New Haircut!

Maddie's hair was getting long and some days I really liked it long and other days it seemed to just look messy. So I took her to get a cute bob style. The stylist insisted on going short so here's the outcome! I did cringe a little when about 5 inches fell to the floor with her first cut (she cut the underneath part a little shorter). But it is cute and it should grow out nicely now. Her bangs are finally long enough that they are pretty much even with the rest.

BEFORE

AFTER

Odds and Ends

This post has no theme, just some funny pics and a video from the past week.

Maddie and I are going to FL for Sarah's baby shower in a few days, so I had put some outfits of hers in her closet in preparation for packing. I told her what they were for and then during "quiet time" (translation: playing in her room instead of napping...but staying in her room at least) she put ALL of her books from upstairs in the closet. When I went in to check on what she was doing she said, "I'm packing all my books to take to Florida."

One morning this past weekend it was so beautiful. So I was sitting on the porch reading the paper while we ate breakfast. Maddie said, "Mommy, can you please give me my newspaper?" So I handed her the comics and she read her paper at her table. It was so peaceful and quiet :)

Here is the little dare devil jumping off the landing of our stairs to Chris. I make sure to emphasize that she only does this for Daddy, not Mommy or Nana, and NOT by herself. She loves it.

Happy Birthday Chris!

We celebrated Chris's birthday today. Here is a video of Maddie singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candle for him. I got him his favorite Cold Stone ice cream and Maddie enjoyed some before an early bedtime. We were too full from dinner to have some with her! Happy Birthday Chris, you are the most amazing husband and father. Maddie and I love you!

Some favorite pictures of mine of Maddie and Daddy

Goodbye Gibbes

It may seem a little strange for me to be blogging about this. But if you've ever cared about someone so much, that your heart aches for them when they are hurting, you will understand why I am writing this post.

Anyone who knows my dear friend Shelley (one of the Fab Five from college), knows that she is a dog lover. And I don't mean she thinks they are cute, she LOVES dogs. She loves the way their ears smell, loves big dogs, little dogs, loves their kisses, loves them. When we graduated from college, Shelley moved to Charleston to begin her nursing career and start her post-college life without knowing anyone. So the first thing she did was get a dog. While walking her new puppy Lucy, she met another puppy named Gibbes and soon fell in love with him and his owner Brian. Shelley and Brian got married and Gibbes was no longer just Brian's, he was Shelley's too. I have always felt that the two dogs were responsible for bringing them together.

Gibbes was the sweetest golden retriever and always had a knack for knowing who was most allergic (me) to his long coat! He always wanted to snuggle and be petted and even though he made me sneeze and made my eyes itch, I couldn't resist giving him some love. Maddie got to meet him and Lucy in February when we visited and she continues to talk about Lourdes' dogs "Gibbes the big dog" and "Lucy, the little dog" long after our visit.

Recently, Gibbes became sick and on Saturday Shelley sent me a text saying that Gibbes was gone. I was totally caught off guard and started to cry. Maddie was very concerned and asked what was wrong. So I had to explain to her that Gibbes got sick and he went to sleep forever and is now in doggie heaven. She kept saying things like, "Mommy, Gibbes can be okay, I will give him a doggie lollipop and he can be okay." Then she'd ask, "Mommy, where doggie heaven? Where Gibbes? Gibbes is sick Mommy?" I knew Shelley wasn't up for talking, so I called Jennie (another fab fiver) and when she answered, she was crying too. We were both so sad for our friend.

So, in summary, the reason for this post is twofold. First, it was a significant moment in Maddie's life, because other than explaining that Daddy had to kill a mouse in the garage, it was the first time I had to explain death to her. It was kind of hard. What does an almost 3 year-old understand about something so abstract? What should she be told at this age? What was so sweet was the matter-of-fact outlook she had, but also the concern that she showed. And I know that Lourdes is helping Shelley and Brian get through this with the same simple outlook and concern.

The other significant thing was that it made me realize what an amazing friendship and bond the five of us share. Our friend's happiness is our happiness, and her sadness is our sadness.

So Gibbes, Roo, Gibbedaboo, Roo Roo, I know I speak for Maddie and the other girls....we will miss you! And we love you Shelley!

Happy Mother's Day

We had a very nice Mother's Day. The 3 of us spent the earlier part of the day at a local winery, which has our favorite wine Madeleine's Chardonnay. There is a patio with a sign that says, Patio Madeleine and everything! Chris searched online one time to see if we could find a wine with Madeline in the name and although the spelling is different, we found one in our own Loudoun County at Breaux Vineyards. So we enjoyed a picnic and some wine together. Then later in the day both of our families came to our house for dinner (Chris cooked; he's a good man).

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO THE BEST MOMS EVER!

Some other family pictures that we took:

"Don't be afraid of the camera, Grandpa. It won't hurt you, just smile like me!"

Summer (wait it's only Spring) Fun!

We had a Spring heat wave here, hitting the 90's for a few days in a row. So of course we had to get out the pool and enjoy the taste of summer! And we grilled out at the Marcoullier's house and the girls wore themselves out playing together. Of course it went back to cold and rainy for the next week (felt like Seattle weather). That's Virginia for ya! It was fun while it lasted, but now we'll be happy with some nice mild 70-80 degree weather before it heats up for good.

Visit with the Woj Family

My aunt Joanne and her family came down for a visit recently. They were touring some local colleges for my cousin Katie who is a junior in high school. When Chris and I were dating in high school, he came to Buffalo with my family for the first time. Katie was in diapers then. Now she's looking at colleges!!!! Yikes, that means Chris and I have been together a LONG time :) Boy, do I feel old. We had a great weekend, hanging out, going to the zoo, the flower and garden festival, and enjoying their company. My cousins are so good with Maddie and she's still talking about them, a few weeks after their visit. We miss you guys!

New Videos

These days, I wish I could carry a video camera around all day with me and record the funny moments and amazing things that Maddie is doing, saying, creating, etc. She is absolutely cracking us up lately. The conversations that we have, the expressions that she makes, the songs she sings, and the things she tells us are such a source of joy right now. I did get the camera out a few times this past week and I got her singing, riding her bike (which she just learned to do overnight it seemed), and reading her FAVORITE bedtime book. We have been reading this collection of classic stories for months now and she has them memorized word for word and knows when to turn the page just by memory. She likes to "read" it herself. Her voice gets very quiet and kind of high pitched when she reads and she's hard to understand. The video is a bit dark and blurry and long, but I just couldn't stop recording until the story was over!