fourth of july - splash, laugh, boom

we spent our fourth of july at grandma and big pop's. again the big kids (those of us over 24) played wii all day and the girls were kept busy when they weren't sleeping.

my friend lindsey (pictured with maddie) stopped by in the morning for a visit. we had tried to catch up with her in orlando but she was out of town. thankfully, she was headed down to fm for the 4th too so we just met up there!

after some lunch the girls hit the kiddie pool outside. maddie wore her third bathing suit of the week and still had two more that never made it into the water. she really liked the kiddie pool - especially the splashing! here she is getting started with annabell.

after dinner we decided to show the girls their first fourth of july "pops" - well grandma and daddy decided that maddie needed to see them. the best part was that matt's box was a total dud, but maddie still enjoyed them immensely. it was almost as if she was laughing at daddy for not being able to make them go "pop".

doesn't maddie look so patriotic in this picture? i didn't even notice the flag in the background until i was downloading the pictures off the camera when we got home. maddie couldn't quite make it until the real fireworks started, but thankfully she slept through the show that her uncles were setting off in the backyard. if the bugs weren't eating me alive i am sure that i would have enjoyed watching it. i do not miss the insects in florida at all!

even with the bugs, it was a pretty great day.

happy fourth from our gang! love.

pump it up and lakes park

on tuesday we went to "pump it up" to meet up with two of my 'blogger' friends from high school and their kids and husbands. kellie and becky did a great job of documenting the day if you want to get their takes on our play date. abby and annabell joined us in the fun too. grandma z. climbed through everything with annabell and matt did the duties with madelyn. i think grandma is still recovering from the outing! with all the inflatable equipment it was surprising that maddie was most interested in the plastic cars. apparently they are the 'hot' item with all the kids and they have about four of them to share. maddie and annabell ended up pushing each other around until maddie tried to get in with her and slid all the way through to become roadkill. in the video she thinks she is pushing a little boy in the car until she can't keep up and has to 'walk' on her knees in order to keep hanging on.




after about an hour of this everyone involved was exhausted! so back to grandma's and big pop's for a nap - well the girls napped - the adults played wii fit. for anyone who has not yet experienced the joys of the wii fit (or the wii itself) we highly recommend it! the hula hooping kept us all rolling with laughter all week.

anyway, once the girls were up we were back on the road. this time we were headed to lakes park with big pop joining us. believe it or not, this was maddie's first time in a bathing suit! i never thought that a child of mine would make it all the way through their first year of life without wearing a bathing suit, but i guess i never thought i would live in wisconsin either. (grandma and big pop got her the suit for this visit.) maddie took a little bit to warm up to the water coming at her from every direction but then really had a great time walking all around and trying to take everything in. she and annabell both liked a water gun type of feature there (guess which child is from wisconsin...).


big pop had fun showing the girls all the water falls around the two play areas. madelyn didn't really get into the waterfall features. she was more comfortable with the water coming up from the ground or that turned on and off; the constant flow intimidated her a little. but give the kid a break, the only time she had seen more than a cup of water at a time was in the bathtub.


in true florida style, a storm started to move in so we had to wrap up our fun in the sun. love.

meeting briana and group (chaos) pictures

madelyn met her little cousin briana during our trip. she did pretty well at being gentle with the baby except for the time i had briana on my lap and maddie ran up with her milk cup and knocked her on the head. it was just an accident, but i still felt bad!

so i had this brilliant idea to take the girls (all three) for birthday portraits at jcp. grandma had bought maddie and annabell matching dresses for the fourth of july so of course it became a red, white, and blue themed shoot. the day before we stopped at the grocery store to pick up simple cupcakes and birthday candles to use in the shoot (jcp requested that we bring a plastic sheet to put down underneath them when the cupcakes were in their hands). it was chaos! i mean chaos! the set up was totally different from the jcp up here. the camera must have been the first digital camera - ever - and had next to no mobility. plus the photographer had some very unrealistic expectations for two one-year-olds. she wanted them to both stand behind briana and rest one of their hands on her shoulders. okay - like that was going to happen. not to mention that it was like a hundred degrees in the studio/closet and very crowded with the photographer, the table the girls were on (yes, a table - as in off the ground), and at least three of us as wranglers at all time. however, when it was all said and done, we got a few good shots. the pictures got a lot better once annabell and maddie sat down with their cupcakes. now i just need to schedule time for maddie's one-year pictures...

love.

its been a long day...

so the baby who rarely cries spent the bulk of the day crying and screaming inconsolably. she slept all night (8am-6pm) and was fine until just after breakfast. she started to get fussy and when i picked her up she started sucking her thumb - a classic "i'm sleepy" sign for maddie. so i put her down and she slept for around an hour and a half. then the real fun began. she screamed/cried for about 6 hours with a few brakes to suck her thumb and take half hour naps. she just wanted me to hold her and stand. she still doesn't have a fever and her congestion is almost gone so i thought that her molars were cutting.

after about 4 hours i called the doctor's office to see what they thought and they think that it might be her ears! why didn't i think of that?! they said that he symptoms didn't sound serious enough to risk driving (it snowed all day and the roads were really icy and a mess in general) so we are going in tomorrow morning.

the good news is that i gave her another dose of tylenol at 6pm and that seems to have relieved whatever pain she was experiencing because she is all over the place and laughing again. it figures that she would be all smiles for when daddy gets home... i am just hoping that this means she will sleep tonight. i will update you all on her condition in the morning. love.

(the pictures are from her photo shoot with her cousin annabell last week.)

miller time

yesterday we took the girls for a highly appropriate tour of the miller brewery. actually it was a very nice tour and madelyn laughed practically the entire time! "miller valley" is actually pretty with some great architecture and it is perpetually "miller time". here is a picture of maddie enjoying her free coaster at the end of the tour while the grown-ups enjoyed tasting the "champagne of beers".

she has finally come around to embracing the cold wind and seems to be invigorated by it. she used to gasp over and over again, but now she squeals, laughs and wiggles with delight.

but the day didn't start there, earlier that morning madelyn continued her work on improving her climbing skills (or as i call it "up-and-over") and got stuck under the kitchen table. here is a front and rear view for your enjoyment.













today's time with uncle brad, aunt abby, and cousin annabell was pretty brief but we took a few more pictures of the girls together before we left for breakfast on their way to the airport. here they are playing this morning at the house in matching outfits from grandma.

and then here they are with the deep snow while we were waiting for our turn to be seated at the restaurant. (don't worry - we were just outside for the picture. afterwards we went back inside.) we sat them on their changing pads so that they wouldn't cry from the cold on their bottoms. like i mentioned earlier, maddie loves the cold!

we officially had 16 inches of snow on wednesday and there are probably 20 or so behind them in the picture. the cold air is coming back tonight and with wind chill they are saying it will be -28 or 30 tomorrow. burrr!

i love to eat

madelyn loves her food. she loves it so much that she wants to roll in it. but since she can only get enough to cover her head that will have to do.

she really enjoyed her prunes at dinner tonight (as you can clearly see). she also really liked her asparagus at breakfast this morning. and, yes, it did make for some smelly diapers.

the girls played in my office while i worked this morning so that brad and abby could get a little extra sleep. at one point both girls were crying because maddie didn't like that i was blocking her from getting annabell's pacifier and annabell didn't like that maddie was trying to get it. how do you tell a 7 month old to "be nice"? we have almost mastered the meaning of "gentle", but "nice" is a much more difficult concept.

this afternoon we took the girls to jcp for pictures together. they were really cute but it is definitely challenging to get them both to look cute at the same time. when i get the email proofs i will post them so that you can judge for yourself.

the lady taking the pictures thought that madelyn was one. she was really surprised to hear that she was 7-1/2 months! especially since she has a 9 month old at home. she is such a big girl!

that's all i have for tonight. love.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

we got over 12 inches of snow today. it is still coming down so i will have to tell you the official total tomorrow. the malls were closed for the first time in over 20 years. and every thing else closed between 1 and 2 pm. so we stayed in all day. brad was nice enough to keep the driveway clear for matt today. then he and abby went and played in snow for a while and sledded down the side yard. tomorrow we are going to let the girls outside to 'play' in the snow too.

madelyn was extra giggly after her afternoon nap, but needed a little encouragement for me to catch it on film.



then the girls spent the afternoon playing together. the picture is of them playing in maddie's room with her noah's ark animals. annabell is really eager to keep up with madelyn. she is getting really good at standing up and getting up on all fours. she even said "da-da" for the first time tonight! brad (and abby) were really excited!

here is an activity that had them both in hysterics tonight. brad is hanging annabell upside down and raising her up and down while madelyn watches with excitement. very cute.



maddie has her first runny nose ever. hopefully it will be better tomorrow instead of worse. she doesn't have a fever so i think i am still going to have the playgroup over, but we'll see what the morning brings... love.

super-duper tuesday

we aren't one of the "super tuesday" states, but we still had a super-duper tuesday of our own! the girls are really enjoying each others company and annabell is reaching out to get maddie more and more each day. today she even had maddie by a fistfull of hair and knocked her in the head with a rattle she was playing with, but only the rattle knock made her cry.

maddie also cried when she pulled both stools down on top of her at the same time. i told her that she was so strong to be able to pull both stools down at the same time and she went with it. she even smiled and laughed with me. since she never let go of either stool i went to get my camera for a picture and that's when she started crying again. i am not just a mean mom who takes pictures of her daughter crying.

here is some video of the girls enjoying each other. (just for the record, maddie is not trying to choke annabell homer simpson style.)

annabell has been enjoying maddie's lion walking toy too. both girls enjoy pushing his nose to make it light up and play a song. maddie uses her mouth (like she is giving him a kiss on the nose) and annabell swings her arms at it. the picture is annabell after brad set her to sit on it. mainly the girls enjoy sitting next to it as you will see in the next video.



both of the girls have a little bit of congestion so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the week goes. we are supposed to get 10 - 20 inches of snow in the next 12-24 hours so there is talk of brad and abby going sledding tomorrow at one of the local hills. we will probably just take the girls out in our front yard on one of the sleds for some photos instead of sending them down the hill.

i just spent two hours preparing hard boiled eggs (just the yolks for maddie) and asparagus (our next new food) and am totally pooped from my long day. until tomorrow. love.

out and about

today was a pretty busy day. i worked in the morning and then we met matt for lunch at the friday's at miller park so that brad and abby could see the stadium. then we went to the milwaukee public museum to see the "body worlds" exhibit which was incredible! i highly recommend you see it if you ever get the chance. after that it was sushi and frozen custard for dessert. everyone is upstairs enjoying their sugar high and full bellies while i am sitting here in the basement blogging. i just got back from volleyball so my sugar high is gone now. but enough about us.

maddie taught annabell how to untie her shoes this morning while we were getting them ready to go. they are becoming quick friends and teaching each other all sorts of new tricks.

then maddie was being chatty in the car on the way to the museum. her favorite word is by far "da-da" or "da-di". she did sneak in a "ma-ma" or "mom" today and a "bay-bi" yesterday (she said that while looking at her cousin annabell - brad was actually the one to point out that she said it so it isn't just me).

the girls were so funny at the sushi restaurant talking to each other while eating their dinners (veggies, not sushi). once they were finished eating we put their highchairs facing each other so that they could 'talk'. one of the ladies at another table was commenting on how cute they were talking to each other.

i think that both girls are exhausted from their day of fun! they both had really great days and i was really impressed about how well they did at the museum. i didn't realize that it was a silent and whisper type of exhibit - oops. the girls really did great and both fell asleep while being strolled around. the rest of the museum is very child friendly and we even got to go through an impressive butterfly garden. maddie didn't know quite what to make of all these bugs flying around. (there aren't a lot of bugs in wisconsin - one of my favorite things about living here!)

can't wait to see what adventures will come tomorrow! love.

maddie the bully

so madelyn is a bully. here are a few videos of her stealing her cousin's pacifier. it doesn't matter that she hasn't touched her own since she was around 2 months - she wants annabell's. you can see in the second video that she doesn't really mean any harm she just wants to share in the experience. right?





okay. she isn't really a bully. she just doesn't know her own strength or that she is bigger than other kids her age (for that matter, kids older than her). we are going to have to work on being "gentle" and "nice". we are having playgroup at our house on thursday so we will have to see how she does. love.

bye-bye morning nap

for the past three days madelyn has not taken a morning nap. i am mourning its loss and there will definitely be a whole new dynamic to my work day. she shows no signs of even needing one. i have read her books and put her down just like normal but she just lays there and talks to herself, her toys, anything. at least she doesn't cry. but there is definitely no sleeping going on.

yesterday uncle brad, aunt abby, and cousin annabell arrived just in time for dinner. we are enjoying their visit and the girls are enjoying kicking, crying, and laughing together. madelyn has a more physical approach to expressing her love than annabell and i think maddie is a little overwhelming... here is a picture of her saying 'welcome' to annabell after she woke up from her nap. basically they were sitting and looking at each other when maddie decided that she needed to get up close and personal to really say 'hello'. so she climbed up annabell - knocking her over - and grabbed her face while laying on top of her.

then the two girls took a bath together, but maddie kept trying to climb out of the tub. just the latest in her "up-and-over" adventures. she has also learned that she can reach the water in the toilet.

madelyn has realized that she is tall. she now reaches the top of the kitchen table, the top of the bar stools, the top of the buffet under the t.v., pretty much the top of everything. she is always looking for what she can reach that is even higher. to the point where she will stand on her tippy-toes to reach just a little more.

i just love how curious and adventuresome she is! although it does make a lot more work for me and matt.

here is a picture of annabell playing while maddie took her afternoon nap (those have gotten to be almost three hours now that she isn't taking a morning nap). annabell is exactly one week younger than madelyn. and they are going to have another cousin that will be almost exactly one year younger than they are (she is due on annabell's birthday). isn't she cute?


more to come later! love.