Panties and Diva.

She put them on all by herself and was very proud of that!

My new little car diva!
She'll even put them on top of her head or
hand them to me when we get inside a store.
Cracks me up!

Hiking

Not wet.

Wet.

That's pretty much how our hike went.
Made it all the way to the top, then it decided to downpour. 

Minnie Mouse Birthday!

For Madelyn's 2nd Birthday Party we may not have had the best weather...

cold and rainy in August, really?!?!

I guess that's the chance you take when planning an outdoor party.

(I clipped off the bottom of the invitation so 

no personal information is shared)

Naturally we had a Hot Dog Bar to go with Madelyn's
Minnie Mouse Birthday.
Those who don't watch Minnie Mouse probably don't get it.

The weather actually wasn't too bad in the sense that no one

felt like they had to jump into the pool 

(that's usually how it is at a pool in the middle of August around here).

Luckily there was also a covered area where we set up food and stayed clear of the rain...

for those of us who didn't want to get wet.

And it never did downpour, but it was definitely that pesky type of drizzle 

that just gets on your nerves.

All bitter feelings about the weather set aside, 

we had a good time and are so very thankful for our friends and family who

helped us celebrate Madelyn's special day!

Singing Happy Birthday!

She was spoiled rotten (of course).

Acted the Birthday Girl part so well (she was such a ham).

And Minnie Mouse helped decorate our party from top to bottom!

And isn't that the cutest little bum you've ever seen?!?!

Happy Birthday, Madelyn!
Hope you loved your Minnie Mouse Birthday Party.

Date Night

Atlanta, Ferris Wheel, Googie Burger, PB&J Shake.

Thanks Nana and Papa for watching little M!

2 Year Well Visit

Stats:

Height- 34 1/2 inches (69%) tall girl! She definitely doesn't get that from me.

Weight- 26 lbs 6 oz. (49%)

As shy as this girl can be she did awesome!

Was only supposed to get one shot, but we'll have to go back because she has double ear infections again. Poor girl. No wonder she hasn't been sleeping as well as usual.

See her books all lined up. A little bit of her OCD showing. 

Night one...

I have done so much research on when and how to give up the paci that literally every page instead should just say do whatever you like! There is so much mixed messages and information I didn't know what to do...still don't really.

Thought 1 (thanks to my own thoughts and not those from the Internet): she only uses it to sleep.

Which provoked question 1: so should I let her wean herself from the paci?

Which brought about thought 2: she could be 5 if I do it that way and I'm not okay with that. 

Which provoked question 2: will her speech and teeth get messed up if she continues to use it even though she only just turned 2?

so when and how?

Do you see where I'm going with this? So, here I am testing the waters of paci weaning since there was really no research out there to help me one bit.

And here's what I have to say so far...

Night one of being a big girl (aka - going to sleep without a paci): success!

M: Paci now?

Me: Paci is for the babies.

M: Audrey?

Me: Yes, babies like Audrey.

M: pink paci...no.

Me: No pink paci.

M: blue paci...no.

Me: No blue paci.

M: close eyes.

Me: Yes, close your eyes now.

And this game went on for about 3 rounds. It gave her the giggles.

And then she was okay with that.

Fingers crossed.

Happy Day!

And yes, it was a very 'Happy Day' indeed.

We started the morning off with finding balloons scattered all over the floor 

which was pretty exciting.

Then we enjoyed Pancakes for breakfast (her favorite), 

but to top it all off she got to have whipped cream and sprinkles on top!

Then she had a beautiful Minnie Mouse Birthday Party...
post coming later about that.

That evening we let her play for a bit at Catch Air before
heading over to eat dinner at Chili's...
Tradition?!?
Yeah, we went there last year for her 1st birthday.
Not that it's her favorite or anything...
actually I think it might be the fact that Matt and I are always very pleased with
what we order from there.
Anyways...
they sang happy birthday to her and delivered a big bowl of ice cream!
What a way to end the day (at least in her book).

What a busy, fun filled day!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Madelyn!

Look Who's Two!

My sweet, little Madelyn,

How are you so big already! 

You turned TWO this morning.

I can't believe this day has come. Time is flying by so quickly and I wish you'd stay little forever! 

You are so unbelievably sweet, thoughtful, and curious. You love to sit down with blocks for building things with daddy (especially tunnels). You love to read books in your bed by yourself until you fall asleep. You love finding your 'AB's' with Scrabble pieces with mommy.

 You love to talk mommy's ears off.  Sometimes I wonder if I need to start carrying ear plugs in the car because all I hear from your sweet little voice is 'mommy, mommy, mommy...' And this goes on for the whole car ride. And I have to answer and repeat everything you say because that's how you know I'm understanding and listening to every little word you say. And even though sometimes my ears may be tired of listening or you may think I'm not... I promise, baby girl, I am! I hear you point out every truck and bus. I hear you tell me you want to listen to a new song. I hear you tell me you want to listen to your AB's. I hear you tell me that we need to 'watch for green' when we're sitting at a red light. I hear you tell me you want your milk and a snack. I hear every single word, baby girl.

You are curious about the world around you and ask about things you don't know while also naming every little thing you do know. You like for me to kiss your boo boo's when you get hurt. You are one tough girl though. You end up with bumps and bruises and cuts that I'm not sure when you even got because you shake it off so well.

You are a schedule keeper. You like to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time everyday. You go to bed and wake up about the same time everyday. And if we do something a couple of days in a row you think that is what we are supposed to do everyday. Like a couple of days in a row when we went to the pool then came home and watched one of your movies. Now you think we are supposed to watch a movie every time we come home from the pool. Or like the time we went outside and ate a frozen banana on the front porch and now you think every time you eat a banana you need to go sit on the front porch. You are a creature of habit. You are stubborn. You have an opinion on just about everything and you let it be known. 

You are a good listener. You are helpful. You love to help mommy and daddy clean up your toys. Sometimes you clean up all by yourself.  Sometimes you even get upset if I don't allow you enough time to clean up whatever it is that you have set in your little mind that needs to be cleaned right then.  

You can count to ten.  You can sing most of your ABC's (skipping a few letters of course)

You know most of your colors (sometimes brown and black can be tricky).

You love puzzles or should I say "zupples" (Madi language) 

and are very good at them...almost scary good.

You are obsessed with The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  

Minnie is your favorite thing tote around with you.

You still sleep with a paci and I am not looking forward to the day

 that I have to tell you you are a big girl and don't need it anymore.

You love to hold hands (especially now since things are starting to make you a little nervous

or scared, like when mommy makes her smoothie and it makes a loud noise. 

or when a stranger gets too close).

You are very creative. You like to color, draw, paint, build, examine, and sing.

You love to ask questions.  You love to repeat yourself.  You love learning. Period.

This I am very thankful for.

You take time to sit and listen.  You take time to look around you.

You take time to say I'm sorry...sometimes even when you have done nothing wrong

(like if mommy does something silly like trips over a toy or runs into the table).

You take time to say I love you.  You take time to give hugs and kisses.

Oh, what a happy day this is...

and to you it literally is a "Happy Day"!!

(This is how you say Happy Birthday right now).

We love you so very much and are so happy we get to share this life with you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Love.

Out with the old, in with the new...

Well, not sure if that saying exactly applies because 

my Mazda 6 was not so old.  

It was a 2010.

It looked just about like this:

Loved it.  Nothing wrong with it.

Planned on driving that thing into the ground.

I guess other plans were in store for us.

To make a stressful, stupid situation short:

 on our way home from the fireworks on Friday night 

a kid in the lane next to us didn't see us

and decided he wanted to make an illegal U-turn right in front of us.

He was completely at fault.

No problems with that, 

but air bags came out and the way we hit shifted the frame of my car.

I am so thankful that the Robbins were just a short drive behind us

and were able to stop and help keep me sane while
Matt paced, and Madelyn kept talking about the fireworks.

I cannot thank them enough. 

Then of course my parents came to help take us

 back home.

That weekend we were told my car would be totaled...

so much for driving it into the ground to get all my money's worth from it.

That coming week we were leaving for our week long trip to NY for a 

family vacation, so car shopping had to wait.

Now that the whole event is over with, settled, and I am no longer car-less.

I am happy to say I will now drive my new 2010 Hyundai Tucson Limited into the ground

as long as there are no other plans for it.

Can hardly believe it...

Just sent out M's 2nd birthday party invitations. Stop growing up!!

Bubbles

sequence of events:

Seneca Lake 2013

What a beautiful week

We started our journey driving to Buffalo, NY to visit Madelyn's 'grandma' (great grandma), stopping at Niagara Falls, then eating at Teds (hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and a loganberry).

Madelyn was such a good little car rider. We started the drive at night so she could sleep and finished our journey the next day while she just talked away, enjoyed the view, and watched a movie.

After leaving Buffalo we headed on over to the lake to spend the week with 

Madelyn's GiGi, PoPop, Auntie Meghan, and Great Aunt Nancy, and Oliver of course. 

Madelyn spent the week throwing rocks in the lake, walking on the 'bridge' (dock), and swinging.

We had our usual bonfire with S'mores.

 Madelyn's first encounter with a S'more.

We hiked part of the Glen.

Stopped for ice cream.

Did a little finger painting...or should I say body painting.

The weather was beautiful.
The water was refreshing.
And we couldn't have ask for a better view as always.

A wonderful family vacation - indeed.