Waiting for Daddy to come home!

Madison loves to look out the window and wait for Jake when I tell her Daddy is on his way home. Both girls get so excited to see him and can't wait for him to walk through the door:) I agree!

We love it when Daddy comes home!

Emerie just loves her dad! She loves looking at his face and gives him some of her biggest smiles!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Dad! Madison sang you a happy birthday song this morning. We made two attempts. The first one is not to long after she woke up and the second video is right before a much needed nap. Thanks for being such a great dad and grandpa! We miss you and hope you have a wonderful day! Oh, and as you know, she likes to call grandpa's grandma so in the first song it sounds like happy birthday to grandma.

Bunny Fountain Park

Columbus has some great Irish history and in the city of Dublin they have the "Bunny Fountain Park". The bunnies sit on a hill above waterfalls and fountains that randomly go off at different times. Madison loved running around in all the water and letting the fountains squirt her in the face. She also love going up the hill and playing my the giant bunnies. What a great place on a hot day!

Learning to share

Madison is learning to share mommy, daddy and getting used to having Emerie around. Madison likes to talk to Emerie and try to make her laugh. She will give her a binky when she is sad and give her toys. Often Madison will decide she wants to play with the toy she is giving to Emerie so she will show it to her for a second and then say, "Emie doesn't want it" and take it back. It's kind of funny. Last night we were driving home from a Craigs list adventure and Emerie decided it was time for her to eat now! She was screaming and Madison kept saying, "It's OK Emie, it's OK, we'll be home in a few minutes!" It was so cute to see her concerned face and hear her comforting words despite the stress of having a baby scream in the car. I am sure they will be great friends as they grow up:)

I pooped on the potty!

Two weeks ago, July 20th Madison pooped on the potty! What an exciting moment! We weren't trying to potty train her yet, it just kind of happened. She wasn't starting to do a little number and I asked if she wanted to poop on the big potty? She said yes, and it happened! Since that day, she has sat on the big potty a few times. I am sure she will do great job when we actually try to potty train her:) It's a good start.

3 Months Old

At three months Emerie can sit up in her Bumbo and loves to roll onto her side and from her tummy to her back. She is so happy when she wakes up in the morning and is all smiles. She also loves to put anything and everything in her mouth. Madison loves to say No Emie! No! whenever she puts things in her mouth. Madison also has spent less time in time out for "boppin" her sister on the head. We are hoping things are a lot safer for Emerie these days. Then again, I guess Madison was trying to poke her eye the other day. It will be a long process of learning to be gentle and pretty soon Emerie will be able to fight back:)

Two Months Old

I couldn't get Emerie to smile in this series of pictures, she just looks kind of scared:) July 2nd she rolled from her tummy to her back and she is learning how to sit up and hold up her head. We were in Utah visiting family and friends for over a month. As you can see Emerie loved being held and snuggled. It was nice to have some extra arms to give her some extra love.

Emerie's Blessing

Sweet little Emerie was blessed on Sunday June 7th.

Emerie One Month Old

Emerie has been growing and changing so much. We have been needing to catch up on all the progress she has been making. Emerie has been such a sweet wonderful baby! She has survived Madison thus far and I think Madison has learned not to take her binky. At one month old Emerie was learning to goo and she loves to stretch out. She wasn't a swaddle baby for sure. Often when you would pick her up she would stretch out her arms and legs into super baby mode. She loves being held and has already traveled to many places. She has traveled from D.C. to SLC and in many of our pictures can be seen sleeping in the stroller or under my nursing cover. Not many babies can say they were nursed in the House Chambers of the Capitol Building, our Nations Botanical Gardens, Library of Congress, and various other memorable places. What a little traveler!

New Dance Moves!

Dr. Snow!

Here are a few pictures from graduation! Congratulations Jake! I am so proud of you. It takes an amazing person to work so hard and graduate from medical school. What a bumpy road of studying, taking test after test after test, enduring weeks of being apart on away rotations and trying to make it through. You truly have been a wonderful husband and father throughout all the challenges of med. school. I think however now that we have started residency I will miss the "nice schedule" of Jake being a student. Especially all the extra time he had off at the end of his fourth year. Residency has proved to be a busy time. At least we now have a paycheck:)
Jake's parents came out for graduation and we were grateful to have them there. Not only to support Jake but I know I wouldn't have heard a word of Jake's graduation without them. Madison was quite the challenge at graduation. It's hard for a 18 month old to sit through three hours of talking and clapping. Luckily there were quite a few other kids in the crowd so Madison wasn't the only one making noise and yelling out daddy.
This is a poem that Madison gave Jake for graduation. I got it from my friend Tracy. I am not sure if she wrote it or found it from someone else. I'll have to ask her. It's a really cute poem. I wrote it out in little kid hand writing with each letter a different color. Jake, we know you will be a wonderful Dr. congratulations, you made it!
When Daddy writes his name,
He always writes M.D.
That’s so people all will know
That he belongs to me.

So, M.D. means My Daddy,
or something just the same.
And that is why he always
Puts those letters on his name.

Some letters in his name are small
But those are big, you see.
He always makes them big like that
Because he’s proud of me.

D.C. Trip

Toward the end of May we drove down to D.C. for a family wedding. The drive was only about 7 hours (give or take a few stops with little ones). We had a ton of fun site seeing and spending time with family. It is amazing to visit the sites and learn more of the history of how our nation began.
In the picture where I am holding an angry Madison she was frustrated that I wouldn't let her walk down the very wet and slippery stairs of the Lincoln memorial. Seeing the monuments was not among Madison's favorite memories:) Both girls did extremely well site seeing considering
the fact that naps often are short or non-existent when you are on the go. Luckily Emerie was in the sleepy baby stage where sleeping anytime and anywhere isn't a problem.
One of my favorite places was the Natural History Museum and the National Botanical Gardens. Madison loved petting the giant bugs in the insect museum and she had a ton of fun playing in the water at the children's garden.
The wedding was beautiful and we were glad that we were able to be a part of it. Thanks Courtney and Christian for falling in love! It was great to spend time with the Pratt and Pena families!

Emily and Jaimie Visit Toledo!

The next few posts will go way back to catch up on some fun times a few months ago. A few weeks after Emerie was born two of my sisters came out to visit and help out. Having a spring baby was great because we were able to get out around Toledo and visit all of our fun places. The zoo, Wixy Bakery, Likity split, The 577 foundation, Walbridge park, Buddy and the Train Shop. So much fun and so many fun memories. It was so hard to see them go. Thanks Jaimie and Emily for all your help with the girls and for making us some yummy meals!