Balloon Launch

Mady and I went a few days ago to have dinner with Nick at his office and watch him do a balloon launch.  Mady loved it!  I think we'll definitely do this again!

Car Seat Turnaround

At 22 months old, we decided to turn Mady's car seat around.  They recommend you wait until 2, but she was getting a bit uncomfortable with those growing legs!  I think we waited longer than most do, but she's small for her age so it took a while before she lost the leg room and she didn't seem to mind since she didn't know any better!

For the first few minutes she wasn't a big fan, because with the turnaround meant she also lost the paci in the car.  Now the paci is strictly limited to bedtime and I'm not ready for that fight just yet.

But she quickly got over it and now she loves it!

Spring Break

Because I teach, that means that I get a spring break even though I'm not a student.  How cool is that?!  Unfortunately, Nick is not, so he had to work for spring break, so Mady and I headed down to Port Arthur to visit family.  The week was spent relaxing and catching up with family and friends.  It was great!  

We stopped on the way down to see these sweet guys :)

Sliding all by herself.  Such a big girl!

Cousin love

Helping Lito with some gardening

Checking out the PA seawall

Now that we've recharged our batteries, we are ready for spring.  We have a lot of spring cleaning to get done both inside and outside the house :(

Hampshire Family Fun Day

Nick and I have been pretty busy lately.  Between jobs, meetings, my 8 week classes ending and mid-terms, we haven't had a whole day together in quite a while....until today.  We decided to name it Hampshire Family Fun day, which meant the three of us headed to the zoo.  We had a blast, and Mady had so much fun seeing all of the animals.  She was much more interested in them than she has been the past times we've gone. Here's a few pictures...

She loved the tiger.  She thought it was so funny when he got close to her

Checking out the penguins having lunch

Mingos!

Where's the giraffe?

Her favorite just may have been the elephants

Enjoying the weather

This last week we've had some really great weather which means we have been spending a lot more time outside enjoying it.  Here's a look...

Cruising around in the car

Taking baby for walks

Helping daddy with his new project...

Learning to play a little golf

Having fun with the new outside toy

Wheee!!

I love...

Yesterday Nick and I were reading books with Mady before bed.  Somehow we started going back and forth over what we love about our sweet girl.  I just had to document it...

I love....

• The way you dance and the smile it brings to your face
• That you love giving hugs
• That you love music
• How caring you are to your babies
• When you give Lucy hugs and tell her you love her
• When you call me mommy
• How excited you are when I come home from work
• How concentrated you get when playing with your puzzles
• How you love to go shopping and yell "Yay!! Shopping!!"
• That you love letters and numbers so much
• That you love to go to bed (although I know it's only because that's the only time you get your paci)
• How your hair falls right in front of your face and will not, for anything, part to the side
• How much you love to be outside
• When you do "pretty eyes"
• The cackle you give when you think you're being funny
• When you tell us "I love you" for no reason at all
• Your kindness
• That you like going to school now 
• The huge smile on your face when I pick you up from school
• Your little toes
• How you love putting on our shoes
• That you love taking pictures of yourself with the camera on our phone
• That you tell us when you're stinky in the diaper.  Potty training may be coming soon!
• How strong-willed you are.  Even though it drives me crazy sometimes, I know it will come in handy when you get older
• That God chose us to be your parents and witnesses to what an amazing person you are becoming

One example of her photography skills

We love you so much sweet girl!

Firsts

These past few weeks have been busy and contained a few firsts for us.  A few weeks ago we headed to Oklahoma to see some friends of ours.  First time for Mady and I to go to Oklahoma.  We had a great time visiting and Mady loved playing with their two boys.

Valentine's day Nick and I had to work.  Once I was off and picked up Mady, we waited for Nick to get home.  We spent the beautiful day outside and then went out for dinner.  Mady had a great time charming everybody at the restaurant.  Love the smiles and sweetness she gives to others.

Watching the lawn guy cut grass and waiting for daddy to get home

Last weekend I took off for a women's church retreat at a ranch up north.  I have never been on one so I really had no expectations.  It turned out to be a great getaway for a little while, spending time with some amazing women and focusing on the greatness of God.  The weekend was full of great conversations, music, and an awesome speaker.  We even got to go horseback riding!  When I got back I was physically tired but mentally refreshed.

Next week we close out another month!  Where does the time go?!