Baby Number Two is Making an Appearance!

Tonight as we were getting ready for bed, I thought...you know it's about time to document this growing baby in my tummy. We've been a little delinquent this time around and realized no one has seen any photos of "baby two" yet (specifically our out-of-town friends that don't see us regularly)! So, we quickly grabbed the camera for a little photo shoot, and Madelyn came running over to me, motioning that she wanted to be in the pictures too (I'm sure this will be a future trend!) Well, it goes without saying that the photos turned out WAY cuter than I could have imagined because of Madelyn's candid fascination with my growing belly (and bellybutton). See for yourself!

Sweet Kisses for the baby.

I'm almost 15 weeks pregnant. Both me and the baby are growing at a steady pace. I'm feeling pretty good these days, and enjoying this journey the second time around. And I think I felt the baby move for the first time last night. Aaaaaaahhhhh. So sweet.

Easter Festivities

Saturday Morning (the day before Easter) Madelyn and Maci had a great time at the indoor Easter Egg Hunt. What cute cousins!


After the egg hunt (and mommy tried to hide or eat all the candy from the plastic eggs), we colored eggs. Maddy had a great time (making a fun mess), and loved eating the eggs too. True!

Madelyn's favorite gift from the Easter Bunny was her new yellow purse which was the first thing she was desperately trying to remove from her basket (above).

"Who's ready for a snack? That Easter service made me hungry!"

We were so glad to have Natalie with us on Sunday morning at church.

After church we drove up to Madelyn's great-grandparents home in Upper Sandusky (the Rhodes side) for lunch and visiting. And of course...more photos!!!

At this point, Madelyn was tired of photo-taking and ready to eat! In fact, she was using her fist as a meal substitute. Time to change into something a bit more cozy and eat and play!

What a special weekend for all of us. We missed having the rest of my family around (my parents left for Argentina the day before Easter to see Jonathan!) But it was still a specil time for all of us. Madelyn still carries her new yellow purse around everywhere we go!!

First Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Adventure

What a fun Tuesday afternoon (last week). Madelyn was invited to her first official birthday party for her friend Carter...turning 2. And it was so fun watching her explore this kids "wonderland" for the first time. She acted like an old pro. She loved climing up and down the slides, and especially loved sitting in anything that resembled a car. She's growing up so fast. And she sure loves being the center of attention whenever she gets the chance!

Here she is trying to snatch Carter's special birthday crown She's such a little flirt!

The "Blizzard" of 2008!

Yes, we're officially "snowed in"...literally! The snow started coming down yesterday around noon, and hasn't let up yet. Currently (2pm) we have approx. 15" of snow...and it's still coming down rapidly. Most of Ohio is under a snow emergency status and they're asking everyone to just stay inside. Well, to be honest with you, I don't even know if we could get our car out of the garage if we wanted to! In our back yard, the snow drifts are at least 3 feet deep. So pretty to see...especially since it's a Saturday, and we really don't have anywhere to go. Madelyn likes looking at it, but doesn't want to touch it. Maybe once it stops we'll take her out to play! We're lucky to have amazing neighbors that keep shoveling our sidewalk today. Thankfully...because Gary, me and Madelyn are still in our pajamas, and plan to stay this way all day long.

I very carefully opened up our back door to take this photo. The snow drifts are amazing in our back yard. Maddy would get buried out there...for sure.

Maddy's New Favorite Toy

Madelyn has a new love: mommy's purses! All day long, she gathers my purses from around the house, and fills them up with her favorite things as she carries them all around the house. In this photo she's carrying my NEW bag that Gary just bought for my birthday. I love it! And I think Madelyn loves it even more. We seriously fight over who gets to use it on that particular day!! In this photo you'll see that Maddy had just put the entire contents of the "bib drawer" into the bag. You'll notice the handful of bibs that didn't quite fit, so she left them on the floor. Oh, and don't you just love her mismatched pajamas! What? Pink Cats and Red Snowmen don't go together??

Valentine's Day Memories

Madelyn and I had lots of fun baking cookies on Valentine's Day. I was brave enough to let her help me with the whole process. Lots of flour all over the floor and sticky hands, but it was worth it. And the great thing is they tasted delicious. This was our special gift to Daddy.

And when grandma came over later that day, she brought lots of fun treats for Madelyn too. What a "sweet" day!

Pacifier Passion

Our little Madelyn is very much in love with her pacifier. We call it "paci", and well...I thought these photos would give a good depiction of her passion and love for the paci. Usually we only offer it at naptime, bedtime and in the car. But if we don't hide them well enough during the day, she's bound to find one and excitedly pops it into her mouth. It's like a found treasure for her. So, on this particular day I wanted to take some photos. She had the paci in her mouth, so I proceeded to take it out, thinking the photos would be much better without her little friend in the mouth. And here you will see what happened. Luckily, I still managed to capture some great moments. Big croccodile tears when I took paci away, and then expressions of joy when I offered to give it back to her. So funny!

As you can see, in the end, she won the pacifier battle. At least on that particular day!