Happy 3rd Birthday Maddie!

I can't believe that Maddie is 3 years old! 3 Years ago today she was here! Maddie was born at 8:48a.m. after a very quick labor. It was perfect. I will never forget that the first hour of her life it was just me, her and Josh. I spent that first hour looking at her, and thinking how could I have been so wrong in thinking I was going to have a boy! (we didn't find out, we wanted to be surprised, and we were!)
Jonas was only 15 months old at the time, and because I had a lot of time to prepare for two being so close, I think I was relatively calm. Today we went up to Williamsburg and Jamestown and played tourists. It was fun. Since we had Maddie's party a few weeks ago, we just spent the day today as a family. It was fun! I never regret having two children so close together, it has its challenges, but it has been worth it! And I'm so glad that I have my Maddie, she is definately one of a kind, and free thinker!
Happy Birthday Maddie Mae!

Out on the town...

Yesterday was jam packed!We got up (after I slept in a little bit longer than I should've and Josh took care of the kids for me) and I got lunches made. We left at 10a.m. for the park, when we should've already been there (oops!), but got there quickly since it's so close to our house. It was the end of the year party for Jonas and Maddie's preschool. It's hard to believe the school year is over! It went by so fast! I remember how worried I was to put Maddie in the 2 year old class. I think for both of us it was a good thing. Especially since I knew she would need something when Eliza was born. And I knew Eliza would need my attention. It all worked out. The teachers for both kids classes gave us pictures of our kids they had taken throughout the year, and in Jonas's class they did little pictures with their hands and poems that go with it. It's super cute! While we were at the park, my friend Marie (her kids go to the preschool too with us) asked if we wanted to go to the beach after she picked up her oldest from school, so I said sure sounded fun. Well I should've waited to tell the kids, they were ready to go as soon as we got home. It was 2 hours of anticipation, that by the time we got there, Maddie didn't want to be there at all since she was tired. Jonas had a lot of fun. We were only there a short time, and had to pick up Josh from work, and there was a thunderstorm rolling in. So we picked him up, went home and got cleaned up. We decided to take the kids out to eat at this place called Formosa's which is a Chinese Buffet, that also has Mongolian Barbeque. It's really good, and we like it a lot. Then we took the kids to see the movie "Over the Hedge". It was a good movie. My only complaint is Maddie wanted a drink, and so I had to go stand in line for about 15 minutes (literally, it was forever!) with her and Eliza. It was a lot of fun. The kids actually wanted to watch another movie when we got home, but being the mean mom that I am I made them go to bed. (It was 9p.m. and their bed time is 8p.m. usually) It was a lot of fun, and the kids had a good time I think.
Our plan of action for today: go to the zoo, and the kids have requested to play in the fountains and get soaked! (one of the reasons I knew we needed a membership!)
o when Eliza gets up from her nap, we will drive to the zoo which is 5 minutes away. I will post some pictures later!

se7ens

My friend Gina posted this on her blog and I'm responding, since she asked, so anyone else who reads this, feel free to respond... okay Marie!? (hint hint)

7 things I want to do before I die:
I want to see more of the world, Europe, Africa, China, New Zealand, Austrailia, Japan, you know, the world!
I want to have all of my scrapbooking CURRENT!
I want to have been to every state in the United States (I'm almost there, I'm down to less than I think 15)
I want to go on a cruise with my mom and sisters
Go through the temple with my children
See my children become parents, and spoil their kids and drive them crazy!
I want to do something church related with Josh, a mission, or be a temple worker with him
I want to restore a huge house to my exact liking, and then live in it for the rest of my life.

7 things I cannot do:
I can't write very neatly, although people have complimented my handwriting for some reason
I can't sew
I can't cook gourmet food
I can't eat chocolate chip mint ice cream, I just don't like it
I can't speak another language, other than a tiny and I mean tiny amount of spanish
I can't do any pretty swimming strokes, I mostly doggy paddle!
I can't jump out of an airplane, It would remind me of all of my dreams of falling!

7 Things that attracted me to my spouse:
His eyes
His smile
His communication skills. (first time we talked really was on a 2 hour car ride just the two of us, and I wasn't bored at all! The trip went by so fast and I knew I wanted to talk to him again!)
Sense of humor
His easy going personality
His intelligence, very smart guy this one!
His sense of adventure, and ability to take care of kids, he was the oldest child of 7!

7 Things I say often:
ummm
darn it, or you idiot (when I drive or forget something)I realize I say this too much as Maddie and Jonas started repeating this when we drive places!
__________ (insert Jonas or Maddie) leave _________ (insert Jonas or maddie) alone!
Do you need a timeout?
honey
sweetheart
I love you

7 books I love
Secret Garden (one of the first big books I read when I was younger)
All of The work and the glory books
Harry Potter Series
Jane Eyre
The scriptures (of course!)
Through the eyes of the dragon by Stephen King (one of the few non horror books)
Charlottes Web
Gone with the Wind

7 movies I could watch over and over:
Sixteen Candles
Sense and Sensibility
Dead Poets Society
Napolean Dynamite
Tombstone
Braveheart
The Sandlot

7 people I'd like to hear se7ens from:
Marie
Jenn
Heidi
Suzanne
Marilyn
My mom
Eli

old pics

Okay something got messed up on that last post... all the answers there are mine not Marie's... just read it and then post on your own blog if you have one! lol!
Here are some old pics... one is of Josh and I when were in our Young Single Adult group at church aka YSA and some wedding pictures... I think we look so young, or maybe it's well rested??? LOL!

I've been tagged...

I got this from Marie, and she complained that I should've already done this since I read her blog, a few of the answers were censored for content, whatever that means! lol! This is what Marie wrote on her blog abobut it: I know everyone loves hearing about me! However, I promised I would respond to this one. Although Cindy, I have to tell you, this is the first one of these that has been censored!LOL! My friend Cindy sent this to me and some of the questions she felt needed to be censored. So these are my answers to the questions....

! This is what Marie said:
How long have you been married? 7 years in October, or otherwise known as the 7 year itch!
How long did you date before you were married? we dated 3 months, then got engaged, then got married 5 months later, but when we got married we'd known each other a year.
3)CENSURED
4)How long would you say the "honeymoon" phase lasted, and saying it's still going doesn't count? I think it lasted until we had kids! Josh says it was a big adjustment to have kids since he had to then share my attention! He's a great dad though, and he's gotten used to it!
5) How did he/you propose? He actually proposed without a ring, he asked me at this playground by his grandparents house, we were on the swings, he stopped swinging of course, and asked me, and of course I said yes! He asked me officially a few days later with a beautiful ring! I was very impressed that he picked a ring that I know I would've picked myself, and I still love it! =)
6)Does your spouse send/bring you flowers? yes but only for important occasions, anniversaries, valentines...
7) Do you consider your spouse a romantic? yes, but not overly, thankfully because I think too much would make me want to vomit...
8) Are you? Yes
9) What is your favorite romantic date together? we've had a few, but my favorite was when we were in college and he surprised me with a trip to Indy for my birthday and we stayed at this nice hotel downtown, and went to dinner... I can't remember where now, but it was fun!
10) Do you and your spouse hold hands in public? yes
11) Kiss in public? yes
12)CENSURED
13) Does he/she give you a kiss when he/she comes home at the end of the day? yes, and if he doesn't I remind him!
14) Do you have pet names for each other? yes
15) What are they? he calles me Sunshine, I don't really have any special names, I just call him sweetheart a lot, or honey, you know the usual!
16) What is your favorite physical feature on your spouse? his eyes, I love his beautiful green eyes, and I can read his moods so well through them!
17) Do yo have a date night? we like to do Friday night dates, but lately we take what we can get!
18) Do you sleep on your own side of the bed or do you cuddle when you sleep?yes we have sides of the bed, we don't cuddle all night, just a little bit before we go to sleep. It's something about having kids and being held on to all day, after awhile you just don't want to be touched! If you don't understand, sorry!
19) Have you ever been caught with your hand on your spouse's butt? Not yet!
20) How many times a day do you tell your spouse "I love you"?several times a day...
21) CENSURED
22) Have you and your spouse ever been "interupted" by your kids? yes but not walked in on.... just kids crying in the other room...it really stinks!
23) CENSURED----
.24) CENSUREDSo, if you've read this, feel free to be tagged. Why should I be the only one..............................

O

May Celebration Party at Pre-School and Boys camping

This preschool program was a few weeks ago, and the kids get up and sing songs to their parents, then they wrap the May pole. It's a lot of fun. Anyway, Maddie didn't sing she stuck her finger in her mouth just about the entire time. Then she and another friend decided to pull up their dresses and show off their panties since a little boy up there was showing his pull-up! Gotta love those two year olds! Jonas didn't sing, but he at least got up there! I really don't have children who perform on demand, they only do it when they feel like it!
Josh took Jonas, and his friends Connor and Ethan since their dad Ben is serving in Afghanastan (sorry if I misspelled that!. They had a good time I think!

pics of the party

The weather was perfect on Saturday for Maddie's party! We had a lot of fun, and everyone that said they would be there was! I think Maddie had a good time, and got a lot of fun presents too. It was like Christmas all over again in our living room when we got home with taking all the toys out of their boxes! Here are some pictures of the event! Eliza fell asleep in her stroller so she slept through the pinata and cake! (made it easier for me, for sure!) Josh grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs, and we had the usual cookout foods, and I think it was a fun time!

Eliza 6 months old

Took these pictures of Eliza today! She's such a sweetie huh!?

Eliza is 6 months! -Quick post

It's hard to believe that Eliza is 6 months old! She had her doctors appointment today, which has up to this point been stressful to me because Eliza isn't as big as the doctor would like. For the first time though it was a very quick and easy appointment! Eliza is 13lbs. on the dot! She is now gaining very fast! (Last month she was just 11lbs. 9oz.) You're all thinking, she's so small, but really she's just about the same size as her big sister who weighed just 14lbs. at 6months! So I have been trying to stress all along that I have small baby's! (Jonas was only 16lbs. at 6 months) Either way she's happy and healthy! And believe it or not she can spin on her belly, I think she's going to be crawling very soon! Yikes! I better go baby proof the house!

Thursday- New Friends, funny cards, old friends, etc.

Yesterday for the first time Jonas and Maddie met the neighbor kids that live next door, and across the street. (we live on the corner, so they are the neighbors next to us on the same side of the road, hope that makes sense!) The little boy Josiah is 6years old. The kids had a great time playing with him, and didn't want to come inside. We had all the windows open, and they were outside playing, and I hear Jonas say, "I need to go ask my mom". I was so amazed and feeling good about myself, that he thought he should come and talk to me about what he was doing, which wasn't anything major. He just thought he should come and tell me he met a new friend and was playing with him. It made me smile, I really hadn't thought of him playing with any of the neighbor kids because we're never out at the same time, and we get together with their friends from church a lot, and do stuff. So it was a whole new experience for us! Tonight Jonas saw his friend playing and shouted out the window to him, and immediately wanted to go outside. Maddie followed along, they had a good time, and Josiah's older sister who's 8 was there and she played really well with them, and they decided to get each other wet first with squirt guns, and then with filling up buckets with water from the house and chasing each other. I know when I was 4 I remember my next door neighbor friend Shauna who was a little older than me, and I'm sure Jonas will always remember his neighbor friend too.
Today I got a plant and mothers day card from Jonas, the card read: "I love you. I like when you make noise on my head." Happy Mothers Day! Then instead of his name he drew a little picture! Anyway, the noise on his head is me giving him loud kisses on his cheeks! I thought it was too funny that he said that!
This morning we took my friend Jenn out for breakfast for her birthday (and I was so hungry when I got there, but I couldn't finish the omlett it was HUGE!), and I bought her a little plastic tiara that said "Birthday Girl" on it. Maddie saw it and I told her it was for Miss Jenn for her Birthday, and Maddie said she wanted one for her birthday, and I mentioned her birthday was after Miss Jenn's. So on the way to preschool my other friend Marie took them this morning, and Maddie basically told her all about the tiara, and about a nightgown that was too small, but another that fit fine, and It was funny to hear what she says to other people. Maddie is definately more talkative now to people she knows really well. I think Marie was surprised too! I think Maddie is excited for her party too! We got a Dora Pinata today!
Oh and not to leave Eliza out of the day, she I think has decided the only place to nap is at home. Once we were done running around, she was ready to lay down in her own bed. She fussed every time I put her bottom in her car seat, she arched her back and threw a fit every time. (we did some running around today!) Needless to say it was no fun. She's getting so big, and on Tuesday next week we'll go in for her 6 month appointment! I can't believe she's almost 6 months! WOW

Eliza at 5 months

I took this picture last week I think, and I think Eliza looks so stinkin cute! I'm biased of course! I can never get her smiles right in pictures, because she usually opens her mouth up so big! So, here are two pictures I've taken recently, and both are cute! Oh and I'm also putting the one of her laying on the couch with daddy that I took tonight, they looked so sweet!

The invite

Birthday party anyone else going to one? Not me... uh yeah right!

Okay, it must be the time of year for Birthday parties! We went to one last weekend for two brothers who turned 6 and 3, and it was a lot of fun.
Then today Jonas went to his friend Ethan's party, and Maddie had her friend Gabbie's party. So, Josh and I divided and conquered. He took Jonas to his, and Maddie, Eliza and I went to Gabbie's party. Next weekend we get a break, but the week after we are going to be celebrating Maddie's birthday. Yes it will be 9 days early, but because her birthday falls on Memorial day, I didn't want her to not have a party just because of a holiday she doesn't understand. We are having a Dora the explorer birthday party,and decided to have it at a nearby park. I made the invitations to look like the Backpack, and I have been told by the parents of the kids how much their child liked the invitation, so that made me glad. Maddie knew exactly what it was when I made it, so I knew that everyone else would know too. (that was key!)
We're going to have lunch, and play games, and have cake, and that will be the two hour party. Let's pray for sunshine as I have no idea what we'll do for a backup plan! There have been so many times I've actually meant to write on this blog and never do, but I think I've become addicted to reading other people's blogs, so I feel like mine is pretty boring compared to some. I have been reading Ali Edwards blog, and she suggested some books that I have been checking out. I finished the book "The time travelers wife" and I think I'm going to buy the book "52 projects" as I was looking at several different ones she suggested when I was last at Barnes and Noble. Anyway, here's a link to her site and you can go to her blog from there, if you're interested. She has some neat stuff on there. http://www.cafepress.com/aliedwards
OH and here's a pic of the invite I made! And my friend Jenn helped me with the sewing... yes I still don't have a sewing machine, but I think right now I'd just use it to sew on my craft projects! Jenn keeps threatening to have me sew my kids Halloween costumes! Yeah right! lol!