Bahamas

Daniel and I went on our last get-a-way to the Bahamas before Katherine gets here. Our cruise left out of Miami on a Monday so we flew down Sunday and spent the day and night in South Beach. We had my favorite meal there at Sushi Samba. Obviously I can't eat real sushi right now but there are some rolls that I can have. This has been one of my main cravings recently. The people watching was fascinating there as well as on the cruise :) The ship was really nice and clean and I loved having a balcony. The buffet food was not great but the breakfast, french fries, and ice cream were wonderful! Their specialty restaurants were good as well. I ate an entire omlet and waffle every morning! I feel like all I do is eat to try to keep the nausea away. I definitely eat the most throughout the morning and then by dinner time I can't eat as much. Anyway, about the cruise. Daniel and I each read 2 books, relaxed by the pool, went to a couple of the cheesy shows :) and really just enjoyed spending time with one another. Our ports were in Freeport, Nassau, and Grand Stirrup Cay (which was cancelled the last day). When we were in Nassau we went to the Atlantis which was really pretty. I hope to take our family there one day. I know Madeleine would absolutely love it and I bet Katherine would also.
We were so glad to get back home to see Madeleine!!!! It was so hard being away from her but, much needed at the same time. As soon as we got back we transitioned her into her big girl girl room and she is doing GREAT!!! Which will bring me to my next post soon :)





Loading the ship at our port in Miami

Disney World

Yes, I should have made this post in January! And I have tons to catch up on since then.... my pregnancy, our cruise, Madeleine's transition to her big girl bed! Hopefully I mean it when I say, more to come soon :)
The Dean's took Matt, April, the boys, Daniel, Madeleine and I to Disney World for Christmas this year. The weather was wonderful in the 70's the whole time! Madeleine is so ready for summer, especially since we got to go swimming while we were there. We went to the Magic Kingdom for 2 days, Animal Kingdom 1 day, and Epcot another. Our favorite was The Magic Kingdom for sure. We could have spent the entire week in one park! There was way more to do than we could make our way through. The lines were ok and Madeleine was amazingly patient!!! Probably because we always had ice cream and popcorn. Her favorite ride was Dumbo. Daniel maybe spent a total of 3 hours waiting in line to ride this over and over! Another favorite was the Nemo show at Animal Kingdom. It really was incredible! I am so glad we got to see it since that is Madeleine's favorite movie right now. I was surprised that I could ride and do pretty much everything Madeleine could. I was concerned they wouldn't let me on anything pregnant. However, I did do a lot of sitting out and snacking :)

Madeleine still talks about our trip and loves to look at the pictures from it. She is familiar with all the characters now. She went nuts when she saw Pluto at the character breakfast. The funniest thing was when she finally got to see minnie mouse she froze. She wouldn't look up at her or budge until Me Me picked her up. It was like she was star struck!!! She did not act like that with the other ones. I have tons of pictures but I hate having to go through them and then it takes forever to download them. That may be one of the main reasons I find it so difficult to blog. It takes too darn long!

We can't wait to take both of the girls back again one day. I bet it won't be too long. Daniel can't resist Madeleine's charm. :) And she was so well behaved from the car ride, to the long lines, ect..... It couldn't have gone any better. Except for poor David, he had to have an appendectomy while we were there :) Guess he won't have to worry about it happening again!

Pregnancy update

My pregnancy has not been much fun to talk about the last 19 weeks but for the sake of remembering I should write more. To start on a positive note I have been feeling the baby move since somewhere around 16/17 weeks. I can really feel it a lot this week and it's been really sweet for me! I feel like I have just popped out there this month and have finally bought some maternity clothes. All of my clothes from my pregnancy with Madeleine are for a totally different season so I am basically starting over. I must say that Montgomery has really slim pickings for maternity shopping.
Madeleine talks a lot about the baby in mommy's tummy. She will hug and kiss it. She usually claims it's a baby sister. We find out Monday the 22nd what we are having and we cannot wait!!!!!! Daniel thinks it's a boy and I am starting to think it's a girl. Mainly b/c I hardly have to shave my legs!! Is that a weird symptom or what?! I was the same way with Madeleine. However, I have had 2 dreams this week that I am having a boy.
I still feel nauseous a lot. I usually only throw up once a day and sometimes not at all. The worst thing is trying to get around in the car. To keep the nausea away I feel like I have to snack all day long. I dislike more foods than I like. But I do crave Asian type foods, caesar salad, pasta, fruit, Quizno's subs, and ketchup. My McDonalds craze has seemed to fade a bit. Which I consider to be a great thing! When I was really sick that was one of the only things I could keep down. This week it seems that my snacking schedule has been raisin bran, banana, granola bar, tuna salad, cheese, and crackers for lunch, chex mix, ice cream or cereal and dinner. Well, with all that I'm hungry :)

Happy Birthday Madeleine!!

I can't believe my little girl is already two!!! There are so many things I want to remember about this year it's hard to collect all of my thoughts. Especially since I have major pregnancy brain going on! Madeleine amazes me with her language and social skills. She makes complete sentences and knows how to use I, me, you, ours, theirs, his, and her for example. She never forgets when I tell her we are going to do something or go somewhere. If I tell her we are going to play with play doh after nap time she will remind me. When we are in the car she recognizes directions to familiar places like Me Me's, Megans, Chick-fil-a, Publix, Wal-mart, School, and the park. If I turn opposite of the direction she wants to go she will say no this way and turn around. She LOVES music and knows the words to many songs. Her favorite being Jesus loves me, Jesus loves the little children, Twinkle Twinkle, Row your Boat, and Happy Birthday. It seems that Madeleine's precious heart is already so tendered towards the Lord. Her favorite books and songs are usually about Jesus and I hear her talk about him all throughout the day. Just last week she was playing with her Nativity and she says, "Jesus eats Chinese food" I have not stopped laughing about that one :) At every meal she sings God our Father with her hands clasped together and will remind us when we forget. She knows that Christmas is Jesus's birthday. She listens intently when Daniel or I pray for her at night and she loves to name all of the people in her life that Jesus loves. Ok I know this is getting long and I haven't even talked about her party yet! I will record more later after Mad's 2 yr check up!
Her party turned out to be a success despite being sick all week. I felt so unprepared but we pulled together at the last minute. We had a cupcake theme party and all the children decorated cupcakes. Jeanne made adorable monogramed apron's as party favors! At first I thought my idea about letting the children decorate their own cake was going to be a bust and make a total mess. However everyone was extremely cooperative and so consumed with their cake that there was not much chaos! Madeleine seemed to be totally aware that the party was all about her. When she woke that morning and saw everything decorated she said, ooohhh I love it! She sang the entire happy birthday song to herself as loud as she could and blew out her own candles. I don't know if I posted a good pic but, I did make her birthday outfit and Jeanne put the applique on it for me. Anyway, I'm proud and I thought it turned out pretty darn cute :)
The picture in Madeleine's new big girl room (a post and pics to come soon) is of her and her new Baby and baby doll cradle that Me Me and De De got her. Daniel and I got her a Kidkraft play kitchen and play food and dishes to go with it. She also got a new table and chair set but it's not here yet. OK, enough time for pics.....

Harvest Fest

I finally made it back to church this Sunday for the first time since I've been pregnant I think. I wasn't feeling so great through church and was feeling pretty bummed about how I felt. After church Daniel surprised me with my birthday present a little early. I FINALLY got a new camera! A Nikon D40! He gave it to me so we could use it for our annual Christchurch Harvest Fest. We got it charged just in time, but I still have lots of practice. It's a pretty complicated camera!
Anyway, Harvest Fest is one of my favorite things we have at our church and I was really looking forward to it this year since Madeleine is old enough to enjoy it. Luckily, I was feeling much better than I did at church that morning! I already missed out on her and Daniel's trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We had a band, lots of games, hay rides, BBQ, and trunk or treat. Madeleine actually kept her entire costume on the whole night. I thought she would at least get rid or the hat! She has not stopped talking about hay rides, pumpkins, animals and of coarse candy. Madeleine is officially addicted to candy now. I am in for a lifetime of tantrums in the check out lines.

Little Things

Madeleine has been cracking me up when I listen to her play with her toys these days. For example, I saw her making the mommy and daddy kiss in her doll house. She is really good at manipulating them. She used to get really frustrated when she couldn't make them sit down in a chair or on the potty. When she would get mad at them she would bite them!! She does this a lot to her toys but, luckily not other people!!! Atleast besides me :) Madeleine also loves to make her babies and animals do things that she does like eating and changing their diapers. She always wants to take toys away with her in the car or when we go places. She just amazes me with how grown up she is now!!!!
As for my pregnancy we are still plugging along. Last Friday I broke down and called my doctor. I couldn't stand being sick any more and I was ready to see if I had any other options. I was starting to worry that I was dehydrated or that the baby was missing out on necessary nutrition. Fortunately they were very proactive and referred me to a obstetrical home nurse. They have my medication set up through an iv at home!!! Today they came and gave me a bag of fluids and I'm feeling pretty good. I even ate a piece of pizza for lunch! Praise the Lord! Maybe things will continue to improve. I'm feeling very hopeful at this point :)

Lizards

Daniel and Madeleine found a baby lizard in her room the other day. Even worse, I found a dead one under Daniels pillow!!!! Where are they coming from!!!!!????? I guess there could be grosser pests in my house but still, get OUT! Madeleine doesn't mind the Lizard. She looks for him every day! She has always been fascinated by every animal, bug, and critter. I don't know where she gets it from. Not me!