A new room for Maddie!

When I was in high school, there was a girl who dressed really different from everyone else. I mean, weirdly different. It wasn't gothic (is it 'emu', these days?) or preppy or athletic...I'm not even sure WHAT you would call it. Bright colors, wild,varying patterns, etc. A lot of people made fun of her, but she didn't care. She liked how she looked and she was always confident in herself. 

I think that's my daughter.

Unless, of course, you would consider wearing your bathing suit, a santa hat and cowgirl boots mainstream.

With all of the gorgeous weather, I pulled out Maddie's summer clothes and plan to wash them this weekend so we're ready for shorts and t-shirts! She played dress-up while I organized.

What? Who is this, you ask? That's my 2-going on-22 year old gorgeous daughter. 

Excuse me, while I cry now.

Oh, and no, I didn't purposefully tousle her hair. Her BFF (frenemy?) at daycare decided she would put a swipe of pudding in Maddie's hair during lunch, so that's actually just dirty hair.

We went shopping at the outlets and Ikea this weekend and got Madeline a new dresser and bookshelf to accompany her toddler bed.

I am really pleased with how everything turned out.

AND!!!

My aunt gave us a toddler bed and we painted it white. Madeline is sleeping in it right now, for the first time. She went down REALLY easy, but I'm concerned about what she'll do when she wakes up. I'm sure I won't sleep much tonight as I'll be checking the monitor every 5 seconds. Let's hoping she stays put and sleeps well! 

My BFF's birthday party.

This weekend, we celebrated sweet little Hudson turning 1! 

Coloring with Hudson's cousin, Hadley.

 A wagon ride with Hudson sitting in Madeline's lap. It was hysterical to see them squeezed in. 

Someone (daddy) gave Madeline a cupcake citing a special occasion. She had icing everywhere!

You only wish you had style like this.

Nana bought Maddie a new book that makes sounds and Madeline reads it all day. 

Speaking if style, Madeline is a huge fan of dressing herself. What do you do with this?

Wordless Wednesday: Silly spring-loving Madeline!

The zoo, band concert and ice cream!!

On Friday, Maddie and I went to the zoo with Tara. Maddie loves Tara. 

On Saturday morning, our cousin Connor played in his Fall Festival. He was one of only four saxophones that got invited to join so he was very proud. I was nervous, but Madeline did fantastic!! It was a short concert and she sat nicely the entire time. Here is grandma with all of her grandkids (and one great-grandkid!)

On Saturday afternoon, we did some yard work.

We spent some time with Tia.

We tried Graeter's newest ice cream flavor!

On Sunday, we had a great afternoon at nana and Grandpa's house eating ribs and running around outside. On to the week!

Twins?

Some of our good friends, Scott and Kathryn, are moving to North Carolina at the end of the month. We are so excited for them and their next big adventure but will miss them! They came over for dinner this week and brought Kaylen. She is 6 months younger than Maddie but they are about the same size...and look like they could be sisters!!

Last night kicked off what should be a week of great weather. Madeline was a very big helper and enjoyed holding the hose to water the plants for us.

I don't talk about Stella as much as I used to, but she's still very much a big part of our family! And, crazier than ever!! (Side note: when your husband tells you that a golden is the BEST dog in the world and they are only hyper for one year...DO NOT BELIEVE IT. Stella is four and acts like she is still four months. But, if you can handle the crazy, they really are sweet sweet dogs. She and Maddie are the best of friends and she would not hurt a fly. But, she doesn't calm down until about 10PM.)

Anyways, isn't she cute?

We have an invisible fence and Stella rarely escapes. In fact, even when we take her collar off and show her that she's not wearing it AND pull her saying "It's SAFE, Stella," she refuses to cross the line. Thus, when we want to take walks, Chris has to walk down the driveway like this. It makes me laugh every time! 

My first bumpdate!

My friend Danielle regularly posted bump dates during her pregnancy with Hudson and I always thought it was a neat way to journal the pregnancy. I'm going to try to do them every few weeks just so I can remember the journey!

How far along? 14 weeks 

Baby is the size of: Lemon - which is interesting, because I LOOK like the baby is the size of a small pumpkin. Not quite sure how THAT memo was missed. (FYI: NOT a myth that you start showing earlier the second time. Thanks non-existent stomach muscles.)

Maternity Clothes? Not yet! My jeans are getting tighter every day, so we'll see how much longer I can hold on! 

Stretch Marks? Not yet! I'm a little nervous this time around because I am already showing so I need to get some stretch mark cream a.s.a.p!

Sleep? Getting better. For the first several months, I was waking up every night to go to the bathroom. That seems to have ceased so hoping I can start sleeping better!

Movement? I cannot feel anything yet! With Madeline, I felt her move my 20th week, so I might have some time to go. I can't wait!

Cravings? Nothing major yet, except iron-foods. When I start taking a second helping of spinach salad, you know my iron is low! I've been taking iron supplements and praying my iron doesn't drop as dramatically as it did with Madeline.

Gender? Only time will tell! May 13th is our date for the reveal! I honestly have NO feelings about what this sweet baby is. 

Belly Button In or Out? In.

What I miss: ENERGY! I have been extremely tired and that's hard working full-time. After working 9 hours, cooking dinner and playing with Madeline, I am totally worn out. Fortunately, Chris has been his usual non-step self and picking up a lot of the household chores while I rest. I can say the energy seems to be slowly coming back as I move further into the second trimester and I'm psyched!

Symptoms: Non-stop nausea from week 3 (I knew I was pregnant immediately b/c I was THAT girl who thought she had the stomach flu) with some vomiting mixed in. Although, it has not been nearly as extreme as the first time around and I am so grateful for that!

Best moment of the week? I talked to Madeline about moving to a big girl bed this weekend because the baby was going to sleep in her crib. She looked at me and said, "the baby can have my bunny too." She has slept with her PB Kids Sleep Bunny since birth so this was a pretty thoughtful thing for her say. 

What I am looking forward to: Looking pregnant, instead of just chubby!

This pregnancy is moving quickly and it's partially because I'm running after this one!

Happy Easter!!

We had a wonderful Easter day at Laura and Cory's! The food was fantastic and it was great to spend a relaxing day with nana, grandpa, Laura, Cory, Dane and Quinn!! Thanks Laura and Cory for hosting!

We obviously need to work on dress etiquette!!

This sippy is so cool, nana!

All the cousins! (One more coming in September!)

After - supper Jeep ride.