Maddie's Hair is Getting LONG!

Grammie and Papo's house!
Maddie's pigtails! I tried higher pig tails and they don't really work so well!

And we don't see a haircut in the near future! We don't want her curls to go away!

Happy 1st Birthday Claire!!!!

Maddie and Claire's very first meeting. How fast time flies!

We can't believe that little Claire Bear is a year old today!!! We had so much fun with her this past year and past week in MEXICO!!! She is such a sweetie and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her. We love you Claire - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Keeping Busy!

We hit up Wagner's Farm and had a great time! It was fun seeing Madeline, Gavin and McKenna interact! Milking the cow
Gavin and Mads loved the tractor!

They also loved the typewriter!

Someone has been eating a lot of ice cream cones this summer! ;)

What a great hiding spot Maddie!

Having fun at the Kohl's Children's Museum with Claire

Maddie loved the kid grocery store. She ended up with a lot of canned fruit in her cart!

Just her size!

We headed to St. Louis to see grandma and grandpa before baby #2 comes. It was great seeing them! We took one car to get down there and Papo drove the entire way there and back. Jill was scrunced in the back corner of the van - what a trooper!!!

Great Grandpa and Madeline

Playing cards and eating corn - a downstate tradition!

Madeline is not so sure about Fluffy! He wanted to play with the girls and he seemed to really like them!

Playing in Claire's pool! Gotta love the rings on their heads!

Sending Our Love to California

We love you Cesta Family! Extra hugs to Aunt Kristin on her Birthday and because she could really use them right now.

I didn't even realize that she said "Happy Daddy Day" instead of "Happy Birthday" until I watched it back. What a goofy girl!

30 Weeks

I feel like I have gotten so much bigger the past couple of days. As Matt said, "I don't remember you being this big at this time with Madeline." And looking back at pictures, I wasn't! Here is the belly shot, but it seriously looks bigger in person!

19 Month Stats

We had Maddie's 18 month appt. last week (yes, a month late - whoops)! Here is where she is at:

Weight - 21 lbs 9oz. (5-10%)
Length - 32 1/2" (50-75%)

The days leading up the appointment, Madeline wasn't eating all that much, so I am sure she is up from that point. As the doctor said, "She is just like her daddy!" By looking at Madeline, most people think she is very tall for her age, but she isn't as tall as we would have thought. Everyone thinks Madeline is older thanks to her hair! :) She is also quite the talker, but is quiet when she is around new people.

Her Favorite Lines:
"Happy Daddy Day!" She has said this every single day since Father's Day!

"Here mommy for you!" She says this as soon as she doesn't want something anymore. Sometimes it is her sippy cup and other times it is an empty snack bag.

"Animals where are you?" (Many other words replace animals depending on what she is looking for!) This has been a favorite since the beginning of summer!

"Creamies, stickies" when you go to change her diaper. The "stickies" is actually vasoline!

"Mommy's (or daddy's or Aunt Laura or etc.) here!"

Daddy - "What did you dream about Madeline?"
Maddie - "Baby Animals, Elmo and Katie." Those things are always definite and sometimes some other things come out as well!

Madeline loves to point things out that she sees at the grocery store and still loves going for walks and looking for hop hops, dogs, cats and babies.

Her eating is slowing down. I would still consider her a good eater, but she is much less consistent. You never know when she will actually eat a good meal! What she may love one day may not be touched the next day. But, one thing is for sure...she loves "grandpa's watermelon!" (When is it sliced into triangles, it is "grandpa's watermelon" as that is how he cuts it for her!)

Most of her teeth are in, but some are still working their way up through the gums.

She makes us laugh all of the time and we love her so much!

Fun Times in July!

Claire really loves the water!

Fun with daddy in the water!

Swimming at the pool party! No hands thanks to the water wings!
Grammie is sharing the cake with Madeline. Madeline took the fork from her on her first bite, which cracked us up!
Happy Anniversary Papo and Grammie!!! We went out to lunch to celebrate and got the big chocolate cake slice from Claim Jumper!

Daddy had a headache and Maddie rubbed his head for 5 min. It was really sweet!

Sneaking into the cabinet again...and NOT eating healthy! We need to get a lock on the snack cabinet!

Playing with long time friend, Miles!

Love her face here - she was a bit hesitant with the big horses!

The principal at my school has quite a few farm animals on her property. We went for a visit and Madeline had a great time! She seemed to have the most fun watching the chickens and kittens.

Madeline seemed to be a bit confused by the water table and kept saying "pool!"

Third Trimester is Here!

This pregnancy has flown by! I feel pretty good and fortunately have not been exhausted by the heat (yet at least)! I had a doctor's visit yesterday and passed my glucose test. The baby's heartbeat was a strong 142. I feel this baby a lot and sometimes even have to stop and grab my belly! When I was pregnant with Madeline, the placenta was in the front, so it blocked some of the movement. That is definitely not the case with this one!!! I have not had any weird cravings or anything too out of the ordinary! I am carrying very low and will add a picture one day soon. We are so not as good at taking them this time around. (Although part of it is my fault and I am not liking the camera too much these days!)

4th and 5th of July!

We had a jam packed holiday weekend and it was so much fun! On the 4th, we got some things done around the house. In the evening, we headed down to the city, had dinner and watched fireworks from Tim and James' boat. It was hot, but great! :) The highlight of the 5th was taking our bikes to Glencoe, having dinner there and riding to the beach. It was beautiful and another great night. Madeline has been staying up quite late this summer with all of these fun things to do! On the beach with daddy and loving it!
Clapping for the fireworks....Madeline wasn't so sure about them at first, but then decided they were pretty cool!!!

On the boat with daddy! Madeline spent more time off the boat then on it - she doesn't like to sit still for too long!

Our Holiday Weekend...

Having a good time with daddy. He was playing bags and after he threw it, she would say, "yeah daddy!" It was really sweet!

Madeline and the boys!
We left the party for a bit to hit up Southport. Mads LOVED this store window - we were there for 15 min. We then got some Anthony's and it was delicious! :)

Maddie loves parties and all the goodies she gets to eat there! I tried to sell her on the cookie with the white frosting, but she insisted on the blue frosting!

Their hide and seek spot!

Playing with Matthew and visiting the nature center. We got to play with the bunny and feed him.

And it's not even over yet! :)