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!