Today Madilyn and I met up with our friends Ali and Cameron at Imagination Avenue in Phoenix. What a cute little place! It's 3500 square feet of toddler heaven. They have several different "stops" the kids can play in. Anything from a dress up room, to a grocery store, jail, and kitchen. The kids had a great time and Ali and I were able to catch up!
I just love watching their little imaginations hard at work. What fun to see them growing up more and more every day :)
Putting on a puppet show:
In Jail!
Grilling. She told me, "look Mama, I do it, I do it like Daddy!"
Yikes! I'm already into my third trimester!!! We've been so busy with moving and getting settled, the weeks have really been passing quickly. This little one is sure active, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm now just 9 weeks away from where I was when Madilyn was born....CRAZY.....
I took my gestational diabetes test 2 weeks ago and haven't heard anything, so I'm guessing I passed. Thank goodness too..... that drink was gross! I'd compare it to flat, stale sprite, with an extra cup of sugar mixed in. Yeah. They give you five minutes to down ten ounces. And this is first thing in the morning!
Other than that, things seem to be progressing well. My appetite is slowly decreasing as my stomach gets pushed farther and farther up to make room for Grace. I'm not sleeping well anymore, but I anticipated that day would come. I'm out pretty cold until 3 or 4, and then I just toss. I roll from one hip to the other most of the night and by 3 or 4 they are just aching too bad to get comfy again. Add to that having to pee for or five times and night and well, you get the picture :)
And speaking of getting the picture, here's the the belly at the start of the third trimester!
Madilyn loves to make the same faces as Matt. This is one of her favorite games to play with him (as well as ring around the rosie and chase...). Here's a fun little strip of the two being silly together.
During the move, Madilyn stayed behind in Arizona to party like only a toddler could with her Grandmas and Grandpas (and her Aunt Melody and Uncle Cole of course!)
Grandpa Don made a yummy breakfast before we left on Saturday morning. Megan stopped by to join in the fun as well. She and Madi had a great time.
Just before leaving, Don got a few pictures of Me, Megan, and Madilyn on the steps.
I don't know they full story behind most of the photos to follow, but here are some of my favorites from her week with the Merritts.
Friday evening she left to spend some time with Grammy Sam, Grandpa Scott and Uncle Cole. Here she is having dinner. Looks like she worked up quite an appetite that day!
She did lots of swimming during her week in the valley of the sun. She sure has a better tan than the rest of us now! Here she is swimming with Grammy.
And because I couldn't help it, a picture of her hair in little braids. I never have learned how to do this!
Thanks again to everyone for giving Madi such a fun vacation! She hasn't stopped talking about you since he got home!!!
This last week has certainly been a whirlwind of insanity, to say the least. As I write this, I am already in California.
The last three years have been a real time of growth for me personally, as well as for our little (growing) family. Little did we know that being sent to Altus would be a blessing in disguise. Sure we went kicking and screaming. I mean, don't most people? But, We found a fabulous support system there. Wonderful friends and a really great community that will both be missed. Am I excited to be closer to our families and in a big city again? You bet! But I also know you'll never forget those who touched your lives while you were there.
Madilyn and I both were very blessed with such a great group of girlfriends. I mean, who would have thought we'd all have babies at the same time and we'd all have girls? Then, to make it better, who would have thought we would all "mesh" so well? Madilyn is still talking about Maddy, Bella, and Eva. I know that even at just two years old, they made a difference in her life too.
I know this post is all over the place. I guess I'm not very good at keeping my thoughts together today. Just wanted to thank you girls for everything and wish you the best. I certainly hope our paths will cross again someday. So, as I was once told.....in the military it is never "goodbye" but always "see you later". You never know where you'll end up next.
We all had a great time in our final days. Here is a short video of the girls laughing and playing together (as always!) the day before we left.
And here is one of us mamas (we're missing Tara, she had already left for her summer vacation).
I really had some mixed feeling about how this was going to go. In fact, with how little she's been interested in using the potty, I thought she might just end up having her little sister train her.....
BUT, last Saturday she decided she was interested in the potty again, and we ran with it. I'm so happy to say that it has been almost 2 weeks since she was in a diaper (other than for sleep)!!!!! I'm so proud of her :)
The only down side was being woken up 4 times last night by a little girl who needed to go potty. Guess it's time to start limiting the fluids in the evenings and pushing them in the morning.
Almost halfway done with this pregnancy already! It sure felt like my pregnancy with Madilyn didn't go nearly as fast!
We had our big ultrasound today and there was no denying it, baby #2 is a GIRL. Madilyn is going to have a little sister!!!!!
Unfortunately, while baby kept showing us her gender, she appears to want to stay in hiding until D day, since she would not give us ANY profile pictures. So, no ultrasound pics this time. Everything looks great and she was very active in there....just a little camera shy :)
And in the spirit of updating, here's how I'm looking these days.
Happy Father's day to Matt and all of the other Dads out there! You are loved and appreciated!
Today it was Matt's request to go hiking. He's been asking us for a while now and something would always come up. So, today was the day. We went out near the wildlife refuge and had a wonderful time. The scenery was beautiful and Madilyn even got to see a few buffalo up close. I will admit, they're a little intimidating in such close proximity!
After our hike we had lunch and naps. Then we spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening hanging out and the pool and grilled up dinner. I think Matt had a great day and I know we did too :)
First, let me just say, how is June already more than half over???? This summer is going by SO fast! Slow down summer!!!
Tonight we had a fun time hanging out at the toddler pool on base with Madilyn's great girlfriends Madeline and Eva. She was so excited to hit the pool and after arrived and I told her the girls were going to be there....she couldn't get to the pool fast enough. These girls really are just the best of friends. Julie got a few great pics and even a video, so of course I have to share!
Yesterday evening, we had the pleasure of watching Isabella for a bit while Natalie was busy. She came just in time for dinner and fun!
The girls were too cute encouraging one another to eat all their food. After dinner we washed them up and set them free. Boy did they ever have fun! They spent forever chasing one another around the house screaming with delight. Then they'd change directions of one another. As they'd bump into each other they'd pause and say, "huuuuuuuuug" and give each other a hug before continuing to play chase. So adorable!!!!!
I didn't catch too many pics but here are a few.
We sure are blessed to have such great girlfriends out here.
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow, for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
