Madelyn's 12 Month Pictures...

We had Madelyn's 12 month pictures (and our family pictures) taken at the end of July.  I am just now getting around to posting them.  Here are some of our favorites.

 



Madelyn: 14 months Old..

Madelyn Joy is 14 months old and looking less like a baby everyday.  She is walking like a pro now and moves so fast!  I'm sure she will be running before too long.

 

Maddy is trying so hard to talk.  She tries to repeat words when we ask her to and is babbling lots of long "sentences" to us often.  She has reached a stage where she now calls both Jeremy and I "mama".  It's sort of funny as she yells it often trying to get our attention (even while in her bed).

 

She also knows exactly what she wants (and doesn't want).  She will yell loudly if she doesn't like something that is going on (her sisters are taking a toy, stealing her snack, touching her, etc.).  It's kind of funny as she is learning to stand up for herself.  She also points and says "na-na" over and over at things she wants.

 

Maddy is officially done nursing (as of August 26th).  She is drinking about 5-6 oz of whole milk three times a day.  She prefers is warmed and from a bottle so unfortunately we've taken a step back with the bottle stage.  Hoping to transition her soon to milk from a sippy cup.  She is still a pretty good eater and tries a variety of things.  She is obsessed with sippy cups (ironic huh, since she won't take milk from one) and will constantly "steal" and drink from her sister's cups.

 

Maddy has quite the personality and will go to about anyone.  She acts shy at first (tilting her head down and smiling), but quickly warms up to new people.  She LOVES music and loves to dance.  Her favorite song is still the theme song from Kensley's VBS week (we have the CD).  She instantly dances whenever she hears it.  She is also so funny and loves to show off for people.

 

Her favorite toy these days has to be baby dolls.  She can spot one where ever we are and will say "baba".  Her favorite one right now is one from my parents house (a doll my sister had as a kid).  The girls named it Baby Emery and Mads has taken a liking to it! :)  She is also a blankey girl and is usually dragging hers wherever she goes...especially after naps or in the morning (think little Linus).

Maddy has 7 teeth (her newest being her bottom right).  She also still loves to play with and be near her sisters.  Her and Avery have been great buddies lately and Maddy will usually just follow Avery all around.  Aves loves having someone smaller to boss around!

Here are just a few pictures from the past month.

 



Preschool & Pre-K {2014 - 2015}

Kensley and Avery had their first day of Preschool (Avery) and Pre-K (Kensley) last Wednesday, September 3.  They were both so excited to start back to school and had a great day!

 

Kensley will go three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday afternoons) and Avery will go two days (Mondays and Wednesdays).  Their teachers seem great and both girls have friends in their classes from last year.  We are looking forward to a great year!

 

Ha!  This picture makes me laugh...Avery's face, Kens trying to hold Maddy and Mads getting ready to run/cry.



Kings Island {Labor Day Weekend 2014}

Over Labor Day weekend this year, we took a trip over to Kings Island.  We all had a great time, but were exhausted by the time we came home on Monday evening.

 

We left to head over early Saturday morning and our family spent the day at Kings Island. We spent the morning in Planet Snoopy and the girls had a blast riding all the rides.  We took a break in the late afternoon and went to check into our hotel, take quick naps (all of us) and grab dinner before heading back to the park until around 8:15 pm. 

 

 

The weather forecast was a little questionable all weekend so instead of heading back to the park on Sunday, we opted to delay it until Monday.  We were able to spend Sunday and Monday with Lindvalls and Nana and Papa and the girls had a blast with their cousins.  We spent the day at an indoor waterpark (Coco Key Resort) on Sunday and then went back to Kings Island on Monday.

Best friends at the waterpark



Snapping a quick pic of the excited kiddos (missing baby Emery)

I can practically hear them giggling.  These two LOVED the rides...the bigger, the better!

Two peas in a pod...dancing away.

Emery relaxing with Papa

The youngest traveler in our group.

Roller coaster

As expected, the five of us staying in one hotel room was a little challenging.  Maddy came down with a runny nose on Saturday so she had a rough time sleeping throughout the weekend (hard to suck your thumb when you can't breathe out of your nose).  Sunday night was particularly awful as we think she had croup.  She also coughed so hard she threw up in our bed as we were getting ready to put the girls down.  We were up off and on all night with her, running the steaming hot shower all night long and holding and comforting her.  When she did sleep, she actually slept in bed with me and Jeremy slept with Kens.  However, she woke up happy as usual on Monday morning!



Had to take a picture before she woke up in the morning.



Overall we had a great trip!

Summer {2014}...

Since pretty much all of my posts this summer were updates on the girls, I thought I should recap some of the fun things we've been up to the past few months.

 

We have been keeping busy and have been enjoying the cooler temperatures this summer.  We have spent a lot of time at the splash park, playing at the park, swimming with friends, going out to lunches, visiting Conner Prairie and Saxony beach and having picnics at various places.

In June we, of course, celebrated Avery's 3rd birthday (see earlier posts).  We also celebrated Father's Day and Kensley went to Vacation Bible School at the same place she attends preschool (Avery wasn't old enough to attend this year).

The only picture from Father's Day 2014

Maddy loves to give kisses!

Matching sisters!

Waiting out a storm/tornado on the trampoline in the basement.

 At the end of June, we headed up to Northern Wisconsin for a memorial service for Jeremy's grandmother and also the Roberts family reunion.  We broke up the trip by staying at a hotel in Sheboygan, WI that had an indoor waterpark on the way up.  We had a great weekend seeing and catching up with family.

Their favorite part of the hotel stay...bunk beds!

In July we celebrated the 4th of July, Maddy's birthday and our anniversary.  It also seemed to be the month for lots of doctor visits (well checks) and dentist visits.  The girls also took a 4 week gymnastics class and loved it!  Avery was a little nervous at first, but quickly warmed up and seemed to learn a lot.  They are anxious to take another class again soon.

Ha...funny picture of our attempt to go out to dinner as a family.  Don't worry, Jeremy and I celebrated later that week at the Melting Pot without kiddos.

At dinner...this one is all over the place!

The girls in front of a double rainbow after dinner.

Kens on the balance beam and Avery in the background on the rings.

 In August, we got to meet our newest niece and cousin, Emery Rose Lindvall.  We also celebrated cousin Connor's 3rd birthday and learned just how crazy it's going to be with 6 kiddos during our get togethers!  The girls all loved Emery, especially Maddy!  Maddy just wanted to be near and kiss Emery all weekend.

We also went to the state fair and the girls attempted their first sister sleepover.  The sleepover lasted about an hour and a half.  The girls were so giddy and excited about it.  After the excitement wore off, they both decided they preferred to sleep alone (with their own "stuff").  This past week, I made a quick trip up to Milwaukee to visit my college roommate and meet her new little girl, Lucy.  We had a great few days together catching up and hanging out.

 

 

We are now down to the last week of summer before school starts.  We are trying to squeeze in "lasts" of everything...splash park, zoo, Connor Prairie, etc.  I think we are all looking forward to the start of school and getting back into a routine!