CA Trip- FAMILY PICNIC

We had a WONDERFUL trip to Southern California to visit my family.

All of my immediate and extended family were in town for my Grandma Paulette's 80th Birthday celebration which was a full weekend affair!

 Above: The 3 Great Grandkids eating at the park picnic

 Grandma Paulette's birthday cake!

 The family gathering. It was a cloudy morning, but we all had fun and ate a ton!

 Grandpa Ron & Maddy being silly

 Abby & Aunt Sarah

The AZ Grandkids (& spouses....and 4th great-grandchild to arrive in April)

Flowers!

Mike was in Washington D.C. for work all week, so when he came home Thursday afternoon, he surprised all of us with special flowers (a first for Abby!!). She got her very own bouquet, and it even had a special peacock feather in the middle. Hers were neon daisies, and mine were spring roses-- A nice treat after being home sick all week taking care of both of them as Maddy was sick too (and teething)! Ahhhh, what a great guy! Roxy was just being cute while we were enjoying our gifts, and she's family, so she made it in this post!

Chasing Maddy

Maddy loves and knows the concept of chase! After her bath I was playing with her in the hallway. For some reason she started crawling, which is weird because she hasn't crawled at all in nearly 2 months. Its a novelty I guess! She is such a love, and makes me light up with her giggles!

SPLASH!!!!

The girls get into splashing some nights. Maddy really got into it this time, so it was cute.

More More More

Maddy's now signing:
*More
*All Done (and she can say it after she's done with her bath, and after eating)
*Cracker (knocks her fist on her opposite elbow)
*Daddy (touches her hand to the top of her head)
*Water (she touches her fingers to her chin)

Plus, she just knows things. I say "Lets go take a bath" and she runs to the bathroom door and starts knocking on it to get in. If I hand her her lovie and a drink and say "Go sit on your couch", she runs right over to her Dora couch and cuddles up to watch a show. If I say where's sissy, she goes looking for Abby. She understands way more than we know!

Copy Cat Madelyn

Maddy is in full copy mode these days. She catches onto things even faster than I remember Abby doing the same things. She is learning signs and using them with little to no prompting, and she imitates us all the time!
Here she started copying me a few weeks ago, and got it right away saying "Dum Dum Dum Dummmmmm"

Bubble Torture

The girls take almost every bath together! This night Abby made a hat out of bubbles on Maddy's head. Luckily Maddy didn't mind much....until the bubbles started dripping down her face!

Bubbles & Splashing Outside

I've been on a roll capturing quick videos on my phone of the girls. So here are a bunch from this week! They are WAY cuter in person of course, but this is a good idea of what they are like! SWEET!!!!!
I let them outside today because it peaked over 50 degrees. Abby wanted to blow bubbles (which is great that she can do it with no help anymore!!) and Maddy found the one puddle from some rain the other night that gathered on top of a container and started splashing. It wasn't until she was drenched that I saw what she was doing, so I figured....oh well, let her have her fun I'll change her when she's done!

Maddy Peek-A-Boo!

Maddy's favorite post-dinner routine most nights is to play peek-a-boo with her messy sticky hands after she is done eating (and after she throws every last piece of uneaten food off her tray around the kitchen.......so annoying....can't wait til this phase is over!). Anyhow, she gets herself so messy she needs a bath to clean her hair each night. 

Maddy VS Toilet Paper

Maddy is hilarious. She does funny things these days that keep us laughing. Her newest "trick" is climbing onto the couch using her Dora couch pushed up against it as a step! Smart little bugger! Good thing she already knows how to get off the couch by herself.  Today she got attached to the new pack of toilet paper I brought home as she started toting it around the living room.

Abby at 1 in the playhouse

Here is Abby in the house when she was a 1 year old! They are so similar but have some small distinct differences, mostly size :) !  

Outdoors!

This week brought a few mild days, with "warm" (meaning 60's in the afternoon) weather.

This was Maddy's first time exploring the backyard toys and she LOVES it! The playhouse is a hit and she already figured out the slide a few times.I will post some comparative posts of them in this pose next! We got this house for Abby when she was 1!

Zoo walker video

Cute video of Maddy walking at the zoo!

Zoo walker

Yesterday was Maddy's first trip to the zoo now that she is a full-time walker.

So it was cute to see her interact differently with the different animals at her level!

 She does this squat thing where she puts her hands behind her for balance I think.

She is a hoot! Of course all that walking pooped her out and she fell asleep in the stroller for the 2nd half of the zoo!

 This wild animal was the scariest of all! (Note the description on the sign; My favorite part of the sign at the bottom...."Given an inch--Will take a mile" That is SOOO exactly what stage we are at with her right now!)

Big or Little? Hmmmm....

Abby cracks me up! Of course the child can't read yet, but she LOVES to dress herself. In fact, Mike and I never choose clothes for her, EVER! She immediately gets dressed each morning and puts her own pj's on at night from her drawers. But the other night she came out with this pajama top on.....hmmmm.....amazingly it fit somehow, but of course it is really Maddy's shirt! She didn't get it since it seemed to fit ok. But I showed her the "Big Sister" shirt and she accepted it. Its hard to tell their clothes apart these days in the laundry. I am constantly looking at tags to sort clothes, especially when there are matching items!

Storytime

 Abby's imagination grows each day. The other day I caught her setting up her stuffed animals quite orderly on the floor, and reading to them one of her favorite books: "If you give a mouse a cookie"

Girls and Dolls!

 Both girls love dolls. Abby likes them more now that Maddy has taken an interest in them, so she can steal them away.....we are working on sharing! The pink one that Maddy is chewing on was mine when I was a little girl!

Good Morning!

Maddy is a lounger! She loves to plop down with her lovie and relax after a long 12 hr rest and yummy breakfast! Good Morning!

Together time

 Its funny how some toys and things just become popular when you drag them out every now and then. This Dora couch is always a hit and I've had it in front of the tv for a week and we find them lounging on it! Perfect! Now Roxy thinks this is another dog bed for her! NOT!!!

Maddy

 Dress up is now enjoyed by both of them!