Bumbo

Madison is getting too big too fast!  She loves to be sitting up looking around at everything so I pulled the Bumbo out.  She does a great job holding her head up high :)

And I find it very funny that my almost 4 year old can still fit in a Bumbo chair!  Silly girl :)

Of course after both girls were playing in it, Trenton had to sit there too. (Monkey see, Monkey do). I didn't get his picture though.  

We Love to Read

The kids all love books.  Trenton took it upon himself the other night to read to Madison while she was playing on her mat.  He's such a good big brother!

He even made sure to show her the pictures!

As soon as he'd finish one book, he'd put it back on the shelf and grab another and go right back to her to continue story time!

Oops, time to turn the page.

See how cool this is Madison!  We're learning letters! (He's actually starting to recognize a few of them just by looking at them and he's doing very well with singing them.  He's going to have his ABC's down in no time! This is about the age when Brooklyn learned them too).

Madison has been having some tummy time lately.

She does pretty well holding up  her head.  She gets bored and upset after a few minutes so we have to move on to something else.

I don't think Brooklyn will EVER stop loving her bunny.  She attached to this when she was a baby and still sleeps with it every time!  This is how I found her during nap time yesterday.  Bunny is so old and straggly.  I tried to find a duplicate when she was younger in case anything happened, but no such luck.

And what is a post without my happy baby?  :)  I just love her.  Her personality sure has been coming out a lot lately.

Whoah... Look at my big blue eyes!

Yep, I'll smile at Mommy!  I'm cute and I know it!

I'll even tell you a story.  She has been very vocal with her coos lately.  Music to my ears!

My pretty girls in yellow!

Love her!

All dressed up for church yesterday.  They sure brighten my day!  (And yes, that's Trenton's new "cheese" face for pictures.  Gotta love him)

Life just wouldn't be the same without my happy family!

Summer CO Vacation

Kurt didn't have the time off work for our summer vacation since he spent so much time home with me after having Madison... so the kids and I went without him :)  We spent 15 days with my parents at their CO house.  We had a great time!

Madison hanging out on the patio watching the kids play.  I think she was hoping she could run around too!

Trenton blowing bubbles...

These kids absolutely LOVE bubbles.  They'd play with them all day, every day if I let them!

And of course Trenton showing his love for his baby sister.  He cannot keep his hands off her!

Brooklyn blowing bubbles.

Trenton wore this hat and his sunglasses everywhere!  I didn't mind, it was hot and bright out!

Flying a kite out front!

Catching a snooze in the little swing.  It sure was nice having a neighbor with a baby up there.  We borrowed several things from her so I didn't have to pack all the bulky things!

Grandpa thought it was so neat when he'd play with Madison before bed.  She'd give him the BIGGEST smiles.

She must have been telling him a story...

Enjoying some play time on her mat... Brother and sister must have been napping since they're not crowding her.

Found a new love for corn on the cob.

Taking a ride on Grandpa's Ranger.  If you look close you'll see Brooklyn's baby, Allison, buckled in the middle :)  Allison has to go everywhere with us.

Madison even got to take her first ride on the Ranger while we went to visit the neighbors!

Swimming at John and Stacy's house!  Their horses came out to see what the fun was all about.   (On a side note... my parents have the BEST neighbors in CO.  They all treat us like family and absolutely love our children.  We love them just as much.  I only wish we had neighbors like that at home).

The kids found Kurt's snow brick makers in the garage and wanted to make an igloo.  Sorry, it was too hot for snow.  This was the next best thing to do with them :)

The neighbors' dog found a long tailed weasel in their garage, so of course my dad helped catch it.  The kids thought he was pretty  neat.

After everyone got to check him out, they released him in their barn to eat the mice :)

Took the kids for a ride on the Ranger one night and came across these bucks.  They were probably 15-20 feet from us and weren't even scared.  Brooklyn whistled and they all looked at us :)

 Crazy hair girl!  She had some cradle cap so I was rubbing baby oil on her head.  We got a little silly with the hair :)  She sure has a lot of it!

Took a trip to Walmart... In a small town, this was the highlight of one of our days. (And even though I packed  about 175 diapers, I still ran out so had to restock).  Grandma put some quarters in the Bert and Ernie ride.  Fun!!!

Madison got to wear her "I Love Mommy" outfit one night when it cooled down...  She sure is cute!

View from John and Stacy's porch.  Absolutely beautiful.  My dad found out there were fish in their pond too so they caught a bunch and we had everyone over for a fish fry :)

4th of July in their red white and blue.  I wanted to get a picture of them and couldn't catch them all looking and smiling.  Brooklyn had a ton of silly faces too.

They're still pretty cute!  (This was taken right before a big sick bug hit us)

The last part of our trip was spent with sick kids.  Trenton was running a fever of 105!  I was scared.  His fever actually lasted 5 days (101 plus, but mostly 103 and 104).  We'd bring it down with a cool bath and Motrin, and as soon as the Motrin would wear off, he'd spike right back up.  Then of course Brooklyn started doing the same thing, only hers wasn't as high.  I was ready to pull my hair out with 2 sick kids and a needy newborn.  Thank goodness I had my mom there to help out.

Poor sick boy resting when we got home...

Although we had a great time, after 15 days we sure were ready to come home and see Daddy!  And after sharing my room with all 3 kids, I was ready to come home and have my space back too.

We just love going to CO.  The kids are making so many good family memories!!! 

Madison's Room

Since we didn't know if Madison was a boy or a girl until she was born, this was our first baby that didn't have a nursery ready ahead of time.  We figured if it was a boy, he would just take Trenton's room as is, and if it was a girl, she would keep the monkey theme and I'd just add pink so we wouldn't have to make a whole new theme.

Well, it's taken a while, but her room is FINALLY finished and she's moved in there instead of the bassinet in our room.  She was the longest baby to stay in our room, but I liked having her there.

Added pink sheets and dust ruffle to the crib and put a girlie mobile up.

Took Trenton's name off the wall and added a pink changing table cover.

I tied pink ribbons to make bows on the monkeys on the wall.

Pink picture frame on the dresser.  I'll probably put a pink pillow on the rocker... And I think I want to find some pink and brown polka dot fabric and redo the topper on the curtain.

I think my coconut tree was the main reason I didn't want to redo the nursery... I wasn't ready to paint over that just yet :)

I think she likes the new room!  We put her in the crib to sleep this week too.  I think I was ready to let her go as well.  After spending 2 weeks in CO sharing a room with the kids, I was ready for my own room back!  She's doing great at night and now I have a safe zone for her naps where the kids can't bother her!

This is Brooklyn and Trenton's room.  He'll just have to deal with the girl theme (which you can't really see in this angle, but it's ladybugs) until Madison is out of the crib and they switch back!  He'll get over it :)

Actually... I'd like to be in a bigger house in the next few years and then they can all have their own rooms :)