Maddy Duck

Maddy is at a really cute stage, and it is fun to see her growing and learning so much. She is starting to say and sign a lot of words. Her favorites are: "ball, coat, shoes, socks, hat, eat, cheese, milk, moo, roar, quack, bath, and down." If she doesn't know the word or sign for something, she is learning how to point and say "that." Right now her favorite things are coloring, tackling Abby, carrying shoes around, climbing on the table, reading board books with mom, playing with balls, taking pots and pans out of the cupboards, and giving her baby doll kisses.
Maddy loves playing outside no matter what the weather. She is always asking for a hat, shoes, and a coat; then she bangs on the back door to go out.

Maddy playing in Abby's doll stroller. She likes it much more than her own since this one lights up and plays music.

Maddy loves to wear her duck costume all the time. When I try to take it off she throws a tantrum. One day I let her wear it when I went to WinCo and she caused quite a sensation. Whenever people noticed her she would tilt her head and act shy, although I know she loved all the attention.

When Maddy lets me do it, her hair looks really cute in pigtails.

Abby Ballerina

Early one morning Abby crawled into bed with me and said, "Mommy, I watched a bad movie." It took me a minute to figure out that she was trying to tell me that she had a scary dream. It is amazing to me how she is growing and learning to express new ideas. Abby loves doing preschool and goes around the house saying, "B starts with Barney, P starts with Peter Rabbit and Princess. Mommy, J starts with Jared!" She is struggling a little more with learning her numbers, but I've been checking out number books from the library and got her a number puzzle from the dollar store and she seems to be doing a lot better. She is still very obsessed with princesses, and in true Cinderella fashion she is dreaming of the day (her birthday) when all her dreams (a new bike, a big party with cousins, princess dresses, ice cream) will come true. In addition to princesses, Abby's current obsession is with being a ballerina. I think it came from the Angelina Ballerina books and movies that we got from the library. She is always begging to watch Swan Lake or the Nutcracker on YouTube. She also turns on music, puts her arms above her head and stands on her tip-toes and twirls around. Her favorite thing is to dance with Daddy because he can lift her up in the air. Her favorite place to show off her new dancing moves happens to be storytime. When they do the "shake your wiggles out" song, Abby gets up and instead of facing the storytime lady like the other kids, she turns and performs her ballerina dance for all the parents who sit in the back.

A Precious Life

I'm excited to announce that I'm expecting again! I'm 15 weeks along and the baby is due at the end of August. Here are some cute pictures from my last OB visit. Don't you love his/her darling little hands and smiling face. He/she even waved at me when these were taken.

We should find out if it is a boy or girl in just a few weeks, so we'll be sure to let you know. Abby is certain that we are having a girl named Audrey. She talks to her through my belly button and wants me to tell stories about her and Audrey all the time. I hope she won't be too upset if her little sister Audrey ends up being a boy.

So far the pregnancy has gone pretty well. I had a few miserable weeks of throwing up, but I'm feeling much better now. Currently my main symptoms are irritability and tiredness (poor Jared). I felt the baby kick for the first time yesterday and was so excited to feel his/her little hello. Please keep us in your prayers that the rest of the pregnancy and delivery will go well. I definitely don't like the idea of having to go on bed rest again. We are very excited for our expected new addition, and hope you are too!

Reading

There are very few things in life that enjoy more than a well-written book. I like to get a supply of snacks, a big glass of water, and all cuddled up in bed when I sit down to read one. My only problem is that when I read I often become somewhat obsessed and tend to neglect my family and other responsibilities until I finish my book. Luckily I tend to read pretty quickly and finish most books in a day or two so my neglect doesn't last too long. Jared and I also like to read books together, especially when we are taking a long car trip--it makes the time just fly by.

There are books that I read for my book group that are often deep and thought provoking. They give me a deeper understanding of life and how to live it. However these are also emotionally taxing and leave me feeling a little depressed at times. You know--all the books you had to read for your English classes in high school. You're glad that you read them and you feel you are a better person for doing so, but they tend to haunt you for a while. Some of my favorite books in this category would be: The Brother's Karamazov, Cold Sassy Tree, Tess of the Dubervilles, and A Separate Peace.

As you can probably guess from my history background, I love to read historical fiction and non-fiction. Some of my favorite books in this category would be The Hiding Place, 1776, and Coming of Age In Mississippi. In this category I think biographies are often the most fascinating. It is interesting to learn about how people lived, and to try to understand what they thought and why they acted in certain ways. Recently Jared and I have read biographies about John Adams and Benjamin Franklin that we really enjoyed.

Unlike Jared, I get bored by a lot of non-fiction (with the exception of historical non-fiction). I don't seem to have the attention span to sit and read it for hours on end. However there have been some non-fiction books I have read that have been well-written and interesting. Some of these are: The Culprit and the Cure, The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me, Mere Christianity, and To Draw Closer to God.

Most often I tend to read books to just escape from stress and relax after a long day. In this category I love fantasy, adventure, and romance--the easy reading page turners. Some of my favorite books in this category are the Harry Potter books, the Twilight Series, and The Ranger's Apprentice Series. My biggest complaint about this category is that there are no ratings for books, like their are for movies. I hate being in the middle of a page turning, exciting book and then realize that it's not exactly PG rated. I think that's why I tend to read a lot of young adult fiction, since it tends to be cleaner than a lot of the adult fiction I have picked up. I also tend to get on author kicks. If I find an author I like I tend to read every book they have ever written. Some of my favorite authors in this category are: Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Well, if you've had the patience to read all of that then you must be as avid a reader as I am, so now I'm going to ask for suggestions. I'm currently in a reading lull (the next Fablehaven book doesn't come out until later this month and the next Ranger Apprentice book doesn't come out until July) so I'm in need of some suggestions. Comment and tell me some of your favorites.