Saturday, May 31, 2008

Maddie & Daddy


This is what "bed time" looks like. She gets a little wild :)

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day

We had a great day and I hope you did too! Here's the pic's of Maddie and Ella today. They really played together, got into things together and had a blast. They're getting soooo big!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Holiday Weekend & Baby's Got a New Name :)

I hope that everyone is having a nice holiday weekend. We definitely are. Today we got up early, Gabe went to a meeting then to work and Maddie and I headed to the Farmer's Market for round 2 of the strawberries :) They were even better today than last week, but alas, I took no pictures. We went to dog school to drop Tucker off for grooming first and when Maddie saw her Grammy and her Poppi, she took them by the hands and lead them to her favorite restaurant to dine at while in Olde Towne. She's a girl who knows what she wants :) They took her to breakfast and then Gabe and I got to take each other to breakfast at a different restaurant :) Very fun. Over breakfast, I started talking to Gabe about the name of this baby. I started this conversation with him a few days ago, and to be honest, it's a conversation I've been having in my head for probably a month or more now. Here's the truth: I'm not "sold" on the name Sophia. It's a beautiful name, and I keep telling myself that it'll grow on me. But, when I think about how we chose Maddie's name and just knew it was perfect, well, this feels different. Then I've been telling myself that since I really knew I wanted to name Maddie, Maddie, that maybe this time around it's Gabe's turn to name her and he was the one who really loved the name Sophia. So, I started getting used to it. In fact, I bought the letters to hang on the wall just like Maddie's. But, let's face it. She's still in utero which means, her name isn't binding and ever since I made the announcement that her name was Sophia Grace, I've been thinking about what might suit her just a little more. So, here I am. Over breakfast, I brought it up to Gabe again. I'd been reading my bible the night before and a theme kept coming up in what I read. And, that theme was Grace. Grace is the freely given salvation from God and based on some really recent things in our lives, it just keeps coming back to me; maybe her first name is supposed to be Grace. At breakfast, I made this known to Gabe and he totally agreed. Like, he didn't need to think it over and I didn't need to convince him. He just agreed; just like when we named Madeline. So, then we were on to middle names. That's where it got tough. Gabe named a few ideas he had and again, to be honest, there was no way some of those names were going to work. But then, out of nowhere, he asked, "What about Celeste?" I asked him where he heard that name and he didn't know, he just thought of it. Then, I told him that my Grandma Nardi's middle name is Celeste. It just seemed to fit. So, here we are, with a new name to call the baby and it's one that I feel much better about. It seems to mean more and it came about organically instead of manufactured. So, her name will be Grace Celeste and we'll call her "Gracie." For those of you that loved and supported her name being Sophia, I appreciate that. But, as the mom, I have to love the name completely and not be just luke-warm. So, I'm excited to share that with you. I have this pregnancy calendar on my Google page and today it told me that I have 99 days til' my due date! Time is flying by :)

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Farmer's Market Pic's & Teething



Today has been a bit of a long day. Maddie is growing like 3 new teeth (all molars) and she's pretty miserable. She has a total routine to it though, so at least I know what to expect. Tylenol helps her a lot, but when it's wearing off and it's not time to give her any more yet; that's a hard time. We shared a Popsicle a while ago because I thought that would help and it definitely did. Either that or the sugar rush gave her something else to think about! So, we're good. I'm tired (that's my mantra) and we're enjoying the fact that it's still not summer yet. Summer here is sooooooo hot and I'm not really looking forward to it. The pic's here are from Saturday morning when Maddie and I got home from the Farmer's Market. We had a nice morning walk, stopped at Starbucks, and bought some produce at the market. When we got home, I was cleaning the strawberries and she likes to sit on the counter to see what I'm doing. I turned around and she had stolen a berry and was taking bites :) So cute. Gabe and I went to the dog show on Sunday and it was a muddy mess. It had totally poured rain and he had to show anyways and we were caked in mud when we got back to the car. Nightmare. We had fun just the two of us though. This weekend, we are going to keep working on the basement. It's on ongoing project that we started a few weeks ago and it's making progress, but with Lizzy and Justin coming soon, I want to get it done. Can we say "nesting?" Happy Tuesday night.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Thursday

I don't have much to write about today. Maddie and I had a good day yesterday. We went to the best playground in Alexandria (Siobhan and I decided this) to enjoy the weather. Parks are still a little tricky at Maddie's age and size because they are always meant for bigger kids and there's not a ton she can do on her own. Plus, some of them are pretty high and I worry about her falling. But, it was fun anyway. This morning, I was in nesting mode once again and worked to get the toys in Maddie's room organized in this toy organizer thing I bought. That's done. I also moved her crib to make room for Sophia's crib (which I'm getting ready to order). Next on the agenda is to work on the basement and Maddie's closet. Normally we'd do it on Sunday, but it's a dog show weekend, so that takes priority. On Saturday, Gabe will go show early in the am and Maddie and I will stay home. That evening, a girl who works at dog school, is going to come over and watch Maddie for a few hours so that Gabe and I can go to the celebration dinner for his sister Patrice and her boyfriend Eric. They're celebrating that they finished law school! Pretty exciting for them :) Then, on Sunday, I'm bummed because we won't make it to church, because we're going to the dog show. Gabe says it's at a really pretty place where Maddie can run around, so that's what we'll do with our Sunday this week. Tonight is cherry-cola ribs for dinner (very excited) and now I'm off to rest while Maddie does :)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day

Maddie & I this morning

Banana's & Elmo; what more could a girl want?

Silly-show-my-teeth-face-for the camera :)

Tummy pic; 6 months

A little tired?

We have had a great Mother's Day. Gabe has made me all of my meals for the day and they've all included my favorite things. We had (lots) of pancakes, bacon and fruit for breakfast. Then we went to an awesome church service and Maddie went to play with "the kids." That's what I say to her when we're going somewhere that other kids will be and now that's what she calls kids, of all ages, whenever she sees them. It's funny and reminds me of a story of what I called my brother and sister when I was young. Anyways, for lunch we had grilled sourdough, muenster, tomato and basil sandwiches and apples. Then, I had a break to go and get a pedicure. I'm so bad at choosing a color and the color I chose is really pretty, but then I got home and I already messed up two different toes! Such a bummer for me because now it's bugging me and I'm sure I won't be able to just let it go :) So, dinner is soon and we're having Gabe's famous Carnitas tacos. Very excited to eat and definitely worth the heartburn I'm probably in for. We're having a serious storm right now; lots of rain, a little thunder. It's been a great day and earlier we were saying that at this time next year we'll have a 2 and a half year old and an 8 month old! Hard to imagine 4 of us instead of 3, but I've heard it said that once the 4th gets here, you don't remember life without her.
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Keeping Busy

Maddie and I have been keeping ourselves really busy lately. At her age, she needs to do things in order to get tired for the nap; and since I so cherish the nap, we are pretty much out and about each morning by 9am at the latest. It's funny how just 6 months ago I couldn't leave the house at 9am because that's when she would take her morning nap. Now, I have to find things to do until at least 11:30am, but often more like 12 or 12:30pm before she'll be tired enough to stay asleep. See, around 10am, she shows signs of tiredness, but if I give in and let her rest, we won't be able to have that nice, long 3 hour nap in the afternoon. So, I make her stay up! Today we got up, went to a park I really like here and took a walk. We saw fish in a pond, geese and little geese (gosling, I think) and we walked over a bridge; very exciting to the 19 month old mind. Then we headed to a library near her preschool and listened to a story time and made 2 Mother's Day crafts for dear old me. Maddie was not interested in the coloring part of the craft (you have to catch her in the right mood for coloring) and she got highly irritated when we glued something down. She kept asking for help to get it off. Funny. When that was done, we went and got some lunch. We have lots of lunch dates lately. She's really good when we go somewhere to eat and since I know when I have 2 kids, I won't get to do that as much, I'm taking full advantage now. Plus, I'm STARVING all the time. Sophie doesn't even let me finish one meal, before she and I are thinking about the next thing we can eat. I remember getting really hungry when I was pregnant with Maddie right around this time too. I'm like a bottomless pit and even though I should be full after eating, I'm often not. The other day, I woke at 3am because Gabe was having an allergy attack. As I laid there trying to get back to sleep, I realized that I was thinking about food and my stomach was growling; loudly. I didn't have the energy to get up and make anything, so I didn't. But, come on. I can't even sleep through my hunger!? Craziness, this pregnancy thing. Though, I'm really trying to enjoy it. Since, I'm pretty sure this is the last time I'll be doing it, I don't want to count the days until it's over. I want to enjoy these days of just Maddie and I, of eating lots of food and not caring about gaining weight, and to be able to sleep 9 hours straight with no one waking me up. I decided today that while I'll be extremely hot and huge in the summer months to come, I'm glad the baby comes at the end of summer. It's easier to take care of two kids when one is living inside you :)