Family Summer Fun

We spent a few days doing family things around Houston. We started with the zoo. Madeline loved it, especially the children's park. Here she and John are in the bat caves.
Looking at seals.Checking out the goat. The goats were SO friendly and not pushy!
Grooming "her" goat. There were lots of them. I don't know what made this one special.
Our trip to the Children's Museum got cancelled because she got a cold so we went to Chucky Cheese instead. Good decision because my normally fearless child felt so bad she didn't enjoy much and was not in the mood to try new things. (I didn't realize how pitiful she was until we were already there and trying to entertain her.) She did like riding the horsey on the carosel.
Hitting things with Daddy was fun. John really enjoyed the games and would have played more if we didn't need to take her home.
The next day she felt much better so we decided to again stay near home and go to the YMCA kids water area. Great decision! She loved it! Toward the end she kept dunking herself and scaring the lifegards so we thought it would be best to leave. (remember, she's fearless! no, she doesn't know how to swim but is surprisingly good at holding her breath when she dunks. and, no, we do not encourage her dunking, it makes me very nervous.)

Here she is running through the spray thingy.
Playing with the little fountains. I wasn't able to take many pictures at the pool because it took both of us watching her in the water. She just takes off towards whatever looks interesting! Thanks J and P for letting us use your passes!

We had a great weekend spending family time together - no house projects, no shopping, just 100% together time. It's the kind of thing that's hard to schedule but so worth it!

School and Dance

Here are some pictures from the first day of school. They don't show her excitement at all but trust me, she had a blast!

These are some super fun squishy balls you can put in cups - at least 10 minutes of fun.
Sliding down the mini slide. She actually waited her turn without me telling her. I guess playing with her cousins has taught her something.

Doing puzzles - Harvard, here she comes! Look at that concentration!

Looking at pictures in the book. I'm sure she'll be reading by the end of the year......right! I just hope she doesn't tear the pages out like she did last night in her bed. Seriously, isn't she too old for that? She was very upset when I took them away, what did she think I'd do?

Putting baby to sleep. She loves babies!

Ballet outfit - so cute!

Participating in ballet class. She really likes her class and is the loudest of everyone. I guess that's good - she's definitely not shy! Madeline's the one sitting on the floor.

First Day of School

Madeline had her first day of school today. She loved it! No, I haven't uploaded the pictures yet but eventually I will! She ran right in and started playing. Yes, she was the only child in the room who was singing, and singing, and singing.....loudly! No anxiety for my child! Wednesday she goes for 1.5 hours while I attend an informational meeting. I think she's going to have a great year!

Sleep Over

Ok. So this sleep over was in June but I know your still interested in seeing the pictures. Andrew and Ellen got to go to Mexico but Sophie and Ben had the AWESOME vacation of going to our house for a week of fun filled, action packed adventure!

Here Madeline is helping to entertain them. She's going to be a great big sister and look how much they love her!

She is regressing to babyhood in Ben's swing. It was impressive, she climbed in and closed the lap part by herself. Every time I took out my camera she started getting out so I couldn't get a great picture.
Here are the precious babies - look how happy they are - especially Ben!
Sophie after her bath - happy to be clean.
Madeline pretending to be a baby. I think she's a little large for the baby tub.
They were so good! We love sleep overs with our cousins - maybe A, E, S, & B can come over once more before the baby comes! (Preferably in pairs, I don't have enough rooms for all of them unless they can share!)

Summer pics

These are some different pics from throughout the summer for your viewing pleasure. There are more to come but I have to have stuff to spread through more posts. :)


Grandpa came over to say hi and fed Madeline dinner. This must be a few months old because she's been out of her high chair and has been eating by herself for a while now. Anyway, look how happy she is that Grandpa's there!Who knew a bucket could be so much fun!?

Chillin' with Daddy. She rarely gets to watch TV at night but they're really into Mickey Mouse this night. John seems to be enjoying it pretty good himself!

Swim Party

John's work partner had a swim party at his house and we had a BLAST! John and Madeline swam (no, I was not comfortable getting around semi-strangers in a swimsuit!) and she loved everything about the water - floating, falling of the floaty on purpose, Daddy dunking her, ......
Here she is dancing with John's partner, Larry. Ok, well she's eating ice while he dances but she really was dancing with him, too. She can really shake it when she wants to - Larry's taught her well! Thanks for hosting a great party Debbie and Larry!

Balloons

The balloon guy at our office made this balloon hat. He's pretty awesome and great with the kids. Madeline was very happy with it. Isn't it huge next to her!

Ok. So I bought this "backpack" for Jennifer and Pablo for when they took Andrew, Ellen, and Madeline to see Dora the Explorer on ice. Madeline is fearless and we were a little concerned she might run away and get lost. Jennifer requested I buy this backpack with a leash on it to make their lives a little easier. Madeline loves it. She has no idea there is a leash attached to it. It was never used and Madeline has never had the pleasure of being on the leash. If someone needs to borrow it, let me know. I'm more that willing to loan it out.