Madden is Home!

This afternoon, baby Madden finally came home after three weeks in the NICU. The family is home and adjusting to life as a family of four. Today is also the first day that Blaine met his baby brother! I'm sure these next few weeks will be an adventure for them all!

Working weekend

This weekend I somehow managed to convince Kenneth to help me paint my store. Kenneth hated to paint. Really hates it, so I REALLY had to do some convincing! We already needed to move around the fixtures to make room for new Fall merchandise, so I figured while we were doing that was a perfect time to repaint! The old colors felt tired and dull so I wanted to brighten it up. So we had to move all the furniture after closing Saturday and cover it, bring in the paint, and set up the scaffolding for the high ceiling. Sunday we painted all day . Monday, we are closed so we were able to move the fixtures and clean, clean, clean! We still have a few things to do , but at least we will be able to open tomorrow with the store looking good. Here are a few pics of the progress.

Georgia's Birthday night!

Wednesday night we had family over to celebrate Georgia's birthday. She wanted pizza and cake and ice cream, and she got lots of great gifts. This weekend, it's Build a Bear workshop!

Big Birthday Girl!

Baby Madden is coming home!

Baby Madden is doing well still! He is growing strong, and is totally off the feeding tube now which is a great sign. Caroline and Jodi had to go to a CPR class today to get ready for him to come home. They also had to get a special car seat and have it approved. Tonight they also got some big news-Madden will be coming home on Monday! They are so excited to have both boys home for the first time, but it will be a big adjustment. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they make this adjustment and he continues to grow!

Georgia's Big Day!

Wednesday, August 11th was Georgia's Birthday and first day of school! It was a big day for sure, and although I was a little worried that she would be upset that her birthday was on the first day of school but she LOVED IT! When she gets older having a birthday during the first week of school probably won't seem as cool but for now she thinks it's awesome! This weekend she wants to go to Build a Bear so tonight we'll just have our little family get together.

Georgia's ready to go!

In front of Montessori

Ready to work!

Georgia meets Madden!

After we took Grace to school Monday, Georgia and I met Caroline at the hospital to see Madden. I was planning on leaving Georgia in the waiting room while I visited with him, but he has been doing so well that they let her back. She was in baby heaven! Georgia LOVES babies and he is absolutely the tiniest, sweetest little thing. Georgia said he was adorable, and when she went to touch his foot she said "oh, his foot is crusty!" He still has a lot of bandage residue on his foot, he's not really nasty! In other news, he's doing very well and taking a bottle now. I even got to feed him. He is up to 17 inches and 4 lbs! Big improvement in two weeks. He is well on his way to coming home with his family!

Georgia and Madden

Caroline and Madden

First Day of School!

Monday was Gracie's first day of school at her new school, Cloverleaf. She was a little nervous but excited at the same time. Gracie has a lot of great friends at her old school, but she never meets a stranger and is very excited about making new friends. She is also thrilled that her tutor teaches there and her teachers we met at Open House were so nice. I can't believe she's going into fourth grade! She changes class and has four teachers this year! She's very excited about the different clubs they have there too, so that will be coming us soon I'm sure!

I love how much she loves school, and she has the best attitude towards learning.

I still hate for our summer to be over though!

And she's off!

101st Birthday!

Last Sunday we celebrated my Grandma Irene's 101st birthday. The family gathered at her nursing home for the party for pizza and cake. She is not exactly with it but does pretty good for her age, and seemed to have a good time. Georgia even picked her a flower (from her own cake) and gave to her but I'm not sure she realized what was happening. The kids had fun playing with their little cousins and we enjoyed seeing everybody too. Grace set the little kids up at a table and had them picking rose petals off and making them into dresses for her fairies, sweat shop style! I think it is really cool that my girls still have their Great-Great-Grandmother, they are very fortunate!

Gracie's flower petal creation!

Painting!

Last weekend I went to a painting class with my cousin Autumn. I was a little nervous since I'm not known for my painting skills, but they assured me it would be fine. I had a bit of a shaky start, but I thought it turned out okay. I picked one with a tropical theme for my parents to take down to the beach for their new beach home.

After the first break...


...second break...

...voila!

Open House

Thursday night we had Open House for both girls. First was Gracie's which was a little scary for her since she'll be at a new school this year where she doesn't know anybody. Gracie is going into fourth grade this year and has four class changes when last year she only had two. She is excited but nervous at the same time. We have a really good feeling about her new school (Cloverleaf) and her tutor she has known for three years also teaches there. Open House went well for her and she even got her own recorder for music class, which thrilled her! Georgia is going back to Montessori for Pre-K, and most of the kids there she knows from last year although we did see some new faces. Georgia actually starts back to school on her birthday which she thinks is super cool. Both my girls fortunately LOVE school, but I will miss spending lazy mornings and afternoons at the pool with them. Watching them grow up is hard, but I'm so proud of the young ladies they are becoming!

Growing Bigger!

Baby Madden is doing so well in the NICU! He has been taken off of the breathing machine and had his first bottle last night. He lost a little weight in the first few days but he has already gained it back and then some. As of today he weighed 3 lbs and 10 oz. He is well on his way to the 5 lb mark when he can go home. We are so blessed that he is showing such health and seems so far to to show no signs of permanent damage to his health. Gracie got to see him for a minute the other day, but Georgia is still too little. She is so excited about him though, she LOVES babies and he is such a cutie

We can't put clothes on him yet, but this is a super cute cap that goes with a preemie outfit I found and it fits! This is his first time not wearing the CPAP machine and a normal hat! Is he cute or what?!?!

Baby Madden Has Arrived!

My sister Caroline has been on bedrest for the past few weeks of her pregnancy, and Monday we found out that he had a condition called Intra Uterine Growth Deficiency. His growth and weight had plateaued and he had even begun to lose weight. Tuesday they made the decision to take him by C-Section before he lost any more weight. He was delivered at 35 weeks, and weighed 3 lbs and 8.5 oz and was 15 inches long. He is doing well but we were told to expect him in the NICU for 4 to 6 weeks. So far he's doing well, breathing on the CPAP machine and eating through a feeding tube, but that is all very normal for a baby that size. The worst thing I guess was that Caroline didn't get to see him for 24 hours because she was on a magnesium drip and couldn't bring it into the NICU. I did get to go however and took a few pics. Here are the first shots of Baby Madden!

Chair Project

I just wanted to show off my little chair project I just did. This is a chair I bought several years ago at a rummage sale for $5 and have re-covered it several times. I bought new bedding a few months ago and hadn't done anything with the chair yet when I came across this complimentary fabric as a remnant and decided to embroider my monogram with my new embroidery machine! I thought it turned out adorable!

Playing in the dirt

I just had to share this pic I took of little Georgia's feet yesterday. I love how my girls can be so prissy and girly and still have fun playing in the dirt! We have definitely been getting our play time in this summer, I only wish it could last longer.

Locks of Love

Gracie has been growing her hair for Locks of Love for a little over a year now. In case you're not familiar with this organization, it's a charity that accepts donations of human hair to make free wigs for children who have lost their own hair die to illness. Your hair has to be a certain length to do it, and Gracie finally reached her goal! We are so proud of her, both for being so brave and for making a conscious decision to do something to help others. The icing on the cake is that she loves her new hairdo! It hasn't been this short since she was 2. Here are a few pics from that day...

What a girl! She looks so much older to me but I guess that is because she's getting older. I'm so proud of the young lady she's becoming. It's such a nice combination when inner beauty matches outer beauty.

Georgia goes to the Dentist

Yesterday Georgia had her first trip to the Dentist. She learned a little about it at Montessori when a Dentist came to visit, and we've been talking about it a lot to get her pumped up about it. She loves brushing her teeth, and she thinks she is such a big girl to finally get to go to the Dentist herself. Our friend Mylinda is a hygienist there so Georgia felt comfortable right away. They said that the first time she might not make it through the entire visit, but she did great and did the whole thing.

Notice her Tooth shirt we got just for today!

She had a great first visit, no cavities and a great report! It's tough getting used to having two big girls in the house now!

Georgia's First Swim

The other day I took the girls swimming up at my parents house. They love the water and it has been so hot that it's the only way to be outside. Gracie is a great swimmer, and Georgia has been doing well with her floaties. Well she unexpectedly pulled off her floaties, hopped in, struggled a little and swam to me (which was just a matter of feet)! She said she's done with floaties! We started swimming around a little more and by the afternoon she was jumping off the diving board and could swim all the way to the steps by herself! I got a little video of her jumping off the diving board. I'm so proud of her! She's so brave, and I'm so happy she loves swimming like the rest of the family!

Funny Story

So the other day I get a call from my friend Stormy who is a teacher. She was with another friend of hers who teaches at her school named Sandy that she has brought by Gigi's several times before and I've met. Sandy kept telling her she thought she knew me but didn't remember how, and since she is from Rome she couldn't figure it out. The call started with "Hey, did you go on a ski trip in college for a PE class?" I said "yes" and Sandy and Stormy screamed out "that's where!" Apparently, Sandy I not only went on that trip together, but were ROOMMATES for the week and I followed her by car up there! Too funny! I did make me feel old that I could have known someone for over a year and not realize we'd met before...

Here is a picture I found upstairs of our entire group at the ski trip including Sandy and me. This was taken at the hospital as you can see from the multiple pairs of crutches and visible casts. Yes, one of them is mine:)

The Fairy Garden

This Spring Grace and Georgia decided to plant a "Fairy Garden" in our backyard. I still haven't figured out what exactly makes it a Fairy Garden except for the fact that they say it is. Anyway, we tool them to buy some plants and they chose tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon. We have had a few cucumbers lately ready to pick, and I think the tomatoes will be next!

There's even a baby watermelon coming up!

American Girl Store

After a few days of just chilling out after the girls came home from the beach, we decided to ride down to the American Girl Store for lunch and shopping. Both girls came home from the beach with a little money left over and it was burning a hole in their pockets. Here are a few shots from our day.

Georgia and Rebecca-notice her doll's hair in this shot before

And after her trip to the hair salon. We also had Rebecca's ears pierced while we were there.

Having fun at lunch

Gracie's helping Ivy with her drink

Those tiny flags were so much fun

All in all it was a pleasant day and the girls were very good. For somewhere that is kid oriented it's not a bad way to spend a day!

Happy Birthday Kenneth!

On Kenneth's birthday (June 14th) we had an unexpected party. We celebrated the day
before since his birthday was on a Monday, but we still went out to Longhorn with the girls that night. Afterward, Kenneth really wanted a Peanut Buster Parfait from the DQ (woo hoo, I know) so off we went. While waiting at the red light, the car in front of us started rolling backward and backed right into us-in Kenneth's new car! Happy Birthday, right?!? She hopped out very apologetic and told us how she was trying to put it in park but ended up putting it in reverse because her hand was in a cast. What? She then showed us her hand completely immobile in her cast. Why were you even driving lady? Well the police came and all was well, no one was hurt, and we went along on our way. It wasn't too bad, just not the best way to spend a birthday!

Chef Georgia!

Lately Georgia has become a big help in the kitchen! Every time I head to the kitchen Georgia is on my heels saying "I wanna help!" Her favorite things are stirring, cracking eggs, and licking the spoon. Sunday afternoons she always asks to make cupcakes. Here is a pic of her in her chef's hat-she thinks it makes her look "professional"!

While the girls are away...

I decided to redecorate the girls' rooms while they were at the beach with my parents. Gracie still had her little girl pink and green circus print toile and Georgia still had her crib in the daybed setup. They both have expressed an interest in redecorating. Gracie wanted a "sophisticated" big girl room and Georgia wanted a mermaid room. I didn't quite finish but here is what I got done before they returned home.

For Gracie I chose a soft blue for the walls (Sherwin Williams Hazy Blue)

and a slightly darker shade for the trim (Benjamin Moore Liquid Blue) with a starfish stencil.

I reused the headboard that Kenneth built for her five years ago and painted it
pink then applied a glaze and finished it with a clear coat of polyeurethane.

I used Sherwin Williams Coming Up Roses for the headboard and then applied Palm

Beach Pink glaze from www.sunnyspaint.com to give it a distressed aged look.

I used some of the leftover blue and pink paint to tie in this container for Gracie's

flowers. I just spray painted the curly willow green in a complimentary shade.

I found these cute pink bubble glass knobs to use on Gracie's vanity.

For the stencils we used two sizes of starfish stencile painted in two shades of pink, SW Gala Pink on the smaller size and SW Coming Up Roses on the Larger. Both stencils are available at www.sunnyspaint.com

Love this combo:)

I painted the aquarium stand and lid in a similar blue as the wall to blend with the wall. I changed out the aquarium decor to match her new room and set it up so we can pick out new fish when they get home!

Fully stenciled walls! Kenneth must really love his girls because he sure hates painting! He evenly spaced them throughout the room, rotating the stencil clockwise for each collum.

I painted Gracie's vanity green which I love against the walls!

So for Gracie's room I still have to make her window treatments and bedding, hang her new chandelier, and apply her wall monogram but this is all I could do before they got home!

Georgia asked for two things-pink and mermaids!

Love this green wall! Gator green glaze from www.sunnyspaint.com

We trimmed the room in SW Coming Up Roses. Love the combo!

I painted her chest of drawers a darker pink and changed the knobs to a ceramic painted pink, green, and aqua.

Kenneth traced a swirl design in pencil for me to use as a guide for painting the wall and ceiling. He also painted cute polka dote on the upper wall and ceiling to give a canopy effect.

We painted an aqua swirl along the pencil outlineto complete the walls. I painted her armoire the same aqua as the swirl.

I upholstered a new headboard for Georgia for her new big girl bed! Kenneth cut out the design and mounted it for me.

Since Georgia can't reach her new bed yet, I painted a little footstool for her and upholstered it to match her bed.

Kenneth's Mom has been trying to teach me how to make the girls' bedding, but she ended up doing most of the work! It looks great so far, and hopefully I can make more of a contribution!

Georgia's bedding is almost done but I still need to have her chandelier installed, window treatments made, and wall monogram applied. They were so excited to see their new rooms and it was so worth all the work! When Georgia walked in she said "FINALLY!"

With the girls off on their beach trip, I decided to surprise them with redecorating their rooms. Gracie's room hasn't been redone since we moved and she's recently expressed an interest in having a more sophisticated look now that she's a big girl. Georgia actually still had her crib in her converted daybed setup and it was time for her to move up to a big girl room as well. Here is the progress of the rooms so far.