Springtime Tallahassee

This morning we ventured out and went downtown to the Springtime Tallahassee Parade.  It was raining when we left the house, but about halfway there the sun came out and it ended up being perfect weather for a parade.  Maddox was loving every minute of it and really enjoyed racking up on beads!  After the parade, we headed over to a picnic that was hosted by Daniel's company where we enjoyed great food, and some fun activites for the kids.  It was a fun-filled family day!

2 Years Old

On March 23rd, Maddox turned 2 years old!  I am still in shock that 2 sweet years have passed since the day he was born.  There are so many things I want to remember about him at this stage!  He is such a sweet, smart, strong-willed, talkative, persistent child and Daniel and I feel so blessed to be his parents.  He was not feeling very well on the days leading up to his birthday and we ended up having to cancel his party (which made me really, really sad!)  It turns out that he probably would have been fine to go ahead and have the party, but I guess that's the way things go!  We ended up having a small, family party and it turned out perfect.  My parents came into town last Thursday and Daniel's parents got here Saturday morning.  On Saturday we all went out to lunch and then took Maddox to the park to play.  Later that night we ate pizza and had a little party for him.  He loved having everyone here and had a blast celebrating his big day!

A (hot) day at the park

Nana and Maddox

Lolli and Maclain

Blowing out his birthday candles :)

Here are his stats from his doctor's appointment Monday:

-Height: 32 3/4 in (15%)
-Weight: 27 pounds, 7 ounces (45%)
-Head: 48.9 cm (55%)

Just a few things I want to remember about him at age 2:

-Still a momma's boy and wants me to stay close by
-A very picky eater and does not want to try new foods (especially veggies)
-Takes a long afternoon nap and still asks for this nap
-Is beginning to take more of an interest in Maclain... he will bend down and talk to her which is really cute!
-When he wants to be held he says, "huzzle" :)
-When he wants to show somebody something, he comes up and says, "show me!" over and over
-Can say anything and literally does not stop talking until he falls asleep
-Is very good at saying "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" appropriately
-He will put his animals in time-out if he thinks they are being "ugly".  He will take them one by one and line them up at the bottom of the stairs.  This cracks me up every time!
-He loves to go "up and down" in the laundry basket when Daniel gets home from work in the evenings.  It never gets old to him!
-Still goes to bed really well at night and will sleep about 11 hours

I am sure I am leaving some things out, but these are the main things.  We can't wait to see what the next 2 years bring! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Tom Brown

Yesterday I met my mom friends at Tom Brown Park for a little playtime. They had one of the coolest toddler playgrounds I have ever seen, complete with a "mist zone" for cooling off.  It was awesome.  After the boys played hard, we walked over to the goose pond to feed the turtles.  At one point I counted 20 turtles around where we were, all fighting over the goldfish that Maddox and Isaac were taunting them with. :)  We saw a baby alligator in the pond, as well as 3 cottonmouth snakes... yikes!  Thankfully we were up on the boardwalk, so we were not close to any of these creatures.  But needless to say, they still made me quite nervous and we were watching our every step!

Yikes!!

Turtles :)

If you look closely, you can see the baby alligator towards the middle of the picture

Worn out from a full day of fun :)

I have to say, having a boy is so much fun... I love getting to do "boy" things with Maddox and I love that he loves sand and dirt.  He is such an explorer and I love this about him.  I am thankful that I get to take him to do such fun things during the week to help him learn about his world.  Love my kiddos! :)

Photo Shoot

This afternoon while we were waiting for Maddox to wake up from his nap, I had a little tummy-time photo session with Maclain...

I have to say she is the easiest little thing to get a smile out of. She sure is a sweet girl and melts our heart every day! :)

Jr. Museum

On Friday we met my friend Renee and her son Isaac at the Jr. Museum.  I have been hearing about it since we moved to Tallahassee, but since it is a good ways from our house, we had not been yet.  With the weather getting warmer and warmer, I figured it was a great time to go.  They have lots of animals, a really neat playground, and several other things we didn't get to do b/c we ran out of time.  We got in free with my friend's membership, but I am thinking we might get our own membership soon.  Maddox had a great time and zonked out on the way home.  I wish we had visited this place sooner!

Sharing his snack with Isaac

Sweet friends :)

All zonked out!

Success

Maddox's first day of Mother's Day Out was a success... hallelujah!  He woke up very excited about "cool" as he calls it and could not wait to go.  We packed his backpack and headed out the door a little before 9:00.  Those of you that know my child very well know that he is VERY clingy, so I was nervous about how it would go, but I knew that it would be good for him at the same time.  The poor thing thought all along that I was staying, too, so you can imagine the tears that flowed when I "handed him over" to his teacher.  I knew that he would calm right down a little while after I was out of sight and thankfully I was right.  I had to go right across the hall to fill out some paperwork and pay for his stay, and sure enough, by the time I left he was doing just fine.  Maclain and I ran some errands and enjoyed having some girl time together.  We went to Hobby Lobby to get some more supplies for Maddox's party, went shopping at Old Navy, checked out a consignment store, went to the fabric store, and before we knew it, it was time to go back and get Maddox.  The teacher brought him out to the pick up line and put him in the car for me.  She was very complimentary and said he talks very well for his age :).  She said once he got used to everything he played really well, although he continued to call my name over and over (he does this at home, too).  I really enjoyed my time away and I think he did too.  Yay for a sucessful first day! :)

Ready to go!

St. Patrick's Day hat that he made

First "Report Card" :)

Recent Happenings

Late yesterday afternoon we headed over to Winthrop Park to enjoy a little pizza with Maddox's friend Audrey on her 3rd birthday. Other than the fact that it rained a little while we were there, it was a perfect day.  I am so thankful that Maddox has made some wonderful friends here in Tallahassee that he can grow up with... it makes this momma happy to see him happy! :)

This morning we took our usual trip to the library for storytime.  Maclain rarely sleeps through it anymore and seemed to enjoy it a lot!

Earlier this week we strolled over to the park and had some fun while we waited for Daddy to get home...

Don't let this sweet face fool you... he is working on the art of perfecting his tantrum-throwing ability these days.  We have our work cut out for us, that's for sure.  Thank goodness for LONG naps or I am not sure if I would be making it! :)