Day #272

We didn't want to cook last night after an extensive day of cleaning so we got Ivars chowder and fish/clams and chips. Mmm tasty. Maddy especially liked dipping her clams in the chowder.

Day #271

We met my friend Gabe and his wife Emily and their daughter Anna at the Children's Museum today. Maddy and Anna had a great time playing. Of course Maddy was wearing her jersey because it was in the middle of the Seahawks game (don't worry, we got home in time to see the overtime win!)

Day #270

My grandma moved up to Vancouver about a year and a half ago and initially I thought it was great because we could go visit often (it's about a 2 hour drive). I didn't take into account how challenging the drive would be for Maddy especially if we try to go up and back in the same day. So unfortunately we haven't been able to visit as much as I would have liked. 

We decided to try this past weekend and Maddy and I took off first thing Saturday morning. Maddy did GREAT on the drive down! We had a great visit with Grammie Great, played for a while, and then went out to lunch. Maddy did well on the way home too and ended up sleeping about half the way. We'll have to try that again now that we know its a success!

Day #269

Maddy wanted some fruit tonight so we cut up a mango and she and I ate the whole thing. She kept saying, more mango!

Day #268

We went out for Italian food last night and Maddy got her own bowl of the best ever minestrone soup. She loved it!!

Day #267

We got Maddy new fuzzy PJs for fall/winter in 2T. Since I wanted quite a few pairs for laundry purposes, we had to branch into the "boys" section which was fine by me because some of the "girls" PJs were a little too "girly" if you know what I mean. These PJs have dinosaurs all over them. Maddy got really excited when she saw them and started pointing to the dinos saying rrrroar! 

Day #266

We made fried calamari the other night and Maddy ate about 1,432 pieces (ok, I might be exaggerating a little but really, it was a ton). She even had her own roasted red pepper aioli to dip it in. She couldn't say calamari so she called it "mari." She was very happy!

Day #265

A second before this photo was taken Maddy was laying on top of the table. I said, what are you doing?? And she said, laying :) Crazy kid!

Day #264

Ted and I went to the Seahawks game this Sunday. We had a great time although maybe a little too much fun because Monday morning was rough!

Day #263

Grandma Merlene got Maddy a book last year that allows you to record each page so you read the book. Maddy was a little young and didn't really understand but we just got it back out and it's a BIG hit. Maddy says "Grammie's Story" and sits with the book listening to her voice. It's pretty cute and really nice since Merlene has been out of town for over a month.

Day #262

I posted before that we are doing an ab challenge this month. Maddy still likes to get on the floor with us but last night surprised us. We said, let's do planks and she got right on her stomach and pushed up into a pretty decent plank. She looked up and smiled and said "plank!" Yep, you got it!

Day #261

Maddy really likes taking showers instead of baths but that means Ted or I have to shower with her and sometimes we don't have time or we don't want to shower. Maddy doesn't understand that so we've had to invent "Maddy's Special Shower!" Basically we take off the shower head and spray her which doesn't require us to get in and it's super fast if we're rushed that night. Here's a photo of the action!

Day #260

Maddy has really started eating vegetables and it's not like she didn't before but she's really expanding. Yesterday while cutting up veggies for an upcoming dinner, she ate both raw yellow pepper and carrots. She loved them (I don't even eat raw peppers!). Then at dinner last night, we had Caesar salad and she insisted. We've tried salad before with no success but this time she ate two small bowls of salad and loved it. Yay for an even better eater, go Maddy!

Mmmm Caesar salad and big forks!

Day #259

Maddy has been adamantly opposed to yogurt since she started being able to eat it. We've tried over and over with no success. Even when she was on antibiotics nonstop and the doctors wanted her to eat yogurt to keep the healthy bacteria growing in her body, she would not. Luckily our friend Callie came to visit last month and eats yogurt pretty much like its her job. Maddy's greatest passion in life is doing whatever someone else is doing so alas, she eats yogurt. We started with baby food pouches of yogurt and have just moved on to go-gurt which tastes a little more yogurt-y and has the active cultures we wanted before. Yay! Thanks Callie!

She's smiling so big you'd think it would hurt her face!

Day #258

We have gotten a little off track with our date nights in, so we kicked if off again last night. We had chili lime shrimp, crab cakes, garlic bread, and beet and goat cheese salad. It was super tasty but we both ate too much. Since we were super hungry after work, we decided to make the crab cakes as an appetizer before Maddy went to bed so she could also eat them for dinner. She loved them!!

Deciding on the perfect bite!

Day #257

I hope you're not getting tired of these football posts each week because we've got a lot of football season left ;)

Today was the Seahawks vs. 49ers and since Ted went to the game with some NAPA customers, that left Maddy and I home to watch it and eat pizza (not too bad of a trade off). We camped out in front of the TV and cheered the Hawks on to an awesome victory! 

Day #256

Today was Kendra's sister's baby shower in Seattle, which meant, Kendra's in town! Maddy and I headed up to the shower and had a great time seeing Kendra and her family and celebrating. There were a bunch of kids Maddy's age which was great.

Day #255

Ted and I are doing an ab challenge this month where we have to do a progressively harder number of ab exercises each day. Maddy has gotten into the fun and likes to lay on the floor with us and copy the workout. "Me do abs."

Day #254

As I've mentioned before, Maddy is much happier (especially in the evenings on work days) when we let her help us do things around the house. Her new favorite thing to do is make coffee. Since we grind our own beans, she gets really excited to fill up the grinder and then push the "noise" button to chop up the beans. She asks to make coffee multiple times a night, even if we already did it and doesn't quite grasp that it's a once a day task. At least she's having fun!

Day #253

We took Maddy to the park the other day and it was really cool to see how much she's grown and changed since we started going there a few months ago. She can now climb onto everything herself and is really independent whereas before we had to lift her up, or hold her hand going down the slide. I can't believe she's almost going to be 2, crazy (which doesn't mean I want to hear, oh-my-goodness, when are you going to have baby #2, because until this big "project" called a PhD is done, we're not even crossing that bridge).

Days #251 & #252

I told you a while back that we had family photos taken. It has taken me forever to go through them and pick my favorites. Sorry about that. Here are the favorites!

Day #250

Today was Christmas at our house. No, not the real Christmas but you would have thought so, since it was the first week of regular season Seahawks football. It was full of jerseys, champagne and lots of cheering. Thanks to a good 4th quarter, there was even a win. Go Hawks!

Day #249

At 8:56pm on 9/6/13, Ted and I became an Aunt and Uncle again and Maddy got a new cousin. Paisley Marie Draper joined our family and we couldn't be happier. Here's a photo of Nicole, Hayden and baby Paisley the next morning. We love her already!

Day #247 & # 248

I'm in Hawaii celebrating my friends Jenn and Paolo as they get married. While the purpose of the trip is that, who goes to Hawaii and doesn't do a few touristy things. Here I am snorkeling and then enjoying some Hawaiian shaved ice. Great trip!

Day #246

Maddy has a pretty good routine of running to get a snack right when we get home from daycare. Today she wanted to watch some cartoons on my old iPhone while eating her snack. She's pretty engrossed which allowed Mom to start on dinner, although her short attention span means she was up and running around within 10 minutes :)

Day #245

Great Grandpa (Papa) passed away in March and over the past few months the family has gone through some of his plants and divided them up so we can all have a piece of Grandpa's green thumb. My mom gave me this jade plant but I hadn't had a chance to replant it yet. I bought a new pot and some potting soil this weekend and replanted it. It looks great. Maddy now says, "Papa's plant"anytime she sees it, which is cute and a nice reminder that he's here with us in spirit :)

Day #244

Maddy is so so so so so close to figuring out this potty training thing. We spent A LOT of time on the potty yesterday. We unfortunately were unsuccessful but we won't give up yet. She likes to read books on the potty now which at least keeps her more still. 

Days #241-243

We had guests in town this past weekend which kept me busy and not on the computer much. My friend Jenny who I went to Michigan State with, came to visit with her 15 month old daughter Callie. They were here for 4 nights and we had a great time overall. The girls played really well together. 

We went to the Tacoma Children's Museum and the girls had a great time. We also dressed them alike since they have so many of the same clothes. 

Jenny brought Maddy a MSU t-shirt so the girls could wear their Mom's college shirts.  

We got sushi, miso soup, rice/chicken, and gyoza and the girls ate their dinner at Maddy's little table. We took off their shirts to avoid an extra mess with the soup (it didn't work, it was a huge mess).