Madeline's 4 year check-up

We had Madeline's 4 year check-up on Monday.  The nurse took her measurements (48 lbs, 45" tall) and told me that she is in the 90% percentile.  I was actually kind of surprised by that because she's always been "off the charts."  When the doctor came in, we were going over the charts and he realized that the nurse had charted it wrong.  She was 90th percentile FOR A FIVE YEAR OLD!!!  She continues to be off the charts for a 4 y.o.  And the doctor also commented that she hadn't been in his office in a year since her 3 y.o. well child visit.  I hadn't realized that she has had such a healthy year!  We are so blessed that she is growing so well and staying so healthy...  

Happy birthday, Madeline!

I can't believe that our little girl is turning 4 today!

Too bad that she was a sourpuss this morning. She was mad at me for dropping her off in her typical daycare room. Now that she is 4, she wants to move up to the "Pre-K" room.

We're going to Chuck E. Cheese tonight to celebrate.

Madeline's 4th birthday party

Madeline doesn't turn 4 until next week, but we had her birthday party this past weekend.   She has been looking forward to her 4th birthday for months.  I had always heard from others that the 4th one is the big one because they finally really "get it" and can get truly excited for it.  In March, she was saying "when is it going to be spring?  because then it is my birthday."  And she'd talk about the cake she wanted.  It's fun to share in her excitement!

As usual, we had our family over for BBQ and cake.  We got the Barbie cake that they had on display at Target - mainly because she'd been eyeing it for months.  It actually had a real Barbie in the middle!  Now that I have the cake gadgets for this one, I wonder if I could make one myself?

So there are 2 items that will remain in my memory forever about this birthday party.  The first is Madeline's outfit (see first picture).  Grandma Rita helped her get dressed in whatever special dress she wanted to wear, and she went straight to this Barbie wedding dress, Barbie tiara, and Barbie play shoes (probably to match her Barbie cake).  She was in it this dress for hours!  

The second item is the grilling.  My mom suggested shish kabobs (sp???) and so we signed Nathan up for it.  The wide variety of meats (beef, chicken, shrimp) and vegetables proved to be quite stressful and all of the men were hovered over the grill for a good hour giving feedback and encouragement to poor Nathan.  But it was worth it - the food was delicious (if I do say so myself!)  Good job, baby!  

Madeline was showered with so much love and such thoughtful gifts.  Our family is blessed with abundant love from our family and friends and we are so thankful!  Even though it's hard to believe that Madeline is already 4, we're enjoying every minute of this journey through life with her.  Happy birthday, Madeline!!!

Chicago trip

We made the most of our 3-day weekend by going to visit Aunt Laura in Chicago.  We had a great time together, the kids were so good and completely flexible, and the weather was gorgeous.  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

  

We spent Saturday shopping on Michigan Avenue, and we splurged by buying Madeline an American Girl doll (Chrissa, for those of you who know/care) for her upcoming 4th birthday.  I swear every single girl ages 4-12 at our hotel or on Michigan Avenue had one of those dolls or at least a bag from the store.  I think we need to come up with the equivalent concept for boys so we can get in on the action!  

On Sunday, we enjoyed a long walk through the city on our way to the Shedd Aquarium.  What a beautiful museum and the kids just loved all of the fish.

Can't wait until our next visit, Laura!

Family fun night

We had a fun night of kids karaoke, dress-up, and Rock Band with the Lape family.    Notice that Madeline is dressed up as a Spider Kitty.  It's the best of both worlds, really.

We must have made some sort of impression, because they paid us back for our family fun night by "flocking" us!  Our church is doing a fundraiser for their mission trip.  In return for a donation, they'll place 25 flamingos on your front lawn for a day.  The kids were so excited (and confused) to wake up to all of this excitement!  Watch-out, Lapes!  Payback is coming!

 

Random updates

We have had such a nice spring.  I can tell already that it's going to be a completely different summer than last year....  Now that Henry is older, he is only doing one nap a day, but we were limited by his 2 nap a day schedule last summer.  So, with more freedom in our schedule this year, we're already staying up later after work to play outside and getting more done on the weekends.  And we're weeks ahead on spring landscaping maintenance compared to where we were last year - so we're productive and having more fun!

Here are pictures of the kids enjoying some of the loot I got going to garage sales a few weeks ago. (Yes, I'm officially addicted to garage sales!)

Hilton Head

At the end of April, our family went to Hilton Head, South Carolina, along with my mom and sisters and their families.  Although it's always great to get together, it was especially fun to celebrate Katie's pregnancy (due mid-June) and Frank's return from duty in Iraq.  We honestly didn't do much - mainly swimming at the pool, digging in the sand, and playing our Wii games after the kids went to bed - but it was great to be together and to catch up.