37 weeks bumpin'

240 newborn diapers waiting in the nursery 

160 baby heart beats per minute

104 today's temperate 

21 days until baby's due date

6lbs 14oz is the baby's current estimated weight

4 ultrasounds done

3 fudgesicles consumed by Mama 

2 big brothers excited to meet their baby brother

1 new diaper bag purchased 

1 teething toddler 

0 items packed in the hospital bag

be kind

Kindness

"One of the greatest acts you can bestow upon another.  If some one is in need.  Lend them a helping hand.  Do not wait for a thank you.  True kindness lies with in the act of giving with out the expectation of something in return."

*****

Recently I took the boys to the Cedar Rock Railroad.  It is a fantastic quarter-scale train that takes passengers on a 1.3 mile ride through the nature-filled fields of the Williamson County Regional Park.  The boys are both obsessed with trains and it had been a particularly great morning.  Everyone was well behaved and getting along nicely.  As we pulled up to the train depot I realized I only had a $1 bill in my wallet.  I didn't think too much of it and figured I could just pay with my debit card.  After all, the farmer at the farmers market can swipe my card on his iPhone.

We waited in a small line at the depot for the train to come back and pick us up.  As I approached the conductor he informed me that he only accepted cash for the train tickets.  I told him that it wasn't a problem and I would come back with cash.  I held Carson's hand and as I was about to tell him we needed to go find an ATM, a woman behind me, who had just gotten off the train said "I want to buy your tickets."  I was shocked that a perfect stranger would offer such a thing.  I thanked her but told her, she didn't need to do that.  She said "no I insist."  She pointed to my big round belly and said "I have been there and I know how hard it is to be pregnant and have little ones.  Please I want to pay for you."  

She would not take no for an answer.  As she handed the conductor the $5 for our train tickets, I had tears in my eyes (I am a very emotional pregnant woman).  I don't know her nor does she know me but we both know the daily struggles of motherhood.   I was so taken aback by her gracious gesture and I thanked her about 20 times.  I just wanted to hug her.  I kept my hands to myself but I just hope that mother knows how much her random act of kindness meant to me that day.  

It reminded me that there are still kind people in the world.  I immediately felt compelled to pay it forward so on the way home I drove thru Starbucks, got Carson a cake pop and paid for the woman behind me.  

I don't care if the boys grow up to be doctors or janitors.  But I do want them to be gracious.  I want them to be as kindhearted as the woman who bought our train tickets.  To be genuinely nice men.  That would make me the happiest mother.  

happy July 5th

A year ago today, I looked like this.  Bald and pale with bags under my eyes.  Carson sent me this picture of himself while I sat in my recliner hooked up to bags of poison that would save my life (a  picture that still bring me to tears.)  I was at chemo a year ago today.  It was one of my worst treatments in terms of how sick it made me but it was one of my happiest.  Before my 5th on the 5th of July, I learned that not only was chemotherapy working but I had gotten a full response from it!  BEST NEWS I HAVE EVER RECEIVED.

I get to tuck my boys into bed every night and kiss Jared before the day is done.  Something I never take for granted even on my worst Mommy days.  I am here.  I am healthy and on top of it all I got to hear our unborn son's heart beat today. 

 So the 5th of July does get even better. 

           

30 weeks bumpin'

145 baby heartbeats per minute

95 the average tempature in Austin this month

70 days until my due date

16 the approximate length in inches of no. 3

10 elephants items in the nursery 

5 names seriously discussed

4 ultrasounds

3 infant sleepers purchased 

2 naps taken by mommy

1 case of baby hiccups

1 toddler who crawled out of his crib

1 minivan purchased

0 glasses of wine consumed

superhero

Enough said!  Jared is a superhero, well almost.  Technically he is a cadet superhero but in the eyes of Carson and Maddox he already has super powers.  He is selfless, kind and determined.  All things I hope my boys become.  Though, life isn't easy, the one thing I can count on is that he will always be at my side.  I couldn't have chosen a better partner in crime.  Thank you for all you do to love and provide for our family.    

It is also fun to watch my own Father being a Grandpa to the boys.  The joy that the boys and my Dad (and Mom too) get from each other is a very cool thing to see.  

Happy Fathers Day to all the great Fathers in our lives.   

a pond and a pool

Now all the boxes are unpacked and pictures are hung on the walls.  Lately, we have been checking out our new neighborhood.  On a walk one day we found a pond with 3 ducks.  The boys have become obsessed with walking to the pond to feed them.  We usually bring a slice of bread and Maddox throws his bread bits from the stroller.  Otherwise my little busy body would end up in the pond with the ducks.  

On one of our trips to the pond Carson saw some school age boys fishing.  One of the boys caught a little bass while we were there.  Carson was interested and  started asking if he could go fishing.  I knew that my Dad ( the biggest and best outdoors man I know) was just the person to buy him his first fishing pole and take him to catch his first fish.  Carson practiced casting in the back yard with a key tied to the end of his line for weight.  He caught right on and only got it tangled in a tree a few times.  

The next morning he was up at the crack of dawn waiting for Grandpa to come over from the hotel to fish.  After the turtles stole all their bait and another trip to the store to get smaller hooks Carson (aka Grandpa) got a couple little blue gills.  He was thrilled to see a fish at the end of his line and grabbed the fish with no fear to throw him back in the pond.  If you ask him what fish eat he'll probably tell you "hot dogs" since that is what they used for bait.  

Summer is now in full effect in central Texas.  We love our back yard but the boys are dripping in sweat after 30 minutes of playing outside.  So now we usually make a trip to the pool almost everyday after nap and a few times on the weekends.  It is just a block or so from our house and the boys swim like fish there.  They have the perfect little beach entry kids pool and a larger swimming pool. Maddox has no fear and if you ask him if he wants to go under the water he will shake his head yes.  I'll be extra thankful for the pool when I'm 9 months pregnant in August (the hottest month in TX).         

  

Texas roadtrip

A little over a month ago we said goodbye to our home in southern California.  The almost 1,400 mile drive took us over 24 hours and we did it in 2 days.  

It was definitely sad driving away from the ocean and remembering all the good and bad memories from the past 6 years.  We were married on Camp Pendleton, we moved 3 times throughout San Clemente, we were devastated when we lost a nephew and a brother, I was diagnosed with cancer, we bought 6 new cars and a motorcycle, and I found out I was pregnant 3 times. Carson and Maddox made us parents, we walked the beach trail more times than I can even count and made dozens of great friends.  It isn't easy closing that chapter of our lives and starting a new adventure no matter how exciting the adventure.  Because lets face it, the unknown is scary.
But here we go...

Sitting out on the front walkway for the last time.

        

Watching movies on the ride.  What would I have done without the DVD players?

Stopped at In-n-Out for one last time. 

Watching the sunrise in Arizona while the boys slept on our drive.  And of course we stopped at Taco Cabana as soon as we could.  Hello warm tortillas and liquid cheese!

The last few hours of the drive were never ending.  During those last few hours, Carson used the F word correctly in a sentence for the first time as well.  I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or holler when I heard him struggling in the back seat only to say "This f-ing window won't open."   No son, the window won't open because I put the window lock on 700 miles ago.  I'll admit it, I laughed, quietly so he didn't see or hear.  I couldn't help it.  But we now know about naughty words and Daddy is watching his mouth much better.     

We survived the ride and we had Miles and Caroline waiting for us with a beer and Oreo cookies for the pregnant lady.      

dreams

I have wanted to be a mom since I can remember.  I probably played with dolls entirely too long, MASH was a game I frequently played and I dreamed of having a minivan.  Somehow, since the fourth grade I knew I could have 3 children.  I could hardly wait to have babies after Jared and I got married.  I didn't know what being a Mother would be like but I knew I wanted it.   From the moment I knew that my children were going to be part of our family they captured my heart.  Feeling my baby move for the first time in my belly is nothing short of a miracle.  Seeing your child for the first time and holding them in your arms is a euphoria that cannot be beat. 

 Carson and Maddox have filled a place in my heart that was open for them since I was a little girl, they have made my dreams come true.

I can only hope to do the same for them.

Being a Mom makes me appreciate my Mom and Mother-in-law because this isn't and easy job.  Not all days are fun and filled with finger painting, trips to the park and dinner tables where everyone eats their vegetables.  More days than none, I lay in bed at night and feel awful for yelling too much or not playing "fire station" and sweeping the floor instead.  I often wonder how my boys will turn out to be good people, I pray for more patience and most days I just feel exhausted.  I feel sorry for that.  Motherhood is a work in progress for me and I wish I was as good at it as I had dreamt as a little girl.

We are all a work in progress and nobody is perfect.  I want my boys to be happy and kind people.  And I am right here with them learning how to be a happy and kind mama.  

  I can't express the joy Carson and Maddox bring me on a daily basis and I can only imagine what their brother will add to our family.  These guys in my life really are a dream come true and even on the nights that I lie in bed feeling badly about being a selfish mom, I also feel grateful for having the chance to be the mother to these boys.  

So Thank you Jared, Carson, Maddox and no.3 for making me a mother.  For making my dreams come true.  For filling a place in my heart and making me full.  For teaching me everyday about forgiveness and selflessness.  I love you more than words can express. 

cold water in the face

April, 23 2012

Damn April 23.

I will never forget April 23.  It's just another day for most people, even the people that know me.  I want it to be just another day for me too.  I'd like to forget, I really want to.

What I remember about that day is my girlfriends keeping me busy that morning. Since they knew I was waiting for a phone call from Dr. Hunt.  They took me to my favorite place, Target.  If I am ever having a bad day Target is usually a good solution.  While filling our red carts, there happened to be a small earthquake.  

I still wonder was the earthquake a sign?  A sign of the shit storm that would follow that afternoon.  

As Carson slept upstairs, I had just sat down on the couch and began nursing Maddox.  It was exactly 1:00pm when Dr. Hunt called.  All I heard was "Reed Sternberg cells present...Hodgkins lymphoma."  

Everything went still.  I heard nothing but ringing in my ears.  I asked the doctor to repeat what he had told me.  When he told me for a second time I  felt like I had ADD.  I just couldn't comprehend what he was saying no matter how hard I tried to listen.

That moment and the fear of cancer still feels so fresh.  The unknown and the waiting.  The vomiting and hair loss.  It's all so familiar. And it all sucked.  It's only been a year but it's been a whole year.  I want to forget.  I don't want to be the crazy hypochondriac that goes psycho the second my body feels something different.  I want to forget all of it ever happened even though it is behind me and it's over.  Because, I guess what I fear most is the "what if's." 

What if...

 I can still taste the chemo in my mouth sometimes.  Anything that resembles red kool-aid (one of my chemo drugs looked like it) makes me want to vomit.  Since we moved I'll never have to step foot in the oncology office where I received treatment, thank God.  Just being there for a check up made me feel ill.  I can no longer drink water out of my camelbak water bottle.  It was the water bottle I took with me to chemo and I would drink as much water as possible out of it in an effort to flush the poison out of my body.   Just drinking out of it makes me sick.  So I finally bought a new water bottle.

I'd love to forget all of that too...  

Forget all the bad news of April 23, 2012 and the shit storm that followed.  

But of course if I forgot the bad news I wouldn't appreciate the little daily miracles nearly as much.  

The book Carry On, Warrior was given to me by my sister-in-law .  The woman who wrote the book was diagnosed with Lyme disease.  At the end of the chapter where she talks about being diagnosed she writes this:

"Sometimes bad news is the best way to see all the good quickly and clearly.  Bad news has a way of waking us up sort of like a cold water in the face.  We might prefer waking in a gentler way but we can't argue with the efficiency of the cold water method."

So yes, even though I would love to forget April 23 and what it brought, I won't be able to.  The daily gratitude cancer has given me is one thing I can be thankful for.  

Life is hard.  Myself and my family have had our share of heartache.  Probably more than the average family.  But each healthy day on this earth is a miracle to me.  I really do believe it is the small moments in life that make it worth living.  It's being in the other room and listening to Jared read to the boys.  Or unloading the dishwasher only to look over and see Maddox dancing with his little Elmo radio.  Really there is nothing cuter than a baby dancing.  And riding in the car last night, telling spooky stories and listening to Carson whisper "once upon a time..." as told us his 3 year old version of a scary story. 

Those are the moments that get you through the rest of it all.   

   

        

    

   

Happy Easter!

We sort of had a white trash low key Easter.  In the midst of house hunting and settling in to life at Miles and Caroline's we dropped the ball on a festive Easter.  Jared needed pants last minute for Austin PD orientation tomorrow (note to Jared: please try cloths on in advance of needing them).  He has two beautiful suits that we bought just two years ago and they do not fit as he has gone on a weight lifting kick and gained about 20 pounds.  So we were those people at Old Navy today looking for a pair of khakis that he could wear with a suit jacket.  Luckily Old Navy was open, otherwise it would have been a pair of Faded Glory pants from Wal-Mart.  

Lunch was super classy as well and we picked up Five Guys on our way home from shopping.  We start the paleo diet tomorrow.  Well, lets be honest, Caroline and Jared start the diet tomorrow.  I am going to try and do it 75% of the time but I am pregnant after all and this baby boy makes me one hungry Mama.         

The Easter bunny, however, did not disappoint and left Easter baskets hidden with treats and goodies. 

I would have really liked a nice picture of our family on Easter but that didn't happen either.  I did catch a few of the boys playing in the yard today.  They absolutely love Roscoe, Miles and Caroline's dog.  The dog is a saint too!  He was chasing the neighbors dog on the other side of the fence and the boys just stood and watched him.  

(notice Roscoe's water dish in Maddox hand)  

And the water dish on his head...hilarious.  

 Even though we didn't to anything special it was nice to spend the day with Family for once.  Something I will get very used to!

Happy Easter!  

another BROTHER!

Looks like we will be having another little boy!  Carson called it.  Of course the days prior he wouldn't entertain the idea of a baby girl, he would only talk of a boy.  So he was excited at the ultrasound to see that the baby "has a penis."  But, as soon as we left, he whined in the car saying "I wanted a girl baby."  You can't win with 3 year olds.

My sister-in-law had a great point, I won't be tempted to blow a wad of cash on the adorable pink, lace and floral outfits.  Very true.  I have everything for a boy and know what do do with little boys.  

Then my mother-in-law said something I hope to never forget.  That I will make a wonderful mother of all boys.  Thanks Andrea!       

Boy or girl it is so nice to see a beating heart and what looks like a healthy baby forming. 

 All I want is a happy and healthy little guy.  

This isn't the greatest quality of ultrasound image but the proof is in the pudding.   

A perfect little hand waving hello.  Jared's words were "well we know he has 5 fingers."  

Long skinny legs! He was super funny and kept stretching them in and out.  Already working on his squat technique.    

Profile pic.  

These pictures were taken by two different ultrasound techs.  And both of them said "what a beautiful baby."  and how the baby has "a perfect nose." and "cute little lips."  I don't believe any of the people who scanned me with Carson or Maddox said, based off of a grainy ultrasound image, what a good looking baby we are having.  I'm dying to see what this baby looks like...he may just be the next Brad Pitt.  

Either way we are thrilled.

    

         

Happy Belated Birthday Daren

Yesterday Daren should have turned 27.

My favorite picture!  

We typically keep his birthday light and happy.  We want to be able to share Daren with the boys and for them to have happy "memories" of their Uncle on his birthday.  Carson and I always make a birthday treat for him and I take the quiet time with Carson to explain who we are making the birthday treat for.  But as my kids get older I think it will be a nice tradition for us to make his birthday cake together.
We all like to eat our favorite meal on our birthday.  Somehow Daren's favorite meal has come to be known as, chicken fingers.  Jared is not convinced that this was actually his favorite meal as an adult and felt we needed to have something more grown up.  I don't know what his favorite meal was as an adult.  I don't know many of Daren's favorites actually but I do not believe him to be a picky eater.  So we had these patty melts instead.  What guy doesn't like beef, bread and cheese???
Ya, he would have loved 'em.  

      

Daren also enjoyed Andrea's raspberry breakfast roll.  If you have never had it, it is like a biscuit version of a Racine kringle.  So I made these raspberry crumble bars for a little treat.

While eating dessert we talked more about Daren and I brought out a picture to show Carson.  We all said "Happy Birthday Daren." And as I got up to put the picture away Carson exclaimed "we love you."
MELTED my heart to hear such sweet words come from his mouth.

Happy Birthday Daren, we love you!
(even if chicken fingers was your favorite meal as an adult too)

cats outta the bag

Big news in the Hidalgo household...our family of four will be a family of five this summer.  We have all gotten used to the idea and are becoming more and more excited with each day.  I might lose my sanity having three kids under the age of four (and look like a lame soccer Mom driving a minivan) but I think it will make for a big, fun, loud, messy and very happy family.  

The day we told Carson, he laid on the couch and whined for almost two hours, saying "I don't want to have another baby!"  I couldn't take it anymore and we left the house and took him to Rocket Fizz just to get his mind off of it (and to shut him up).  Then, we were at the park last week and there was a woman with a small baby.  He looked at the woman, pointed to her baby and said "we want one of those."  It was really sweet and a huge sigh of relief.  So he has become more aware of infants and seems excited.  

Tomorrow we are going to go have an ultrasound and see if we can find out the babies gender.  

These are our predictions:

Jared:

Jenny:

Carson:

 Chinese Calender:

(it was correct for both boys)

Heart Rate at 10 weeks:

My OBGYN, Dr. Johnson:

Looks like you are sorely out numbered Carson.  Sorry buddy, but I hope you are wrong!      

iphone photodump

 I actually uploaded all the the photos from my phone onto the computer!  Its a small miracle.  

So I'll dump a few on you...

There is this little play house at the park across the street from our house.  Maddox LOVES playing it it.  

 Two weeks ago at gymnastics they had the kids doing flips on the bar.  I was really impressed.

Maddox has tree trunks for legs.  Not a cankle, just a huge calf that goes into the ankle.  I'm almost positive he got them from Jorge and Daren.  It's nuts.    

Happy Valentines Day!  Our computer was in the shop so there was no Valentines Day post.  But the boys wore red and Carson had a ton of sweets.  Here he is all amped up after our Stroller Strides 

V-Day party.    

Maddox has just become obsessed with books.  He loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear and kisses the teacher at the end (he missed her lips in this picture though...awkward!)  It is so freaking funny.  

Carson asks everyday to go to the beach.  I've been trying to get the boys to the beach as much as possible because I know I will be missing it.    

all aboard the choo choo train

We are trying to check a few things off of our bucket list before we move out of California.  Less than a month from now and we will be shacking up with Miles and Caroline in Texas.  We should have done some of these things before the chaos of a cross county move and major job change.  So now we are trying to fit some things in over the next few weekends.  I just hope we don't move and have regrets about not seeing and doing everything we wanted to in California.  

I saw something the other day that said "I got all adventurous for a second and then I looked at my bank account."  So true!       

One thing we have been wanting to do was ride the train along the coast.  Both boys love watching the train at the beach and we have never done it.  So we took the Coaster to Old Town San Diego today.  

Old Town is a historic state park where the city of San Diego began.  They have preserved the buildings from the 1800's and it is a unique little place to have lunch and spend an afternoon.

  

      I really wanted to steel the navy and white planters and succulents that we saw outside of one of the restaurants.  They would look really good on my new door step in Texas.  But we ate churros and bought some beef jerky instead.  

After walking around for a few hours, but before jumping on the train home, we had lunch at Cafe Coyote (one of the dozen or so Mexican restaurants within a block of each other).  It's one of those places where the old Hispanic woman is making the tortillas in the middle of the restaurant.  Then they bring them to the table and they are all warm and chewy.  Probably some of the best tortillas I've had.  I could seriously just eat the flour tortillas as my main dish.  

It was a really great Sunday afternoon in San Diego with my boys.  I am sure going to miss Southern California and all that it has to offer.  It is such a beautiful place and I remind myself often that we are so lucky to have lived here for the past six years.  But I guess its not about where you are it's about who you are with.           

Christmas: part III

We had three different places to spend Christmas and we actually broke it up enough that I didn't feel too rushed.  

Our first Christmas was at my Mom's.  Santa actually came early (Christmas Eve morning) and Carson was so happy to see that Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk we left out.  However, he really wanted to know why none of the reindeer ate the food we had left outside for them.  I had suggested someone go out and mess with it a little bit but they all thought he wouldn't notice.        

We were able to see my Aunt Linda, Uncle Tim and my cousins.  It has been awhile since I saw them last and they were able to meet Maddox for the first time too.  They are also my God parents and as a child, every Christmas, gave me an ornament until I had kids.  Now they give ornaments to both boys.  This a tradition that I have started with our God child, Finley. And I hope that he can continue it when he becomes a God parent. 

(On a side note, Carson did not want to take any pictures.  So he made his "mad" face in almost ALL of them.)   

Next stop was my Dad's.  We arrived to a mountain of gifts, no joke.  Carson was enthralled.  The one gift he had really been asking for was a fire station and of course Grandma and Grandpa Smith delivered!  Maddox got this little egg set and he loves to play with it.  

Baby in a box-the best gift of all!

It snowed Christmas Eve night and the guys went out for a little "ABC" (as Carson was calling it) ride.

Christmas Day we headed to Madison to celebrate with the Spelldalgo's.

I know I had my Camera with me but it must have gotten put down in the basement, where we were staying to never be taken out.  So we have no pictures from our Christmas with them.  Andrea made an amazing prime rib for dinner and we sat up playing Texas hold'em.  I lost big time!  

Of course our kids had round 2 of the flu and gave it to my nephews and niece.  Ugh.  I hate being that parent.  I guess that is what winter in the mid-west does to you.  They were all impressed with Carson's mad skills to make it to a trash can to vomit.  I have him trained well.  He tells me all the time "we throw up in toilets and trash cans."  ha!

We hit up one of Jared's favorite spots, Culver's and of course also got the grand tour of Wilde East Town Honda.  It is a beautiful dealership and I cannot wait to get a brand new 2013 Honda Pilot.  Hint hint, Jared.       

  

currently

Some random bits from what's currently happening...

Loving this LOVE print.  I've had my eye on it for sometime now.  Maybe I will gift it to myself for Valentines day. 

Reading The Night Circus.  I actually just finished it today.  It was very well written but I wish the first 400 pages had been as good as the last 100.  Also there were far too many characters to keep track of as a result I feel like I never had the chance to "know" or like the main charter's   

Waiting for the medical bills from chemo to stop coming.  Seriously. Stop.

Excited to take the boys to Disney before we move.  

Trying to keep up with the blog but I have no desire to finish part 3 of the Christmas post. 

Enjoying my little book club.  It's just some friends and I and we take turns picking books and hosting  the discussion.  We don't read anything too serious and the best part is you get to wear pj's to book club.  Next we are reading Tina Fey Bossypants.  I will miss my little book club...hopefully I can follow along in TX.

Using these SQUOOSHI pouches.  Once I realized how much I was paying for the baby food and applesauce pouches I had to find a solution and they are working quite well actually. 

Wearing my hounds-tooth and leopard scarves.  They go with everything.  I think I mainly like them because I miss my hair so much and the help fill the void of where hair once was.  

Planning a move.  Ugh...

Wanting some new throw pillows for the couch.  I like these from zGallerie but $90 a pop!  They must be kidding right? 

Needing a cleaning lady.  We had one during the 4 months I was going through chemo and boy oh boy, do I ever miss that! 

Listening to Thomas and Friends since Carson does not nap and I need a little break.  

Wishing to find the perfect starter home, in a nice neighborhood near good schools. 

Doing the dishes and sweeping the floor 24/7 it seems.

Dreaming of a vacation with Jared.  Without kids.  To some place tropical.  Turks and Caicos maybe?

Christmas: Part II

The last two Christmas' we spent in California so this year we decided to have a white Christmas in Wisconsin.  It was also Maddox's first Christmas.  Makes me a little sad that we didn't spend our last Christmas in California but it's so nice to spend it with family.  Carson had been anticipating this trip since we booked it a few months ago and lo' and behold he was vomiting the day before we left.  Luckily he was better to fly the next day.  So off to Wisconsin we went...

     

We were gone for a little over 2 weeks.  I don't think I can do that much time away from home until the kids are a little older.  By the end of the trip everyone had fevers, was puking and/or wasn't sleeping.  I slept in 7 different beds and 5 different places while we were there, makes me tired just thinking about it.  

The first few days we stayed at my Dads.  While we were there Maddox took his first steps, Carson made his first gingerbread house and it snowed!  Carson could hardly wait for the snow and once it started falling he looked out the window and said "it looks like Christmas."  He also said "I want to throw snow in Uncle Jay's face." 

He played in the snow for an hour and was out to work shoveling the drive way, which he loved.   

Maddox on the other hand...well you can see how much he liked getting bundled up for the snow.

We also took Carson to see Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.  It was adorable and just like the movie.  It would be fun to see it every year before Christmas.  My Grandma watched Maddox while we went to lunch and the play.  Maddox actually took his first steps at her house so Jared and I completely missed it!  

Four generations!  

Next we headed to my Moms house.  Carson had his first trip to the dentist and saw a Marquette basketball game.  I think he was a little scared at first to have his teeth cleaned.  He kept saying "My teeth are already clean."  But when his turn came he got into the hygienist's chair and did a great job.   

We also did a girls trip to Chicago and my friend Angie and her daughters drove from Indiana to meet us.  We did a little shopping on Michigan Ave, ate some amazing Chicago style pizza and went to the top of the John Hancock building.  The view was amazing.  I had a great time and it was so nice to get away, just the girls.  Although next time I said "no kids."  Sorry boys!