Visit to the farm

Maddie and I took a short trip to St. Louis and Illinois this week. We left at nap time on Wednesday. I was optimistically hoping for a long 3 hour nap (even though she doesn't even do that at home) and an easy 5 1/2 hour drive. Unfortunately she only slept for 30 minutes. She really did well though. I just kept throwing toys at her, playing her DVDs and CDs, and giving her any food I could reach. I'm sure I wasn't the safest driver through all of this but we made it in one piece. We stayed with Aunt Barb (my mom's sister) the first night and Gramps the second night. Gramps really enjoyed Maddie so I'm really glad we made the trip. On Friday we drove up to my Aunt Cindy's (my Dad's sister) farm in Roodhouse, IL, about 2 hours from St. Louis, to celebrate my cousin's graduation from high school. I have such great memories of the farm from my childhood so I really looked forward to sharing them with Maddie. My parents left my brother and I at the farm over a couple of summers while my dad worked and my mom was in grad school in Spain. We always had such a great time. I was so happy to hear once we arrived that they had kittens for us. It seems like every time I visit there's always a new litter. Maddie loved them!! My cousins tried their hardest to convince me we needed two more cats but I resisted the temptation.

My original plan was to leave on Sunday but I was worried about the 6 1/2 hour drive back to Nashville. I decided to leave Saturday night hoping Maddie would sleep for most of the trip. I got on the road about 7:00 and didn't get home until 1:45 this morning. I think this was definitely the right decision because Maddie slept for about 4 1/2 hours but I was really tired. I went to bed at 2:30 and Maddie woke at 6:30. I don't know how my husband and all those other doctors can work all night and still function because I don't think I've been that tired since Maddie's 2nd day of life. Anyways, great trip; glad to be home.

At the children's museum with Aunt Barb and cousin Danny.


This was taken right before she tumbled down the slide.

"Hey, come on."

Gramps singing to Maddie.

Watching Sesame Street together.

Meeting the kitties for the first time.

The front seat is much more fun than a car seat!



Herding the cows.



I can't narrow down the cat pictures so I'll just post all of them :)



These cats were so good!



"I want this one!"

I call this face "The Look". Maddie has started to glare at people. It's hilarious. Anna and Kate were on the receiving end of this look.

Fun Outdoors

Maddie and I spent a lot of time outside over the last couple days. It's been gorgeous here.

I love this face. Don't you just want to kiss it!

"Mom, let's go water something!"

"I thought this was how Dad turned it on!"

First step, put toy on chair.

Second step, pull self onto chair. It may take a couple of tries.


"I wish Mom would help and leave the camera alone!"

Mission Accomplished

My attempt at a portrait

"I don't get paid enough for this...Get those other modeling agencies on the line!"

Reading with JoJo, who hates sheep.

Best friends

Our good friends, the Bauers, moved away this weekend :( Todd is staying with us for a couple of weeks while he finishes up but Jenn and the kids are in Cincinnati already. I'm sad for me because I won't see Jenn for a couple of months but I'm also really sad for Maddie that her best friends moved away. My parents are moving to Cincinnati next October so we'll definitely see the Bauers when we visit them, if not before then. We'll miss you guys!

Maddie loves Grace. By Grace's expression I don't think she feels the same way.

Huggs

Pretty girls!

Kisses

Brady walking Maddie around the house

Maddie walking Brady while Brady barks.

1st tea party

Uncle Jeff's visit

Jeff came to visit us last week. Maddie enjoyed having her uncle here to play and snuggle with. They get along so well! We visited the zoo on his first day here. The second day it rained all day so we stayed inside. On Saturday it rained in the morning but in the afternoon we took Maddie to Percy Warner park to walk the short path. I haven't been to the park since before I was pregnant with Maddie so it definitely brought back memories of running the 5.8 mile loop. I almost felt like running it until I remembered how much I hated that loop and the killer hills. Anyways, Maddie and I walked the 1.5 mile loop while the guys ran it twice. She loved it. Everything was so green and beautiful. It was really peaceful and reminded me how much I love Nashville. When we finished our walk I decided to give her a stairs workout. Percy Warner has huge stone steps (maybe 50 or so) at the main entrance. We used to run up them after a workout and I'd just about die. Maddie did great and made it up half of the hill before she decided to turn around. I was so proud :) On Sunday she developed a fever but luckily was over it by Monday. Nightmares of H1N1 were swarming in my head.

I was at the computer and heard some noise from the kitchen. Maddie had pulled out the garbage can and dog food and closed the pantry door. I was really impressed that they didn't spill.


I fed her some strawberries and yogurt in a plastic bowl. I've done this before and let her practice feeding herself with a spoon. When I turned around I found that she put the yogurt bowl on her head like a hat. Luckily she had finished all the strawberries.


I cut some fruit for Maddie to eat as a snack. I was going to have Jeff feed her from the back seat but could tell she was hungry on the way to the airport. I chanced it and let her feed herself from the Tupperware. I thought it'd be a disaster since she always dumps the contents of the snack trap into her lap. She did great and finished the whole bowl. The only mess she made was her face and hands. Unfortunately that wasn't the case when I tried it today.

At the zoo. Her hair is so messy because of the yogurt incident.

Working on her biceps


Sharing Jeff's apple. He's trying to reinforce healthy habits into my child :)



Maddie loves Starfall.

Lazy Sunday.

Off to the park.

Yep, the hat came off.

I tried to explain to Maddie that she needs a shirt before going shopping. I don't think she understood. Who wouldn't want to see that cute belly!