24 June 2013

{Our Week} - 6/17/13 - 6/23/13



 Madden cut 2 new teeth this week!  For the longest time he's just had the two front bottom teeth and then some molars way back there - but he finally got a few more teeth to balance it out :)  My favorite thing he started doing this week was answering questions.  If I ask him a question like "Did Mariah go upstairs?" he looks at me and goes "mm hmm!".

We also had a little neighborhood cook out this week.  Madden sat at the kid table and ate his food off the plate with a spoon all by himself!  My little baby is growing up before our eyes!









Mariah is getting to be quite the artist.  She was drawing one morning before going to day care and I asked her what she was making - she said "A TURTLE" and then showed me her picture.  I must say that I was pretty impressed, I mean is that a turtle or what? :)


I also love lately when we drop Mariah off at day care she likes to give a million hugs and kisses.  Then she waves and says "See you in a lib-a-dit!" (little bit) :)







Mike and I had a BUSY week/weekend - it's our 4th year as directors on the Quad City Air Show committee.  Being responsible for the admissions, gates and parking is quite the undertaking - but I must say its an honor to be a part of it all and it's the least we can do for my parents who have done SO much for us :)  The weekend went well and we had a great time - although to say that we are exhausted would be an understatement. ;)






Mariah has been extending her bath time as long as she can lately.  One time this week when we were begging her to get out of the tub she responded:

"I need a couple more minutes!  I'm making chocolate chip cookies!"

As she proceeded to pour water from one cup to another.

Is this a sign that I bake too much?  Maybe? ;)



2013 QUAD CITY AIR SHOW!

The air show weekend is always a memorable one.  It's great to see so many friends and family members, watch the incredible performances and be a part of such a wonderful event which my parents truly put their heart and soul into.

The weekend kicked off with a party Friday evening where the directors, performers and sponsors of the air show were honored and recognized.  Mariah and Madden enjoyed the good food and the fun toys (aka a pay phone in the lobby...ha).




The weekend continued with two great air show days Saturday and Sunday.  Even with the sequester canceling all military acts, the show was beyond fantastic!  One would expect nothing less :)






OUR GARDEN....
 is getting out of control!  Who knew broccoli would get SO big SO fast!

It's exciting to see it all grow - but definitely noting next year to space those plants out more (even if they look super tiny and spread out in the beginning! ;)




17 June 2013

{Our Week} - 6/10/13 - 6/16/13



Madden hit the big 18 MONTH mark this week and is continuing to grow his vocabulary more and more!  He’s at the point in development where he’s making connections and communicates everything he’s doing.  For example, he picks up a ball and says “BALL”, then goes into the other room and picks up his sippy cup and says “WATER”, the walks over to the window and says “OUTSIDE”.  I totally remember Mariah in this stage – so fun to see them learning!!
Madden is also into books lately – which is GREAT!  For a while we were having a tough time getting him to sit still long enough to read a page or two, but now he happily sits there and participates.  His favorite books right now are Grandma & Me (Karen Katz), Grandpa & Me (Karen Katz) and Llama Llama Red Pajama (Anna Dewdney).  We have SO much fun reading together!

Mariah is quite the swimmer!  With the second week of swimming lessons under her belt she is really starting to catch on.  She’s getting comfortable with putting her head under water which is always a big thing to conquer.  She also has a pretty mean kick!

One day this week Mariah came home from day care and insisted she HAD to have a hula hoop - and let me tell you she has some pretty mad hula hoop skills (well, she's for SURE better at it than me :)
In other news, she is getting really good at drawing shapes and recognizing letters.  For example, I she had a grilled cheese for lunch one day and I cut it diagonal – she commented that it made a two triangles!  And then she put them together and said it’s a square!  She’s such a smart girl and is growing up so fast.  It’s hard to believe that she starts preschool here in just a couple months!  She’s SO ready though !

Happy Father’s Day to Mike!  I definitely don’t tell him this enough, but he is a wonderful father!  Mike would do anything for Mariah and Madden (almost to a fault, because I end up being the “mean” one laying down the rules while Mike gets to be the “fun” one ).  Really though, he’s there every step of the way and I couldn’t be more thankful that he’s so involved.  Whether it’s changing a diaper, making dinner, or playing – he does it all!  Although I wouldn’t have considered his father’s day very “relaxing” for him I can ensure you we had fun as a family!

Things are really starting to take off on my etsy shop!  I am slowing growing my inventory and have decided to change my focus to a PRINTABLE market – that is, you receive the file fully customized and can print it yourself at home, kinkos, walgreens, walmart, etc.  I think people are really into this so they aren’t limited to a quantity but can still get that personalized look!  Please keep HoneyBeanDesigns in mind for your next event – we do 100% custom orders  + printing as well if you’d rather not print yourself :)

Changing it up this week to Funny Words from Madden :)
Madden singing Happy Birthday in honor of his HALF birthday


Another busy summer weekend around these parts!  I couldn’t limit it to just one activity since our weekend seemed to be one thing right after the other.  I was also not so good at taking pictures – but that’s because I was busy enjoying the moments!



We started Saturday off with swimming lessons and then out to the airport to see how things are moving along in preparation for the Quad City Air Show this next weekend.

Then, it was off to Iowa City for a little family reunion with the Wilsons (my mom’s side).  We had fun catching up with family whom we don’t get to see too often due to geographical limitations.  Mariah and Madden even got to meet a new cousin Charlotte (daughter of my cousin and his wife) who recently turned one!  She’s beyond adorable and definitely a busy girl with places to go and things to do!


 Sunday we celebrated DAD’s day!  Started out with homemade breakfast burritos with Grammie & Grampi and then off to run some errands.  We finished the afternoon off at Splash Landing where the kids had a blast!  And then to a Father’s day dinner with the family.


 Mariah was EXTRA excited because Grampi got her a new tricycle to ride whenever she visits!  Mariah had a blast racing all of us down the driveway (while Madden wandered around and also attempted to eat a pine cone – nothing new around here!).




It sure was a busy weekend – but a great one none-the-less!




Until next week! :)

10 June 2013

{Our Week} - 6/3/13 - 6/9/13



Madden is all boy.  Everyone told me that boys will climb on EVERYTHING, but it seemed like Madden was pretty laid back.  Until recently.  Madden has turned into a little daredevil!  His favorite thing to do lately is crawl up onto the back of the couch and sit there laughing! He makes me so nervous but he thinks its hilarious!  Oh gosh, I wonder what’s next?!
My favorite word from him this week is “poppy” (ice pop).










I’m pretty sure Mariah is what you call a tomboy – and I’m totally OK with that.  Trying to get that girl to wear a dress is almost as hard as keeping the toy room clean and organized. J  And if she could play in the dirt all day I’m sure she would.  Maybe that goes for all kids, though?  She is definitely not grossed out by bugs (which is odd given the “funny words from Mariah” section below…).












I couldn’t be more proud of Mike – this week he received a much deserved promotion at work.  He is always successful with everything he does, but that is only because of his extremely hard work ethic and dedication.  We are so proud of him! :)













I ran my first 5k this weekend at the Race for the Cure.  It was a great experience!  I set a goal of 8 minute miles and clocked in at 8:03 miles.  I was very happy with that!  It was a gorgeous day for a race and so amazing to hear the stories of the breast cancer survivors.  What a wonderful organization and a great event!








Mariah: “Mom, did you know that I’m allergic to bugs?”
Me: “Oh you are?  I didn’t know that”
Mariah: “Ya – I’m allergic to bees.   And bugs make me sneeze.”

(Not even sure where she comes up with this stuff.  She hasn’t been stung by a bee before so we have no idea if she’s allergic – she must have heard it from someone! :p)


Swimming Lessons!

We enrolled the kids in their first ever swimming lessons which started on Saturday.
Madden is in the SHRIMP class – a parent-tot class for ages 6 months to 2 years.  We had so much fun singing songs, kicking our feet, splashing and even small jumps from the pool edge.  Madden did great and LOVED being in the water!




Mariah is in the PERCH class – also a parent-tot class for ages 2-4.  Mike took Mariah to her class and they had a blast!  Mariah had no problem following instructions and swimming around like a little fish!



We love the program at the YMCA so far!  It’s so good to get the kids exposed to the water.  I realize they won’t be swimming laps after this round of lessons, but getting them comfortable in the water is all we are trying for. 




Practicing his front float skills :)

03 June 2013

{Our Week} - 5/27/13 - 6/2/13

Wow!  How is is June already?  I know I say this ALL the time, but time is flying.  And speaking of flying - the Quad City Air Show is less than 3 weeks away!  Will be here before we know it!  Check out the details here :)





Madden was a tad bit on the grumpy side this week (not that you can tell from his picture, though!).  Why is it that I always forget about those darn teeth?  It took us a good couple days to figure out why he was grumpier than normal - and by then we could already see that tooth popping through!

In other news - Madden LOVES cereal.  So much so that its usually the first thing he says in the morning.  When I walk into his room her looks at me and demands "CEREALLL".  Pronounces it clear as day.  It's so funny. :)








Mariah mastered some bike skills this week.  Not only did she learn how to properly use the brakes, but she can even pedal up hills like a champ!  This girl wants to do it all herself :)  It's fun to see how excited she gets when she conquers something new.  She must have rode a few miles on her bike this weekend.

Oh, and we totally let her ride her bike inside sometimes when its raining.  And we even let Madden ride on the back (with supervision and slow speeds!).






Speaking of bikes - it's fair to say that Mike has a biking addiction!  He logged over 100 miles this week!  Remember how I mentioned that Mike doesn't "dabble" in stuff?  Go big or go home!

I started a new challenge this week - my goal is to run 20 miles a week.  That way I can decide if I'd rather do it via short runs every day, a few long runs throughout the week, or some combination of the two.  I tend to struggle when I'm not hard-core training for something, so I think this will help push me to get out there!  Plus, I need to get ready for the Bix!



We went for a walk around our neighborhood on Friday evening and a lady was out walking her dog on the other side of the street.

We were enjoying our walk and minding our own business when Mariah yelled:

"Hey Lady!  I like your dog!!!"

Then proceeded to start crossing the street to go say hi to the dog (don't worry, we helped her to look for cars and cross the street safely).

Maybe you had to be there - but Mike and I thought it was SO funny.  This little three year old is NOT shy and has no problem striking up a conversation with a complete stranger. :)




The Park (Again!)

I think its safe to say the weekend is not complete without a visit to the park!

On top of trying to do a little cleaning and organizing around the house (YAY for cleaning closets and taking bags of stuff to the consignment store!) we definitely had to squeeze in a little bit of play time in the gorgeous Saturday sun!

Trying to look all serious!

Having a blast!

Not following slide etiquette by walking up it :)

Fast slide!

Afterwards the kids passed out in the car :)



Two favorites this week :)

One for each kid of course.

Madden riding on Grampi's lawn mower

Mariah eating oatmeal on the porch Saturday morning :)