Yard Sale

Madi turned 9 months old yesterday (stay turned for stats and an update after her Monday doctor's appointment)!! To celebrate her 9th month of life, we took a trip over to Toys R Us to get her a new toy! She's been in desperate need of some new toys, and with gift cards still left over from her baby showers, we figured we could splurge! Inspired by her cousins Adley and Ani, Madi picked out the Little Peoples Farmhouse. She was super excited about opening it and meeting her friends: farmer, horse, sheep, pig, and lamb.



Then this morning I got up bright and early to go to my first yard sale as a new mom! Boy was I in heaven! I found tons of great toys for $1 or $2 each!! I made a great haul!



Spencer's favorite find was the Sungli backpack carrier. Backpack and carrier all in one- perfect for trips into the city!



He and Madi had a great time trying it out!



With all the cheap toys I found yard-saleing, my dilemma is deciding weather or not I should keep The Little Peoples Farmhouse. I am now a BIG fan of yard sales and no longer want to pay full price for toys. I don't think Madi would realize her farmhouse was gone, but she loves talking to the little people and animals, and I love how it encourages imaginative play.

Pudding, Mustard, & Ketchup

On Saturday, Spencer informed me that he had a very special activity planned for Madilyn. When he told me about the "activity", warning me that Madi might get a little messy, I refused to take part! Well, ok- I couldn't pass up taking pictures, but being the clean freak that I am, it was just very hard for me to encourage such messy behavior. So, after her nap, into the high chair she went!

First on the tray, the contents of a chocolate-vanilla pudding snack pack. I think Madi was a little shocked and she really had to think about the whole scenario.


Next on the tray, mustard and ketchup. Combined with pudding, what a yummy treat! Madi is smart and kept her hands out of her mouth...but she thought it would be a great moisturizer.


Yahhhh, I love Daddy's activities!!!


After making a big mess, into the sink she went for a quick rinse off (this was mama's favorite part:)! Look at that brown water!!


All clean!!

Blue Eyes

My friend Laura took this picture of Madi. I just loved how it captured her blue eyes! Thanks Laura for a great shot!

Happy Spring!

To get into the Spirit of Spring, we did a little cupcake decorating this afternoon. However, Madi got a little carried away, completely destroying the cupcake within seconds. I had to inform her that she wasn't supposed to destroy the cupcake..........



Instead, I showed her how to "nicely" decorate a cupcake. She was so amazed at how much better they looked.



Madi was VERY proud of the end product!

Bag Tag

I've been TAGGED- however, this isn't any regular tag, this is a "bag tag" (thanks Lindsey)! Before I spill the contents of Madi's diaper bag, I feel I must give a little disclaimer about the bag. While pregnant with Madi I looked everywhere for the prefect diaper bag- one that Spencer and I would both approve of (since he's the one who carries it around for most of church). However, I wasn't able to find one. I'd heard that hospitals usually give out bags to new moms, so I figured I'd just wait. Sure enough, upon leaving the hospital they set me up with this great little Baby Jeep bag! I was excited that I didn't have to spend any money buying a diaper bag, but now after almost 9 months, Spencer and I are both getting a little tired of our "hospital diaper bag". It's a little big- ok, it's REALLY big. I feel like I'm always carrying a duffle bag around with me. Spencer complains that the strap falls of his shoulder while lugging it around the church halls. I hate to be ungrateful though, it does the job and has saved us in spending the $30 that bags go for (thanks Glendale Memorial). We are still looking for something smaller though, so if anyone knows of any great, inexpensive bag stores.......

With that being said, here are the contents of this enormous bag:


1) Diapers and wipes (I always try to keep at least 4 diapers on hand)

2) Senceted bags (for those STINKY, messy ones)

3) Blankets (to put on the ground at church while Madi plays. Also, you never know when it might get a little cold)

4) Water Bottle (NEVER leave home without it)

5) Hooter Hider (Inspired by Tisha and Candace, made with love by Spencer's mom- thanks mom. I no longer nurse while out- but again, I'm one of those kind of people that carries things around just in case)

6) Books (a variety of genres of course:)

7) Toys, Toys, and more Toys (the only way we survive church on Sundays)!

8) Bows, Karo Syrup (for sticking the bows on- thanks Lis) and hair elastics (love being able to do pony tails now)!!

9) Hat (for those cold, windy days when we're out and about)

10) Sunglasses (for those bright, sunny days when we're out and about- we like these days LOTS better :)

11) Bowl of cheerios and puffs (Snacks that keep Madi quiet, also use as a drum)

12) Granola Bar (I usually keep a couple of these in here for my hourly hunger attacks)

13) Burp Cloth (don't remember the last time Madi needed one- but I like to be prepared)

14) Kleenex (threw them in there during runny nose season and have never taken them out)

15) Lotion (for my OCD tendancies of always having to wash my hands- making them very dry)

There you have it! The contents I always have with me. Now I tag Tisha, Doreen, Krista, Melissa, and Heather.

Annapolis

With sunny weather, blue skies, and Spencer still on spring break, we packed up the car this morning and headed to Annapolis for a day of exploring and family fun. Boy did we had a great time (even though there was a cold breeze)!! There are so many places to see and we did a lot of walking! We will definitely come back soon!! Here are some of the highlights:

Mom Jenkins would have been in heaven with all the antique stores and fun little shops.


Since Uncle Bob is a former Marine, we had to visit the US Naval Academy-we wished we could have explored the grounds more, but Madi was getting a little cold!


The popular "City Dock" area was under construction, so we couldn't get as close to the sailboats as we would have liked. But, we did find this sailboat in the Naval Academy Visitors Center-Madi had a blast playing in it! Grandpa Al would be proud!


Lunchtime!! We went and got fish and chips, and Madi loved the "chips"!!


At the center of historic downtown is the old State House-where the Continental Congress temporarily was held and where George Washington formally resigned as general of the Revolutionary Army. Go George!!



Madi fell asleep before she could model her new $4 Annapolis hoodie, but she was all smiles when we got home!! We all can't wait to go back in the summer!!

Adventures in Bath Time

I know I recently did a "bath time" post, but Madilyn wanted everyone to get to know her bath time "comrades." Madi and her daddy have named them all. Each night, Madi and her friends go on elaborately detailed adventures of wonder, mystery, and danger (narrated by her daddy of course)!! For example, one recent bath session, the sinister snail (named "escargo") slimed the crab (named crabby day") when they were fighting for the love of the sea sponge (named "macaroni and cheese"). Unbeknownst to "escargo," "crabby day" had just crawled out his sea water home. We all know the end of this story. Sea water=salt. Escargo died a fizzly death from salt exposure and "crabby day" won "macaroni and cheese's" love. It is no wonder that bath time is Madi's favorite time.


From left to right: Macaroni and Cheese, Crabby Day, Delfino, Turtle Dove, Escargo, Fish Sticks, Oct-o-pod, & Caballo del mar.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It's crazy how I am so affected by the weather! I have seriously been in heaven these past 4 days with nice, sunny, quasi warm weather. To take advantage of this great weather, Madi and I have gone to the park EVERY day!




Sadly, this morning we woke up to rain! It is also officially the first day of Spencer's spring break, so I was really excited to go outside and do something with the whole family!! Well, because of the rain, we ended up inside all day!! I usually don't mind a nice rainy day. I like to use it as an excuse to stay inside, drink hot cocoa, watch a good movie, and get things done at home. Today I was NOT interested in doing any of that! On top of that, even though it's spring break, Spencer's school had to schedule a huge writing competition over the break. So, he has 400 pages of stuff to read and a paper to write that is due when he goes back to school in a week. That's law school for ya! Needless to say, with the already limited time that Spencer has on his break to hang out, I was really sad that the weather didn't cooperate today!

With no choice but to hang out inside, Madi and I played in her bedroom while Spencer studied. I guess I'm not as much fun as Spencer is-I attempted to fix Madi's hair- leaving her crying. Ya, it's not worth it! I did manage to get one good picture of her, though. I don't think we'll being putting her hair in ponytails much until she's older. She acted like I was pulling hair out of her head or something. Then I had Madi try on a bunch of clothes she is just about ready to fit into-she wasn't too happy about that either.


Instead Madi found happiness doing her daily sets of Pilate's!


As Madi was laying on the floor trying on her new jeans, I randomly noticed how babies must have really strong "cores" because this is Madilyn's instant position anytime I lay her on the ground: She brings her legs up, then down, then half way up- holds them- brings them all the way up, then back down. I tried doing them with her this afternoon and I got tired trying to keep up!!

However, Madi soon lost interest in "playing" with me (more like me playing with her!!) Hearing her calls of desperation, Dad came to the rescue!! After cleaning the kitchen I came in to find THIS in the middle of the family room floor!


I could hear talking and laughing underneath, so I had to take a peak! Yes, dad is MUCH more fun to hang out with than Mama. He kept Madilyn captivated for over an hour playing musical intruments, dancing to classical music, playing with ALL her stuffed animals, and hiding out in their fort!




Hopefully the weather quickly improves so we can get outside and do something fun while Spencer has a little time and isn't stuck at school!

Fun in the Sun!

What a gorgeous day it was today!! I was in desperate need of some sunshine too! Madilyn and I decided to venture out for a walk and enjoy the beautiful weather. It being so nice I decided to take Madilyn to the park. This is really sad, but Madi had never been to the park before today! We both had a great time! Madi got to go down the slide for the first time (with mom's help of course)!
She even got to go on the swings! She preferred swinging on my lap as opposed to the baby swing.
I'm really working on getting Madi used to the
bright sun. She never wants to look up if the sun will be in her eyes.
I tried and tried to get her to smile for a picture. She would look down....

or to the side....

but never up at me for fear of the sun being too bright!