Happy birthday Cedes!

Mercedes turned 20 yesterday- I cannot believe it. Even though my little sister has been taller than me for a long time and is a junior in college I still think of her as my "baby" sister. I am very proud of Mercedes. She is doing well at GEorgeotwn and is headed to Disney World in the Fall to intern. She'll be working in one of the theme parks and taking an environmental biology class. Since Chris is gone this week, we celebrated with dinner on Saturday at her favorite--The Melting Pot. I think we're at five straight birthdays here. Mom and us below. 

The house is moving quick. The framers have just under two weeks left--it's starting to look like a real house now!

Chris is in Ireland and we miss him. Madeline face-timed with him tonight and kept waving and blowing him kisses. I know she will be so happy to see him on Friday when we pick him up. As will I!

Happy Wednesday!

Bourbon and Wine Tasting

Last night, some of our friends watched Madeline so Chris and I could have a date night. My dad is really active in the Rotary club and planned a big event at some local gardens. The Bourbon and Wine tasting was a huge hit!! We sampled a lot of drinks and had a great dinner. A few pictures...

 My sister driving the courtesy shuttle. I have no idea if she was qualified...

 We're so weird.

Tuesday with Tia!

On Tuesday, Chris goes out with his guy friends (a little mid-week bromance, if you will) for some boys-only time. Heaven only knows what they talk about. This means Madeline and I are on our own usually. Tonight we picked up my sister (being a College Spanish major, she would like for Madeline to call her Tia) and all went to Old Chicago.

Madeline had a blast! She sat very nicely in the booth with us and colored while we chatted. Then she sat in the high chair and gobbled down a big meal. She loves their pizza. 

One of her latest tricks--drinking from a straw without spilling!

She had already eaten but was still going for round 2 while we waited for the check.

We took her to Meijer to ride Sandy. She laughed and laughed!

What a fun Tuesday night with Tia. Madeline can't say Tia....so she calls her gaga. It's not even remotely close, but it sure is hysterical.

This weekend, my friend Taryn got married. I am so happy for her! We were able to get all of the Thetas together for one of our "kites."

Now Taryn is in Mexico on her honeymoon. Raise your hand if you're jealous.

Happy Fourth!

I wish I had every Wednesday off! This week we had a great break in the middle of the week from work. We had a cook-out with nana and grandpa Hughes and Kyle and Danielle brought Hudson over. Madeline loves "baby" and "Hussen" (as she calls him.) The two swam in the pool together.

 

 Proud daddy Kyle

Our family

This picture cracks me up. Danielle and I are trying to get the kiddos together and they are both leaning as far as possible away from each other. I'm sure that will all change in about 15 years!

 This week we started framing the house and it's going up quick. Here's a picture of the kitchen area.

As for Madeline, she's a riot.  She is the only child I've met who likes to clean. She LOVES it. She purposefully spills her milk so that she can clean it up and throw the paper towel away. She finds random things to clean (windows, doors, etc.) and does it pretty well, considering she's only 18 months old.

She's also really big into dressing herself right now. She likes to layer her shorts. Tonight she ran around the house with a Winnie the Pooh jean skirt over two pairs of shorts. She was so thick, we could barely strap her in her seat for dinner! As you can see below, she also has a thing for her "hair bows". Here she is playing with them. I see lots of dress-up in her future!

18 months and B-U-S-Y.

It has been H-O-T here in Kentucky! The temperature has been above 100 degrees the last several days, so we've been staying indoors a lot. That doesn't mean the fun has stopped though!!

On Friday, I had lunch with Danielle and Hudson. We've done this the last 2 Fridays and it's been a lot of fun. Hudson is still in the stage where he sits so nicely in his car sear so he just sat patiently while we ate and shopped. Danielle has been on maternity leave the last couple of months and only has one week left. I know exactly how she feels - going back to work full time is very difficult. Prayers for my BFF and her sweet baby!

Friday night, we went to my aunt's for a cook-out. Connor and Preston (my cousins who are so young, I think of them as my nephews) LOVE to play with Madeline. They played and danced for awhile.  Madeline loved their Elmo toys!

SO sleepy on the way home-she looked like this before getting out of the subdivision.

On Saturday, we went to Lexington to visit Aunt Laura, Uncle Cory and cousin Dane. We took the kiddos to Monkey Joe's where they ran their faces off. Last time, Madeline stayed in the "mini-monkey" zone, but not this time. She must have gone down one particular slide 20 times. Chris and I still have to go with her since she's so little. 

Having so much fun!

Immediately letting go of daddy to get down and start all over again!

 

 On Sunday morning, I fixed Maddie breakfast while Chris watched her in the living room. I peeked in and he was giving her a back massage. It was so sweet! She really loved it and kept giggling and saying "more." Sweet baby and daddy!

Sunday, we hung out at the house and swam in the pool for a bit. 

Finally, having some quiet play time in the room after bath. Long, successful, fun weekend!

As for this worn-out momma, I'm ready to settle in for the final night of the Women's Gymnastics Olympic Trials. I love the Olympics and am looking forward to the London games this month!

It's the small things

Madeline is officially 18 months old in 2 days- WOW! She is SUCH a big girl. She is very very independent and talking up a storm. Because she didn't get her first tooth until her first birthday, we've had a nightmarish last month. She got 7 (yes, 7!) teeth in the last 5 weeks. All 4 molars, 2 on the bottom and a third on the top. Needless to say, she's been pretty cranky. 

When she's not cutting a tooth (you know, like once every 12 days) she is in a pretty agreeable mood. It is so fun to see her smile and laugh; she really cracks Chris and I up a lot of times. You never know what you're going to get with her and I love it.

Riding in the cars at the mall. Daddy says these are a "cesspool" of germs, but we still let her ride the cars once in awhile.  I mean, the child goes to daycare. Talk about cesspool.

Putting her quarters in and pushing "go!"

Playing outside is a big activity. This week we got a new water toy, which she loves.

Here's her reaction to seeing it for the first time.

A little scared, not sure she wants to go near the water.

Very into it!

Helping nana water her flowers; she likes to use both cans at the same time.

On a side note, one of my college room mates is getting married in 2 weeks. This past weekend was her bachelorette party. It was really great seeing all of the girls, though I learned that I can no longer keep up like I used to. I was ZONKED by 11pm, but hung in there til about 2:30. Congrats Taryn-can't wait to celebrate with you in 2 weeks!

The bachelorette and her random gift

One of my dearest friends, and another room mate, Katy

Another week goes by...

So far, we are having a great summer! A few highlights from this past week.

 Madeline loves playing the piano!

First gelato of the season...she loved it!

As for the house, we are still trucking right along! We got the basement poured and sealed yesterday, so that was exciting. Next up is framing!