Tiny Dancer

When you are pregnant, you have visions and ideas of what your children will be like. Since we both played sports all growing up and in college, we thought for sure our child would be very athletic and into sports. If you had told me when I had a little girl that she could care less about sports but very into dance, I would have told you were crazy. I never did dance and I am pretty sure my Mom would tell you there was no way I was putting on a leotard and tutu. I wanted to follow my older brother and do what he was doing. But our little girl is all girl. She wants to wear dresses everyday and dance dance dance! So, I signed her up for a dance camp this week and boy was she excited. Every morning, she would burst into our room and announce she was ready to get dressed for dance camp! I would drop her off and she would wave to me and then run off with the biggest smile on her face with the other girls. So, in memory of her first official dance camp, I made a little slideshow.

Side note: During the performance at the end of the week, when she saw us watching her, she immediately ran over to us and wanted to sit on our laps and not dance with her friends. It took some coaxing but she finally went over and sat with the other kids. As Mike said when we walked out, "well, I don't think she is quite ready for Broadway yet." But I am glad to know she had a blast all week and so we may continue with dance one day a week this fall. See, you never know how your children will turn out and I am sure she will continue to surprise us in the future. But I have to say, is there anything cuter than a little girl dancing in a leotard?!?!

4 Months

Our sweet Maddie Grace is almost 5 months old but I am just now getting around to blogging about her 4 month appt. With Ella, I was much more on the ball, I guess that is what happens with the second one (and I can only say that since I am a second child myself!)

Her appointment went well and she weighed 13lbs, 5oz  (34%) and was 24 3/4 inches tall (60%). To put it into persecutive, Ella was 14lbs, 7oz and 25 1/2 inches tall at 4 months so Maddie is our more petite girl. I don't think she will have the longs legs like her sister. She was so good during the entire appointment and thought the paper on the table was fun to grab and drool all over. She had to get shots which always breaks my heart but luckily the crying was very short lived.

Ella teaching Maddie her dance moves!

Maddie continues to love watching her bis sister Ella. She immediately turns her head whenever she hears Ella's voice and will give the biggest belly laughs while watching Ella. Her latest fascination is watching Ella on the trampoline. Ella will jump high and then fall on her bottom and Maddie will start laughing so hard. They both think it is best game ever invented. I love watching them interact and just know as they grow, the fun will also grow.

Baby laughs and smiles have got to be the sweetest things ever and we are very blessed that this little one gives us both all the time. She is just the most laid back baby and usually happy most of the time. If she ever gets cranky, it is usually because she is hungry or tired, there seems to always be a reason.

We just recently started feeding her rice cereal but she has decided that it is not yummy at all. We can barely get any in her mouth and when we do, she usually just spits it back out. So, I am going to wait a little bit and try again and maybe she will be more interested then. Definitely not like her sister who ate it right up but maybe that's why she is our little one.

I don't want to jinx anything but the sleeping is going really well and that's all I am going to say and now I am going to knock on wood immediately. 

We love this sweet little girl so much and she has added so much joy to our lives the past 5 months! Now, stop growing up so quickly.

Leaving on a jet plane

This past week was a big week for us, our first time flying as a family of four and this little ones first flight! We flew up to Connecticut to Mike's grandparents house for a couple of days. Flying is stressful enough but adding two little kids in the mix makes it even more crazy. But I am happy to report the flights went well. Our flight up was during Maddie's nap time and she fell asleep right when we took off and I thought, great, she will sleep the entire flight. Well, the nap only lasted for about 5-10 minutes but at least she woke up happy. She didn't want to miss her first flight! And it didn't hurt that our flight actually landed 30 minutes early, yay for fast pilots.

And who doesn't love to fly when you get to eat 2 lollipops and watch a movie on Mommy's kindle. Yes, we totally bribe her with whatever she wants on a plane to keep her quiet and happy and so far that means candy and movies!

Once we got up to Connecticut, we had so much fun hanging out in Great Grandma and Grandpa's pool and screened porch.

Maddie Grace in her cute new fourth of July suit! She was pretty excited about it!

Ella relaxing in her ladybug towel!

Ella and Maddie had so much fun with all their relatives. Most of them were meeting Maddie for the first time. Mike's grandfather is 92 years old but you would never know it. He is so active and just loves all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren so much. He loved holding all the babies and making them laugh.

Ella getting some loving from Aunt Kelly!

Ella had such a fun time playing with her cousins and second cousins. She especially loved playing with Connor. She would follow him everywhere and this night, they pulled their chairs up and decided to have their own little party!

And then sharing grapes by the pool! I wish we lived closer to them because it was so sweet to see them playing them together but at least they picked up right where they left off in December.

Maddie even got in on the pool action. She still doesn't love the pool but after a lot of time getting adjusted to the pool temperature, she finally let me put her in the airplane float.

 Ella is still a little hesitant around the water, she loves to be in it but she wants someone holding her at all times. Her favorite thing to do at the pool was jumping off the ladder while holding onto our hands. Mike was able to convince her to let him throw her in the air.

Grandma with Ella and Connor!

The kids table!

Ella and sweet Andrew!

There were a lot of adults and children that made the trip up and many who were just meeting for the first time. I think we counted there were 12 kids all under the age of 6. The newest 4 little ones were haming it up for the camera.

Noah and Owen (twins, 7 months old), Maddie 4 months and Max 6 months

There was a tradition started a long time ago where every year when all the grandkids came up to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the fourth of July, they would line everyone up on the diving board oldest to youngest. Since it had been so many years since they were all together, they had to re-enact the picture.

As you can tell, it was fun weekend and the weather really cooperated so we spent a lot of time around the pool. The pool sometimes got very crowded with all the adults and kids.

Great Grandpa with the sweet little twins. Owen was checking out Great Grandpa!

But sometimes the heat and sun were a little much for the little ones so we escaped inside into the air conditioning.

The return flight home went well also, it was very late and we were all tired but we had such a fun trip. There was a professional photographer that came and took group pictures so once I have those, I will post them so you can see everyone. It was so great seeing everyone and meeting new little additions and having everyone meet our new Maddie Grace.

Now back to home and our regular routine. We are staying busy the next couple of weeks with Ella in a couple different camps. Now, only if this extreme heat would break a little bit so we can enjoy some time outside!

Trying to beat the heat

(Sorry it has been awhile since I have posted pictures. We are busy as usual and when I have some free time and both girls are sleeping, I am usually too exhausted to do anything but lay on the couch. Will try and keep it updated more frequently.)

Like pretty much everywhere else in the country, it has been HOT HOT HOT here in Charlotte. So, we have been trying to beat the heat by either playing in the water if we do venture outside or seeking relief inside in the AC. 

Staying inside means trying to find things to keep busy and entertained and one of Ella's favorite games is "pretending night night" with Maddie in her bed. She likes to lay right next to Maddie on the pillow, arrange the blanket and then pretend they are going to sleep. Maddie hasn't quite caught onto how to pretend sleeping though but she does love laying next to Ella. Actually she is happy to be anywhere her big sister is, she loves watching Ella.

 When it's not sweltering out, we have been spending some time at the park. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for a night after their Disney trip and got Ella her first pair of soccer cleats. Daddy was very excited about this and of course had to test them out on the fields.

Another park trip resulted in Maddie's first swing ride. Ella thought this was the coolest thing ever that Maddie could go in and couldn't wait to push her but we are still working on gentle pushes.

We have been spending lots of time outside in water and while sometimes I wish we had a huge in ground pool in our backyard, I quickly wake up from that dream. So, we improvise with our pool and actually, it's not too bad.

We have not only been spending time in the pool with just Mommy and Daddy but also having some fun play dates with the pools also. Good thing she has so many bathing suits!

 Good thing the best buddies have their shades on to protect their eyes from the bright sun.

And look who is big enough to ride like a big girl in the stroller. We have taken out the car seat attachment and she now sits facing forward and she loves it. Unfortunately right after we moved it, the triple degree temps arrived so we are hoping for a little relief so we can go walking a lot more soon.

Miss Maddie Grace just turned 4 months old and continues to be the sweetest little girl. She has such a happy disposition and is pretty laid back but we are still working on her sleeping through the night. She typically wakes up once around 2:30 and goes right back to sleep but after 4+ months of not sleeping through the night, this mama is definitely ready for those long 12 hour stretches. We take her for her 4 month appt on Tuesday so I will know weight and stats then. She does love her activity center because she can stand up and check everything.

Cute sisters in pink outfits.

We had the best buddy's 3rd birthday party last week and Ella thought the strawberry shortcake piñata was pretty fun. We have been to a lot of birthday parties lately and Ella can't wait until it is her turn. She tells everyone that asks that her birthday is August 13th and she will be 3 while holding up 3 fingers. Every time you ask her what she wants for her birthday, she responds, "a princess, a pink princess." No, she isn't girly at all! Sorry Daddy, she isn't asking for a soccer ball this year.

Finally, this week and weekend was super H-O-T! Temperatures have been over 100 (evidence below) and we are lucky enough to have neighbors with benefits. Our neighbors have an aunt and uncle that live in Charlotte with an amazing backyard and pool. They just happened to be out of town and so we were able to use their beautiful pool several times. DeeDee also came up to visit this week and was able to spend the day with us at the pool. It ended up working out great, while Maddie took a nap inside in the cool AC, Ella got to play with her buddies in the pool. Check out the diva on her raft.

I wasn't joking, it was hot. Check out the thermometer from our back deck.

Not sure what is happening with the spacing on these last pictures but Maddie even joined in the pool for a little bit. She isn't the biggest fan of the pool yet, I think she doesn't love the cold water because she loves her baths in the warm water but after a little bit, she finally warmed up to it.

We are heading up to Connecticut on the 4th (yes, this is will Maddie's first flight, yikes!) so I am sure we will lots more pictures to come after that. Hope everyone has a great holiday and stays cool!