Sisters

Gabrielle loves to play.

She loves to play when her big sisters are around.

Samantha or Sarah don't have to do much, even just sitting next to Gabrielle makes her smile :)

1,2,3,Zzzzzzzz

Gabrielle has been on a great schedule for the last 3 or 4 months.   She wakes at the same time.  Eats around the same time.   It's been quite helpful.

Nighttime is no different in our house.  She's happy and smiling one minute...

And relaxed with her nighttime bottle the next...

Mommy?   I think you're going to need to hold the bottle now.

A Smile a Day...

...Helps keep the doctor away.

Isn't it amazing how someone so small can just make even the biggest just melt?

I can't get enough of this sweet face :)

As Cute As Can Be

Gabrielle only speaks the truth through her clothing...only because she can't speak yet ;)

I love picking outfits for this girl every morning!

Gabrielle - 12 Weeks

Hard to believe that little Miss Gabrielle is going to be 12 weeks this weekend!  

A Love Note

Sarah made a get well card for her God-father, Uncle Isaac (one of Jeremy's brothers) who was hurt recently in a very serious, life threatening fall.  

By the Grace of God, Isaac will make a full recovery in time.

Big Sisters

Samantha and Sarah have really enjoyed playing the role of big sister.   They love spending time cuddling up with Gabrielle and feeding her bottles.

Hugs and Loves

There's nothing sweeter than seeing your children give their Daddy sneaky kisses.

It melts my heart every time.

Love Is Important

Samantha drew this before she headed to school this morning.    I of course didn't see it until I got back from bringing her to the bus stop.   

There are some days as a parent I don't feel that I'm doing it right, and then I see something like this:

Mother's Day 2013

This year for Mother's Day, we went to church in the morning and had a brunch at our home with my Mom afterwards.  The girls presented me with sweet little gifts that they made while at school.

Here's an example of what Samantha made for me:

"All About My Mom"

My Mom's name is:  Jennifer
She is:  33 years old
My Mom is happy when:  I give her a card
It makes my Mom very unhappy when:  my sister throws a fit
My Mom's favorite place to go is:  Out on deliveries while she is at work
My mom REALLY likes to:  bring us to the playground
My Mom loves to eat:  popcorn
My Mom loves to drink:  wine
I think my Mom is the VERY best because she loves me and Sarah


Such a great day.  I was happy to celebrate it with the people who made it possible for me to be a mother.

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day and very much welcomed sunny day, so we took the Madore-ables to the playground to burn off some energy they've been saving up from the Winter.  


On our way over to the playground, Sarah was talking about how excited she was to go play.  Then Sarah announced,

"Daddy?  Mommy?  I'm going to play with kids my own T"

Jeremy:  "Your own "T"?  What are you talking about?"

Sarah:  "Yeah!  My own T.  You know, I'm 5T, so I need to play with kids who wear 5T clothes."

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

While dropping Sarah off at pre-school recently, Sarah and I were talking about Samantha being on the soccer team and how she had practice coming up this past weekend.  So Sarah informed me:

"Mommy? When I'm all grown up, I will be on Sammy's soccer team too!"


(The sweet thing Sarah doesn't realize is, the girls are almost 18 months apart and by the time Sarah gets to Samantha's age group for soccer, Sam will have already moved on to another group).

Oh the Sweet Things Kids Will Say

The Madore-ables have been saying some sweet things the last week or so.  I feel the need to write them down otherwise someday I may not remember.  I also wanted to share them so the girls can look back on this blog one day and remember just how thoughtful they truly are and just how proud Mommy and Daddy are of them.


Sam:

(1)  On Samantha's first day of school, I woke up early to find Samantha already dressed and ready to go and she was also sitting very quietly at the table eating her breakfast.  She then told me,

"Mommy?  I was too excited to sleep anything later than 7:00 (during the Summer, I told Sam that she needed to stay in bed until at least 7:00 or when she heard Jeremy leaving to go to work).  I wanted to let you sleep in a little bit, so I got my own breakfast together by myself, but the only thing I couldn't do was get my juice because the gallon in the fridge is just too heavy.  Would you get it for me?".

(2)  Samantha's new thing is writing letters, and notes.  This includes pieces of paper left on Jeremy's or my pillow, and also written in chalk just at the bottom of the stairs.  Sam loves to write "I love you" because (according to Sam) "It's important to say it and I want you to be reminded just how much I love you.  So that's why I write those notes all the time!".

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

Samantha was recently playing with her Little People, the ones that my brother and I used to play with when we were the Madore-ables age.  This particular day, Samantha was pretending that the Little People were having a wedding.

I am not surprised seeing that Jeremy and I photograph weddings.  Whenever I'm looking through the photographs after the ceremony, sometimes Sam will come down to watch Jeremy doing his edits.  Sam will ask questions about the photos, so she understands that (traditionally that the father walks the bride down the aisle and the bride's husband waits for her at the end of the aisle.

So when Samantha was pretending, I wasn't surprised that she decided to have a wedding ceremony that day.  Jeremy and I have been talking a lot about the weddings we have coming up, so of course they were on her brain.  It's cute to listen to the things that come out of her mouth, but I was so moved by this that I had to share.

So Samantha was moving the pieces around the room making sure people were getting ready for the wedding ceremony.  I was actually very surprised that she was paying so close to the details.  She talked about her bridesmaids getting ready to walk down the aisle.  She talked about the florist getting the flowers ready.  Then she pretended that the bride was talking to someone (not sure who exactly).  Her conversation consisted of:


"That's alright sweetie, it's ok to be excited.  You need to get ready though because you have someone very special waiting for you at the end of the aisle".

Oh the Sweet Things Kids Will Say

I think parents everywhere have moments like this.  Moments where you think you're not doing a great job.  I for one have days like that.


This morning, I was reminded that Jeremy and I are getting somewhere.


Samantha came downstairs to say good morning and give me a big hug.  When I asked her what she would like for breakfast, she told me the following:


"Mommy,  I got my own breakfast this morning because I could reach it.  I got myself a paper towel so I wouldn't get crumbs all over the place.  I thought I would give you some rest this morning.  But, the only thing I couldn't do was get my juice.  The gallon in the fridge is still really full [and very heavy] so could you pour me some juice in a few minutes?"

How can I say no to that?  :)

Love Notes

Back in the day, before my girls knew how to write letters, I would write letters to them.  I would tell them I loved them.  I would give them hugs.  And days later, I would find the notes right next to their bed.

Today, I still tell them I love them.  I still give them hugs.

But the tables have turned just a little bit this time...

There's nothing like receiving a little note like this as a reminder after coming home from work and getting ready for bed for the night.

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

Sarah has been potty trained for about a year now, and hasn't worn diapers to bed since at least the Fall/Winter of 2011.  Sometimes Sarah will come down and wake me up around 2 or 3 am and ask to go potty.  Then she knows right afterwards we can have a drink of water then back to bed.

Recently, on one of our early morning adventures, I placed Sarah on the counter top in our kitchen and while I was filling up her little cup with water, Sarah very quietly said, "Mommy!  Look!  The moon is out tonight!"



Sarah then took a few sips all the while still looking out the window and asked me very seriously,

"But Mommy.  Why is the moon broken?"

Love Notes

I love my Madore-ables.

But, I will be honest, there are days where they drive me to the point of insanity.  (Mommy's you understand I'm sure).

Lately, Samantha has really been practicing writing her letters on anything she can get her hands on.  Scrap pieces of paper.  Notebooks.  She writes her name, and also has been sounding words out and writing down grocery lists to help me out too. 

This past weekend, Samantha just sat down at the kitchen table and got to work on writing something "special and amazing" (As Samantha so nicely put it).  Lately, Samantha has also been leaving Jeremy and I little love notes too.  So, when she told me that she had something really special and amazing, I had no doubt in my mind that it would make me smile.  So a few minutes later, Samantha showed me what she wrote: "I love you Mommy" and "I love you Daddy" on a piece of paper and she decided to leave it right next to my half of the bed so that is the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning.

This morning, she told me that I've had it for a few days and now it's Daddy's turn, because I love him too.  But don't worry Mommy, I still love you, it's just Daddy's turn for the note."

Oh Sam...I know you still love me, and believe me we still love you too.  You are such a thoughtful and beautiful almost-5 year old.

Photo Dump

Oh The Cute Things Kids Will Say

Sometime last week, Samantha asked me her usual questions after she woke up from her sleepy slumber:

"Mommy? What are we doing today?"

I had told her that we needed to run some errands, and there were 2 special surprises that would happen. (One was going to Imajine That, and the other was going to my friend Sarah's house for a playdate). I knew that if I told the Madore-ables about either of the events prior to them happening, I would be hounded with a gazillion questions until we left the house.

So, Samantha asked if she could guess what we would be doing.

"Are we going dress shopping?"

"Are we going to church?"

I love the fact that our Madore-ables not enjoy dressing up, but enjoy going to church each week...