Sweetness(Madeline's preschool best friend is peeking out in the back of this picture.)

Chicken Fried

Eric and I had the opportunity to join a couple of his oral surgeons and dentists to the Zac Brown concert! We had a blast ~ the music was awesome, the band put on a great show, the company was fun, and we had a last minute date night! Our seats were amazing!

Dr. C and his adorable wife, Jessica. He spearheaded the whole evening's festivities, and he even had those caps as party favors!It was really cool when all the lights went down, and the band played acoustic at the front of the stage. They were sitting on old crates, upside down oil drums, etc. This band puts on a great show for sure!Madeline loved our party favors!Eric and I are very appreciative of his doctors' generosity to invite us to do stuff like this! It was a FUN night!

Woo Hoo!

Guess who has been released from the orthopedic doc? Guess who can wear these orthopedic doc approved shoes to the GYM!?? Guess who has been given medical permission to run? ME! ME!!!

And guess where this stinky 'ol boot can go? Somewhere besides my foot that is for sure! I saw Dr. B for the last time today, I hope. He said, "Your x-ray looks awesome!" Music to my ears. So in true Anne fashion, I had my big bag of running/gym shoes from junky to brand new, and I dumped them on the exam table asking which pair(s) would be suitable for my new bones. He so kindly checked them all out for me, telling me why each was not going to work yet, and chose the New Balance mules for their stiff bottoms. BUT, I was given the freedom to do whatever I wanted at the gym while being smart about it! Hallelujah! He even said I was allowed to go for a brisk walk AND run a 12 minute mile if I wanted. All I wanted to be able to do was ride the elliptical. Woo hoo!! I'm back with a cautious vengeance. I'm focusing on the elliptical and my weight routine, and just maybe, perhaps trying to wear my high heels again! :) Just kidding! When I asked him about heels, he rolled his eyes, told me to be happy with my New Balance sneaks, and not worry about heels until much later this year!

Ahhh, one happy Gold's Gym Mama!

Three and a Half Plus SomeThis little stinker is halfway to FOUR years old! That seems so big to me, and I'm not sure why, but four years old seems like a big milestone age. Perhaps it's because she adores going to the doctor, and I know what the four year old checkup entails. Who knows, but our little Madeline is growing up to be such a BIG girl, and we couldn't be more proud of her.Madeline is a sweet, rule following fashionista! She is 210% girly girl. Her imaginary play is even girly -- fairies, role playing being a Mommy, taking care of her babies, cleaning house, getting haircuts and manicures, dressing up, playing in her kitchen, and dancing around. When Madeline interacts with others, especially adult females, the first thing she notices is what jewelry she might be wearing, painted nails and toenails, and her hairstyle. Promptly, Madeline will comment, usually over the top complimentary, about those items. For example, the young girl checking us out one afternoon simply had her hair pulled back into a braided ponytail, nothing super snazzy, but Madeline exclaims, "I just love your braid! I just love your ponytail." And of course, Madeline then noticed her earrings, bracelets, painted nails, etc., and proceeds to compliment the girl until we left the store. The young girl was beaming by the time we left. The cashiers at our grocery store love for us to come through the line because they know Madeline will make them feel like a million bucks with the lovely compliments. It's very charming and sweet but extremely genuine on Madeline's part.Madeline loves to be outside! She loves her bicycle, her swingset, and sandbox. Madeline enjoys running around playing ball and chase, but she will quickly tire of that and want to "bake" cookies in her sandbox or swing on the swingset. I don't think I'll ever find her climbing trees, but being outdoors in the sunshine makes her happy.Madeline adores school and everything about it. She loves her teachers, her friends, the "lessons" during circle time, snacktime, the playground, and being one of the helpers. Madeline has learned so much in school this year. She knows her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, her name, months, seasons, holidays, and letter sounds just to name a few. She astounded Eric and I one evening at dinner when out of the blue she said, "Buh, buh, buh. B is for bug. Mmm, mmm, mmm. M is for Madeline. M is for Mommy." and she went on and on with most of the letters. Who knew she knew letter sounds and words to match?! So lately, our conversation goes something along the lines of, "Mommy, I see ___. What does ___ start with?" She's obsessed! Preschool is AWESOME, and I really heart her teachers! Madeline continues to have a love affair with books. Fairy tales have become her most favorite books lately, and boy, some of them are long, but she will sit there, listen, for the most part comprehend, and enjoy. Be still my heart! Sidenote -- When I was a classroom teacher, I used to do a big fairy tale/fractured fairy tale unit, so I have many, many versions of fairy tales. It was one of my most favorite literature units to teach, and I absolutely love that Madeline shares my fairy tale passion right down the the movie Shrek which is one gigantic fractured fairy tale!

Madeline even writes her name:Her drawings have come a LONG way... there are defined parts, all the essentials: head, eyes, arms, legs, hair, BELLY BUTTONS, BRACELETS, EARRINGS, NECKLACE...hee hee...love it...Madeline is usually quite the doll baby, but she is three and a half, so life is not always rainbows and unicorns with her. She has her serious moments of temper tantrums, and boy, are those UGLY! Whew, if she threw one of those tantrums regularly, I would go crazy, but luckily for us, she only has one every so often just to keep us all in check with reality. They don't earn her a lot of attention around here, so she has a choice to go to the spare bedroom and tantrum or remain in the civilized world with us and play. She's not allowed out of the spare bedroom until the tantrum is completely over with, so she's learned rather quickly that if she gains control of herself quickly, then she can come be with us. Although sometimes, I think she just needs a screamfest, and it takes her awhile to gain control of her emotions. That's fine too, but we're not condoning that outlet for letting off steam. This system allows for us to remove her from the spotlight and let her know that tantrums are not acceptable in our household. We don't dwell on why she tantrums or the fact that she did it, but we just reinforce the fact that temper tantrums are not acceptable and you will be removed from our attention until it stops. For now it's working, and we hope this is a phase that shall pass.A very tolerant big sister to the pesky little menace we all know as Amelia:Madeline is a sweet natured little thing. She's mannerly, kind to her sister, and empathetic to her friends. She's a peacemaker and wants everyone to know that she loves them. I get many "I love you Mommy" throughout the day, and she's quick to offer up hugs and kisses especially when she notices that Amelia is trying my patience. Madeline loves her family unit! She gets especially excited on the weekends when Daddy "can play ALL day", and she loves when her Grandma & Grandpa come to babysit. If one is missing, she gets very upset wondering where the other one is. She absolutely loves her family and extended family. Luckily for us, everyone loves Madeline just as much. Madeline also loves our friends as our extended family. She enjoys a back porch BBQ just as much as the next guy, so she always up for a party like her Mama and Daddy! :)

Unfortunately, as part of Madeline's sweet natured personality is her willingness to be influenced by others. I know stuff happens at school or with friends in the neighborhood, and she hears & sees things, and then she decides to try them out for a test run here at the house with us. It doesn't bode well for her because we don't condone talking back, or being disrespectful to adults, or lacking manners, or interrupting, or any of those other unacceptable behaviors that she sees other children getting away with. It's frustrating, and Eric and I have tried to talk with Madeline about doing what she's been taught at home as opposed as to what she's seeing others do. We know it's a big concept at three, but Eric and I hope that eventually we can instill the value of leadership into Madeline. At this little age, I think her "follower" tendencies are our biggest concern. Her teachers sees those "following" qualities, but Madeline is quick to understand that when she follows the non-rule-following crowd, she's punished. Between school and home, I hope that we can work on this.

Madeline always looking out for Amelia's safety:

Madeline is our little bird...she eats nothing, but the girl has a sweet tooth like no other. Her "belly is full", but the girl has room for "a treat"! Her Grandma doesn't help this situation either. Anytime Grandma comes over, she has a treat for Madeline. Luckily for us, Grandma always tells Madeline it's "after you eat your dinner treat!" Mealtime is very trying, but slowly Madeline is learning the eat your dinner, then dessert rule. If Madeline could live on bagels with cream cheese, Cheez it double cheese snack mix, chips, milk, frozen Go-Gurts, carrots with ranch dip, and French fries, then her world would be perfect! Her favorite fast food is Arby's junior roast beef (no bun) and "orange french fries" (curly fries).

LOVING the chocolate, carmal, M&M covered pretzel Grandma brought over..."Where's Grandma, can I have more?"Almost 4 years old and just as sweet as sweet can be....Madeline Grace, we love you to pieces!

15 Months

Sweet Amelia, you are 15 months old, and my goodness, you are a HOT mess! We love you, your spunk, and your attitude, but we have our hands FULL with you! Everything you do is 150% --- sickness, health, play, laughter, & squeals!

Amelia has had quite a 15th month --- walking, teeth, and trying so very hard to communicate! Amelia continues to be a MESS! She's darling, but oh.my.goodness! She's into everything, and she can throw a tantrum like nobody's business! It appears that I have a very strong willed, opinionated little lady on my hands. Her teeth have been a total nightmare. Once again, in true Amelia fashion, she went from having just a few teeth to an almost full set in a month's time. I think the doctor said, "OH, my goodness, when did all of these teeth show up? She only has 4 more until 2 year molars!" Yep, that's how Amelia rolls -- all or nothing! :)

Amelia is showing us her very girly side, thanks to Big Sister! She has the "Stewart knack" to turn literally anything into a bracelet, and she has a definite affinity for Barbies, jewels, and doll babies, but having Madeline as your Big Sister pretty much guarantees some serious girly exposure to the world. Amelia loves to wear shoes, and she especially loves anyone else's shoes. Wonder where she learned that concept?Amelia ADORES her big sister, Madeline, and although she doesn't call Madeline anything yet, she gives the biggest smiles, giggles, and kisses to sweet Madeline. Madeline almost always reciprocates the love. It's a super sweet little relationship in the works. Amelia knows how to "work" Madeline, but Madeline can most certainly pull "I'm the Big Sister" rank when necessary. It's pretty funny to watch them "work out" their differences.

Amelia communicates well, but not really using actual speech. It's tricky for sure. She understands very well, but she can't always make her stance known! She actually says "thank you", "mama", "dada", and some garbled speech for "baby". She most definitely has the patented "NO!" head shake down & waves "hi" and "bye-bye", and she has really started to love the idea of blowing kisses! Unfortunately, she's a little behind in her speech, but we notice that she's just not as interested in knowing how to say words. Ironically, she loves books, but she's not actually interested in what the books say or what any of the animals are or what they say in the touchy books. It's a change from our little bookworm, Madeline, for sure. On a cuteness note, Amelia sees any animal, and she automatically "roars" because that what ALL animals do in her mind. So funny to watch her point at an innocent little bird and make this ferocious "roar" sound.

However, Amelia is far more aggressive when it comes to figuring things out. She wants to walk, run, and play to keep up with Madeline. She wants to use a toothbrush and eat with a spoon & fork like Madeline. She wants to climb, walk steps, run through the grass, ride bikes, and swing like Madeline. She wants to wear glasses like her Daddy - around her neck. She tosses her bow off every 2 seconds and forget shoes that have actual purpose!

Amelia is my eater. She LOVES food and mealtime. Her favorites have been green beans, carrots, applesauce, yogurt, any meat, any starch, strawberries, Granny Smith apples, eggs, cheese, any bad-for-you-snack, icy cold water, and milk. She also loves a Nutella sandwich or a peanut butter sandwich. When we are at a restaurant, of course, she eats her weight in french fries, but most likely, she'll eat her chicken or meat first. Her 15 month stats are what Madeline was at 18 months:

Amelia's 15 Month Stats:

weight - 24 lbs. 4 oz. (76%)

height - 31 inches (71%)

head - 45 cm (28%)

Amelia generally has an awesome schedule --- waking around 7-7:30 AM, napping about 1-4 PM, and bedtime no later than 7 PM. She requires nothing at bedtime & naptime! When she's ready for bed, she's ready. All she wants is her lovey and paci and her bed! She loves bathtime, but when she's had enough, she tries to climb out, and that's that. Amelia is very cut and dry when it comes to her routine, and there is no doubt what she wants at "key" times during the day.

Amelia may not say much, but she imitates like crazy. She "talks" on the phone, and she copies whatever Madeline is doing. It's hilarious! She so badly wants to do all the things big sister does like talk on the phone:Cheese for the camera:

Wear styling glasses:and wear glasses around her neck like Daddy!Amelia Claire, you are a MESS, but we adore you and all of your antics! Lots of smooches to you!

Still Ugly and Still Broken

Yep, I'm still in the boot 90% of the time, BUT I'm on the mend, I think! Dr. B was not super pleased with my most recent X-rays. The 3rd metatarsal is healing well. The 4th metatarsal that is broken closer to the toe joint is not healing as well. I'm sure having a 3 year old and and a 14 month old is not conducive to to a broken foot. But it looks better...
I'm able to work out more to my liking --- stationary bike hill programs and non-weight-bearing-weights-on-my-foot-type of weights. It's definitely not great, but it's not awful. I'm dealing with it and trying to take it day by day as I KNOW I need to let my foot heal, so I can be my normal crazy workout girl again.

I am still allowed to wear a shoe, but with the girls, my workouts, our day-to-day activities, and errands, I have gone back to wearing the boot most of the time. It's safer, easier, and stabilizes the bones better.

Bummer, two months of healing and at least one more to go. Hopefully, by April I'll be pain free, mostly mended, and able to toss the stinky boot out the back door! :)