sleeping giant

doesn't he just look so big?!  it is rare that maddux passes out after nursing any more, but he didn't get very much sleep on our trip and slept for about an hour in the pack-n-play while madelyn and mason played around him. 

maddux also added a new word/sound - "ba, ba". love.

peek-a-boo, car seat style

i interrupted their game by getting out the camera.  they often laugh with each other in the car.  madelyn always feels left out because she can't see maddux the way mason can.

groninger boys

before they hit the road for their long drive back to kansas, we took a few more group pictures. mason wasn't quite feeling it, but he stayed just long enough for this one with all the boys.  we took a few more of matt with his dad (and maddux). 

and we tried to get a few with nana, but madelyn and mason were just done with pictures.  at least maddux looked at me.

i am happy that we were able to go and see matt's side of the family. love.

sleep well

i guess mason has gotten a little too used to sleeping on the floor...  love.

monkey face

matt's cousin jason's kids taught madelyn and mason a very valuable skill at dinner - how to make the monkey face!

well done, kiddos. well done. love.

great grandma

by some miracle (or maybe it was just going to bed at 10:30pm the night before!), maddux didn't wake up transferring from the van into the pack-n-play. so while he slept, we all hung out in the adjoining room.  i packed the monitor, but we didn't get it set up before leaving in the morning and were scared to wake him if went into the room.  thankfully, there was a lot to do in the room!

great grandma read to madelyn

matt took a nap

mason colored with nana and great grandma read to madelyn some more

the kids got to try out the piano

here is a little video of them playing the piano before great grandma got a little concerned about the noise.  mason might have gotten a little too enthusiastic about his playing...  love.

beautiful morning

it was a beautiful morning so instead of going back to great grandma's we stopped to play at a local park - it turned out to be a pretty great park too!

mason watching daddy see-saw with madelyn

madelyn and daddy took a turn on the zip line!  very fun!  i even took a turn. :)

there was also the greatest slide ever!  mason could not get enough of it and kept trying to figure it out.  he would wait for all of the rollers to stop spinning before he would climb back up and do it again.

maddux hung out in the shade with great grandma most of the time, but he did get to spend some time swinging with nana.

maddux liked it a lot more when nana came around to the front where he could see her.

madelyn showed papa her climbing skills

daddy, madelyn and mason posing at the top of a landscaped waterfall - a very pretty surprise.

we were very thankful that we were able to spend such a beautiful morning outside where the kids could run around and burn off a little energy.  now for lunch at "mr. dave's" for some tenderloin sandwiches (one of matt's family's favorite things) and super yummy cherry cokes (made with cherry phosphate and not pre-mixed) before heading back to great grandma's.  love.

the covered bridge

after breakfast we went to take pictures at the covered bridge.  here are some of my best ones.  love.

the side of the bridge

papa, nana and our three kids

there is a walkway through the bridge that we went to check out because there is a window to see the river



madelyn checking out the window



a rare picture of our entire family!  (you might see this again on our christmas card...)

papa and nana wanted to get one more picture with the kids, but they were loosing interest in cooperating - oh well.  it would have been a nice picture...

indiana visit

on friday afternoon we headed to indiana to visit matt's grandma, aunt and uncle and several cousins.  his parents and brother had headed there from our house a few days before and stayed through the weekend too.

it took us about 4-1/2 hours to get there and we headed straight to uncle dennis and aunt joy's for dinner and visiting with their side of the family.  madelyn was very excited to be back on their farm - and so were the rest of us.  after a delicious dinner (thanks, joy!), we went out for some fresh air and madelyn headed out to use the swing.  i love the corn field behind her.

uncle dennis took us out for a fun ride on the polaris.  madelyn remembered this from last year and both boys were thrilled to be there too.  the farm is so beautiful and it was so nice of him to give us the grand tour (not to mention two trips down "roller coaster hill" where maddux fell asleep).

checking out the swing on the front porch of the cabin towards the back of their land.

maddux really enjoyed his first polaris ride and the fresh air put him right to sleep.  of course i have no idea how he could fall asleep at the fastest speeds!  my heart was pumping and maddux just doses off...

there is a bell at the cabin.  mason wasn't big enough last year, but he gave it more than a few good pulls this time after uncle derek showed him how.

 matt's cousin got out some games from their childhood for the kids to try out.  mason picked it up very quickly and we could barely get him away from it - and boy was it loud!

thanks to cousin hailey, i got a very nice picture of madelyn and her great grandmother (nana's mom at papa's brother's house - both sides of matt's extended family).

a very nice start to our weekend visit to indiana.  we were last there on july 4th of last year.  if we hadn't moved, we would have been back sooner.  oh well, it is nice that we can get there at all.  love.

on the move

maddux is just a movin' and a shakin'.  he was scooting around the kid chair before we left for indiana.  and i was trying to get a picture of his feet off the ground as he was trying to climb up in it but mason was trying to tackle me at the same time.  it is amazing that they aren't blurry! love.

'walking'

maddux is now taking deliberate steps while holding on to my hands.  he is pulling up on everything right now.  he pulled up to standing on the dishwasher just now and was using it for balance and not support (a lighter touch instead of full body weight).  to help him down i took his hands while i closed the door and he started taking steps back to the living room while i helped him stay upright!  i need to check, but i think that this is earlier than the other two.  he is a man on a mission when it comes to getting around!

another first today was reaching the handle on the bottom cabinets and opening the door!  yikes!  i better figure out how to secure some of these doors or rearrange things (probably the former).  love.

house - week 13, part 2

front walk; we went to the sidewalk instead of to the driveway.

 

driveway and sidewalk; there is a planting bed to the right of the single garage (sort of behind the tree in the picture).

 

view of stonework around bottom of house and the completed deck (the kids are rock hunting.  they each get one special rock each time we go out - they don't really keep them all though.)

dinette lighting

kitchen counters and lighting installed. (there is a cabinet in front of the island that was removed to be replaced with the correct one.)

kids checking out the new deck and fan/light.

we are pretty excited about the view from the back deck and the privacy to sit out there any enjoy it!

and our 'crazy' counter tops for the kids' bathroom are in.  the pictures don't quite capture the colors.  madelyn's is 'red' (really more of a burgundy) with some little sparkles in it (and other 'texture' items). and the boys' is a royal blue glass with flecks of white (which look light blue) in it. i could not believe that matt would go for something so 'crazy' but he said that once they can potty and shower themselves, he doesn't plan on going back to see them (the counters) too often.

 

and here is a picture of the inside of madelyn's closet.  the boys' closet has double shelves all the way around.

all of the carpeting is in but covered with plastic, so i didn't really take any pictures.  i think that they are going to start the hardwoods and finish the tile tomorrow.  it will be hard to wait until next week! love.

clapping

maddux started clapping today!  i knew that he would be doing it soon and today was the day.  he even makes a pretty good 'clapping' sound which i don't remember the other kids doing right away.  he wouldn't let me take video, but he did do it several times with squeals of joy.  love.

group shots

we were a little early for church so we took some group shots since we were all freshly dressed.  love.