New York, New York

Right about a month ago, Aaron and I went to New York City to visit Quinn and Lindsey.  We left Madelyn at home with Mellie and Granddad, as she would not have been an asset for the trip.  Chasing a 1 year old around NYC does not sound fun, and we didn't want to go the stroller route again... it is not easy to maneuver a stroller around the city!  We had a great time, the weather was good until it started raining on Sunday. 

When Aaron and I got there on Friday, we went to eat at Shake Shack and do a little shopping at H and M while we waited for Quinn to get off work.  Once Quinn got home, we met him at their apartment and then went to eat dinner at Clinton Street Bakery and Lindsey met us there because it is right by her office.

The boys at dinner

After dinner we went to Eataly - a Mario Batali marketplace filled with different restaurants and a roof top bar.  It was a really neat, and CROWDED place!

The girls having drinks

On Saturday we started off with some shopping and visiting Rockefeller Center.

We then headed to see the Empire State Building.

Then we had lunch at a pub near the Empire State Building called Rattle and Hum.  One of my coworkers suggested it and it was very good!  I would highly recommend it if you like fish and chips, reubens or shepherd's pies!

We walked through Central Park after lunch, had Mister Softee ice cream, and then took naps before heading out to dinner.

We wanted pizza for dinner, and our original plan, Patsy's Pizzeria, ended up being closed for renovations, so we all searched on our phones and found somewhere near where we were.  Quinn and I were skeptical at first, as they didn't have regular pepperoni pizza on their menu...turns out they can still make it, so we all ate pepperoni pizza for dinner.  Quinn's BFF, Trey/Cecil, also joined us.  After dinner we chased down ANOTHER Mister Softee truck, because, yes, it is just THAT good!!

On Sunday it was raining, so we went to The Met and then to see Wicked!  Wicked was fantastic and I can't wait to see it again when it comes to Houston next summer!  We didn't get too soaking wet, but I was definitely glad I pulled out some winter boots to take a long with me. 

The Met

We needed Starbucks to warm us up because it was soooo cold!

Me in my ankle boots and skinny capris... I felt so New Yorker... haha

We ate dinner at The Smith and then hung out in Quinn and Lindsey's apartment.  On Monday, Aaron and I left to come back to our little Princess who was spoiled rotten I'm sure, by my parents.  We had a great trip and hope to go back again before Quinn and Lindsey move back to Texas!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hopefully I'll keep this blogging thing up, so that I can remember all of the cute and funny things Madelyn does.  As I am typing this, I can hear her on the monitor just blabbing away to herself in her crib.  It is so funny because we put her down around 7:30 every night, and she will lay in her crib and talk to herself for almost 30 minutes some nights.  She is completely content, just talks and crawls around, sometimes stands up...it's like she just needs her alone time every night.  

We had a wonderful weekend at home with virtually no plans.  We stayed home on Friday night and went to the park after dinner to let Madelyn play.

Madelyn loves Mac and Cheese

Walking at the park with Daddy

On Saturday, we washed the car inside and out, and Madelyn played with her new water table.  She really seemed to like it, and she took a nice long nap afterwards.  

Aaron and I went to Vic & Anthony's for dinner last night to use the gift card that Madelyn and I gave him for his birthday.  Abeulita and Grandpa came to babysit Madelyn.  Dinner was delicious and we had a great date night out!

We went to church today, played this afternoon, did chores and went on a walk tonight.  It was a great weekend, and we are looking forward to Mellie & Granddad coming next weekend for Memorial Day!

March & April Summary

March and April were EXTREMELY busy months for us.  Here are the highlights:

March 3 - Professional Family Pictures

March 4 - Wedding Brunch for Andrew and Holly - forgot to take pictures

March 7 - M gets tubes

March 10 - M's 1st Birthday Party #1

March 10 - Cassie's Baby Shower for Aubrey

March 16 - Madelyn turns 1 year!

March 17 - M's 1st Birthday Party #2

March 17 - Brad Paisley at the Houston Rodeo w/ Juergens

March 23-25 - New Orleans for Andrew and Holly's Wedding

March 30-April 1 - Huebner Ranch Trip - Aaron went, E and M stayed home sick

(M is glad Daddy is back home!)

April 6-8 - E and M go to DFW for Easter Weekend

April 10-12 - E goes on work trip and Mellie comes to babysit

(Eating crackers w/ Mellie at the Botanical Gardens)

My work trip 

April 20-23 - A and E go to NYC to visit Quinn and Lindsey - will do a separate post

Madelyn's 1st Birthday Parties!

Yes, I said "parties", as in plural, in the title.  Seeing as how my family and half of our friends live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Aaron's family and the other half of our friends live in Houston, it only seemed right to have a birthday in each city!  The theme for Madelyn's parties was an owl theme.  Owls are so hot right now.  And I just love the colors all together.

We had party #1 at my parents' house on March 10.  We brought in BBQ for dinner, and my mom made yummy strawberry and chocolate cupcakes.  It was all delicious!  M wasn't too sure about her cupcake, and didn't really seem to care too much for it.  As you can see, she really didn't make that much of a mess.  After dessert, we opened presents and then it was time for her to go to bed!  Thank you everyone who came - Mellie & Granddad, Melinda, The Ezells, and The Ashfords.  (We missed Uncle Quinn and Aunt Lindsey in NYC)

Birthday party #2 was at our house on March 17.  It was a lunch party, in between nap times for M, and she was actually still sleeping when everyone arrived and woke up overwhelmed by all of the people waiting for her!  She was actually sick with pink eye for this party, so she wasn't quite herself, and once again, didn't care much for the cupcake.  We got a sandwich tray from HEB (delicious!), veggie tray, chips and dip, and my wonderful friend Penny, make strawberry and funfetti cupcakes!  Once again, yummy dessert!  We had a great time with everyone - Abuelita & Grandpa, Uncle Andrew & Aunt Meg, The K Ladwigs, Abuela, Aunt Alva, The Bruces and The Juergens...I think that was everyone. 

  

Overall, I think M had a great set of 1st Birthday Parties that she won't remember!  haha

1 Year!

Madelyn, you are 1 Year old today!  I can hardly believe it!  The time has just flown by.  You took your first couple steps on your 1st Birthday!  You also have pink eye on your birthday, but that meant Mommy got to stay home with you and play! 

You are still cruising, and it looks like it will take a while for you to fully start walking, but you love to walk with your stroller.  It is just too cute!  As for toys, you will pretty much play with anything and everything, not necessarily actual toys.  You still love the iphones and now like to play in the kitchen cabinets, so we will be making you your own tupperware cabinet to play in with plastic only.  You still talk all the time, but just mama and dada, and you definitely know which is which. 

You sleep from 7:30 pm - 7:00 am - you are a great sleeper!  Most of the time you still take a morning nap, but it is normally less than an hour, and you take a little longer one in the afternoon.  I think you are up to 3 teeth at this point, with more looking to pop through any day now.  You are getting a little better at eating, and eat more table food now.  Favorites: string cheese, yogurt, grilled cheese, mac and cheese (do you see a pattern??) ravioli, apple and sweet potato pouches, pear and squash pouches.  Oh and Mellie has now got you started on saltine crackers, which you love!  We give you about 24 oz of milk per day.  You still use the bottle at night and in the morning, but use a sippy cup during the day. 

You had tubes put in your ears on March 7, and we haven't had any ear infections since then!  Yay!  In the past month, we went to DFW for birthday party #1, and you spent the night at Abuelita and Grandpa's house one Saturday night.  We will have your birthday party #2 at our house on the 17th. 

You have been so fun this past month, and love to move around, but still like Mommy and Daddy to care you around.  You get so much satisfaction when I pick you up and carry you around. You are still a Mommy's girl, but obviously love your Daddy tons.  You have learned how to throw temper tantrums though, when you don't get your way...I have no idea where you get that from.  haha You also love Fred and Sammie, and Fred is nice and lets you play with his collar, but Sammie is skittish and runs away.  We can't believe how adorable you are, and we are so thankful to God for you!  We love you!

1 Year Stats:

Height: 29" (51st percentile)

Weight: 21 lb. 8 oz. (60th percentile)

Clothes: 12 months, 12-18 months

Diapers: Size 4