Halloween Fun.... Go Big Red!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Maddie was a Nebraska Cornhuskers Cheerleader. Grandma Mary's friend Nerita gave her the outfit a while ago and it made for a perfect Halloween costume this year. Chris was born in Nebraska and although their football team has seen better years, we still need to show our Husker pride!

We started early with a neighborhood parade on the Sunday before Halloween. My parents and Chris's Mom came out to see Maddie in her costume. The kids did a treat hunt where the they walked around and gathered treats and then had a parade. Maddie walked around the whole circle during the parade by herself and loved it. She started with some little friends but was so interested in everyone around her, she slowed down and ended up on her own. It was beautiful weather and a really nice thing for the kids.

Then on Halloween night we had a pizza party in the court, a group picture with all the kids, and then went trick-or-treating with Paul, Michelle, and Livia. The girls were so cute together, Livi was Minnie Mouse so they matched well in their red, white, and black. They both enjoyed a lollipop while riding in the wagon. They went up to a few houses of people we knew and then we walked around the neighborhood with them in the wagon to see all the action including some crazy decorations (blow up Shrek and Tigger being the favorites) and even a movie being projected on someone's garage. Our neighborhood really goes all out. Each year it gets more fun to celebrate this holiday!

Jess and Baby Carson visit from CO!

We had the most wonderful long weekend with Jess and Carson. Chris, Jess's husband, is in Iraq and so they took an extended trip to the East Coast which included a stop here in Northern Virginia. Carson is just too cute for words and his pictures don't do him justice. I loved every minute with them and miss them so much now that they're back home! Maddie loved both Carson and Jackson and it was fun seeing her be the "big girl" in the bunch. Jackson just smiles all the time. We spent a couple nights at Jennie's, went downtown for a picnic lunch, and they spent one night here. It was so much fun, and a little chaotic at times coordinating the schedules of a 2 year-old, a 9 month-old, and a 2 month-old. Thanks Jess for making the long trip out here!

Smiley Jackson with his Mama

Carson and Jackson meet

Jess with her hands full!

Maddie helping feed the peanut!

Downtown, in front of the Capitol

Maddie's new cheesy smile for pictures!

So sweet

Again, the cheesy smile. Let's hope she figures out how to smile naturally before school pictures!

I have to include this story. The day that Jess and Carson left, Maddie and I stood on our front steps and waved goodbye. She waved to them and said, "Bye Baby Carson, I love you." Well that made me start to cry and Maddie got a concerned look on her face and then the conversation went like this:

Maddie: "Mommy's sad."

Me: "Yes honey, Mommy is sad because I'm going to miss Jess and Carson."

Maddie: "Here Mommy, you eat a grape, feel better, make you happy."

She had started eating her lunch again while we had this conversation and hence the grapes. If only grapes made everything all better! But that day, Maddie giving me the grape did make me smile.

Big girl bed!

Well, the dreaded finally happened. Maddie climbed out of her crib during her nap time. I heard a big thump on the floor and found her lying down on the floor holding her head. She cried for a while, then fell asleep in my arms. I was a bit freaked out, worried that she had a concussion and didn't know whether I should let her sleep. So after 10 minutes, I woke her up and made her walk down the hallway to make sure she had her motor skills intact. Then she fell asleep on my bed (with pillows surrounding her to avoid yet another fall) and I proceeded to remove her rails from her crib. Her crib turns into a toddler day bed, the perfect little size for a little toddler. Well that night, I made a big deal about her new big girl bed to get her all excited to sleep in it. Chris was out of town and I was bummed he was missing out on all this fun! I placed a body pillow on the floor next to her in case she rolled out. Well before I went to sleep, I watched her on the video monitor roll out twice, but she never woke up! I picked her up off the pillow (twice) and put her back in and went to sleep myself. At about 2:45 a.m. I glanced at the monitor and didn't see her. So I went into her room and found her in the middle of the floor sound asleep! This continued for a few more nights until we borrowed a rail from our neighbors. So now she stays put and can still climb out safely if she's so inclined. I had to sneak in one night to get a picture of her sleeping on the floor. Although it looks bright, it was 1:30 a.m. when I took this! Sound asleep........

Pumpkin Patch

We had a fun-filled afternoon at one of the local pumpkin patches where they have all sorts of activities during the fall. We still didn't make it to the corn maize which is supposed to be awesome.....maybe next year. We went with the Baums and Michelle's good friend Melissa and her family. Good times! Notice Maddie's dress - she keeps growing and it's very short on her, but she loves it and asks to wear it whenever I ask her what she wants to wear!

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

As a tribute to our beloved Yankees and the historic last game at Yankee stadium, I had to post a couple of pictures. I was born in NY and lived there until I was twelve and was lucky enough to go to Yankee Stadium. The highlight of one game was when I was given a signed ball by a player on the opposing team. Geordie could not believe that I got the ball and is still bitter to this day I think. Geordie is a die hard fan and went to the games on Friday and Saturday this weekend. On our recent trip to NYC, we got Maddie a Yankee hat. Chris even lets her wear it, but I know she'll have a Cubs hat soon too!

Here I am at Yankee Stadium

And here's Maddie!

God Bless Our Troops!

There is so much talk lately about politics and it's actually the first year that I'm really paying attention. It must be that over 30 thing. Regardless of everyone's political beliefs, one thing that unites us as a nation is the gratitude we all feel for our military. As many of you know, my best friend Jess served 4 years in the Army and spent time in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne. Well now it's her husband Chris's turn to serve our country overseas. So Chris, as you prepare for deployment, we all salute you! My dad taught Maddie to salute the flag, so this one's for you Chris and all the brave men and women who you work with. You are in our prayers.

Baby Jackson

This post is long overdue. As was Jackson! Jackson entered the world only 2 days late, despite the doctor's predictions for a week overdue (good boy). Jennie is doing great and Jackson looks like a little version of Kevin with the McDreamy hair and everything. People joke and call Kevin "McDreamy" from Grey's Anatomy because he's a doctor and has the dark, wavy hair. I saw them in the hospital and at their house his first weekend home. Here are some pictures when he was a newborn.

I caught Kev mid-yawn. Love this one.

Today we went over to visit Jackson again and this time Maddie came. She wasn't too interested in Jackson, she liked getting kisses from Bodhi though. We went on a long walk (Maddie ran) around their neighborhood and we had a nice visit. He is such a sweet boy and so precious!

Singin' in the Rain

Yesterday we got dumped on by Tropical Storm Hanna. We have really had such beautiful weather all summer so we had to get creative and find ways for Maddie to let out her bountiful physical energy. We set up the air mattress in our bedroom and that was fun for a while. Then we let her play in the rain on the deck. She got to wear her new raincoat from Aunt Samie for the first time. She has watched a little bit of Singing in the Rain at Nana's house so she loves to play with the umbrella. We just need to get her one that won't poke anyone's eye out!

NY Trip

To celebrate our 7th anniversary we took a long weekend trip to NY. We spent two nights in Long Island and went to my friend Jeanine's wedding. Jeanine is a sorority sister from college and I got to see girls that I haven't seen in about 8 years. It was wonderful to see everyone and Jeanine was a beautiful bride and the whole weekend was a blast. While we were in (or do you say on?) Long Island, we went into Southampton to see the quaint town and had a quick visit with some dear friends of my family, the Raynors. They have had this house since the 70's and we used to go there as kids when we lived in NY. They are like family and it was so good to see them. We call them Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dave and I will say without a doubt that Aunt Sharon is the funniest person I know. Michael, their second son is my age and he has a son who is 4 months older than Maddie. We wish Maddie could have been there to meet Andres (Andy). Micheal and his wife live in Venezuela, where the Raynors spent many years as Catholic missionaries. They are truly a wonderful family and it was a blessing to have a brief visit with them.

Then we moved on into the city for a night and saw Avenue Q on broadway, in which a friend from high school is performing. We caught up with him after the show and it was so neat to see him. Then we had the most amazing dinner at a quaint little Italian restaurant. It was a great weekend away and we are so thankful to my parents for watching Maddie!

Brooke and Maddie

They are 3 weeks apart in age, and although we're not next door to them anymore, we're neighbors at heart! We recently got together with Lisa and Brooke and took the girls to a water park. It's funny to look back and then see them now. I had to include some old pictures.

3 months old

7 months old

So I have to write this story down so I don't forget it. I got an email from Lisa one day and in it she wrote that Brooke's 2 year check-up was coming up. She had heard that the height kids are at 2 doubled is a good predictor of their adult height. So she measured Brooke and she was 35 1/2 inches, which doubled would make her 5'11" and that is exactly what Lisa is. At Maddie's check-up they told me she was in the 99th percentile for height after measuring her lying down, squirming like crazy. People have commented that she is tall so I thought okay, she's tall. Well I decided to go back and look at the actual measurement that the nurse got and it was 37 3/4"!! Which doubled, would make her 6'3"!! Chris and I tried to remeasure her standing up and got roughly 34" which makes more sense. So I was anxious to see the girls together and see their height side by side. Lisa got a good picture of them standing on a tree stump. It was hard to tell who is taller, but I think Brooke has her by a little.

2 years old

THEN.....as we were leaving, I told Maddie to give Brooke a hug and she did. Then Brooke decided she wanted to give Maddie a kiss. We had to have them reenact it in order to get a picture and they did. How sweet is this? And as Lisa points out, they both had their eyes closed!! Thanks Lisa for these pictures.

A Fun Reunion

Through Facebook, my friend Flannery from high school and I got in touch with each other. She was visiting her family here in Virginia and we got together. It has been about 12 years since we've seen each other, but it was like no time had passed. She has two little girls. Eleanor is almost 3 and Mary Larkin turned 1 in July. We just hung out and let the girls swim and have fun while we caught up! It was so great to see her and meet her sweet girls.