Paisley's Birthday Party

Last weekend, we celebrated Paisley's birthday party. Like I mentioned last week, it was Frozen themed. Terrisa planned a great party with lots of activities for the kids. Paisley definitely had a blast with all of her friends. Here is the birthday girl herself :)

Instead of birthday cake, Brian and Terrisa had the Sno Shack come serve us all snow cones. It was awesome!! WAY better than cake. Also, they got a bounce house. Adults enjoyed it just as much, if not more than the kids. 

 

 Paisley got all kind of presents, including this little fairy that Lillian tested for her. Madeline hung out in Parker's swing for awhile and was cracking herself up! 

 

What a cute little family :)

The ladies and Parker! 

 And a few more pictures of Madeline :) Grabbing her feet is her new thing...

She's changing so much already -- can't believe she is almost 5 months!

Madeline is already getting piano lessons! 

Sick Household

How good is Jeremiah's blog??? I just read his latest post and it was so fun to read. Just in case you haven't read it yet, it is www.engineeringthemagic.blogspot.com. So, what have we been up to? I'll give you a hint....we have not been memorizing Pi for Pi day! :) 

Actually, the thought of pie (or any type of food) this time yesterday was about the worst thought ever. I had one of the worst stomach bugs that I have ever had. On Sunday night, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I was sick throughout the night and into yesterday. George was leaving for Tucson for work early this morning so his parents took Madeline overnight last night. It was her first "sleepover" and by all accounts, she did very well (only woke up once). Thankfully, I woke up feeling 1000% better this morning. 

And actually, Madeline was quite sick herself last week. She had different symptoms than me -- a deep cough and runny nose. The doctor said it was a mild case of croup. Hopefully sickness is behind us now! 

We are looking forward to celebrating Miss Paisley's birthday this Saturday. I can't believe that she is a big 3 year old already!! Her birthday party theme this year is Frozen. Have you all seen Frozen? I have not, but based on Paisley's reaction to the movie, I need to check it out!! She is pretty obsessed and actually, a lot of adults that I have talked to really enjoyed it as well. I have another couple of years before my house is taken over with Disney princesses, right? 

Here are some pictures from the past week or so:

I got around to some sewing this weekend! George had Nick, Brian, Brent, and Glenn over to play some board game on Saturday night. Madeline fell asleep early so I took advantage of the "free" time and worked on this project (a baby quilt for Terrisa's friend, Lindsey).

We were running some errands on Saturday afternoon. I was sitting in the backseat with Madeline. I snapped the picture on the left and when I looked over two seconds later, she was asleep!

I had class on Saturday morning. When I got home, I found Daddy "watching" Madeline in the garage :)

Just a cute picture that I took last week :)

I have been rollerblading around the lake in our neighborhood with her a few times. It is fun for both of us -- I think she likes the faster speed! 

After her bath. She loves bath time!! 

4 Month Check-up!

On Thursday, we had Madeline's 4 month check-up. She is growing like a weed! She weighed in at 13lbs 12oz, which is the 40 percentile. The last couple of doctor's appointments, Madeline was in the 15% percentile on her weight so we were happy that she gained a good amount! Also, she was 25 inches long and 89 percentile for height. She might have the Lucas genes on height! I guess I'll be the shorty in the family :)

Madeline also got her second round of vaccinations, which meant two shots. They are able to do some of the vaccinations orally now -- she didn't mind those (I think it tasted sweet). She wasn't a big fan of the two shots. She screamed on the first one and the second one just made her mad...her face got bright red. I picked her up and gave her the bottle and she was fine in no time.

This weekend Madeline has been sick. She has a bad cough and is super cranky. We feel so bad for her. If she's not better by tomorrow morning, we are probably going to head back to the doctor. Right now, she is sleeping and we are enjoying the Oscars.

CA, Golf, and Dedication

Last week, I was in California for work. It was actually a great trip and nice to catch-up with old co-workers from CA. I left on Tuesday and returned on Thursday...I was sooo happy to see Madeline (and George!) when I got back. I "face-timed" George and Madeline a couple of times while I was there. I think that actually made it harder because I just wanted to reach through the phone and pick her up. The meetings were at the Grand Californian hotel, which is also were we stayed. I loved the look of the hotel! 

This picture has no relevance to my post, I just think she looks so cute when she sleeping :)

 On Saturday night, we went mini-golfing with Nick. Madeline and I kept score while George and Nick battled it out on the "course". There was a lot of trash-talking going on. It actually got pretty exciting b/c the score was back and forth. George stole the lead on the 17th hole by getting a hole in one!

I don't have any pictures of it yet (they both looked adorable), but on Sunday, Madeline and Parker were dedicated at our church. I love the fact that Madeline and Parker are get to be able to share special moments together. The whole family was there (mine and George's) and afterward, my family went out to celebrate my mom's birthday. We ate at Oregano's and then played some hockey. Very good day! 

Our Baby is Rolling!

Madeline is officially rolling! Last Sunday, she rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time. She seemed to get more confident in her rolling ability by Monday. George sent me this video below on Monday night while I was at school. Since he took this video, she is much faster. As soon as we lay her down now, she rolls right over. The funny thing is that she doesn't really enjoy being on her stomach...and she can't roll back! 

The next step is crawling....but that should be a few months away, which is a good thing, because our house is not "baby-proof" yet!

Tomorrow, I leave for a work meeting for a couple of days. I think it's going to be hard to be away from Madeline for 2 whole days!! I must admit though, the thought of getting two full nights of sleep sounds amazing!! Not that I have too much to complain about because she is a decent sleeper at night. I don't feel sleep deprived these days.  We will have the opportunity to go into the parks tomorrow night (our meeting is at the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland), which I definitely plan to do.

This past weekend, George and Derek played at a new wedding venue near us called Denmar Estate. It was a fun Valentine's Day event for the whole family -- my family, minus Hannah (who was in Disney World) came out for some music and waffles. On Saturday, we had a baby shower for Terrisa's brother, Adam, and sister-in-law, Sarah. Adam and Sarah are expecting their first baby, Landon, in just about a month. Parker will have two cousins very close in age! Yesterday, George and I celebrated our anniversary since I am going to be in CA on Wednesday. We haven't been on a bike ride together in forever so we decided to ride to downtown Gilbert for dinner, while George's parents watched Madeline. Grandma- I used your bike!

AND- the weekend is not over for me! I am actually off today for President's Day. I feel lucky to have today off since most companies do not give President's Day off. Madeline and I are hanging out. We had breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Warren and Grandma Clark and now we're just hanging out at home. I am prepping for class tonight (not a holiday for ASU), doing laundry, and watching a new TV show called House of Cards. I am also wishing that every weekend was a three day weekend! :)

Coffee Shop Music

Last Saturday night, George and Derek played at a coffee shop here in Gilbert called Bergie's. They sounded great and I think they had a lot of fun too! They play all acoustic music...mostly recognizable rock songs (Beatles...don't know the other artists, but ya' know, stuff like that)! Madeline came too and loved the music so much that she fell asleep for most of it. They are playing again this Friday for a Valentine's Day event in Mesa. There is a food truck around here called My Waffle Crush (http://mywafflecrush.com) that travels around the East Valley selling delicious Belgium waffles (also called Liege Waffles)...they're not your average waffles. Anyway, they are having a Valentine's event with a new wedding venue in Mesa called Denmar Estates. They were looking for musicians to entertain so long story short, George and Derek are playing there this Friday.  I'm looking forward to a enjoying a waffle...oh, and music too! :)

I hope this video works. George's mom took this on Saturday night of them playing...

I thought it was pretty cool that they had George and Derek advertised around the coffee shop...

Some of the fans...

We have started the process of transitioning Madeline to her own room. This past week she has been going to bed around 8:30 in her crib. When she wakes up, 4-5 hours later to eat, she comes into our room and sleeps the rest of the night there.

How BORING was the Super Bowl this year??! I enjoy watching football, but only when it is a close game. Otherwise, it is boring to me. Brian and Terrisa hosted their annual Super Bowl party which we all went to. The company and food were good at least :)

Evening Routine

Madeline and I are hanging out on the couch relaxing after a long day of work. We are learning to make the most of our evenings. George and I have always eaten dinner pretty late at night...typically, we eat dinner around 8ish, b/c I used to run errands, do homework, etc after work and George would work later. However, that is now starting to change. After we pick Madeline up from her babysitter, we pretty much eat immediately (I'm trying to do dinners that involve low prep time). So, I guess we're like the rest of you now :)

This Saturday, George and his friend Derek are playing (acoustic guitar) at a coffee shop near us. They are playing for 2 hours (30 min each individually and an hour together). So, George has been busy practicing. Madeline and I will be going to support him.

Madeline is getting more and more interested in "being in the action." If she is in her swing or chair, she likes to be able to see us. She also seems to like sitting up. It's actually pretty funny, she tries to sit up when she is reclined in her bouncer or carseat....it almost looks like she is doing sit-ups or crunches.

Here she is in her "Bumbo" chair. She has just started to use it. The little giraffe in her hand is "Sophie" and was sent to us by Angele (a friend in Paris). She said that it is the most popular toy for babies in France. 

Madeline loves her bath time! Here is a post-bath "selfie" of the two of us :)

George and Brian trying to get the babies to interact with each other...they seem oblivious of one another. 

On Sunday, I was holding Madeline and reading for class. She seemed so interested in what I was reading!