Gramma

Gramma (my mom) came to visit for a couple of days! She also brought her yorkshire terrier, Maddie, and Madelyn was obsessed. She looked for her all day long and wouldn't even eat unless Maddie was in sight!

Maddy playing with Maddie!

We had lots of fun with Gramma going out to lunch, shopping, swimming, cooking out, going on walks, and swinging at the park!

Last weekend

This post is a little late, but last weekend Shelley (aka Nana and Clint's mom) came to visit with our nieces and nephew...Aaron (10), Madison (8), and Jaycie (almost 3). Madelyn really enjoyed playing with the girls...she found Jaycie especially entertaining!

Dallas Aquarium

apparently you have to do a little more than stand on one leg to impress Madelyn...

Shark tank!

We also went bowling where somehow I found it ok to put Madelyn's feet in stinky bowling shoes that hundreds of people have worn...anything for a cute picture!

They were all supposed to stay until Monday until we found out Maddie and Aaron had school on Monday (really, who has school on Memorial Day?) so their trip got cut short. We hope they'll come hang out with us again this summer!!!

Fun in the Sun!

Patrice brought Olivia over this afternoon to play in the pool. Yes, this is a different pool...I love summer/swimming and just couldn't resist this one when I saw it. Check out these sun-bathing beauties!

Here is a shot of the whole pool...it is more of a water play mat and perfect for this age. I think Madelyn will especially like it when she masters the whole crawling thing.

She liked the water squirters and was trying to drink the water...so funny to watch!

In case you don't know who Patrice is...she and I met in childbirth class. Olivia is only two weeks younger than Madelyn. They are in our playgroup too! We hadn't seen them in a couple weeks though, and Madelyn and Olivia started smiling and reaching for each other right away!

Ribbit! Ribbit!

Last night, Madelyn tried out her new frog pool! And her adorable swimsuit is courtesy of her Nana...thanks!

I think our neighborhood pool opens this weekend, and we can't wait to take Madelyn swimming...check back for pics of M in her pool float!

Happy 22nd Birthday, Nathan!!!

Weekend with Friends

This Saturday Holly, Cristy, and Madison came to visit. Holly and Cristy are sisters and were my baysitters when they were in college...you might remember them from a previous post. Madison is Christy's 3 year old daughter. I had never met Madison before, and she was super cute and fun! We hung out at home with Chinese take out on Sat night just catching up and letting the girls play...Madison was great with Madelyn and very motherly. Sunday we went to the nature preserve to let Madison play on the playground, and Madelyn had her first swing ride...she was all smiles! Though she can't talk quite yet, I know she was thinking "higher, higher!"

Can't wait 'til we can all get together again! Next time, Mackenzie will have to join us too...Madison's sister.

Learning Table

Check out the pictures of Madelyn playing with her new learning table! She played with it all morning...still in her PJs.

and still trying to crawl...but only goes backwards!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Mom, Grandma, Granny, Shelley, all my mommy friends, and all you other moms out there! I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Madelyn continued her popsicle theme on Friday, and we went out to dinner that night. The forecast called for scattered thunderstorms all weekend, but we were able to sit outside overlooking a lake (ok, maybe it was just a pond but a huge improvement over the concrete we usually look at here) and enjoy some mexican food. Then we went out for cupcakes!

Madelyn feeding herself at the restaurant!!

On Sunday, Clint let me sleep in, and he got Madelyn up and fed her...then he made me breakfast. He disappeared after that and came home with two beautiful bouquets of flowers. I also got cards, two pairs of pajama pants (I recently ripped a hole in my favorite pair), and a robe. Since Madelyn can't sign her cards yet, Clint put her hand print on it for me...a very nice touch!

Clint had planned on a picnic for lunch, but again the weather was questionable, so we decided to go out to lunch and do some shopping. We went to a nice outdoor shopping area where everyone was gathered around the fountain and benches enjoying the day with their moms. Madelyn was very intrigued by the huge fountain and wouldn't even turn around long enough to take a picture. I do have to mention here that lunch did not exactly go according to plan...after being there for an hour and a half, I still did not have my pasta, so we ended up leaving without it (I ate half of Clint's pizza). They were obviously having problems in the kitchen and by that point we were annoyed, and Madelyn can only last in the high chair for so long...she had already eaten her food and drank her bottle, eaten who knows how many puffs and thrown even more on the floor, thrown at least five straws on the floor, shredded the map of the area and gotten bored with every toy in the diaper bag.

We ended up being gone until dinner so we stopped at Pei Wei on the way back home....long day with a baby!

P.S. We also had a good day on Saturday but no pictures of Madelyn...and let's face it, that's all you really want to see anyway!!!

Story Time

Today we went to a new story time at North Park mall with Jordan and Carter. There were tons of kids there! Madelyn really enjoyed all the songs and watching the other babies and toddlers. Her favorite was Ring Around the Rosy...she would crack up every time we would "fall down"...it was so cute! The photos don't exactly show evidence of the story time, but if you look closely, you can make out a shelf of children's books in the background.

and thanks Gramma for my new popsicle dress!

Jamie

This is out of order, but last week Madelyn and I got to have lunch with an old friend! We met Jamie, her dad, and his wife at La Madeleine. Jamie and I have been friends since elementary school, but she moved away in junior high, so we have been long distance friends since then. And seeing how she currently lives in Boston, I don't get to see her very often. But she was in town, so we had the pleasure of spending a few hours with them. Jamie had not yet met Madelyn and said she could see features of both Clint and me. She and Madelyn played peek-a-boo with Jamie's hat, and Madelyn looked so cute wearing it, I just had to have a picture. It was SO GREAT seeing all of you! Come back soon Jamie!

Family Weekend

This weekend we went to Austin to visit my grandparents! My Aunt Nicole and cousin Alex live there, and my mom (Gramma) met us there too!


Gramma tried to teach Madelyn to crawl...

...but she insisted on only rolling!

Then Great-Grandma let Madelyn play "horsey"...which she loved!

I think Madelyn was glad to have another girl around...she took to Alexandra right away...reaching out for her, slobbering on her, playing with her face, pulling her hair...all of the sweet ways Madelyn shows her affection!

We took Madelyn and Alex to the park, where we thought it was only fair for Madelyn to go down the slide like Alex

Friday night we had dinner on the deck overlooking Lake Travis at Oasis.

We had a mini photo shoot to get some pics of the four generations and Madelyn with her great-grandparents!

On Saturday, our good friends Jen and Gui came over to visit for a bit and see Madelyn.

The weekend went by too fast and we had to drive back to Dallas on Sunday. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful weekend. And thank you Grandma for making my favorite meal: Couscous...yeah, I know couscous is just the grain part, but my family calls the whole wonderful Algerian dish that my Grandma has perfected couscous.