We <3 (heart) snow!

Madeline and the dog love the snow! Here's the first snowfall of the year, not much, but there was a blizzard right behind it that dumped about 6 inches!

Our house at Christmas time! We love Christmas here and we love to decorate for Christmas! Todd is as bad, if not worse, than me!

My little cheeseball!

Thankful

We were so thankful to have TWO thanksgivings this year! Having both sets of parents in town, we try to hit up both spots for double the dinner.

Here is what Todd, Danielle and Madeline are thankful for:

family in town, a growing, healthy two year old, a growing baby due April 3,

our house which we LOVE, our dog Rocco who plays with Madeline all day, our jobs so we can pay for the house we love,

new additions to the Chappa side of the family: Trevor and Zoey, our church, nice weather in November to get the wiggles out, four other friends who are pregnant and due around the time we are, and health! We are getting excited for the snow to come!

BFF's

It's....

another girl!

Happy Halloween!

Chicago in the Fall

Once again Madeline and I traveled to Chicago. People always laugh that I'm in Chicago so much, but I can't help it! Who doesn't like Chicago? Plus my best friend from college lives there with her cute little girl. We just can't help ourselves. Madeline was a trooper, we drove there and back in a day. The leaves were so pretty on the way down! It made the drive go very quickly.

Erin and her husband, Dave, took us to the Lincoln Park Zoo (free!). Madeline saw all her favorite animals there, including Mufasa, who she will be for Halloween. It was very eventful! We had so much fun, thanks Dave, Erin and Stella! We love you! xoxo

Fall

Nothing says fall like Gull Meadow Farms here in Kalamazoo.  Since most of this fall it has rained, we were lucky to find a Saturday that wasn't raining and I wasn't working. 

Here she rode the pumpkin tractor.  Fearless!  She jumped right in and never wanted to get out.  She thought she was pretty big driving it all by herself. 

Apple of our eye :)  I am now 14 weeks pregnant and am a little nervous about Madeline not being our only baby.  Everybody says this is a normal feeling, but I just can't even imagine loving another child like I love Madeline.

As you can see, she is still the most active child ever.  Running, jumping, skipping and just plain moving is all we do all day.  Except when Elmo is on, then we can sit.  For maybe 5 minutes.

Air Madeline

New Happenings

Madeline will be two in a couple weeks....can you believe it?!  We can hardly stand it.  She is such a big girl.  She is extremely active.  People frequently ask me if she knows how to walk (because she literally runs everywhere).  She loves her dog, Rocco.  She likes to play on playgrounds and go down slides.  She is a lot to keep up with!  

She also really loves Sesame Street.  For her birthday, we took her to Elmo Live!  She loved seeing her favorite characters in person.  She wore her Oscar the Grouch shirt for the occasion and kept asking if she could go up on stage.  

Of course, along with her age comes a little bit of a challenge in behavior.  This stage is a little more trying on mom and dad, but also can be a lot of fun.  She certainly is a happy little girl for many reasons.  But...her number one reason for being happy right now is Madeline is going to be.....

A BIG SISTER!!

Dress Up

My mom saved a couple of my old church coats and dresses from when I was a little girl.  I tried one on Madeline tonight to see if she could wear it this fall.  It's a little big, but I think we're going to use it!  Madeline loved the coat so much, she kept it on over her jammies the entire time she watched Bambi.  It's a wool coat and tonight is a summer night, she must be hot!  

Here is a preview of her Halloween costume.  She loves the movie The Lion King.  Her favorite character is Mufasa, so we decided she should be Mufasa for Halloween.  Here she is growling like a lion for the camera.  She is a lot of fun! 

Summer in Full Swing

Well our summer is crazy busy.  There is always a lull in my blogging around this time of year.  Between raising a two year old (in September) and trying to train a new dog, we are on our toes!  Here is Madeline with her new best friend, Rocco.  They chase each other around the house all day.  If Rocco goes for a walk, Madeline goes for a walk.  Except Madeline doesn't walk anywhere, she just runs.  We have had more skinned knees this summer.  We have also discovered the fun of bandaids.  

What else have we been doing?  Well, we recently spend a day in Chicago.  Todd played in a couple games at the Chicago Beach Soccer Tourney.  My BFF Erin and her cute family met us at the beach where we played in the sand, ate ice cream and splashed in the lake. Later, Erin and Dave took us to a yummy Mexican restaurant.  The day was dreamy.  

My sister-in-law Stacey is getting married in October to Trevor, so I went to a shower last weekend for her as well.  It was nice to see the Chappa side of the family.  Zoey came to play at the end and Madeline and Zoey had fun chasing each other around the house.  In a week, I will be throwing a couple's shower for Stacey and Trevor which should be a blast!  

I also will be going to a bridal shower for my cousin Christina next weekend.  She and Jon are getting married two weeks after Stacey and Trevor.  I'm excited for them too and can't wait to see the VandenBosch aunts and cousins!

What is in store for the rest of the summer?  Hopefully some relaxing on the beach, maybe a project or two.  Maybe I can convince Dave, Erin and Stella to come this way :)  Who knows, but I'm sure it will be eventful!

Meet Rocco

So we decided to get an additional member to our happy home.  We rescued a one year old chihuahua mix from SPCA.  Danielle and I have been looking for a while to get a dog and we found a couple we really liked.  When we went to go check them out, we took Madeline with us.  Of the few we really liked, Rocco was the only one who really meshed well with Madeline.  He is a great dog and we love him dearly!

(Madeline patting Rocco)

(Madeline reading Rocco a little story)

(Caught looking)

(Chatting...)

(Madeline feeling the top of Rocco's paws)

Father's Day in Chicago

So we decided to take a trip to Chicago for Father's Day with great friends!  We did the whole Shedd Aquarium deal and went to the Cheesecake Factory.  We even made time to get to Lincoln Park Zoo.  It was a wonderful adventure and we had a fantastic time!  

Weekend Fun

Madeline had her soon to be cousin, Zoey over on Saturday night for dinner.  The girls played and played in our newly painted playroom.  They liked to boss each other around, read books and color...they were both very good!

Birthday Party Fun

Madeline went to her first birthday party for her friend, Tucker! She ate her first hot dog too!  She especially loved all the Elmos, Big Birds and Cookie Monsters!  

She went up and down the slide about 100 times

Just a little backwards. 

Like my new shoes?

Birthday kiss for the birthday boy!