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!