The Zoo

So a few weeks ago, after the 100 degree heat but before the highs in the 50's like today (yes all you Georgia folks can be jealous), we took Maddie to the zoo. It's hard to believe how much she has grown since our last visit last summer.




One of the first animals we saw were the "monkeys"


Saying "bye, bye monkey"


Then on to the ducks (lots of pointing all day)




and finally, what we had been waiting all day for, the loin house. Maddie LOVED it! The smaller animals were "kitty, kitties" and they said "meow"


But this was by far the star of the day. She was sitting atop a rock in the cage just roaring over and over again. It was so cute, Maddie roared right back at her every time.


Unfortunately there were a lot of people around her so we didn't get any good pictures with her and Maddie. We actually did get many good pictures at all! It is so tough to get a toddler to sit still and look at a camera, y'all. Especially when there were all the awesome animals to look at. We are definitely looking forward to taking her back to Zoo Lights this winter.

A New Perspective

I finally broke down and turned Maddie's car seat around. I've been considering it for a while but just wasn't quite ready yet. As you can see from the above picture she loved it! She's always enjoyed looking out the window and I'm sure she will enjoy it even more now. I've now just got to break the habit of looking into the rear view mirror to see her reflection in the back seat mirror.

6 weeks!!!

Has it really been that long since I blogged?! Sorry folks for slacking off the last few weeks. We have been super busy with wedding planning though and have finally gotten all the invitations out and will have the rehearsal dinner invites done by Monday. We also went yesterday for our cake tasting (yummy!) and decided on the flavors and style for our cake. It's hard to believe we only have about six weeks left until the wedding!

I also can't believe what a "little Girl" Maddie is these days! I think she learns a new word almost everyday and her favorite one recently is "NO". As much as we tried to keep from using this with her a lot I think she learned it from daycare and now says it all the time. Other new ones are "yey-yow" yellow, "burpurl" purple, "melmo" both elmo and nemo, "wa wa" water. And she is now starting to form short sentences too.

We've also had some successes on the eating front. The other night at home she had a few brussel sprouts and pieces of grilled chicken off my plate. We went out to eat last night and Maddie enjoyed some pasta in a lemon butter sauce. (and the kid also ate grilled calamari but wouldn't touch the potatoes, go figure!) She is fiercely independent when it come to feeding herself which usually makes quiet a mess. And then she also doesn't like to have her hands be dirty and prefers to have her own napkin to wipe them off.




Here she is enjoying blueberries and tea in a rare moment when Pepper was not home and she could site on the floor and eat without worrying about losing her snack.

Hold The Phone

Yes, this is a picture of my child eating asparagus! ASPARAGUS PEOPLE! A green vegetable! And she ate them willing off my plate. Granted she only ate half of about 4 stems but still - a green vegetable. I'm going to call this a success!

What's New Around Here

1. New Friends



This is our friend's new daughter, Naomi, and Maddie was just a tad bit obsessed with her. When we moved the baby off her lap she held her hands up and whined until we put her back for a few more minutes. Since Maddie has been around her younger cousin 2 days a week she is very gentle with babies and likes to "pet" them on the head since she knows she cant touch their faces. It's so hard to believe that Maddie was ever this little!

While visiting with Naomi she also took advantage of having Meghan at her beck and call to read new books!

2. New shades


She loves to play with my sunglasses and I've got to remember to put her pair in the car so we have those for her when we go out. She also really enjoys her favorite "on the go" meal - fish fillet and french fries!

3. New Phone

I finally upgraded to a new phone and I love it! Not surprisingly Maddie does as well. I've been able to download a few toddler learning games (shapes, colors, etc) and she loves playing them. So far it's been a great way to keep her entertained if we are out somewhere without any toys.

4. New Chair

We recently bought this chair (and little elephant) for the living room. I love how it looks with the sofa and think I'm going to look for some curtains to bring out the reddish/orangish colors.

5. Cloth Diapers!!

You can go ahead and think I'm crazy (Alex does) but I have decided to start cloth diapering. I bought 3 through a service that would let me try them out for a month and return them if I wasn't happy but I LOVE THEM! I've thought about it for a while and finally decided to take the plunge. I'll do another post on them soon but they do make for awful cute baby bottoms:


And Maddie approves:

A Week Away From Mom & Dad

A few weeks ago after my parents visit here to Chicago they took Maddie back to Georgia with them for a week. Alex and I were a little worried about both the long car ride as well as her being gone for that long. Judging from these pictures she had a blast!




























I know my parents ans the rest of my family look forward to many more of these visits over the years to come!

And Maddie wants to say a big "Welcome Home" to her Fris!!!

Cheese!

Someone likes their spaghetti!