Dinnertime

We've finally found a way to keep Harrison QUIET and HAPPY during dinner: Give him a cup of yogurt and a spoon! Typically he's finished eating in about 5 minutes, then fusses for the rest of dinner -- but, oh no, not any more. We've been giving him yogurt and his own spoon and he'll sit there working at getting it in is mouth until we've all finished and I've cleaned up the dishes. Hurray! There is one down side......HE IS A MESS! It's straight to the tub for this little guy after he's finished.



Yes, I realize he's not wearing a bib. Learned my lesson the first time and from now on we're wearing the biggest bib I've got!

Superhero

Poor Harrison! Yesterday, Madeleine decided he needed to be a superhero and rescue her. She put her pink cape on him and gave him some sunglasses (because according to her, superheros have dark glasses) and followed him around holding the cape out and yelling "super Harrison." My sweet little guy just went along with it. I guess he's getting used to having a big sis boss him around! :)


Then, he had to be the prince while Madeleine was Cinderella. Here, I'm being banished to the other room

I realize I'm pretty lucky that my kids play so nicely together, especially at this age. I also realize that it might just not last that much longer -- Harrison is getting a pretty strong will of his own.

Having Fun

Yesterday while fixing lunch after church, I heard Madeleine and Harrison laughing. I followed the sound and saw this:

Harrison was pushing her on his firetruck -- with Madeleine wearing only her hat and tights! A few minutes later, she returned the favor -- sans the hat -- and pushed him. They were having a big ol' time!

Madeleine's Day

Matt was off on Monday, so we took Madeleine to Chuck E Cheese for the first time. She was a little unsure of all the chaos at first, but then ended up having a blast! It was really good for her to have some time alone with us & we really enjoyed being able to give her all our attention for a change! :) I love listening to her talk and all the sweet things she says!

Afterwards we met Mimi at Jason's Deli for a late lunch. This is one of Madeleine's favorite places -- where she can get a hot dog, strawberries and 2 ice cream cones! Yummy!

All in all it was a great day. I think it was something we all needed. We're trying to give her more one on one time now -- Harrison is soooo busy and keeps us constantly occupied. :) So, we're making sure that Madeleine gets some time, too. I have to admit, it's really really HARD to balance time with two little ones and be sure everyone is getting what they need.

Enjoy the pictures!

Valentines Day -- A little late!

This post is a little late coming! We've been so busy around our house this past week, so there will be more posts coming with all the things we've been up to! I'm just now getting the pictures loaded on my computer. Valentine's Day was such a hit this year with the kids! Madeleine had her first Valentine's party at school, which was a lot of fun! And, Harrison discovered that he LOVES chocolate!

Madeleine came home from school to find this waiting for her!

Harrison's valentines.

This is what Madeleine made at school to hold her valentines. It was stuffed!
Her art project for the day. You can't really see the bottom, but it's a flower pot with fingerprint flowers.
Matt had conferences all day (8am to 8pm). He had a break around lunchtime and just before he got home, 2 vases of flowers were delivered. The left one is Madeleine's and the right one is mine. Madeleine was so proud of her flowers and carried them from room to room all day!
Madeleine and Daddy with the flowers he sent her!
We also had a visit from Grammy and Pops to bring the kids some candy, stuffed animals, and balloons, which they loved! Then we went to Mimi and Grandad's that night and they got a new DVD, books and MORE CANDY! They were pretty sugared up by bedtime! :) Madeleine's already talking about Valentine's Day next year and all the candy she'll get!

Madeleine Grace

I thought it would be fun to post an update on Madeleine and what she's doing. I usually post about Harrison, since he's doing new stuff daily, but I wanted to share what my little girl has been up to as well. I am continually amazed by how much she's growing up! She's become such a little girl and it's so fun to watch her play and see all the imagination she has!

*She rarely takes a nap anymore, so this has become "our" time each day --- we read, watch TV, color, play games, all the stuff it's hard to do with Harrison around. Sometimes we just snuggle on the couch and "talk" which I think I love the most. I love to hear what she's got to say and see how her little mind works. :)

*Her favorite shows are: Little Bear, Franklin, and, of course, the Backyardigans! She LOVES Tasha and mimics her dance moves! It's so cute! (and I have to admit that I've found myself singing along with them many times as well!)

*She is really into "writing" and will sit and copy the letters I've made for her for hours!

*She loves to help me cook and is great at washing the veggies in the sink.

*She will not wear pants! I have to make her wear them when we go out, but she'll drop her drawers as soon as we get in the door!

*She is really into dressing up -- especially as a princess. She'll prance around the house in her costumes all day.

*She's quite a priss of a girl -- she likes to paint her nails, look in the mirror, etc. But, she can kick a soccer ball and hit a golf ball like a pro too.

*She's determined that she's going to see snow this year! She asks daily if it's going to snow and I haven't had the heart to tell her that warm weather is just around the corner.

*She love to help me clean -- she begs me to swiffer the floors and dust the furniture.

*Hard as it was, she's given up her paci!

*She is my sweet eating girl. This girl loves donuts, ice cream, marshmellows, etc. But, she'll also eat PLAIN steamed broccoli, carrots and green beans. She only likes them fresh, not from a can.

*Her favorite place to go is Mimi's house. She TELLS me daily "just a couple more days and we're going to Mimi's house." Thankfully, she doesn't really have a sense of time yet. ;)

*She loves going to Bible Class. Matt and I have been teaching her class on Sundays and it's been such a joy to teach/watch her learn those Old Testament stories.

*She takes such good care of Harrison. She's definitely a born Mommy!

*She loves to cut. She'll sit and cut out little pieces of paper for hours, then glue them on another paper.

I realize this got a bit long, but I wanted to post this so I'll remember all the things she's doing. I think 3 1/2 is my favorite age with her so far! It's definitely the easiest and a lot of fun.

Fun With Friends

Yesterday we were invited to a playdate with some of our friends at PV. Madeleine was sooooo excited to be going to Hannah's house -- and so was her mommy! We had fun watching the kids play and eating yummy food and chatting with other moms! It was great for all of us! My friend Jamie was brave to invite 9 moms with 14 kids into her home -- it was definitely a little crazy, but a blast!

Harrison had fun playing with some other little boys for a change, but he did try to invade the girls tea party for awhile! Here's Harrison and Ella having "tea." I guess he's just used to being made to play girly stuff by Madeleine. :)
The kids did stop playing long enough to have some lunch. We all brought lunch for our kids, which worked out great.
Madeleine and Hannah have been friends since they were born. It's just amazing how WELL they play together -- they almost never fuss! Here they are posing for the camera.
I never did get a good shot of all the boys. Harrison's at the bottom of the camera which is the closest he would get to that couch full of boys! Poor little Jackson is so unhappy on that couch, but too little to move off it! :(
All in all it was a great day -- ending with BOTH of my kids napping, which never happens anymore!

Random Pictures

This has been a pretty uneventful week for us. We've been home a lot, just hanging out and having fun! I've been working with Harrison on his "table skills." He's sooooo much messier than Madeleine ever was -- maybe that's just a boy -- but he generally needs a bath after EVERY meal. Have I mentioned how much this guy can eat? Matt keeps telling me that we're going to be broke in 10 years, just keeping Harrison fed! Ha! Just to give an example, Friday he ate: grilled cheese and banana, followed by one hour later a McDonalds cheeseburger and fries (most all of them). :) I think it's pretty impressive!

So, here are some random pics from the week. Enjoy!

Hanging out in H's room one morning. He loves to sit in boxes!

One day last week, I gave Madeleine a juicebox with her lunch. Harrison started pointing at it and fussing, so I gave him one too, just to see if he could drink from the straw. He drank the entire thing! He looked SO proud, sitting there drinking like Madeleine! They were too cute!

I love this face!

Here's Harrison waking Matt up from his nap this afternoon. He's such a snuggler.

Video

Here's a video that I couldn't get to post last night. Enjoy!