Theme Song for Christmas 2010

My newphew, Mason, received a dancing snoopy toy for Christmas and it turned out to be a BIG hit with Maddie and cousin Ava too. Lots of fun was had dancing with Snoopy.

By the time we left San Angelo, even Eric and I were humming the Peanuts theme song.

Christmas 2010

We spent Christmas in San Angelo, TX this year with all of my sisters, brother and their spouses, kids and my parents too. What a wonderful weekend of yummy food, lots of laughs and watching the kids play together. BIG thanks to Mark and Whitney for hosting all of us and my parents for spending so much time in the kitchen.

Excited about her Dora purse from Grandnee and Grampa:


Opening Presents:


Ava enjoying a chocolate cookie:


Maddie enjoying a chocolate cookie:


Kitchen Crew: (Yes, I know I did the least work of everyone. :-)


Carly enjoying a Christmas nap:

Visit with Santa Claus

This morning, I took Maddie and Carly to see Santa at a the iconic Kirby Lane Doll Shop. It's a small shop that sells all sorts of dolls and doll houses and has been in business in Austin for almost 30 years. My friend Michelle suggested we try out this santa to avoid long lines at the mall. It worked out perfectly.

Unlike last year, Maddie wasn't scared of Santa and sat on his lap for a good 10 mins. Carly slept through the whole meeting but got to sit on his lap too.

We had a fun morning. Thanks for inviting us out, Michelle!

Carly's One Month Check-up

Today I took Carly to the doc for her 1 month check up. Things looked good and she's growing and gaining weight nicely. Probably our biggest challenge with Carly so far is her sleep habits. She struggles with a bit of acid reflux and doesn't like to lie on her back. She'll only sleep for periods of 1 hr or so in her bassinet and prefers to sleep upright. So, she spends some time sleeping in her car seat (where she sleeps for 3 hrs straight) and some time in her inclined bassinet. Our goal is to get her to stop sleeping in her car seat as soon as we can so her little body can stretch out better.

Stats:
Height: 22" (75th%)
Weight: 10 lbs, 8oz (75%)
Head: 36.5 cm (25%)

Note: At 2 months old, Maddie weighed 10 lbs, 4 oz. It will be interesting to see if Carly is chubbier than Maddie since Maddie's always been so lean.

You Can't Find Me!

When Eric or I are trying to brush Maddie's teeth, change her diaper or do something else she's not in the mood for, Maddie loves to run into her room and "hide" under her bed quilt. I think it's so funny because she sits upright and thinks we can't see her. Cracks me up every time!

Tummy Time

Maddie joined Carly in her tummy time exercises (and she watched The Wonder Pets at the same time).

A Language all Her Own

Maddie continues to add words to her vocabulary each week but still says some words and phrases that Eric and I can't quite understand. She's also recently started adding extra syllables to words she's known for months.

It's interesting to watch Maddie's language develop and evolve, so I wanted to document a few of the words she says so we don't forget.

Dadda is now "Dadd-u-watt"
Momma is now "Mommaye" (pronounced mom-eye)
Baby (Carly) is now "Baby-o" or "Baby-yuck"
Maddie is now "Mahihi"

Imagination

Recently, Maddie has begun to spend more time playing with her legos, building castles and buildings. She'll spend a solid 20-30 mins putting the blocks together and taking them apart and clapping for herself when she figures out a new way to connect them. It's fun to see her use her imagination and build her confidence too.

Also, she loves to put one of the lego containers on her head just to be silly.

Christmas Lights

On Saturday morning, we had an unusually warm day with highs in the mid-70s. But, that didn't stop Eric from putting up Christmas lights!

I took Maddie and Carly outside for a while to watch Daddy decorate and enjoy the weather. Our neighbors visited us and played with Maddie so we ended up having a fun Saturday morning.

I love this time of year!

Bath Time

Although we've given Carly sponge baths every few days since her birth, we were able to give her a real bath now that her belly button was ready.

Like Maddie, Carly enjoys baths and really enjoys warm water being poured on her head. Very cute.

Thanksgiving 2010

This year, my parents, brother and his family joined us at our home for Thanksgiving. We got to spend lots of time with our sweet nephew, Mason, and watch the kids play together all day.

Eric and I have been pretty busy since Carly's birth, so my parents happily prepared a delicious Thanksgiving meal, plus several other meals throughout the long weekend. They also helped with the girls and made us feel extra loved. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the holiday so relaxing and special for us.

Besides being thankful for my parents, brother and his family, Eric and I are so thankful for our growing family. We are truly blessed.







More Thanksgiving pictures: Click Here

Outside Time

Although we've had a heatwave the last few days (weather in the 80s!), last week's weather was crisp and cool and sunny. Perfect weather for taking the girls to the backyard for some fresh air.

Happy Big Sister

Maddie is adjusting to her new big sister role more and more each day.

Carly's Birthday

On November 10th, 2010 at 1:19pm, Carly came into the world. Suddenly, we became a family of four. Almost two weeks later, I still can't believe Eric and I have another daughter and Maddie has a sister.

Maddie is adjusting beautifully so far. She's helpful and seems to understand that Carly is her sister and part of our family now. It's so cute to watch Maddie smile at Carly every day.

Although having a newborn and a toddler has been a bit tiring, I look forward to watching the girls grow up together become best friends.

Park Time!

This morning, Maddie and I met Erica and Michelle at one of our favorite parks - Dick Nichols. It was in the low 40s but the sun was shining brightly so it was perfect for outdoor play.

The girls spent quite a bit of time on the "big girl swings" - a first for Maddie, and played with rocks and on the slides.

It's nice to see some of our favorite friends before things get busy in a few days when baby #2 arrives.

(All photos courtesy of Michelle. Thank you!)

Halloween Weekend 2010

What a fun-filled Halloween weekend!

Saturday evening, Eric and I decided to take Maddie to a Fall Fest being put on at a church near our house. It was quite elaborate. There were pony rides, hay rides, big jumpy slides, train rides, lots of games and candy give-aways and plenty of food. We only stayed for about 45 mins so Maddie wouldn't stay up too late but Maddie was still able to do and see quite a bit.

On Halloween Sunday, we stayed in our neighborhood to give out candy and take Maddie trick-or-treating. This was Maddie's second time trick-or-treating but last year we just carried her to 2-3 houses. This year, Eric took her all around the neighborhood and she had a blast. She understood the concept of getting candy but would try to get several hand-fulls at a time. Ha!

Each year, our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween with several culdesac parties, a haunted house across the street from us and lots of mingling with our neighbors. I look forward to it every year.

Since I'm less than 2 weeks away from baby #2s arrival, I didn't do a whole lot of walking this year, but had a fun time giving out candy and watching Maddie trick-or-treat at our neighbors. It was nice to see Maddie have such a fun time and look so adorable as a piggy.

Halloween Costume Test Run

I finally tried Maddie's piggy Halloween costume on her yesterday and she really seemed to like it. I LOVE it. Hopefully Halloween dress-up goes just as smoothly.

Fall Picnic

Today, Maddie's preschool hosted a Fall picnic for her class. Mommies and Daddies were invited to attend and we all sat outside on a beautiful day.

We ate lunch together and watched the kids play while Moms and Dads had an opportunity to get to know each other better. It's been warm in Austin the last couple of weeks so today was a special treat with 70 degree weather and bright sunshine. The picnic was a lot of fun.

Neighborhood Pumpkin Patch

Every Fall, there's a small pumpkin patch set up near our neighborhood park that we like to take Maddie to. People bring canned food to support a local food bank and there are free activities for kids, picture opportunities and plenty of pumpkins.

It was raining a bit this morning, but we still made it out. Maddie got to decorate a pumpkin with Daddy, see some scarecrows and run around the pumpkins.