Bounce!

Braden still loves to bounce in his jumperoo and Madeleine just got a bouncy Dora ball which she bounces on when Braden is in his jumperoo. They both get quite a kick out of watching each other bounce!

Sleepover!

We hosted our first sleepover with the twins over the weekend. A few weeks ago, Madeleine spent the night at the twins house so it was our turn to have them here. The girls had a blast and did so well together!

We started off playing in the pool. Then cooled off with a popcicle. The girls played and ended the night with pizza & a pooh bear movie. We read books and it was off to bed!

San Francisco!

My mom & I took a girls trip to San Francisco in mid-August. We had a blast! Thankfully, Jeff and his mom took care of the kids so I could have a much needed break. We did a ton of fun stuff and saw most of the city but didn't see a few places...I guess that means another trip back!

We started the trip off right with a stop at the airport wine bar! We flew Virgin American to San Fran and it was awesome! They have great service and very cool planes with all the latest gadgets. We arrived on time and went straight to the Hilton downtown where we stayed. The Hilton was awesome too. The customer service was unbelievable.

Our first night there, we ate out at a fancy seafood restaurant downtown called Farrallon. Delicious food!

The next day we toured the city, shopped, hit the Farmers Market, visited the Ferry Building and Fisherman's Warf. We loved the Farmers Market and both came home with a few goodies. We had a great time eating our way through the Ferry Building and we were even unexpectedly treated to a few glasses of wine and a cheese plate - yum!

The Ferry Building...one of the only buildings to survive the earthquake and fire years ago.

Mom with the Bay Bridge behind her.

On Sunday, we got up bright & early for a wine tour of Napa! We had so much fun...of course! Who wouldn't have fun drinking wine at 10am? Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge..

Next, our first winery stop was V Sattui where we got way too many tastings and picked up a delicious picnic lunch! Can you tell we are having fun?!

Our new wine friends - LOL!

On Monday before we left, we saw China town and Little Italy. So much fun! We came home with some trinkets for the kids and full belly from Little Italy!

Here is Alcatraz. We didn't have time to go on a tour but it is a must next time I visit!

We took a trolly back to the hotel and then it was back home. Here is view from our trolly!

Good-bye San Fran!

Thanks Mom for a wonderful trip! Love you!

One Happy Baby...again.

The last month has been a little rough with little Braden. Ever since he popped his bottom teeth, he has been one cranky baby. All of a sudden he developed terrible gas issues and was whining constantly. Listening to it all day just about drove me crazy.

I left on a trip with my mom to San Francisco for a few days and Jeff's mom came up to help with the kids. I was so frustrated before I left that I told Jeff that he had to figure Braden out because I didn't know what else to do...and he did!!! Jeff & his mom got Braden some drops that help with his gas and they got him to eat solid food so he sleeps through the night again - hooray! I came home to a happy baby :-) He finally rolled over yesterday too!

Thanks to Grandma JJ & GG for coming up to keep Jeff company and help with the kids...we all appreciate it!!!

**Pictures of San Fran will be posted soon**

Happy 40th Bubba!

We celebrated my brother's 40th Birthday over the weekend. Sharyn threw him an awesome party complete with a live band, a live show and delicious food! All of his friends and family came to wish him a Happy 40th! We had a great time and Madeleine especially enjoyed watching the hula dancers! Happy Birthday Bubba...we LOVE you!

Wiggles!!!

Jeff took Madeleine to see the Wiggles LIVE at the Paramount today! This was all Jeff's ideas and they had a lot of fun on their daddy-daughter date! First they hit McDonalds for lunch and then off to the show to dance with the Wiggles! Madeleine had fun and danced in the aisle the entire time. The Wiggles went up and down the aisles so they got a close-up look at the characters. What a fun day!

Summer Reading Program

Madeleine is participating in the local library's summer reading program. Every time we do one of their suggested activities, (read for 20 minutes, visit a library, make letter shapes, check out a book, learn words in another language, ect) Madeleine gets to fill in a shape for each activity. At the half way point, you get a prize and then when you are all finished, you get the big prize...a really cool kaleidoscope! We do a lot of their suggested activities already so it was pretty easy to fill in the shapes quickly! We are having fun making sure we do a few of the activities each day.

On a side note, I was super excited to watch Madeleine color the shapes INSIDE the lines. This is the first time I've seen her do this and it's one of those milestones...pretty cool to watch her grow so much these last few months. She's gone from scribbling to being able to write some letters, shapes, actual scenery like grass, clouds, birds, the sun, people...this age is just so fun to watch!

Squealing Baby!