First Piggies

Last Wednesday I successfully got pigtails into Mady's hair for the first time ever.  It's happened since too.  Isn't she a doll?!  I love her face in this picture!  She's so darn cute and grown up!

Speaking of which, I'm like a month late posting about this, but Mady had her 15 month checkup (almost a month ago) and she weighed 29 lbs 6 oz and was 34 1/2 inches long!  She can talk so well now too.  At 15 months she could say almost 150 words and she has added so many more now that I have missed!  I think we're done making word lists for her!  Maybe we should try a list of words she can't say?  It might be easier!  She's so grown up and we love her so much!  Thanks for being our baby Mady!

Addicted

Remember this post about how I like to spoil my kids?  It's bad, I know.  Hopefully I don't end up regretting it when they are older.  For now, it's lots of fun!  I'm still cheap though, and if there's one thing that I love most about summer time, it's Garage Sale Season!  Whoever invented Community Garage Sales is my best friend.  I love them.  We went out last week on Friday and Saturday, and this week on Friday and scored big every day!  What did we come home with you ask?  A train set (we had no space for the train table, so it stayed there) for $10 complete with 2 motorized trains and many additional wooden cars and engines.

A Little Tykes slide for $4!  I looked for one of these all last summer and never found one!  They usually sell first thing in the morning and I never got there quick enough.  I spotted this one after noon and assumed it was either broken or priced too high.  Other than a few spider webs and some dirt there is nothing wrong with it, and the price was perfect, so it now lives on our porch!  Sydney is ELATED.  Mady loves it too but can't figure out how to climb up on her own yet.

The dinosaur tent, tub of Mega Blocks, and large Magna Doodle cost a grand total of $5.

This weekend we scored a Little Tykes rocking chair for $1.50.  We have another one identical to this, so no more fights over outdoor seating!

My crowning glory this weekend was this awesome art easel.  It was marked at $4 or I never would have looked at it.  I offered her $2 and she took it so fast it made me feel like I overpaid!  It has a chalk board on one side and a dry erase magnetic board on the other and clips on both sides to hold paper.  The girls are in heaven and Sydney (who didn't know what an easel was until we brought this home) is constantly asking for chalk to color her "huge magadoodle."  Mady is also thrilled with it and I am still giddy about the low price!  I can't wait to see what else we find this year!

Fashion Statement

Tonight at dinner Sydney decided to use maple syrup as hair gel.  It worked awesome, as you can no doubt tell.

Pardon the yucky picture. I had to capture the moment.

Deep Thoughts for the Day

This morning as I bent over to pull something out of the dishwasher, Sydney surprised me. 
Sydney: Mommy, you have a baby in you tummy?
Me: Umm, I don't think so.  Do know about a baby in my tummy?
Sydney: Mady was in you tummy.
Me: That's right Sydney, Mady was in Mommy's tummy.
Sydney: I in another mommy's tummy.
Me (after a slightly stunned silence): That's right Sydney, you were in another mommy's tummy.
Sydney: Where my mommy go?

Me: I'm you're mommy.  Do you mean where is your birth mommy?

Sydney: Yeah.

Me: She was too little to take care of you (trying to keep this simple for her sweet little 2 year old brain), so she let you come live with us so we could be your mommy and daddy.  Wasn't that nice of her?

Sydney: Yeah.

Me: I love being your mommy.  Do you like me being your mommy Sydney?
Sydney: Yes.  And I love Mady too.

Note: We've had the conversation before that she didn't grow in my tummy, but I never expected her to remember it and it came out of nowhere today!  What a sweet little exchange with my baby.  I love you Sydney Bean and I'm so glad to be your mommy!

Sydney at 2 days old

Sydney at 2 1/2 years old

For Those of You Still Reading...

We're still here.  And our lives have been a little messy lately.  Just like our kids. (This girl is magnetically attracted to dirt.  as soon as she steps outside, she can't resist it.)

But we've shared some laughs and good times too.  And the girls (and I!) bought our first ever ice cream truck purchase.  That's what happens when you grow up in the country! 

We look forward to every sunny day and particularly to every nice Friday since we ditch the house and go garage saling.  Such fun.  Yesterday we went pretty much ALL DAY.  And my kids were angels.  And we came away with some good plunder.  They are both recovering from colds, so I was proud of them and the fact that they each took 2 short naps in the car!  Then we had to get the oil changed in our car.  I was dreading sitting in the waiting room with them.  So we grabbed hamburgers and a shake before they took the car and had a picnic on the grass outside.  We had a blast.  It was a great reminder to me to look for the good in every situation.  I needed that reminder.  It was such a perfect day.  Right up until Aaron started vomiting.  Thank you stomach flu for making an appearance at our house this weekend.  My family was sick last Mother's Day too.  Crappy tradition if you ask me.  I recommend not copying us.  I know it's hard since we're so cool and all, but really, refrain this once.  Go get some ice cream and play in the dirt instead.