Earth Day Celebrations

We are trying our best to become more and more "green." Brad has always been a big aluminum can recycler, and last year we switched out all our lightbulbs for energy-efficient florescent bulbs. This year we have starting recycling our plastics, tin cans and glass containers, and it's amazing how much we throw away in our society...the amount of trash our single family produces is crazy!!! Our next goal is to recycle our paper goods and start bringing our own bags to the stores...hopefully we'll get there soon.Here is a picture of Madelyn before MDO on Earth Day...she is talking to her dad on the phone...Earth Day Celebration! We went to an awesome earth day and arbor day party yesterday....the kids had a blast and learned some important lessons concerning the environment and trash. We even made our own pots and planted some tomatoes!!!

Discovery Green

On Sunday we decided to check out the new "Discovery Green" park downtown....what an awesome place that is!!! We met some good friends there and just took the day slowly...soaking up the live entertainment, people watching, and sun.... picnicing is one of our favorite things to do, and this place is definitely one of our new favorites!
Brad had the wonderful idea to bring the bubble machine....it turned out to be a big hit!
It had been a while since Madelyn was able to spend time with her sidekick Jacob...she really enjoyed it and and his new little sis Gwyneth...

"Toe" and "Omi" time

Maddy and I spent Friday night with Omi and Abuelito so Brad could have some quiet time at the Houstonian studying for finals and so we could spend time with the folks...Brad met up with us on Saturday evening to celebrate Abuelito's 63rd birthday.

New Friends

Here are some pics from a fun playdate last Friday afternoon at our neighbor's house...Madelyn is loving her new friends!

Future Star Pianist

This is Maddy's new favorite instrument!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

Maddy and I met Brad for lunch yesterday, and we had a nice time. Madelyn counted to seven all by herself for the first time without being prompted...it was awesome. We are still working on her Spanish numbers, and she should have those down in no time. Last night when Brad's dad called, Maddy answered the phone without me knowing...by the time I figured things out, she was in a "full on" conversation with her Pa Pa....ha!!
This past weekend we enjoyed the beautiful weather. Pa Pa decided to fly in for a visit, making the weekend extra special. Here are some pics from our adventures.

This and that...

I took Madelyn to the doctor today, and she has an ear infection. She informed us of her "ouchie" last night, and it was difficult for her to sleep. Needless to say, she ended up sleeping with us, and I in turn, ended up awake most of the night. This is her second ear infection ever, and it is caused from her allergies and their symptoms (congestion, etc.)...I was on the weather.com site the other day, and it cited Houston as having the second worst allergy season in the nation right now...go figure. I know I am so ready for my sinuses to clear.
Madelyn has also been talking up a storm lately...speaking in sentences, saying "bless you," when someone sneezes or coughs, saying "thank you" when given something, etc. She has always been a great communicator...pointing at things she wants or taking or leading you by the hand when she wants to show you something...as her Uncle Edward calls her "She is a woman who knows what she wants." I would have to agree 200% with that statement. So it's nice to see her verbally communicating on a regular basis. She is repeating everything I say now, and you wouldn't believe the amount of words coming from her mouth....she really has been paying attention all these months.
She also reached another big milestone...Madelyn peed on the big potty this past Saturday. This was her first big pee. Up until this point she would toot, which of course was always fun and exciting too, because she at least had the sensation and urge to sit there. She doesn't like sitting on the little potties for toddlers for some reason (although I think it is because she see's her big cousin and older friends using the "big potty."), so we have the big potty inserts that she can comfortably sit on... we are not in the training process with her. We are just letting her go when she wants, which is usually after dinner or before or after her bath. We still have a LONG way before this becomes common practice...and we are not rushing anything.
Here is a pic from last night...Brad made her a strawberry smoothie...is it big enough?

BEACH BUMS

Since moving to the edge of the mainland, one of my ultimate favorite things to do is go down to Galveston...I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being on the island. And today was no exception...the weather was perfect, the company was fantastic and it was just so relaxing. Our neighbors and good friends Mike, Kristin and their two boys, Raymond and Owen, caravaned with us. There are not many things that top being on the beach in my world, so I am lucky to be able to visit often. I am looking forward to going down at least once every couple of weeks this spring and summer, after all... we are only 15 miles from the bay and 22 from the gulf coast....how lucky are we (hurricanes excluded)??

Family time

Saturday night we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and visit the bay area. We ate at our favorite seafood restaurant and took in some live zydeco music and amazing scenery. Madelyn loved watching the sailboats glide by...and we were able to just have a nice, relaxing dinner together.

Gone to Pick Strawberries...

Brad had school this weekend, so it was just us girls...I decided to take Madelyn to pick strawberries at a local farm favorite of mine, and boy was it worth it! Madelyn LOVED it, and it was fun teaching her the different shades of red, which strawberries were ripe and what sizes to focus on. If you have never picked strawberries before, I would highly recommend it. We are going back next weekend for more. At the rate we have been consuming strawberries lately, it is all worth it!! Of course I couldn't resist posting all these pics... Where to begin??? Check this one out mom! I'm getting the hang of it now... Whoa...this is getting heavy! Wow...I am in a dream, my favorite fruit is everywhere!!!

For the love of friends...

Maddy's "BFF's" and us moms went to the zoo this week (Maddy's second time in a week!)...it was fun watching the girls together...their favorite part of the trip had to of been the splash pad area...thanks for taking the pics Kristina! Watching the long-necked turtles...I am so thankful for this group of friends...each of whom has a daughter in the same MDO class as Maddy (pictured above). MDO has truly been a blessing...Madelyn has a wonderful group of friends (which we talk about multiple times a day...she just loves saying all their names..you should see her face light up), and it is such a treat watching the girls play dolls and other girly things with each other. MDO was the first opportunity for Madelyn to gain dtrong bonds with other girls. This is a pic from a baby shower this week we hosted for Callie, who is due July 4 with a boy... Kristina, Callie, Cynthia and I at the shower.