Birthday and Travel to Cape Cod!

Last weekend we celebrated Phil's birthday. We went to Captain's Quarters and had a great dinner out on the patio watching the boats go by. The kids loved it. There is a nice area on the lawn where we took a few pics for a moment while we waited for our table.

 Watching the boats go by.

Dane sneaking a kiss

We had a quick week at work trying to wrap everything up in preparation for our trip to Cape Cod!! This is our third straight summer going and it's always a great week. 

Madeline's "I'm going on vacation tomorrow!" face

I was pretty nervous about how Madeline was going to behave...but she truly did fantastic. 

 At the airport, watching for planes.

 Her first Starbucks

 This is Madeline's "cheese" face. Whenever we ask her to smile, she cheeses pretty hard. We're working with her on a more relaxed version.

 Dane and Madeline walking through the airport. 

The flight went pretty well. Madeline said "whee!" when we went up in the air and laughed at the initial bumps that come with take-off. I'm a pretty nervous flier, but didn't even think about it since I was so busy keeping Madeline busy. She played great with Dane who sat in front of her and Henry, a new boy we met, who sat behind her. She said "Ow" a few times and smacked her ears, but there were no tantrums, which was great. We didn't get to the hotel til about 10 and she promptly passed our and slept til 8. 

This morning, we got on the road from Providence to Cape Cod- about a 2 hour trip. 

Breakfast on the go--the life of a traveling girl!

Right now, we're settled into the house, and Madeline is waking up from a long nap. More pics to come!

19 months and counting!

Maddie has hit the 19 month mark...and passed it up! She will be 20 months in only a few short weeks. WOW!! She is still very much on the move. 

 Riding with Arthur in his school bus

 Making tea at Pottery Barn Kids. I think PBK is her happy place. She plays very well at PB and never wants to leave. On this day she had a tea party with a new friend, Alex.

Maddie's surprised face. She makes this no less than 5 times a day: when the phone rings, when a door opens, when you ask her to make a surprise face...

Eating ravioli- a new favorite! 

Normally, she eats pretty well with her "poon," but occasionally, when something is REALLY good, she forgoes the utensils and uses her hands. I guess ravioli is one of those things.

We've got a busy couple of weeks/months coming up. Once our house is done being bricked, we will move inside. Chris and I will be working a lot putting down the hardwood floors and painting. It will be long days...but it will be worth it! Looking forward to seeing it all come together!

Gymnastics!

Guess what these two girls have in common?

They at one time looked like this:

Madeline and I started a gymnastics class a few weeks ago and she loves it! We go on Saturday mornings to Louisville Gymnastics. 

 The right side of the gym...for the little tots.

 Jumping on the trampoline with mommy

 Awaiting her turn on the slide

Practicing her pike and straddles....or checking out Vincent? Who can really tell?!?

So far, gymnastics has been a fun thing for Madeline and I to do together. It's a 50 minutes class that takes the kids through three events (bars, floor, and beam). There is a lot of obstacle course-type fun to be had!

Finally, we took Stella over to her new house this week. She loved it! We got windows this week and are prepping for brick-ing and roof-ing. Yay!

Wordless Wednesday: Zoo Fun!

Party girl!

Today is Kaylen Broaddus's first birthday! Chris was golfing for work all day so Madeline and I went to her party by ourselves. We had a great time! Madeline played and played! She was a little shy at first but then really warmed up to everyone. Happy birthday Kaylen! You are such a sweet little girl.

 Meeting Austin Haselton. Madeline thought he was sooo cute!

A little sun in her eyes

 So happy playing with bubbles and sidewalk chalk!

We also had some tent time this weekend!

 Peeking out

 "No time to chat, dude. I'm in my tent, sipping on some milk."

Tents are so fun!

Happy weekend!

Almost done framing!

The framing process is winding down- and I'm really excited to move to the next stages. Next week, we've got our electrician, plumber and HVAC guys coming. We'll start laying brick in 2 weeks! Here's where we stand today.

I forgot how many trips to Lowe's we took last time we were building. It's the same thing this time. There's always something you have to pick out or plan for. Right now, we're making our decisions for shingles, plumbing fixtures and flooring. We've already chosen brick/stone, kitchen cabinets and windows/doors.

For some reason, Madeline really enjoys Lowe's. She spent ten minutes "washing her hands" the other night.

Her new thing to do is riding in the back of the cart. She knows that if she stands up, the cart stops. She has to sit on her bottom to get a ride. Being the child that she is, she likes to see how far up on her knees she can get before I stop the cart. Always pushing her limits and testing her boundaries!!

Daddy's home!

Chris got home from Ireland on Friday. Madeline and I are so happy he's back. 

Even though she had a little fun while he was away...

"Shopping" at the new exhibit at the Children's Museum

Dancing with a new friend at Old Navy

She was so happy he was home!

 Snuggling before bed while daddy reads a story

 Holding daddy's hand 

On Sunday, Hudson came over to play!

Such a sweet happy boy!

 Having a strawberry snack in the shade! She insisted on sitting alone in the big girl seat. Miss Independent.

 Here's looking at you, Hudson. XOXO!