Teague!

We spent President's Day in Teague with Nana, Aunt Jenny, and cousins Aaron, Madison, Jaycie, and Bo!

The majority of the afternoon was spent on the trampoline! Here are the three youngest...Bo, Jaycie, and Madelyn
We exchanged Christmas presents (finally)...and M got some belated b-day presents too! thanks!
Clint showed off with back flips and impressed all the kids (and me!)
then the kids took turn doing "flips"
Here are my best attempts at a group shot...
Nana and the little kiddos again, plus the big kids too...Madison and Aaron

Ring-a-round the rosie, pocket full of posie...

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down...

Clint then showed off with a front flip...he looks a little unsure about this one :)

Madelyn had a blast with her cousins and is looking forward to another playdate soon :) If only Uncle Nathan, Aunt Melissa, and baby Avitt could have been there too...we missed you guys!

Valentine's Day 2011

We had a great Valentine's Day! We met up with a group of friends at the park and spent the morning there. Then we all picked up Chick-fil-A (of course!) and went over to Jordan's (Carter's) house to eat and play some more.

Madelyn ready for the park in her Valentine dress...
She passed out Valentines to all her friends (all boys) and then mostly played with her doll...pushing it on the swings, dropping it down the slide. A few people asked what her doll's name was, and she replied "Mermaid"...she has some interesting names these days :)
pushing Carter...
before we went to dinner...she thought the glasses were a nice touch :)

We went to a very romantic dinner at...Luby's!! This tradition started when I was pregnant and insisted we eat at Lubys one night, which happened to be Valentine's Day. It is now a fun tradition, and I like that Madelyn gets to be included. Plus, she loves that place...who wouldn't want the best mac 'n cheese in the world and jello for dinner?!? ( I figure we can always have a Valentine date night the weekend before or after)

Austin

Madelyn and I made a short trip to Austin (technically, Leander), but we managed to squeeze in so many fun activities! When we got there, we went straight to the park to enjoy the nice weather!

Madelyn and Alex...

That night, Madelyn and Alex snuggled in for a movie!
My Aunt Nicole treated the girls to Build-a-Bear! I had never been, but it was really fun! Here is Madelyn stuffing (by standing on the pedal) her panda bear...
They ask if you want your bear soft, medium, or hard and then stuff accordingly...Madelyn chose medium. You get to pick out and put your bear's heart inside of her before the bear is sewn up! Then off to the bath, set up like a dog groomer. Then for the fun part...picking out clothes and accessories for your new friend. Madelyn chose some Hello Kitty pajamas and was jumping up and down with excitement as my mom helped her dress it!
loving on her new panda...
Then you use the computer to print out a birth certificate. The most important part of this step is choosing a name. Alex named her dog Cupcake and Madelyn went with Elephant! Yep, she named her panda bear Elephant :)

After build-a-bear, we rode this cool little train around the mall!

Then, the girls rode the carousel!

Madelyn being introduced to the world of Nintendo...
Cuddling on the couch with Cupcake and Elephant before bed...

The next morning before we had to head out, we went to a bounce house! I was sure this would mean Madelyn would nap in the car, but no such luck :)

Madelyn with her great-grandparents! I think these are such cute pictures...

These were taken back at home...her hair was pulled up messily, and I thought she looked adorable...

More Snow!

We woke up this morning to more snow...about 5 inches! Right after breakfast, we went out to build a snowman, only to find out we still didn't have the best snow for that.
Madelyn and Jensen...

this is our attempt at a snowman...a big blob :(


Since the snowman was a no-go, we used the boxes from the other day (our version of sledding) to make "snow cubes" for the kids to sit...

the tree is snowing!

Clint and I making snow angels...didn't get a pic of M and J

Then Karen invited us over to warm up with hot cocoa and s'mores!! Even better than playing in the snow :)

Snow Day!

Well, we woke up Tues morning to a bit of snow but mostly a LOT of ice. Here it is Thurs afternoon and it looks the exact same outside...a solid layer of ice covering everything. All the schools have been closed and everyone is pretty much stuck indoors. The temps have been in the teens with the wind chill much lower. The high for tomorrow will finally get up to 32 degrees but more snow is possible. Luckily, sun is in the forecast for Saturday, so hopefully the ice will start to melt.

I think we have played with every single one of our toys...we've done tons of crafts, puzzles, and games. While I was washing Madelyn's sheets, she became creative with her mattress in the living room. She propped it up on the couch to make a slide, used it as a landing pad to jump off the couch, and took many pretend naps on it.

She put Clint down for a nap here...
then she slept on the floor...
looks natural, doesn't it? we all sleep with our arms up in the air, don't we?
sleeping, but still saying "cheese"...
going for a blanket ride...
round and round...
peek-a-boo!
We did venture out to play once. We asked our neighbor, Jensen, if he wanted to come too, but we were told that since the wind chill was 2 degrees, it was too cold for him to come out. So we got super bundled up and played by ourselves!

Clint and Madelyn getting ready for some fun...

Yep, we put Madelyn in a box, Clint ran behind her pushing her for a bit, then we let her go to slide down the sidewalk on the ice!! It was hilarious, and she had tons of fun :)


Then, it was my turn...which obviously required a bigger box :) The plastic one though did not work nearly as well, not to mention I was a little heavier and harder to push. Clint could push me fine, but as soon as he let go, there was no sliding involved...I just stopped. Oh well, it was still fun!

Jensen did end up coming to play one day (I promised to keep him indoors) because his mom was sick and he had watched TV the entire day before. I think both kids were happy to at least have a playmate while stuck inside. They had a blast in M's kitchen pouring, measuring, and cooking rice (and sweeping it up)!
Just to give you an idea of how icy it is...we did leave the house for lunch one day, and this was what we saw on the main road by our house...iceskaters!!
Overall, the weather has made for some great family time!!!