birth to now

birth

Week 1    This is always a special week. Josh stays home from school andwe have a new special spirit in our home. 

                                          

   

 week 2 

This is JJ's favorite pose for the camera. Half of our pictures of him our of him pointing at the camera.

 JJ loves to hold his little sister. We have to keep a super close eye on him though, he likes to stick markers up her nose and do other unkind things to her.

                                                                     
                                                                         week 3
Unfortunately baby girl decided to break out with acne the day before her blessing. It must have been all the stress. We feel really sad becausse we feel like we couldn't get one cute picture of her in her beautiful dress.

                                                                         1 month
 I thought this was a pretty good depiction of what she looks like when she's not sleeping. So sad. This have been a little rough lately. Thankfully I have an amazing husband and awesome friends! We are so blessed!

Happy Birthday JJ!

Dear JJ,

Happy birthday! We had an wonderful time together celebrating two years! Grandma and Grandpa Madsen were here visiting, and we went to the Zoo on Friday, camping with dad and Grandpa Friday night, and then a fun celebration at home on Saturday. You got a scooter, books, puzzles, soccer ball, and a really fun fireman outfit! You are loved by many people, and are genuinely sweet and loving. Recently you have been giving the biggest hugs that just melt our hearts. 

It's hard to realize how much you have changed over the last two years. You are a toddler now, with a strong personality, preferences, wants, and attitude! We've built in several routines which help you learn and bring order to our lives as well. You always get at least two stories at bed time, which sometimes is not enough! You have a little pillow which you then love to cuddle up to, but not before you have carefully placed a sippy cup of water next to your bed! We cover you with a blanket, and you grab the same lovey you've had for the last 1.5 years (given by your aunt Jessica!). You sometimes talk yourself to sleep, and we like to listen to the things you say. 

Your morning routine always includes a big bowl of oatmeal. You eat just as much as your daddy (sometimes more!), and then take a shower with your daddy. You play in the tub while I shave and get ready, and by then mommy is usually ready to get up and join us (she has long nights with baby Ellie, so we let her get some extra sleep!). You do look forward to going into mommy's room and give her a big hug, which is a great way to start the day!

You are also learning so many new words. A few months ago you would constantly repeat the word "no" a dozen times. But now you are saying "yes" much more than no, and are actively engaging your surroundings! You recognize the things you want, understand how much we want you to be happy, and are so cheerful! It really is wonderful. 

We love you so much and look forward to the years to come!

Mom and Dad

Introducing Elizabeth Lu

Introducing Elizabeth Lu! She was born April 19, 2012 in Chicago, and we are so excited! She and mother are doing well (most of the time!) and she is so dear. We were blessed to have Barbie's mom here last week, and Josh's mom arrives tomorrow to help keep the sanity level normal. Adjusting to two kids is more challenging than we expected! I came home one day last week to find large pink marks on Ellie's nose. I guess JJ found a highlighter and managed to stick it up Ellie's nose while Barbie's back was turned! He is definitely interested in her, and we're trying our best to not neglect either child. A friend took some newborn pictures on day 5 (below), which are just adorable.

The biggest shocker of all has to be her hair. Barbie's doctor has never seen so much blond hair in 30 years of delivering babies! JJ was bald for an entire year, as was Barbie, so this was pretty unexpected. She gets lots of compliments though, and we think she is just adorable.

Just thought I would let you know...

Just thought I would let you know... we are having a baby girl in 8 weeks!!

Happy Father's Day!!

We have been getting around to things a little late this year. Especially me. On Father's Day JJ and I were both sick. So instead of tons of delicious food and a clean house for the man of the house, Josh got to take care of us. That is the kind of man Josh is. He may have been disappointed about the lack of a Father's Day but, he didn't fuss at all. Josh is so understanding and rational. Two qualities I lack.
As I was looking through photos for this post I came across this one. It is the day JJ was born. Josh's huge smile only gives a glimpse of the joy he felt that day. Josh loves being a dad and he is a really good one. He does more than his share of caring and taking care of our child. He loves us so much that he was even willing to do a crazy sleep schedule and only get 3 hours of sleep so he could spend more time with us. I really love this guy!



I love you because you love our child so much.I love you because you are so freakin' hot!
I love you because you are always willing to be the one that carries JJ. And you enjoy it (so does JJ)!
I love you because you are such a righteous man and you teach our son to be the same. You are such a good example to all of us.
I love you because you are so much fun.

We really think you great!! Sorry Father's Day wasn't much this year! JJ and I really want to make it up to you!

JJ's new hobbies

Now that JJ is one, he has picked up a few new hobbies....

1.) trash collecting. (You can't pry it out of his hand if your life depended on it)

2.) Cooking. Somehow food tastes better if cooked on the ground with a few dust balls.
3.) Cleaning. I'm grateful this kid finally wants to start cleaning up after himself. He is sooo helpful. ;-)

4.) ART. We have a real Picasso on our hand here. So creative, not scared push boundaries and try new mediums.

Face Founatin

Right before our friends left we decided to make a trip to the face fountain. Josh and I had never been. We have seen it many times but, have never gone and played. JJ wasn't thrilled with all the splashing. However, he did have tons of fun with his buddy Luke. Aren't they so cute together. JJ and I are really missing our friends!

I have such a cute kid!

Maybe they will grow up to be college roommates, mission comps, maybe even marry a set of sisters. I hope we can see our friends soon! I seriously want to eat these guys.
Wow! Elise and I are smokin' hot! Don't be jealous of my awesome hair and rock hard abs. I really think we should have worn our bikinis.

Happy Belated Birthday to JJ!!!

Dear JJ,
We celebrated your first birthday exactly one month ago. You keep us pretty busy, so that will be our excuse to why we are just barely getting around to making this post. We threw you an awesome MONSTER birthday party. Mom made monster cupcakes and even a monster cake.
Look at that scary monster.
It was mom's first try at making a cake like this, so unfortunately it turned out scarier than she had hoped for. It began to self destruct.
You look so enthused.

You liked it at a distance....
but, it must have been a little too scary.
We had lots of friends come over (the Hall's and the Robert's). You had so much fun chasing the big kids around. We also had a really cool pinata that your dad and I spent hours making. You cried when people began to hit it. Hopefully you will enjoy it better next year. Happy Birthday JJ. We love you so much and we are so grateful for this year of joy and blessings you have brought into our lives. You are growing up sp fast and learning so quickly. We are excited for all the neat experiences you will have in the coming years but, we also wish we could pause time and keep you like this forever!!

JJ's first steps

Willis Tower formerly known as Sears Tower

A couple weeks ago Josh's family came to town to visit us before Josh's brother and sister head off on their missions. We took this opportunity to go to the Sears Tower. This is the first time we had done this in the 2 1/2 years we have lived here. I was surprised by the intensity of it all. In order to get to the top you have to go through metal detectors and security, take two different elevators (first one that goes down one floor, then one that takes you to the top). You also get to watch an interesting video about the Sears Tower and how they LOVE to recycle (I think they do this so people don't get impatient while waiting in massive lines). Anyway, it was way cooler than I thought it would be and JJ was pretty fearless stepping out on the Skydeck. My little dare devil. He LOVED it!

Every Tuesday looks a little bit like this.....

So just to warn you this post is more for memory sake than for entertainment value. Be prepared to see lots of pictures of people you do not know and most likely do not care about.


I wake up to bowl of some this good stuff! where I then proceed to try and feed my child something with a little less sugar content.


I then head out to go see my chiropractor and am forced to walk by these outrageous gas prices. Crazy I know!! That's Chicago for ya.


This is my awesome chiropractor Dr. Bridget. She rocks but......

She makes me wear this on my head.

I then proceed to take the bus that magically whisks me off to school. Just like the Magic School Bus.


This is my awesome school right in the heart if downtown Chicago.

Which is right across the street from this.

And here I am in my speech class with Fred and Krissy.

This is part of my lunch crew. haha Alicia (A-lee-see-a) and Krzystof, we call him Kris. i love having friends that are 18.

My school is also across the street from this.

I get home and we all try to put some food in our bellies. Do I look frazzled in this picture?

Then we have bath time.

Then time for bed. I love this picture of Josh ;-) I don't think you can tell but, JJ is screaming in this photo.



This is usually proceeded by me crashing on the couch. Good Night all.