Sisterly Love

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been busy here with caring for the girls and starting back to work. It has been so snowy this winter so we have been staying in a lot. Shelby isn't a big fan of the snow unless we are watching it from inside and I am the same way. Thank goodness for all the toys Shelby got for Christmas to keep us busy. Shelby and Madelyn are both doing great. Shelby is almost 23 months and Madelyn is almost 11 weeks. Madelyn loves watching Shelby and Shelby thinks Madelyn is funny.

Shelby loves all the toys we have been pulling out for Madelyn. Madelyn loves laying on the play mat below and Shelby is usually right beside her playing with the hanging toys or turning the music on and off. Here Shelby is hogging the play mat for herself!

Shelby is in need of a haircut! Her hair is growing like crazy. In the meantime, we have been trying out some fun hairdos. She thinks it's hysterical when she sees herself in the mirror with a pony tail!

Madelyn is growing like crazy. On Monday, the doctor said she was already 14 lbs. and 10 ounces. Her rolls are getting bigger and increasing. So cute. Her eyes are still a beautiful blue. I thought they might darken up but they haven't so we are hoping they stay blue. She is smiling more and more each day and coming close to laughing.

She loves napping in her swing.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

Madelyn the Meatball!

Shelby had the nickname of Poopy Pants when she was younger. Not having much experience with babies we could not get over how often a baby poops! So we called her Poopy Pants for awhile. We stopped as she got older because we were afraid she would think her name was Poopy Pants and not Shelby. Madelyn has gotten the nickname of Meatball. She is curled up most of the time and has a big, round tummy. She looks like a cute meatball. She is 7 weeks now and I am starting to put her in 6 month sized clothing. I can not believe how quick she is growing. Here are a couple of pictures from today that I thought were cute.

I actually got a shot of Madelyn smiling. She is starting to smile although usually not because of anything I do. Here she is smiling at the curtains next to the changing table. Something about them amuses her because I have caught her smiling at them a few times now.

Madelyn patiently waiting for me to clean the changing table and get her changed after she peed all over everything. Love the rolls!

On my birthday, Maryann and Ella came by for a visit. It was a nice visit. Shelby and Ella have a blast together. I didn't get any pictures of them playing because things can get pretty crazy with them. I did manage to get a couple pictures of Ella holding Madelyn and Madelyn and her play date.

Madelyn looks bigger than Ella in this picture!

Madelyn and her play date. They look pretty similar! Similar coloring and eye color! Poor Madelyn! Shelby gets the new toys, new clothes and Ella as a play date. Madelyn gets the hand me downs and plastic play date! Just kidding-she was getting lots of attention from Shelby and Ella even while she was sleeping.

Shelby's New Buddy

For the last two meals Shelby would not eat without her new buddy, Jesse. She really likes her. She will cry with big tears if I take her away or she drops her by accident. I have already had to clean some applesauce out of her hair.

She does try to keep her out of the food most of the time.
Shelby hugging Jesse.

Christmas 2010

The girls must have been really good because Santa and our family got them all sorts of great presents. Shelby got this well stocked kitchen. When she came down Christmas morning she didn't even notice it right away and started playing with some of her old toys. I had to start playing with it before she noticed it. When she did notice it she ran over to check it out and then gave us a great big smile. It was pretty cute.

The kitchen was so neat and tidy for about a minute.

Shelby loves balls. Bouncy balls, ping pong type balls, whatever. Santa must have know and filled her stocking with about a dozen different balls.

There was also some wrapped gifts under the tree.

Including Jesse from Toy Story and Elmo for the bath tub.

Shelby loves Jesse. She was excited to see her but a little shy when she heard her talking. She won't touch her for a few minutes. After she warming up to her she has been carrying her around a lot. Tonight at dinner, she wouldn't eat unless Jesse sat with her!

Here Shelby is having Elmo and Jesse kiss.

Madelyn enjoyed watching all the excitement. Shelby tested her gifts out for her.

Christmas Card Photo Rejects

Getting a picture of the girls for our Christmas card was not easy this year. We usually take the picture ourselves so this year we decided to do the same. We dressed the girls in a Christmas outfit and set up a spot to sit them together. We tried to put Madelyn on Shelby's lap, which was probably risky, but she wasn't having it. We tried having them sit next to each other but Shelby would only sit still for about 30 seconds. We have a couple of pictures of them together. Most are with Shelby clapping as we were clapping trying to encourage and distract her. Here are a few of the funny pictures we did not end up using:

I am actually outside the window. This was the only way we could get her to stay at the window long enough to get a picture. She is laughing at me.

Shelby escaping.

Our final picks:

Tiny Dancer

We were able to get a video of Shelby dancing. Thought it was cute and everyone would enjoy it.

I will post some the rejected pictures for our Christmas card mailing. That was quite a project. Getting a picture of the two girls together was pretty much impossible. You should all recieve our Christmas card soon if not already.

Our Newest Family Member

We are happy to announce the birth of Madelyn Grace. Madelyn was born on November 16th. She was born at 7 pounds and 13 ounces, exactly the same weight as Shelby, and 19 inches long. Madelyn is nice and healthy and doing well. She was quite a sleepy baby in the beginning but we will have to see if it stays that way!

Sorry it took so long for me to post this. We have been getting to know Madelyn and adjusting to have a newborn in the house again. Here are some pictures of Madelyn. She actually looks like she might have lighter hair and possibly blue eyes.

Shelby has been doing great as well. She is a great big sister and thinks Madelyn is funny. She gets a kick out of the noises she makes and likes giving her affection. She has already started to share some of her toys with her.

Here is a little video of Madelyn. She can be make some pretty funny noises. Here she is annoyed to have the hicups again.

We hope to post more soon once we get some more sleep, so check back.