When all is quiet...

be afraid! Or at the very least, concerned. I was cleaning the kitchen this evening when my parents called. After talking with them for a few minutes, I noticed that my children were very quiet. I went down the stairs a bit and heard Madelyn and Pierce talking very sweetly to one another. So, I went back upstairs to finish what I was working on. I got off the phone with my parents and decided to join my sweet children downstairs.

Madelyn: Mommy, these are good.
Me: What are you eating?
Madelyn: They're green and red and have sparkles.
Me: Are you eating chalk?
Madelyn: Nope, these. (And she holds up a watermelon gummy. JD gave me some watermelon gummies for our anniversary. I love them.)

Madelyn had divided them up so nicely. She was eating some from a plastic cup and Pierce had some neatly laid out on the floor. I quickly rescued what was left of my delicious gummies and briefly sulked about most of my gummies being in the bellies of my babies.

Chuck E Cheese

One of Madelyn's friends, Miles, had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. What a hit! I think Madelyn was as excited about being there as she was about Disney World. Getting the kids to stop and eat was quite a challenge, but once Pierce settled in, he wolfed down about three slices.

The Barney ride was quite popular:

The after pizza shot:

This is Madelyn's new pouty face. She's gotten pretty good at it:

Pierce just having fun:

Happy Anniversary!

May is such a busy month for us. Yesterday, JD and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We've had seven great years together, and I can't wait to find out what's in store for us in the years to come. Since we broke the bank at Ruth's Chris on Saturday, we settled for Chipotle and another trip to Cold Stone. Poor JD, so many dates to remember in May (his birthday, Mother's day, my birthday, and our anniversary.) He probably takes a big sigh of relief after May 19--nothing else until Christmas. Oh, and no anniversary picture, either. I actually forgot to take one, but then again, we didn't change much in two days.

I was told today that

30 was the new 25--I like it. I turned 30 yesterday. As mentioned in my last post, Madelyn spent the weekend with her cousins, and JD and I got to spend some two-on-one time with Pierce. I just realized that he had never been with both of us while Madelyn wasn't with us, too.

I had a great day! JD gave me a Sonicare toothbrush. Not the most romantic thing, but it had been on my wish list for nearly a year, so I was very excited to get it. Man, my teeth feel soooo clean.

Last night, JD's Aunt Cindy babysat for us, and Philip, JD's brother, came by to help out. We went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for dinner. Everything was delicious. We, then, decided to skip dessert there and get ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. I don't usually like to pay for ice cream from an ice cream shop when I can get ice cream at home. I make a few exceptions to that rule, and one of those is for Cold Stone. That stuff can't be beat.

So, here I am at 30:







And, here we are at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse:

Life with only one child

was pretty easy. JD's brother and sister-in-law are keeping Madelyn for the weekend, so she can play with her cousins and I can have a break for my birthday. I miss her and am looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, but the last day and a half have been sooooo easy. Pierce is only 14 months old; it hasn't been that long since we only had one child. It's interesting how quickly you adjust to life with a new family member and how quickly you forget what life was like before the new one came along.

Cinderella's Castle?

We were in the car today and Madelyn exclaims, "Look, it's Cinderella's Castle!" I look to my left, and I see this:

Well, it is blue and silver...

I love everything about spring except...

the sun coming up before 6:00 am. This morning I awoke to a screaming rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" followed by a little ditty that Madelyn has learned from school (I open the Bible and what do I see? A story about Jesus. He loves you and me.) Sweet songs from a sweet little voice. Only problem--it was at 5:30 am! The clock system is still working--no visual sign of my little darling until 7:20.