Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015 was a huge SUCCESS! For the better part of a week we had Nana Terry, Bumpa Larry, Grammie Kim, Grammie Merlene, Papa Rick, Great Aunt Linda, Great Uncle Bob, Bob's sister Jane, Uncle Dan, Aunt Nicole, Cousins Hayden & Paisley, Julie, Ted and Maddy. Oh, plus 7 dogs!

The week was filled with cooking, playing cribbage, laughing, playing with toys, watching TV, smiling and so much more. We opened tons of presents, made cookies, made pies, ate and ate and ate, and overall just enjoyed each other's company. We missed a few special folks who are no longer with us but forever live in our hearts.

Here are quite a few photos to show off our fun!

Decorating for Christmas

There are a couple of factors that have lead us to go a little crazy with our Christmas decorations this year.

1. Last year we closed on our new house on December 8 which meant we moved December 9-13 and then were out of town much of the remainder of the month. Alas we did not have a tree, decorations, or really any mention of Christmas in our house (we were at my parents for Christmas itself which had many decorations, so we weren't totally deprived).

2. This year we are hosting Christmas in Washington for the first time ever! That means Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Great Aunts, Great Uncles, and Cousins will be joining us in our house.

So why not go all out if you are making up for two years and you have a whole brood of family to help you celebrate!

We started decorating right after Thanksgiving, and took advantage of some awesome Black Friday sales to stock up on more lights and decorations. Maddy was very into decorating and was a huge help. It was so fun to decorate as a family. This week has been mostly focused on the outside and then we'll move to the inside (to coincide with rain coming into town).

Maddy and the Rock

About six weeks ago Ted got a call from daycare telling us that Maddy had put a rock in her ear. After a visit to the pediatrician and then an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist it was confirmed that she had a small rock in her right ear that they couldn't get out. We tried special ear drops for a week with no luck. The rock wasn't hurting her, more annoying than anything. After a follow-up with the ENT we scheduled surgery for November 16.

That morning we arrived at the hospital super early and got all checked in. We had to wait for a while until surgery began but luckily the Children's Hospital had lots of fun toys and games. Finally it was time to go back to surgery. Maddy was not thrilled to leave mom and dad but before we knew it the doctor was out to tell us everything was fine. He gave us the tiny rock (maybe we'll make it into a necklace for Maddy to wear). 

Maddy came out of the anesthesia with no issues and was quickly eating Popsicles and crackers. She has told us many times now that she's not going to put anything else in her ears. Fingers crossed!

Ted's 40th Birthday

On November 14, Ted turned 40! We had a fun party at our house to celebrate. We had a ton of awesome appetizers, more drinks than anyone could count, and so much fun! Ted's Mom even wrote a sort of poem to recount all of Ted's milestones and adventures over the years. Congrats to 40 amazing years Ted!

Julie In New York

Earlier this month I took advantage of a mid-week day off and hopped on a plane to New York where two of my good friends live. I got to see Gina in Poughkeepsie and Kendra in Albany. I drove around New York and Connecticut quite a bit seeing friends in multiple locations. 

The highlight was Kendra and I took the train into New York City. We got to ride the subway, have lunch in the Upper East Side, go to St. Patrick's Church and hang out in the rain in Central Park. 

Four Year Check-up

Maddy went to the doctor last month for her four year check-up. She did really well and boy has she grown. She is now 40.3 inches tall (in the 61st percentile) and weighs 36lbs (in the 59th percentile). That means she grew 3 inches and gained 5lbs since her three year check-up.

She got to wear a paper gown for the first time which looked so cute on her. Of course after the photo she decided she'd rather not wear it and was just in her underwear by the time the doctor came in (so much for modesty).

She had to get her flu shot at the end which did not go well even though we had been preparing her for the possibility and she had even watched a cartoon show about the main character getting a shot and being brave. Oh well, at least it's only once a year. We went and got ice cream after to celebrate!

Maddy's Birthday Party

On October 14 we celebrated Maddy's fourth birthday. This includes a week of birthday fun for Maddy. Since Mom spent the week of (and unfortunately day of) Maddy's birthday at a work training in Baltimore, her birthday was very spread out.

On Wednesday was her actual birthday and Ted kicked off the day by filing her bedroom with balloons for her to wake up to. He took mini cupcakes to her class so she could celebrate at school. He wrapped up the day by taking her to Chuck-E-Cheese which she loved! 

Mom came home on Friday and Mom and Maddy went to Build-A-Bear in the afternoon together and then we did our Davis family party with Grammie, Papa, Uncle Max and Andrea (and tons of presents). 

Saturday was Maddy's actual party with 11 of her friends at the Tacoma Children's Museum. Here are some photos of her birthday party fun!

Crazy Week!

I was really hoping to post every Monday but a busy weekend that lead into a Maddy sick day made that tough and so here it is Wednesday. 

We had an extremely busy weekend full of soccer practice and not one, not two, but three birthday parties. Yowza! Then Sunday night (at birthday party 3) Maddy started complaining about an ear ache. Yep, another ear infection (only been a month since the last one, although it was a year since the time before that).

Here's some photos of our adventures: 

1) Maddy resting on the couch after visiting the doctor, 2) Maddy and her teammates warming up at soccer, 3) Maddy and her BFFs Savannah and Sophia at a classmate's birthday party.

In other news, guess who can write her own name?!?!? She's been working on her letters and writing in some preschool workbooks I got her but it came as quite a surprise when she signed her own name on a birthday card this weekend. Go Maddy!

Fall Pre-K Soccer

Maddy had so much fun playing soccer last spring that we signed her up again this fall. We also intentionally signed up with two of her teammates from our last team. The mom of one of them agreed to be the coach of their team and I am her assistant.

Saturday was our first practice and it was a blast (although wrangling eleven 3-4 year olds was a chore)! Maddy really liked having me be involved on the field with her. 

Here are some photos of our team. Maddy is in the pink shirt. Her friends Landon and Aaron from last season are in the green shirts. Go soccer!

Maddy Photos - 2015

Earlier this month we had outdoor photos taken of Maddy at the Country Club which is right on a lake (we got married there too!). We had a great afternoon with our photographer who had tons of photo ideas. Maddy had a blast posing and acting goofy. 

She looks so grown up! We can't believe that she's technically only three (although very close to four)!

Here are our favorites!

We're Back & Maddy Starts Preschool

Wow what a hiatus! I had been pretty good at blogging for about 3 years but 2015 proved to be too much. A new house, a new degree, new sports for Maddy, it was a lot and blogging moved to pretty low on my priority list. While I didn't always miss writing or feeling obligated to update the blog, I do miss the regular account of our lives. I miss visually seeing Maddy grow up and master new milestones. I miss a chronological account of our successes and challenges. So I'm back, for as long as that makes sense for me/us.

It seems fitting to jump in to my first blog post in 9 months by sharing the start to a new school year. 

Maddy moved to the 4 year old class at daycare today which more officially begins pre school since next year will be pre kindergarten and then kindergarten the fall of 2017 (thank you fall birthday for that little delay). 

Maddy has been working on the transition to the 4's class (what they call it at her school) for a few weeks now, spending half days with the new teachers in the new class. Maddy is kind of an all or nothing kid so it's been a little torturous for her that she couldn't just jump right into the new class, leaving the 3's behind. But alas the day has finally come. Her cubby has been moved, her art folder has been moved, and she's all ready to be an even bigger kid! Luckily many of her closest friends, including her BFF Savannah, are moving too.

One of my friends posted photos this week of her kids starting school and included a couple of questions she asked them to highlight their views on life. I stole them and asked Maddy. Here are her responses:

What are you most looking forward to in the 4's class?

I'm excited about the new toys I get to play with!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A chef! I love cooking with mommy and daddy!

She could barely contain her excitement for her new class. And of course she had to add a silly face photo up in the reading loft.

New House

Well it's official, we have a new house. We offered at the end of October and closed the beginning of December. It was quite an adventure and one I'm glad we won't have to do again anytime soon. We love the house and are so happy.

We moved in about a week before a lot of travel, so we are just now getting unpacked and settled but it's all coming together. It's over 1000 sq. ft. bigger than our townhouse was and is on .25 of an acre which means Maddy and Bailey are ecstatic about all of the outdoor space. We are so glad it all worked out. Here are some of the listing photos. I'll share some more personalized ones once we finish unpacking and decorating.

Top 5 Things I Love About the New House
1. Separate family and living rooms which means Maddy's toys are contained and out of our main living space
2. Tons of cabinets and counter space in the kitchen
3. 2 1/2 bathrooms including our own master suite which means no more bath toys in our shower
4. Yard, yard, yard enough said
5. Quiet neighborhood with neighbors who bring you banana bread to welcome you to the neighborhood

Family Photos - 2014

We finally had family photos taken again which turned out to be really fun. Maddy's age made the task much easier because of her ability to follow directions and her "regular" smile has become much less cheesy and relaxed which was a bonus as well.

We did family photos with all three of us and then some of just Maddy. Our photographer had some awesome back drops which added alot to the photos.

Here are some of my favorites!

Day at the Park

Last weekend we had some surprisingly good weather and so we took advantage of it by going to the park. Blue skies, shorts and leaves were a fun combo! Maddy was even extra brave and tried out a new part of the play structure where she had to climb pretty high. She had a blast climbing over and over and then jumping off. We're pretty grateful for the amazing summer and fall we've had and know the rain is around the corner.

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!