A Special Cali Surprise :)

Beau and Heidi came in on Tuesday and we are having a great time with them!   Mimi came in today and surprised them.  It was awesome seeing the reaction and having everyone together. 

Dance Class

Maddie's dance class ended, but we plan on enrolling again in the summer because she LOVED it!

 Maddie's favorite part of class is definitely getting stamps and homework (coloring pages) at the end of class.

It was so nice on the last day of class that she just had to play for a little bit.  We only got a couple of funny looks!

Planting Flowers

Daddy and Maddie have a tradition of planting flowers together.  After planting, they watered and Maddie decided that she didn't like having wet shorts....that is why they are at her feet!

Birthday Celebrations

 Claire and Maddie at Frankie's Party.

 Grammie's Birthday Lunch at Flaptop

 Cheers!  Grammie brought the girls special birthday treats!

It was a very hot, summer like day...we need another one of those! :)

Happy Birthday Special Loved Ones!!!

Happy Birthday to our yoga loving, bakery shopping, full of fun Grammie!

Happy 2nd Birthday to cutie pie, Maddox, who will be the best big bro in just a couple of months!  Hugs and kisses to you!

Happy Birthday to sweet as sugar, kind and cute Mimi!  We miss you so very much!

This one was Maddie's idea...We didn't realize Play Doh was having a birthday!

Knock, Knock, Who is There at 2:30 AM?!!!

Last week, I heard the phone ring, but was totally out of it and didn't answer it.  Thirty min. later we heard "knock, knock , knock" on our bedroom window.  It was a bit scary, until we saw who it was - The Cesta Family!  They were at O'Hare on a layover and their flight got cancelled.  They took a cab to our house and spent the night before flying out the next morning.  It was so fun to see them so unexpectedly.  Of course, Matt tried very hard to talk them into staying just a few more hours.

Gotta love how the older ones take care of the younger ones!  So sweet!

Mother's Day

Well I am a bit behind, but Mother's Day was great!  Matt and Maddie made breakfast and then we went to church.  Maddie LOVED having Claire there with her!  Then the crew came over for a BBQ - it was great!  I just love being a mom! :)

Maddie wouldn't let Claire get a word in!

 My first Mother's Day with my Dane Train.  Getting a pic of the three of us didn't work out so well! 

Daddy's Belt

Hanging up daddy's belt has become something that Maddie does when he gets home from work.  Because of this, Maddie is quite into belts!  One night, daddy's belt (wrapped around 2x) ended up around Maddie!

SMILES! :)

There is nothing sweeter!

Good Night Dane!

This video was taken a couple of weeks ago.  Maddie always sings Dane a lullaby before he goes down for the night.

Loving These Days!

I feel like Maddie and Dane are at such amazing and fun ages!  Dane is so easy going and SUCH a good baby.  People always comment that he is so good and he really is.  His laugh is the cutest and his smile lights up his entire face.  He loves Maddie and always wants to watch her and she knows it.  They have been playing more and it's adorable.  Just this morning Maddie was hiding behind his high chair and took turns popping out on each side.  As soon as Dane would look at her they would both laugh.  This went on for about twenty minutes. (Gosh I wish I taped it!)  He is very close to crawling.  Maddie is talking as much as ever and to anyone who will listen!  She loves to dance, color, dress up in her princess dresses, read books, play with Barbies, her family (dolls) and princesses.  She always asks for a story before bed and has recently been telling her own stories.  She calls daddy and Dane her prince and she often tells us that she is Cinderella.  This is daddy's favorite...

Matt - "You will always be my Cinderella."
Mads - "You will ever be my Prince Charming."

Her favorite color is purple and makes up nicknames for everyone.  Snow White is Snow, Dopey is Dope, Cinderella is Cinders, and many more. 

Errands with both kids are no problem these days! :)  Mads will sit in the cart and cross things off the list and Dane just chills in the cart.  Going to CostCo is Maddie's favorite because she loves the samples.  She also enjoys the little carts at Trader Joes.  Everytime we go to a store, she asks if they have little carts, even if she knows the answer!  

Oh I am looking forward to the summer with my two little love bugs!