Brenna is 18 months old!!!

Brenna is officially 18 months old today. She went to the doctor for her check-up and had her finger pricked and got two shots. After they drew blood from her finger she got a scooby-doo band-aid and Maddie was saying that she likes scooby-doo, so the nurse gave her one, too. Very nice. I told Maddie to tell her thank you and Brenna said, "Thank you," while still crying. It was so funny. I just had to laugh. I'm still laughing about it. She now weighs 30 lbs and is 34.5" long! Just as tall and big as ever and healthy other than a little cold. Both girls have been sick this last week.

Last Friday, Maddie woke up with a fever, so I kept her home from school, but I needed to run to a few stores because it was Jason's birthday on Saturday. She was feeling good and her fever was gone so we ran to Target. I was looking at birthday cards when out of the blue Brenna threw up all over herself and me. I was holding her and I was soaked in it. Nasty! And there was a huge puddle of puke on the floor. I just stood there thinking, "What am I going to do?" I didn't want to just leave the mess on the floor, but I couldn't walk around the store looking for an employee to clean it up. Luckily, some nice ladies offered to find someone to clean up so I could take Brenna to the bathroom and clean up. We just happened to be close to a family bathroom so it was just us and I could lock the door. I got Brenna cleaned up and started on me. I took my watch off because it was all over my left arm. Eventually got us all cleaned up - I ended up washing my shirt in the sink. Better to walk out in a wet shirt than a puked on shirt! Left the store. Brenna threw up again in the car. Then as I was cleaning her up when we got home, she threw up again. Lovely day. A couple hours later I remembered I'd left my watch sitting on the sink at Target. And it wasn't just any watch. It was a nice one Jason got me for our anniversary a few years ago. I was so angry with myself. I called immediately, and they checked the bathroom. GONE! And nobody ever turned it in. Oh, well. It's just a watch, right? So, no presents for Jason. I wanted to surprise him with a new TV which also required a new TV stand. After he got home, I went shopping to buy what I wanted. The TV stand - sold out. The TV - sold out. I was so upset as I left Costco, where the TV was. Maddie was with me and I was thinking about the awful day I'd had. All of a sudden she looked at me and said, "It's a great day mom!" with the cutest smile on her face. And I thought, "It really is." Nothing went the way I planned or wanted, but it really didn't matter. It was just material things anyway. All that really mattered was my family and we were all okay. It still brings me to tears when I think about it. There's nothing like a child to remind us of what's really important.

I ended up going to a different Wal-mart late that night with a friend and got the TV stand I wanted. Jason and I went out for his 30th birthday. I surprised him and took him to Red Lobster (I HATE seafood). He thoroughly enjoyed his dinner and it was totally worth it. Although, I'll probably never go there again. :) We stopped at Best Buy on our way home and they had a TV on sale for less than Costco, so I surprised him by buying one right then! Happy Birthday Jason! The girls and I love you so much! Now you've joined me in the 30+ club!

Brenna and the Scooter

Here is a little video of our 17-month old riding Maddie's scooter. A couple of weeks ago I was joking with some friends that Brenna would be riding it by herself before she was 18 months old. She was always standing on it and wanting to ride it. Well, she proved me right!

Brenna really thinks she's as big as Maddie and can do everything she can!

First Day of School and More

Madison was invited to a friend's birthday party last week and Brenna and I were able to stay also. They had so much fun! It was at a place called Pump It Up and they have a bunch of inflatables to play in. Brenna had at least as much fun as Maddie did. She had absolutely no fear.

As you can see, Brenna pulled her elastics out in the car, so she has crazy hair.

I still can't believe I got this picture!

Maddie went down the big slides over and over.

Brenna had almost as much fun chasing the balls around as she did playing on the inflatables.

Here are pictures from Maddie's first day of school. She started on September 9. She loves school as long as I don't drop her off. She cries and clings to me if I'm there. We're carpooling with a friend so now Blasi drives them everyday and I pick them up. It's working out much better now. She has no problem going to school. She loves her teachers, Miss Jennifer and Miss Suzanne. Her friend Jazlyn is not in her class, but they see each other every day when they play outside.

Maddie on her first day of school

Maddie and her friend Jazlyn

Here are some cute random photos of the girls. These are for the grandparents!!

Our cute girls posing in their matching pajamas.

Brenna did her own hair and was very proud of herself!

Omaha Zoo

Last weekend the girls and I drove to Omaha to go to the zoo with some friends. And yes, it was worth the two hour drive! We had never been before and it was so much fun. It's a big zoo with so many things to see and we didn't even see it all. I want to go back sometime with Jason. Here are a few pictures of our visit. Okay, a lot of pictures. :)

Madison and her friend Oakley. I just thought it was

so cute I snapped a picture.

Oakley, Maddie, and Brenna


Maddie and her friends

I'd already taken 4 or 5 pictures trying to get them to look at the camera.

Brenna: mom, if I smile this time will you please stop? Enough is enough!

Maddie in front of a waterfall

Maddie with the pretty macaws

Brenna doing her favorite thing: taking off her shoes and trying to lose them!

Ahhhh, sweet success

Get me outta here! Poor girl, I made her stay in the stroller all day.

The kids feeling a zebra skin

Maddie in the aquarium

I think she was either pointing at a shark or a sea turtle

The only picture with all three of us - at the butterfly pavilion

Standing in front of the train we rode. By this time, they'd had enough and were

done cooperating for pictures!

Madison had her first dance class two weeks ago and is loving it. She has three friends from our ward in her class as well as a friend from preschool.

Isn't she adorable?

Here she is dancing! :)

So, it's been a while and a lot has happened. I have lots of pictures to post, but they're on Jason's computer. Our biggest news is that Jason is going to do his 4 month core here in Des Moines next year! Which means I'll be staying here all year. He'll be gone for 6 months rotating at different programs, hopefully mostly in Ohio and Pennsylvania. So it will be a long 6 months, but then he'll be back in December. So, I won't be spending Christmas alone. (I was worried that would happen.) He'll do two 1 month rotations here and then his core from Feb - May. I'm very excited that it worked out this way. I really felt this was best for our family.

Madison also started preschool two days ago and is loving it. She doesn't love the dropping off part and cries when I leave her :( but then she has tons of fun. I'm carpooling with a friend which is great because I don't have to drive every day. I'll post pictures of her first day later. Hopefully tonight after the kids are in bed. :)

Madison also went to the doctor the other day for her yearly physical and she is now 44" tall! Average for her age is 40". No wonder I don't want to hold her back a year in school even though her birthday is late enough to justify it! :) She looks so grown up now, especially with her haircut. She is absolutely adorable and I love her so much.

Brenna is such a delight. She talks and talks now. She says so many words I can't keep up with her. She says over 80 words now! I can't even believe it. Three months ago she said maybe 10 words. She's just growing by leaps and bounds. She tries to do everything her sister does including riding the big girl bike and riding the scooter. She makes me laugh every day and I'm so glad she's a part of our family. She definitely knows how to make her big sister mad and pushes her buttons all day long, but she's so fun at the same time. Her favorite thing to do right now is give people hugs. Especially babies. That is her favorite. She says, "Ug, ug." And looks at me to see if it's okay.

I'll post pictures of the girls later. We have lots to share.

Our little girl is growing up!!

So, I finally decided it was time to start a blog. This has been an exciting week for us. Madison turned 4 on Tuesday. I can't believe she's already 4! We had a few friends over for cake and ice cream that night. Madison wanted a butterfly cake and it turned out pretty cute. I had a lot of fun making it and Madison helped me decorate the extra cupcakes I had made.

She played with her Polly Pockets and rode her new scooter all day.

Then, on Wednesday night she got her hair cut. I had been wanting to get it cut for a while and I finally did it. She loves it and so do I! It is so cute on her, but sadly makes her look so much older. I'm not ready for my little girl to grow up.

Before her haircut

After the haircut!

And today Jason and I took Madison bowling. That's what she wanted to do for her birthday, but we weren't able to take her until today. We had a lot of fun and most importantly Maddie had a blast!