First Craft Project of the season

I always seem to do some sort of craft project during this time of year. Last year I made a wreath and decorated ornaments. This year - it was tree skirts! I put a small tree in each kids room, and I decided that they needed tree skirts. I looked in the stores but a)they didn't have any small ones that I could find and b)I didn't want something so fancy.
So, knowing that my grandma has made all of our tree skirts out of felt, I went on a mission to get felt and items to decorate the felt skirts with. I am pleased with the results. The skirts are not fancy, nor are they complicated, but I think they are perfect for my kiddos rooms!

I know the circles are not perfect, but I feel it adds to their charm!

He's 5!

I can't believe that 5 years ago today I gave birth to Joshua. I still remember how bruised his little face was from my rib cage! He's grown and changed so much over these years, but to me he's still my little bruised faced boy! He's funny, smart, charming, and polite. I see so much of his father in him, and yet he is his own person. I'm proud of the boy he is, and I can't wait to see the man he becomes.

I love you Joshua!

Josh's 5th Birthday Party

 
 
We celebrated Josh's birthday a few days early this year with a bunch of his buddies. This year, we held it at Recreation Unlimited, which is actually a showroom for Rainbow Playgrounds. They have about 15 playgrounds set up indoors that the kids can play on, plus trampolines, train tables, and cottages for the kids to play in. Needless to say, the kids had a blast. I am sure everyone will sleep well tonight. The most surprising thing for me was that Maddie was not afraid of the playgrounds! These were not small (one cost $25,000!), and she climbed right on up and would do the biggest slide down.
Josh had a ton of fun, loved all the cool gifts he got from his friends, and devoured the Whoopie Pies I made him. All in all, it was an excellent 5th birthday!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or treating was fun this year. Both kids got to go out and trick or treat, though Maddie only did a few houses. It seemed fitting that Maddie was a cow since we call her Maddie Moo. She did great, and didn't complain about the costume at all.

Josh was a spooky skeleton. He trick or treated with his buddies in the neighborhood, and dad, while I stayed back to hand out the candy. Don't worry - I wasn't alone! Maddie, Aunt Barb, and Franklin poodle helped pass out candy! I think some of the kids were more excited to see Franklin than the candy! Barb and I worked hard at passing out the candy and trying to stay warm at the same time. Our neighborhood is crazy about Halloween, and it's fun just to see what the kids AND the adults are wearing!

Groff Dance Party

It's pretty funny when they decide to just start dancing. Unfortunately here, they are dancnig to Miley Cyrus on Disney. I don't like the music, but I like to see them dance!

Say Cheese

Need a pick me up? This will help!

October is finally here!

 
I love fall! It truly is my favorite time of year. This month brings our 10th anniversary!! I can't believe we have been married 10 years.
The kids are doing well. We are trying to get Maddie to speak more, and even had her evaluated by First Steps. But, she was borderline on qualifying for speech therapy. That means, as of now, she doesn't get speech therapy. But, if her vocabulary does not increase over the next several months, then she probably will.
Josh is doing well. Soccer is coming to an end soon. Next weekend is his last game. He's enjoyed it, but is never really that focused on the ball. We'll see if he wants to play again next spring. Other than school, he spends a lot of time playing with the neighborhood kids. It's so wonderful to live somewhere where there are tons of children his age he can play with.

September Happenings

Finally - fall is here! Well, kind of, it is still super hot here (today is supposed to be 95 degrees!). We have begun to do the "t, raditional" fall activites. Josh has started to play soccer! Well, he tries, but he is more focused on the other kids than the soccer ball during the game. And, he tends to be a bit rough on the other players. I think he is more suited for football because of his aggressiveness while playing, but that won't happen anytime soon.
We have also been to the apple orchard a few times already. Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Abbie came down to watch Josh's first soccer game, and we had to make a trip to Anderson Apple Orchard for their apple cider slushies! They are SO yummy, especially in this unusually hot weather!
Other than that, school is going well for Josh. Maddie is still a little string bean. Buying her clothes is no easy task. She's so skinny that she is 2 sizes different between her height and weight. So if I buy her pants based on weight, she's wearing highwater pants, and if I buy them based on height, they fall off. So she will be wearing a lot of skirts this wall. Some may be microminis - but not on purpose!

First Day of School and First Bus Ride

Joshua started preschool last week! He's back at Kittley Intermediate School at the developmental preschool. So far, it's been going well. He has the same teacher as last year, Miss Amy. Some of the same kids from last year are also in his class.
Yesterday was his first day of riding the bus to school! He really enjoyed it - and hopefully will continue to love it!

We Have Liftoff (finally)!!!

She's finally done it - she has taken her first few steps! Yeah Maddie Moo!

Napa Valley and San Fran

Ben and I decided to go to California and spend some quality time together, which we haven't had in a very long time. We called it our "ten year anniversary trip" even though our anniversary is not until the end of October. We had a wonderful time visiting a bunch of different vineyards. We also decided to go to San Fransisco. Who knew it would be gay pride weekend?!? The first thing we did was go to a Giants game. Our seats were great - right in left field in the first row. We could reach over and touch the back wall.

The next day was the gay pride parade. After a really yummy breaksfast of a breakfast burrito and a mimosa (I WAS on vacation afterall), we headed over to the parade. Then it was off to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

While we were in California, Grammy and Papa were watching the kids. It sounds like everyone had a great time, and we really were thankful that they watched the kiddos!

Our trip to California

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Been a long time

It's been some time since I have updated the page. Josh finished his first year of preschool. Everyday since then, he wakes up and says "Am I going to school today?" The concept of summer vacation has not yet set in. I'm not sure if it's a growth spurt, or playing hard, or the combination of both, but he seems to be sleeping in a bit every now and then, which is a welcomed change from the 6:00 am he was doing for a while. We took him to Day Out with Thomas today, and he had a blast. We went with Caryn, Logan, Aunt Debbie and Caitlyn, and the kiddos seemed to have a good time. Well, the boys did. Maddie was really just along for the ride (literally!).

Speaking of Maddie - she's doing great. I keep thinking I hear her trying to say words. I swear she said "Hi" the other day, and she definetly has a sound for "Josh". Mama and Dada are regulars in her vocabulary. Is she walking yet?? Well, no. I wish she would, it would make play time outside a bit easier, but she seems content enough with cruising and crawling right now. She's getting a ton of teeth in right now (4 to be exact), and she's a trouper! She has her crabby time, but she's got a pretty high pain tolerance I think!

Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks.

Maddie's First Birthday Party!

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating Maddie's birthday with friends and family. Maddie had a good time too! She took a 2.5 hour nap afterwards! Thank you to everyone who was there to share the day with us! And I owe a huge thank you for Abbie for helping me out getting stuff ready - especially for the cake decorating lessons!

Maddie Turns 1!!!

Maddie turned 1 on April 21st! I cannot believe it's been a year already. The pictures are from her birthday. She didn't get a cake, yet. We are waiting until her party. But, she did get a dunkin donut for her breakfast, and she loved it! Then I tried to get Josh and Maddie to sit outside for a mini photo shoot - but Josh wasn't interested.

She had her one year check-up today, and she is a skinny kiddo! Here are the stats:
Weight - 20 lbs 4 oz (30th percentile)
Height - 30 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circum - can't remember the number, but 75th percentile.

Now we have to really find out if she is allergic to milk. So, I will be giving good ol' fashion milk to her this week to see if she gets sick. I am not looking forward to it, but it has to be done. I need to get her off of formula anyway!

Random thoughts

I can't believe it's been so long since I have posted. Life has been very routine like, but yet busy. The kids are growing up so fast, and it makes my head spin. In less than one month Maddie Moo (our nickname for her) will be 1!!! Seriously, where did my little baby go? She loves to crawl as fast as she can to keep up with her brother, and doesn't really like to be away from him. Poor guy, he was trying to go to the bathroom and he closed the door, and she crawled over there and starting crying and banging on the door. Looks like Josh will have a shadow for the next few years.
But it's ok, Josh is so good with her! He really does like to make her laugh, and when she cries he is one of the first ones to try to cheer her up. He makes sure she has her toys in the car, and entertains her while they are both strapped into their car seats. I love to watch the two of the interact. It really does warm my heart. I know, I know, just wait until they can fight more when Maddie gets older, but for now, I will enjoy watching them interact.
Next week our first big project at the house will start. We are building a retaining wall out back. Ok, not "we", I hired a guy, but still. I got tired of watching my yard wash away into the creek, and so I decided it was time. And as Ben says, when I say its time for something, watch out!
Ben's been super busy with work. Lots of things going on at the company, and he is very busy, but still enjoys his work.
As for me, I just look forward to the summer and playing outside with the kids. And being able to go up to Crown Point again! My sister's house will be done soon, and we will then have a place to stay! I miss going up there to see her!

9 month stats

Looks like I am raising another string bean!!! :)
Weight - 19 lbs 7 oz (50th percentile)
Length - 28 3/4" (between 75th and 90th percentile)

She's growing well and hitting her milestones. She has started to get up on her hands and knees and rock, and has attempted to pull up twice, each ending in her falling to the ground. Ben and I know that she will be running around the house chasing Josh in no time!

Just an update

Thought I would post an update since it had been awhile. Maddie had ear tube surgery, and it looks like it was a success. She has her post-op check-up at the end of the week, but I am not worried. After the surgery, she has discovered her voice even more - and is now, much to her dad's dismay, schreeching. And it's loud, and high. I guess I just have the "loud" kids.

Josh is doing well. He still enjoys school, and there are a few kids we hear him talk about on a regular basis from his class. He's gotten to play in the snow lots lately because we have had SO much snow! For the first time that I can remember, I am really looking forward to spring.

In other news, Ben and I were excited to see the Saints win the Superbowl. Even though we live in Indianapolis, and we usually root for the Colts, we couldn't help but root for the Saints and Drew Brees. Especially since he is still wearing Black and Gold!

That's it for now - I'll post Maddie's stats after her 9 month check-up.

Another Ear infection??

But this time, it's not Maddie! It was Joshua! He was up until 1:30ish last night crying in pain about his ear. He only told us it was his right ear, but as it turns out, they are both infected. Maddie has her appointment about ear tubes on the 19th, and I am looking forward to spring. Perhaps that will help all of the colds and ear aches this family has been plagued with this winter. And, it will help with the cabin fever I am feeling. I hate bundling a little baby in those big, bulky coats. She can't use her hands because her arms are not long enough, and she just looks so unhappy.

Other than the medical issues, life is pretty normal around here. Josh is still enjoying school, Ben is still working with Coleman Tech, and Maddie is growing like a weed.

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!