Merry Christmas!

From dec

Merry Christmas Everyone! The picture is from our trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory here in town. The zoo got rid of their train exhibit (which we are sad about), so we decided to see the one there. It wasn't as good as the zoo's, but the flowers were beautiful! It was fun to walk around and look.
Josh had his 4 year checkup, and it looks like he's growing up just fine! 42.4 inches tall and 43 pounds, which puts him in the 90th percentile or so. Makes sense why people don't believe me when I say he's 4!
Maddie got to take a trip to the doctor's office on Christmas eve - and it turns out she has another double ear infection! Next on her list of things she gets to do - ear tubes!

Merry Christmas!

Busy Month!

We have had SUCH a busy month! First, of course, was Josh's 4th birthday! I can't believe he's been here for 4 years! We celebrated early with a party with some of his friends. The theme he picked - John Deere! He just loves tractors! It was a great time for both the kids and adults! As Josh's big gift this year - we took him on the "Polar Express" train. Grammy and PaPa joined us for the adventure , and we headed off to Connersville to catch the train. I, of course, forgot my camera. Josh enjoyed his ride, but when we got there and we said "Josh look! The Polar Express!" he replied "That's not the Polar Express, that's a diesel!" Guess we can't pull a fast one on this kid!

We also hosted our first Thanksgiving at the new house. My sister, brother-in-law, and grandma came and stayed with us. It was great having family here, and Melissa and I managed to cook a wonderful turkey! We were pretty proud considering it was my second turkey cooking experience, and her first!

Then to end our busy month, Maddie was baptised the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Many of our family and friends joined us for the occassion, and Father Randy (and family friend) performed the baptism. A HUGE thanks goes to my Mother-in-law for making Maddie's beautiful gown. She removed parts of my mother's wedding gown to create the baptism gown, and the result was a wonderful dress that will be passed on for generations. And I loved the fact that both grandmothers had a large part in the gown, even though my mom isn't with us anymore.

Fun times with family and other random stuff

We had a full house this weekend. All of the family from Michigan (except for Joel, who had to do some stuff for work) came down for Trivia Night at St. Peter & Paul. Barb set it up, and we had 2 awesome tables! It was a ton of fun, and though we didn't win, we had fun trying! The cousins had fun playing together, and as most older kids do, Ellie enjoyed all of the baby toys! Here's a great photo of her in the excersaucer! Why do kids love baby toys? And it is SO hard for me not to think of Ellie as a baby, but she's not - she's all toddler!

Josh is having a blast at school, and learning all sorts of things! One of his most recent lessons was how NOT to pull the fire alarm! Yes, that's right, he pulled it! The preschool is in an intermediate school, so all of the 5th and 6th graders had to evacuate! After he realized that he caused the alarm and flashing lights, he was very upset and started to cry. Once he got outside, they calmed him down, and then he went around to his fellow preschoolers to make sure that they were ok too! I still can't believe he is turning 4 soon!

Maddie had her 6 month check-up today! She's is healthy and growing up so fast! I love seeing her personality come out everyday in new ways. She loves to jump, kick her legs, and laugh. She is my active little girl! Here are her newest stats:

Height - 26.75"

Weight - 17 lbs 10 oz

She is really putting weight on her legs now, and getting close to sitting up by herself for long periods of time.

I'm in love

Tonight was Halloween, and the kids dressed up for the event. Josh was a "train driver" and Maddie was a ghost. This picture melts my heart - they are too adorable!

Ben took Josh around the neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. It must have been the Dad's night to do this, because they ended up trick-or-treating with Alec and his dad Matt, and Michael and his dad Terry. Josh had a great time with his friends, and Ben was disappointed that they forgot to grab a beer before they left.

Barb, Maddie, and I stayed at the house and sat in the garage to hand out candy (to stay out of the wind). I did my best to keep Maddie warm, but I don't really have a hat that fits her head!

Reorganization begins

So, after living here for almost a year, I feel the need to organize, clean, and purge. But, with 2 kiddos, both of whom seem to take the majority of my time during the day, this will be a slow process. A very slow process.

I've started in the kitchen, but not without help. My friend Lisa is impressively organized. So, I asked her to help, and she agreed. I don't know if she knew what she agreed to. We've started by measuring cabinets, looking at what I have stored where, and have started a game plan. I've purchased several items to help me out, and will be purchasing more (namely Tupperware Modular Mates) to help me out. So far, what I have changed is working for me. As my sister pointed out, the trick is for me to keep it up. I'm going to do it! I've committed myself to it.

After the kitchen, we're moving to the mudroom/laundry room area. Bit by bit, I will have the house cleaned, organized, and purged of the things we don't need.

Stay tuned for more...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Need I say more?

new cute pics

September fun

Life has been pretty much the same lately here at the Groff household, but I had some cute pictures of the kids, so I decided to post them. Josh is really into building the train tracks himself these days. In fact, if I try to build them, he tells me that I am doing it wrong, and will proeed to change what I had created. I am a bit sad about this, since the civil engineer in me really loved the challenge of creating a cool track that could all fit on the train table. The picture of Josh is his first track with a bunch of crosses and switches.

We have started feeding Maddie solids to get her used to the texture of new foods. She doesn't get a ton every day, just enough to practice and taste the food. What I have discovered is that she hates the cereals! Oat or rice, she hates it. The picture is from the first time we fed her rice cereal. The look on her face is so funny. This was as I was trying to give her a second bite, and she looks like she is trying to get as far away from it as possible. So, I gave up on the cereals after several attempts, and started her on veggies. So far the sweet potatos, peas, ,and carrots have been more acceptable to her.

Holy Growth Spurt Batman!

Madeleine had her 4 month appointment today. Her ears look better, and she is growing like a weed! She's taking after her brother now in the height department.

Here are the newest stats...

Weight - 15lbs 2oz (75th percentile)

Height - 26 inches (90th percentile)

Head Circum - don't remember number but in the 75th percentile

I can't believe how much she is growing! She's definetly ready for cereal, since she is watching us when we eat adn opening her mouth like she wants some.

Preschool and Using Her Hands!

Josh's first day of preschool was this month. He has finished 2 weeks now, and he's still adjusting to it. His class is large - 17 kids, which I think intimidates him a bit. His teacher, Mrs. Minton, is wonderful, and is very patient with Josh. He's being evaluated for developmental preschool in September, and if he gets in, they will be abe to work with him on these type of situations. Sounds like he has a bit of social anxiety - but he comes by it naturally!

Here is the long line of cars (notice the abundance of mini-vans) waiting to pick up the kiddos on the first day.

Though it wasn't planned, Josh and Erin got walked out together, and I managed to get a cute shot!

In other Groff news - Maddie has her 3rd ear infection!! Or perhaps, her 2nd part 2, since this is not even a week after she finished the last course of antibotics. So it's on to something stronger. I fear I see ear tubes in her future just like her big brother.

But she has started to really connect with things with her hands. She's been grabbing at the toys that hang above her head in the kick gym. But today, for the first time, she moved the "slot machine" on her excersaucer. I got it on video, and just have to share...

And in other, other Groff news - my mom's house sold! It wasn't on the market long, and it was a decent offer, so we took it! Last weekend Ben and I made the trip up to CP to clean out the rest of the items in her house with Miss and Steve. A big thanks to Cindy and Katie for helping out! I think there was more to do than we had realized.

The Cousins - A photo shoot

The pictures didn't turn out great, but we had fun trying! Either the kids moved, or I took a fuzzy picture!

She Has A Voice!

I've been saying that I was going to post a video of Maddie "talking" for a while now, so here it is as promised. If someone knows a good (free) program for editing videos, let me know. For now, if you want to skip to the "good" part, fast forward to about 30 seconds. Maddie manages to move a toy, and it surprised her! She looks like she's saying "hey - glad you came by!"

Just Because

Latest Update

I took Josh to PBS Kids in the Park to meet some of his favorite characters. It really should be called PBS Wait in the Park - we only got to meet one person - Curious George (who happens to be his favorite!) Josh seemed somewhat off that day, and I attributed it to the heat (it was in the mid 90's). We got home, Ben took Josh down to the pool to cool off. The next thing you know, Ben brings Josh home, and Josh gets sick and has a fever. Poor kid did NOT feel good.

This is what he looked like later that evening! I let him camp out a bit in the family room, and he passed out on the sleeping bag. It took another day or so for him to get back to his normal self. But, it's not like him not to share, so Maddie and Ben both ended up getting sick too! Maddie has her first ear infection, and Ben got the pleasure of having his fever almost reach 103! I was lucky enough to avoid the illness.

As far as Maddie goes, besides her ear infection, she had her 2 month check-up! I can't believe she is 2 months old now! She is smiling and cooing a ton, and is overall a pretty easy-going baby. Her cries crack us up, because she has what I like to call her "warning cry" first. It's not really a cry, more like a "meah", and then it seems she waits to see if we will respond.

Here are her latest stats:

Weight - 12 lbs (75th percentile)

Height - 22.5" (75th percentile)

In other random news - we have squirrels with white tails that live in the woods behind us. I have never seen a squirrel look like this before!

Big Helper and Big Smiles

Josh is a great big brother. For the first time he asked to feed Maddie, and it was so cute. He's been really gentle with her, and only showing a small amount of jealousy so far. Tomorrow is a big day for Josh, he will go to his first swimming lesson! We'll see how it goes, since he doesn't like to get his face wet.

Maddie now smiles, other than in her sleep! I love the big toothless grins she gives us! She's also started to coo more, and when I can try, I will get a video of it so you can hear. Until then, just enjoy that smiley little face!

Maddie's New Stats

Madeleine Claire - 1 month check-up (but really almost 6 weeks old)

Length - 22" (75%)

Weight - 9 lbs 13 oz (50%)

Head - 13 1/2 (50%)

Looks like our little girl is growing well. In fact, the outfit she is wearing in the picture is the one she came home in from the hospital, and it fits well now! Doctor said she looks great, and is doing well. Next appt is when we will get the first round of shots.

In other Groff news - Josh is loving living here. There are 2 boys who live behind us that he loves playing with (Michael and AJ), and now another little boy around his age moved in across the street (Alec). He played with the boys all weekend long off and on. And, he swam at the pool - a lot! Ben loves to take Josh down to the pool, so they went both days this weekend. If you are visiting us anytime soon - bring along your suit!

Boring Video, but she's cute

ahh - little boys... sigh

 

Little boys can be so cute and loving. Here is a picture of Josh with his friend Erin. They're so close, they act more like siblings than friends. Here they are riding on a toy train together. So cute!

But then, boys can be SO messy. We went to Aunt Barb's for Memorial Day for a cookout, and we had a great time. Josh and Logan played well together. Josh really likes to help Logan get into boy stuff - say for example, dirt. The boys played in dirt almost the entire time. While I don't know what Caryn's bathtub looked like after Logan's bath - here's what ours looked like!
 
Maddie is getting bigger everyday it seems, though she's still a little peanut. I think we have days and nights figured out, and when she is fussy, we have discovered she likes Coldplay. I was ok with it at first, but after hearing Vida la Viva a few million times, I would welcome a different artist. Perhaps I should introduce her to The Beatles or U2!

Fashion Show

 
 
So while my sister and I were putting away Maddie's onesies - I realized just how many she had in this size! She probably has enough to wear one each day until she gets into the next size. So I decided to take pictures of the outfits. Here are two from this week!

 
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Pics from the past weeks

We're still trying to settle into life now since Maddie has joined our family. She still has nights and days confused, which is harder on me that her! We've had lots of help from my mother-in-law and my sister over the past weeks while we are adjusting. Today I decided to dress Josh in his Cubs jersey that his aunt gave him since she had hers on! Here's a cute picture of the two of them.

 

We have disccovered that Maddie likes to sleep on her belly on people right above their heart. Here she is napping on daddy.

 

Not much else is going on. I'm just happy its getting nice outside because Josh loves to play outside, and it helps get his energy out!