Haircut

Maddy got her haircut two weekends ago at a new place near our house. Since this was her third haircut she was a pro. She jumped right in the chair and was super chatty with the hair stylist. It's been much easier to manage her hair having it be a couple inches shorter which is much appreciated. She even got her hair blow dryed which she thought was super fun!

Happy Birthday Maddy

Today is Maddy's 3rd birthday. She's growing up so fast. I feel like I was just pregnant with her, waiting to meet her and get to know her and in reality she's been here for three years. She's amazing, truly the greatest blessing. She is opinionated and independent in the most awesome way. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. She's active and engaged and loves learning. She is constantly looking for new things to master and it's amazing to watch her brain work as she conquers new things. She loves hugs and snuggles and talks incessantly about her family and friends.

Our life has not been the same since she came into it. She has taught us so much in these three short years and we can't wait to see what the future brings with our family. We love you Maddy!

Here are some photos of Maddy over the years. Top left is her newborn photos when she was 10 days old. Top right is her first birthday photos. Bottom left is the summer before her second birthday. Bottom right is her school photos the summer before her third birthday. 

Swimming Lessons

Maddy has been taking swimming lessons since she was 6 months old and has always really enjoyed them. This past session we started a transitional class that helps the preschoolers get ready for classes on their own without Mom or Dad. We've been working with Teacher Tiffany who is amazing with the kids and really tailors the classes to their interests and developmental needs. The final two weeks of this session Teacher Tiffany suggested that the Moms and Dads stay in their regular clothes and sit on the bleachers instead of being in their suits, sitting on the side of the pool. Maddy did great with this transition and really enjoyed being a big kid. We'll have a few more weeks of swimming lessons like this and then we'll transition to a new class with just 3 kids and the teacher all on their own.

Maddy's 3rd Birthday Party

Yesterday we had Maddy's third birthday party at the Tacoma Children's Museum. We invited some of her friends from daycare and other family and friends. It was a great party. We had the party room at the museum for an hour and did snacks, birthday cupcakes, and presents. Then the whole group moved to the museum for playing. Everyone stayed and moved throughout the museum, sometimes playing all together, sometimes everyone on their own with their parents. The kid's had a blast and Maddy was SO excited to spend time with her friends throughout the day.

I'm so glad we did her party at the museum because it really cut down on some of the things that we're a little excessive when we did home parties the past two years (decorations and food especially). And this way I didn't have to come up with activities because the museum was the activity. Also, the staff at the museum helped with set-up and completely took care of clean up. They also helped us move all of the presents and leftovers to our car. It was so so so convenient and totally worth the cost. I would definitely do a party there again.

Fun in the party room! 

Playing in the Children's Museum!

Commitment to Health

The past 6 months have been pretty intense as I've worked to finish my dissertation. I already have limited "free" time and when trying to add in writing daily and often, that free time was pretty consumed. This often meant I sacrificed things like going to the gym and planning ahead to cook healthy meals. This also meant that I consumed a lot of caffeine (mostly in Diet Coke form) and other junk food to manage stress. None of this was especially great for my body but was a means to an end. The end is here which means it's time to refocus and get back on track. Here are five goals that I think will help me accomplish this.

1. Drink 60 ounces of water per day. I know that my body and skin feel better when I'm hydrated so I'm going to keep my water bottle filled and track how much water I'm drinking with my fit bit app. 

2. Eat 3-4 servings of fruit/vegetables a day. We do pretty well with veggies as sides at dinner but unfortunately during the day, I don't make it much of a focus. I'm going to prepackage fruits and veggies to take to work daily as well as just keep more fruits and veggies on hand in the house for snacks.

3. Do cardio 3 times a week. Unfortunately going to the gym means going after about 12 hours of commuting/working during the week. That isn't always the most fun but I need to make a better commitment. Maddy has swimming lessons and other classes at our gym so Ted and I are going to take turns taking her to these activities while the other person works out, since we have to be there anyway. 

4. Do weights 2 times a week. Ted and I lift weights at the gym together. I don't know a ton about weight lifting but feel more comfortable when we do it together. We usually focus on arms and abs and I have definitely felt more toned when I do it regularly. 

5. Do ab challenge 5-6 days a week. My friend Jenny introduced me to an ab challenge where you do crunches, leg lifts and plank a certain number of times throughout a month period. I've done it a few times but never finished an entire month (it gets pretty tough by the middle of the month). I really want to finish this time. That means doing 3 days straight and then taking a rest day which means 5-6 times a week depending on the week.

Fair

Washington has a really big state fair every September and we were able to squeeze in a visit this year. We had gone before when Maddy was almost one but thought it would be more fun now that she is almost three. We had a great time overall. There was a seahawks game later in the day so all photos include hawks jerseys.

The highlight was visiting the animals. We saw pretty much every farm animal you could imagine. Maddy's favorite animal right now is a cow so that was a big focus of our visit. They even had a plastic cow that you could milk which she loved.

The low point was the rides. We knew there was a chance Maddy would be scared of the rides but we had talked to her about them ahead of time and even watched a few before buying any tickets to help her understand how it would work. She was VERY excited. She insisted on starting with an airplane ride that gently goes up and down in circles. I got her settled and we snapped a few photos. She smiled and wave each time she went by. THEN by the fourth lap she started screaming to get off. Well, being that 12-15 other kids were having the time of their lives and she wasn't in danger, the ride continued. She continued to scream to get her off and reach for Ted and I. After about 90 seconds the ride naturally ended and we "rescued" her. Needless to say she was having no more of rides. She did go down the big slide with Ted and even though she was cautious it worked well. I tried the carousel later but we only made it on the platform and near a horse before the crying began so off we went without riding. Oh well, there's always next year.

Add in funnel cakes, corn dogs and cotton candy and it was a success!