Off to school we go....

It's a day away from September 1st and we now have a kindergartener and preschooler! How did THAT happen?! Madelyn started kindergarten in the middle of July and will actually track out in two weeks. She LOVES going to school and we are so proud of her! She adores her teachers and loves chatting about her friends. She is doing great with reading more and writing! It's so fun to watch and see the progress she is making.

On a side note, Madelyn has had two tooth fairy visits and is almost getting ready to lose another tooth! It's so cute seeing her little mouth with missing teeth :)!

Caroline started preschool in the 2 year old room today and did wonderful! It really helps that we go to church at Hope Chapel, so that makes it much easier for her! She has one of Madelyn's old teachers. She had to leave blankie and paci at home, which was a first! She made it and didn't cry at all! YAY!

Thankful...

Today I am feeling thankful....thankful for getting to enjoy these precious days at home with my girls, not rushing around this week getting ready for preschool since we're finished, snuggling with Madelyn at bedtime, hugs from Caroline, a fantastic husband, eskimo kisses from Caroline, Madelyn telling me I'm the best mom, a wonderful house, reliable cars, a relationship with Jesus Christ, and so much more!

Madelyn graduated preschool last week and it was so emotional! She has grown up so much, even from last fall. I was talking to her preschool teacher and she mentioned how shy she was in the beginning and at the end she would have to remind her to be quiet! Oh, my girl :) It is bittersweet knowing in a short 6 weeks she will head to kindergarten near our house. No longer will she be kept under my wing but will take off on her own....

She reminded me of something that is so hard to do....have patience. In our church the kids aged kindergarten thru 5th grade go to Hopetown for the service. They are talking about patience. Tonight Danny and I were talking about having more money to do this down the road and she quickly said, "Guys, remember...patience." Oh, how hard that is for me sometimes but it's so sweet that my 5 year old reminded me.

Doctor-Take II

Poor Caroline....the girl has some serious issues going on with her skin and the ped thinks it might be related to a food allergy. So, after our second visit to the lab we were able to get blood drawn from her sweet little arm. I was so anxious and worried, but chose to surrender to God and let him take control. He took care of her and this worried Mommy! She did great although she cried. I was so proud of her and even happier they got what they needed!



So, next week is our last week of preschool. I am so sad about her graduating from preschool!! It's crazy...I totally remember her first day when Danny got the call to come pick her up because she had "had enough" for one day! Now, she's off to kindergarten in a short 6 weeks. It's bittersweet to think about it :)....

Spring is here...

These past few months have been busy! Madelyn turned 5---wow! She had a fun princess tea party with her sweet girlfriends. She loved every minute of it! They decorated picture frames, played games, made necklaces, had lunch, and finally enjoyed cupcakes. She starts kindergarten in a short 3 months (not even that long)! She will attend year round and is so excited to go. She has grown so much over the past few months. She is reading now and loves to do so. Her newest love is having us read chapter books with her and going to the public library to re-stock :). Every morning she brings at least 7 or 8 books downstairs to go through them all, organize which ones she has read, what she wants to read next, and informs me which new books we need. It's so fun to watch her do this and enjoy one of my favorite things...reading!

Caroline....where should I begin? She is such a sweet, quirky, unpredictable gal! She keeps me on my toes all day long but I love it. She knows which buttons to push and has landed herself in a crib timeout more times than I can count. I'm exhausted by 5 o'clock! She loves to read and I often find her in her room sitting in the glider reading a book.
Other fun things she loves:
-emptying out all of her drawers full of clothes (I especially love putting them back)
-opening the pantry doors all.day.long to see what she can snack on next
-finding the silverware drawer and 'tasting' all of it...beware if you come over!
-dancing, dancing, and more dancing (the girl loves this more than anything)
-wearing her ballerina leotard, especially on Tuesdays when Madelyn has dance
-play-do....and it is everywhere :)

She has been busy with Kindermusik and really is so excited to go on each Wednesday. She has made new friends and is quite a ham while we are there. We'll definitely keep her in that in the fall. Speaking of fall, she starts preschool come August---yay!!

We've been busy playing outside each day and Madelyn loves making me play Mario & Luigi with her....oh so fun :) She has been practicing her bike, but she is so cautious that it takes us forever to get down the sidewalk! Caroline on the other hand has no problem running around full speed!

Today we picked strawberries with dear friends from preschool. This was a great day to do so and fun! I'll post some pics of this!

Hopefully I'll get better at writing b/c I truly do want the girls to have things written about them :)

Is is Christmas time already?

Where in the world did this year go? Caroline just turned 2--yes 2--this week!! We are celebrating her birthday tomorrow with a Elmo party. Poor girl might be disappointed when she keeps asking for a "Pablo" (aka Backyardigan) party. The Dollar Tree only carried Sesame Street!! Ha ha :) She got a new princess ride on toy for the house. She LOVES it, as does Madelyn.

We have been busy with preschool and dance...imagine that! Caroline loves taking Madelyn to school so she can see her friends, which just happen to be M's classmates.

Caroline has had quite a few accidents recently---knots on her head and the most recent---a black eye :(. She is so busy, active, unafraid, and just a dare devil all around. She keeps us on our toes!

Madelyn loves school and has been to many birthday parties this year. She's at the hockey game with Daddy right now. She was more excited about not having rest time :). She is so ready for Christmas and wakes up bright and early to find the "Elf"...(Elf on the Shelf). He's been seen hiding in our stockings, glass dish, on Santa's shoulder, sitting on the cabinet, and camping out on the stairs. Fun times!

Summertime...

I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since I've last written! Madelyn finished preschool and today was her last day of dance for the summer. We have several things planned for the summer.

We are headed to the Great Wolf Lodge June 24-26 and then shortly after that she has Disney Dance Camp! Later in August she'll do another Disney camp at the YMCA. We'll have our annual beach trip in September! I am so ready for that!

Caroline is now 18 months old (crazy, huh?) and is all over the place!! The girl doesn't sit still :) She loves to chase Madelyn everywhere! She is quite fast, too. She just had her 18 mo. check up and weighed 23 lbs and was 30 inches long. She says several words....mama, dada, Ma (for Madelyn), Nonna, Papa, Paw-Paw, Nana, cracker, hot, socks, side (for outside).

Madelyn is asking for playdates almost daily...this is what happens I guess when school is out. She is a big help with Caroline and loves to play with her. Of course there are times when she doesn't want her near her toys, but that goes with the territory!

There isn't much else going on in the Mamo household, which is a good thing I suppose. We're trying to stay busy during the summer and hanging out with dear friends.

Madelyn's 4 year check up

Madelyn finally had her 4 year check up today, although a month late! She weighed in at 34 lbs and was 37 inches tall. Yes, she is in the 4% for height! Dr. R thinks she'll be shorter like myself---go figure--no surprise! She thinks Caroline will be taller than Madelyn. She did great and didn't receive any vaccines this year. She could have, but we decided to make this a pleasant visit! Caroline was the climber in the room and babbled up a storm. Dr. R said Madelyn is going to be a lawyer by the way she talks so much! Ha ha! She didn't stop for a minute in there.

Today is mine and Danny's 7th anniversary!! Wow, time flies :). We are going to celebrate by going to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville soon. It's amazing how far we have come and now have 2 beautiful, precious children.

Alright, it's time to go put these 2 gals down for rest time.