Morning Crafts

Every night when I put Maddie to bed, she asks me, "What's next, mom?" What this means is, what is next after she wakes up, which in this case means the morning. So I told her after she woke up we could color her pumpkins and make our little candy corn guys. The problem with Maddie is she doesn't forget anything! This girl has got the best memory ever!! So as soon as she woke up in the morning, she was so excited to come and tell me it was time to color pumpkins AND make candy corn guys. Yes, she did remember both! A promise is a promise... and I stuck to my word... this time anyway! :)

I forgot to take pictures of her actually making her candy corn guys, but we got a picture after. Maddie loves these guys. She has been having them 'dance' around on the table. She likes to make them 'hold hands' too, as you can see in the picture! She was pretty excited about that!

Stealing Muffins

Maddie has a huge obsession with a lot of things, one of them being food, which consists of muffins (sometimes she calls 'cupcakes'). I was feeding Chloe and was going to make dinner as soon as I finished. Maddie asked me for a muffin, which my answer was no, because I'd be making dinner soon. I thought I had pushed the muffins far enough back on the counter, but didn't realize I left Maddie her own little stepping stool on the floor. So when I finished feeding Chloe, this is what I found....
She was pretty proud of herself! I actually had a hard time not laughing!(And yes, I did dress Maddie, multiple times actually. Her clothes don't usually last long on her, sometimes I wonder why I even bother getting her dressed. Actually, her hair was done also...)

Pumpkin Patch

Monday night we went back to the pumpkin patch. This time Maddie stayed awake! We had a great time running through the corn maze, looking at the animals, going through the pumpkin houses and princess castles, and finally choosing our pumpkins!!

Maddie was pooped by the time we were done! She fell right to sleep when we got home!

Sunday

Yep, another photo shoot with the girls! We have 9am church, and thanks to my wonderful husband who got up early with the girls to help get them all ready, we were actually ready to go EARLY! I know, can you believe it?! We were usually late when our church used to start at 10:20am! Anyway, the girls looked super cute in their matching dresses, so I had to get some pictures in our few minutes we had to spare! Maddie was just being silly and not really into taking pictures, and Chloe was wanting to eat. So they aren't quite as good as the ones we got yesterday, but we still think they're cute anyway!!!

Saturday

Yesterday we had GREAT intentions of going to the pumpkin patch and doing all the fun things there... we took way too long getting ready, by then Maddie was hungry (the norm...) so we made her lunch, then Chloe was ready to eat... so by the time we left, it was just about Maddie's nap time. It wasn't far away, and Maddie was singing and dancing most of the way so I figured we were fine, we would keep her awake umtil we got to the pumpkin patch and then she could have her nap a little late, after we were done. But, we got a bit distracted, I started telling Mike a story and turned around to look at Maddie because I realized it got very quiet all the sudden... yep, she was SOUND ASLEEP! We were almost there, so we thought we'd be able to wake her up and go anyway since she hadn't been asleep for long. Nope, wasn't going to happen, I tried to take her out of her seat once we got there, but she couldn't even open her eyes! So, I put her back in her seat, we ran a few other errands and decided to go back home and we'll try again tomorrow evening after Mike's done with work.

But, I got some cute pictures of the girls in the morning before we left. This is the first time we put Chloe in her little 'bumbo' chair, and she did really well in it. I was surprised how well she was able to sit in it!And thanks to my sister, Brooklynn, for Chloe's super cute outfit! Baby Kate has the same one!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Maddie and I had a really fun cooking afternoon yesterday while Chloe napped! Maddie is starting to show signs of needing some personal one-on-one attention, so I have been trying to find different things to do with her either when Mike is home that we can each 'take' a kid or while Chloe's napping.
So after we made our jello jigglers (see the post below), Maddie wanted to make 'chocolate cookies' as well. Which I was ok with, since the jello doesn't take long at all to make, but then has to sit in the fridge for a few hours!

I decided I would be a 'fun' mom (how sad is that... I have to 'decide' to be a 'fun' mom! ) and let Maddie do things I wouldn't normally let her do (like sticking her finger in the cookie dough and continue to taste over and over and over again). I am a big fan of tasting the cookie dough, but I'm kind of a germ freak, (I'm sure my mom is totally rolling her eyes right now, so I won't sugar-coat it! I am a HUGE germ freak, totally weird, anal, and mental about things and people being clean when cooking to the point I won't eat something if I 'know' the person doesn't wash their hands often, doesn't look clean, house isn't clean, etc... totally rude and judgemental I'm sure, but just the way I am!)

Moral of the story, I usually let Maddie have a taste, but with a spoon! And not because I'm worried about 'Maddie germs', because I'm not, but I feel like I should be sanitary in case someone other than myself, Mike, or Maddie will be eating the cookies! Ok, on with the cookies... that was WAY too much info!

Anyway, it was a super fun afternoon with just me and Maddie!

Jello Jigglers

Maddie has been very into helping me cook lately! Thanks to auntie Heather, Maddie is having withdrawals from helping her make their special Sunday Brownies! But Maddie didn't want to make brownies with mom, because she makes brownies with just Heather (yes, she's only two and has picked up these CRAZY things!)So yesterday, Maddie went to the pantry and decided she wanted to make 'Jello stars' (which is what's pictured on the jello box) and 'chocolate cookies' (i.e. Chocolate Chip cookies... which you'll see more of in another post).
I think this is the first time Maddie has ever had jello jigglers. I know she has had regular jello before, but not the jigglers (I know, I totally deprive my child!) She seemed to really enjoy them, and I think was a little surprised that mom actually let her 'play' with her food and eat with her fingers (rather than a fork or spoon).

Maddie & Chloe

Just a few random pictures I took of the girls over the last few days.

This is Maddie at Mike's new office. She is actually sitting at Jamo's desk. He was at school when we stopped by, so Maddie thought she was pretty sneaky taking his spot! (And stealing his chips... sorry Jamo! We owe you a bag or two!)

This is a funny little Maddie story. I was about to feed Chloe and had her bottle sitting on the floor in front of me. When I went to reach for the bottle, it wasn't there so I asked Mike if he had seen Chloe's bottle, that I knew I had just set it there. We were looking all over for it, and Maddie runs up to us with her finger to her lips 'shushing' us, telling us to be quiet because 'it' was sleeping. I'm totally confused, asking her what is sleeping (she plays with babies A LOT, so I figured her baby was sleeping). I finally got this sneaky suspicion that Maddie had something to do with the missing bottle. So I followed her as she continued to 'shush' me, telling me I was talking too loud and to use my quiet voice (ya, you think she's heard that a time or two?!?!) Yep, sure enough, she had put the bottle to bed, in Chloe's swing, where Chloe usually sleeps. She was not very happy with me when I 'woke the bottle up' to feed Chloe! Maddie, Maddie, Maddie... always keeps us laughing!We love seeing how Chloe positions her hands when she sleeps; sometimes a fist by her face, like in this one, and other times holding onto her pacifier in some way. Most times, as I've mentioned before, we can't see her hands because we can't see her face. She likes to be all covered up!

Also a little picture after her bath. Chloe does love her bath, but doesn't like the coldness after she gets out!

Our House

I haven't taken any pictures of our house yet, mostly because it isn't 'picture ready' yet. (I'm not sure if it ever will be...) But I did get a shot with Maddie in front of our house today on our way to the park. We have a fun park just right down the street from us that Maddie just LOVES to walk to and play at! She has even met a couple 'friends' while we were there, not like that's hard for Maddie to do... anyone and everyone is her friend; boy or girl, big or small, she loves you all!!! :)

Two Months Old

Can you believe it? We can't either! Chloe has hit the 2-month mark!!! She had her 2-month check-up at the doctor, and here are her stats:

WEIGHT: 11 lbs, 8 oz (70%)

LENGTH: 23 inches (76%)

HEAD: 15.13 inches (43%)

At 2-months old, Chloe LOVES to smile! She smiled very early, much earlier than Maddie ever did and is beginning to master that beautiful smile of hers! She especially loves to smile at daddy's weird noises he makes to her, wind blowing in her face, and Maddie's talking and singing. She also has started to make the cutest cooing sounds and is really trying to have 'conversations' with us! Chloe is VERY attached to her mom. Sometimes when she cries, she just wants her mom! She is just about sleeping through the night (although one night, she actually did sleep through the night!) She goes about 8-10 hours between feedings at night, waking up only once around 5:30am or so then goes right back to sleep until the next feeding. We LOVE this about her!!! Chloe still loves her swing. That is where she sleeps all night long and naps during the day. We think she likes it because of her reflux, it is movement, but also keeps her propped up more than her bed does. Chloe does not like tummy-time. In fact, doesn't like being on her tummy at all unless it's in your arms or upright on your shoulder (to burp).

Chloe's eyes are turning more and more blue each day. She does have BEAUTIFUL eyes! She loves to stick out her long, skinny tongue. She also likes to suck her pacifier or hand. Chloe still likes to sleep with blankets or burp cloths over her face. I don't put them there, she pulls them over herself. Once she's asleep, I usually move them a bit to give her some fresh air to breath, but lots of times she moves them back in her sleep! Chloe is now wearing size 1 diapers and 3 month clothing. Chloe is a wonderful blessing in our lives and we just love playing with her and watching her grow each day!

Finally Connected

We just got connected today. Thank you Comcast for hookin' us up!!!

I know, I know! It's been forever since my last post. I have been receiving phone calls and emails asking me to post news and pictures... But, the pictures will have to wait! My memory cards for my camera have been full since before we left for Utah so I haven't taken a SINGLE PICTURE for over a week! Can you believe it?! I'm totally bummed! I do have some my sister took when we stopped in La Grande. You can check out her blog (Parker & Brooklynn) to take a look, but I will probably steal them later and post them too. I have so much to do, I should not be on here, but I haven't sat down to a computer in so long, I thought I deserved a break for a minute (although it probably won't last long, I already hear Maddie trying to wake up her sister!

We started our journey last Thursday afternoon and drove to Brooklynn's in La Grande. We joked about Maddie and Jackson having a "sleepover" together, in the same bed. We were betting on how long they would last in there, considering how hyper the two are whenever they're together. Well, they proved us all wrong. The second the door shut, we didn't hear another peep. We're pretty sure sometime throughout the night, Maddie 'took over' Jackson's bed, he ended up on the floor, and eventually went into his parents' bed! Maddie slept great! I actually had to wake her up at 8am when we were all ready to walk out the door to begin our next driving journey. It was fun to caravan down with Brooklynn and Parker (they went down for their mission reunion, but were actually a HUGE help to us as well!) Thanks to Brooklynn, my kitchen is unpacked. And thanks to Parker... Mike totally appreciated ALL of his help carrying lots and lots of heavy things and furniture!

I must note, that although Chloe has had some pretty fussy evenings (usually after her feedings around 7-8pm) she has been sleeping WONDERFULLY! She has been doing 7-8 hours a night, meaning only waking once in the night. But we did have an AMAZING night Tuesday night... are you ready for it.... CHLOE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! Holy cow! I actually woke up a couple times thinking, she must wake up anytime now. Nope, she didn't! She had her last feeding at 10pm and didn't wake up for her next feeding until 7:30am!!!

As for Maddie, we don't have her room set up and ready yet, and because of all the changes, we are still deciding which room will actually be hers, and if we are brave enough to have her downstairs by herself or not. So for now, since Chloe is still in our room, she has been sleeping just on the crib mattress on the floor. We have been amazed how well she has done, considering she has never slept in a 'big-girl bed', she has been in the crib up until the night with Jackson. We just crack her door shut, and she hasn't once gotten out of bed. She has gone right to sleep every time... except for last night. Dad put her to bed last night, and she usually tries to take advantage of him because she knows she can get away with so much more. But even her nap today, she laid right down and went to sleep. We are so proud of our biggest little princess!

Well, I have already been on here WAY TOO LONG! I must end this now, I have so much to do. I promise I will take pictures and have them posted sometime this weekend, so be on the lookout for those! I must to a quick shout out to my amazing husband... he has been wonderful through this whole move, completely packing us up and his office while I took care of the girls mostly. We love him and appreciate everything he does for us. We are especially grateful for the hard worker he is, supporting our family, so that I can stay home with our girls. So on that note..... HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY, MIKE!!!