Easter 2011, Part One

Easter weekend found us making our way to Northern VA.  Madison had a new cousin to bond with, Parker, and she wanted to visit with Uncle Gregg and Andy.  We left Raleigh Thursday night after work putting us in DC just after 10pm.  Andy let us stay in his hotel so that we weren't a burden on anyone.  Friday morning was raining so we decided to go shopping and then visit with Mark, Vicky, Mackenzie and Baby Parker.  Madison was completely blown away with how little Parker was and was a bit jealous when Mom and Dad were holding Parker.

Mommy holding Parker and Madison

Daddy, Parker and Madison

Mackenzie was still taking her nap when we got there.  But no sooner she gets up, Madison is quick to show Mackenzie her photography skills.  Here is one Madison took just after Mackenzie woke up!

Madison says, "Smile Mackenzie!"

And since Parker was sleeping, he would be an easy target for a photograph!

Madison whispering, "Smile Parker!"

She was quick with the camera and took many more pictures.  It amazes me what she takes pictures of and the views that she gets.  The baby thing was very new to Madison and she was completely mesmerized by the sounds Parker would produce.  Madison had to make sure that Mark and Vicky knew what they were doing

.

The girls played together for awhile before it was time to start dinner.  And how did Aunt Vicky and Uncle Mark know that PIZZA was one of Madison's favorite meals?

While the pizza was baking, Madison took advantage of that time to have snuggle time with Parker.  We knew that she would probably do really well but we were overly surprised at how well she did.  

Dinner needed to be burned off.  The girls have to watch their figures you know.   :-)  The best way to do this is to listen to a little dance music.  Mackenzie showed Madison some new dance moves.  She learned them very quickly and had such a great time that even the big people had to get involved.

This is actually part of the song!

All of this was just Friday!  Wait until you see Saturday.  That is going to have to wait until tomorrow.  Hope everyone had a Happy Easter.  We made it home safe and sound and will work on Part Two of our trip tomorrow night.  Love to All, Tiff, Jeff and Madison

Toronado Torture

I can't begin to explain to everyone HOW lucky we are after watching the news on Sunday morning.  To start things off, we made it through a HORRIBLE Saturday with NO problems at all.  When you watch the news to see where the tornadoes touched down, we were VERY lucky.  Tornadoes touched down all around us with our area  having nothing more than a few trees down.  North of us, in the city, most of the streets are closed.  South of us, about thirty miles, a Lowe's Hardware was totaled and about twenty four people were killed by these horrible storms.

Nana and Papa were visiting and we got to spend a lot of time inside playing games.  Here Madison and Papa are playing Rabbit and Bear!

Daddy playing Rabbit

Nana and Madison playing Uno

After being cooped up all day, we couldn't wait to get out of the house.  Would you believe that even the drive to the restaurant there was hardly any damage?  It wasn't until Monday morning that I got to see the damage first hand.

Sunday morning we watched the news in awe with all the damage that took place all around us.  We had to pull it together since we had so much to do today.  After breakfast it was time to color the Easter Eggs.  Madison did very good.  She really enjoyed watching them change colors.  Of course, she doesn't quite understand the concept of dropping the eggs makes the shells break!  She did really well though.  

There had been an Easter Egg Hunt scheduled for Saturday but as you may have figured, that got cancelled for Saturday and was rescheduled for Sunday.  Unfortunately, on Sunday the hunt was much later than it would have been on Saturday and it meant keeping Ms. Lace up from her nap!  

Waiting to go down the slide

The day could not have been more beautiful.  Madison got to spend a bit of the afternoon playing on the swings and slides before having to go out and find Easter Eggs.  What a mess!  She was in the 3-5 age group and those kids are SERIOUS!

Where's Madison?

She walked out with ZERO eggs!  That's ok.  We had our own Easter Egg Hunt at home and she had a much better time.  But first, she and Allie had a little water table time together while the grownup enjoyed some  time chatting.

A wonderful weekend was had despite the tornadoes blowing through.  Papa and Nana got to top their weekend off on Monday morning by getting to see the Monday Morning Madison!  She doesn't do Mondays and was putting on even a better show for our guests.

Thursday night we leave for Washington DC to visit with Uncle Gregg, Uncle Andy and Cooper.  And then to see Aunt Vicky, Uncle Mark , Cousin Mackenzie and the newest family member Cousin Parker!  Can't wait to see everyone!  Love Tiff

Indecicive Weekend

Just want to start off this week by giving a big CONGRATULATIONS to Vicky and Mark!  They welcomed little Parker Warren into the world on Tuesday.  Madison is looking forward to meeting her new cousin!!!

This was a very unsteady weekend.  It was all up in the air whether or not I would be going to work on Monday or not since Congress couldn't come to a decision on the new budget.  Nobody wants to go without pay but I was kinda hoping for Monday off.  But as you may know by now, I will be going to work on Monday...oh so good, but oh so sad :-(

All week I was looking forward to the weekend since I had heard the weather was going to be wonderful...75 degrees and sunshine.  Saturday was rain, clouds and chilly.  We had already planned on being inside the first part of Saturday morning since we were meeting Emma with her mom and dad at the Marbles Kids Museum.  The girls started by building a Home Depot project and then the REAL fun began.  Emma's dad was in his glory in the Lego section of the museum where he built the girls a house and the girls were LOVING it!

It continued to be ugly the rest of the day.  Just took it easy the rest of the afternoon and looked forward to nice weather on Sunday.  We woke up Sunday morning to a gloomy cloudy day.  OMG...please don't let it be this way ALL day again!  Since it was yucky, we went out to get  a few things and stopped for a quick bite to eat.  Madison requested a salad for lunch.

The afternoon proved to be more of what the weather man said it was going to be for the WHOLE weekend...not just the last quarter of it!  Allie and Madison spent the afternoon together outside playing so hard.  Then they needed a little bit to eat to regain their strength.  They continued to play right up 'til it was time to go to bed.  Madison was completely worn out and went right to sleep!  Gotta love being outside and to having a great time with your BFF!!!

A Weekend Building

Weekend fun began Friday night when Jeff had to run an errand and left Madison and I home alone!  She was playing so nicely with her fire truck and I wanted to get just a few photos...

But once she saw the camera was out she wanted to have her picture taken her way.  She would have me take her picture making a funny face and then looking at the preview to see how funny it looked.  She giggled and giggled.  I put them together in a slide show.

Make your own free photo slideshow

Saturday found us at the Home Depot for the Kids Workshop.  This month Madison made a planter.  This is the first one I had been to in a while and its pretty amazing to see how far she has come.  She's swinging a hammer like a big girl. 

Again with the funny faces

With all the building behind us, it was time for lunch and where else would we go other than Chick-fil-A.  Ms Lace ate all her lunch and reluctantly shared a Banana Pudding Milkshake with mom and dad!!!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing.  A bit too windy for her to be able to enjoy the outside.  Saturday night she was able to see Allie and play with her for a little bit.

Sunday Jeff put up the fence on the other side of the house.  Madison and I put two snapdragons in her planter box.

Starting the fence 

Snapdragons

And shrubs to hide the slope

Lots of pictures this week but lots to share.  Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

What happen to the 80 degree temperatures we had in the early part of the week?

Earlier in the week...when it was WARM!

This weekend the weather stayed C-O-L-D (dad, I brought the plants in at the early part of the week!).  It didn't rain all weekend but was damp and yucky so we stayed locked inside.  Madison took advantage of being locked in to take more self-portraits and more pictures around the house.  To watch her take a picture of herself, look at the outcome and then giggle is so very cute!  She tries to make the next picture funnier than the picture before.    

Self portrait

Her most favorite play pal this weekend was Bullpen.  I had found a harmonica in one of our drawers and she followed him around, playing him a tune.  Then it was on to playing with him with a flashlight!  He looked to Jeff for protection from Madison after awhile.

Madison and Bullpen playing

Sunday we had a playdate with Emma.  Since the weather was still cold and damp we went back to the Jump Zone.  They still had a great time but they just weren't as into it as they were last time.  They seemed to have quite a few more people and more bigger kids running around today making it hard for our little girls to get around.

Ready to go!

There are the bounce 'castle's' but there is also air hockey.  Here's Madison playing air hockey while Emma cheers her on!

Go Madison, Go!

Pizza was on the menu after playing.  The girls were a bit grumpy so we were hoping the pizza would make them feel better and it did.  But by this time they were both ready to take a nap.  Emma was out before they hit the first stop light and Madison wasn't far behind.

It was a quiet weekend here at the Sanford house.  We're ready for the nice weather so we can spend more time outside.  Hope all is going well for everyone and staying warm (where it is cold).

Wedding Weekend

What a wonderful weekend!  Friday was relaxing, Saturday a wedding and Sunday back to relaxing but earlier in the week we had a visit from Dr. Sanford!  Madison wasn't feeling so well earlier in the week so we took her to the Dr to find she has seasonal allergies.  When she got home she showed us how it was done...

First you listen to the heart and chest, look in their mouth and then write the prescription.  

Writing the prescription

Making sure the patient is doing ok

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa took advantage of us needing a babysitter and came to Raleigh to watch Ms. Lace for us for the evening while we attended a wedding.  This is the first time in a LONG time we were going out with just grown ups.  Jeff and I took many pictures of us before this one and would you believe this is the one that Madison took!!!  We really had a nice time and we were so very lucky to have wonderful grandparents that wanted to spend time with Madison!!!  We couldn't thank them enough!!!!! 

THANK YOU!!

Smile mommy and daddy!!!

Madison had such a great time playing outside on Saturday.  She was able to get out and ride her bike, play in the water (her sink) and play on the slide in Allie's yard.

 

Then it was time to come in and get ready for bed.  First it was time to eat dinner, then time to read books, then time for a bath.  She took advantage of this time to be able to read one of her favorite books to her grandpa.

Reading to grandpa

Eating dinner

After a bath and then a few more books it was time to go to sleep

Sunday morning went by quickly but we were able to get a few more pictures in. Here is Ms. Lace after getting up and being able to play with grandpa for a few more minutes.

Madison helping Grandpa open his birthday present

We had such a wonderful weekend and we are very happy we were able to spend it with grandma and grandpa!!!  Thank you!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!