Tubes

Maddie had ear tubes put in today.  After 6 or 7 ear infections in 10 months, Dr. Burns suggested we get a consult.  We went to see Dr. Werle and he said that there was fluid on her ears - which I've never known there not to be.  So, we had the surgery today and Maddie was such a trooper!  We woke up at 5:15 and headed to Plano to the Pediatric Surgery Center.  We arrived at 6AM at the surgery center, by 6:15 we were in the pre-op area, and around 7:05 we handed our baby to a nurse and they took her back.  She was fussy while we waiting for her to go back, but I think that was due to the fact she hadn't eaten anything since 7pm the night before!  But when I handed her to the nurse, she just smiled like they were going somewhere fun.  Literally 10 minutes after we sat down in the waiting room, Dr. Werle came out to let us know everything went as planned.  And 5 minutes later we were holding Maddie as she woke up.  She was disoriented and fussy at first, but nothing a bottle of apple juice couldn't fix!  And it was her first juice ever - so a great treat for her!  She drank about 3 oz in recovery, her vitals looked great, and she seemed happy.  So after about 15 minutes in recovery they sent us home.  I rode in the backseat with her on the way home and she managed to chug the other 5oz of juice pretty quickly.  We were back at our house - after fighting tollway traffic at 8AM - by 8:30.  Maddie took a 3 hour nap, woke up, ate normal, played, took another 2 hour nap, played and ate more, and is back in bed now.  What an amazing little girl!

Hanging out before surgery

She liked the toys they had to entertain her and wanted to climb all over the bed.

The car ride home after surgery - enjoying her apple juice

Early Birthday for Two!

October means birthdays in the Halpin house.  I realize it is still September, but we decided to go ahead and buy a little early!  We knew we 'd eventually make this purchase, but never could decide the right time.  We decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and just do it.  We figured having it now means years of use and fun!  Check out our new playset!

Fun at the Zoo!!!

We went to the zoo today with Wendy, Collin, Graham, JulieAnn, Rett, and Ellie. We had a lot of fun checking out Giants of the Savannah. The boys ran around like they were animals at the zoo, had a great time, and I think were all exhausted when we left! Maddie was a trooper, hung out in the stroller a lot, really liked the big cheetah when she saw it, and just took in her surroundings. It started pouring down rain right as we were about to leave, so we loaded the kids up in the strollers and ran through the zoo in the rain. A sight to see, I am sure of it!

Why do we even buy toys?

The dog box is more fun!!!

And finally, a good picture of the munchkins together!

Skinny Jeans

...I'd wear them more often if I looked this cute!

Crafty

I've been on a crafty kick lately. Here is my latest project - inspired by a very talented person on etsy. I'm excited about how it turned out and gets me excited about Halloween!

Maddie is 11 Months Old

Really? How is it that this is the last month milestone before her first birthday? What an amazing, happy, challenging, and fulfilling 11 months it has been! Maddie is a ray of sunshine in our lives. She is very sweet, is so cuddly and easy to love on (when she'll sit still, which is less lately), has a great laugh, and a sweet smile. This month has brought 3 more teeth and one that is so close to be in, it'll probably be in tomorrow morning. She has been really good through teething. Only a couple fussy days. She loves to watch her big brother and is now trying to do all the things he does. She is crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, and cruising around furniture and really anything she can hold on to. It is amazing how fast it happens - when she figures it out it seems to be mastered within a couple days. She is climbing on small things and loves to crawl up to us and pull up on our legs. Then she proceeds to balance on us with her belly and puts her arms up to be held. :) She is babbling a lot and says "Hi" and waves all the time. She also says Da, Da, Da directed at Chris. She LOVES her daddy.

Maddie weighs 19.5 lbs (unofficial weight on our scale), wears size 3 diapers, size 12 month clothes, and we just learned is a size 3 shoe. She's not a fan of shoes, yet. It'll come - she's related to me! She doesn't like wearing dresses or skirts because it makes crawling more difficult. But she will wear hair bows and has enough CURLY hair on her head to hold them in! I'm loving making cute ones to match outfits!

Here are a few pictures of our baby girl!

Having fun at Kate's birthday party at The Little Gym

Having a ball at Amy and Joe's house while we watched/listened to college football.

"Look Mom, NO HANDS!"

Cruising around the living room. You can often find her in her brother's chair.

Our 11 Month Photo Shoot

Love how this looks like an old photo.

She tried to get away more than she sat still!

We are looking forward to the next month of fun and the big birthday celebration! We are so blessed to have this sweet baby in our lives!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for both Will and Maddie. They both have a drop off time of 9AM, so for the first day Chris took Will to school and I took Maddie. Starting next week I'll drop off both kids on Wednesday...one may be a tad bit late. :) Will is going Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Mondays and Fridays he is there from 9 to 12 and on Wednesday from 9 to 2. Maddie is going on Wednesdays and is there from 9 to 2:30. Drop off for both kids was very easy this morning. Chris said Will ran right into class and started playing with playdoh. Maddie and I went into her class and sat down and played for a minute. She was happy when I left her. Both had good report outs for day 1 and I hope that continues. I also hope that Maddie loves school as much as her big brother does! He really thrives in the school environment and enjoys it so much!

And what does mom do while the kids are at school? Lots of errands! Today was a fun day - I got my first sewing machine. I have no idea how to use it yet, but I will! I'm so excited. I also got new tires for my car - way past due. And the rain just reinforced I needed them so I did it while I could sit in the quiet waiting room and not bother every other person with two crazy kids!

Here are a couple pictures we took before heading out this morning.

Best I could get together...

Big boy is ready to go!

Sweet girl and her new bag

Oooo....I like this!

Silly boy playing before we left.

What a difference a year makes

Will and Claire at Meet the Teacher yesterday...

And a year ago...
How fast they grow. I love these sweet kids!

Fire Station Fun!

We visited a local fire station with some of our friends for a tour. It was SO MUCH FUN! We've been on a tour before that was fun, but this one was really exceptional. We were there for about an hour, the fire fighters showed us the entire station, let the kids spray the water hoses off the trucks, drive the truck, the slid down the pole and then offered the mama's the chance to do the same - go Jenny and Wendy for taking them up on the offer! There were two emergency calls while we were there. The kids liked seeing the lights and the ambulance and fire engine leave the station. They were really nice and seemed more than happy to have us there! Thanks Station 11! You guys are the best!