11 Months

So big in Mady's chair! I can't believe the next picture I take she will be 1 year old!

It's getting so hard to take her picture. This looks like a baby mug shot!

Time is flying and it just seems like last week I was writing her 10 month post. We are officially on the countdown to KK's 1st birthday on July 27 and her party on July 25. The theme will be backyard barbeque and we will have it at night when hopefully it's not as hot. As soon as we get back on Friday from our mini vacation, I have to order the invitations and get them out. The colors for her birthday party will be red and white gingham, so I'm trying to find everything red gingham that I can get my hands on! Here's what KK's been up to in month 11:

• Is finally recovering from her bad cough/cold and lost a pound. She now weighs 17 pounds, 4 ounces





• Went on her first beach trip to Crescent Beach for 3 nights. She loved the water, especially playing on the beach





• Is on summer break and has been spending her days with mommy and Mady, so far we've been to the zoo and the library





• Her hair is almost completely blond, except for one little strand of brown on the very top





• Is wearing all of Mady's 12 month clothes that Mady probably wore when she was 15-18 months old!





• Can walk all around the house pushing a push toy or a box or anything that slides





• Doesn't really care for the chunkier foods, but she's getting there





• Can drink from a straw (found this out today)

• Babbles and talks non stop! Loves to scream!

• Celebrated her first Father's Day with Jacob

• We are officially counting down the weeks until we are done with formula and bottles! I can't wait to stop washing bottles and buying formula!
  

Jacob and I are leaving tomorrow for 4 glorious, kid free nights while we sail away to the Bahamas. It will be so hard leaving the girls, but I know they are in great hands between Mimi and my mom. I can't believe we're actually leaving them this long and KK's not even a year old. The longest we've left Mady is 3 nights. My how things change with your second! We will miss them tremendously, but know that we will come back relaxed and refreshed and even better parents!

Day at the Beach

Today Kaitlyn went to Mimi's house so that Mady and I could spend the day together at the beach. We dropped KK off a little before 9 and then left shortly after that. We met up with two of my friends from school and spent a few hours over at NSB. Mady had a blast playing in the water and building a pool to sit in. We had lunch over at Breakers (no trip to NSB is complete without a trip here) and then headed home around 2 when the afternoon showers started. Once we got home it was pretty clear out, so we went in our neighbor's pool until Jacob and KK got home. It was a great day and I look forward to spending more Fridays with just Mady and having a blast!

It was very bright out!

Mommy and Mady. Daddy would be happy that she's playing with her trucks!

Mini Me?

This past weekend my mom and I went through all of Mady's 12 month clothes. We found several outfits that Kaitlyn will be able to wear this summer and fall, as well as a few 9 month clothes that were stashed in the bin. It was so much fun looking at the clothes and remembering when Mady wore them. There was stiching on some of them because she was so tiny that we had to stich the sides so they'd stay up! Mady wore the outfit in the pictures when she was 20 months old, Kaitlyn is 11 months! The only reason I remember when she wore this outfit is because we were at Disney and we took Mady to breakfast with the Little Einsteins and saw Dan Zanes in concert! I don't think Kaitlyn will be fitting into this outfit in 9 months! The shirt is a size 12 months and the shorts are 9 months! Yes, Mady wore size 9 months at 20 months! Both girls are so different from one another in terms of size. KK is right where she should be for an almost 1 year old, and Mady is, well, where she's always been, so tiny! Hopefully shopping for winter clothes for KK will be much easier! Mady never got to wear jeans because the waist was always too big and the length too short. You can't really stich jeans either. I have about 5 pairs of jeans that Mady never got to wear and I can't wait to put them on KK! It's also funny to see Mady wear an outfit that she was walking and dancing in, but KK just crawls around in the same one!

Mady and Leo October 2007

Dancing to Dan Zanes

Standing and climbing on everything!

Such a sweet baby girl!

Happy Father's Day

To the best daddy ever!


Today we celebrated Father's Day right off the bat. I got up with Kaitlyn at 7 am and gave her her bottle and breathing treatment. Normally, Jacob does the feedings and treatments, but since it was Father's Day I figured he could sleep in! He was supposed to sleep in, but he came out around 7:30. I don't cook breakfast so the night before I got pastries for this morning. After that we hung around the house until it was time for church. We met up with my mom at church and she brought lunch over afterwards. After naps (Jacob even got one, again, another gift) we headed over to Jacob's parent's house. His mom had a big dinner and most of the sibs came over. Mady had a great time playing with her cousins and swimming in the pool. After dessert we came home and the girls are almost ready for bed! It was a very chill, relaxing day. Jacob goes to work tomorrow working at the basketball camp and the girls are going to Mimi's (yippee!).

The family on Father's Day!

Mommy and sweet KK

All smiles!

So, for Father's Day Jacob got a bunch of DVDs from FYE and a new shovel (it's what he wanted!). I would have included a picture of him with it, but that would have been a little too Green Acres looking!

Splashground at the Zoo

On Friday we decided to head over to the Central Florida Zoo to renew our pass and visit the splashground. Right away when we arrived, I realized that this was going to be a quick trip and that I would never again go on a Friday afternoon in the summer. Why you ask? Because it seemed as if every summer camp within a 25 mile radius chose the zoo as their Friday field trip. UGH! This place was packed with at least 4 different camps in their neon bright camp shirts and crazy, unruly campers running around with frazzled camp counselors trying unsuccessfully to lasso their herd. We quickly did a loop of the animals and did manage to see: kangaroos, emus, elephants, leopards, porcupines, lemurs, snakes, and crocodiles. We headed over to the splashground and it was a mad house. I would have much rather been at Chuck E. Cheese's on a Friday night! Mady immediately took off for the splashground which really surprised me! Normally she doesn't like to get splashed by the fountains, but lately she's become Miss Independent and is venturing into bigger and better things. Kaitlyn could hardly contain herself and was squealing in delight. We wished we could've set her down on the ground and splashed, but there were so many kids running around that I was afraid she'd get run over. I did manage to set her down for a minute to snap a picture! We lasted at the zoo for about an hour and a half. It was fun and we accomplished what we set out to do: renew our pass so I can safely take the girls on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning in the hopes that there aren't any camps coming for a field trip!

KK splashing at the fountains. She just laughed and laughed as water squirted her in the face! Such a happy baby!

Mady taking a break and eating a snack. I think all the kids got to her after a while, especially after I got onto some for cutting in front of her (it's my inner teacher, I swear).

Crescent Beach

We just got back from our annual summer trip to Crescent Beach! The weather was perfect and there were literally no clouds in the sky the whole week! I won't bore you with the details of every day, our schedule went something like this: at the beach by 9, then the pool, up for lunch at 12:30, nap, back down to the pool, dinner around 6, back to the pool or beach, bed. The girls were completely exhausted each night and slept pretty good. It was hard having both girls in the same room with us, and next year we'll probably put Mady in her own room. Normally when we go the girls get their own room, but since we had another family with us, for a total of 8 people, we were crammed together! This was KK's first real trip to the beach. We took her to NSB for Labor Day weekend when she was about 5 weeks old, but that didn't really count. This time she actually put a swimsuit on and went down to the beach and into the water. By Thursday we had, had enough of the sun and decided to head home after dinner. We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant, Creekside Dinery, and then came back to the condo, put the girls in their pajamas and hit the road. We were home by 9:30 pm. Since the condo is going through major renovations right now, we probably won't be back up until September. The good thing about Florida weather is you can go to the beach almost year-round. We're hoping to fit in one more trip to Crescent Beach in the fall! Until then, we'll have to settle with going to NSB for a week in August and some day trips in between!

This is KK's first real time in the ocean. She loved it and was not scared one bit!

The kids riding on Jacob in the pool. That's Mady's friend Bryce.

KK hanging out underneath the tent. She was really good about staying in the shade and playing with her toys.

Mady and Bryce hanging by the pool. If you look at the fence behind them you can see where the umbrellas blew into the fence and knocked it down. I guess a big storm came through over the weekend and the umbrellas were left open.

KK loved hanging in her float. This child LOVES the water!

Just like Mommy getting some sun!

Mady in the hot tub. She loves it!

All the construction at the condo. They're putting in new windows and balconies. We'll be glad when they're done, the place was a wreck!

Since we were in Gator country, we had to proudly display our Gator towel on the beach! (This is for you, Renee)

KK couldn't wait to go in the water now that she had her swimsuit on!

Mady posing at the pool. I do not know where she comes up with this stuff, seriously.

KK, Daddy, and Mady in the pool!

We had such a wonderful time. I won't lie and tell you it was easy, though! With Kaitlyn it was definitely a challenge and 3 nights was probably the most we could handle! We are looking forward to our trip to NSB in August, Kaitlyn will be a year old by then and off of bottles, etc... Jacob and I are so looking forward to our cruise to the Bahamas the week after next. It will be so nice to go to the pool and beach and not have to pack a million things. We will miss the girls terribly, but can't wait!

The Big Recital

Today was Mady's big recital! The show started at 1pm and Mady had to check in at noon. I left her backstage and met up with Jacob, my mom, Jacob's mom, Renee, and Emily. Mady's group was #6 so we didn't have to wait long once the recital started. We were in the second row right in front of Mady. Mady's group came on stage and did their 45 second dance to When You Wish Upon a Star. It was really cute and Mady seemed to keep up with the routine as best as she could. Once they were finished we had to wait until intermission to see her. After a few more acts, it was finally time to find her. I got her from backstage and everyone greeted her with flowers! We had lunch at our house afterwards and now she is in bed taking a nap! These pictures are mostly from the practice on Friday, but it's all the same. I had a really cute picture of Mady that I took on Friday, but I accidentally deleted it just now when I was going through my photos. Maybe I'll try to recreate it once she wakes up!

My little girl up on stage!

Look at all those flowers!

Her friend Emily came to watch.

Mommy and Mady!

Mady with her grandmas!

Saturday at Sea World

Today we headed over to Sea World and met up with our friends the Townsends and Pearsons. Jacob's mom watched KK for us so we could enjoy our day! The first thing we did was see the penguins and sea lions. After that we went to the Elmo and Abbey show. While we were at the show, Jacob and Jeff went over to ride Manta, the new rollercoaster.

Waiting for the Elmo show to start.

After the show Jacob, Jeff, and I rode Manta and it was unbelievable. I've never been on a rollercoaster where you look down at everything. We said goodbye to the Townsends and the rest of us ate lunch. After lunch we headed over to Shamu's Happy Harbor. Originally the plan was to visit the splashground, but the water wasn't running.

Mady and Emily on the carousel.

We ran into these guys in Shamu's Happy Harbor!

After riding the carousel we saw the beluga whales and walruses. Up next was the dolphin show. The last time we took Mady to the dolphin show she wasn't even a year old. This time she totally loved it because not only did they have dolphins, but they also had high divers, acrobats, and birds.

Totally into the dolphin show!

Once the show was over we dashed over to the Seaport Theater to see the Pets Ahoy! show. They've changed the show since the last time we saw it and it wasn't as good. Mady still enjoyed seeing all the different animals. By this time we were all pretty hot and sweaty. It was unbelievably hot and summer has definitely arrived in Florida. Mady and Emily really wanted a Shamu bar so we stopped in and got them one. Unfortunately, it was so hot outside that they melted before they could finish them!

Right before they turned into a melted mess!

We all loaded up in our cars and headed back home. We picked KK up around 7:15 and she was so excited to see us! She even said "mama" when she saw me! Tomorrow is Mady's big recital! Grandma and Gma are coming to watch Mady, as well as, Renee and Emily. Hopefully she'll pay attention and do all her ballet moves! Monday we are headed up to Crescent Beach where the Townsends will be waiting for us! I think we're going to have awesome weather, although it will be very hot! We'll be back on Friday so look for an update with all our pictures!

And, a final note... as you all know KK has been so sick with RSV and wheezing since Thankgsiving. She started breathing treatments two weeks ago, but the wheezing and coughing are not going away. Jacob took her back to the doctor on Friday and he prescribed another round of breathing treatments, as well as an antibiotic and oral steroid. Hopefully she'll recover from this and we won't have to deal with it anymore this summer!

You would never know she was sick by looking at her! She is so, super sweet!

Pool Party

On Sunday our friends, The Pearsons, had a pool party. Jacob stayed home with KK since it was in the middle of her nap, and Mady and I headed over right after church. Mady's never been over to her friend Emily's house, so she was super excited to swim in her pool and play with her toys. I thought Mady would swim more than she did because she's taking swim lessons, however, she mostly stayed on the steps and jumped in only once. If Jacob had been there she would've been jumping in over and over with him. After lunch Mady enjoyed playing with all of Emily's toys. Hopefully we'll get invited back soon! Emily only lives a couple of doors down from my mom and they go to Mimi's together so we see them often!

Sarah, Emily, and Mady hanging by the pool.

Mady in the hottub.

Biker Chick!

Mady has gotten into riding her bike lately. She's had it for a while now, but was never interested in riding anywhere. We took her to her friend Bryce's house once, and she left the bike in the cul-de-sac. We put the bike away for a few months and then brought it back out once winter was over. She has taken off like a maniac! It used to be that she'd ride about a third of the way around our neighborhood and then get off and start walking. It was such a pain because one of us would have to push the bike home! Finally, it just clicked and now we have to yell at her to wait up! Hopefully soon all of us will be able to head out on the trail and go on a real bike ride! Here are a few pictures of Mady biking around the neighborhood. Usually Jacob and I walk behind her because she's not that fast. We took a break at our neighbor's house and Mady held one of their new baby chicks!

Here she comes!

This is how KK rolls...

Biker + Chick = Biker Chick!

My Summer Reading

Since I'm almost finished with the Twilight series, I've been thinking about reading the Harry Potter series. Two of my friends are fans and with the movie coming out in July, I've decided to set a goal and read the entire series by the time the movie comes out. I've already read books 1 and 2 when I took Ad Lit, so I'm really familiar with them and actually enjoyed them back then. So, we'll see how far I get on my quest. I'll be sure to post often on my progress.

Swimming Lessons

Today Mady started her swimming lessons at Double R. She will go every day for the next two weeks for one hour. She won't go on Thursdays because she has ballet class and you know, the big recital is coming up and she needs all the practice she can get. I let her pick out the bathing suit she was going to wear today last night before going to bed in the hopes that it would get her excited.

Well, I picked her up early from Mimi's house and by the time I got on the road she was whining. By the time I got out of her neighborhood she was full on crying, and by the time I got to the school she was kicking my chair and yelling. In the beginning I tried talking to her calmly telling her what a great job she did last summer when she was two, and now that she was three she was going to do great. Well, that didn't work so I just walked her right up and handed her over to her teacher. She was wailing and screaming, but within a few minutes she was sitting on her towel and I couldn't hear her crying anymore.

I sat off to the side where she couldn't see me and she did great! She listened and did as she was told. At the end she got a pink lollipop and was ready to go home. I reminded her that she was going back tomorrow and she didn't seemed phased. I'm guessing it's going to take a few days before she feels totally comfortable and isn't spasing. From what I saw today she is going to be swimming all over the pool when we go up to the condo in two weeks. She was kicking and moving her arms so well! I can't wait for Jacob to come up one day and watch her!

Here are a few pictures of my little swimmer. I didn't want her to see me so I took them from far away!

Waiting patiently for her turn. She saw me taking her picture!

Holding on and kicking hard!

More kicking!