Miss'n My Baby

Maddy went up north on Tuesday morning with my parents for the week. I am missing her like crazy. I know she is having a ton of fun with Gramma and Papa, but it doesn't make it any easier on me. Jason and I talk to her every night and she tells us about the birdies and how big they are getting. She tells us she loves us and it breaks my heart to hear her sweet little voice and not be able to hug and kiss her. Its funny because I am so much more relaxed and calm when she is not around, but its just not as fun. I miss the excitement and joy she brings to my life. Its been a busy week at work and we are headed up north tomorrow so the week at least is moving along at a steady pace. I can't wait to see her tomorrow night though to give her a big squeeze. Miss ya and love ya lots Mads!

Happy Birthday Madelynn

Our lil' Miss Maddy is TWO!

She is so grown up...I can't believe it.

Today we measured Maddy's height because as the story goes you measure them on their 2nd birthday and then multiply their height by two and you get the height they'll be as an adult.

She measured a little over 35 inches.
So the verdict is 5' 10" ....just right.

Happy Father's Day

Sunday we actually got Jason out of the basement for a little bit to take him out for breakfast for Father's Day.

Here's Maddy at breakfast counting the jelly

We even went to church together before Jason went back to work. Funny story from church...we were in the second pew from the front with no one sitting in front of us and Maddy decided she didn't want to behave this week. She just wanted to be loud and obnoxious. Anyway, at one point she was playing with her sunscreen and wanted to put some of the lotion on her butt. Jason said no and tried taking the lotion away from her, so she started yelling, "Butt hurts" and grabbing her cheeks. I was so embarrassed so I took her out of church for awhile to get her mind off of it. We will never sit in the front ever again.

After naps, we went over to hang out over at the Schmidts. We had a wonderful barbeque dinner, played some yard games, and then the guys watched golf. It was a nice relaxing father's day. Jason got to have some time to himself, yet he still had time to hang with his girls.

Here's a cute picture of Hayden from the barbeque

Father's day is always hard for me now that I live so far away from my dad. Most of the people who know me know how much I love and respect my dad. He was always the #1 man in my life and some may argue that he still is. So it's really tough for me not to be with him on father's day to show him how much I love and appreciate him. A phone call just doesn't seem to be enough. I know some day Maddy will feel the same way about Jason. He is a great father and I see a lot of my dad's same good fatherly qualities in him, so if Maddy is anything like me she will truly adore him.

Kensington Metro Park

Maddy and I spent the day at Kensington Metro Park on Saturday. Jason wanted to work on the basement so it was just us two girls. We had a great time together! We are the best of buds lately. Maddy is just a ton of fun to hang with and she loves her mommy a lot lately so we've been spending a lot of time together. Jason gets work done in the basement so he isn't complaining although he is getting a bit frustrated of her always wanted me. Its so funny to me how much she changes from being "Daddy's Girl" to "Momma's Girl"...why can't she just like us both at the same time? Anyway, here are a few pics from our day at the beach.

Trying to Catch Up

I'm trying to catch up on my posts today. I've been home all day sick, horribly uncomfortable so to keep my mind off of feeling like dog do-do I'm trying to catch up on this. Sorry for all the posts at once, but it is the only way I'm going to get it done. Hopefully, in the next few days I can finish and be all caught up for the big event this weekend.

Parkinson's Walk

The morning after Kendal's party we got up and met Jason's parents to participate in the annual Michigan Parkinson's Walk-a-thon. The weather was very hot and humid so we didn't stick around too long after the walk but we still had a great time spending the day with Jon and Nancy. We would like to thank all of you who donated to the cause. As most of you know, Parkinson's plays a big part of our lives, especially Jason's parents who live with it everyday. It is such a horrible disease and therefore research is so important in that area to continue to make improvements in medications to ease the symptoms of the disease and ultimately to make advances in finding a cure. So thank you so much to everyone who continues to support us at this event every year.

Jason and Jon at the start of the walk

Maddy and I joined them

The heat was really hard on Jon this year but he still got up and walked. He was extremely determined and did a great job. We were very proud of him.

Jason and Jon walking together

Maddy and I joined them

and then Nancy did too!

"Kendal's Two"

...that's one of Maddy's favorite things to say now. A few weekends ago we enjoyed a beautiful Saturday afternoon celebrating a special little girls birthday with friends. I can hardly believe it but Kendal's turned 2, which means Maddy is soon to follow. Kendal and Maddy are just the best of friends. We always say the two of them are like sisters because they do a lot of fighting and then making up. This past year has been a ton better though...they actually play together really well. The fights are definitely fewer and much further apart. The girls are always asking to see the each other so we spend a lot of time with the Schmidts plus the girls see each other 3 days a week at daycare. Kendal is a beautiful, happy little girl. She is such a joy to have in our lives. Happy Birthday Kendal!

Here are a bunch of pictures of the party:

Birthday Girl eating her cake

Kendal opening her presents with her teeth

Kids Table
(Brendon, Kendal, Maddy, and Olivia)

Maddy pusing Kendal in her new swing

Maddy's Turn

Baby Josie having a good time

Ben I love the curls
(It wasn't humid at all)

Bedtime in matching pj's

Swimming and Ice Cream

The weather has just been awesome lately, except for all the horrible storms we've been getting at night. Maddy and I however have been enjoying the days outside while daddy's "workin" in the basement. Some of her favorite things are eating ice cream cones at her new picnic table and swimming in her pool. Her are a few pics:

Elizabeth's Graduation

For Memorial Day weekend, Maddy and I drove up north with my cousin Christopher to attend all the graduation festivities of my cousin Elizabeth. Jason was out of the state for work so he missed out on the trip. Right off the bat, we attended her graduation ceremony on Friday night. It was a long and extremely hot ceremony, so I took the kids out to the playground to help the time pass for them. I'm glad we were there for Elizabeth. We are all very proud of all of her accomplishments and the lovely women she has become. We wish her the best of luck in the future.

Elizabeth and Maddy

Izzy and Itsy

The Momont Family

Cousins

Saturday we started the day out early with a birthday party brunch for my nephew John V. He turned 3 at the beginning of the month so my sister thought since we were all together for the weekend it would be a good opportunity to celebrate his birthday. We had a great time!

The birthday boy with his train cake

Joined by some uncooperative cousins

New Spiderman Roller Skates

Maddy having fun with John's presents

After the party since we were all together, we just decided to hang out and enjoy my parents new house. It was my parents first weekend in the new house and man was it nice to be together without being on top of each other. The kids had the whole basement to themselves and the adults had the upstairs. It worked perfect. The weather was nice too, so the kids rode their bikes, played in the sandbox and on the swingset while the adults got some rodeo golf in. Sunday was Elizabeth's graduation party. We spent a few hours visiting and eating while the kids ran around causing havoc.

Oops, where's Jack

The whole gang

Maddy, Jaelyn, and Lexi
(Its so much easier to get a picture when there's only 3)

"Brookee, see my crazy mom standing on the chair trying to get us to smile for the camera."

We left just in time to get to my brother's house to protect ourselves from the hail storm and flash flooding. It was a crazy storm. I've never seen anything like it. It only lasted 10 minutes but it was enough to cover the yard in a sheet of ice. After the storm we went back to my parents house to hang out and play with the kids. We made milk shakes and ate popcorn. Yum! After the kids went to bed, we stayed up late playing smear. It was so much fun although I didn't get much sleep. The trip home on Monday was pretty miserable. I was so tired and Maddy and Chris slept the whole way to the bridge while I drove through dense fog with heavy traffic. I must say though that Maddy did awesome in the car. I had her in a pull-up just in case, but she didn't even need it. She stayed dry both there and back. I was so proud of her. She would just tell me when she had to go and I would pull over and let her go on her potty. She would go whenever we stopped for gas or to eat so we really only pulled over for her a few times each way. She did awesome! I also must say she didn't have a single accident the whole weekend. What a good girl!

Van Camps Visit for Mother's Day

The weekend of Mother's Day Casey, Cory, and Ava came from Wisconsin to visit. We had the best time hanging out with them. The weather was perfect most of the time so we spent the days playing outside with the kids, having a picnic and going for a nice long bike ride in Hamburg, going to the pool in Hartland, and then in the evening and nights we did a lot of playing cards and games and a little bit of drinking. The other thing we didn't do much of was sleep. It was so worth it though. We always just have so much fun with them.

Jason and Maddy swimming

The boys with their daughters

Ava and Maddy in the wagon (I apologize for Maddy's dirty face)

Naked girls singing their ABC's

Bathtime

Ava is a doll and I'm so glad we got to spend some time with her because kids grow up way to fast and its really hard just watching her grow up through pictures. Maddy and her played really well together so that was nice because we didn't have to be supervising them the whole time.

Ava hiding under the chair

Look at those eyes

How did she get up there?

Casey and Cory took some vacation so they stayed through Monday which allowed us to spend Sunday, Mother's Day together. What a great day to spend with one of your best friends, who is also a mother! It made the day very special! It was a rainy day so we spent most of the day in the house just laying around and napping, which was well needed after a few late nights. In the late afternoon we went to the Olive Garden for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. Our food was delicious, but the company was what made the dinner so special. We met to go shopping after dinner but we quickly were reminded that it was Sunday and everything closes at 6. Oops. So we came home instead and just laid low watching tv.

A few Mother's Day pictures ...

Momma's with their babies

...Take Ten

Maddy and I couldn't get a good one because Maddy wouldn't cooperate.
She just wants to good off all the time when she's with me. Maybe next year.

What a great weekend! Thank you so much to the Van Camps for making the long 8 - 10 hour trip with a toddler to come spend some time with us. We greatly appreciate it and love you guys to death!

Farmer's Market Opening

Almost a month ago now, Jason, Maddy, and I spent a beautiful Sunday morning down at the Howell's Farmer's Market. It was the opening day so they were having special events, like horse carriage rides so we decided to spend a few hours down there enjoying the events. We went to Dunkin' Donuts first for some coffee and donuts...a nice treat. Maddy loves a mocha coolatta, in fact I usually only get one sip in to her two. She surprisingly doesn't care for donuts though. The farmer's market was very nice with a lot of people. We ran into the Schmidts down there too so that was a nice surprise.

"CHEESE"

Horses-n-Carriage

Mike, Kendal, Maddy, and Jason going for a ride

Maddy up close and personal with the horseeees (not too sure about it)

Funny note to add: We went to Dunkin' Donuts again a few weeks ago (I know...but we have a bunch of coupons)...anyway, when we were done and getting ready to go Maddy keep saying "horseeess" and we couldn't figure out why...then we remembered it was because the last time we were there we went to the Farmer's Market and saw the horses after having coffee and donuts (What a memory kids have, hey?)