Stroller Walking

Maddie Grace has been using her stroller to get around. Won't be long! Enjoy!!

Ballerina Lulu

Thanks Grammie for the ballet gear!

Lindsay has really been into ballet the past few weeks!

*Disclaimer: I cannot hide it, I LOVE ballet. Since I found out I was having girls, I dreamed about tiny tutus and ballet shoes. Besides being great exercise, it teaches discipline and coordination. Growing up, ballet was a huge part of my life for many years. When I helped her into her leotards, a huge flood of memories came rushing back, and my toes started tingling in anticipation of tendu, jetes, and grand de jambes. I knew J was a keeper when he took me to a ballet when we were dating. LOL. I totally understand ballet isn't for everyone, and I will encourage the girls to try out all sorts of different physical activities: sports, dance, gymnastics etc... until they find something they are truly passionate about.  BUT... for the moment I am loving her latest interest. And really, is there anything cuter than a tiny girl in a tutu?!?!

 

Real Bloch ballet shoes! There is nothing like the smell of a new pair of slippers right out of the box. Yes, I know I am a little crazy.

 Grammie noticed on her last visit Lindsay was into ballet, and loved watching Angelina Ballerina on her Kindle. Back in Bakersfield she went to the dance store where we used to get all my dance stuff (can't believe it's still open?!) and got Lulu real ballet shoes, leotard and a tutu. She even sewed a flower on the side just like Angelina Ballerina. Adorable.

First Position

Tendu

(Sorry it's sideways- I can't figure out how to turn it)

I love watching her show off her moves, just about as much as she enjoys doing them! We are thinking about lessons this summer, if she's still interested by then :)

Lindsay Diane: 3 years

THREE!!

Stats: 36 inches tall, 26 lbs. 8 oz

 

Loving her rainboots

Chef Lindsay

Lindsay Diane. Wow! My sweet little "big" girl is three. I cannot put into words what a precious, lovable, and joyful little person she is.

Personality...She has a big heart, and is conscious of other people's feelings. Always wanting to give hugs to her friends or sister when they are sad, she tells them with a southerny-sounding accent, "He/She's my best friend!". After being around other kids and having a second one, I have discovered she is pretty laid-back. She usually doesn't mind sharing her toys, and plays really well with just about all kids. When she does have tantrums, they usually end in "I"m tired and need a NAP!" and she will banish herself to her bed and usually fall asleep.

Big Sis... Lindsay takes her role as Big Sis pretty seriously. She is pretty bossy, but won't hesitate to protect her little Sis from other kids taking her toys or from falling. Quite the little Mama, I have to remind her frequently that "I'm the Mama and I will tell Maddie "No". LOL.

Inquisitive...I love how at this age most of her statements end in a "Why?". One of our favorite Lindsay-isms is "What it do-'s?" "Pup-Cakes (cupcakes)" ...lol. She is curious, and knows how to deflect unwanted chores by changing the subject :)

Favorites...
Toys: Stuffed animals (Girl Bear, Teddy, Bunny, Piggy).
TV Shows: Doc McStuffins, Princess Sophia, Sesame Street
Foods: Pizza, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, BBQ chicken and Mac n Cheese.
Color: Pink, sometime purple
Books: "Pinkalicious", "Fancy Nancy", "Gigi God's Princess"
Music: "Jump into the Light", "Ark-y", "Call me Maybe", "You are my Sweet Heart"

Things to do... She loves to dance "ballet", and likes "healthy exercise" where she proceeds to show us her strong arm muscles and jump, and help me in the kitchen. Adores crafts, especially painting. Likes to have tea parties with all her stuffed animals. LOVES to read books.

Spiritual... Lindsay has been learning about Jesus this year. She can recall several stories from the bible, and practices her memory verses. We love that she has been taking the lead when it comes to prayer. She will tell me "Me do it" and will choose a person at bedtime to pray for, and will begin, "Dear Jesus please watch over ___". It always makes me smile to hear the things that come up in her precious little heart, and I love that her relationship with the Lord is growing! I pray as a Mama she will come to know Christ at an early age.

All Girl.. She loves pink, and her bows. Lulu loves to pick out her ensembles every day, and chooses a bow and shoes to match. According to Lindsay her favorite pair of shoes are her black patent mary jane's, mainly because they are shiny and 'make tapping noise' when she walks.

Helpful... Our girl is very helpful, and loves to help me do anything. She will do her 'chores' like make her bed, unload the silverware from the dishwasher (no knifes), and will set the table in the evening and bring her plate to the sink. It's great! Lulu is my helper, and will throw away diapers, and pick up the baby toys at the end of each day.

Smartie Pants... My Goodness! This kid amazes me everyday with her desire to learn! We have been working on letters and numbers and she knows the entire alphabet, and can count 1-15. The next couple of months we will be working on days of the week, weather and upper/lower case letters. She really wants to learn to write her name, and will write 'notes' on post-its for me. We opted to wait on preschool until she is four, so in the fall I am going to do an at-home curriculum, ABC Jesus Loves Me a couple days a week in addition to our bible study and play groups and possibly dance lessons. Whew! Busy Girls!

My Darling Three Year Old

Lindsay Diane, I love you through and through. You are growing up to be such a beautiful, smart girl on the inside and out! I am so blessed to be your Mama and watch you grow every day!

Happy 3rd Birthday Lindsay Diane!

The Birthday Girl, Pre-Party

We had a Valentine's themed birthday party for our Lindsay Girl on Saturday. Our Valentine Baby (Feb. 15th) told me several party themes over the past few months that she wanted, but she finally settled on a "red and pink" birthday! Lulu and I had fun making the decorations, and many we kept for V-Day next year! She invited her little friends from our bible study, and some of our mom's group.  We had 8 little people, and 10 big people, and a pretty full house!  

Daddy and Madison chatting with our new friends

We played a few games, which I didn't get pictures of because I was playing game show host :) The kids played a game called Cupid's Target Practice which was like pin-the-tale-on-the-donkey, except with hearts. They also took turns trying to see how many conversation hearts they could drop into a jar to win a few dollar store prizes. There was lots of playing in the playroom, and they went outside in the garage to play with the playhouse and ride-on cars. It was a little crazy at times, but oh so fun.

Here is a pic of the little folks attending the party... minus a couple little guys who were camera shy.

Pizza Time!

Maddie napped for half of the party, and woke up just in time for pizza!

Mmmm Pink Pupcakes (Cupcakes)!

Lindsay was thrilled to finally get to blow out the candles on her own cupcake, or "Pupcakes" as she calls them. With Mama's birthday, then Madison's, it seemed like a long wait for sweet Lulu's! The sweet little lady to the right is Lindsay's best friend, Lila. They are a few months apart and are so cute together.

 

 Happy Birthday to my Lovely Lulu!! We love you!! xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Love,

The Fisher Girls xoxo

Big Snow 2013

This past weekend we got our first big snow! With the North East covered in snow and blizzard conditions, we were happy to stay indoors and have no where to go. We got around 4 inches, which isn't really big compared to Boston's 30 inches! However, I think Jarrett would agree that shoveling 4 inches is a LOT better than 30!!

Here's what we woke up to on Saturday morning...

Cutest little snow bunny! Maddie was taking a nap while we went outside to play.

Making a snow man... it was hard because it was powder!

Backyard

Jarrett carved "J + K" in snow on the trunk of our tree...

Front yard

Finished snow man... Never imagined we would be using our beach toys in the snow... but hey, it worked!!

Madison Grace: 12 Months

How could this little baby be 1 already?!

My precious girl is ONE! How did that happen? This has been a crazy year, with job changes and moving and I feel like all of a sudden I look at my little peanut and she has blossomed into a toddler.

Madison Grace, 1 year

Still our little brunette beauty, her hair is growing longer and almost ready for clips!

Little lady crossing her legs enjoying her lamby chair.

Here are her stats (going in next week and will update):
*Height 28 inches Wearing a size 12 months
*Weight.... 16 lbs, 8 oz

*Teeth... Maddie has finally sprouted her two front teeth, plus another 2 next to them! Final count: two on bottom, and four on top. She has bit me a total of two times, which I think is pretty good!

*Weaned... This week was her last breast feed, and she has done really well! I began dropping feeds after her birthday, and I think my body was about done too because it seemed like I was hardly making milk. She loves to drink whole cow's milk, (unlike Lulu at this age) which is wonderful for the calcium and good fat calories.

*Good Eater... Madison loves to eat, and her favorite foods are spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, and just about whatever Mommy and Daddy have on their plate. She is a pro at feeding herself, and eats with gusto. She loves her sippy cup, and can drink from a straw.

*Physical... A crawling machine, this girl moves fast! She pulls up on everything, and is cruising in between toys and furniture. She is so tiny, I can't imagine her walking yet. Hopefully I still have awhile.

*Sleeping...Hooray! Our girl has been sleeping through the night (7pm-6:45am) on a some-what regular basis. She is taking two 1.5 hour naps per day, or when we run errands, she will take 2 hrs in the afternoons. She fights naps hard, and I know I will have my work cut out for me in the future :) Mama (and the girl) needs those naps!

*Personality... This girl knows her own mind, and in new situations chooses to observe until she feels ready for attention. The other day at church she discovered if she waved at people she would get a response. She began waving at strangers, and particularly elderly gentlemen. I think she probably made their day! She will point to things, wave "Bye Bye", blow kisses and can hold her own with her sister. She is fearless, and has given Mama several grey hairs. A spirited girl, she goes after what she wants, and will let out bone-chilling squeals and screeches to communicate her displeasure. MGF is extremely loving, and is very curious. She loves to cuddle, and enjoys music and being sung to. Her happiest place is still on my hip, and wants to be in the middle of whatever I am doing.

*Talker... She can say "Mama", "Dada", "Uh Oh", "BaBa (baby)" and can point to nose, eyes, mouth and a few animals.

*Sweet memory... Last night we were reading her bedtime book, "When the World is Ready for Bed" and we came to the page where the characters were giving their Mama a hug and kiss good night. As I was reading, "time for kisses, hugs and prayers..." Madison leans over and give me a hug and kiss like in the picture. Melted my heart!

Madison Grace, you are a joy and light of my life!

Cute as a Button and much fun...

Madison Grace is ONE

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

We celebrated Maddie's birthday all week, with the arrival of Grammie and Auntie Annie. The girls got plenty of snuggles, playtime and had lots all-around fun!

 It snowed the weekend the girls arrived, and it was a fun change for Auntie who lives in Florida!

Snow watchers

One of Auntie's many talents is cake decorating, and she brought all the fun supplies to make a special fondant cake for Madison's birthday. Lindsay was her sous chef, and had fun making her own pint-sized Hello Kitty cake.

This girl loves to cook in the kitchen!

When the weather improved, Grammie took the girls to Build-a-Bear for early birthday gifts. Right next door was the Disney store, where Lindsay had the opportunity to "open" the store with a little Disney magic. She was a little shy at first, but really got into the play when they let her wear Mickey's robe and hat. They also gifted her with a little Mickey lanyard, which she loved.

Lots of early morning snuggles with Madison & Lulu

The day before Maddie's actual birthday Papa flew in from California! He got lots of sugar from the birthday girl and from Lulu too!

We took the family into town for a tour of Princeton, from a very handsome tour guide. Auntie enjoyed seeing Einstein's classroom, and I think Mom's favorite was the gorgeous stained glass chapel.

Auntie, Jarrett and the little ladies

Looks like Dad needs a smoking jacket and pipe!

 Madison's birthday party was themed, "Cute as a Button" and I had fun recycling some of Lindsay's 1st birthday decorations into her party. It was bright and happy, just like our girl!

The birthday girl feasted on her favorite dinner lately: Spaghetti! Can you tell she liked it?

Look at my new top teeth!!

Then it was time for absolutely adorable cake... Madison was mesmerized by the candle.

MMMMmmm... CAKE! She enjoyed squishing the cake in her hands before deciding to take a bite.

Daddy capturing the first bite of frosting.

It's a hit.

The cute cake stayed cute for a couple minutes more before we all had to dig into it.

 Then it was present time! I loved how excited Lindsay was to open gifts with her sister!

Jarrett and I began the "1 Year" special gifts with Lindsay, and I created a shutterfly photo book documenting each girl's first year. I loved this photo with Madison's birth announcement photo (she was so TINY) juxapositioned with her at 1 year... priceless.

Madison loved her Lamb chair, and climbed right into it. Just like big sis, Madison received a special stuffed toy the day she was born. When she turned 1, Daddy got the matching lamb chair for a sweet place where she can sit and read stories.  Now her and sissy can sit in their chairs together and watch their favorite shows!

After the presents there was a little karaoking...

...and a few spins taken in her new pink ride!

 Thank you family for coming out to be there for Madison's big day! It was so special to get to host our family in our home. I loved to wake up and have coffee together and of course, all the wonderful conversations that develop from being close. We are so grateful to have so many wonderful people in our lives that shower our girls with love! Happy Birthday my baby Madison! Remember, as long as you're living, my baby you'll be!