Giggles and Grins

Isn't she cute!

Mr. Smile.

Once again this week has been crazy for the Wilson family. Matt finished his grad classes (earning two more "A's" & keeping his perfect 4.0). Harrison is on the move and can get to ANYTHING. It's become more of a challenge to keep my eyes on both of them, although Madeleine does a good job of being the "informer" and letting me know what Harrison is doing. She's becoming a running commentary on his movements. He loves to get into her stuff -- I guess she just needs to get used to it. :) Madeleine had a tough week; she just does not want to take a nap. She's lost her naptime routine since her paci is gone and struggles to settle down and get to sleep. I started her a naptime chart, hoping that will help. After she gets 10 stickers (for taking a nap) she get to go to the big pool. So far it's working......sometimes.

Last night when putting her to bed, she played a joke on me. I always put her to bed, read a book, sing two Twinkle Little Stars and then put my head down by her's and kiss her on the cheek and talk softly to her, telling her that I love her and what a good day we've had and what fun we'll have tomorrow. So, I'm doing this and she's laying there, quietly, looking drowsy, when suddenly.........she yells "BOO!!!!" :) She scared me half to death! Then she started laughing so hard. She knew that she'd gotten me. She's definitely a character.

Harry Potter Nite

This past weekend, our friend Mark (from Houston) came for a visit. We spent Friday night at the Harry Potter release party, although we didn't stay until midnight to get a book. (instead we went home and stayed up until almost 2:00, which is a lot harder to recover from than when I was 17!). We saw lots of crazy characters from the book and I got some cute pics of us with them. I have to say, Snape was the best. He was totally into his character. As we walked away from taking our pictures, we heard him mutter, "muggles." :) Also, matt had his picture taken with the smallest Harry Potter ever -- a 23 year old Chihuahua with no teeth. Matt seemed a little nervous that he might not have the best bladder control, thus the scared look on his face. Such fun! And a joy to spend some time with mark, catching up and talking about old times. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. :)

Nashville Trip and Harrison Update

Madeleine, Mimi, and her Grand-Mammy with the quilt Mammy made for her.

Madeleine's first Blizzard.

Harrison -- 7 months.

Harrison's big adventure.....stuck under his exersaucer.

This has been such a busy week for us. Matt's taking a summer school grad class every day and it's been VBS at our church every nite. So much has happened! Last weekend my mom and I took the kids and went to Nashville to visit my cousin, grandparents, and aunt & uncle. It was definitely a quick trip, but the kids did great in the car. I rented Madeleine her first movie, wondering if she'd enjoy it and it was a HIT! We watched Cinderella at least 5 times on the trip. Madeleine was captivated by the princess and the singing and the mice. :) It was great to see my family, since we don't get to do that very often. Mammy had made Madeleine a quilt and she loved it. It's already on her bed. I wish that I had a better picture of it -- it is adorable and perfect for a little girl. She also had her first Blizzard on the way home -- M&M -- and she just pretty much picked the M&Ms out of it. Hehehe.

Today Harrison is 7 months old. WOW. I posted a couple of pictures from the weekend. He's started crawling (YIKES!) and is really moving. He's into so much, especially sister's toys. This afternoon he managed to crawl under his exersaucer and get stuck. I grabbed my camera to take a picture, which he didn't seem to happy about, since he just wanted me to set him free. He's also sitting like such a big boy and starting to try and pull up on things. He has found his voice & only has one volume -- LOUD.

Matt's Big Day

Today was a BIG day in the Wilson house. Matt was selected as a top three finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Translation: He has been selected at one of the top 3! Mathematics teachers in the STATE!!!! His application now advances on to D.C. where a committee will convene this fall to make the final selection. In the meantime, we get to go to a lovely banquet in his honor. :) Hurray for Matt!!!!!

Madeleine's Birthday Party

This year for Madeleine's birthday she wanted to have a Dora party. We had a family dinner after church Sunday night with Dora everywhere. She was so excited to have everyone here and get to open presents. Grammy and Pops gave her a mini golf cart which is adorable. She also got some princess jewelry and dress up clothes, which she has pretty much worn non-stop for the last two days. We had a minor breakdown last night when she realized she couldn't wear the jewelry to bed. Harrison had a big time watching Madeleine -- her excitement just carried over to him! Check out his little outfit. Isn't it cute -- Matt says he looks like a little Don Johnson in it. :)

Happy Birthday Madeleine!

Three years ago ....

Two years ago....

One year ago....

Madeleine's Third Birthday.
I can't believe that we have a 3! year old! Wow. The time has gone so fast, yet in some ways it seems that it's been forever since it was just the two of us. In three years, we've moved, had 2 babies and Matt's changed jobs. It's definitely been a whirlwind. I felt like taking a little trip down memory lane and posting some pictures of Madeleine on her last three birthdays. I'll post more pictures of the party we had later. (Yes, I realize this is already a day late.)

The Countdown Begins....

The big countdown.









I realize the first picture is a little late being posted. We started a countdown to Madeleine's birthday this week. Each day she takes a number off her door and when the last one is gone, it will be her birthday! It's giving her a sense of time & how long it will be until the big day is here. She's sooooo excited. She counts off the days every morning. Yesterday her big present arrived -- a sand & water table, picnic table and swingset. Matt put the sand & water table together this morning for her. We had planned to wait until Sunday to give them to her, but she saw them arrive on the truck yesterday. She was jumping around the kitchen this morning squealing "I'm so excited, I'm so excited!" It was so cute! She already outside having a big time with her new toy. :) I guess this is the age where birthdays get really fun -- she gets what's going on and is anticipating and excited. I can't WAIT for Sunday.