Madeline gets Baptized

We had a perfect day planned! Madeline had a gorgeous dress and the rest of the family was dressed to the nines. We had a day planned with a few of our closest friends and family. We were sur to leave our house in plenty of time to make it to our home church in College Station. We even left my Mother's home early to give us plenty of time. You know I'm a planner!

We get to the church and dress our special girl. She looked beautiful! As the family is walking up, my dad comes and tells me the priest is looking for me. I assume he wants to run through the ceremony so I quickly head to the altar just to find out I had the wrong time. Luckily, they waited for us and it all appeared to be seamless. How embarrassing!!! I still cannot get over it. Even with my mistake the baptism was beautiful and most of the family was there "early" and got to see it!

Madeline did a wonderful job during the ceremony, talking to the crowd and playing with my necklace. She didn't even blink when she was anointed and I she loved the holy water. I think she was ready for a bath! It was such a beautiful day and it was truly a honor to have my godparents be there to take on this important role in Maddie's life. They played a key role in my upbringing and I know they will do the same for my little girl!

After the ceremony we took a few pictures and then we headed to my parents house for a small reception. It was so great to have visit with everyone. Maddie wanted me to hold her the whole time. I think being with lots of people makes her think I'm going to leave her. So most of the time I obliged, but I definitely think we need to get her used to being without mommy sometimes. So hard though, because I had a hard time leaving either of my babies!!

Lucky number 7

Happy anniversary to us! The kids and Shawn were sick on our actual anniversary so we stayed in. But luckily my parents came to visit this past weekend, so we took the opportunity to have a nice dinner at Taste of Texas. The wait was long so we enjoyed a cocktail. The we got seated in the wine cellar area, which was really cool. Our waiter Sylus was great. The food, drinks and service were excellent. We talked about anything and everything, just like when we were dating. It was so nice to spend a quiet evening with my husband. We need more of these nights!! Love you Shawn! You are a great partner, my best friend, hard-worker and a superdad to our beautiful babies.

My dinner was amazing!

There she goes

It's official, Madeline is a crawler.

Rodeo time

Every year around rodeo time I get so excited. I see if Shawn can get the "hook up" with some tickets. Then I realize that babysitters are hard to come by during the week, especially with two kids. So this year I figured that we could go with a playgroup during the week and keep it low key....WRONG. I will start off by saying the traffic just to get to the other side of town was crazy. Parking was ridiculous. Oh, and we happened to go on a value day, so the place was a madhouse. Oh, and I forgot my sit n stand stroller, so there I was trying to get through the masses with my ginormous Bob Duallie. Ok, I got it out of my system!!

On the bright side, Max loved to see the animals. He touched the baby calves, saw the baby chicks (while almost getting smashed by a stampede of kindergarteners), goats, sheep etc. It was so crazy I didn't let Max leave my side, and of course that is all he wanted to do. Madeline did a great job in the BOB or the ergo. We took pictures, but then we were out of there. It was crazy packed! On to the good stuff, carnival food. We had corn dogs and french fries while sitting on the side of a fountain. All the tables were taken of course. After this the kids were getting grouchy, which was my cue to make the trek back to our vehicle, then another 30 minutes home. Ugh, hopefully next year I'll get it a little more together. But we did it and I'm glad we did. Life is a journey!!

with some of his strollerfit friends

@ the livestock show

Crazy 8!

Maddie, Baby girl, Cosa Mosa, Maddie Cakes, Cakes, Purdy-purdy, Sissy are just a few names that we call our sweet angel. 8 months ago our family was blessed with this sweet, cuddly, precious bundle of joy. She gets sweeter by the day.

Maddie is wearing 6-12 or 9 months clothing. She fits in a size 3 diaper, but not for much longer. She crawls when she wants something, but she is quite content to just sit and bounce on her own. She likes to pull up on toys, tables or her crib. We still haven't put her mattress down because the gate is really high. She loves to watch her brother and laugh. She screams when she is happy or just to get some attention. She loves bath time and grabbing for toys. She takes about 2 naps a day and sleeps through the night most nights. Bedtime is between 7-8 for her and she wakes up between 5 and 7 most mornings. She loves just about anything we feed her. She likes to feed herself and drink water from a sippy cup. She gets a bottle somedays but she is a good nurser, so that's fine with me! :) It is so fun to see her getting bigger and growing up. We love her to pieces!!!

24 months

Turning two seems such like such a huge milestone. For the past 24 months I've been talking about my baby's age in terms of months. I will have to stop saying his age by months, which will make it easier. The doctor says Max is the size of an average 3 year old. Very tall boy! He is 37 inches and weighs just under 30 pounds and he is thriving. Dr. also says we can now start giving him 2% milk. Not sure how I feel about that, but he doesn't seem to mind. Max is speaking more clearly and you can tell he wants to get his message out. He mostly says 1-2 word phrases. He loves to jump, but not with both feet yet. He also loves wearing boots at all times, pretty funny and cute, but sometimes annoying when its time to get them off or at the park. This boy loves his toys and sometimes even likes to help put things away...sometimes. He is also getting pretty territorial with his things when Madeline or his friends get something he likes. He is now sleeping in our old bed which is in his room, alongside his toddler bed. The room is a little cramped, so we'll have to do some re-organizing soon. We are not potty-training yet, but I do ask him if he wants to go. He mostly says no, but is quite uncomfortable when he has a wet or dirty diaper. All in due time I guess!! There is so much more that I could say about him, but I'd be writing forever. I'm just overwhelmed with love and pride for my first born. Love you Shawn Maxwell!!

Here are some pictures we took on Max's actual birthday while were at a huge consignment event. He was not cooperating but we got some good shots. He is a doll, always looks presh!

...and he is a great helper

• At TLG (the little gym) on Monday, my parents were watching Maddie behind the window. When it was time to play with the bells, Max grabbed 3, one for me, one for Maddie and one for him. He reached for her and tried to give it to her. It was priceless.
• He loves to help his sister. If he finds her pacifier he brings it to her. I guess he figures he loves it so much, she must love it too!
• Its fun to see them eating. He feeds her gerber puffs and helps her with her sippy cup.

The road goes on forever

...and the party never ends. So Max's birthday was on Friday, the 25th, but the real party wasn't until Saturday. We started the party at The Little Gym. Max loves that place! I love seeing his face light up when they bring out the bells, balls and bubbles. At his party he actually participated in most of the activities, which he usually doesn't. After playing we had some snacks that I prepared. Fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and crackers. My mom helped me put the finishing touches on the platters and they looked great. Wish I had taken a picture. All the kids got a train with their name and a balloon. The kids worked up and appetite, so they were munching away. Max did a good job while we sang him "Happy Birthday". He also blew out the candle (with a little help) all by himself. Then on to the yummy cupcakes that Suzy and I baked and decorated.

After the kiddie party, the festivities continued at our house with our family. We had a house full and it was great. Max was so pooped he took a nap, but he woke up in time for the hot dogs and seafood gumbo. Once he realized his cousin Isabel was there he was ready to play! Maddie on the other hand would not nap, as much as I tried (much to the chagrin of some veteran mommies). I guess she wanted to party with everyone. We ate, opened gifts (way too many), ate more cupcakes, played Wii and played some more. I cannot even begin to list all the gifts he received, but he got his favorites: guns, cars, guitar, clothes, bubbles, puzzles, etc. It was a great night and we felt so blessed to be surrounded with our loved ones.