The Glenns

Roomtime

2012-01-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

Madeline no longer takes a nap. But, she does usually have some rest time or room time in the afternoon. (She and mommy both need a little down time.) I'm not sure what she did during her roomtime this day. But, Andrew took pictures of it before it was all cleaned up. It looks like a pretty elaborate party with all her animal friends.

Homestead Farm

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm making it into some October posts now. Sigh... I am so far behind. Oh well, The Holmes family joined us at the apple orchard for an unusually warm October day. Madeline and Faith are such good buddies. They do MDO, Cubbies, MOPS and church together.

Before we headed out to the apple trees, the kids played on the hay bails for a little while.

Since we waited until October to pick apples, the pickin's were slim. But, we found a few good trees.

Oliver was happy to devour a few apples.

After we filled our buckets, we hung out for a while longer near the lake and jumped off the hay bails a little more.

Sweet Lucy. She was only about a month old.

Thanks for joining us Holmes. We had fun with you guys!

Bentos

2012-01-10T17:08:00.000-05:00

Since Madeline goes to Mother's Day Out once a week now, I have been having fun making her lunches to take with her. I haven't taken a picture of most of them. But, here are a couple from Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'm pretty doubtful that they arrive to her lunchtime looking that this. But, she gets to see it before she goes to school.

I have been getting some ideas from a couple blogs. Here are 2 that I enjoy looking at.

This Lunch Rox and Meet the Dubiens.

slip n slide

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

On a warmish day in September, we set up a new slip n slide. The kids did actually slide down it with the help of a little dish soap. But, I only have evidence of them drinking the water. I think they were both shivering and turning blue. But, they had fun.

Backyard Camping

2012-01-03T16:59:00.000-05:00

Madeline liked camping so much at the park that she wanted to do it in our backyard as well. So, just as the weather started turning cooler in September, Andrew decided he would set up the tent for her. Oliver, Lucy and I spent the night in the warm house. But, Andrew and Madeline braved the cool night for a night of memory making. Andrew said she woke up a little chilly in the middle of the night. So, he gave her his sleeping bag and she went off to sleep for the rest of the night while he stayed cold until the morning. He's such a good dad. Maybe Oliver can join them next summer.

Summerfun

2012-01-02T16:55:00.000-05:00

Even though it hasn't really felt like winter yet, it is fun to look back at our warm summer that we spent in our new backyard. As soon as we moved in, a neighbor brought us this big slide that we played with all summer long. And my dad hung a swing up in a tree. It's amazing how much more time we spent outside since we no longer had to get ready, walk down 3 flights of stairs and walk to a park. It was so nice just opening the back door when we pleased.

Oliver helped up nail some nails back down on our deck.

Thanks Oliver!

30th Birthday

2012-01-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

This summer, I turned the big 3-0. I have to say, it isn't as traumatic turning 30 as people make it seem. As my mom says, it is better than the alternative. And really, I was too busy around my birthday to even think about it.

We closed on our new house the Monday before my birthday, I was 8 months pregnant and we were painting and cleaning our new house all week. But, on my birthday, my parents kicked me out of the house from cleaning and we went home to get ready to go to the Japanese Steak House to celebrate my birthday with our families. On our way to dinner, my dad had to stop back by our new house to check on something. When we got there, I went inside to find all our friends and family there ready to celebrate with me. I was truly surprised.

After the party we realized how nice it was to have an empty house for parties. So, anyone want to go in with us on a party house? It could be fun!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T16:55:00.003-05:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone. I always feel a little sad when Christmas is done. I love all the anticipation and build up to Christmas day. I love watching the streets light up as people add their Christmas lights and listening to the Christmas music playing everywhere. I love the time with family and getting excited about the kids opening presents on Christmas morning. And then, all of a sudden it is all done and we have to wait another year for it to come again. So, of course I wanted to drag my kids into this emotional roller coaster of withdrawal by creating some fun Christmas traditions. So, I bought a new advent calendar. The kids took turns opening it each morning and finding an ornament to put on the tree. Then there was also a piece of paper with an activity on it for the day. Madeline woke up each morning asking what our "job" was for the day. The day after Christmas, she asked to fill it up again. I told her she had wait until next year. See, the withdrawal is already happening. Here are some of the things we enjoyed this past month.

We got our Christmas tree on the first day. We always get it from our local fire department, load it up on top of the car and then get milk shakes from Chicks A Fla (as Madeline calls it). And then, every year we say, "let's not forget to water the tree as soon as we get home", and every year, we forget until the next day.

The next day, we decorated the tree. And the kids got to decorate little trees for their own rooms.

We made cookies...

and decorated them.

We made gifts for Madeline's Mom's Day Out and Cubbies teachers. We filled jars with a gift card, smarties and a sharpie and wrote something about being thankful for making Madeline smart and sharp.

We went to a Christmas party at our neighbor's house and Mr. Mark dressed up like Santa. Oliver wanted nothing to do with Santa.

We played games by the fire, our first fire in our new house. Andrew got a new ax to chop us some wood.

We acted out the nativity story. All the Magna Tiles are gifts for baby Jesus. Oliver only wanted to watch Bob Mano (Veggie Tales) and Madeline only wanted to be the angel. That left Lucy to be baby Jesus and Andrew and I to be everything else.

We made salt dough ornaments with the kids handprints and Madeline made one with her footprint. We used cookie cutters and made ornaments with the rest of the dough.

We made wrapping paper. Who knew white rolls of paper were so hard to find as well as stamp pads. So, we just used a roll of white wrapping paper and markers.

We made a birthday cake for baby Jesus and sang happy birthday to him.

We made a gingerbread nativity (thanks pinterest). Madeline did not like the smell of the coconut. I loved it.

We never got around to making Mary, Joseph or the horse. It took us a while to get this far. But, at least we did the most important part, Jesus.

Some of our other activities included decorating the house, driving to see Christmas lights, singing Christmas carols, reading the Christmas story in Luke 2, watching a Christmas movie (Boz Christmas) and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. Maybe that is why I am so sad that Christmas is done. We had such a fabulous time counting down to the birth of our savior.

Camping

2011-12-11T16:35:00.001-05:00

At the end of June we decided to go camping and our friends, The Holmes, joined us. We headed down after Andrew got home from work on a Friday night. When we arrived, it was dark and beginning to rain and the temperature at Deep Creek State Park was about 20 degrees cooler than at our house. But, we (and by we, I mean Andrew) got our tent set up and we got the kids to bed. Lucky for us, the night before Oliver had figured out how to climb out of his bed. So we were anticipating a rough night with Oliver climbing out of his bed. But, I think it was so late by the time he went to bed, he didn't climb back out.

The people at the campsite right above/behind us got in trouble for being too loud and underage drinking. They got about 3 different tickets from the park police. Then the police officer walked down to us to tell us to be quiet. We just said, "ok", even though we weren't being loud at all since we all had children sleeping in the tent right next to us.

So, our first night was a success. And we spent the next day just exploring the campsite, hanging out, building a fire and eating.

I love the grown up conversation the girls are having here.

Everyone got pretty tired by the afternoon and needed a little down time.

Andrew was quite obsessed with the fire. But, he did a good job of keeping us warm and cooking our food. We had hotdogs, corn on the cob and beans for dinner.

We went to Deep Creek State Park because it had a lake and beach to play on. But, it was way to cold to play in the water. I think it was about 60 degrees outside. And actually, the water was warmer than that. So, we just played in the sand for a little while.

Oliver picked some flowers for Anna.

Jillian did a junior lifeguard class while we were playing at the beach and got this really cool whistle at the end of it.

We also went to a critters class at the visitors center. It was a little crowded. But, it was good to warm up a little.

We had lots of yummy food, fellowship and memories. Thanks for camping with us Holmes.

Rebecca St. James

2011-12-11T16:29:00.001-05:00

I remember going to a Rebecca St. James concert in high school with my best friend, Jaime. But, I have to admit, I haven't listened to her music in a long time. Until this summer that is. Rebecca (I guess we are on a first name basis now) came to our area this summer and gave a concert to raise money to support our pregnancy center. She is following a new passion to save the unborn. She was even the main character in a movie called Sarah's Choice about a girl faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Because of Andrew's involvement with the clinic, 40 Days for Life and Maryland Coalition for Life we got to meet Rebecca before the concert and talk with her about what is happening here in Maryland.

And then we enjoyed her very worshipful concert.

Pre-Kicks

2011-12-11T16:26:00.001-05:00

Well, you might be wondering why Madeline is dressed in shorts when it is a measly 46 degrees outside right now. Well, there is a good explanation for this. Seeing as how we had a few things going on this summer (packing, moving, new baby), I may have fallen slightly behind on blogging. But, obviously I do not want to forget the past 6 months or leave it up to the memories of my now 4 year old who may only remember a boring and exhausted momma. So, the next 5,732 posts will be catch up posts, with maybe few breaks here and there. And maybe by January, you will be caught up with the happenings of our lives. I know you are so relieved now. You're welcome!

So, now back to Madeline. Back in June, Madeline finished up her soccer season after learning how to dribble, kick, listen to a coach and most importantly, do something without mommy right by her side. Soccer seemed to open a whole new world of independence for her and now she is excited to go and do new things. It's great for everyone.

Coach Jill gave Madeline a medal for being her favorite player.

Well, maybe they all got one. But, she is certainly MY favorite player. And I just love how cute she is with her little short haircut and rosy cheeks (which reminds me that I am thankful that it is now 46 degrees rather than 100). There's one kid missing because he went off chasing a butterfly. It made me laugh.

3 Months

2011-12-07T23:12:00.001-05:00

Lucy turned 3 months old a couple weeks ago. We are loving her little personality that is starting to come out. She is such a happy baby. She smiles so easily and loves getting attention and will usually reward any attention with a smile.

She has been chewing and sucking on her fingers/fist a lot. Sometimes she even pulls her paci out and puts her fingers in. We have noticed in the past couple of days that she has a tooth that is pretty close to the surface. So, maybe this is why she is gnawing so much. Or maybe she just thinks her ability to get her fingers in her mouth is fabulous.

She is grabbing things and Madeline thinks it is super exciting. Madeline is such a doting big sister. She is always telling us things like, "Lucy's holding my finger." "Lucy said 'goo'". "Lucy is smiling." "Lucy's jumping (in her exersaucer)."

Lucy enjoys her bouncy seat a lot. She will kick and kick and look at her toys that are dangling in front of her. She is also happy in her exersaucer. As much as I love holding her, it is nice that she will happily sit and entertain herself so that I can do a few things around the house without her crying. She also LOVES her bathtime. She gets so much exercise with all the kicking she does.

She is sleeping pretty well at night. She still usually only wakes up once sometime between 3-5am. But, she isn't the best napper. A lot of times she will only nap for about 15 minutes. Sometimes she will nap for an hour or longer. She isn't a very deep sleeper. I am hoping this changes over the next few months. But, at least she sleeps pretty good at night. And she will sleep for hours in the sling.

I took her to the doctor yesterday for a cold that she has had for over a month now. Unfortunately there is nothing they can do for her. But, they did weigh her and she is now 12lb 8 oz. (60%). She is eating pretty well and has seemed to have grown out of her 0-3 month clothes overnight. I am growing kind of attached to her little chunky belly.

She has rolled over several times from her belly to her back. Last night she woke up kind of fussing and kind of talking. When I went in, she had rolled over on her back and didn't know what to do.

Happy 3 months, little one! We love you bunches around here.

2011-12-05T08:18:00.001-05:00

Lucy started giggling over Thanksgiving weekend! It is the sweetest sound.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T01:42:00.001-05:00

First Moments

2011-11-16T23:14:00.001-05:00

My mom just sent me these pictures tonight from the night Lucy was born. They are so precious. I don't want to forget them.

2 Years Old

2011-11-10T22:27:00.001-05:00

Our sweet boy turned 2 years old yesterday. He had no idea that it was his birthday. But, we are having a party for him on Saturday. Tonight, I lit a candle on our dinner table and he started singing, "Happy Birthday, to you" over and over again. I am trying to teach him to say, "I'm two" and hold up 2 fingers. So far, all we've got it, "one, two". We'll get there.

Oliver is really into cars right now. He makes them zoom around our ottoman, he puts them to bed in the Little People house and he pushes them around on the floor. Our neighbor gave us a red cozy coupe and a little red ride-on Hummer. And he loves them both. Him and Madeline fight over the cozy coupe a lot actually.

He is talking so much now. Many times, Andrew and I just look at each other like, "what did he just say," because he has rattled off something we didn't understand. But, he knows exactly what he is saying. My favorite thing he is saying right now is, "Bob a May-no" for Bob the Tomato. It is his favorite cartoon right now. He also talks about his friends Anna and "Yevi" (Levi) a lot. I also like how he says, "Oh man", when something doesn't go right. Oliver also likes to make people laugh. He will intentionally hurt himself to get a laugh out of us, like bang his head on the table at dinner time.

He has always loved tags. He has a taggie blanket that is his favorite and I have made him a couple taggie lovies that he likes as well. But, he has recently discovered the tags inside his shirts. He can usually be found with his hand in his shirt, rubbing the tag. If we forget his blankets, it's ok because he can always find a tag in his shirt.

Oliver loves Lucy. Sometimes he calls her Lou or Wucy. He knows which pacis are hers and tries to give her one when she is crying.

He also likes to hug and snuggle with her in her bouncy seat or carseat. He is very gentle and sweet with her.

And he loves climbing in and out of her bed to check on her or just to play in her bed.

Oliver likes riding in the stroller and gets very jealous of Lucy if I put her carseat in the stroller. Apparently it is his seat. He sat in it a couple times during 40 Days for Life while we went to "Praying for Babies" (as Madeline calls it).

Oliver is a snuggle bug when he wakes up or is woken up early from his nap (which is usually every night at 5). When I lay him down to sleep, he usually sticks his feet out of the railings and says "uh oh" and waits for me to pretend to bite his toes. He thinks it's hilarious. When I finally walk out of his room, he is super sad. He has figured out how to open his crib tent and just yesterday, he figured out how to climb out of his crib again. So, his zipper is now clamped shut with a heavy duty clamp. And his diapers are duct taped on since he likes to undress and take his diaper off during naps and bed time.

He likes to brush his teeth and says, "monkey teeth" or "elephant teeth" since I told him that we had to get the monkeys and elephants out of his teeth so he would let me brush his teeth. It works!

He is preparing to take over daddy's business.

But, really just loves to play in the car. He could play out in our van all afternoon. Madeline and him play house, boat and whatever else in there.

Madeline and Oliver are good buddies. Whenever we take Madeline to school, he is sad that she is missing from her carseat beside him. And he is super excited to go pick her up. Madeline has a way of getting him dressed up in anything.

Oliver is a somewhat picky eater. But, not when it comes to sweets. Back at Madeline's no more paci party, he ended up sneaking 3 cupcakes while no one was paying attention. He likes his sweets.

Here's a video of Oliver singing Go Tell it on the Mountain along with his cute little personality.

Oliver is definitely a 2 year old with strong opinions and a strong will of his own. But, he is absolutely adorable, sweet and funny. We love him to pieces and are so grateful for the gift of 2 years with him so far. We love you Oliver! Happy Birthday!

3 Kiddos

2011-11-04T14:42:00.002-04:00

I am so behind on blogging. But, here is a little snapshot of our 3 kiddos before bathtime last night. It pretty much sums them up.

2 Months

2011-10-26T22:53:00.000-04:00

Little Miss Lucy turned 2 months old on Saturday and we are loving every minute with her. I think she is our smiliest baby. As soon as she wakes up and eats, she will smile at us for the next 20 minutes or so. She just seems so happy. She is giving us lots of coos now too. And it seems like she is on the verge of laughing.

She is a really good baby. She is going to bed around 10pm and sleeping until 4 or 5am. Then she goes back to sleep until everyone wakes up around 8. She was sleeping pretty well during the day until last week and now her naps seem to be pretty quick cat naps unless she is in the sling or in my arms.

We thought we would have to watch Oliver pretty closely around Lucy. But, he is very loving and thoughtful to her. One night, while I was reading a bedtime story to Madeline, Lucy was fussing in her crib. Oliver went in to check on Lucy. When I went in to check on Oliver, he had climbed into her crib, lined up her pacis for her and wound up her mobile for her. He was carefully standing over her so he didn't step on her. He was being very sweet. He does gets a little jealous when she gets in things that he thinks are his, like the stroller or his grandparents' laps.

Lucy loves her daddy. She needs her daddy time in the evenings to keep her happy. He knows just how to hold her to make her happy.

Madeline finally got to put Lucy in her doll cradle. That was an exciting day for Madeline :) Lucy barely fit.

She is enjoying her gym and swing a little more. It might be more tolerating rather than enjoying. But, she will spend about 5-10 minutes in either before the happiness is over.

She still likes to sleep on her belly. She was crying at her doctor's appointment on Tuesday and when the doctor flipped her over on her belly, she calmed right down. I told Andrew that I wished there were carseats that allowed your child to lay on their bellies. Because I think there would be a lot less fussing in the car. And speaking of doctors visits, she weighed 11lbs 6 oz(70%) and is 23.5 inches tall (50%).

We've tried the Bumbo seat a few times. It doesn't usually end with smiles.

One thing she absolutely loves is her mobile. When it is time for baths and bedtimes for the other two, we put her in her bed and wind the mobile up over and over and she gets super excited about it. She just smiles and smiles at it. I wish the mobile lasted a little longer between wind ups. She also loves her bathtime as well. She just kicks and kicks for the longest time. She also has a hard time keeping her eyes off of the Elmo that hangs out in our bathtub.

Madeline loves her little sister.

So does Oliver.

This is how we travel when we are out and about. Lucy loves to be in the sling. She will sleep for hours in it. It is probably my #1 baby item at this stage.

Happy 2 month birthday sweet girl. We love you bunches!

Matchy Matchy

2011-10-03T00:52:00.000-04:00

Madeline really likes to match her baby sister (and hold her).

Lucy's not so sure.

But, she eventually came around. And I think they are pretty cute together.

No More Paci Party

2011-10-02T00:48:00.000-04:00

Madeline has had a slight obsession with her pacis for the past 3+ years. So, we have been dreading getting rid of them. We had them down to just bedtime. But, it was time to go all the way. We have been talking about a "No More Paci" party for a long time. So, once things settled down a little around here, we went for it. Madeline actually had TWO "No More Paci" parties. She wanted all of her friends there, including Hannah. But, Hannah lives in Roanoke. So, we had her first one in Roanoke.

Hannah came over for some cake and ice cream and Madeline got rid of 5 pacis.

She also got some candy corn and a movie as a gift.

Then we had a party at our house a couple weekends later. She had all her friends from church over for some pizza, cupcakes, games and some hangin' out time. Madeline got to suck her remaining pacis one last time and then she had to put them in the bag.

It was hard to say goodbye to her favorite one.

But, she did it! And then we sang "Happy no more pacis to you..." And she blew out her candles.

She really wanted a pinata at her party. She even helped stuff all the candy in it the night before.

Then, they played some simon says, (while Oliver danced)

some Duck Duck Goose and even some Sharks and Minnows (indoor style).

Madeline went to bed that night for the first time in her life without her pacis. (And by pacis, I mean 17 pacis.) She did say she wanted them. But, she never cried for them. It has been a little adjustment for her. It has taken a couple of weeks for her to figure out how to settle herself at night without them. And she has seemed a little more on edge. She used to love to get in her bed and just suck her pacis during naptime and before bedtime and even when she just needed a break during the day. So, without them, she is getting a little less sleep and a little less down time. But, she is adjusting and doing well. And we are so proud of our big girl. And she even got a cool dolphin necklace from her dentist for getting rid of the pacis.

Balance Bike

2011-09-24T00:31:00.003-04:00

Madeline got a balance bike last year for Christmas. But, she has really gotten good at it this summer after we moved and she can ride it a lot more. We started making her wear her helmet now because she gets going really fast on our street. We weren't really sure if the whole balance bike thing was worth it. But, it has been great. And as soon as she gets a real bike, we will be passing this one on to Oliver. Here are some videos from our walk/ride after dinner tonight.

Madeline's First Day of School

2011-09-20T23:08:00.003-04:00

Madeline started a Mother's Day Out program today. She goes every Tuesday. If I had told her a year ago that she was going to school, she would have been in tears. But, she has been beside herself with excitement for a long time now. We got her backpack last week (which is too big and definitely not what I would have picked out. But, she loves it). We also got her lunch box last week and she has been asking if she could pack her lunch every day since we got it. She didn't even get to eat lunch there today since it was a shortened first day. So, she got to put a bag of fruit snacks in it and she carried it anyways.

Last night, she wanted to get dressed for school before she went to sleep and she wanted to go to school in the middle of the night. I told her that it would be dark there and the teachers would be at home sleeping. She said, "No they won't. (Like I was being really silly) They sleep at school."

She woke up super early and got dressed all by herself. She's such a big girl that wants to do everything by herself now.

Her big smile basically didn't leave her face all morning.

And she got super cool Dora light up shoes for school. She definitely knew she wanted light up shoes this fall.

She goes to school with 2 of her friends. Faith and her family arrived shortly after we did.

And Emmie arrived next.

Andrew met us at school to see his little girl go off to school for the first day.

Faith's daddy came too. It was quite the family affair this morning. (At least for our 2 families :)

Oliver cried and cried when we left Madeline this morning. I'm not sure if it was because he was leaving Madeline or just the fun room with the cars in it. But, he did keep putting his hand on Madeline's carseat and saying, "Where Nah Nah (his name for Madeline)?" He was happy to have her back this afternoon. And Madeline had a great first day of school and is ready to go back tomorrow. Too bad she has to wait until next Tuesday.

3 Weeks Old

2011-09-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

Lucy is 3 weeks old today. She went to the doctor last Wednesday for her 2 week check up. She was up to 9 lbs 2 oz (80%) and 21 inches long (80%). She is eating great and sleeping pretty good as well. She will usually give me a good 5 hour stretch in the night. The rest of the day, she eats every 2-3 hours.

She doesn't quite know what to do with herself when she is awake. She doesn't like her bouncy seats, swing, bed, changing table or "gym mat thingy". She just wants to be held. And now she wants you to walk around with her. You can't just sit still. I guess she is getting a little spoiled and unwilling to be forgotten as the third child.

She sleeps like a little froggy all curled up on her belly. We tried to swaddle her and lay her on her back. But, she would wake up 2 seconds after we laid her down. So, we gave the belly a try and she sleeps much better. She is also starting to get attached to her paci already.

Oliver likes to check on "WOO-see" and say "WOO-see KIE-ing (crying)" or "WOO-see SEEping shhhhhh"

Lucy joined us for storytime one night. It didn't last very long, because, remember... she doesn't like to be laid down.

Last weekend, we headed to Roanoke for a family reunion. So, Lucy got to meet some more family. My MeeMaw and CO.

My new sister-in-law, Kanon and my brother.

And my Popeye and Aunt Phyllis. She also got to meet a whole bunch more family at the reunion. But, we didn't take any pictures.

Lucy spent her first week in our bed, her second week in the pack-in-play next to us and now she has been booted out to her own room. I think she likes it though.

And Madeline likes to get in the picture with Lucy anytime she can. And in case you were wondering who Lucy looks like, she looks exactly like Madeline did as a baby. I will have to post some comparison pictures soon. Anyways, happy 3 week birthday, Lucy!

Rainbows and Beauty Shops

2011-09-11T21:40:00.001-04:00

We didn't go to church this morning because our church had a retreat this weekend and we decided not to go. So, I took advantage of our extra morning this weekend and made some rainbow pancakes for breakfast. Our rainbow got reverted to the ROY G BP version since I don't know how to make indigo and violet with food coloring. I saw the idea on a blog last night and thought it was super fun. I always see all these fun ideas on peoples' blogs and tuck them away for another day. I usually never get back to them and just wish I was a super cool mom like all these other moms. But, rainbow pancakes are super easy. So, I just went for it this morning. Madeline ate every single one of them.

Then, Madeline let me play real beauty shop with her. Not just the pretend kind, with the fake curling iron and fake hair dryer that blows, but barely enough to blow out a candle. I brought out the big guns. My giant purple can of grape flavored Aussie hairspray that I have probably had for about 10 years and the real curling iron. Madeline wanted hair like a princess. So, I found an idea on another blog (of another super cool mom that does super cool things for her kids) and she happily sat still while I fixed her hair. It has 3 pony tails and lots of curls and hairspray.

For just a little while this morning I felt like a fun mom who does cool things with her kids. And for the rest of the day, Madeline smelled like a grape flavored scratch n' sniff sticker. Good times.

Together at Home

2011-09-10T13:54:00.000-04:00

We were happy to get our little Lucy home with the rest of the family. And I'm sure Madeline was driving my parents nuts by asking a bajillion times when the new baby was coming home. I think Madeline had high hopes of being able to carry her new baby around the house. But, we dashed her dreams by telling her she had to sit down to hold her. But, she still likes to hole her. It just doesn't last too long. You can also see Madeline's new love for hairbows and headbands together.

Madeline and I made a birthday cake for Lucy before I went to the hospital. Unfortunately we ran out of icing and I didn't get a chance to get anymore. So, poor Lucy got a pretty pathetic birthday cake.

But, Oliver didn't mind what it looked like. I have to say that his cake eating abilities have improved since his first birthday. He just tries to shove it all in.

Everyone wanted to help with Lucy's first bath. And she loved soaking down in the little tub.

Our eat-in-kitchen turned into a photo studio. Madeline wanted her picture taken so badly. So, Gigi took some pictures of her as well while Lucy was eating. If you want to see Lucy's first photoshoot, head on over here. My mom spent about 6 hours taking pictures of Lucy. And I love them all.

This picture cracks me up. Oliver decided he wanted to hold Lucy. But, then she started fussing. Andrew is "shhhh-shing" her. Madeline is shaking the rattle because she "probably likes it". And Oliver is just looking at me like, "what is happening, Mom"?

So, this was Lucy's first days at home.

A Few More from the Hospital

2011-09-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

I am quite the slacker blogger lately. These aren't really new pictures of Lucy. But, they are some pretty sweet ones that I found on Andrew's camera today.

Sisters

I guess we did get one picture of Oliver with Lucy. He loves her lots now. He calls her "woo woo" or "wooo-see".

I love the quiet snuggle times in the hospital.

All ready to come home. We were so thankful for an uneventful delivery and recovery this time. Our stay at Shady Grove was fabulous, well... you know, fabulous for a hospital.

Lucy's First Day

2011-08-23T21:08:00.000-04:00

We've been chillin' out in our room all day.

We did get a few happy visitors though. Madeline got to hold Lucy all by herself.

We got a few pictures of Oliver close to Lucy.

And he likes the "dady's" bed.

That cup of ice may or may not have ended up on Lucy.

So she got some new clothes. Gigi made her a special hat.

I'd say Lucy had a good day. Oh, and I guess I should document that she was in her first earthquake as well. A 5.9 earthquake. Pretty crazy. Welcome to the world Lucy!

Lucy Kate Glenn

2011-08-22T23:17:00.001-04:00

She's here!!!! Lucy was born August 22, 2011 at 6:42pm at Shady Grove Hospital. She's 8lb 7oz and 19.5 inches long. She and Naomi are doing great! We are so thankful for her safe arrival.

She arrived just before our nurse, Sada's, shift was over.

Madeline is in love with her new baby. She wants to hold her (by herself) a lot.

Oliver just wants to push the buttons on the bed.

Water Play

2011-08-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

Well, I am in the hospital getting some pitocin so we can meet this baby girl. Things aren't really painful yet, so I have been editing pictures. These are from last week. We have been really enjoying our back deck and yard. There's plenty of room to run around, get wet and have fun.

He wants to touch the buttons on my camera really badly. He's a button kind of man.

A belly shot from above around 38 weeks. (And no, it isn't twins :))

Hopefully our next post will be an announcement. But, we will see how long this labor goes. I might get a chance to edit a bunch more pictures from this summer.

Montgomery County Agricultural Fair

2011-08-20T01:03:00.001-04:00

We had a long list of things to do this summer to help Madeline figure out when the baby was coming; Nathaniel's wedding, the beach, moving, Michigan and then the fair. Well, we made it to the fair on Wednesday night. The kids and I went a little early to get the cheaper ride passes and then Andrew met us there after work. So, the kids enjoyed dinner in the stroller while we walked around looking at all the animals. We saw some sheep, pigs and rabbits and then Madeline said she had seen enough animals. We could see the cows and chickens from the path and she said that was good enough. She just wanted to ride the rides.

We were super excited to see Daddy and he got to ride all the rides with the kids.

We got rained on a little. But, it was mostly a great evening.

Oliver couldn't ride some of the rides because he wasn't tall enough. It made him super sad until we played, "Madeline? Where are you?" (he actually calls her "Nah Nah") and every time she would ride by, he would laugh hysterically.

He did get to ride the carousel

It's always a favorite.

Ice cream helped to make waiting in the lines a little easier.

Madeline was sweet to find rides that Oliver could do to. He was so excited to drive the cars.

Madeline jumped on this slide and started heading down before Daddy and Oliver even had a chance to sit down. This was one of her favorite things.

I don't know what you really call this. It was some kind of mazy-playhouse that ended with a slide. Another favorite.

Madeline wanted to do the Ferris wheel all night. I am not big on heights. So, Andrew took the kids up

and I stayed on the ground getting lots of comments about how I must be having a boy or twins. Neither of which are true. (unless we are in for some surprises on Monday) Good times.

So, now that everything is checked off our list, we are just waiting on baby girl to make her appearance on Monday.

Baby Things

2011-08-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

Well I finally picked up my camera after about a month. I'm not sure what my problem was. I think I have been in a fog for the past month or so. Just kind of surviving the end of this pregnancy. I've been getting a little energy back. Probably just because I know there are only 5 days left until we meet this little girl. But, Madeline and Oliver have certainly had lots of energy. And they have been super excited about all the baby gear that is coming back into our house. They love playing in the swing, the johnny jump up, the bouncy seats and the exersaucer. Madeline has been helping to get the baby's room ready. She helped put the sheet and bumper in the crib. And we just put the mobile up. They both thought it was fun to play with that as well.

Madeline can hardly wait until she gets to hold her baby sister. She's been waiting a long time. But, she says that her job is to hold the baby. So, everyone else might have to fight for a turn. Oliver will actually give the baby kisses before he goes to bed. I'm sure he has no clue what he is doing. We'll see how he adjusts to this new little baby in his life. But, we are all excited to meet her on Monday!

Michigan

2011-07-24T17:50:00.000-04:00

We flew up to Michigan on Friday night just in time to escape the horrible heat in DC. It's been in the comfortable 80's since we have been here. Madeline could not wait until we came up here. She wanted to jump on the trampoline so bad.

And this smile has basically been plastered on her face since we got here.

Oliver is attached to his Papa who happily takes him anywhere he wants to go. Oliver is loving the boats.

He occasionally gets out of Papa's arms to give some lovin' to Nana.

We've (and by "we" I mean "not me". As much as I am ready to be done being pregnant, I don't really want to deliver this baby in the middle of the lake and 5 weeks early) been enjoying tubing as well.

Wild Cherry Lane

2011-07-11T22:40:00.000-04:00

We bought a house today!

We are spending the week painting and cleaning and then officially moving in on Saturday. We're excitied!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T17:29:00.002-04:00

18 Months Old

2011-07-05T00:24:00.000-04:00

Well, Oliver is almost 19 months old. So, I think it is time to do an update on our little man.

Oliver loves playing with Madeline and they usually play really nicely together. Madeline usually has big plans for how Oliver should play, and he doesn't always go along with it. But, for the most part, they have lots of fun together. This morning he laid on his chair while Madeline gave him a checkup with her doctor kit. He even let her check his eyes while she pried them open with her fingers. He was happy to play in her "train" in the picture below. You can also see that he has something around his neck. I believe it is one of Madeline's headbands. He loves to put things around his neck, like necklaces, stethoscopes, pretend scissors, toy pliers, basically anything that he can make stay around his neck.

He is happy to watch any cartoon. But, he gets especially excited about Blues Clues (which he calls "Gues Gues") and Elmo's World (Which he calls either "Melmo, Elmo or Momo"). I think I remember Madeline being obsessed with both of these at this age as well. When Joe or Steve (on Blue's Clues) sing the Mail song he starts dancing and then wails at the appropriate spot. (You probably have to watch Blue's Clues to know what I am talking about.) Oliver is quite the dancer as well. He loves to shake his hips when he hears music.

He can now climb out of his crib. We spent a week trying to put him back in each time he got out to see if he would just stop. Nope. Some days he would finally stay in after about 30 minutes. Other days it would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours later. So, a friend offered her crib tent to us and it has been a God send. No more escaping. He was pretty funny though when he escaped (when I wasn't in tears). He would come to his door, open it slowly and then wait for us to come and see him and then run away really fast. It was definitely a fun game for him. Sometimes he came with different blankets over his head like he was a ghost or something.

Oliver loves to accessorize. He is often seen with purses over his arms. Or anything that has a strap that can be hung on his arm. He doesn't care if it is purple or pink or fuzzy or sparkly. If he can put it on, he is going to wear it.

He also loves putting buckets on his head and neck. Don't worry he isn't choking and he will scream bloody murder if you try to take them off before he is ready.

He loves to color. He asks by saying something that resembles "ca ca" and draws on his hand with his finger and then gets really excited when we say, "do you want to color?" He usually ends up eating the crayons. But, he gets a few marks on his paper.

He is just starting to talk within this last month. We were beginning to wonder when he was going to talk. But, now he seems to be picking up words all the time. Although he can say "mommy", he still tends to call me "daddy". Here are some of the things he says.

-Gu’s Gu’s – Blue’s Clues

-Melmo – Elmo

-Nah nah – Madeline

-Da-ie – daddy

-Ma-mow – mommy

-Pa-Pa - Pawpaw and papa (his 2 favorite people)

-Gi-gi - Gigi

-Nana - Nana

-are you? – Where are you? (This sounds so sweet)

-mooooooo - moon (Usually he yells this over and over when he sees the moon. There isn't much he gets more excited about.)

-chee – cheese (he says for actual cheese or for the camera)

-ca ca - cracker

-apple-apple

-ap-ple- airplane

-copter – helicopter

-muh muh – milk

-bur- bird

-bye guy – bye bye

-mwah – blowing kisses

-o – when he finds o’s

-bu-ble – bubble

-te – toothepaste, brush teeth

-ni ni – night night

-noo noo - noodles

He loves his milk right now. It is the first thing he asks for in the morning. He doesn't eat much else for breakfast. There isn't much he likes except for Madeline's crust from her butter toast and some smoothie. I guess his favorite foods would be noodles, green beans and crackers. It's hard to get him to try much. If he doesn't want it, he will just not eat it and he is happy to fill up on milk. And he may be happy to even throw a fit about it.

He definitely has a strong personality. When he's mad or upset, you know it. It usually involves screaming and fit throwing. But, when he's happy, he is super happy, sweet and snuggly. I would definitely define him as strong willed. We have not found any discipline that is effective for him. He is happy to ask for more. And he is constantly testing, actually it is more like passing, the boundaries and looking back to see what we are going to do about it. We are constantly trying to figure out how to make him obey. So far, prayer is the only thing that works. And we are certainly praying for God to work on his little heart to mold it, shape it and soften it towards Him. We pray that one day that strong will, will be bold and strong for Jesus.

Even though he keeps us on our toes, there is something about him that is so lovable. I just want to squeeze and hug him all the time and he lets me a lot. He is funny and already finds out what makes us laugh and does it again to make us laugh more. We love this little guy to pieces and are so happy he is a part of our family.

And So It Begins...

2011-06-17T17:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I officially started packing up our house. It's a little weird to be packing up our home from the past 7 years. So much has happened here. We came home from our honeymoon here. We brought home our first and second born. We have been a family here. We have remodeled a kitchen and updated bathrooms, light fixtures and painted every wall and ceiling. We have met great neighbors such as Betty, Reena and Sybil. And just recently we welcomed a new baby right next door. But, I think it is now time to move on. My legs are telling me this everytime I walk up to the 3rd floor of our condo. (And Madeline tells me she is tired to). We are excited to have a backyard, a playroom, room for guests and a closer parking spot (like in the driveway). We are excited for the memories that we will build in our new house. But, it's still a little sad that Madeline probably won't even remember her first home and Oliver definitely won't.

But, she is enjoying the packing process so far. She "helped" me yesterday by dragging up all her animals, blankets and pillows to put into the boxes... I mean train. Then she got in and told me I had to drive it. We were going on a moon, or a honeymoon together. But, first we had to drop the kids off at Gran and Gramps. (Anybody recognize this scenario from The Berenstein Bears?) We never made it on our honeymoon. We ended up dropping the kids off and then she put them all to bed and we went to Target. But, we had a good time anyways.

A few more...

2011-06-14T17:35:00.001-04:00

Here are a few more pictures from our last day at the beach. Pawpaw dug the kids a big hole and Oliver climbed in and out of it for hours.

Madeline had a hard time waiting for the tide to come in and fill up her pool. So, she tried filling it up herself.

Gigi and Pawpaw resting during a little lunch break.

I love seeing my kids play together.

A reflective view of the family playing.

The love of my life... and "Ruby" if you look closely.

Ok, that's all I have from vacation. Except for some shots from our photoshoot with Gigi. But, you can see them here if you would like to see them now. We usually go to the beach in July. So, it is a little weird to already be done with the beach for the summer. But, we did seem to pick a great week to go. While it was around 100 degrees here at home, it was in the 80's in Florida. It was perfect.

Wish we were still there...

2011-06-11T20:28:00.000-04:00

We made it home this afternoon from vacation. We all fell asleep for a nap around 4 and the kids are still sleeping at 8:30. We are just taking our chances that they will sleep through the night.

Madeline told me the other night that vacation was hard work. She played really hard and was super sleepy. As she said, "like 100 sleepy". This is her new thing, to add a number to show how sleepy or hungry or whatever she is. But, she is right. The kids played super hard and had a blast.

Madeline was so brave with the ocean this year. She loved jumping over the waves, letting them hit her in the back and boogie boarding. Oliver liked the ocean and enjoyed jumping over the waves with us. But, he enjoyed just playing in the sand even more.

Even "Ruby" enjoyed the ocean.

Andrew ventured off one day to take a few pictures at the pier close by.

Oliver was obsessed with all the airplanes, helicopters, birds and parachutes in the sky. He couldn't stop pointing and yelling at them until they were out of sight.

Even with the entire ocean to play in. Our kids enjoyed their own private swimming pool each day. Daddy and Pawpaw did a lot of digging in the sand to make them a pool.

Oliver also loved the floats. He loved his blue one the best and carried it around all over the place, even in the house. He was happy to get his hands on Madeline's as well.

It's always nice to come home after vacation. But, it just isn't quite the same view out our window.

Fernandina Beach, Fl

2011-06-09T23:50:00.000-04:00

We're having a great time at the beach. Unfortunately 2 things make me unhappy. 1. Our friends, Mary, Jake, Hannah and Sam, had to leave and 2. Tomorrow is our last day.

Mr. and Mrs. Simmons

2011-06-08T09:12:00.000-04:00

(Warning: there isn't a single picture of the bride and groom really together.)

Madeline has come a long way from a few months ago when she wanted nothing to do with being a flower girl. We practiced a few times at the rehearsal and she did amazingly at the wedding. She was so giddy all day waiting to be the flower girl.

Kanon was such a beautiful bride. I loved her dress.

Mom looked beautiful as well as the mother of the groom. And I'm just looking bigger as little "Ruby" (as Madeline calls her) continues to grow in my belly.

The kids at the wedding had a great time. They just ran around the grounds playing with each other. The owner of the nursery even gave them rides on a golf cart. They thought it was awesome.

The reception was set under this one beautiful tree covered in Spanish moss. It was probably the most beautiful wedding I have ever been too. Kanon's dad did the ceremony and it is probably the most beautiful and special ceremony I have been to as well. Every word he said was so special. It was really perfect.

Rehearsal

2011-06-07T22:48:00.001-04:00

Last thursday, this little family headed out to the airport for a flight down to Jacksonville, FL. We had a little lunch while we were waiting to board the plane. The kids did great on the 2 hour flight. Once we landed in Florida, we drove to Macclenny, which is the home town of my sister-in-law. We stayed on a 900 acre nursery in an old farm house (which made us a little sad that we didn't get the cool farm house that we tried to get about a year ago.) We had tons of space to run around and explore. But, Madeline mostly wanted to stay in her room because it had a bunk bed.

On Friday, we had the rehearsal for the wedding. That's my brother on the left, in case you don't know him.

This is why we don't have very many good pictures from the weekend. We were mostly chasing Oliver all over the place. But, it was also fun that there was so much space to run around.

They sat for a minute. And Madeline was getting pretty excited to practice her flower girl duties.

The ceremony happened on these steps. It was really beautiful.

Oliver liked picking the clovers.

Kanon and her dad walked all the way from the woods way in the back. It was really fun and beautiful.

The cute couple. They were paying attention really hard.

I'm don't remember what happened here. But, somehow I ended up with a flower girl on my lap.

Oliver playing with daddy.

After the rehearsal, we headed down the road to another house in the nursery for an outdoor rehearsal dinner under ball lanterns and stringed lights. It was probably the best BBQ I have ever had and also a wonderful time hanging out with everyone. Unfortunately, I have zero pictures. Stay tuned for a few pictures of the actual wedding.

Florida

2011-06-06T16:56:00.000-04:00

We flew down to Florida on Thursday for my brother's wedding. I will try to post a few pictures soon of that. We really don't have many because it was a really busy weekend. But, after the wedding on Saturday, we drove on up to Fernandina Beach, FL where we are spending the rest of the week.

This was taken from our balcony while Oliver was still eating breakfast. But, if you look closely, you can see Madeline playing in the sand while dad and mom set up the tent on the beach for us. Madeline has had a blast on the beach.

Oliver has had some issues with the pack n play this year. The first night, he climbed out and I found him sitting in our suitcase playing with all the bandaids. The next day during nap time, I walked past his room and heard the door knob wiggling. I thought it was Andrew still putting him down for his nap. But, Oliver had escaped again. The next night he pulled up the little mattress and hid lots of his stuffed animals under it. The next day during naptime, I checked on him and found him sound asleep with his diaper off. And last night we took this picture.

He pulled the whole mattress up and is sleeping beside it. For those of you unfamiliar with pack n plays. It isn't very comfy without the mattress. It is just fabric draped across the metal bars that hold it up. But, he was sound asleep.

I wonder what we will find tonight?

The Park

2011-06-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

We have been out enjoying this beautiful spring weather. Although, it is quickly moving into summer weather now. We love to go to parks. This day, we were the only ones there. Madeline was a little disappointed that there weren't other people to play with (who is this kid?!?) But, she ended up having fun with Oliver.

She was excited that she can climb up this weird ladder and climb across to the landing now. It's pretty high and scary.

Oliver likes to make this funny face now.

I asked Madeline if I could take their picture together and she found a great spot to do it. (Once again, who is this girl?)

Then she decided that it would be a good idea for her to sit in the stroller next to Oliver. I guess it worked as well. But, I like the first one the best. Oliver just happily ate his raw oatmeal. I don't know why I can't get them to eat cooked oatmeal. But, they both love it raw.

Oliver loved playing in the water fountain and Madeline was really sweet to help him with it.

You can kind of see a belly shot in the reflection.

Madeline got this balance bike for her birthday back in December. But, she hasn't had a whole lot of time to practice since it was cold through the winter. But, she is getting so good at it now.

She road all the way down this hill without touching the ground once. Not too bad. She might be ready for a real bike pretty soon.

soccer

2011-05-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

The difference in Madeline from her first soccer class to now is incredible. For the first 2 classes, I did most of the class with her because she couldn't do it by herself. It was scary and she was so shy. But, now when we go to class, she barely even says bye to me and heads out on the field to get ready for soccer. They always start the class with stretching and a little warm up.

And then every week they work on a different skill. The first few classes were dribbling, then they moved on to trapping, and now they are working on kicking. They do so many fun games and activities. No wonder Madeline loves it so much.

She kicked her ball right into the goal.

There is one other girl in her class. Madeline picked up her ball and moved it right next to the other girl while they were waiting for instructions from Coach Jill. It was pretty cute. We also found out last week that Andrew and her daddy both work at the same place. Small world.

Showing off their super duper fast shoes.

They needed them so they could play catch the coach. This is usually the last game of the class.

Coach Jill eventually gets caught.

They always end class with a high five...

and hug from Coach Jill. I don't know if it is this class or that she is just maturing. But, Madeline has grown so much over the past few months. She is happy to talk to strangers, doesn't cry when we leave her and certainly looks forward to her soccer class each week. It's been fun to see her maturing.

And during Madeline's class, Oliver usually eats whatever snack we have on hand, practices his dribbling skills, takes all the corner flags down and plays with the extra cones that Coach jill brings along. It's fun for the whole family!

Morning Snuggles

2011-05-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Madeline and Oliver both love to snuggle up when they wake up in the mornings. We usually all snuggle on the couch and watch some cartoons before we get started with the day. It's getting hard to hold both of them on my lap anymore since baby girl is getting bigger. So, sometimes they are happy to just snuggle together with their blankets and drinks while I get breakfast ready. I don't think any of us are really morning people. It takes a little while for us to get going. But, that's ok. As long as we are all that way, right?

Rain, Rain, Come again...

2011-05-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Madeline has no issues with a rainy day. She loves all of her rain gear. Even if she sees a hint of a dark cloud, she wants to be prepared with her umbrella and boots.

She wanted me to take a picture of her and Oliver in their rain gear.

Easter Egg Playdate

2011-05-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

During the week after Easter, our MOPS group had an Easter Playdate. Trisha put it all together with a story, egg hunt, cupcake decorating, coloring and a boo boo bunny craft. I think there were over 400 eggs. That's a lot of eggs to stuff with candy.

Oliver now knows what comes in an easter egg.

I love how Madeline is trying to be a sweet big sister and give him a kiss while Oliver is checking out her stash.

I love these 2 kiddos.

After we searched for eggs, we went inside to decorate some cupcakes. We never made it to the other stations. But, we still had a blast. We love our MOPS group and have so much fun with all our friends.

Circus

2011-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Back in April, Nana and Papa (Andrew's parents) took us to the circus. We went last year and I think this year's was even better. They had a lot more acrobatics this year which was pretty fun. And of course, the elephants are always fun to see. They also had the steel cage with the motorcycles. I remember that from when I was a child going to the circus. It's crazy. They fit 7 motorcycles in that ball. It starts to make me nervous now. I must be getting old. Thanks for a fabulous morning, Nana and Papa!

Easter

2011-05-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

We spent Easter down in Roanoke with my family. My soon-to-be sister in law had a bridal shower that weekend as well. So, the whole family was in town. I have absolutely no pictures of the shower because I was making a most fabulous ribbon bouquet for Kanon.

After church on Sunday, the kids enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent all day outside. And everyone should have a recorder when they swing. It's a must.

Oliver wants to ride the trike. But, his legs just aren't quite long enough yet. But, he can still pretend.

Madeline caught a "lightning bug". I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't a lightning bug, but just some other yucky bug that hangs out at Gigi and Pawpaws house.

Oliver had fun climbing the ladder and going down the slide in the tree fort that Pawpaw built.

One of Oliver's favorite games right now is to run away. It's not so fun for mommy. But, he thinks it's hilarious. Daddy played this round with him.

I think this captures his runny perfectly. He kind of bounces from side to side with his arms flailing about. I love it.

Check out his tie.

Then it was time for an Easter egg hunt.

Oliver didn't really care. He just waved bye and walked off.

But, he was happy when he found the candy inside a few of them.

Madeline knew exactly what to do this year. And she knew what was waiting for her inside those eggs. (Probably because she helped me stuff them.)

Oliver got an orange Skittle. Can you tell?

Oliver's stash when all was said and done. I think Madeline definitely came out the winner.

Dad so kindly took a picture of our family. I am so happy that Madeline is moving past the no-picture phase. She actually enjoys getting her picture taken now and will sometimes ask for me to take it.

And then, some of our favorite people came over for lunch. Madeline can't stop talking about sweet Hannah. She wants to know when she is coming to our house about every 5 minutes.

Then we put the cameras down to eat some yummy Filet Mignon. After lunch, the kids played outside until it was dark while the adults enjoyed some conversation. It was a fabulous Easter Sunday. Of course, it was most fabulous because we were celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ so that we might have everlasting fellowship with Him. What a wonderful God we serve!

Trucks and Cars

2011-05-25T11:11:00.002-04:00

So, I have been a little MIA from the blog world. But, I believe I am back. I have missed blogging about these fabulous kids. Oliver is now 18 months old and I still haven't taken pictures of him. But, I think these are fun of him. It is fun to see the differences in boys and girls. He likes to get his cars out now and make a vrooming sound for them. It is probably more of a growly noise. But, we will take what we can get. I read somewhere once that boys and girls will both play with cars. But, boys will make them vroom and have wrecks, while girls will have a mommy car, daddy car and baby car. So, true. At least in this family. It's fun to see Oliver playing with his cars and trucks now.

It's a Girl!

2011-04-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

We had another sonogram for baby number 3 and found out that she is a girl! Or at least, 90% a girl. We had the sonogram at 17 weeks. So, the sonogram tech didn't want to say for 100%. And Andrew thought that maybe he did see "something" while she was searching for the gender. andFortunately, our little girl was laying on her back the whole time so she couldn't get good pictures of her spine. So, we are going back in a couple weeks for a few more shots. Hopefully we can get a 100% confirmation on the gender.

The good news is that she looks completely healthy and she is forming perfectly. I am not really a worrier. But, before this midway sonogram, I was having dreams and thoughts of what could possibly be wrong. So, it was reassuring to hear and see that everything is fine. Not that we wouldn't love our baby if something was "wrong". It's just nice to hear that she is healthy and won't have to go through major heart surgeries or something worse.

We're getting pretty excited to meet this new little girl. Almost halfway there!

Soccer

2011-04-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

Madeline started a soccer class on Tuesday. Soccer was the only thing she was interested in doing. I'm guessing that when we told her we would be doing soccer, she didn't think it was going to be an actual class with kids and people she didn't know.

She was incredibly shy, so I did a lot of the class with her. The only pictures I could get of her, were of their parachute time. But, they did actually do stretching, running and dribbling as well. Coach Jill was really nice and encouraging and despite Madeline's shyness, I think she really enjoyed it. I think it will be good for her.

Mama Madeline

2011-04-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

Oliver usually likes to snuggle when he wakes up in the morning. Actually, so does Madeline. But, yesterday Madeline really wanted Oliver to sit on her lap and snuggle. I didn't think he would really go for it. But, I sat him down on her lap, he grabbed a piece of toast and they snuggled and watched cartoons for about 15 minutes.

It's been sweet to see Madeline sweet heart lately. She's been doing her best to be sweet, nurturing and patient with Oliver. Even when he bothers her stuff that she is working hard on. I think she is going to love having another baby around the house.

Madeline always tries to coordinate their jammys at night too. If she has her kitty cat jammys, she wants Oliver to wear his doggy jammys.

When?

2011-04-04T23:16:00.000-04:00

When did Oliver get big enough to climb the ladder,

cross the bridge,

and go down the slide, all by himself?

When did Madeline get big enough to hang from so high up and let me take a picture of it?

When did Madeline get mature enough to always be checking on Oliver to make sure he isn't going to get hurt and to help him go down the slide?

When did Madeline figure out how to spin 'round and 'round without throwing up?

When did Madeline get brave enough to want a Ladybug to crawl on her finger, but not brave enough to have it fly right by her face?

When did Oliver get so cute?

When did they learn how to play so sweetly with each other?

And want to be close to each other?

When did Madeline stop caring that her hands were dirty and just get on with playing?

When did Madeline learn how to go across the whole balance beam without falling off?

When did Oliver stop eating the chalk and start actually drawing with it?

When did Madeline figure out that she could fit in the baskets under the stroller?

Man I love these kids. Life is happening so quickly with these 2. They are constantly growing, changing and amazing me. But, today, time stood still for a few hours while we just enjoyed each other and being outside in the warm air.

Life is sweet right now.

I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

St. Patty's Day

2011-04-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

What? It's not even March anymore? Well, I can still wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day. To celebrate good Ole St. Patty's Day, we headed to Brookside Gardens with our MOPS group for a fun morning scavenger hunt. Oliver's wearing green under his sweatshirt. And Madeline didn't have anything green to wear. But, she did get to wear her flip flops. That was an exciting day!

We found the Blarney Stone which had green glitter all over it! And Madeline's favorite part was the green "sfarkly" shamrock sticker that she got at this rock.

Then the kids got to roll down a hill. Madeline got up a little courage to at least wait in line with her friend Emmie. But, she changed her mind once she got a little closer.

Oliver probably would have done it. But, he just waited patiently in the stroller. Actually, he probably would have just ran away while occasionally turning back around to wave at me with his "I'm doing something bad but looking really cute" wave.

She has been wanting to go back to these bubbles for a long time.

She loves to watch this video of her from 2 years ago when she came to the St. Patty's Day Walk and always wants to go back. They even had the same music this year. It was skipping pretty bad. If I remember correctly, it was skipping pretty bad 2 years ago as well. It might be time to invest in a new one. Just a thought.

She even posed for me, with no eye contact. But, she did smile.

And she showed me the cool gold stones that she found.

Then Oliver had enough of the stroller and did decide to run away from me. And he did look pretty cute doing it.

Then we stayed and had a picnic lunch before we headed home. It was a beautiful morning and I am excited for the beautiful weather to decide to come back for good.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Air

2011-04-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

My brother came up a few weekends ago and we blew up an air mattress for him to sleep on. The kids thought the air pump was really fun to play with.

We're Still Alive

2011-04-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

Things have been super busy around here. I am having a little withdrawal from posting on our blog. So, here are a few pictures of the stars of our family.

Madeline came out of her room dressed like this the other day. I think she is ready for summer to be here. She even let me take her picture, happily.

2011-03-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

We just got back from the 40 Days for Life Kick Off Rally. Andrew did a great job leading it and the speakers were fantastic. If people aren't out praying every day after that, I don't know what will encourage them to. I am just so thankful for our children and thought I would share a video of what I get to hear on a pretty regular basis. Madeline loves to make Oliver laugh. And he laughs harder for her than anyone else. I hope they always love each other this much.

A Box

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

A box sure can create a lot of entertainment for one night. I was incredibly impressed with Madeline's ability to fit inside this box. It just really isn't that big. But, I guess she is just really that little.

I hate feeling claustrophobic....shudder.

After some circus - like antics, we moved on to "nativity" time. Which is what Madeline calls "activitiy time". Which now, I think it has actually moved to "Activ-ty" time. I think I like"nativity time" the best. It's just cute.

Can you tell what we turned this box into?

Oh wait, I have to stop taking pictures.

What? You still don't know what the box is? You are going to be so embarrassed that you didn't guess it. It's a telescope. duh!

Everyone helped decorate it. Well, actually, Madeline has now run away to hide from the camera. But, Oliver is still oblivious to his mother's desire to document his life.

Oliver loves coloring with markers, crayons and pens.

He really loves taking the lids on and off.

But, he really loves eating them! That's normal, right?

40 Days for Life

2011-03-02T20:00:00.001-05:00

Andrew has always had a passion for the unborn. He regularly volunteers at our local pregnancy clinic and has even thought and prayed about moving to Colorado to run a pregnancy clinic. The tragedy and horror of abortion is just something he can not get off his mind. Many of you know about the late term abortionist that recently set up shop down the street from us. This has spurred on an even greater passion to save these babies. So, he decided to become the campaign director for our local 40 Days for Life.

Starting March 9th - April 17th, he is coordinating churches and people to be out in front of the abortion clinic here in Germantown, praying from 6am- 12am. This is a peaceful gathering of people to pray for the end of abortion, especially late term abortion that could happen up to the minute. of. birth. (And it happens every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, right up the street from us.) We are also praying for the salvation of Leroy Carhart and all his staff at the abortion clinic. As much as we would like for him to leave. We would really like for his heart to change. We are also hoping to get many people to write or call our congressmen about this issue, especially since Maryland has such lax laws on abortion.

Anyways, Andrew is running a couple of advertisements, put together by our music minister at church, on our local Christian radio station to help raise awareness for 40 Days for Life. Here they are if you want to listen to them.

He also just got an email from David Bereit, the founder of 40 Days for Life, to say that he wants to come to the kick off event on Sunday to support this specific campaign because of this late term abortionist. Pretty cool huh?

If you live in the area, please come to the kick off event on Sunday at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown. There is going to be worship, several great speakers and a candlelight vigil. You can also sign up for a time to come out and pray at www.40daysforlife.com/germantown. If you aren't in the area, you can go to www.40daysforlife.com and maybe find one that is local for you. To think that over 50 million babies have been aborted since Roe vs Wade can seem so overwhelming. But, here is a simple way to actually make a difference and show that people are actually fighting for these little guys.

Super Madeline

2011-03-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

I'd like to introduce you to Super Madeline. She's rough and tough and dresses the part to a T with her Monkey hat (that she insists still fits her from her first Halloween), cape and black dress shoes. The pajamas are just because we failed to dress this day.

She races around to save her family (of stuffed animals) from little terrors with gigantic paws.

She saves little bunnies from certain harm.

And places them in easier to reach places... I mean... in safety.

And then rushes off to her next mission.

I think I like Super Madeline around. The world just seems like a safer place to be.

Ollie Boy

2011-02-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed the beautiful 60, almost 70, degree weather at the park today. Oliver was asleep by the time we got home. He played hard. Madeline had a blast and was wondering why we weren't going to another park after the first one. This sunshine just does a body good.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to my precious family. You guys bring so much joy, love and laughter to my life. I love you with all my heart.

Madeline got a special lunch today to celebrate Valentine's Day. I couldn't get a picture fast enough before she started digging in. But, it was heart shaped turkey and cheese sandwiches, heart shaped watermelon, cheese stick bites, carrots and yogurt. Oliver got heart shaped sandwiches too, just not in an easter muffin tin.

Happy Valentine's Day!

More Madeline

2011-02-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to have a photoshoot on Friday with a sweet little 3 year old. But, Oliver got strep, but didn't really get strep, but I guess he always has strep, and we postponed it 'til next Friday. Anyways, since I am not editing her sweet little pictures, I took the time to finish editing a few of Madeline's from her photoshoot last week. This first one was before the wardrobe change. She is really into super comfy clothes right now. It is hard to get jeans on her anymore. So, I was really surprised she agreed to change into her "lollipop" dress, as she calls it. But, really, who wouldn't want to wear a lollipop dress? Look at that sweet smile. My heart is melting right now. Can she always be my little girl?

I love her spinning moves. She looks like she is tap dancing.

She likes taking pictures with her camera. She helped me take pictures with her camera during The Pull's photoshoot a couple weeks ago. It would be pretty fun if she got into photography one day and we could do it together.

It's Oliver's turn next. We found a super cute hat this weekend at the mall. Hopefully I can keep him still long enough to get a picture of him in it. Wish me luck!

My Beautiful Girl

2011-02-03T17:00:00.002-05:00

My sweet girl opted for a photoshoot instead of a nap today. I was happy to oblige since I rarely get a nice picture of her. And I wanted to get a little practice with my new backdrop stand, floors and backdrops that I got for Christmas.

Look who we got to meet today!

2011-02-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and were very excited to see baby Glenn #3 moving around and with a beautiful heart rate of 171. Everything went wonderfully and the baby seems to be perfectly healthy at this point and is only 1.5 inches long. I was a little worried since I haven't had very strong symptoms. I don't usually get very sick. But, this time has seemed even milder. So, I guess I will just consider myself lucky that I don't get really sick in the first trimester.

I am about 10 weeks along. So, we are almost done with the first trimester. The baby is due on August 27th. If the baby is born 3 days early, like Madeline was, he/she will be born on my brother's birthday. That could be special or just really annoying that he no longer has his own date.

So yea, it was a good day!

Potty Training

2011-01-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

No, we aren't potty training Oliver. He just seems a little interested sometimes when he sees Madeline go. So, Andrew put him on the potty one night before bathtime.

He didn't go potty. But, he did manage to dip his pink cup in the toilet water before Andrew noticed.

And then he proceeded to to show Andrew how it's done. Now who's training who?

Imaging USA

2011-01-19T17:25:00.001-05:00

I just got home from Imaging USA a few hours ago. It is a huge photography conference with about 10,000 photographers attending. There were many classes to take and a huge trade show. I came back with some really great business ideas and fun products to offer clients and to put in my own home.

These aren't the best pictures. Just proving that we were there. This conference center was absolutely HUGE! I looked it up. It has about 1.3 million square feet. And all of our classes were at the very back of the entire conference center. So, we did a lot of walking, plus the 4 blocks to even get to the conference center.

This is about 1/3 of the trade show. It took us all 3 days to get through it all. We were on a little overload by the last day. It seemed like everyone was giving away an IPad. But, we couldn't seem to win one. It's hard when you are competing with 10,000 other people.

I have been trying to decide between a new Nikon D700 and Canon 5D Mark II camera. It was good to be able to talk to both companies and finally decide on my new D700. I am so excited to start using it. I didn't bring any lenses with me. So, I borrowed mom's while we were there and took it around our last day.

This was on our walk to the conference each morning. The last day was the only one that brought sunshine though. I was hoping for temperatures in the 60's and 70's the whole time. But, it hung out in the 40's and 50's with rain and cloudy skies.

So, when it reached almost 70 on the last day, we headed out for some yummy lunch on the Riverwalk and were entertained by several Mariachi bands.

The Riverwalk is actually very cool. I would have been nervous to have my kids with me though. It would be super easy to just fall in. But, it was lovely for mom and I to take a stroll on after lunch...

...and to stop and take a few pictures by.

Thanks for the wonderful trip mom! I had a great time!

Under Construction

2011-01-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

Some of the most used Christmas gifts this year are the building toys. (I know from looking at this picture you are thinking that our kids needed absolutely no more toys. We are still trying to figure out what to do with all of them.) Madeline and Oliver both got a set of wooden blocks so that they would have enough to actually build with. Madeline was so proud of this tower. I helped her with the bottom. But, she kept adding on to the top all by herself. She wanted to keep it up until daddy got home.

It's a good thing I took a picture of it. Because, look who's on his way to destroy it? You may even see Oliver's blue drill and tools in the picture. They are great for working on buildings and other things that need fixin' around here.

The blocks are also great for building roads and bridges.

And the MagnaTiles continue to be a huge success around here. Everyone loves to play with them, young and old. The only problem is that Madeline doesn't like to tear down her things after she builds them. This house has been here for several days. Sometimes it helps to have a little brother to "accidentally" knock over your creations so you can try something new. Even if trying new things is really hard.

Piano and other random info

2011-01-10T22:57:00.000-05:00

Most people play Bach or Beethoven. My kids play "bunny". It's pretty good if you ask me.

Did you know that I was a piano major in college? It's true. I took piano lessons for about 9 years before I went to college and began majoring in Music Education. It took me 2 years to be brave enough to know music wasn't for me and to move on to early childhood education. But, I don't think I would have gotten into JMU if it hadn't been for music. And then I would have never met my wonderful husband. And then you wouldn't get cute pictures of our kiddos playing "bunny". I guess God knew what he was doing. But, I don't know if dad was happy with the extra year it took me to finish (thanks Dad!)

That being said. I think our piano gets played way more by my kids than me. Maybe Madeline will let me teach her more than "bunny" one day. Oliver, he's a button guy. If it has buttons, he loves it. That includes the piano, remotes, phones, DVD players, TVs, etc. I think that is the only reason he likes the piano. But, that's ok.

In other random news, Oliver now has Strep for the 4th time. That really stinks. I almost cried when they told me at the doctor's office today. I don't know why. I guess I just thought we had conquered it. (And maybe I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the 2 crying and clingy babies/children in the small, hot room) And he is so miserable this time. Way more than the past 3 times. I gave him a bath at 3am last night because that is the only thing that would settle him down. Poor guy. Hopefully he is feeling better in the morning now that he has started his antibiotic.

And to answer your question, did I serve smoothies in Tupperware cups? Yes and no. The green one is the real Tupperware that I grew up using. Somehow I stole it from mom and it is at our house. The yellow one is a similar set from The First Years, I believe. It has the same type of lids. It isn't quite the same. But, pretty close. I still use the tupperware cups when I go home.

One more thing, smoothie recipe:
I don't really have specific measurements, sorry.
~Frozen strawberries (a couple handfuls)
~1 container of yogurt (usually strawberry or mixed berry. I also tried peach, and I thought it was really good. But, Madeline thought something was wrong with it.)
~ A heaping spoonful of Flaxseed Meal
~milk
~a nice squeeze of honey

Blend it up, pour in cup, add straw, enjoy. If it is too thick, add more milk. If it is too runny, add more strawberries. And that's how we do it.

Sorry for the randomness. That's just how I'm thinkin' tonight, I guess.

Oliver's Eating Habits

2011-01-09T22:03:00.000-05:00

Oliver has recently discovered that he loves using a fork. Mostly big forks. And we have discovered that he will actually eat more if it is put on a fork for him. So, we are taking chances with his eyeballs and letting him use the fork.

He does pretty well and can even stab his own food now. The baby forks just don't stab as well. Another reason he gets a big one.

So, since he can use a fork, we decided to let him have a go at a spoon and some applesauce... he used his hand instead.

Not quite getting the hang of it...

Whatever works.

Why not add some spaghetti too!

Ninja Master Prep Professional

2011-01-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

My old blender died a few months ago. It was a pretty sad day. We enjoy smoothies in this house (well, everyone but Andrew). I tried to make them in my new food processor that I got for my birthday. Let me just save you the time and effort and let you know that it doesn't work so beautifully. But, it did work in a pinch. So, I replaced the old blender with a new Ninja Master Prep Professional. It comes with lots of accessories and it blends our smoothies beautifully. So, we are back in business. Except, now Madeline doesn't love smoothies because they are too cold... sigh. I mainly wanted to share these pictures so you could see Oliver's awesome bed head anyways.

Dr. Madeline

2011-01-06T22:25:00.000-05:00

I snuck this picture a few weeks ago of Madeline and Oliver playing in her room. Madeline always wants Oliver to do certain things, like sit on her lap or play the baby. He doesn't usually agree to these things. But, somehow she got him to sit still long enough to check his blood pressure this day. It is so sweet seeing them playing together. It truly does a heart good.