December...fun, snow and 3 years old!

So much to update...

Ella spent her first Thanksgiving in Ohio with our wonderful friends and family. It was nice to be home and of course the time went by way too fast. The first day we were there we had some snow, and the rest of the week it was just cold!! We had a fabulous Thanksgiving feast...all 18 of us, we celebrated Madi's birthday a few weeks early at Chuck E Cheese, and just really enjoyed visiting and spending time together.

On the 10th we had some interesting weather...SNOW! Something that very rarely happens here. Ella was already in bed so Madi and I headed out to enjoy it! Madi asked if 'Papa Ohio' could come over and make a snowman with her...so sweet! Of course it didn't last long...a few hours and the next day is was 60 degrees. Gotta love Texas weather!

On the 14th, Madilyn turned 3 years old. It's amazing to me how quickly time flies! We celebrated with just the four of us with presents, cake and ice cream. We'll have a party after Christmas at Jumpin' Joey's, another favorite establishment of her's!!

We are looking forward to Christmas. It'll be the first time that Matt will be home both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm looking forward to starting some traditions with Madi and I can't wait to see her face on Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas and lots of love to our friends and family near and far. Hope to see you all soon!

4 Months Already?!

For Aunt Ann and Uncle Russ!!

Early morning snuggle time!

I can hardly believe it...it has been 4 months since we have been blessed with Ella's arrival. She is thriving and doing so well. Matt took both girls to the doctor on Monday. Madi had her flu shot and Ella had her four month check up. Her stats:

16 pounds 8 ounces 95th percentile

24 3/4 inches 75th percentile

Can you believe it?!?! What a little chunker we have on our hands!! She started eating rice cereal a few weeks ago and this week we've been mixing it with applesauce. She LOVES it and is really learning how to eat off the spoon. Before you know it, we'll be feeding her big kid food!!

Trick or Treat!!

Last night we took the girls trick or treating with our friends Retta and Jordan. Madi had an absolute blast running up and down the drive ways saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" in her doctor costume. She was so proud of her bag of candy!! It was such a difference from last year when she was so shy and timid. This year, Jordan showed her the ropes and she looked like she had been doing it for years! She's growing up so fast!! Ella enjoyed the time kicking back in the stroller dressed as a giraffe. I'm sure that next year Madi will show Ella how it's done!

Madi then had her first sleepover with Jordan. I was sad as we left her at Retta's...but no worries, everything was fine! Madi had a great time and of course wanted to stay!! She just adores Jordan. We are so lucky to have them as our friends!!

Props go to Matt for the great pumpkin carving! Madi wanted nothing to do with them...apparently they are too stinky!!

To see the rest of the pictures, follow this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=42xrg717.59poz3lf&x=0&y=jw9sd2&localeid=en_US

L'Auberge

A few weeks ago, some friends and I took an overnight trip to Lake Charles, Louisanna for some fun. We stayed at the L'Auberge casino. It was a great time. Some of us were bigger losers than others (Lauren!!) but we all had a blast trying! We're thinking we need to make this a recurring event!!

October

I have not been very good at keeping up with our blog. Life is just so busy!!

We have been enjoying the "fall" weather...well, at least what Texans call fall weather! Last weekend we took the girls to a pumpkin patch. It was a bit warm and momma wasn't feeling so well so we didn't stay long. But Madi did end up picking a couple of pumpkins for us.

Madi got herself a new bike. A friend from work gave it to us. It's a Dora bike and of course Madi loves it! We went out and got her a helmet and some pads to wear. She loves her princess helmet and looks so cute in it! She's still learning the whole concept of pedalling. I'm sure it'll take her a while.

Ella is growing so quickly. She was 16 weeks on Thursday. She's rolling from tummy to back and started cereal the other night. She's still learning how to eat off the spoon but she seems to like it! The bottles just aren't cutting it these days!! Her smiles and talking are the sweetest things. She's just discovering that she has a voice...and she's great at using it!

I will try to update more often...

Here's a link to more October pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=42xrg717.2d1vjjar&x=0&y=-8mekeo&localeid=en_US

Hurricane Ike--September 2008

A neighbor's yard a few days later

Our clubhouse!
Our damage
A neighbor's yard

After the storm, the girls had a lot of naked time! It was SO hot!!


This past month has been a crazy month for our family. I started back to work on September 8th. Four days later we were preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Ike. What a terrifying experience for us! Being from the north, this whole hurricane thing was brand new and unknown!

On Thursday, September 11th we were sent home from work to prepare for the hurricane, expected to hit the next night. I came home and tried to get things together and prepared as much as I could. Matt boarded up the back sliding glass door, we made sure we had food and water, and then we waited. On Friday evening the wind started to pick up. Matt's dad came to stay with the girls and I, since Matt was put on mandatory overtime at the fire department for the duration of the storm. Friday evening the girls and I slept in our "clubhouse" AKA my closet. I was worried about tornadoes and wanted us to be in the safest place of the house. The storm really started to get strong between 11 and midnight. About 12:30 the power went out. I laid awake in our clubhouse for most of the night listening to the wind howl outside. Once in a while I would catch a few minutes of sleep here and there. During the eye of the storm, which passed right over us, I got up and looked out the windows. It was so calm, it was spooky. I saw that part of our back fence has been torn down and a bunch of shingles in our yard. Not sure of any other damage, I went back to the closet for the rest of the night! The girls woke up around 6:30 or so. I kept them content in the closet watching movies and reading books until the wind died down. We came out of our clubhouse around 8 to explore the damage. Thankfully, all we lost was part of our fence in the back. However, many of our neighbors were not so lucky...huge trees were uprooted, roofs were damaged, windows were broken, etc. I would have never believed the destruction had I not seen it with my own eyes. The next two nights we spent the night at Grandpa Barker's apartment. The girls were miserable in the heat, so we decided to go stay with him.

On Monday, the girls and I flew to Ohio thanks to my wonderful family. We spent the week enjoying the beautiful fall weather and visiting with friends and family. Poor Matt spent the week working...passing out food, water and ice to the community, running calls, and taking care of the citizens. The girls and I came home Sunday (the 21st) night to still no power. We have spent the last week without power in our home. It was finally turned on yesterday morning. I was so happy, I went out to the electricity guys and cried. 16 days is a LONG time to be without electricity. We were fortunate that our friend Tom let us borrow his generator for the last 5 days. At least we were able to run some fans and Madi could watch her Dora! The girls also spent a lot of time in their underwear/diapers. It's just been so hot!!

I hope that we never have to experience another hurricane!! We are now trying to re-establish our "normal"...I'm sure it'll take a while to get back into the routine. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. They sure helped!

Two months!

Peacefully sleeping

Laughing at Mommy

I can barely believe that Ella is already two months old. She is definitely changing and growing right before our eyes. She's starting to coo and her smiles light up the room in an instant. Today she had her well baby check up and everything is great. She weighs 11 pounds 7 ounces and is 22 1/8 inches long. She's a little smaller than Madi was at this point. Madi was 12 1/2 pounds and 23 inches long at her 2 month appointment. She's still waking about every 4 1/2 to 5 hours at night. The doctor says that when she hits about 13 pounds she'll be able to go longer. I'm hoping that's soon, especially since I'm heading back to work Monday!! It's going to be so tough for me to leave my girls. After I had Madi, I went back when she was about 15 weeks. It seems so soon to leave Ella. But, we've found a wonderful person to take care of them both, and she'll be coming to our house to watch them so that's even better. They will be in the comforts of home while I'm away!