March

(Yes, I realize the irony of titling an entry "March" when I'm publishing it in April)

We celebrated Caleb's birthday, and while Madeline didn't join in when I sang the "happy birthday" song (she does know it), she understood what it meant... sort of. I'd tell her, "Today is Daddy's birthday!" and she'd respond excitedly, "Yeah, and it's MY BIRTHDAY!" It was very cute!

 

Caleb is a Super Daddy, no doubt about it!

Mid-March, we embarked on another road trip. This time, we drove to the Milwaukee area to visit my extended family. While there, Olivia met her Great-Grandma Emily!

And, while the kids were in a good photo-taking mood, we got a little silly:

My brother David lives a little over an hour away from Grandma Emily, so he drove down to meet us for lunch. It was great to see him and catch up, and Madeline thoroughly enjoyed playing with him!

And then, just to be silly, we staged a picture of the two of them (below). It was such a hoot, I think we'll have to keep taking this pose! See, we have a picture of David holding Madeline on his lap when she was about 8 weeks old. We thought it'd be funny to get that pose again, just to show her someday how much she's changed.

Then...

...and now!

And, of course, David met Olivia. She must have been in a good mood - usually, she never lets anyone but Mommy and Daddy hold her!

My Dad's extended family is also in the Milwaukee area, so we arranged to visit and have dinner at my Grandma Joyce's house. From the start, Olivia wouldn't letting anyone (who wasn't me or Caleb) hold her, which is typical for her. She usually takes one look at other people, realizes they're not Mommy or Daddy, and just starts wailing! Amazingly, though, she was calm when my Uncle Tom held her. Heck, she even napped in his arms!

My Uncle Pat and Aunt Kelly were there, too - along with their little girl (my cousin), Paige. She just turned two this winter, which meant she was the PERFECT playmate for Madeline. My Uncle Pat is about 13 years older than me, which is how my cousin is younger than my daughter! Oh yeah, and the girls were wearing matching outfits (pure coincidence!)!

(My brother, sister and I played with many of the same toys...)

Madeline shared her new princess castle.

For almost half of the evening, the girls played their own version of hide-and-seek in the closet in the front hall. The sliding doors were too perfect for that game. It was hilarious to watch!

Before the evening ended, Great-Grandma Joyce got a little quality time with the girls.

(Olivia is swaddled because she's ready for bed)

It was wonderful to see family - many people came out to see us, which means a lot to us - and Madeline really enjoyed our time out there. Unfortunately, the last night after leaving Great-Grandma Joyce's house, Madeline came down with a fever. She had a really rough night (which meant little sleep for Mommy and Daddy), and still was unhappy on the ride home the next day. Turns out, she caught strep throat (before we even took the trip), but we're really glad she developed the symptoms AFTER seeing relatives!

Much love to our family all across the US!