Spring Fever

I can't believe it is March 31st and we are finally have warm weather. This winter and early spring have been the pits. I love living in Charlotte because of the mild winters and warm spring temps but this year, Mother Nature has had different ideas. But today is glorious and we are looking forward to permanent warmer weather but not before we remember what we did with this crazy weather!

 We had a small little storm in the end of January that I already blogged about that we thought was big for us but the one that came in mid February was the real deal. It first starting falling in the afternoon and Ella couldn't wait to build a snowman (Frozen, anyone??)

 When we woke up the next morning, the snow was coming down in buckets. Backyard was completely covered.

 So we headed outside in our best hodge podge southern snow gear (aka-had none for MG) and she did not love it at all.

 But big sis had a little better gear and loved the snow and making snow angels.

 My most favorite part of the snow storm was hanging out with our super fun neighbors. We all just went sledding all day and then over to their house for chili and smores. The kids and adults had too much fun, stayed up too late but it was great since we knew there would be no school and work the next day.

 The next morning, there was still tons of snow, so we went sledding again

 And this one was OVER it. Wearing gloves means she can't suck her thumb so she threw off her gloves and preferred to be held instead of getting wet and cold in the snow.

 And finally the last pic from the snow storm, some of our neighbors and their dads made this amazing snowman. I told you we had A LOT of snow!

 In between the cold, snow and rain, we did have a couple days of sun and we took full advantage of them. I should do an entire post on this topic but I haven't been great about blogging lately so when I get a free minute to write, I have to cram it all in.

But I am super impressed and proud of my big girl and how she learned to ride a bike without her training wheels. She was determined to it and she did it. It only took a couple Saturdays and she conquered it.

 A sneak peek inside her weekly ballet class that she loves...

 And soccer season started again, this season she is a green pony!

 St Patty's Day parade (one of our favorite things to do in Charlotte)

 Ella with her soccer buddy, Lambeth waiting for the parade

 Then this happened, she was a little overly excited to go down the slide and almost did a complete flip. She was fine but it was a pretty epic picture.

 Caroline, Lambeth and Ella - best buddies since they 2 and in the same preschool class and so happy they will all be together for another year again next year.

 DeeDee, Papa and Great Grandma came up to visit us last weekend. The girls were so excited to spend time with them and as usual, they spoiled the girls rotten.

 I hope these two are close like this forever, moments like this make me smile.

 Finally, last week Ella had her princess ball at preschool. It was originally scheduled during the huge snow storm and they finally made it up last week. She picked out her own outfit, I would have chosen something else but I just let her go with it and she loved it.

 I took both girls and we met Daddy there and little sis had to go check it out and see what it was all about and get in on the picture action.

 The princesses came out and that was the highlight of her night, dancing with Belle. Thank you preschool for having this and saving us a trip to Disney World.

 And today is 74 degrees so we spent 2 hours at the park, holla! We have some spring fever and are loving it. Cheers to more warm weather and lots more time outside!

Still my angel??? That's debatable

I have posted several times on how this little peanut, my Madeline Grace was the sweetest and easiest baby on the planet. Literally rarely cried as a baby, didn't really have a fussy time. I distinctly remember one night when she was tiny and it was about 8:00pm and she was just up hanging out with Mike and I and she was just smiling away. Mike and I just looked at each other and said, "babies are not supposed to be this happy at this time of night." When we had Ella, we coined the phrase, "happy awake time" because when she was a baby, we had very few moments of "happy awake time." With MG, pretty much all we had was happy awake time and happy sleep time also since she naps and sleeps like a champ (I am talking 3+ hour naps and sleeps 12+ hours at night!) I know, we are lucky.

Well I was hoping that my sweet, happy Maddie Grace would just continue her happy self but oh no, I think she has found her voice, independence and dare I say, her terrible twos! I thought at first maybe it was a communication issue since she was talking too much but now she is talking up a storm and still quite feisty! Her favorite words right now are "mine" and no." 

 She is wild and crazy all over the place. She probably sleeps so well because when she is awake, she literally never stops moving. She climbs on everything, the kitchen bar stools, any chair she can find, the swing set, anywhere dangerous, she is there. But she is also pretty fearless which I kind of like. Ella is the biggest scardy cat ever and so having a child that is fearless is "sometimes" refreshing. I know I will eat those words one day (like in high school when she is sneaking out of the house and jumping off the roof.) 

 But the thing that saves this little girl all the time is she has the best smile and personality ever! She is natural comedian and makes us laugh all day long. She will be having a temper tantrum one minute and then running around and posing and we start laughing and quickly forget. She sings all day long (she loves to sing ABCs and Itsy Bitsy Spider) but her all time favorite right now is Pharrel's new song "Happy." Its hilarious, every time we get in the car (after I have to fight to get her buckled in, she wants to do it herself but she can't yet), she says "Happy on" and keeps repeating it until we hear. Luckily the radio stations in Charlotte play it all the time. I even recorded it from the Oscars so we play it on the tv and dance around the den.

 She is still our tiny peanut and mealtime is a struggle. Shocker, she doesn't like to sit in her highchair and be strapped in so she would just throw her food on the ground. So, we moved her to a permanent booster seat at the table, not as convenient for me and it has helped some with eating. We need to work on the eating more since we went to her 2 year appt last week and she barely tipped the scales at 23 lbs (7%) and 33 inches tall (20-25%). She will never be a top runway model or basketball star but a couple more pounds would be nice. For comparison, Ella was 21lbs and 31in at age 1 and she was only 50% so MG will be the "little sister" in every way possible.

Drawing on the doctor's office paper

I mean look at miss sassy pants in her new glasses!

 There is one thing Maddie loves and that is her big sister, Ella. As soon as she wakes up, she asks about "dada" who is usually at work and Ella. She also has the biggest smile on her face when she sees her after preschool. Ella is the biggest and best big sis ever and so sweet towards Maddie, always helping her. Ella came over from playing with other friends at the park today to help Maddie up on the swing and then push her. I just love seeing there friendship grow and bloom.

So, this is our life right now, a 2 year old that is wild and crazy but also some sugar and sweetness mixed in for fun. This next year should be an exciting roller coaster for all of us! We might want to cry sometimes little one but we sure love you so much and feel blessed to have you in our lives. And if you want to revert back to that angel perfect baby once more, we would not object.