New Milestones

Annie rolled from back to tummy yesterday! She just did it one time, but hopefully now she'll start to do it more. Up next: crawling! Yikes- I don't know if I'm ready for that yet..... She getting so big, so fast!
Madelynn put on her own PJ's Sunday. The shirt, pants, and socks all by herself! The shirt and pants were backwards, but that's OK!
Everyone have a fun and careful Thanksgiving!

The Dallas Zoo

I was canceled from work on Sunday, so we took the rare opportunity to take a family trip to the zoo. It was great! We went early in the morning so the zoo was very empty; there were no lines, and we could take all the room we needed for pictures. We ate lunch there (note to self: take a lunch next time, the corndog was way more expensive than it needed to be) and we left when it became obvious that naptime was needed. Madelynn LOVED all the animals! When we learn about the animals in school now, she always brings up the zoo. Hopefully, we'll be able to go again soon.
Madelynn loves to run her fingers through Jakes hair while she rides on his shoulders. By the end of the trip his hair was like a mohawk-lol!

She LOVES the elephants!


This picture always cracks me up! She went running to the window to see the gorilla. Then the gorilla turned her head to look at Madelynn and Maddie promptly turned heel and ran away faster than I've ever seen her run before. After lots of coaxing, Jake and I were able to take her back to see the gorilla where this "BIG monkey" taught her how to pick her nose. (Thankfully, not her butt-lol)



Annabelle learned how to blow strawberries while we were there.....maybe she was watching the monkeys too closely too ;)


A rare picture of the tiger that was out. Forget trying to get Madelynn to say "tiger." It's just "rowr!"

She loved petting the rabbit and guinea pig at the childrens zoo. She was very gentle with them- no ear pulling at all!

On our way out.....blissfull naptime cometh soon....

Madelynn can now wear braids!!! I'm so excited that I can start to fix her hair in more cute styles now! Of course, they only last for a few hours before her crazy hair is everywhere again....




Coming soon: Thanksgiving dinner update, and pictures of our new fireplace!

The Planner and The Procrastinator

So this is the first year I'm holding Thanksgiving at my place. I go between putting off everything (like cleaning the house) and trying to plan everything (I love lists!) I have the fun part done: shopping and decorating, so I guess this week I can't put off the cleaning anymore.

I never realized how few dishes and cups Jake and I have been living off of. Here I was thinking we were doing well in the land of dishes, then I had to go and throw a large dinner together and we are dish poor! I really don't know what happened to all of them. Could we really have broken that many dishes and cups? Can we serve Thanksgiving on plastic? No, there are only a few holidays where plastic dishware cannot be used (and not for want of trying- I asked everyone looking for someone to agree with me.....but in vain) Thanksgiving is one of those holidays. And Walmart knows it. Thankfully for me, there are some great sales on real dishes and glasses.

It's so funny how 'real' is now glass. Like we've been eating off of 'fake' plates because you can throw them away. Yep, living in the land of make believe, where fairies and elves do your dishes for you......maybe that's where our dishes went....

I've been so good not to go crazy with the decorations. It's so hard because I LOVE the fall colors! I'd keep my house in a forever Autumn state if I could. And the candles- YUM! I've set the table for 16 guests (just to tempt fate to bring me 17 guests.) I'm so OCD on everything matching too- I'm 2 seconds away from buying all new flatware. I just have to keep checking my bank account every morning to remind myself why that's not a good idea. But at least the glasses and plates will all match- gosh darn it!

Jake and I bought a new dining table. We've been wanting a new one for a while now, so when Rooms To Go held a good sale on a new table we jumped at it. Then the next week Big Lots holds a sale on chairs that go with our set (cha-ching!) so now our table has 8 matching chairs (OCD kicking in again.) Then Garden Ridge holds a sale on all their parsons chairs, so we got new chairs for our breakfast table too; then of course I had to get a pretty autumn tablecloth for our breakfast table (prob. should take some meds for OCD) so now we have a new(ish) breakfast table too! Now I have to bring a paper bag with me to look at the bank account every morning, reminds me of my early preggo days.

Well, I've planned the menu out- now if I could just make myself go to the grocery store to get everything.....

Candy, Candy, Candy

Wow, what a week! I'm still recovering and cleaning the house from all the stickiness. Just when I think I got it all, I reach for that one door knob I missed, or move a couch pillow and get a mess of sticky. I'm still finding candy wrappers in the wash after each load of clothes too. But honestly, it was all worth it!

Madelynn was a fairy this year, which varied each night depending on her mood and what she found that day for her costume. Annabelle was a little pumpkin, which varied depending on what was clean (or barf stain that needed to be hidden.)


On Tuesday, we went to the YMCA fall festival. There were lots of games there, it was really crowded. Madelynn got to practice waiting in line for her turn. She at first got mad because she couldn't just walk up and play the game, but after explaining sharing with her I think she got the idea. Then she had to realize that when she had her turn it was just one turn, and not 3 hours of personal time with the fun helpers (who give candy!) Her favorite games were the ring toss on the dinosaur and the bean bag toss. She really loved picking an item from the candy bucket. After getting a lollipop from the first bucket (which stayed in her mouth the entire time) she picked a pumpkin straw, bracelet, bubbles and a few other small items for prizes after the other games (which really surprised me considering her sweet tooth.)


On Thursday, Maddie and Mommy went to the Kroger fall festival. I can just imagine when Maddie becomes a teenager "my mom's so lame, she took me to the grocery store for trick or treating." Bwahahaha! They actually had it really nice there, and we could play the games without waiting in long lines. They had bowling (with a frozen turkey for the ball, and empty 2 liters for the pins), ring toss, and bean bag toss. The candy was a lot nicer there too. Madelynn loved seeing all the cashiers dressed up.

Note the bracelets in these photos. Every time she played a game, they came off her wrist- but she was very stubborn about putting them right back on! Needless to say, they are pretty battered now.

On Friday was the Mckinney 'Scare in the Square' event. Every shop owner in the downtown Mckinney was dressed up and passing out candy. Jake and I were definitely not prepared for the crowd it drew. The entire square was basically just one long line. The line slowly moved from shop to shop as the kids got more and more anxious and sticky. We decided to go to about 3 different shops, visit the firemen, and just look around. Madelynn kept a lollipop in her mouth the whole time- AGAIN! Finally she decided it was easier to talk around the lollipop, rather than remove it from her mouth while talking. Surprisingly she became very skilled at this- though the usage of this skill in the real world has yet to appear. Ventrilaquist perhaps? Maybe dentist..... ;P Annie loves the outdoors! She was so good, just looking around; watching everybody around her. She didn't start crying until we put her in the car to leave.


In case you thought I naturally grew wings, I decided to dress up with Madelynn for the Mckinney square event. It was a lot of fun, and Maddie loved being a fairy with me. Though for some reason anyone wearing a dress she calls a ballarina right now; so she went back and forth calling us a ballerina or a fairy. That is one great thing about having kids: I have an excuse to act like one! ;P

On Saturday, Halloween night, Mommy had to work so Daddy and the girls passed out candy to everyone. Jake says Maddie loved seeing everyone all dressed up and said "hi" to everyone who came to the door. When I got home, they were having a great time. Madelynn had 3 (that I saw at that time) lollipops open. One in each hand, and kept putting one down after some licks and picking up the third to lick for a while. We made sure to do some thorough teeth brushing that night ;P

You may think that her hair is just be a mess; but if you look closely, all of that hair is actually stuck like glue to her face. That's what a 2 yr old and ten (that's Jake's rough estimate) lollipops look like after running around the house for several hours on a sugar high. Some of you may be able to relate: candy turnes to cement after a few hours in the hair. I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to get it all out! This may be how the mullet was invented.

We all had an absolute blast for Halloween! I can't wait for Christmas! It gets more and more fun to share the holidays with the girls as they get older. Having children definitely keeps you young!

Annie's 4 month checkup

Annabelle had her well visit today, she is doing very well. She got her vaccines and when I picked her up she calmed right down. Then the nurse turned to her to tell her she was sorry and Annie let out this mad yell at the nurse. I had to laugh. Maddie was very curious through the whole thing......I'm gonna have to watch her that she doesn't 'practice' doctor on Annie later- lol!

Annie's head is doing well. We were a little worried with the first head circumference measurement because it was smaller than last month's measurement. But after we re-did the measurement, it was right on track and everything is good. The left side of the head is a little more flat than the right side, but I just think the MD might be over analyzing it now. The front sutures are less rigid, but the back sutures are still fairly prominent. I'm not worried, but the MD wants to recheck in a month.

Annie is in the 58th percentile in weight at 14lbs. 5oz. and in the 69th percentile in height at 25inches. I really don't know where we get tall kids from, considering that Jake and I are fairly average in height. But I'm not complaining......we'll have someone around to reach the tall cabinets for us then- lol!

I was a little worried about Annie pooping only once every 48hrs; but the MD said that was fine, that she had a pt who only pooped once a week. (wow! now that's some slow metabolism!)

I also learned that they now do not give Tylenol with vaccines because new research shows that Tylenol can make the vaccines less effective. I personally think that is baloney, so I gave Annie Tylenol as soon as we got home.

Well, I'll post more later on our Halloween week activities. But everything is going well, and Maddie has learned some important lessons on waiting in line, and only getting one thing from the candy bucket.

Fall Fun

So last week Jake, Maddie, Annie and I went to a Pumpkin Patch. It was a lot of fun (and muddy,) but mostly fun. We got to feed the sheep and goats, which had surprisingly learned to be aggressive about getting the food. Maddie loved seeing the chickens and cow. We also got to go on a hay ride, which was a lot of fun too.




Madelynn, trying to express her independence, had to carry her own pumpkin all the way back to the car. Needless to say, it was a little bruised by the time we got it home.

It's getting harder to go jogging with the girls, but they are real troopers about it.


On a side note, blue elephant lasted about half way around the block before mommy had to carry him the rest of the way. That day was more walking than running......but we all have to start somewhere ;)

Jake's sister Beth got married on Saturday. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Barry McCain!!! The wedding was fantastic! Beth looked gorgeous, and Barry cleans up pretty well himself ;) The reception was held at the La Cima Club in Las Colinas with breathtaking veiws of Las Colinas, Ft. Worth skyline and Dallas skyline. Jake and I had a wonderful time! My pics are pretty dark and don't do the bride and groom justice at all.....



Rachel and Ian came to visit while in town and Grandpa Wells stopped by as well. We really enjoyed having them.


I can't wait to post pics of Halloween. Maddie is going to be a fairy and I have alot of activities planned this week for fun. So stay tuned...... ;)

*crickets chirping*

Well, not much has been happening around here....but I thought I should post something.....

Madelynn is talking so well now. I can finally hold a real conversation with her! I'll ask her about her day when I get home from work and she can tell me about it (with minimal prompting from Dad.) She sang the whole alphabet (when she thought I wasn't listening) and can count to 10. She knows all her colors and majority of her shapes. We are working on the sounds the letters make in school now. She really likes Leap Frog's Letter Factory and I really think that helps alot.

Annabelle is rolling really well from stomach to back (she never stays on her stomach now.) And she is cooing all the time. I think we have quite the talker....or maybe singer- sometimes it sounds just like singing. She is definitely a thumb sucker, but overall a very content baby. She loves to laugh and is very ticklish.

Jake and I are doing well. We are in the middle of spring cleaning now. I think I finally did it- I have more maternity clothes than regular clothes- lol! Oh well, I guess I have an excuse to go shopping! I think I'm going to finally get rid of all my prom/dance dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Why is it so hard to let go of those? Maybe because I spent so much money on them, or I keep thinking I'll one day have the occasion to wear them again..... Oh well, out they go! I saw the Oprah show on hoarders yesterday, and it spurred me on. *shudder* I will never let my things build like that (famous last words.)

Well, that's about it for now......I guess I did have some things to say afterall! ;P

ps, I realized that I'm one of those people who use smiley faces way too much in my typing.....but I'm OK with that. ;P