Quitting the Gym!

Well, it's official- after 12 years of always belonging to a gym, I no longer have a gym membership. We decided to say goodbye to the YMCA's, Golds, 24 Hour Fitness, Sport & Health Clubs and take matters into our own hands. While being pregnant, I had a wonderful vision of being a stay at home mom, thinking I'd be able to go the the gym every single morning with no conflicts. YA RIGHT!!! It's funny how difficult it's been trying to find a regular time of going. I was getting super frusterated with only making it to the gym 3-4 times a week. I was always feeling rushed and rarely made it to the classes that I love- which always start after 9am! I began thinking about how having any more kids would make getting to the gym even more complicated. Spencer's busy class and study schedule never allowed him to go. SO.......we decided to solve our work-out problem with creating our own "Home Gym".

After much thought and research we invested in our own elliptical! Thrown in my ball, a few weights, an exercise band, a step, and I'm set!! We LOVE our new gym and are super excited about being able to work-out EVERY day! It's been so nice cutting out warming up the car, driving over to the Rio, parking, walking in, finding a machine to use, driving home, etc. etc.
Now I simply get dressed, put some shoes on, and the work-out begins!!

Happy 7 months Old!!

Madi just turned 7 months old! Since she doesn't get to see the doctor, get shots, or anything exciting, I figured we better have some sort of celebration. So, I let Madi invite all of her friends over (well- the stuffed animal kind that is) for a little celebration! What a party Madi had! She enjoyed all the attention her friends gave her.

Madi felt she was now old enough for a little treat, so we ended the party with some yummy dessert!!

She was a little shocked when I told her she is still too young for a cell phone though!

FUN, Fast and Furious!!

What a fun weekend.....or should I say day and a half! My mom was in North Carolina this past week visiting my sister and I really wanted her to come see me too. So, Thursday afternoon my mom, sister and her two kids drove 5 hours to come hang out!

They arrived in time to put the kids to bed, eat dinner, visit for an hour or so, and go to bed. Luckily we had some good hang out time on Friday. We had a fun morning watching the cousins play together.

Then we decided to brave the cold and head into the city. Mom went off to the Holocaust museum while Tisha and I took the kids to the Air and Space museum.

Being a mom is NO easy task! This is just a glimpse of what it's like taking kids on the Metro, into the city, in the dead of winter!

Classic picture of Tisha pushing Adley in the stroller, carrying Ani in the Ergo, while also lugging around another 20 pounds on her back!

It was a pretty exhausting day, but definitely worth all the fun!


At noon on Saturday mom, Tisha, and the kids headed back to N.C. We were sad to see them go. Thanks guys for making such a long trip for such a short visit. We love you! For more pictures of Madi with her cousins check out the post below!

Calhoun Cousins

Madilyn had such a fun time hanging out with her cousins the past two days.


She had great time teasing Anneke by taking away her binky.

Madi kept pulling it out of Ani's mouth. Ani would then reach for it, grab it, and put it back in her own mouth.

Then Madi would do it all over again! Ani seemed a little shocked at how rude Madi was being for continuing to take the precious binky away!


The girls had a great time playing together in the bath tub!

Even Adley jumped in for some fun!

Ani and Madi preparing for a crawling match! The match was postponed for the next trip though. Both girls thought it would be best to practice for awhile first!

Hanging out with Friends

Lately I've been wanting Madi to hang out with some of her friends during the day since she's always just with Spencer and I. She's still learning how to treat her close friends though.


Hanging out with one of her older friends gave Madi a taste of her own medicine!

Just a side note: Madi LOVES hanging out with her good friends Lexi and Hunter. She gets along with them great. It just seemed funny to have a picture of Madi looking like she's pushing Lexi, and then in turn looking like she's been the victim with Hunter. You gotta love Hunter's facial expression!! Looks like quite the bully!

SNOW...........and..................COLD!!

I obviously haven't updated for awhile! It was a week ago that these pictures were taken. The beginning of the month we were loving life with the beautiful warm weather. Now, 2 weeks later, we are FREEZING!! Sunday was a low of 9 degrees!! BURRRRRR!! The snow sure was pretty on the one day that it fell though. Too bad Madi is still a little young to go out and play in it. Next year we'll be able to go out and have lots of fun!! As for now, we are content with staying inside, watching it fall.
Most of the snow is gone now. We're just left with the COLD!! This is when we need our trip to Cali!

Sunglasses

Madi's needing some help deciding which sunglasses look best on her! This afternoon we took advantage of the 70 degree weather and went out for a walk. I brought along Madi's 2 pairs of sunglasses to keep her from freaking out every time the sun was in her eyes. The bummer was that both pairs are still a little too big and kept sliding down her nose. She was happy while they were on though!

6 Month Check-Up

Madilyn recently turned 6 months old! This past Monday, after returning home from our holiday vacation, we took her into the doctor for the routine check-up and SHOTS!! The nurse was very impressed with all of Madi's smiles, calling her "the baby of the day" (and no, we weren't there at 9am. Our appointment wasn't until the end of the day)! Madi weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 10 oz and measured 26 in. tall.
This past month Madi has reached several fun milestones, one which you've probably already noticed which is that of sitting up! This new skill was mastered while in California and what a joy it is to have her now sitting up. I've loved being able to leave her with a pile of toys and have her just sit and play!



Madilyn has also decided to take after her mother with her love for water! Yes, I now have to share my water bottle! Every time I go to take a drink, she opens her mouth real wide, letting me know that I need to share!

Fun in Camarillo

As you can see from all the previous posts, we all had such a fun time in Camarillo! Thanks Mom, Dad, Jocelyn, and especially Truly for putting up with us. Can't wait to see you guys again soon!

Point Mugu

On New Year's Eve we ventured out to the beach only to have it be way too windy to enjoy. Two days later we had a nice 70 degree day and headed back out to the beach for Madilyn to have her first ocean experience.

We were all very pleased with what a beautiful day it was!


Madilyn had a great time playing in the sand.


We even got a little adventurous and decided to go out and get our feet wet!

Fun with Friends!

It was super fun being in Camarillo and seeing several close friends that we haven't seen since before we moved. Madilyn was excited to be able to hang out with her friend Brooklyn. Brooklyn and her parents (Brandon and Lindsey Bell), came to visit Madi on the day she was born, but we hadn't see them since. Brooklyn was a little shocked at how much Madi had grown over the past 6 months!The girls got along great though and had fun chewing on their hands together.A few days later Madi met two more friends, Milana and Lizette. She loved having some other friends to hang out with! Both girls are three months older than Madi and literally crawled circles around her. I think Madi was a little overwhelmed at how fast her new friends were able to get around.
Madi decided it'd be better to hang out with someone her own size!

Jenkins Cousins

It was super fun to have the entire Jenkins family here for the wedding. Madilyn had such a great time being entertained by all of her cousins! It was definitely nice to have people begging to help take care of Madi.

What a crazy bunch of kids~

Madilyn was disappointed that she was a little too young to join in on all their fun.

The Terry kids: Eric, Brittany, and Kaitlyn

The "other" Jenkins kids~Evan, Sydney, and Keegan (#4 is due in March!)

The whole gang with Grandma (Boppi) and Grandpa Al (Owie)