The Crazy Month of August

Just so nobody can say I didn't post for a month, here's a cheat! My sister wrote an adorable blog post (complete with pictures) about the weekend she came to visit. So here it is for now. I'll catch up once I finish my book (hopefully before my deadline!) in a week or so. By the way, I turned 30 this month! Woohoo!

Oh, and quick details from Maddie's 6-month checkup: 13 lbs, 14 oz (11th percentile) and 26.5 inches long (77th percentile). Quinn's 3-year: 33 lbs. (69th percentile) and 37 inches (40th percentile). The doctor calls him Chatty Cathy. Maddie is sitting up by herself now and scooting all over the place. We're getting closer to potty trained. Not there yet, but closer. That's all for now, folks. Love, Us.

Congratulations Are in Order

I would just like to brag on my brother-in-law for a moment. Today he received results from his last test, meaning he has earned his GED!! I am so proud of you, Wade, both for all your hard work and for giving the glory to God. And I am proud of my sister for supporting him through the process and helping him to prepare.

In other news, Miss Maddie is teething up a storm and proving that her lungs are as strong as her legs. That makes this very interesting when Quinn jumps up every 15 minutes and says, "I gotta go potty! I gotta go potty!" However, he did wake up this morning with a dry diaper, so I'd say that's progress. We're moving ahead. And we still have a week and a half before he turns three!

We just got back last week from a week-long vacation to Orlando. We are so cheap. Last year we went to Sesame Place at this same time to take advantage of the free admission for kids under 2. This year we went to Disney and Sea World just before Quinn turned 3, at which point Disney tickets would have been $70! So we put up with 100 degree heat and 100% humidity to save a few bucks. We spent a few hours with my grandmother, who took an immediate liking to Maddie, and the feeling was mutual. We spent a lot of time with my mom, who was willing to drive to Orlando a couple of times to see us. Jalal and I even went out for the evening while Mom watched the kids. We went around to a few different restaurants and had a drink and an appetizer at each bar, starting with sake and sushi. Yum. Our day at Disney was a blast. Disney does a great job of keeping guests cool despite the heat. Quinn got to meet some of his favorite people.




We waited until almost 1:00 a.m. to see Mickey and Minnie. Still not sure that was worth it. Because Quinn got his mouse ears when we went to Disneyland two years ago, we had to get Maddie a pair. Check this girl out.



Could you eat her up? She was such a doll and even had fun on the Tea Cups! Quinn is a mad man, though, and I nearly got sick we were spinning so fast. A couple days later, we got to see "the big giant whale" at SeaWorld, despite the fact that thunderstorms shut down a fair number of the shows. Trish and Wade came down and hung out with us for the weekend, which of course made my heart happy. Even my cousin Sara came and had dinner with us in Orlando. It was a great trip, but we were certainly glad to be home. Love, Us.

I Lost My Underwear!

No, not me. Quinn woke up from a nap today and came to the top of the stairs. "Mama, can I please come downstairs?!" "Yes." "Oh, Ok. Thank you. Oh, wait! I lost my underwear!" Haha! We've obviously been potty-training around here. We had a huge fight before that nap about underwear versus a diaper. I told him I didn't think he was ready to wear underwear for a nap yet, but if could prove he could stay dry through a nap, he could try tomorrow. He was so upset, and he kept crying "my underwear!!" Finally he agreed and went to bed. (FYI, he was not dry when he woke up.) I think we're getting there. Love, Us.