Ludmila’s brother Nicholas, who is quite the ladies man, came to visit Ludmila and therefore the Maddy family for just over a week. Girls, young and old, swoon over Nicholas. One night Ludmila and Nicholas were in line at a club and a lady (older lady) apparently started to try to kiss Nicholas. Nicholas responded by saying “don’t speak English”…hahahaha! Hate to break it to you Nicholas but I don’t think you need to speak English to understand that language! Seriously though, Nicholas is a ladies man! My own girls were all over him and continually talked about marrying him!! Harper especially, who had a lot of one-on-one time with him while Avery and Emerson were in school, LOVED Nicholas! They were besties, to the point that Ludmila was even starting to get jealous! It was really darn cute! Anyway, the ladies man is on his way back to Brazil where I wonder how his “don’t speak English” response will play out. Hopefully pretty well as I have a few little ladies who want to marry him in the future!
I mean just look at these two!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
She Can Cook Breakfast, But She Can’t Wipe Her Own Butt
This morning Avery woke up at 7:15 (that is if you don’t count her waking up at 5:50 and coming into our room) and was wide awake. Despite my best efforts in my morning stupor to get Avery to go back to sleep or play or read quietly in her room, she was loud and ready to start the day. Avery was hungry and asked if she could get herself a cereal bar, to which I said yes. It wasn’t long before Emerson and Harper too woke up and decided to join in on the breakfast preparation. The cereal bar idea exponentially increased. While I could hear the commotion lying in bed and I was thinking of the potential spills and the wasted fruit and money (I had just gone to Whole Foods last night and the fridge was stocked with all sorts of fresh berries) that was involved with this preparation, I was willing to accept the outcome, because they were showing their independence and beaming with pride as they did so. I finally pulled my tired ass out of bed and brought the video camera and camera downstairs so that I could document this amazing experience I was witnessing.
As I was on my way downstairs, Emerson called me from the bathroom. Upon not answering her immediately, her request for me got more demanding and in a very loud matter of fact voice I heard “Mom, wipe my butt.”
I tried to peak in the kitchen a few times and was met with resistance as they really wanted to make me proud. They told me they were making brunch so we wouldn’t have to have lunch. I managed to snap a few quick pictures on my way out.
Meanwhile Harper became bored so she decided to be Santa Clause by putting panties on her head.
An hour after Avery and Emerson started breakfast, it was ready! They had a common bowl each of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. They each had an apple cereal bar and a huge bowl of dry cereal. Avery and Harper had yogurt and Emerson some cheese. They even made me salad…arugula with raspberries on top!
We had a feast…I couldn’t be more proud of them and they couldn’t have been more proud of themselves!
Half Birthdays
I typically write two blog posts a month and with my last post being three weeks ago, I’ve been feeling like I’m overdue. I haven’t had much out of the ordinary to write about. Our weekends have been pretty ordinary….those cold winter days don’t make me want to do too many of the fun outdoor activities on our standing “to do” list. Instead, we have been content going to the gym weekend mornings and spending a few hours most weekend days doing “homework”, primarily activities centered around sight words. With the school day being so long and the few hours each night being so short, having the weekend as an opportunity to catch up is appreciated. But realizing we could use a little something to spice up the weekends and realizing the official dates in which the girls were turning 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 were coming up, we decided we would celebrate half birthdays. Avery and Emerson’s was last Saturday and we celebrated with an ice-cream sandwhich purchased from Trader Joe’s earlier that day. Harper’s was today and we celebrated with pancakes for breakfast and mini ice-cream cones for dessert. And we have already sang Happy Half Birthday to Harper three times today! She is feeling quite special today! Ironically Harper’s half birthday falls on the anniversary that Justin and I started dating (16 years today!). We never realized it because I guess we don’t celebrate half birthday’s very often…but this year we did and it was great to break up the ordinary!
Harper’s First Haircut
My baby finally had her first haircut at just shy of 3 1/2 years old! I took all three of the girls to Bellini Salon and Harper was to go after both Emerson and Avery. She was very excited to be getting a haircut; however, her excitement quickly turned to fear as it was her turn to get her hair washed. 
Instead of a shampoo, we settled on a spray bottle to wet her hair. Once she got in the chair to get her hair cut, she did great.
It is still long…we just trimmed the ends and it looks much healthier. And afterwards…we celebrated with Dairy Queen ice cream cones!
Lincoln Memorial and MLK Memorial
We’ve been trying to take the girls to DC more the past few years as there is so much history and sights to take advantage of visiting. So often when we go to DC, we go near the Washington Monument and stay within the general vicinity as the girls aren’t as enthused about walking mass distances as much as Justin and I are. The last time we went to DC, I knew that the next time I wanted to visit the Lincoln Memorial. I don’t know that I had ever seen first hand (at least from what I can remember) the famous view of the wading pool and the monument from the steps of The Lincoln Memorial (I know…slightly embarrassing being that I am 37 and have lived in Northern Virginia my entire life). Anyway, so we went today finally….we drove and parked with ease. I didn’t give any thought to the upcoming inauguration and how the view that I had been longing to see would be obstructed by massive amounts of scaffolding in preparation for this coming weekend’s inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. 
A different angle allowed for a slightly less obstructed view. 
Despite the obstructed view, it was really cool to see all the preparation going into the inauguration. Avery and Emerson are starting to learn about Presidents and U.S. history at school and they both were adamant that they wanted to come to the city again Friday to participate in the inauguration. Avery was very excited to get her picture taken with Abraham Lincoln so that she could show her teacher. 
Avery also wanted her picture with Mommy to show her teacher.
Emerson was moody off and on and if she was going to participate in any pictures, it was going to be on her own terms.
Although once Avery wanted her picture with me, she suddenly felt like she might just not want to miss out….although, she still clearly wanted to get her point across.
Meanwhile, Harper was sitting in the stroller where she refused to get out for much of our time in D.C. (If you look real closely above Avery’s head in the above picture, you can see her sitting in the stroller….our only picture of her today). I also only captured one photo of Justin.
Our next stop was The Martin Luther King Junior Memorial. The girls learned about MLK at school this week since tomorrow is MLK Day. It amazes me to hear them explain who he was and what he represented. Clearing they are taking everything in that they learn at school and it amazes me and makes me so happy to hear them explain U.S. history and all the other things they are learning at school. Anyway, the MLK Memorial is about a 12 minute walk from the Lincoln Memorial; however, Justin and I are both directionally challenged so we managed to turn it into about a 35 to 40 minute walk. Emerson wasn’t impressed and she kept track of how many times Justin and I took a wrong turn. While the day was enjoyable, this was a weak moment for me as I let my frustration get the best of me and I was taking it on Justin and the girls. I realized it though and was able to snap out of it pretty quickly but I shouldn’t have even let it get to that point. Forty minutes later we finally found the MLK Memorial where again Avery wanted her picture with MLK by herself so she could show her teacher. 
We ate a late lunch (close to 2:30) afterwards at Potbelly’s, where the girls even got to have dessert as a special treat. We took our time eating and were home by 4:00 AND Justin, Emerson, and I took a nap for an hour after we got home while Avery and Harper quietly played together! It was a great day and I can’t wait to go back to DC again soon.
First Snow of the Season
Saturday morning was the first snow of the season. In total it probably snowed only an inch, maybe two, but it was enough for the girls to go out and play and even do a little sledding. We watched the snow falling through the kitchen window while we were eating breakfast and the excitement in their faces and bodies was palpable. We bundled the girls up. Avery and Emerson’s snow suits from last year still fit and I somehow managed to get Harper into the size 18 months snow suit that she has been wearing the last two years once Avery and Emerson got their current snowsuits and she got their hand me downs. Speaking of hand me downs; Harper wore Avery’s snow boots from last year, Avery wore Emerson’s snow boots from last year and Emerson got snow boots for Christmas. The girls realize hand me downs are a norm in our house for certain items and they not only accept it, but Harper is thrilled when something of Avery’s and Emerson’s finally becomes all hers!
After bundling the girls up, I was sure that someone would have to go to the bathroom shortly thereafter. I was wrong. They played outside for probably two hours. They swept the street, made snow angels, played with a Christmas tree that a neighbor had set out for the trash, and went sledding. 
Justin and I were outside with them and we managed to walk up and down the street repeatedly while they were entertaining themselves, allowing us to actually get a decent workout in despite not going to the gym that morning. It was awesome to realize they are getting more independent but also made us realize they are growing up so quickly….too quickly sometimes! They had a great time playing and it was so much fun watching the excitement they were having playing in the snow.
Luray Caverns
This winter break Justin and I have continued to have a good mix of enjoying the holidays relatively stress free, doing fun things with the girls, getting a lot of organizing done in the house, almost daily workouts, and still managed to work a few hours here and there. Honestly, it has been the perfect mix! Anyway, as part of the “fun” things to do with the girls, today was supposed to be a day trip to D.C. But the weather was just too cold and windy for it to be the enjoyable experience that we wanted it to be. So last minute, we decided to change it up and go to Luray Caverns. I had been a few times as a kid, Justin had never been, nor had the girls been. The drive was an hour and a half and was quite scenic and beautiful! Harper wanted to be held pretty much the entire time but I bribed her with the promise of dessert…I know…great parenting techniques:). Avery took charge and pretty much led the way. Emerson was not totally into it but she was a trooper and when we talked more about the sights we saw at dinner later that evening, she seemed to grow a little more interested. 
Hanukkah and Christmas 2016
Hanukkah was very late this year and the first night of Hanukkah was Christmas Eve! We went to a Hanukkah party at the Roth’s the night before the first night of Hanukkah…we considered it a practice run. The girls had fun and really enjoy hanging out with Ella and Ashely. I should have taken some pictures but I didn’t. Justin did take a video though of us lighting the menorah and saying the blessing.
Since Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday and we had to light the menorah after we got home from Christmas Eve dinner, we decided to go to the 4:00 church service. We took a ton of pictures earlier in the day….
….and then again before the service and I know I am including way too many pictures but I seriously love so many of them as they truly show each of the girls personalities.
The girls were very well behaved at church. After church, we went to PF Changs for dinner, same as last year. We had a few minutes to spare so we were walking around the mall when Emerson and Harper spotted Santa while I was in the bathroom with Avery. They wanted to see Santa and there was no line. SO….we did it…We FINALLY “took” the girls to see Santa. Emerson was the only brave one who wanted to sit on Santa’s lap. Harper wanted to be in the picture but she didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap. Avery did not want to even be in the picture but she finally decided she would join in…as far away from Santa as possible. 
Dinner was delicious! I ate way too much! After dinner, we lit the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah. Emerson didn’t want to participate. They have been learning about fire safety at school recently and I think she was scared of the fire in the house.
The girls opened up Hannukah presents, which like many years the first night’s present are ironically Christmas pajamas. 
How cute are these?! I almost didn’t buy any this year as they still have two pairs of Christmas pajamas that fit from prior years. BUT I am so glad I did! Look at my little elves!
Seriously, these girls melt my heart! Christmas morning the girls woke up normal time…a little after 8:00. 
Emerson woke up first, then Avery, and they patiently waited for Harper to get up before going downstairs to see what Santa brought. The girls were thrilled to see that Santa brought new and better sleds this year, sleeping bags, princess barbies, and each of the other things on the girls list (i.e. Lip gloss, feather pens, chocolate, a music box). 
While the girls had a sneak peak of what Santa brought (since Santa doesn’t wrap his gifts at our home), we ventured downstairs to see what Santa left in our stockings and to see if he and the reindeer had eaten the cookies and carrots we left for them. They had!
After we opened up the gifts from Santa, we ate breakfast, which is always a favorite in our house. This year it was berries; lemon ricotta muffins; a pepper, squash, chive, and goat cheese frittata; and bacon and sausage. Yum!
We took our time opening presents after breakfast.
In the afternoon, we lounged around, followed by an afternoon walk in the neighborhood before Papa and Grandma and Grandma Adele came over for an Italian theme Christmas dinner and more present opening. Since it was Day 2 of Hanukkah, we also lit the menorah. 
Seriously, look at these precious girls! How could it be anything but a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Mani/Pedi’s
This is the second week that the girls have been off of school for winter break. For the second week, Justin and I are trying to do some special outings with the girls. This evening it was the older girls turn time with Mommy for mani/pedi’s. The girls picking out their polish (Avery rolled her pants up in the car in preparation for her pedi…and yes that is Emerson with straight hair!)
The fact that you can barely see Emerson in this picture cracks me up….but it is the three of us!
We tried out a new salon and the customer service was great. Both girls got a drink and a peppermint patty. They had a choice of water or ice tea. Emerson choose the ice tea and then when asked if she wanted sweet tea or unsweetened, she matter of factly responded sweet. I don’t like ice tea and frankly I had no idea she knew what it was. Anyway, I think they both felt pretty special and had a great time. 
Mom and Grandma – Birthday Celebration
This past Sunday we celebrated my mom’s 65th birthday and my grandma’s 89th birthday. We had dinner at Chef Geoff’s…food was good, service was good, the girl’s were well behaved, and my mom and grandma enjoyed and appreciated their gifts and the fun night out. 
Happy Birthday Mom and Grandma!