work.
Lately I have been filling lots of orders for Turkey shirts and Christmas shirts so I thought it was appropriate to put one on my little darling. We decorate for Christmas early around our house, so why not wear the clothes to match??

Is there anything greater than seeing a look of sheer joy on your child's face??
You know those times when someone snaps a picture of you and you just know it's not going to be your most flattering look? I wonder if that's what Madelyn was thinking when I snapped her picture while she was swinging? Ha! I doubt it, but it has to be one of the goofiest little faces that I have ever seen her make! I love it and it will definitely find a home in a frame sometime soon.

I love my family. I could not imagine life without these two.
The hubs surprised me and took me to play BINGO! We had SO much fun. We called on the way over to ask how much it was and when we got there the woman behind the counter said, "You are the ones that called!". Apparently we stood out. There were at least 150-200 people there. We sat in the non smoking room which should have been called the "less smokey room" with a very small crowd. We laughed non stop and had a great time. We didn't win anything of course, but it was the best $5 date I have ever been on!

We ate a late dinner at Salsarita's (Tyler's version of Chipotle) and it was delicious!

Turning 25 wasn't that bad...actually, I couldn't be more blessed.

I told myself I would not blog until...

I blogged about Madelyn's birthday party. Last Tuesday night a friend was talking about how she had not seen any pictures of the party and I realized that it's been well over a month and I had not documented it. I've typed out the words. I just have not added the pictures.

But at this rate, if I don't blog until I find the time to upload the 90+ pictures that I narrowed it down to from her birthday party I will get way too behind.

So needless to say, this post isn't about the party.

This just serves as a warning that I have a weeks worth of pictures and words to document and I plan to do it all in the next couple of hours while the baby is in dream land.

Last Wednesday I hauled Madelyn back to the doctor. I think she is going to think that her pediatrician is her BFF. Sometimes I have this weird battle in my head. I know in my gut that something isn't right, but I feel a little unsure as to whether or not I should actually take her in. For some reason I always think, "She's going to be fine, they are going to think I am crazy because I bring her in all the time and we will have spent $30 and half our day finding out she is teething". But...that's only actually happened once. So, I usually go with my gut. I am glad that I did. Even though she saw the ENT on the Thursday before and he said she looked perfect, she had a raging left ear infection.

That's six infections in five months time. I feel so bad for her. She is such a tough little girl though. It is very hard to know when she is sick because she does not fuss. The only way we get tipped off that it might be her ears is when she wakes up for hours on end during the night. Not crying, just ready to play!

I know I say it all the time, but Madelyn favorite "toys" are her books. I dressed her up in her turkey shirt for the doctor and she squeezed a little reading in before we left.
When we came home and while Madelyn was chowing down on her dinner, I put her hair in pig tails. I had several orders recently for "piggie sets" and it got me excited for the day when Madelyn could wear her hair that way.
She ripped them right out but they were so cute while they lasted!


We've been playing a lot of dress up around our house. I received several emails from people who have said they decided to stock their dress up tubs too! It's so fun and such an inexpensive way for the little ones to use their imaginations.

on my mind

One night last week after a photo shoot we went to dinner at our favorite place. Don Juan's. The old one. I would say, "The one on Erwin Street" but they are both on Erwin Street so that might get a little confusing. I promise that we did not go out to eat simply because we were in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store. Even so...if that was the reason, I wouldn't still be in that same desperate need nearly one week later. Sigh.
Madelyn tried out the limes.
I think she likes them as much as her Daddy and Papa.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

MK loves the outdoors. Any time the door is open, she is heading out.

I have been so paranoid about our deck and the potential for a dangerous fall (it's a second story deck) that I think Madelyn has already caught on to the "danger zone".
She got down on all fours the other night and crept towards the rail. Once she was about two feet away, she looked at me and the retreated. I'm thinking there will need to be some sort of safety installation in the near future. Any ideas?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

We discovered the little one thinks apples are delicious the other night while she was helping me make apple pie.

It took her over an hour to devour one slice, but she worked hard on it until it was gone.
As for the apple pie...it was delicious too!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I love dress up outfits. I remember day dreaming about my little girl having a dress up trunk one day while I was still prego. Dress up clothes are expensive.

$20-$30 for one outfit? No thank you.

Post Halloween costumes 75% off? Yes please. I'll take seven.

I had grand plans to tuck them away until her birthday next year. Luke told me that would never happen. He knows me too well. Superwoman last night. Zoo Keeper today. We have Tinkerbell, a fairy, Dorothy, Buzz Lightyear and Cinderella to choose from tomorrow. $36 for endless hours of dress up and using our imaginations...the best $36 I've ever spent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonight I was able to join up with some amazingly talented friends for a Christmas Home Show. It was so much fun! I sold a few things and have 7 new orders to fill and got to spend a few hours chatting with some neat women. I'd call that a success!

{they warned us}

I put in a call to Madelyn's doctor yesterday morning after a weekend of the green stuff and a baby so congested that she had a hard time sleeping. The nurse was sweet enough to call in a decongestant. "It may make her wired," she warned.

When they say "it may make her wired", avoid giving it just before bed time.

Lesson learned.

At least they warned us.

Here's to a night where the smallest member of our household isn't pacing back and forth down the hallway simply because she is FULL of energy at 2am.

date with daddy

Madelyn had her first real tastes of ice cream tonight (frozen custard actually). She and Luke went on a Daddy-Daughter date to Andy's while I ran some errands. I think they ended up with the better end of the deal...

It's a Boy!

I think one of the best things about getting older (I'll be the big 2-5 later this week!) is that more of our friends are getting married and having babies! Luke and I married young by some standards (21) so we were one of the first couples out of our friends from high school to get married and have a baby.

This weekend I had so much fun hosting a shower for Elise and the baby boy in her belly! Aside from diapers a couple of cute little outfits I couldn't pass up, I knew I wanted to make something for her. It was so hard finding cute boy fabric, but I finally found a coordinating set that I liked.

Finished products: reversible flannel lined bib, minky dot blanket, two flannel lined burp cloths and a tag toy! I have never made one of the tag toys before so I was super pleased with how it turned out!While Elise was opening gifts, we had everyone write a card to baby James. I know that will be something that they cherish and one day James will enjoy reading them himself.

I loved all the little details.

The mom to be carried in some of her own gifts! Ha! I told her this was the one time in her life that she could get away with not lifting a finger and that she should take full advantage of it!

I'm excited to meet baby "Mac"! He has two awesome parents and a host of family and friends that are anxiously awaiting his arrival!