Emerson LOVES Avery

Posted on by

It melts my heart how much Emerson loves Avery.  We decided to give the girls some one on one time this weekend with each of us.  Emerson got to go to the grocery store with daddy and Avery stayed home and played with mommy.  Justin said Emerson must have said Avery 50 times in the 50 minutes they were gone.  She enjoyed the trip especially considering daddy bought her an Avery a new red ball, but she dearly missed her Avery.  This past weekend instead of getting them out of their cribs at the same time, Justin got Emerson first and brought her in our room.  Emerson got upset that he was leaving Avery behind and she kept repeating “Avery, Avery”.    Sweet girl!

Meanwhile Avery is quite independent and as much as I hate to say it could care less if she is without Emerson.  She does care for her but she acts more like a bully towards her more than loving most times.  Even though we are at no shortage for toys or baby dolls, Avery always seems to want the one Emerson is playing with and will go as far as to tackle her just to get it.  Poor Emerson doesn’t really seem to understand why her Avery whom she loves so much does such things.  While Avery does have her bully moments, she can also be quite innocent and sweet.  She does try to give Emerson hugs sometimes but her hugs are so forceful she practically squeezes Emerson to the ground from behind.  At least the thought is there!  Avery also is a cuddler, especially after waking up in the morning and from naps.  She loves to sit on adults laps and snuggle.  She LOVES to give hugs and often gives them unsolicited….demanding actually sometimes that the adult sitting next to her lean down to get in hug range.  Sweet girl!

On an unrelated note, Avery went pee pee in the potty for the first time last night!  She was quite proud of herself as was mommy and daddy!  Way to go Avery!

My Pregnancies

Posted on by

I have yet to really write about my pregnancy….either one of them for that matter.  As I am now in my 29th week of my second pregnancy (third daughter), I find that while I do try to compare this pregnancy to my first pregnancy, some comparisons are easier to remember than others.  This is my attempt to document my first and second pregnancy to date (an abbreviated version) so that years from now I can actually recall (or at least know where to find) the details.

With my first pregnancy my doctor basically told me that I was going to be high risk from the moment we found out we were expecting twins.  I knew from fairly early on that I was going to be put on preventive bed rest at some point.  I wanted to delay the inevitable as much as possible.  I also wanted to keep from getting as big as a house with twins so I really did things by the books when it came to eating, exercising, and other doctor’s orders.  Fortunately I had no cravings other than ice towards the end of my pregnancy so it made eating right fairly easy.  I also was really good at working out regularly (mostly walking and sometimes slow) until I was told I couldn’t (about 24/25 weeks).  I even made it to the gym regularly during my first trimester!  As for my first trimester, it was great.  There was maybe a week in a half at max where I thought I may have felt nauseous but it was so slight that I even questioned if it was morning sickness.  Looking back, I now know for certain it was but the fact that I wasn’t sure at the time goes to show how smooth my first trimester was.  The only hiccup was at 12 weeks when I had a little bit of spotting so I had to take it easy for the next two weeks.  I don’t recall how often I was at the doctor’s or how often I had a sonogram, but it was a lot.  At least every other week I had some appointment and each time I went to the doctor I was glad to walk out of the appointment knowing bed rest wouldn’t occur until at least my next appointment. 

I had my baby shower on June 11 (29 weeks) if my memory serves me correctly.  My closest friends and family attended; it was a great time, and Justin and I were showered with lots of love and gifts for our twin girls.  While I did take it easy, shortly after I got home, I felt lower pelvic pressure that I hadn’t previously felt.  After talking with my doctor the following week, I was put on modified bed rest which equated to me working from home and sitting and not doing much else but getting up to go to the bathroom.  A week later at 30 weeks I was put on complete bed rest at home where I remained until 35 ½ weeks where I remained on bed rest, only this time in the hospital, where I remained until delivery date at exactly 37 weeks!

Bed rest!  What was it like?  The first day was HORRIBLE!  I remember it vividly.  It was a weekend and I stayed in bed all day….BAD IDEA!  I think I may have cried that day thinking there was no way I would be able to do this for the remainder of my pregnancy.  Justin must have felt my pain because he went out and bought me an IPAD.  The next day I moved my “daytime home” from the bedroom to the living room couch.  The first three weeks I was on bed rest I was still working from home.  It wasn’t easy as I was supposed to be lying down as much as possible.  My mom and Justin alternated “babysitting” me and would have to bring me files and get documents off the printer.  I certainly wasn’t efficient, but I was still working and it kept me busy.  By 34 weeks, I had to go on disability.  It was becoming increasingly difficult to work and I had a few close calls where I landed up in the hospital for what turned out to be false labor contractions.   By this time I was having trouble sleeping and I stopped trying to go to bed at a decent hour.  I would sometimes stay up to 3:00 am or even later before I made my way to the bedroom.  I watched a lot of HGTV, So You Think You Can Dance and Master Chef on DVR and played A LOT of Solitaire during this time.  The good thing about going to bed so late was that I would sleep very late, which meant my “babysitter” wasn’t necessary until closer to lunchtime.  Justin would usually make my breakfast the night before and leave it in a cooler by my bed along with a huge thermos of water.  Usually I had fruit salad and some slices of cheese…there wasn’t a whole lot of extra room in my belly for food those days.   My mom worked a lot of weekends so that she had more time off in the week to “babysit” me.  Justin was still working in Reston at the time so he worked half days from home the afternoons that my mom didn’t have off.  For lunch I ate A LOT of egg salad sandwiches and sometimes the occasional Pot Belly’s chicken salad sandwich especially on days that I was coming from a doctor’s appointment.  For dinner sometimes mom would cook and other times dad would come over with take out…..Ledo’s, Reston Kabob, and Pei Wei definitely made an appearance in our condo on numerous occasions.  

While I was on bed rest I looked forward to taking showers, meals, going to the bathroom, and my weekly doctor’s visits as those were the only times I was able to not be lying down.  But even those things had time limits and while Justin might try to tell you I took advantage sometimes, I really didn’t.  Foot plays…Justin gave me INCREDIBLE foot plays while on bed rest and they were GLORIOUS!!!!!!!  To this day, I still crave them as they put me into a state of blissful peace!  I also had a handful of good friends come visit me while I was on bed rest and they brought me either lunch or dinner and their company also made the time more bearable.

By 35 ½ weeks I was HUGE; thankfully it was mostly all belly.  I had once again escaped being admitted to the hospital (my cervix had also been shortening for some time now in addition to the constant Braxton Hicks contractions) at early 35 weeks and when I called my doctor at 35 ½ weeks finally ready for these babies to come out of me she made a deal with me in that if she admitted me to the hospital for hospital bed rest, then she could likely make a case for delivery within a day or two.  I reluctantly agreed.  Well as it turns out a day or two turned into 10!  Every day my doctor would come to visit and be surprised at how well my body was holding up physically and each day she said maybe the next day.  I played A LOT of solitaire in the hospital as well.  I found a few lunch and dinner items on the hospital menu that weren’t bad (the veggie wrap and the veggie stir fry actually became desirable) and I ordered dessert with lunch and dinner every meal!  I had visitors every day…..mostly my parents and Justin but also a few friends.  The nursing staff was exceptional, and I did look forward to my daily monitoring.  I put on 1 -2 pounds each week the last few weeks and it was all going straight to my belly.  That was hard as I continued to watch my maternity tank tops no longer fit over my belly which made it easy to constantly take notice of my stretch marks.  I escaped a single stretchmark up to 34 weeks but at 34 weeks they started to appear and they had no mercy.  I still get upset about it especially as they get worse again as my stomach expands during this pregnancy.  Anyway, I had a feeling the girls were going to be big but I think they surprised everyone at just how big they were for twins!  In the end I am glad that I held out to 37 weeks as I delivered two healthy baby girls weighing 6.7 pounds each.

I always envisioned that if my first pregnancy was only a singleton, I would have had such an easy pregnancy.  With the girls I gained 41 pounds total, which I was actually pretty happy with considering the last 10 pounds didn’t come on until the end of the pregnancy and I know it was all baby weight.  I was certain that I would have gained only 25 give or take a few with a singleton.  I was also convinced with a singleton my belly would be much smaller.  I also envisioned working out throughout my entire pregnancy and that I would have more energy.   Fast forward two years and all those things I envisioned proved false for me.  To start, I had morning sickness this time; from weeks 6 ½ to 14 weeks.  And while I wasn’t throwing up tons, I did throw up a handful of times, my gag reflux was horrible especially with dirty diapers, and I felt nauseous ALL the time.  The second trimester actually proved to be pretty good and I did get my energy back and felt like I could finally be a good mom again to Avery and Emerson.  But I certainly wasn’t working out as much as I envisioned myself doing with a singleton.  But I guess life is different now with two kids vice having no kids and the ability to go to the gym.  In terms of size though, I was BIG.  Again mostly belly but I was gaining weight at the same exact pace as I did with my first pregnancy and my stomach was nearly the same size in comparison to the same week in my first pregnancy. 

To date I am 29 weeks and I already started having Braxton Hicks contractions and lower pelvic pain over a week ago.  I think I overdid it during Memorial Day Weekend and based on doctor’s orders have been taking it easy the last 5 days.  Tests were done and it was confirmed that the contractions were inactive; so I got the okay to increase activity a little; however, I have to be smart about it.  I think my body is prone to Braxton Hick’s contractions and if I don’t minimize them, then I could land up on bed rest, which would be WAY worse than the first time considering I have two toddlers to take care of.  So here I am taking it easy….10 weeks to go…sometimes that seems like A LOT (especially when I see the size of my big belly) and other times seems like VERY LITTLE (especially when I think about the fact that in two months I am going to be a mother of three)!  With each pregnancy, comes the good and the bad, but the truth is I do like being pregnant.  I LOVE that I am carrying and nurturing a little being inside me and that little being is going to come out an innocent human being who is already so loved by her mommy, daddy, and big sisters!  We can’t wait to meet you in 10 weeks by baby girl!

Meadowlark – Memorial Day Weekend

Posted on by

This year for Mother’s Day Justin and the girls got me a season family pass for Meadowlark Gardens.  Sunday of Memorial Day weekend was a beautiful day and we ventured there to start our weekend.  It was a little breezy, but the skies were sunny and beautiful.  Our first stop was the Kid’s Garden, where the girls enjoyed exploring and having a tea party with the insects.  

Next we strolled along the path to destination gazebo.  

I wanted to get a picture of the girls holding daddy’s hands at the same time, but they aren’t into sharing mommy and daddy.  While Emerson held Daddy’s hand, Avery was holding Mommy’s hand.

I was able to nudge Avery to go catch up with Daddy and Emerson for a brief moment, before she headed back my way….

When we first got to the gazebo the girls were a little hesitant, especially Avery. But by the time we were ready to leave, the girls did not want to leave.  We saw colorful fish and turtles. The girls really enjoyed it and it was so awesome just to see how “grown up” they are becoming.
We spotted some ducks along the pond after leaving the gazebo and stopped to look at them.  
The girls kept wanting to go after them though and considering they were far into the pond, we decided it wasn’t the safest place to stay.  After a few pictures the girls started to become cranky so we decided to call it a day at Meadowlark and save the rest of our energy for Viva Vienna later this afternoon!

The Small Things

Posted on by

Sometimes it is all the little things that make up such great things!  I know I have already said recently how the girls are cognitively developing at such rapid paces these days and here I am saying it again!  It’s a good thing that I have kept my blog a “secret” because I think my followers would become sick of hearing the same things over again.  But I can’t stop thinking and talking about it because these little things bring Justin and I so much joy and happiness.  Our weekend started out Friday evening with a trip to Foster’s Grill for dinner.  We had no food in the house and we like taking the girls out.  They have been there a few times already and I always order them the chicken fingers and fries to share.  Avery is very particular some meals and basically only ate fries.  Emerson of course ate not only her fries but also her chicken and a few bites of mommy’s chocolate shake. 

Saturday morning Justin and I got up early and showered before the girls got up.  Granted they did not get up until 9:00 so it wasn’t like we got up at the crack of dawn, but nonetheless we got ready early because we wanted to get an early start on the day.  Our first destination was the Farmer’s Market in Reston.  This was our first trip of the season and while it was good to get there, the bulk of the summer fruits and vegetables had yet to arrive.  We did buy some delicious tomatoes though!  I gave the girls samples of cucumbers to try.  Emerson tried hers, while Avery sniffed and decided she wasn’t interested.  In the end Emerson wasn’t the biggest fan either, which doesn’t happen with too many foods.  Unfortunately the weather was somewhat rainy so the girls were forced to sit in their stroller and we didn’t stay as long as we would have liked.  We had originally planned on going to the Arts Festival at Reston Town Center (RTC) next but the rain became heavier so we were forced to come up with another plan.  The girls love being out and about and especially love being outside.  Within minutes of waking up each morning, the words “out” come out of their mouths.  Knowing that we couldn’t be outside and that we promised them they would get to go out, we decided to take them to the indoor playground in Dulles Town Center.  We had never been before and as Justin and I approached it we were intimated and sadly did a “stroll bye” before we decided to enter.  The girls were hesitant for two minutes max; however, after that they couldn’t get enough.  It was very busy and they were quite aware of all the other kids and did a pretty good job of “sharing” the slides so as not to get trampled or not to trample any other kid.  I continue to be quite impressed at how well Avery navigates new environments; however, there were a few times when she fell head first off of some stairs.  It didn’t seem to phase her and she did it at least two other times, which makes me wonder if it is more related to vision or related to her free spirit no fear attitude thinking it was funny as she never got hurt or cried. Emerson found this little girl that was probably about 4 years old that she became infatuated with. She kept following her around and wanted the little girl to play with her but I don’t think the girl was terribly interested.  The girls are lucky in that there are a lot of elementary school age children on our block and Ana takes them outside all the time.  All the young kids on the street know and like the girls from what I understand and I think Avery and Emerson enjoy playing and learning from the older kids.  Emerson just saw this girl as another one of the neighborhood girls and expected that she would play with her just like the neighborhood kids.  Speaking of playing in the neighborhood, the girls LOVE going for walks outside, playing in the driveway with the ball (my old deflated basketballs) and trying to shoot them in the hoop, and drawing with chalk on the driveway.  Emerson also wants a bike now.  She sees all the little kids riding their bikes and now she clearly says, “bike, me, bike, me” while pointing to herself.  It is the cutest thing EVER!  They also like to be helpers and pick bamboo in the background.  They know pandas eat bamboo as we went to the National Zoo last weekend and they both say “bamboo”…..that too is the cutest thing EVER!  Back to the indoor playground though, they had a great time and while Justin and I were up on our feet constantly tracking one of them as they were some of the younger aged kids playing, I couldn’t believe they had gotten to this point already and couldn’t help but think it wouldn’t be long before I was one of the parents sitting watching their child play.  While the girls didn’t want to leave they were pretty good troopers about it and we somewhat bribed them with the next activity….lunch at Red Robin!  Justin had never been to Red Robin; I think he only partially wanted to try it, but by the time we left the Dulles Town Center playground, I knew it would be too late to wait for them to eat until we got back to the house…plus this mama didn’t really feel like “cooking” or cleaning up.  So off to Red Robin we went! Once again I ordered the girls chicken fingers; this time with mandarin oranges on the side.  Justin had extra fries with his and I figured they would eat some of those as well. And once again Emerson ate decently including drinking almost an entire glass of water with a straw by herself; and Avery ate French fries and spilled water on herself as she refused to let anyone help her hold the cup so it wouldn’t tip.  Once we got home, it was nap time….nap time for the four of us!  The rest of the evening we spent indoors. Earlier in the day my mom had taken out the little play cradle of mine from my childhood.  The girls LOVE it.  They are very much into their babies right now….love to walk them in their stroller, feed their babies, change their diapers, and now rock them to sleep in the cradle.  Much of the evening was spent playing with their babies in the cradle.

Sunday morning’s weather started off misty but by lunch time, the clouds had cleared, and the sky turned sunny.  We dressed the girls in their pink Naartjie outfilts and set out to RTC.  Emerson was having a great hair day and her Shirley Temple curls were in full force!  And with the humid weather even Avery’s short hair was curly.  We let them walk for the most part and heads turned everywhere we went.   I think the curls combined with the cute outfits and of course the fact that there were two of them grabs the attention of so many. I know I am biased but they really did look so darn cute.  I am still kicking myself for not getting their picture together.  Justin took a couple with his iphone but the truth is getting a picture of them together is so much easier said than done because they are constantly on the go…in different directions!  We were at RTC during the girls snack time in which I brought raisons.  We were sitting in the pavilion with Panera right across from us so I ran in to get the girls milk.  They each had their own milk straight from the box with a straw.  So there they were with their milk and raison box.  I can’t get the image out of my head….I think because it just shows how big they are getting…crazy!  Emerson isn’t the biggest fan of milk but she LOVES drinking from a straw so she drank all her milk with only a few spills here and there.  Avery didn’t get the hang of the milk as well as Emerson.  She got really excited with the music that was being played and went to clap with the milk carton still in her hand = spilled milkL.

After the Town Center we stopped by the Reston Library for a few.  Our goal was to read a few books to the girls and check out some books to take home.  The girls enjoyed picking out books and constantly wanted yet another book to read so we never actually had a chance to read a book.  They had fun though and we weren’t bothering anyone so again it brought a smile to my face that our little ladies were actually old enough to hang out at the library!

Last but certainly not least the girls continue to talk more and more each day.  Both girls can say Avery, not very clearly, but clear enough to know that is what they are saying. Emerson’s name is definitely harder to say and Justin and I may need to take that into account with naming this next baby girl!  Anyway, we tried to see if the girls could say “Eme” for short and they both not only can but they both say it SO clearly.  Yesterday when I got home from work the girls were still napping.  A few minutes later when I walked upstairs to my room to change, I heard Avery wake up happy and talking. Then she started to say Eme, Eme, Eme.  It was the sweetest sound.  Emerson was still sleeping and Avery was trying to get her attention.  On a funny note, Emerson had been saying fork pretty well.  She uses one very well and defintely likes to say the word quite a bit.  This weekend, “fork” somehow turned into “f**k”.  We tried hard not to laugh out loud; like I said it is ALL the little things that make being a mommy to these two little girls the greatest gift ever!

Potty Training

Posted on by

Exciting news in the Maddy household!  The girls have just started potty training!  My goal was for them to be potty trained by their second birthday so I wasn’t going to start the training just yet; however, they were interested on their own so a couple times last week I sat them on the potty (the regular potty because I didn’t even have any little potty’s yet) and they both wanted turns. Avery even told us one day last week when she was about to make a poo poo!  Holding them up on the regular toilet was a bit much especially considering whichever girl was not on the potty wanted her turn at the same time as well.  So I bought one little potty and one potty cover for the regular potty.  I figured I would have to get a second little potty if they fought over who got which one, but I wanted to make sure I was happy with my purchase first.  I honestly haven’t read up very much on potty training and I don’t plan to go about it cold turkey because again I think they are somewhat on the young side; however, I do plan to encourage it as much as possible every day and I truly think that they will be potty trained in no time…at least for during the day hours.  I think the fact that they are twins and the “peer pressure” actually makes the process easier because they each want to be doing what the other is and they both love sitting on the potty.  Emerson did make pee pee in the little potty for the first time a few nights ago.  I was so excited…Justin had been in the bathroom with us as well since it is hard to manage two of them by oneself…but he stepped out for a moment, and it was that moment that my little girl made pee pee in her little potty for the first time!  I called out to Justin in excitement….I think I scared Emerson.  She saw the pee pee in the toilet and got a little upset by it.  She likes things to be in order and clean so I had to explain that the pee pee in the toilet was okay and that was what it was supposed to look like.  Yesterday afternoon I put the girls on their potties again…Emerson tends to “use” the potty cover on the regular potty more and Avery tends to “use” the little potty more. They both like to get fully undressed when sitting on the potty and they like to read their sticker book!  I SO wish I had my camera yesterday when they were both on the potty naked reading.  Seriously, I don’t know where they learned it from.  Daddy would have been so proud….where was the camera when I needed it!  Yesterday evening my mom and the girls went to Michaels I bought sticker books and poster board and I plan on making a reward chart for each of them to encourage sitting and actually using the potty!  Wish us luck!

April Happenings

Posted on by

The past month the girls have literally been growing before our eyes!  I think in part it has to do with the changing of the weather and their new wardrobe…they look older in their new clothes.  But also they really have been growing physically. They are capable of reaching so many more things now and each week we have to find a new location for things because nothing is safe in its original place anymore. They love to climb; on chairs, on the coach, on diaper boxes, just about anything.  And when we discipline one of them, the other one goes and does the same thing!  Even things like picking their noses!  If one of them has their finger up their nose, and I say something about it the other one will put her finger up her nose. Sometimes they even try to pick other peoples noses!  They are so funny!  Back to growing though, cognitively they are getting smarter by the day.  Emerson repeats most words these days and Avery’s vocabulary is definitely starting to increase.  Last weekend they graduated from their high chairs and now have booster seats at the “big girl” table.  They love it and it does make for less clean up now that there are two less trays to wash every meal.  Now for anyone who has ever seen my parents kitchen table…the one that they have had since before I was born when my parents were a family of two….all six of us now sit at that table on nights when we eat together.  Growing up as a family of four it was ridiculous at times that we couldn’t invest in a larger table, but NOW with six, it is just so ridiculous that I have to laugh.  Here ALL six of us sit at this little table….it is so small that if Justin or I get up during dinner to get the girls something, we literally pick up our plates, utensils, and drink and take it with us or else the girls will start playing with our plate of food.  The other night we were eating Chipolte and there was now room for my chips so I put the bag of chips on the floor and would fetch a chip from the FLOOR every time I wanted them.  Sadly both Avery and Emerson caught on and would point to the floor for more chips….probably not the best thing for them to learn. The girls are also starting to be in tune with their poops which is a good thing as that is the first sign towards being ready for potty training.  It would be great if we could have the girl’s potty trained by their second birthday or shortly thereafter.  I’m not going to force it but I really do have a good feeling that it is going to go well and quick. 

In other recent events my sister was in town last month.  She was in the States for three weeks and each week she was in Virginia for about 3 to 4 days.  While I was at work most the time she was around, we did manage to go out for a few dinners, one of which was incredible.  I don’t know if it was truly that good or Justin and I just don’t get out for “foodie” food anymore that it didn’t take much to impress us.  Twice we went out with the whole family including the girls so our options were limited.  Dad chose Tequila Grande for his birthday and the girls were very well behaved.  Lauren’s last night here we went to Outback and I forgot the girls snack cups.  Service was on the slow side and while the girls weren’t bad, they wanted to walk around and not be confined in a high chair.  While I am sure others parents would have considered the evening one of their better restaurant experiences with children, for me and Justin it was one of our worst.  Those snack cups are key to keeping them content in their high chairs!  The most memorable dinner though was Tuscorara Mill where we had a double date with my sister and her boyfriend Gabriel.  Our mouths were salivating as we saw all the possibilities for appetizers and entrée so this easily could have been disastrous as we had built these extraordinary expectations when we had yet to even receive our drinks.   We all got something different and we were not left disappointed.  I had the filet which I always get (once a year when I go and the last time being three years ago) but I didn’t recall it being as amazing as it was.  If I did, I probably would have suggested that Justin and Gabriel get the filet or strip steak as well.  They each tasted it and while I know they were enjoying their dishes the filet was a cut above the rest and I could see the rewind decision occurring in their eyes.  Seriously though for two to three days after our night out, I couldn’t stop thinking about the evening….great food, great atmosphere, great company.   When we weren’t out eating, my sister did get to spend some time with the girls and while they were hesitant at first to approach her, it didn’t take long for them to warm up and feel at ease with her.  Her visits always go by quickly and she’ll be back again before we know it hopefully in the fall to visit Baby Pistachio (our code name for Baby girl)!

Also on the home front, Justin and I have started to look at some open houses, although the truth is we still have no idea where we want to be.  I guess options still include some areas of Fairfax County and some areas of Loudon County.  There are just still too many unknowns though with regards to our job locations and actual commutes though that I think is making the decision as to where we want to buy that much harder. We can obviously get a lot more for our money the further we move west but at the same time, commute time can make or break a day and we need to take that into consideration.  We looked at open houses in Vienna one day and in Great Falls another day mainly because they were convenient with the time frame that we were working in for that day but we still have tons of looking to do in multiple areas.  I just hope home prices and interest rates don’t continue to increase too much as we take the time in making our decision.

On another note, Avery had an eye exam under anesthesia last week mainly to check her eye pressures.  Even though Justin and I hate the fact that she has to endure such exams, I can’t help but to admit how darn cute she looked in her hospital gown and red non-slip socks, sized for an elementary school age child!  The exam was very quick and took a lot less time than I anticipated.  The results were great…her pressures were 11 in each eye which is completely normal.  Dr. Ellis again confirmed that everything else in her eyes looked good, her optic nerves and eyes are small, but not profoundly so.  We go for a follow up with Dr. Ellis at the end of the month at which time we will probably talk to him more in detail about the American Nystagmus Conference that Justin is going to attend on behalf of our family this July in Orlando, FL.  While I would love to go, I will be 8 months pregnant so it just isn’t realistic. Now that we have ruled out all the “bad” diagnosis, I think we can say pretty confidently that her diagnosis is aphakia (due to cataracts) and nystagmus.  Although I know Justin is nervous about going to some extent, we are looking forward to the networking opportunities and leads.

Easter Dresses

Posted on by

Easter weather was rainy and cool, not real good for an Easter Egg Hunt or playing outside in pretty dresses.  But we still put on our pretty Easter dresses and Stuart Weitzman shoes for an inside photo op.  The truth was if the girls didn’t wear the dresses and shoes that day, which were a shower gift, then chances are they would never wear them because the dresses were size 18 months (they are now wearing 24 months) and the shoes were size 4 (they are now wearing 5 and 5.5).  For once we actually got good shots of the girls together. Emerson’s hair is wild in these pictures….she had a bath that morning and her curls were tame earlier in the day but with the several outfit changes and nap, it got quite crazy!

Picnic in DC

Posted on by

We did it and did it quite successfully!  Saturday’s weather was perfect….60 degrees and sunny….we could not have asked for a better day for a picnic on the National Mall. The girls were awesome!  We were a little worried that they would want to run around constantly but to our surprise they were quite content to sit on the blanket and eat their grapes, tofu, and pretzels. 

Oh yeah….and they enjoyed a little of mommie’s brownie too!  Emerson was quite the helper with putting the food away in the stroller and wiping Emerson’s hands after they were done with their brownie. 

The girls ran around some and we tried to capture some of the moments.  Most these pictures are documentary because they would not sit still for a poised picture. 

We walked up towards the Tidal Basin hoping to catch a glimpse of the Cherry Blossoms; however, they hadn’t bloomed at all yet.  So we headed to the World War II Memorial where we visited with the girls on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning exactly one year ago.  Hard to believe a year had passed since our first and only other DC Mall visit.  

We had a GREAT GREAT time!!!!!!

March Birthdays!!

Posted on by

Our girls are popular girls!  The first three Saturday’s in March they have had a birthday party.  Since their friends are all actually the children of our friends maybe that just makes Justin and me popular!  Actually we feel very blessed to have so many close friends.

First was Chase’s party.  Chase is Rich and Kristin’s son and he turned two.  His party was at his house in Purcellville.  It’s over an hour drive to get there but we took Rte. 50 in order to have the scenic view.  It was actually a beautiful day with the first signs of spring.  The girls slept much of the car ride there and when we got there Avery was ready to explore and Emerson was content to sit and take it all in as usual.  The girls wore their matching Zara dresses courtesy of my sister.  I figured they didn’t have much time before they outgrew them!  We had a great time at the party. Rich and Kristen are good hosts and since we were among all our friends this mommy and daddy really did have a great time. 

On a side note, this party was the first time we had seen a few of our friends in awhile so some of our friends found out at the party that we were expecting again.  The funny thing is one girl after another revealed her pregnancy.  While we already knew Augusta was pregnant (due at the end of May), and Kristin was pregnant (due June 1), it wasn’t known by the masses that I was pregnant, or Casey was pregnant (due end of July) or that Leigh was pregnant (due October).  It was actually pretty funny.  Besides Augusta who was already in her third trimester, I swear my belly was bigger than everyone elses!

Here are some pics from Chase’s party.

The following Saturday was Camden’s 2nd birthday at Clemyjontri Park in Great Falls.  Camden is Casey and Eric’s daughter.  The weather forecast was not looking good even through that morning; however, once we got to the park it warmed up some and actually turned out to be a good day.  Camden had a Minnie Mouse theme and the girls, especially Emerson, were not impressed with Minnie.  It was the first time they had seen a dressed character, courtesy of Eric’s mom, and they were just not having it.  The girls had fun playing on the playground especially on the slides and the train. While I was impressed with the lunch food, the girls are picky when outside their routine, so they ate mostly fruit.  At least they didn’t throw the food that they didn’t want.  The party wore the girls out so much that Avery even fell asleep on Mommy for about 20 minutes during present time.  They missed their morning nap but when we got home, we put the girls down and they ended up sleeping for several hours.

Here are some pics from Camden’s party.

 

The following Saturday was Dylan’s 2nd birthday at Little Gym in Ashburn.  Dylan is Danielle and Matt’s son.  This was the 2nd time we had been to a party at Little Gym…that same exact Little Gym in fact with the same exact instructor.  The first time we were there was when the girls were about 10 months old.  Emerson was crawling then but I don’t think Avery was yet (I have to go back to look at her baby book…I can’t believe I already can’t remember!).  This time the girls were able to participate in a lot more which was neat.  They definitely enjoyed it especially the rings, the tunnel, and the basketball hoop/balls.  It was a quick party…scheduled for 1 ½ hours and the last 15 minutes is really for the staff to clean up so they really do throw you in and out.  Truthfully, I am not certain that much more time was necessary though.  The girls enjoyed the party!  Justin didn’t bring his camera in since he knew the expectations of being able to leave the girls unattended were almost non-existent, but he did take just a couple with his phone.   

Besides that first weekend of March, the weather hasn’t been very warm. In fact, we have had over 4 inches of snow on two different occasions in March…once this week and once two weeks ago.  The past few Sunday’s we had been hoping to take the girls downtown.  If it was nice we were going to have a picnic near the Washington Monument.  We did that exactly a year ago on a sunny Sunday towards the end of March.  We were hoping to see the Cherry Blossoms but they had peaked early last year and nothing remained.   The girls were not yet eating solids but we timed it around their bottle time so while Justin and I were having a picnic catered by Cenans bakery, including plastic utensils to cut a baguette, our girls were drinking their bottles on a blanket.  They weren’t mobile yet.  I imagine the experience will be quite different this time. If it wasn’t that nice but still fairly mild, we thought about taking them to the Museum of Natural History or possibly the aquarium.  But the truth is I like being outside and I love the start of spring so I am hoping that this weekend is going to be nice.  So far the forecast isn’t looking great, but it’s not too bad so I am hopeful!  The Cherry Blossoms have not peaked yet.  They are expected to peak midweek next week which means that this weekend could potentially be very busy downtown especially considering it is Easter Sunday and Spring Break for many.  Part of me is a little scared of their mobility amongst the masses but assuming the weather is nice, we can find a space to park downtown, I’m up for the challenge.


Udvar Hazy

Posted on by

This winter has been very blah for the Maddy household. When the weather is warm we love getting out of the house and doing things with the girls. During those warm months our days are generally jam packed. But come the cold winter months my desire to go out always diminishes.  The cold dark days coupled with my first trimester morning sickness made for a lot of very low key weekends the past several months.  It’s not like we didn’t do anything these past few months.  We have had some play dates and trips to the park but we have also had weekend days where the girls outing was a trip to the grocery store or BJ’s.  Now that I am finally starting to feel normal and am getting excited about the prospect of spring, I was thinking of all the fun things to do with the girls this spring and I wanted to get an early start this weekend.  Last Friday I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday and it wasn’t looking so good so I thought what a great day to take the girls to the Udvar Hazy National Air and Space Museum in Dulles, VA.  And it was free admissions…even better.  Well free admissions with $15 parking!  On a side note you only have to pay for parking until 4:00 and the museum is open until 5:30.  Assuming that works with the girls nap schedule we need to keep that in mind for the next visit.

We took the girls inside in their stroller and for the first 10 or 15 minutes they were content in their strollers while Justin and I strolled along the upper levels of the museum and pointed out the planes.  We quickly made our way to the first floor where we took the girls out of their stroller.  They were a little hesitant at first but it only took a few minutes before the hesitancy turned into pure excitement as they were free to run in some very open spaces along the outskirts of the exhibit. 

After the girls had been running around for a little while, we started making our way towards the exhibits again where we came across a reading area where a librarian was having children’s story time.  We stopped and encouraged the girls to sit on the rug and participate and were surprised at how interested and quiet the girls were for story time.  Justin and I were truly amazed at how interested they were. (I guess I should look into the children’s story time at the public library.)

We made a few stops at the benches along the way for some picture time.  Some worked out…others not so much.

 

As we headed to see more exhibits Emerson decided she wanted to be a helper and push the stroller. We stayed for a little over an hour which was probably perfect for the girl’s attention span.  And although they were getting tired, I managed to keep them up on the car ride home so that could have their afternoon nap in their cribs.  It was definitely a fun time.