Christmas Joy

Christmas was wonderful, once again, this year. The girls were both very excited and looked lovely in their coordinating dresses. Mad was quite the trendy little thing with a large flower in her hair. Kaitlyn loved wearing her dress. She is really enjoying dressing up and putting on pretties just like her big sister.

We started on the 23rd celebrating Bobbie's birthday and Christmas with the Frank family. It was a lot of fun this year with five kids here. Madeline, Kaitlyn and Mary truly enjoyed themselves. One of the highlights was watching Mary walk around in the tutu Mad gave her, her tights and shoes. No shirt. That kid is a trip. We also had little Kenzie and Johnathan here for their first Christmas. Madeline was most excited to get an Easy Bake oven from Bobbie and Joe and a remote control Strawberry Shortcake from Teri, Eric and Kenzie. Kaitlyn was very excited to get a new baby doll (a Cabbage Patch doll that giggles) from Bobbie and Joe. She also really likes her coloring stuff from the Guses and her Zhu Zhu Pet coloring book from the Strothmanns.

Next up was celebrating with the Regan family on Christmas Eve. Mom, John, Binky, Wendy, Dan, Moe, Dylan and Steve were all here. Mad got two sweatsuits, two shirts and a sparkly ponytail holder from Justice from Grandma and Papa, which were her favorite from that night. She has also had a lot of fun playing the Zhu Zhu Pet board game that she got from Wendy and Dan. Kaitlyn loves her Meowsic piano (a cat head shaped piano) from Grandma and Papa.

Of course Santa came and we started our Christmas morning checking out all of the awesome gifts he brought for the girls. Madeline got A LOT of Zhu Zhu Pet accessories, a Zhu Zhu princess castle and media room and a Justice Zhu Zhu pet. Also, she got three Polly Pocket water girls, a Hello Kitty stuffed doll, a heart bracelet, a pink headband with a sequin bow, a ballerina book and a tube of Reese's peanut butter cups. Kaitlyn got a shopping cart with a Cozy Coupe car on the front (it holds her babies) filled with play fruit, a few Zhu Zhu pet accessories, a green Zhu Zhu pet named Shamrock, a small stuffed penguin that plays music, a headband with a sequin princess crown on it, a book and a tube filled with Hershey's kisses.

Shortly after we finished opening Santa's gifts, we started on our gifts for the girls. There was so much and they were all opened so quickly. Unfortunately, our camcorder had run out of room on the disc and we didn't get any of the present opening on tape. That was hugely disappointing. Madeline's most favorite gift was her American Girl Doll, Kit, along with all of the accessories she came with and the ballet set we got her. I found a matching leotard and sweater wrap for Madeline to wear. She and Kit spent all of Christmas day in their ballet gear. Madeline was VERY excited to get her gift from Joe. He built her a dollhouse shaped bookcase. At its highest point, it reaches my chin. It is amazing. Joe and Madeline still need to paint it. Of course Mad is excited about that and wants to paint it pink. She also told me that her other favorites were her Disney Princess set of 12 books and the outfit I gave her from Justice. Some of the other things she got from us are: scrapbook/craft paper, a ballerina Nutcracker, a necklace making kit, a stuffed angel snowgirl, the Kit movie and soundtrack and much more. Kaitlyn gave Madeline three ballerina themed shirts, a 2011 Princess calendar, a Hello Kitty town play set, a magnetic dress the princess set and the Beauty and the Beast movie. Kaitlyn was pretty much over opening presents, but Joe got her to open most of her gifts. She got a toy size Cozy Coupe, an Elmo see and say/shape match thing with an Elmo doll, an Elmo ornament and book, a stuffed penguin, an outfit from me, a baby that plays peek-a-boo, a little backpack with elephants all over the fabric, two different stuffed elephants. I gave her a baby doll care center/kit. It has a crib and a changing table with baby care necessities. Joe made Kaitlyn her own craft table and matching stool. They are amazing as well. Kate knows that it is her table and has it covered with a bunch of her new gifts. Just this morning (the 26th)she opened her last gifts from Joe and I - a Weebles playset and two extra sets of Weebles. Madeline gave Kaitlyn a sleeping bag/pillow combo, an outfit, a Zhu Zhu pet an Elmo DVD and a singing/dancing thing from Hallmark. KJ very much enjoyed Madeline's, so it was only fitting that Mad gave Kate one of her own. They also both got a new bath towel and washmit. I know there is more that I am forgetting. But that's okay. The presents, while fun, are not what I want to remember. I want to remember the happiness I felt when I watched my girls happily playing. How special they felt after I helped get them ready for each party. How much fun they had playing together with their Zhu Zhu pets, dolls and Weebles. The hugs I was given. The 'thank yous' from Madeline. Kaitlyn trying to get into the cozy coupe that is doll sized. Madeline's expression on her face when she saw her AG Doll. Madeline rocking Kit and Kaitlyn rocking Elmo at the same time. Kaitlyn pushing her shopping cart around the house, pausing every now and again to 'eat' some of the fruit out of the cart. I want to remember my girls just as they are now. So sweet. So little. So wonderful.

Nutcracker

Madeline participated in her dance studio's production of the Nutcracker this year. It was a lot of work, frustration and gas miles for me and Joe, but the pure joy on my girl's face every time she talks about it makes every moment worth all of the hassle.

We got home late last night after the final performance. Madeline had fallen asleep in the car on the way home. I called Joe to come out and get her. She of course woke up when he carried her in. So she took a few minutes to show her Daddy the trophy that she was given after the final performance last night. She is very excited about this trophy. It has her name on it and lights around the circle part that flash when turned on. Madeline also told Joe that her favorite part of the night was when I gave her a Disney princess magazine and a ballerina ornament. She just couldn't possibly be any sweeter.

Madeline's first performance was on Friday night. Her Auntie Teri and Uncle Eric came to see her. They brought along Eric's two oldest nieces, Elaina and Carissa. After the show they gave Madeline a bouquet of flowers. This made her very happy, especially the pink ones. Auntie Lisa and Julia came to see her first show on Saturday. They also brought a beautiful bouquet that contained pink flowers. Daddy, Kaitlyn, Grandma, Papa, Gamma and Gampa came to the second show on Saturday. Everybody had bouquets for her this time, too. Missy just couldn't believe that everybody gave her flowers. They are all over the kitchen and her room. So sweet and thoughtful of her family to bring her flowers (which she tells me are her favorite thing).

I was lucky enough to watch all four of her performances. The first one was a total mess. The three on Saturday were very good. The Angels were all sent out in the right order and did the routine very well. My little angel was clearly bossing some of the others and letting them know what to do next. In addition to being "just" an angel, Madeline was also given the role of Lead Trumpeteer Angel. Along with three other angels, she came out on stage "playing" a trumpet and walked across the stage. During the second show on Sat, she was looking for us and surprisingly, spotted me in the audience and we waved to each other. Lisa told me that after the first Saturday show when they all came back on stage for the final bow, Madeline blew kissed to the audience. She got blocked by some of the bigger dancers at the second Saturday show, but I did see her blow one kiss. Not sure what she did after the final performance, as I was waiting in line at this point to claim her.

I could go on and on with so many little details and memories from this time. I hope to remember the joy and happiness I saw on Madeline's face every time she saw me coming to get her. She was so excited and happy. I hope that she and I both are able to remember her happiness. She was also quite proud of herself. My little girl worked hard and she deserves her pride. She did an exceptional job and was absolutely beautiful.

KJ's Words

As of today, Kaitlyn says the following words:

Mama
Dada
Mimi (her name for Madeline)
Baby
Mary
Ow
Up (just said today for the first time)
DuDu = Ty Ty
Bye
Whoa
Uh-huh
No
Mo = More
Moo
Ha Ha = who who, ha ha (what a monkey says)
Baa
Eee = Eat
Bo = Bowl
Boo = Book

She signs 'all done', 'eat', 'more' and 'please'.

Every morning when I get Kaitlyn up, she asks where her Daddy and Madeline are by saying Dada and Mimi in a question. "Dada?" "Mimi?" Repetitively. She also asks throughout the day. "Dada?" I answer "Daddy's at work." "Mimi?" "Mimi's at school." Or "Mimi's right next to you." Or "Mimi's in her room." Etc.

Silly Girl

Kaitlyn just got done walking circles around her pink PBK chair. She was squeezing herself in between the couch and the chair and just walking around it. She is a funny little thing.

Uh-oh

So Madeline has her first crush. About 2 1/2 weeks ago, we were driving in the car and she said "Mama, guess what?" Followed by her telling me that her friend Leo asked her to marry him and she said "YES!" Apparently, for some time now her teachers have been referring to Mad and Leo as the future Homestead High Homecoming King and Queen. They had their first play date yesterday. Leo's mom, Lynn, invited Madeline over after school to play. Not surprisingly, when I got to their house to pick her up, the first thing Madeline said was "I don't want to go home!". The kiddos had a ton of fun playing restaurant, decorating cookies and playing Disney DVD bingo among other random things. She told me this morning that she wanted to go to Leo's house again today after school. Oh boy.

My Baby Loves Babies

On Saturday night Madeline spend the night at her Gamma and Gampa's house. Kaitlyn enjoys being the center of attention when Mad is gone. KJ and I were playing babies that night. Her current favorite is our only boy baby doll. He is technically Madeline's doll and is named Dylan. She was playing with him, doing her usual stuff like rocking and hugging. I told her she should put her baby to bed. She walked right over to the bunk beds, placed Dylan on the bottom bunk and then looked over at Joe and I with a big old smile on her face. She was quite proud. She then picked Dylan up, put him on the top bunk (which was completely empty), covered him up and then hugged him and kissed him. She also rubbed his face like I do with her when I put her to sleep. After she had him all settled, KJ walked back over to me and I have her a high five for being such a good mommy. Then she went back over to Dylan and tried to give him a high five. Because he's a doll and was laying down, the high five was not so great. So she picked up his hand and gave him a proper high five. Cuter than cute!

Moving Lyrics

I have very recently discovered an amazing band, Mumford and Sons. I was listening to a song of theirs on youtube. There was no video, just the lyrics. I was moved by the following lyric: "In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life." So simple and so true.

Quick Post

A few things to remember...

Madeline, after being told she was painting Mary's picnic table wrong, said "My bad" to Joe. Um, where did she learn that? She says she doesn't know. She has also said 'my bad' quite a few times since the first time.

Kaitlyn has learned to say no. Great. It has become her usual answer to most questions. She responds with the sweetest sounding 'no' I have ever heard.

Ty loves Grandma Kat's house. The Seidls were over on Saturday and when told why they had to leave (Madeline was going to Grandma Kat's house), Ty cried that he wanted to go to Grandma Kat's house, too.

Ty also loves my girls. So much. My girls love him, too. So much.

Kaitlyn very much enjoys being the center of attention when Madeline isn't home. Then she gets over that and starts walking around, looking for Madeline. "Me Me?" "Mae Me?"
Kaitlyn loves playing with baby dolls. She almost always has one in her arms these days. Or she is pushing one (or more) in the little pink stroller. "Baby" comes out of KJ's mouth many times during the day. She feeds the babies, rocks them, hugs them and pats their backs.

KJ also loves real babies. She always says baby when she sees one. She especially likes to see babies in the infant car seats.

Madeline is loving 4K this year. She is enjoying school much more this year. She is excited to go in the morning. This is very different from last year.

Mad's school had their annual open house last week. Madeline was beyond excited for this event. She could not wait to show Daddy her classroom and introduce him to her teachers and friends. When we there, she took to each friend individually and introduced her Daddy to her friend. She also gave him a very detailed tour of the classroom. She was so incredibly sweet that night. In addition to just being her normal adorable self, she was wearing a new purple sparkly dress that had a tutu-like bottom and had princess and a crown on the front. Everybody loved that she was in purple. Her classroom at school is the purple room.

Madeline's teachers are extremely impressed with Madeline. She is blowing them away with her vocabulary, her manners and her general above average knowledge of most things. So proud of my girl!

Well, this turned out to be not such a quick post. Oh well. All good things to remember!

Welcome Home

I went out to see Eat, Pray, Love with my mom tonight. Had a nice time and enjoyed the movie. When I called home to check in, I was told to be ready for a surprise and that I had to park behind Joe's truck. The whole time I was on the phone w/ Joe, I could hear Mad in the background telling him to not tell me anything. Well, I got home to Joe sitting outside w/ Kaitlyn in one of our 'extra' chairs, with another one next to him. On my chair was a bottle of water and a bowl of potato chip stix. Joe told me Mad wanted me to have a snack while I watched the show. In addition to all of this, the garage door was partially closed. Next Joe got up, whispered to Mad and then introduced the "Magnificent Madeline" and then opened the garage door all the way. Out came Madeline on her tricycle w/ her helmet on. She was doing tricks - the first one was riding w/ only one hand and one foot. Then she came out on her scooter and was kicking out one leg after each push. Then she came out on her bike again, this time she was bouncing in her seat. To finish the show, she put on a dance for me. And then back into the garage she went, then came back out for a final bow.

She is simply wonderful.

Grape Pretzel Lollipop

So Mad and I are sitting on the couch together right now. She is eating a snack - red grapes and pretzel sticks. She just shoved a pretzel stick into the grape (where it was connected to the stem), showed it to me and said "Look, it's a grape pretzel lollipop." Interesting. Then she went on to inform me that you can just eat it, not suck on it. Because it's food, not candy. Thanks for clearing that one up for me, Mad.

Wonderful Weekend

We had an absolutely wonderful last weekend of summer vacation!! Friday night we went to Bayshore for dinner, to get my phone fixed and to get Joe a fantasy football magazine. After all of that was accomplished, we tried Froyo Bella. It's a new frozen yogurt restaurant. It was Y-U-M-M-Y! They have many topping options. Madeline picked Fruity Pebbles, Cap'n Crunch and mini gummy bears. Joe and I also enjoyed a tasty treat from there. KJ enjoyed a little bit of all of ours. :-)

Yesterday Madeline, Kaitlyn and I met my mom at Bayshore Mall where we had a fun time playing in the fountains. KJ was quite entertaining. She would walk into the water, get her face wet, make a funny face (I think she was a bit shocked by the cold and by the water getting on her face) and come running over to me to get her face wiped off. I have not laughed that hard in a while. I don't think my mom had either. Then she started going over to Grandma to get her face wiped dry. She would go into the water, turn around and walk back over to Grandma, who was sitting about 10ft away, get her face dried off, and walk right back. This went on numerous times. Madeline had a bit of a tough time getting all the way into the fountains because the water was cold. But when McKenzie joined her, she helped Mad through and fun was had by all. After we were done splashing in the fountains, we headed over to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. There we learned that KJ likes BBQ Chicken Pizza - a lot. She ate one whole piece!! While we were ordering our drinks, Madeline very quietly and sweetly told our waitress that she thought she was very pretty. My girl could not be any sweeter. She is just such a joy. We were all exhausted by the time lunch was done and the three of us headed home.

Madeline and I had a Mama and Maddie date night last night. We went to Noodles for dinner. Mad almost always picks Noodles. She LOVES to use chop sticks to eat. She picked shopping for our activity. It's shocking how much this girl is exactly like me. Anywho...she had really wanted to go to Justice both Friday night and Saturday afternoon, so I took her back to Bayshore. We first went to Gap (b/c I had a coupon) and found a couple of cute shirts on clearance for KJ as well as two long sleeve shirts and a cute pair of tights for Mad. From there we headed to Justice. Justice is a recent discovery for us. It's a store mostly for "Tween" girls. Mad is mesmerized in this store. It's full of pink and/or sparkly clothes. She had a great time walking around picking out clothes to try on. Speaking of trying on clothes, this is one of many things she has to do all by herself now. I am only allowed in to dressing rooms with her if she needs help. Oy. She is growing up way too fast. And back to our date night... We had coupons for Justice as well, so she picked out a few cute things. My girly girl also got a bottle of glow in the dark nail polish and a pack of these bracelets that are very in style right now. I can't remember what they are called, but they're basically rubber bands in all different shapes and themes. She picked princess. Surprise, surprise.

Today we started out having a lazy Sunday morning. Then we were off for a picnic, which was what Madeline wanted to do for her last day of summer vacation. She of course wanted to go to the Cedarburg park. It is her absolute favorite park. The park happens to be next door to a wonderful swimming pool. We surprised Mad by taking her swimming after the picnic. She is a water crazy girl!! After her swimming lessons earlier this summer, she has become so confident in the water. She is constantly going under and "swimming" and practicing holding her breath so that she can stay under longer. She got to go down the big slide today. First with Daddy, then with me. Then again with Joe. Then again later with Joe, then me. Then again later with Joe, then with me. This time with me she wanted to go down all by herself. I went down first, waited for her at the bottom. I caught her immediately. Then she told me she wanted to go again all by herself and that she did not want Joe or I to catch her. Again, oy. Where did my baby go? If it was up to Madeline, we would have stayed there all day. But our little baby was beyond exhausted after all of her swimming, splashing and running through the fountains at this pool. She was sound asleep before we even got the stroller to the car.

After her bath tonight, I painted Madeline's finger and toe nails with her new glow in the dark nail polish. It really works. She was so excited about it. Then right before bed Joe shined a flashlight on her nails to charge them. That made them super bright. That also made Madeline super excited. She is so darn cute.

And now here we are. The girls are sleeping. My Madeline starts 4K tomorrow. She told Joe tonight before bed that she was nervous about her first day. She doesn't think she'll know anyone but her buddy from last year, Alex. My lovely girl easily makes friends just about everywhere we go. She'll have no problem tomorrow. Me, on the other hand, might have a bit of a problem. How can Mad be old enough to be in 4K? She was my chubby cheeked little toddler just the other day.

Wow

So I just sat here talking to my KJ, who will be 15 months tomorrow, telling her that I needed to go take a shower. I asked her if she would stay in the family room with Mad. She nodded yes. Then I asked her if she was going to be a good girl. Again she nodded yes. I asked her if she was sure. She looked at me, puffed out her lower lip and rolled her eyes multiple times. Wow. I thought that happened closer to the pre-teen/teen years. I'm in trouble...

My ABCs

I found this quiz on another blog and thought I'd give a whirl. I have always loved these silly fill-in-the-blank about yourself forwards, etc.

A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: 72, which is the highest it goes up to. It ranges from 68-72.

B- My BEDROOM theme is: Leaves. Sounds boring, but I love it and it's not just leaves. I have one chocolate brown wall, which I love so much I would do it in just about any room in my house. The other colors are cream and green (multiple shades). Now, if only I could keep our room clean and organized, that would make it even better.

C- The CAR in the driveway is: My hubby's truck, a Ford F150. I park in the garage.

D- My DESK looks: like it should be cleaned up a bit. I have too many works in progress and stamp sets out on the work area. The non-work area is covered with all of the other tools, etc that I use most often - paper, paper cutter, die cut machine, markers, ink pad carousel, tool sorter, etc.

E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: just before Joe's alarm goes off, which is about 5:40am.

F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my hair.

G- My GARAGE is filled with: Too much! We have outside toys, garbage cans, Joe's tools, the lawn mower, the snow blower, the list goes on.

H- My HOUSE is: home.

I- If you peeked INSIDE my bedroom you'd see: a mess, clothes, random pictures from Mad.

J- My favorite JUICE is: Minute Main Pulp Free Orange Juice

K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: that it's brand new! We gutted and remodeled it last year. I love that I have an island now.

L- The LAST person who visited my home was: Andy, Amelie and Bennett.

M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: Parents Magazine

N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: I have no clue. Hopefully they think I'm a nice person.

O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: Milk, OJ, fruit, bread, salami, ketchup, mayo, butter, mini bagels, pickles and other random stuff.

P- My last house PARTY was: Kaitlyn's 1st birthday party.

Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: just about everything I cook is quick. Tacos is my favorite quick meal.

R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: either the kitchen or the family room. The kitchen because it's the one room in the house that is 'done'. The family room because that is where we spend the majority of our time and it's comfy.

S- The SHAMPOO brand I use is: is Pantene. It's supposed to help my hair have more curl than it already naturally does.

T- My largest TELEVISION is: the huge monstrosity that takes up a lot of room in our FR. Can't wait til the day we can afford a flat screen.

U- UNDER my bed you will find: Dust bunnies and an under the bed storage box that holds t-shirts in the winter.

V- The last time I VACUUMED was: Thursday.

W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: pitch black. We have no street lights and it's cloudy out. But if it were daytime I would see the swing set.

X- I wish I had X-TRA: time and money. But who doesn't wish that? I wish I had more time to work on my crafts and my business. I wish I had more money so that Joe wouldn't have to work so much.

Y- My YARD is: in need of much yard work. But it's a huge yard and we just don't have the time for it. It's also a great kid yard. Hopefully it will be a great dog yard again someday.

Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: varied. It used to be 10:00pm on the dot. But since having my girls, it just all depends on them and how our day went.

Okay. That's it. That took way longer than I thought it would. Thinking it might be my bedtime now.

Words

Madeline has a few words that she says not quite right. Most of them she has corrected, a few are still here. A couple of my favorite are:

Sowwy = sorry

Fwee = three

Lellow = yellow

Suhr = sure

Freget/Fregot = Forget/Forgot

Fregive = Forgive

Madeline and I had Maddie and Mama Only time today. It was much needed and very enjoyable. She amazes me with her love. She is so sweet. And getting to be such a big girl. We went into a store called Justice for the first time today. Mad is just getting into 'big' girl sizes and now fits the smallest size (6) in this store. She immediately found a t-shirt and skirt that she liked and wanted to try it on. We found the right sizes along with a pair of matching leggings. She then wanted to go into the dressing room all by herself to try on the outfit. That was another first. When she came out, I nearly started crying. She looked like a whole different kid. She is growing up so quickly. It's awesome because she is such a wonderful, loving, smart, amazing little person. But it's also a bit heart breaking because it is going so darn fast. I want my little chubby cheeked toddler back.

Happy Girls

Despite all of the sadness I feel today, I wanted to make sure not to bring my girls down because of how I am feeling. After Madeline finished Garden Art Camp, we made a quick stop at the dance studio to register her for the next round of B/T/J class and pick up her recital pics. After that we headed out to Just 4 Fun to have some fun with Lisa, Julia and Ty. Just 4 Fun was recently purchased by the woman who owns Madeline's preschool. So we got to see her today as well two other ladies from the school, which was really nice. It felt quite nice to be known by the people running the place. All four kiddos had a blast. Mad, Jul and Ty ran and played like crazy. Little KJ tried her best to keep up with the big kids. She was bound and determined to climb up a slide Yes, I said up. She never made it up more than a step or two before turning around and 'sliding' down. She of course had a few tumbles, but she's a bit of a bruiser so no damage was done. Madeline was having a fantastic time. She was running, climbing, sliding, giggling, screaching and playing. Her pretty face was bright pink and she was a bit sweaty by the time we left more than three hours after we got there. My girls and their happy faces bring me so much comfort.

Remembering George

I want to remember...

-the way George's lower lip always stuck out like he was pouting

-the way his lower lip was chapped and how I loved the way it felt

-how annoyed he would get with me when I would run my finger over his lip

-his super soft wrinkles on his forehead, that was my favorite spot to pet him

-how much he loved footballs and how totally crazy he got whenever there was one around

-how he could hear the vibration of a b-ball bouncing outside (when Joe would shoot a couple hoops) and would get all kinds of crazy until he could get outside to play with his b-ball

-how he always knew when one of his Grandmas was over (which meant at least one treat/bone and lots of love)

-how he would jump up and look out the window of the Brown Deer house when I would tell him his Dad was home

-how he would sleep on my very pregnant belly and his snores would make Madeline move all over

-his sweet happy face when he would watch me through my mom's screen door as I walked up the hill to the door

-how he would stick his nose inside Target bags looking for the packs of Chew-lottas that he knew were in there somewhere

-how he couldn't sit on wood or tiled floors because his rear leg would always slide out from under him

-the way he slept all stretched out and looked kinda like Superman in flight

-how sweet he looked all curled up on his 'bed' (aka the loveseat that had his pillow and handmade by Teri quilt)

-his crazy loud snoring

-his sweet puppy face, that never really went away no matter how old he got

-how he and I would cuddle on the floor on the nights that Joe was at school

-how hopeful he was that one of the cats would one day be his friend

-how awesome he looked in his muscle shirts

-his velvet-like fur

-his love for us and our love for him

Sad Day

We lost our dog today. Not even sure what to write. I am so sad. My husband is so sad. My 4 yr old is sad, but more because we are sad. She didn't really much care about George. The 1 yr old is blissfully clueless. George was our first 'baby'. He was ridiculously spoiled and loved. Even our Moms adored him. He was their granddog. My heart aches tonight. Goodbye, sweet George. I will always love you. I hope you have a pile of basketballs to chew and rip apart.

1st Dance Recital

Today was another great day for our little family. Madeline had her very first dance recital. She was fantastic. She just went right out on stage and did her thing, as best she could while being distracted by the other dancers and just trying to best figure out what she was supposed to be doing. I was so proud of her, I could hardly contain myself. The tears were just flowing. My baby. Up on stage in front of so many people dancing away. After the dance was over she tried desperately to find us out in the crowd. Picture her face all scrunched up, her hands over her eyes to block the light from the spot lights, walking forward trying to see better. I so wish I could have ran up to the stage and wrap her in my arms and kiss her and congratulate her. She certainly doesn't have stage fright. She told me a few weeks ago that she was thinking about a song that she could sing while she was on stage. I mean, seriously, how cute is that? Her class danced to Baby Love. They were all a bit confused and distracted. But they did it. Especially my girl. My baby. Oh how did she get to be four years old already?
In addition to Joe, KJ and myself, Mom, John, Binky, Wendy, Dan, Bobbie, Joe, Lisa and Julia were all there for the little lady. Mom ordered a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Sendiks for Mad that was from her, John, me and Joe. Wendy, Bobbie and Lisa all brought her flowers too. She was so excited to get four bouquets of flowers. We had to plan out where they were all going to go. We decided on one in her room, one in the family room, one of the kitchen table and one on the island. I suppose I should go get those flowers in water now. Mom also got a bouquet for Lindsay, Mad's teacher.
After the recital, everybody buy Wendy and Dan went out to dinner. Mad was on a major high. Super excited and happy. After eating her dinner of mac 'n cheese and fruit, she got to have vanilla ice cream. Which she shared with KJ.
Mad passed out on the ride home. Joe brought her in from the car, took her to bed and that was the end of the night.

New Baby

Very exciting day for our family today! My Sister-in-Law and her husband had their first baby today - a sweet little girl, Baby M. Our hearts are happy and full of love for this sweet this little lady. When we went to the hospital to meet her, Mad told me she loved her just as much as she loves KJ. She also told her Auntie that she thinks the baby is as beautiful as an angel. Mad held Baby M and gave her many kisses. When Joe took the girls back tonight so that he could meet baby M, KJ gave the baby kisses. So sad I missed that! Congratulations to the new family of 3!

KJ and Ty

KJ loves Ty. L-O-V-E-S. He was over today. Little Miss lights up whenever she sees him. She said Ty for the second time. As he was heading back to Mad's room to play, KJ said Ty and he whipped around to come back to her. Oh, so sweet.

Hot, Hot, HOT

It has been beyond hot here the last few days. Like middle of July hot. Not only hot, but humid. Ridiculously humid. But what does heat and humidity make? A very happy Madeline. Joe blew up her swimming pool last night. I filled it with water this morning before dance class and then this afternoon she got to swim! Apparently the water was still too cold for her to go all the way in, but she still had a blast. KJ got to take a quick dip after nap. That was all good 'til she went under. She was done.

We all went to Joe's softball game tonight. Beautiful weather down in Shorewood. This was the first time Madeline watched the game for more than 3.5 seconds. She asked a lot of questions. I was afraid I wouldn't know the answers if she would have kept asking. My base/softball knowledge is quite limited. KJ also had a great time. She was completely mesmerized by all the guys on the field. That was fun to see. After the game was over Joe took Mad onto the field and let her run the bases. That was the first time she's ever done that. She asked right away if she could do it next time.

One more quick story and then I'm done for the night. This afternoon Mad and I were in the bathroom while I was braiding her hair before going out to the pool. She was wearing just her undies. She was staring at herself in the mirror, which is the usual, then pointed at her nipples and said "When I get bigger, these will grow. And then when I have babies, I can milk it, right?" Gotta love it. I laughed long and hard at that one.

Good Times

This weekend was full of good times. Friday started them all out. M had her first sleepover. Her best friend, J, spent the night. Those two girls are fun and funny. They had so much fun together and as an added bonus they kept KJ quite entertained. Joe, KJ and I all had fun watching M and J have a pajama dance party in M's room once the blankets, sleeping bags and pillows were all set up. KJ tried very hard to keep up with the 'big' girls. We all had fun that night.

Saturday was a full day. The day began with M, KJ and I going to J's tennis lesson. It was fun watching J do something she enjoys so much. M got to play with TJ, J's sister, too. Happiness all around. After that the girls and I went down to my Mom's house. M and KJ got to hang out with Grandma while I ran a couple of errands. Then to top it all of the in-laws kept the girlies over night. Joe and I got a date night. WOO HOO!!! We went to dinner at Bar Louie followed by seeing Iron Man at iPic. We got out of Iron Man with just enough time to go potty and get ticket to go see Robin Hood. It was a lovely kid-free night.

This morning Joe and I went to get the girls from the in-laws' house. My FIL made pancakes and my MIL made bacon and fried potatoes. Yum-o! After breakfast we took the girls to the Zoo. It was super HOT, but we had a very nice time.

Now the day is coming to an end. Little Miss KJ is in bed. Mad is on her way. Then it's my turn!

Sweet Madeline

Madeline and I had a "Maddie and Mama Only" date last night. Can I just say that she is the sweetest little girl. She warms my heart and makes me so happy. I love all of the random hugs she gives, even when it's in the middle of walking and we trip. She also tells me multiple times how happy she is to have Maddie and Mama time. Such a wonderfully sweet little thing.

Picnic Tables

My hubbie, Joe, has always wanted to build things. For years now he has been saving up his Sears gift cards and slowly accumulating all of the tools he wants/needs. He's used them a few times now. Mostly when he remodeled our kitchen. Recently he built two picnic tables - a toddler size one and a big kid one. He built the toddler size one for Kaitlyn for her first birthday. He built Madeline the big kid one just because he wanted to. Kaitlyn got to have her birthday cake at her table. Yesterday the girls and I ate lunch at the tables. I pulled them next to each other. Put Kaitlyn at hers and Mad and I sat at her table. I pretty much fit at Mad's table. Halfway through lunch Madeline moved to KJ's table to sit with her. It was wonderful.

My Sweet Girl

Madeline and I were just cuddling after she woke up from her much needed and very long nap. She looked at my necklace and told me that she liked it. Then told me that she remembers that she and Daddy gave it to me for my first Mother's Day (It's a small symbol of a mother and child. I wear it every day.). Then she told me that she thinks it looks pretty on me. Seriously, this girl could not get any sweeter. That is one small example of her sweetness. Oh, how I love that girl.

Kaitlyn's 1st Birthday Party

Today was Kaitlyn's very first birthday party. We enjoyed a day full of family, friends, food and fun. A few of the highlights - Kaitlyn took a lot of steps on her own throughout the day, she said Ty, made a huge mess out of her smash cake, had fun playing with some of her toys, fell asleep drinking her bottle and is now sleeping off the fun day. That's it for today. Too tired to go into more detail. Off to bed now.

1st Steps

Exciting times in the Frank household. Kaitlyn Jo took a few steps yesterday unassisted and then took quite a few more this evening. It is so fun to watch her start heading in one directions (towards Joe and Madeline) and then see her go in a completely different direction cause she doesn't know how to walk in a straight line yet. So fun!!!

Tomorrow is the 1st birthday party for Katie Jo. All this work and planning. She doesn't know nor does she care. But she'll have fun with all of her people. I would imagine she will also have quite a fun time with her 'smash' cake.

Off to clean the bathroom now. More excitement!

One Year Later

Here it is, May 12, 2010. My sweet Kaitlyn Jo was born one year ago today. The last year has brought so much to my life. I have survived a very difficult newborn; enjoyed watching Madeline become a big sister and love her sister so much; enjoyed watching Kaitlyn love and adore her sister; watched with much joy as Kaitlyn learned to do so much; learned how to be a mother of two; felt love fill my heart as I've watched Joe become an even more wonderful Daddy; fell in love with the funny little girl that Kaitlyn has become; felt so much pride as Madeline has continued to grow into a truly wonderful little girl; the list goes on.

On Madeline's 1st birthday, I went into her room that morning w/ the camcorder on singing Happy Birthday to her. This morning Madeline, Joe and I did the same thing for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn's reaction was adorable. She was at the same time excited and confused. We very rarely all three go into her room after she wakes up, we never go into her room all singing and we've never walked in there holding the camcorder (which I very much regret right now). Madeline was so excited that it was Kaitlyn's 1st birthday today. Kaitlyn was wished happy birthday quite a few times. After her bottle, I made Kaitlyn scrambled eggs for the first time. I am bound and determined to have someone else eat eggs with me in this house. She did not like the eggs I gave her in her bowl, but apparently the ones off my plate tasted much better. She also quite enjoyed the rye toast. Yay! Shortly after this Kaitlyn took her nap. While she napped Madeline and I each made Kaitlyn a birthday card and prepped her birthday gifts. After nap, Kaitlyn was given her gifts from us. Madeline gave her a learning lawn mower and a small Madeline doll, Joe made her a picnic table, I have her a jewelry box and the joint gift she was given from Joe and I was PBK anywhere chair. So much fun watching her open and close the jewelry box, climb on and off her chair (she knew that chair was hers), go back and forth between the 'real' gifts and the fun stuff (aka wrapping paper). After this we prepped for our appt at JCPenney for pictures. Despite Kaitlyn's lack of an afternoon nap, she did wonderfully! We got great pics of her alone, her with Madeline and a family shot. Then out to dinner we went. Then home where the girls enjoyed a very small amount of chocolate ice cream at the table Joe built. Then off to bed with the both of 'em.

It has been a very long day. I am still trying to figure out where the last year has gone. How has my newborn turned into this funny little girl? Kaitlyn makes me laugh out loud every day. She brings so much happiness to my life. Thank goodness for her and her silliness. She is sweet, smart, silly and stubborn. So much like Madeline, but yet completely opposite. That, too, is unbelievable. My girls are so very different from each other.

Some of my KJ favorites: the way she babbles, the different variations of raspberries she blows, the crazy amount of drool that pours from her mouth, the way she bounces when she's excited, the way she bounces when she's just bouncing, the joy on her face when Madeline comes in her room in the morning, the way she sticks her long pointer finger out to touch something for the first time, the way she dances, her love of touch-and-feel books, her desperate attempts to get anything that is Madeline's, her smile, the cuddles that I finally get, she blows kisses and her big beautiful blue eyes.

A few pictures from the day:






Happy 1st Birthday my sweet Kaitlyn Jo. I love you so very much.

Time flies

How is it possible that my baby will be one year old tomorrow? Didn't I just have her a few weeks ago? My goodness. It is shocking how quickly time flies by. It's hard to believe that my baby Kaitlyn is big enough to say baby, or as she says 'babae'. She and I were at my cousin's house visiting my cousin and her newborn baby boy. I was sitting on the floor holding the baby. Kaitlyn is standing by me, looking at baby Lucius and says 'baby'. I couldn't believe it. That was three weeks ago. I've been meaning to write that down for three weeks now. So to return to the title of my blog, I truly want to remember the moments. All of them. I know that's not possible. But I'm going to try.

That was fun...

Okay, so my first post is done. Now I need to share a bit about today, my first Mother's Day as a mom of two. I got to sleep in today. Both girls were up early. Joe got up with them, which he always does on Sundays. It's my one day off from the normal stuff. Madeline wanted to make me breakfast in bed for Mother's Day. I do not like to eat in bed, so I asked her if it was okay if I had breakfast on the couch. She said that would be fine. A while after they got up, I figured I would get up and see what was happening. I walk into the kitchen to see Joe frying bacon (Madeline decided to make me eggs, bacon and toast), Kaitlyn standing at the fridge holding the handle on the freezer door. She looked so darn cute. I do not want to believe she will be one in three days. She was playing with the magnets from the Fridge Farm. She dropped one and couldn't figure out how to pick it up without plopping on the floor. After working on it for a few seconds, she figured it out. She let go of the handle, put her hand flat against the door and then bent over to pick up the magnet. It's great to watch her figure out all these new things now. She saw me then. The happiness on her face when she saw me brings me so much joy. While this was happening, Madeline was sitting on the couch playing a computer game. She started to call Joe for help, then saw me. I got a big smile, then she ran over to me and hugged me. Again, pure joy. The rest of the day was lovely. Madeline gave me a handmade card and Joe gave me a beautiful store-bought card. They gave me a new scoring tool and a lovely new flower pot filled with very pretty (and pretty smelling) flowers.

My mom, John and Binky came over for lunch today. That was quite enjoyable. The girls gave my mom a stepping stone with their feet on it. Too cute.

We ended the day by going out for dinner and then ice cream. I learned today that Kaitlyn knows how to suck out of straws. Didn't know she could do that. She learned today that oreo shakes are yummy. Here she is taking one last drink so we could get the picture.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the important moms in my life. I am grateful for all of you.

First Blog Post

Oh boy. I am afraid I have started a new obsession. I have throughout the last year become familiar with blogs. I never payed any attention to them before. Then I had a baby who didn't sleep. I spent a lot of time on the computer. Throughout this past year, I have bookmarked quite a few blogs. I check them more often than I should. I have thought many times that blogging would be a good way for me to remember the important-to-me moments in my life. I always say that I will write this or that down later. Later comes and goes. I am hoping that having a blog will help me to record these moments. Big moments. Little moments. I don't want to forget anything about my girls' lives. Let's hope this helps. Hello blog world!