Big Girl Bed for Maddie

Just after Anna turned 2 we moved her into a toddler bed. I vowed we would not move Maddie so early, yet after reading that Maddie's crib had been recalled late yesterday, we did just that.

We had purchased the Simplicity Ellis crib back in 2007 for Anna when she was moving rooms due to Maddie's pending arrival. We enjoyed the crib and how it could convert to a toddler bed; we even recommended it to others (sorry!). Because Simplicity is no longer in business, Target is accepting the recalled items that were purchased there. So today we loaded up the car with crib parts, went to Target and received a gift card for the full retail price. A receipt was not required (even though I did have my receipt, it was 2.5 years old and no longer valid).

We then came home and disassembled Anna's bunk beds to make it into two twin beds, moved the one from the top with the rails to Maddie's room and voila, Maddie had a big girl bed.



As I write Maddie is taking her first nap in her bed! I hope tonight goes just as smoothly.

Birthday Pictures

Birthday muffins with sister:



Birthday dinner, mac and cheese:



Birthday cake, chocolate oreo from Brusters!



Birthday jumping:





It was a great day to celebrate Madelyn's second birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Maddie!

Gardening

I love the idea of gardening. It is hard for me to go to a home improvement store this time of year and not want to come home with lots of flowers and vegetables for Erik to plant. I am, unfortunately, not the best at maintaining the plants but this year we are starting afresh. Over the weekend, Erik planted broccoli and beans in our small garden and tomatoes, green peppers and mint in pots on the deck. The girls did some gardening of their own.

Here they plant tomato seeds:





And everyday we try to water our plants:



But if nothing else makes it through the summer, our fake flowers planted in sand should make it :)

Jumping Fun

After doing some searching to rent an inflatable for Maddie's birthday party, we decided to go ahead and buy one since it seemed most cost effective. We bought this Step 2 Whopper Bouncer which was on clearance through Step 2 for 70% off which equaled the price of a 4 hour rental!



The bouncer has 2 climbing walls, a small bouncing area and a slide. It is easy enough to set up and take down and came with a large duffel bag for storage. It has already been great for some impromptu playdates and I look forward to using it more this summer.

A Trip to the Zoo

On Friday we headed to the North Carolina Zoo with Erik's sister, her husband and our niece Tori who is 8. This was our first trip since we went back in September of 2008 when Maddie was 4 months old. We rented a double stroller from the zoo which was a little rickety but perfect for allowing the girls to get in and out of the stroller when we got to the different exhibits. Here's Maddie in the stroller at the end of a long day...



We started in North America (last time we only did Africa) where the girls enjoyed playing in the Kid's Zone - who knew a bucket of water and a paintbrush could be so fun. My favorite exhibit was the polar bear who entertained us playing with his plastic iceberg.





The girls went to their first big screen movie while at the zoo, Dora and Diego 4-D Adventure. Maddie wasn't a fan of the glasses but didn't seem to mind the fact that it was blurry. The movie was good break before heading off to Africa.



Last year Anna was scared of this rhino statue, this year she wanted to ride on him. I'm sure some of that was because her big cousin was doing it too :). Then we had to touch and climb on every statue.





It was a great trip and after walking the entire zoo, we were all tired and ready to head home.

Food, Fun and Family on Easter Vacation

Our family had another wonderful trip to Ponte Vedra, Florida for Easter.

Food: It is a little joke for our family that during this vacation it is usually either mealtime or time to discuss/get ready for mealtime. The day starts off with a breakfast buffet full of pastries, pancakes, eggs, etc. at the main inn where I have eaten breakfast for 30 years. For lunch we walk to the pool or golf course. For dinner, we all dress up and walk together to the dining room. Mealtime here isn't just about quickly eating some food so that you can move on to something else, but it is a big part of the experience. At mealtime, is when we can sit down with our aunts, uncles, cousins and hang out. Here is Anna and Maddie enjoying the food at Easter brunch (and Pop's birthday):



Fun: The weather was beautiful so we spent many mornings and afternoons on the beach. Maddie LOVED the ocean and would say "FUN, do it again!" whenever the waves would come crash at her feet. The girls also enjoyed building castles with daddy and decorating them with shells.




Family: This year there were 23 adults/teens and 6 kids (all age 5 and under). For our family, this is the only time we are all together and it is so special.

The Ringbearer

Back in January Anna was asked to be in Uncle Derick and Emily's wedding. I have to admit I was extremely nervous about whether or not my shy little Anna would make it down the aisle. In the beginning whenever we talked about the wedding Anna would say "I don't like people" as she would imagine people watching her walk down the aisle. A few weeks passed and the beautiful princess dress arrived at our house and Anna started getting excited. For the remaining weeks we talked about Anna wearing her princess dress and carrying a box down the aisle with the wedding rings in it and she would smile.

By the night of rehearsal Anna was very excited. She practiced walking up and down the aisle carrying the box of rings to her daddy who was the best man.

At last it was the day of the wedding and here is my beautiful princess posing in the chapel just minutes before the ceremony. We had to do a few extra walks up and down the aisle to practice in her new shoes. After practicing Anna told me I could go sit down in the pews for she was ready to do it by herself as a big girl.



Anna was very proud of the flowers on her wrist and she still tells people that they were on her wrist so that she could carry the box in her hands :).



Anna did a great job! She made it down the aisle and brought many smiles to those in the chapel that day.