Day #210

Aunt Natalie sent Maddy this shirt last month and we finally got it on for a photo. Maddy and I went to the grocery store while wearing the shirt and a lady at the store asked her what 2 + 2 was. I tried to get her to say 4 but she was being shy. Yay for a fun shirt and for girls liking math :)

Day #209

Tonight (yay the blog is finally caught up) we did family photos at a local park. It was sunny and beautiful out and since we were down by the water, it was even more pretty. We took tons of shots and hopefully we'll have them back soon to share. In the meantime, here is a preview of Maddy's outfit and hair. Her skirt had little butterflies on it and Ted and my outfit coordinated pretty well (photos of all of us to come). We had a blast and are excited to get back the awesome photos (hopefully her smile in the real photos is less cheesy than below). 

Day #208

We went to family dinner at the Davis house tonight. At the end of the dinner, Grandpa tried to teach Maddy a fun game where he flips her over after she puts her hands between her legs and he pulls her over. It took a little while for her to get the hang of it, but she loved it. Grandpa had fun too and kept exclaiming how smart she was for figuring it out!

Day #207

I had to write this morning for a big paper that is due this week. Ted took Maddy to the Tacoma Children's Museum first thing in the morning (Saturday) so Mom could have some quiet time. They had a blast and because of our annual membership, they were allowed to go an hour earlier than the general public. It ended up being a slow morning, which meant Ted and Maddy were the only members there for the first hour. The staff played with Maddy and ended up giving Ted a little break which was great! Here's Maddy and her Children's Museum helper friend who's studying to be a special education teacher. 

Day #206

We had a blast today at the playground. We walked there (with Ted and Bailey) which was good exercise for everyone not being pushed in a stroller (Maddy) and then a blast for Maddy as she ran around the playground. Fun times!

Day #205

She decided after getting her diaper changed that she'd prefer to lay on her changing table and take a rest. She looks pretty comfy to me :)

Day #204

Maddy lingers in the bathtub and often wants to stay in long after the water is out. She lays down even when the water is all down the drain and says swimming and kicks her feet. She looks a little ridiculous if you ask me but she has fun, so oh well. 

Day #203

Maddy enjoying her bedtime snack while perched up on top of my pillows. Looks pretty comfy :)

Day #202

While I was away in Kentucky, Maddy and Ted started a new tradition where they bring her basketball hoop out into the backyard and play. Maddy has a blast and gets some practice with sharing because she says, "Maddy's turn" and then "Daddy's turn" and "Mama's turn," passing the ball around. We played for a while last night and it was a great time.

Day #199, #200 & #201

We went camping this weekend at Millersvania State Campground south of Olympia. We had a great time! Maddy spent a lot of the weekend saying "Maddy happy," so apparently she liked it too! We had fun playing at our campsite, going for lots of walks, and even swimming in the lake (which was very very warm). Maddy quickly learned that campfires are hot and would say over and over, hot, hot, hot!

Day #198

I got home from my trip late last night and worked from home today. Maddy went to daycare but I picked her up early to hang out. We got out Hayden's 4-wheeler that we're borrowing since he got a new and improved one and she and I played in the driveway. She had a blast riding up and down. We're taking it with us camping this weekend which she should really enjoy. 

Day #197

When in Rome! I'm in Kentucky right now for a conference and we went out tonight for a drink. What drink do you have when you're only miles from Churchill Downs (the Kentucky Derby). Duh, a mint julep! I'm not a huge bourbon fan but it was more tasty than I would have thought. It sort of looked like a snow cone at first before the ice melted. It was fun though.

Day #196

More Kentucky and more Skype! She was extremely interested in chatting with Mom tonight and we had a great time. The bets part was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider!

Day #195

I'm in Louisville, Kentucky for a conference for a few days so can only see Maddy through Skype. She really enjoys Skyping and gets really excited when we start talking. She talks a lot now too so that makes Skyping even better. It's been fun to sing songs or play games over Skype so it feels like we're together. 

Day #194

What a goof-ball! For a few weeks she's been "shy" around the camera and when we've been telling her we're taking a picture she turns away (or runs away). She's back to her old self now and doing her cheesy smiles!

Day #193

Maddy had swimming lessons this morning and Ted decided to go in the water with her while I snapped photos. It went really well at first, but then she did not like that Mom was not in the water and kind of freaked out. I tried to leave and hide so she couldn't see me, hoping she'd just focus on swimming and stop crying, but it didn't work. Oh well, there's next time. Here's a photo from when she was happy and swimming.

Day #192

Ted and I got a babysitter and went out to dinner tonight to a nice Italian place in Tacoma. Maddy stayed home with Gloria and they had pizza (that made me feel like a grown up to order pizza for the babysitter, not sure why). We had a great time and Gloria promised to take picture of the day of something fun she and Maddy did. Here it is (pretty cute) after bath!

Day #191

I didn't take a picture yesterday for a variety of reasons (my phone was low on batteries when I got home, Maddy was a little grouchy because she has another ear infection, and Ted worked late for the second night in a row which meant things were more hectic as usual after work). So...I decided to steal a picture my brother-in-laws girlfriend (Tiff) took a few weeks ago at family dinner. Maddy looked especially cute and happy and I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Day #190

Maddy and I went shopping with Grandma Merlene on Wednesday night to buy me some clothes for my birthday present. We spent a while trying on dresses and ended up finding two cute summer-y dresses. Maddy had fun running around the dressing room. I turned around one time and was like, whoa, where'd she go. Then I saw little feet poking out from under the bench :)

Day #189

Sorry I'm behind posting these. These were taken earlier this week but things have been hectic with Ted and I at work as well as at home (another ear infection for Maddy). 

I got a "fancy" pedometer to track my steps and calories burned called "The FitBit." You wear it like a bracelet and it keeps track of everything and syncs with my phone and computer. I like it because it helps me stay physical with little reminders to get up and be active. So far so good.

The other benefit is my two friends are using it as well and you can compare your information with them and help motivate each other. So even though they are in New York (Kendra) and Colorado (Jenny), we're still on this journey together.

Day #188

Tonight was date night again which meant tasty food for Mom and Dad and not quite as homemade (or not at all homemade cause it came from the freezer) food for Maddy. It was a good night overall though and a good start to the week.

Fish sticks and french fries (and ketchup)!

Vietnamese Shrimp Noodle Bowl and Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce!

Day #187

Maddy decided to get all dressed up to play in her kitchen today and make soup (it was garlic and pear soup, ewww). She had a lot of fun and looked pretty cute in the process.

Day #186

We had a bbq tonight after Ted got home from work. Maddy usually will only eat corn cut off the cob, even though we've tried a few times. Tonight while she watched us eat it off the cob she wanted to try it and it was a big success. She loved it! The Davis' are known for their passion for corn on the cob so it really was inevitable that she'd get on board one day.

Day #185

We went to the park again today and Maddy had a blast. We also decided to walk there which is about a mile each way and we took Bailey with us. It was good exercise and a lot of fun. 

Day #184

Happy 4th of July! We had a pretty low key 4th of July (and Julie's birthday) today. We hung out at home most of the day, went to the park for part of the afternoon and then grilled some tasty food, and had chocolate cake. It was very fun! Here are a bunch of photos of our day.

Day #183

Since my birthday is tomorrow (woo hoo), Ted's present to me was to spend an evening in Seattle celebrating. He picked me up from work and we went to the Washington Arboretum to walk in the park (see the picture below) and then we went to dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant. We stayed in a hotel down by Lake Union and had drinks in the evening to celebrate. It was a great celebration!

Day #182 1/2

Guess what 182 1/2 means? We are half way through 2013 (wow that's kind of scary to write). That means in relation to this blog, I've posted 182 pictures (or more cause some days were collages or multiple) and even when I've gotten behind for a variety of good or not so good reasons, I've stuck with it. Only 182 1/2 to go :)

Day #182

We had fun tonight playing with play dough which Maddy really enjoys. The only issue is that every once in a while if you aren't watching you'll see her chewing on something and realize she ate part of the play dough. Tonight her favorite "flavor" was red :)

Day #181

Date Night - Take 2

Ted and I missed our second week of date night since we headed to Vancouver a day earlier than expected. It seemed like we might miss it again last night since we were still a little discombobulated after camping but we figured it out and made a tasty dinner cooked all on the grill (because it's nearly 90 degrees in Tacoma). We had lemon herb chicken, roasted potato napoleons with goat cheese, and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. Mmm, it was all SO tasty and we topped it off with a bottle of Prosecco. Date Night 2 was also not interrupted by Maddy and her diaper escapades. Success!

Day #180

Due to the extreme heat during camping (Saturday reached the high 90s) we spent a lot of time in the river playing in the water. Everyone had a great time floating and swimming, especially Maddy and Hayden. I wish that river could come home with us :)

Day #179

On 6/29 we used our evening meal to celebrate Larry's birthday. He will be turning 60 on 7/1 and so we did a big family party while we were camping. We decorated the campground with streamers, balloons and other things and made him wear a Happy Birthday button and headband throughout the day. We all told stories about him and had a great time. 

Day #178

The weather was pretty hot while we were camping/rafting so we spent a lot of time in the river. Maddy even went down the rapids in Uncle Dan's boat and LOVED it. She kept saying wee and fun when the waves hit us. Here are a bunch of photos of our fun!

Day #177

The first day of camping was great! Aunt Natalie worked on an idea (with Julie and Casey's help) to make a hand print quilt for each of the Great Grandmas. So on 6/27 we all painted up our hands (and the babies did their feet too) and made quilt squares. It was really fun. Here are some photos of the babies doing their squares.

Day #176

And we're off! On June 26 we packed up (including Great Grandma, yay) and headed to Oregon to go camping and rafting at the Rogue River with most of the Draper and Silva family. Maddy did great in the car! It was fun to catch up with Dan, Nicole and Hayden on the freeway and caravan the last hour together waving at each other from the windows.

Day #175

We were still in Vancouver and Maddy and Great Grandma took advantage by having breakfast together. Maddy loved the corn flakes and Great Grandma had fun feeding her. Two peas in a pod!

Day #174

We were planning to head down to Oregon on June 25 to pick up Great Grandma and go rafting/camping. Unfortunately Great Grandma took a fall the week before and wasn't doing well so we went down a day early to spend some time with her before the vacation. Maddy, Ted and I stayed with her, took her to the doctor and helped her rest up (which meant she was able to come on the trip, YAY). Maddy and Great Grandma especially had a good time hanging out. Here they are playing peek a boo!