Dancin' Queen!

Maddie has been singing and dancing a lot lately. So I tried to get a quick video of it tonight.  Of course, I haven't figured out how to flip the video so it's right side up, and if you can ignore Archie trying to get into to the picture, you can hear Maddie.  Ben's helping her out by playing the maraca.

Josh started soccer for the spring season.  His coach is very organized and has the kids doing drills and learning the terms, which has been great.  I was excited that he expressed interest in it again!

Archie's first haircut

Archie got his first haircut today.  He looks like a poodle now!  The groomers were great with him, and overall the experience was fine.  His fur is so soft now, it just begs to be petted!

Sickness strikes again!

And both kids are sick.  As you can see in the picture, Maddie's eyes are disgusting.  The doctor said that the eyes weren't pink, but with that much goop (and no ear infection), it was more than likely pink eye.  So she got eye drops.
Meanwhile, Josh has had a fever and says his "neck hurts."  I had heard strep was going around, so I got him in first thing this morning. (I should have asked about a 2 for 1 special) Low and behold, he has strep.  And to my surprise, Maddie had a fever (which she hadn't up to this point), and the doctor was concerned that strep was not too far in her future.  So both were prescribed amoxicillin, and I will give it to Maddie if she continues to worsen.

Because of all of the illness, I was unable to watch much of the Superbowl.  And since it was Ben's birthday, and the Packers are his favorite team, he was glued to the TV.  I'm glad he got his birthday wish and that the Packers won!

Ice Ice Baby

Need I say more?

Maddie's First Dance Class

I knew that I wanted to get Maddie into a gymnastics or dance class soon, and when a Groupon was available for a local dance facility, I jumped on it to see if Maddie would enjoy dance class. She loves music, and is always "dancing" around when she hears music.

I took her to her first class this past Saturday. The class was a success! She hesitated just a bit at the beginning, but by the end of class she was taking the teachers hand and trying to follow the other girls. I loved watching her, and took some short videos with my phone so Ben could watch her enjoy the class.

Been a long time...

It has been some time since my last post. Not sure why - perhaps the craziness that comes with the holidays, or the seemingly constant sickness that travels around the house. But whatever the case - I'm long overdue for a blog update.

The biggest news in the Groff household is our newest member - Archimedes! He is a black standard poodle that is about 14 weeks old.

It's not the best picture, but it's what I have right now. I have noticed I take a lot less pictures with 2 kids than I did when it was just Josh. Throw a puppy into the mix, and forget it!
You may be wondering where we came up with Archimedes. Well, I thought we needed a dog name that a)fulfilled the requirements of an appropriate "poodle" name, b)could be shortened for a nickname, and c)had something to do with Ben and I. Since Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer, it seemed fitting. And it can be shortened to Archie!
His is fitting in nicely with the family. He thinks he is a lap dog, which is fine now, but when he gets to be about 50 lbs, I may have to make him rethink that. Josh LOVES to play with him. Archie tends to think Josh is a litter mate, and nips at him, but I am hoping with training he will stop that. Maddie likes him, but she has a personal space bubble of about 6 feet, so when she feels he is invading that, and she doesn't want him, you tend to hear "NO Archie!". If he is near a toy of hers, then you hear "NO Archie, Mine!". I guess she is the alpha dog!

The kids are doing well. Josh is still enjoying school, and will be playing soccer this spring. Maddie's vocabulary is increasing slowly (though she picked up Archie quick!). I signed her up for 'Lil Steppers dance class today. It meets on Saturdays. She seems to love to dance, so I thought she might get a kick out of this. We will see how it goes.

The sickness strikes the house

Ben was unlucky enough to get sick while on a business trip. I got sick right when we got back from a weekend in Chicago. I was hoping it would avoid the kids.

It didn't.

2 am, I hear Josh crying loudly. I get in his room, and sure enough - he's gotten sick. He proceeded to get sick 11 more times over the next 5 hours. I wanted so badly to take away the pain, but there was nothing I could do but rub his back and comfort him. He's finally asleep, and I am hoping he doesn't get sick anymore today, but I know he won't feel well. Looks like we are going to have a movie day today!

Here's hoping for a healthy Christmas!

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.