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.

Our Big Saturday

Happy as usual. :)

Hey, what's that?

Let me get a little closer....

Will it go in my mouth?

Harrison has finally started sitting. I still put a pillow behind him, just in case, but he's pretty much mastered the sitting thing. He can even bend over and put his toes in his mouth then sit back up. He seems so proud of himself, too, although he still prefers to be on his tummy most of the time to play. He can really move around to! Won't be long before he's on the move. Madeleine went to a birthday party next door this afternoon. She had such fun -- they had 2 big bouncers to jump in and a massive slip n' slide. She was exhausted when it was over, but it was a little late for a nap, so I told her to get in bed and just read some books instead. This is what I found 10 minutes later. Guess she should be wearing Harrison's shirt (check the pics,it says "Sleepyhead").

Summer Play Date

Today my friend Jamie and her two kids -- Hannah and Lincoln -- came over for a playdate. It was so much fun! The girls were soooo cute. They played and played together, with very little fussing. They played in the pool after lunch for a long time and took turns washing each other. We could hear them outside laughing and chatting away. I think they're both pretty big talkers. Guess that they get it from their moms! It was wonderful to have someone for me to talk to, also. I'm sure I probably talked Jamie's ear off, but it can get pretty lonely at home all day with just a 3 year old for conversation. :) It's also nice to have someone that completely understands the ins and outs of adding a second baby to your family. Our little guys are just a month apart and still pretty little, so they weren't too interested in each other -- yet. Give them a few more months and we'll be watching them more than the girls! Ha! ;) Even as I write this Madeleine is in the other room "fixing" things for when Hannah comes back (which she keeps saying is tomorrow). So sweet.