Cheap Thrills

We went to the Durham Bulls game Friday night. Jack loved it and Madeline did pretty well considering she usually goes to bed for the night at 6:30 and she stayed awake the whole game! The ballpark is beautiful and a great activity for families. As we were pulling in the parking garage next to the stadium, Clay said "I wonder how much this costs." It was a great location but there was a chance of rain so I didn't want to park too far away. We pull up and the sign says "$4" What?? $4?? Seriously? Not $40?I guess we are still thinking Atlanta prices. So we happily gave the lady $4 and were on our way. We went to buy tickets- total price for the family- $12! That is cheaper than a movie! Went to get food- kids hotdog- $1.25! Chicken fingers, fries and a drink -$8 total! Such an affordable family outing!

Tried to get a family picture- Jack wasn't into it- Madeline is wondering what in the world he is doing!

We spent part of the game in centerfield where there is a play place for kids. Jack would alternate playing and checking out the game. Here he is clapping.
Madeline chilled in the Baby Bjorn most of the time- such a good girl!
She's got baseball in her blood!

Who says dads can't multitask? I was carrying the food.

I haven't done minor league baseball in a long time but it is a great experience for families. Jack took the program home and every night since he and Clay have "read" it before bedtime. He calls it his "baseball book."

kids rooms

Kelly over at www.kellyskornerblog.com is having a virtual home tour and today is nursery/kids rooms. I have been meaning to take pics of the kids rooms to share so I thought I would join this one. They are still a work in progress but we are getting there!

Madeline's room- My friend DeEtte made the curtains and bedding for Jack and I picked neutral material b/c we didn't know boy or girl. I went with a nursery rhyme toile and the polka dots to coordinate. We painted his room green which worked great but then when Madeline came along, I had to have pink! And the bedding works great for her too! I still love it!

Here is her crib and monogram letters made by my sister, Shannon

up close of the bumper

When I was pregnant with Jack, Shannon found this lamp at TJ maxx! It is the same fabric as the bedding- so fun!

This is a Jefferson Cup with Madeline's initials. Clay is from Virginia and they seem to celebrate any occasion by engraving a J Cup!

The girl's closet! Love love love having a little girl!

My friend Patti does vinly and did this for Madeline. It says "I am a Princess and my father is the King of Kings.

Since Jack's nursery was gender neutral, I was excited about doing a boy room for him! My wonderful husband painted these stripes on one wall and the rest are khaki.

The red stripe in the wall is actually grosgrain ribbon that I pinned down with thumbtacks. Home Depot had the thumbtacks that matched the ribbon perfectly! I wanted the red strip but didn't want it to overwhelm. I also like the dimension it gives the wall.

The stripes were inspired by the fabric that was used to make the curtains (courtesy of my friend Barb!)

Barb also made the shams which are a polka dot with the same colors as the stripes. I am going to add some more pillows at some point. I will spare you Jack's messy bookshelf and train table and his closet isn't nearly as fun as Madeline's!

Jammin

Clay was so impressed with my jam making skills and domesticity and sad that he missed our strawberry pickin on Saturday, that we went back last night for more berries! Good thing the farm is only a few miles from our house!

So we did some of this:

And lots of this:

And came in from the fields when the rain started but not before we had 22lbs of strawberries!! Then my lovely assistant and I got to work

Making all of this:

And this fabulous strawberry avocado salsa which is great with a chip, a spoon or served over chicken like I did last night.

When is blueberry season???

Mornings

This was Jack on his last day of school. I felt like throwing myself on the floor too!

But then this was yesterday morning! Start the day with Noggin so Mommy and Daddy can have little more quiet time.
And this gives definition to "sleep like a baby." Love this sweet angel!

Strawberry pickin

From this:

to a little of this:

to this:

to this!!

We went strawberry picking with the Smiths this morning and Jack had a ball! About 5 minutes into it, Macey said "Jack let's eat one" and it was all over from there! I just happen to dress him in red so there was no evidence of the eating except the juice dripping off his face! Altogether we picked 30 lbs of strawberries! And then headed to the Smiths to make strawberry jam- heaven on earth this stuff is! Our freezer is stocked now so we will have this yumminess for a long time to come. Now to find the perfect biscuit recipe!

Three Months

Madeline turned three months on Saturday. When I was pregnant, I was dreading the first three months b/c they were so hard with Jack. But overall, she is such a great baby that these first few months have not been bad. I think the fact that she sleeps 10-12 hours a night and has since 6 weeks DEFINITELY helps! Jack didn't do that until 7 months. Getting sleep makes life so much better! Madeline is so happy, smiles alot and talks all the time. People tell me she is the most social baby they have seen and I think they are right! She will respond with coos and babble any time you talk to her. She is so engaging! She loves when Jack talks to her and follows him around the room with her eyes while he is playing. She is perfectly content to sit on your lap facing out and watch all the action. She is not a fan of the carseat until she falls asleep in it- then she is out. She doesn't take a great morning nap but that is my fault b/c we are always on the go but she is getting into an afternoon nap schedule. Still sleeping in her swing- I am so afraid to move her b/c she sleeps so well and is still struggling some with the reflux.

Loves her feet!

This is the face she makes when she is about to cry- check out that lip!

Jack wanted in on the photoshoot. Madeline isn't so sure!

Where is this boy's mother and why didn't she brush his hair??

Smiths go to the Farm

We took our friends the Smiths to the farm this weekend. It was a great time with two festivals in town, lots of bounce houses, yummy food, hayrides and smores! Jack was in heaven!!

Macey, Jack , McKenna, Madeline and Paige

Jack and Greyson enjoying smores

The boys at dinner- the perfect table for them!

Clay and Jack loved the slide!

Bumbo!

Madeline has started sitting in the bumbo and she loves it. Her new fascination is her feet!

I am back to working out and have started to bring Madeline (and Jack) to the Y with me. Here she is in her warm-up suit this morning!

A smile that will melt you!

Preschool and Popsicles

It was teacher appreciation week at school so I made all the kids in Jack's class t-shirts that said "Jack (or the name) loves Ms Carol and Ms Trish." They all showed up to school yesterday in their shirts and Carol and Trish were so surprised! Carol even started crying! She said in all her years as a teacher she had never seen anything like this! I figured they get alot of cookies and candles and thought this would be something they would always remember. Here are some pics of the kiddies:

Jack, Charlie and Gray with Carol and Trish

The class (I was never going to get a pic of them all looking!)
The kids end their day on the playground so we wait for them up in the multipurpose room. This is what we see:

Lately, every afternoon while Madeline naps, Jack and I take popsicles outside and play on the playground. It is fun time just us together!

two and a half!

Dear Jack-
Today you are 2 and ½ years old. While half birthdays are not as momentous as whole ones, you have changed so much in six months and I feel the need to document it. I also feel like I will forget some things from this time because of the craziness of having Madeline join us. It is all going so quickly and I want you to know I was paying attention!
- You are talking so much these days and we love it! Your “f”s are “b”s so you say things like “It’s broken. You bix it,” “I go see my briends,” “I no see Daddy. I go bind him.”
- Your favorite book is Noah’s Ark Animal ABCs. We read it every night before bed. You know all the animals but your favorites are the monkeys, lions, tigers and zebras. The last page of the book has all the animals in the ark and you like to give each of them a kiss as well as Noah before we say “good night.”
- You love all kinds of balls and know the difference between a soccer ball, basketball, baseball and golf ball. You even know that you kick a soccer ball and throw a baseball.
- You have an undying love for Dora and Diego. When we say prayers you always include Tico, Isa and Benny (Dora’s friends). The other day you put all your Little People in the airplane and said “let’s go! Vamanos!” At least while I am letting Noggin parent you, you are learning to be bilingual.
- You were great when we brought Madeline home and for about the first 6 weeks but then you realized she wasn’t leaving and you had to share me. Now whenever I am feeding her, you say “I hungry too” and when I change her diaper “I stinky too.” You also say “I hold you,” where before Madeline you never wanted me to hold you. This is all very normal, I am told and I am thankful you want my attention and do not take it out on Madeline.
- You are such a good big brother. Recently, I was talking to Madeline while she was in her chair and you came over and said “ Hi Madewin, I, Jack. This Momma.” It was very cute! You like to bring her toys, diapers, etc and you get upset if I don’t bring her out to the car immediately when we are leaving. You are always concerned that she is coming with us and do not want to leave her behind.
- You LOVE playing with Daddy. You want his full attention the minute he comes home. You like to play hide and seek, love to wrestle with him and lately you love to be outside together. You have helped plant flowers and trees and always show me what you have done saying “I dig. I water.” You love to be muddy and whenever Daddy is watering you love to get right under the hose and drink from it.
- You love to go to school. You ask every morning about school and then say “Gray, Sydney, Charlie?”- your friends in your class. You love music the best and always tell me you “shaked shaked shaked” today. You also like to paint and tell me what you had for snack- a highlight of the day!
- It has been almost a year that you have been sleeping in a bed but just last week you figured out how to open your door. You came running into our room saying “I wake up! I wake up!” It was 5:45 am. Now that you can open doorknobs we have installed one with a key lock on the pantry. It works to keep you from consuming all the snacks (which you would) and makes me think twice about whether I need the snacks as well J
- You love to eat! This is not new but your favorites are chicken, veggie burgers, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pretzels, dora snacks (fruit chews), hummus (with Daddy) and like your mom, you love Mexican!!
- You are currently wearing a size 4t shirt and 18 months shorts! We aren’t sure where your body came from as I am all legs and no torso and Daddy is pretty proportionate but you have definitely inherited your dad's metabolism!
- You are a very social child. You love your “briends” and are happiest when we are out about. When we arrive places, you walk in and say “Hi guys!” You do this at places like Moe’s too!

Jack, you are a joy to have in our family! Even in the midst of the terrible twos, you have such a sweet, fun-loving spirit. Every day is an adventure with you and we love watching you learn and grow. Thanks for choosing us as your parents! We love you so much!

Fun in the Sun

Nothing better than a Capri Sun on a hot day! Jack loves his playground and his new flip flops.

Madeline is growing so fast I can hardly get her in all the cute dresses she has! This is another one from Mimi. So precious!