A New First for Madelyn

We had a big day yesterday! It was over 90 degrees, so I decided it was a pool day for sure! We went to the store for pool stuff for Maddie (but the swim diapers are too big!) then went out after her nap. She was a little unsure at first, but after some gentle guidance, she loved it! At one point, I was holding her and she laid back to "float"! So it looks like we'll have another water baby.
After the pool, we cooked a pork tenderloin on our brand new grill, yay! Emily came over for dinner and we all went to Coldstone for some dessert! It was my favorite kind of day.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.   If I could get away somewhere for the weekend I would go       to the lakehouse, because it's close enough for a weekend trip   and I would bring      Casey. We are in need of a parent's only vacation! Ha, right, maybe in 5 years or so

2.  Something I often rant about is    coworkers and acquaintances who annoy me!

3.  One item I need to have in my fridge at all time is     yogurt. My go-to snack

4.  My "life-saving" product is   .More Milk Plus...without it I wouldn't be able to exclusively breastfeed Maddie.

5.  A friend is someone who    laughs, cries, schemes, and dreams with you.

6.  If I could write my own blank it would be       my first childhood memory is...

7.  My favorite kind of art is       my brother Lee's paintings. He's amazing.

Rolly Polly

I've got a rolly-polly on my hands! Today I put Maddie down for some required tummy time, which she detests. This time though, instead of whining, she took matters into her own hands and rolled over like she's been doing it all her life! She's been able to roll back to tummy for almost a month now, but she rarely does,so I was shocked to see her do it so quickly. After the clapping, hugs, and kisses I put her down again to record it for Casey. Well, I was going to put the video on here, but apparently I have no idea how to do that, so I'll ask Casey if he can when he comes home...ah, husbands! I also wanted to quickly add that Maddie did this  when it had been over 3 hours since she last ate, without being grumpy. She actually went a four hour stretch without nursing and didn't grump a bit. She's growing up on me I guess.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

I almost forgot to do this today! Here we go:

1.   People always tell me I look like       well, I haven't been told I look like anyone in a while. In high school though, people always told me I looked like Julia Stiles.

2.  Friends don't let friends    go to the movies alone.

3.  A sunny day is perfect for     taking my girls to the park and out for ice cream! Yum.

4.  My favorite accessory is  my family necklace Casey & the girls got me for Mother's Day.

5.  If I could afford it I would     have a housekeeper to clean my house. 

6.  The cure for boredom is       to go out! There's so much to do if you're willing to leave your house.

7.  I am currently "in like" with     ice cream, Jalapeno Cheeto's, and Cheerwine, which I can never find. Grr.

Madelyn is 4 months!

Madelyn turned four months old today! Even though I feel like it's going by way too fast, I am enjoying each month more than the last. She is turning into such a happy baby!

Milestones this month:
She can roll over from her back to her stomach
She laughs (just a little, still no belly laughs)
She eats rice cereal (some days are better than others)

Likes:
Stuffed animals
Her singing Little Einstein dragon puppet
Cuddling
Her exersaucer
Her bumbo seat
Her bouncer

Dislikes:
Napping (I've never seen a baby resist napping so much)
Being watched by anyone but Casey or me
Napping anywhere but our arms (except for when she's with my mom and she naps in the swing...stinker)

She is very into watching us eat now and loves to smack her lips while we're eating. At the Macaroni Grill this past Sunday she stole a piece of bread from me and I had to go on a rescue mission. And I'm guilty of letting her lick blueberry jelly off of my biscuits in the morning-eek! She loves it though, and it's all natural organic jelly I got from Circle S Farms. She still wakes up once in the middle of the night, which gets exhausting, but I know it could be worse. She's doing much better with her bottles, only if they're warmed up-room temperature will just not do!

I'm so proud of her and Kiley both and I know how lucky I am to have the two best daughters in the world, plus an amazing husband.

Best picture I could get of my silly goose...

Maddie is much too busy being an active four month old to sit still for picture time!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

We went on our first Mom group outing today to Circle S Farms and picked strawberries. The girls and I had a great time and made some  new friends!

Mother's Day

First let me start off by saying that Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I just love feeling so loved and appreciated by my family. I know they appreciate me every day, but on Mother's Day they have to show it :) Plus, many restaurants put on a mean brunch for Mother's Day. This year we returned to the same place as last year...The Copper Kettle. It's this cute little restaurant in downtown Nashville that does an amazing  brunch buffet. I pigged out and had a mimosa too...what a meal. Needless to say, I've only eaten once since brunch...and that was just some Raspberry Pomegranate sorbet from Sweet Cece's. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Mother's Day? LOL

Kiley and me after our meal. Love this girl

My girls and me before heading out for the afternoon

After brunch we headed back home where I snuck in a quick nap, then we headed out to Sweet Cece's for a quick treat, then to Dragon Park, our favorite park in Nashville. It's over in the Hillsboro Village area, and its just the coolest park. It has an old fashioned play area with a big hill, a fort, a tunnel, and a metal slide, a huge mosaic dragon you can climb all over, plus a modern play area. It's huge and we just love it.

Maddie wanted some Sweet Cece's too, so we gave her a spoon so she wouldn't feel left out

My babies wearing the flower headbands I made for them

Then, after the park we came home and Maddie took a very big step...her first rice cereal! She's been watching us eat with a lot of interest lately, and likes playing with spoons, so I decided to try it. I ground up my brown rice into a powder, cooked it down, then added some breast milk and voila...rice cereal!

All ready!

She did much better than we thought she would

As you can tell, I had a wonderful day. I love my family so much.

FitBF

1.   What I love most about my home is       the people in it with me.

2.  I'm excited because,    I am in the middle of a four day weekend, plus it's almost Mother's Day, which I love, and Joni is coming to see me tomorrow!

3.  My preferred method for blowing  off steam when I'm frustrated is     well back before I had kids it was to go for a long drive. Now, it's taking a shower. That's my only alone time.

4.  Currently I am craving   a deliciously greasy burger with grilled onions. Yum.

5.  The thing I love most about my mom is     she is truly the best mom ever. She helps me out whenever I ask her to without complaning, she goes on girl's days with me whenever we can, we talk on the phone at least once a day plus several text messages and she is an amazing Nana to my daughters. Really, I couldn't ask for a better Mom.

6.  If I was going to write a book about my life, the title would be       "U-Turn" because that's basically what I did when I met Casey. I should really thank him more for the life I'm living now, because he is the person who made me start growing up.

7.  If I were to eat one thing for the rest of eternity it would be       pasta. Yum.

Big Week for Kindergarteners!

This is such a big week for Kiley at school. She has a music program one night, an encore performance one day, and two field trips! Last night was her music program, and it was amazing! Music has been her favorite class all year, and last night showed me why. The program was so cute, you can tell the teacher really has a way with kids. I was expecting it to be pure chaos, what with 6 Kindergarten classes performing, but I was pleasantly surprised. The theme was Neighborhood, so the kids were encouraged to dress up like something you might find in your neighborhood-no surprise, Kiley picked a butterfly:

I was so excited when the curtains went up, because Kiley Hope was front and center!

They sang about 6 songs, with some speaking parts in between-Kiley had one of those too, naturally

Casey and I were so very proud of Kiley. Watching her up on the stage, I couldn't believe how big she's gotten, but at the same time it reminded me how young she is yet. I love her more every day, but I wish I could stop time just for a little bit.

After the program Casey, Kiley, Maddie,  Margaret, Emily, my mom and Dad and I all went out to Olive Garden. I wish I had asked our server to take a picture of us, but oh well. It was a great night.
Then today was her first field trip. We went to the Nashville Zoo, which is one of my favorite places here in Nashville. We have a membership so we get in free each time we go-the membership pays for itself after two visits! The field trip was chaotic for sure. I tried to help Mrs. Rosas keep the kids under control as much as possible, but we still ended up losing a kid at the meerkat exhibit! No worries, another teacher found him ad he spent the morning with her class. Maddie thankfully slept through the whole trip so I didn't have to take a nursing break. We got to see some cute animals, and even though the kids were crazy, I  enjoyed the trip.

This is the closest a giraffe has ever gotten to me there!

       

Kiley's class with the giraffes

I was very proud of Kiley at the zoo-she listens to Mrs. Rosas so well, and is very respectful. Once we got to the Jungle Gym, it came time for Maddie and I to leave which made Kiley cry and broke my heart. She thought she would get to cone home with me like she did after the pumpkin patch field trip. I'm sure she forgot quickly when she got to playing with her friends though.
Tomorrow she performs her music program at school during the day for all the classes, then Friday they go to the Frist. End of the year= busy busy busy!