Easter Sunday

Maddie and Claire are total partners in crime.  What one does, the other is sure to follow.

Dane and Allie's first Easter.  They are such good babies!!!

It's pretty impossible to get a good family photo these days!

Dane's First Easter was great.  The kids were up on the early side.  Maddie loved finding all of her presents from the Easter bunny.  Her two favorites were probably her suitcase "like Addison's" and Moono Uno.  The bunny also brought a bunch of eggs with money, but she/we decided that those were Dane's since Maddie got the toys.  She even put the money in his bank for him.  Daddy made french toast and we got ready for church.  Maddie let me put in a couple of curls with the curling iron for the first time ever.  We went to 11:00 church, as usual, and then headed over to Grammie and Papo's house.  We had a delicious spread and Grammie's signature lamb cake...no picture....boo.  The kids were spoiled with more goodies from everyone and then we headed home with two tired kiddos.  Maddie loved playing with her new toys and is ready to take on daddy in another round of Moono!

Maddie Won!

Maddie entered the Easter coloring contest at Jewel for fun.  She colored it totally on her own with markers and added some glitter glue (Maddie LOVES glitter glue).  We brought it into Jewel and got a call that Maddie won a prize from the coloring contest.  We played the message for her about 5 times.  She had the biggest smile every time the woman said she won a prize.  I really wish we had it taped.  As soon as Maddie woke up on Saturday, (even before eating breakfast) we headed over to Jewel.   We practiced what she should say and she had it down.  When the lady met us at the service desk Maddie said, "My name is Maddie and I won a prize from the coloring contest.  Thank you!"  I was so proud of her!  She looked inside the bag and pulled out a cute little gray bunny.  It was the perfect gift for her - she loves hop hops!  She carried it all through the store while I picked up a few things.  She named her bunny Cotton Tail and she now has pink hop hop and grey hop hop next to her when she sleeps at night.

Going To Get Pics Taken...

I found out from my friend about a photo studio that has bunnies to take pictures with.  Madeline LOVES hop hops, so I knew I wanted to take the kids to get their pics taken there.  I tried to get in in the morning, but everything was booked, so I scheduled the session in the afternoon after naps.  Well, Maddie has a history of having "rough" photo sessions, so I guess I should have made it happen in the morning.  Of course she didn't nap on picture day so she wasn't very into listening to the photographer.  Dane, on the other hand, was a dream.  He smiled and looked at the camera...I could have ordered 20 shots of him, but settled only on our favorite. 

An Impromptu Photo Shoot

I was trying to figure out what to dress Dane in for Easter.  He was in such a good mood (as usual!) that I decided to take some pictures.   Maddie then decided that she wanted to put on a dress and take pictures too. 

Easter Egg Hunt

Maddie, Dane and I met Laura and Claire for an Easter Egg Hunt last weekend.  It was perfect for the girls!  They had the youngest kids so first and there were tons of eggs.  The girls got a bunch of eggs all on their own and had a blast!  We opened them up at the Newton's house and checked out all of the loot!

 

Great Grandma Comes to Town!

 Enjoying the hot weather last weekend in the city.  Jill entertained Mads at Bridget's!

 We also went to Salerno's for dinner on g-gma's last night in town.  The kids were really good thankfully!

 The girls giving g-gma some love before she headed back home.

Great Grandma came to town and stayed for over a week.  It was wonderful having her here and we saw her every chance we got! See wanted to check out Bridget McNeill's - she is one hip great grandma! :)  She was great with the babies and held them often. 

A Quick Visit With Amanda!!

We met up for lunch with the Moxon family at Cracker Barrel.  Amanda is a doll and good at giving hugs!  Notice Madeline running away in the background.  Unfortunately, this is a new thing she has been doing.

Maddie's Imagination

Maddie loves to become "Dora" and "Cinderella." Mommy is often the same "person" as Maddie and Daddy is "Boots" or "Prince Charming."  She will often tell us, "The mice and birds are here!"  (Referring to Gus and Jaq and all of Cinderella's other "friends,")  She will chase them around, dance with them and tell us what they are doing.

Dance Class

Maddie loves her dance class!  I love that she listens to the teacher and always helps her put things away!  She busted out with Addison's signature move a couple of times in class.  I wish we had more pictures!

Matt and great grandma Mueller came to the last class to watch her dance.

6 Month Old Stats

6 Month Stats:

So once, again the percentages don't really add up when you compare the 2 kids, but I am just writing what they have on his sheet.


Dane's Stats...

Weight - 17 lbs. 10 oz. 50%

Length - 26 1/4" 50%

Head 43" 25-50%

Maddie's Stats...

Weight - 15 lbs 13 oz.  50th percentile
Length - 26 1/2" 75th percentile

Head - 42 cm 25-50th percentile

Our Super Sweet and Smiley 6 Month Old!

Kristin took these amazing pictures of Dane.  He is such a good baby with a huge smile that melts us!  He is very easy going and is very calm.  He has been sitting by himself pretty good for the past 2-3 weeks.  He also had his first tooth pop through his gums on Saturday.  He is a little bit more fussy, but is still really pretty good.  We started letting him cry more at night and he has been able to calm himself and fall back asleep.  Last night was the first time that he couldn't soothe himself, but it could have been the thunderstorm or the teeth or both?!!!  He has been eating and really enjoys rice cereal and oatmeal.  He isn't so fond of carrots and peaches so far.  Maddie ate everything, so it's been a new experience seeing him grimace and reject foods.  He enjoys walks and likes being around other people.  I can't believe that he is already 6 months old!!! 

Cali Pictures

We had such a wonderful time in California for Spring Break.  Madeline was a bit of a hyper Piper on the flight there.  We flew Jet Blue, so we thought the TV would hold her attention - WRONG!  I brought a backpack full of things to do, but Maddie kept asking,"What else?"  She also spent some time going up and down the aisles.  She then decided she wanted to do somersaults off of her chair.  We were quite happy when we landed! 

 Of course Pink Bunny had to come along!  The first thing we did when we got home was wash her!

 On Tuesday, we went to Disney Land!!!  It was a beautiful day and we loved every second of it!  We met Aunt Tami and Uncle Billy there.  Aunt Tami had bags of surprises for the kids.  Mads, Adds and Ava were Snow White and Dane got some super cute and comfy Mickey gear!  Maddie and Addie then did a costume change to turn into Rapunzel.  Thanks Aunt Tami!!

 We watched a show and the girls were mesmerized!  Snow White blew the girls a kiss from the stage when she saw them. It was sweet!

 Mads was a bit apprehensive when it was time to talk to the princesses.  Addison was all about them, but Maddie just wasn't so sure. I wasn't sure how she would be...but I can't say I was surprised at her reaction.  I guess her daddy was the same way at her age!

 Aunt Tami helped convince Maddie to get closer to Cinderella!

It was very crowded on our Disney Land day, so we didn't do a ton, but it was perfect.  We went on "It's A Small World" and the girls loved it.  Maddie was pointing out things that she saw on the ride.

 
 Aunt Tami and Dane waited for us on top of the bridge at "It's A Small World."

 Maddie wasn't quite as afraid of Minnie as she was the princesses.  However, looking at the pictures, she wasn't exactly comfortable.  Minnie gave the girls kisses on their cheeks!

 Ava and Dane's first trip to Disney together!

 Dane was so good!  He just watches and takes it all in.  We love our little guy!

 Our attempt at a family photo!

 Aunt Tami took the girls into a shop on our way out.  She let them pick out 2 things and Maddie picked 2 dolls - a Tinkerbell doll and a Cinderella/Belle doll.  Addison picked a doll and suckers.  Addison needs to teach Madeline not to pick two big gifts!  Thanks Aunt Tami!  Madeline really loves her new dolls and has been bringing them everywhere with her.  She also got a beautiful Cinderella nightgown from Aunt Kristin that she just loves! 

 The girls got some new dance attire and were doing ballet.  Addison even taught Madeline her signature move!  They are just so sweet together and play so well.  The first thing Madeline asked for when she would wake up was Addison.  They spent a lot of time in their princess dresses.   Madeline is now in them a lot more since we've been home. 

 They had tea parties a couple of days, made cookies, went on Easter egg hunts, read books, played hide and go seek and just had so much fun!!!

 All of this playing can make for a tired little girl!  SO sweet that Addison gave Maddie her bed for the week.  It was very comfy and Madeline loved all of her special friends on her bed!

 We got to see Mimi a bunch and we loved it!  She cooked us a delish dinner and dessert.  She is so sweet and so much fun to be with.  We miss you Mimi!!!

 Allison got to meet Dane!

 Mimi and Dane were buddies!

 Madeline loved Addison's special princess chair from Grandpa Cesta. 

Loving her dolls from Disney!  They are super cute!

We wish we could head back to Cali tomorrow!