Keeping it simple?

My goal for birthdays this year was to keep things simple. Have a play date with some of Madelyn's friends from school, have a small party for both Madelyn and Pierce with a couple of mutual friends, and then have a family party (My nieces have birthdays in March, so my sister-in-law and I have decided that it's easier on the grandparents to be able to celebrate the parties at one time, rather than having to go to four kids' parties in four weeks time.) The play date with Madelyn's friends was a little bigger than I had originally planned--NOT my fault--but the details of that don't really matter. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

Last night we had the small party for Madelyn and Pierce and that went off very well. I made an attempt at a train cake, and I think it turned out okay. You can tell it's a train, right?

Thanks for coming and celebrating with us! For more pictures, go here.

Birthday bashes

Well, she did it! She turned 5 and she has the sign to prove it:

She got some stylin' boots and a book that's pretty darned impossible to find in a library:

She blew out a candle and ate some cake:

Pierce enjoyed some too!:

Today some friends from school came over and we had more cake. I'm elbow deep in cake batter, as I'm taking cupcakes to school tomorrow. We've got a couple of more parties to go before our birthday season is over. Up next: Combined party for Madelyn and Pierce with some mutual friends on Saturday.

Five years ago today

I was hanging out at home wondering what was going on. My back was hurting, had been since church early that morning. Every now and then I would feel a pinch in my back and then my stomach would tighten. It didn't really hurt, but it was definitely uncomfortable. JD casually mentioned, "Maybe you're in labor." Nah, I thought. Everyone says you'll know when you're in labor, and I certainly didn't know. I went about my business--ironing my clothes, planning dinner, etc., but as the day progressed, the pinches became more painful and the tightening felt more like cramping. Things also got a little more consistent. So much so that JD set up a spreadsheet to time the cramping. When the cramping, well let's call them contractions at this point, was 5 minutes apart, we were pretty sure I was in labor. We had just sat down to dinner and I was pretty uncomfortable, but I was afraid to call my doctor because he had stressed to only call him if my contractions were 3 minutes apart for an hour or more. So, I did what any normal girl would do, I called a friend who had just delivered her first baby a week before. She wisely advised me to call the doctor because I could hardly make it through the conversation.

Fast forward 3 hours later, and I was in the hospital begging for an epidural. Eight hours later, on February 21, 2005 at 6:45 am, Madelyn entered the world. Wow! FIVE years ago! I don't know why 5 feels like such a milestone, but it does. I'm not too emotional, but if I think I about it enough, I get a little misty eyed. Thankfully, she won't start Kindergarten for another 6 months or so.

She's such a spunky little thing, and she's so excited about tomorrow. However, because our Sundays are so jammed packed with activities and church, most of our celebrating will happen next week. She will have some cake and open gifts tomorrow, but she'll have a party here on Tues. with a few friends from school. I'll take some cupcakes to school on Wed. Then, we'll have a few friends over next Saturday as a combined party for Pierce and Madelyn.

Let the birthday season begin! Happy birthday to my beautiful five year old girl!

Look Who's 5 Months Old!

Yes, it's true! It's been five months since I gave birth to sweet Isabel. She's doing well and we are all enjoying having her around. Madelyn loves to make her laugh and is really the best at getting the cackles out of her. At mealtime, she would sit and grin at Pierce indefinitely if I would let her.

She's rolling over both ways now and navigates her crib like a champ. She's pretty vocal now, making all kinds of sounds--not just crying when she's upset. We've started her on solids, and she seems to like them. She's eaten rice cereal, avocado, bananas, sweet potatoes, and prunes. We're doing two small meals/day right now.

She still naps three times/day, and those last between 1 and 2 hours for a total of 4-5 hours/day. She goes to bed around 7-7:15 at night, wakes between 6-7 am, and goes back down after a feeding until I wake her at 8:30 to start her day.

She loves her exersaucer and door jumper and tolerates her high chair. She would much rather eat in my lap but that becomes too messy for everyone involved. She's gonna be a finger sucker, but she doesn't seem to be too picky about which fingers yet. Oh, and I think she's gonna be another blondie. I've definitely seen some blonde hair in her bald spots and some of her roots are blonde as well. Enjoy some pictures taken earlier today:

Good Morning!

Round Two is Over

The sun is shining, but the wind is still blowing. We survived the second major snow with blizzard-like conditions that visited our area in less than a week. It was hard to get an accurate measurement this time because of the snow already on the ground. Reports are that the downtown DC area got 10.5 inches. We measured on the top of our car and got 7.5 inches. Whatever the amount, there are now over 30 inches of snow on the ground. The snow piles are amazing, much taller than Madelyn. Many are taller than I am. Downtown DC is apparently a mess. JD's office has been closed all week. He's been working some from home, but I have been so thankful he has been here. While he can't control the weather, he is much better at survival techniques than I am. The wind yesterday was pretty incredible. I looked outside a few times and truly couldn't see the houses across the street. True white out conditions are quite intimidating.

Police were begging people to get off and stay off the roads. At one point yesterday, I found myself being so thankful that I wasn't 8-9 months pregnant during all of this. Both Madelyn and Pierce have winter birthdays. I'm glad we didn't follow that trend with Isabel. Getting to the hospital yesterday would've been a near impossibility.

So, are you wondering what we've been up to while we've been homebound? Here's a few photos to give you an idea:

Isabel's been doing a lot of bouncing.

We've done a lot of shoveling. JD has done most of the shoveling, but I wanted documented proof that I've done some of it.

Pierce likes climbing the snow piles. They really are hills at this point.

Isn't he cute?

Can you tell that the snow pile is at least two feet taller than Madelyn?

We've made lots of different train track configurations. Pierce informed me that he was too busy to smile for the camera.

We made green eggs and ham (orange colored pancakes?)

I have one question right now.

Where are we going to put an additional 10-20 inches of snow?

A couple of funnies

Madelyn asked JD to play some music videos on YouTube yesterday morning. For some reason, he chose "We Are the World". He told Madelyn that we used to listen to this song on a record player when we were little. Madelyn said, "Hmmm...I've heard of a record player."

While getting ready for rest/nap time:

Madelyn: Pierce, did you go wee-wee?

Pierce: Huh?

Madelyn: Did you know "wee-wee" was Spanish for tinkle?

Pierce: Oh, okay. I went wee-wee.

So what does 20+ inches of snow look like?

The snow almost makes it to my knees, is above Pierce's waist, comes just below Madelyn's waist, and would cover all of Isabel from the mouth down.

The kids' slide. Can't see the individual steps.

On our deck. The grill.

Picnic table.

Can you tell that there is a car in this picture? Look for the side mirror.

Our garden flag pole.

We've been blessed so far in that we haven't lost power. The snow in our immediate area was pretty dry. Great for skiing. Horrible for snowman making. However, it also doesn't stick as well to the trees. Thus, fewer downed power lines. Just a few miles away, though, is a different story, and the snow was much heavier. It's nearly 5:00 pm and I no longer see flakes falling. We're starting to plan our dig out method. Hopefully, we'll see other humans by Tuesday.

Finally got it

She's been trying to get that flower in her mouth for the last two weeks.

In other news, the snow has started falling. It's 11:15 am. We're supposed to have 0.5 inches by 3:00 pm. 20-28 inches when all is said and done, with most of that falling between 9:00 pm and 5:00 am. Yowsers! I'll post pictures, assuming we keep the power on. Happy snow!

Another snow

We're going a little stir crazy around here. Snow, snow, more snow, and possibly A LOT more snow on Saturday. Time will tell about that. The kids didn't have school today, but Daddy did stay home a little later to play and help out some neighbors. How crazy is it that I'm looking forward to standing in line at pre-school registration tomorrow simply because it means I'll be out of the house? Here are some pictures of our 4th winter wonderland this season: