Boston Temple Trip

Brian, Madison, Abby, and I all went to the temple on Friday. It was a good experience and long overdue. It's amazing the power the temple has to calm, bring peace, and renew. It was just what we needed. The kids were troopers and it provided a good teaching opportunity for Madison.

I love the tongue!


I love how Madison looks like she is about to save Abby. She was very concerned for Abby since there was a drop off.

Boston Temple Trip

Dress up and Daddy Daughters time!

Brian took the girls to a huge playground while I was at a women's conference in Concord. They had a good time!



Madison playing dress up! I just love the sparkly thing around Madison's chest. She calls it her Bra...we got them for free and I just dumped the garbage bag out without looking through it first so I couldn't take it away after she saw it. We will have to work on hiding it and hope she forgets about it.

You said what?

Me: "Don't spill your juice ok?"
Madison: "Accidents happen. But that's ok momma."
Me: "Yes Madison, you're right. Accidents do happen."
Madison: "We drink it in our mouths, not on the floor."

Last night in the tub.
Me: "I love you."
Madison: "I love you too."
Me: "I love you most."
Madison: "I love you all the way to the moon AND back." (from the book "Guess how much I love you?")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmxTrZrKg8 (You can hear someone read the book on You tube)

Me: "Why did you hit mom?"
Madison: "I hit mom and that doesn't make Jesus happy.:
Me: "How does it make you feel?"
Madison: "It doesn't make me feel good inside does it?"
Me: "No."
Madison: "It doens't make Mommy, Daddy, Abby happy."

We then had a prayer where Madison asked for forgiveness and blessed the entire human race while she was at it. It was cute and touching.

Madison trying to speak English...

"I'm trying to see you eat me over my plate."
Translation "I'm trying to let you see me eat over my plate."

Madison was so excited for an Easter Egg hunt. We planned to go to one, but they moved it on us at the last minute and so we missed it. No worries, we just got together with some friends and had a hunt in their back yard. Madison was so excited for the Easter bunny to come ("just like in my book" she would say). She kept saying, "We need to see the Easter bunny. When we had finished finding all the eggs she said, "We need to go so the Easter bunny can come back and hide more eggs." She had to look in each egg before she would put it in her basket. She had to make sure there was candy in it:-)


Abby didn't want to leave the bike...we had to convince her. Once she knew there was candy in the eggs, she kept going around to different people taking eggs and having them open them. She loved the jelly beans.

Dying Easter Eggs!

Madison had her friend over and they had a blast dying Easter eggs. Madison kept dipping them in different colors and had a purple, red, yellow, orange hand after it was all said and done. She loved it! Holidays are so much more fun since Madison turned two and understands them.

Easter!!!

Thanks to Tamara we had a wonderful Easter morning on Saturday. Madison and Abby loved their baskets you sent them as you can see. It was so fun for them both. Abby carried her bunny around, then played with the balloons, and Madison is serenading something from her basket as we speak.

Madison's dance moves

Madison dresses herself!

I decided I should start taking pictures...my days of dressing Madison officially over:-) She does a pretty good job wouldn't you say?




Notice the two different socks...they are Abby's socks too!

Madison's take on the Resurrection...

"um, am I really allowed to eat this? It seems pretty sweet to me:-)"


She loved the candle and kept trying to touch it when it was lit:-)

Abby Turns ONE!!!

She was trying to blow out the candle as Madison had done and then we tried to get it on video. At the end she is trying to blow out the candle...she is spitting:-)

Madison pretending with Abby...water anyone?

Dr. Madison

Most kids play doctor and just wing it. Madison on the other hand follows the correct order of how to assess a patient:
Since Brian is about to go and take a test in Philadelphia where he will have 12 mock patients all acting out an ailment, he has to practice and has been using me as the mock patient. Madison is awake sometimes and has seen Brian do these 3 or 4 times. She sits on the bed and observes. Little did we know how well she was observing until last night when she wanted to play doctor. First I will tell you how Brian does his visits. He knocks on the door and comes in with his paper on a clipboard, pen in hand, and stethoscope around his neck. He comes in and introduces himself saying, “Hello Mrs. ___________ I am Dr. Evans and will be your doctor today.” He then goes on to ask what brings me in today and then asks a list of questions as he tries to figure out what is wrong with me. He then asks if he can do a physical exam where he will listen to my heart, lungs (and say breath in deep, again, again, again, as he moves the stethoscope), he then will palpate my stomach or anywhere else that I have a complaint with. And then give me the diagnosis or things it could be and then shakes my hand and leaves.
Madison last night brought in a piece of paper, a pink highlighter, and had her stethoscope around her neck. This is how the encounter went:
M: “Hi, I am the Doctor, and you are Dr. Groff (her pediatrician). Where does it hurt?”
S: “I have a bad pain in my stomach.”
M: “Oh, so, do you have pressure?”
S: “Yes, in my stomach.”
M: “oh, so, do you have limocomoted (some made up word)?”
S: “no.”
M: “Do you have kandostofer?”
S: “Yes, but only when I breathe.”
M: “Ok, well I need to check your heart.”
S: “Ok”
M: Places stethoscope on my heart…I begin to breath deep thinking that she doesn’t know that the breathing part is when she is checking my lungs on my back. She says, “Stay still.” She then proceeded to make me sit up where she checks my lungs and says, “Take a deep breath.” Repositions the stethoscope and says, “again, again, again.” She then has me lay down again and listens to my stomach and tells me to say “E” (just like Brian does). It was so cute. She then placed the stethoscope back around her neck and with paper in hand she wrote some notes and then gave me my diagnosis. My problem was too much pressure. When Madison did it with Brian she diagnosed him with pinches and gave him some pills to get better. It was really cute!

I was then the doctor and got to ask her some questions. These were some of the questions and some of the answers. This is her train of thought as I wrote it down in my notes I was taking as I was examining her.
Where are you hurting?: I hurting on my foot cause there’s an owee on my foot.
Any other complaints?: I have much pressure.
Where?: on my belly
Do you know why you have much pressure on your belly?: I drink much milk in my mouth and I drink much water in my mouth too.
What medicine do you take for this?: big pressures
Where is the pressure?: Right here (points to upper quadrant of stomach)
Do you have diarrhea?: yes
Chills?: yes
Fever?: yes
Do you have children?: I have lots of children
How many?: I have one, two , three, four, five. One fell and was sick and went to the hospibal. I had to go to hospibal too.
What brought you into the hospital?: Daddy. It was just one kid. When I fall down the stairs I have headache?
At this point she told me to hurry up.
What do you take for the headaches?: moon pressure in the morning when I wake up.
I then gave her my diagnosis and then said goodbye. She then went on to make her baby better by doing the exam to her baby☺
I love how she always says that daddy is going to make people better at the hospibal (that is how she says it). She really believes that and that Brian can make anything better. I hope that is always true☺

Abby sporting the hat and our Bird Feeder!

There was a blue Jay on the ground this morning, but when I opened the window Madison and Abby talked and scared him away:-) We were able to catch the black and white finch on it later though.

This is the hat I crocheted! Abby makes it so much cuter!

Bird Watching!!!!

Today Abby is officially 1 year old!!!! We were watching the birds eat at the bird feeder and I thought I would jump outside the window and take some pictures...isn't she cute?

Abby Turns One!

Abby one year (almost)

Abby 10 mo.

Abby 6.5 mo.

Abby 5.5 mo.

Abby at 4 mo.

Newborn
Tomorrow is the big day, but I may not get a break then so I thought I would type my thoughts and feelings now while the girls are napping. I waited so long for Madison to turn one and when she did I thought she was so grown up...now that Abby is turning one I feel as though time has been fast forwarded and that she is still my little baby. Every time she would hit a mile marker I would think, "she is so advanced, Madison didn't do that until...oh, that is when Madison did that." Some things that I love most about Abby are she loves to smile and when she does her dimples show on both sides. She laughs spontaneously and loves to entertain. She loves her big sister and calls her 'na na' as far as I can tell. She loves to cuddle, be held, hug, give kisses, say 'no', eat!, walk, drink from a sippee cup, and be outside (she heads straight for the door the second it's opened and throws a fit when she can't go outside). I love her laugh and the joy she brings when she lays her head on our chest while laying down. We have had a great year with Abigail and hope to have many more fun and exciting years in the future.

My first Fondant Cake!

I had a migraine last Sunday and took Excedrin for the first time at 4 pm and couldn't go to bed until 1 am due to the caffeine. It knocked my migraine out, but failed to knock me out. So, I was killing time on the computer since Brian went to bed at 10pm (I must note that this is the first time in our marriage that I have gone to bed three hours later than Brian!), when I had this brilliant idea to make a fondant cake for Abby's birthday. I found a recipe and even a video on how to do it on you tube! I was so excited. I got the supplies throughout the week and made the cake today! I prayed the entire time I was making it. It's scary to make something based on you tube:-) Well, it turned out and should taste good. The fondant is made of powdered sugar and marshmallows...YUM!

Madison's Birthday dress-up dress:-)

I have been trying to hold out, but I don't think Madison will get it even if she does see it on the blog:-) I may have to delete it after a few days:-) I tried to follow a pattern for my first time and I didn't have my mom around. It turned out great considering the machine I was using (It was my adult friends' grandmothers:-) It's green, need I say more?), and the fact that the only thing I have sewn from a pattern was a frog when I was 8! It didn't look anything like the pattern picture that is for sure...I wish I took a picture of my frog:-) I enjoy sewing when I have the time to finish a project. I spent hours on this...just don't look too close to the seems...I like to blame it on the machine!