South Padre

While Tony was gone last week Madelyn learned how to blow raspberries. It's her favorite thing to do now. A couple weeks ago she started grabbing at the toys on her play mat and now she can grab on to a rattle and play with it for a few minutes. She's also started laughing more and I've discovered that she's very, very ticklish in her arm pits. I love tickling her and watching her squirm and giggle. She's such a cutie!

I had to box up all of her newborn and 3 month old clothing yesterday and it made me a little sad. They grow so fast! We also finished getting her room all ready for her now that Ava's slept successfully in her big girl bed for a week now. Well semi-successfully anyhow. She still has a hard time falling asleep at nap time. Yesterday, after she laid in bed talking for an hour, I went in and rubbed her back and sang hymns to her for about 15 minutes until she fell asleep. I haven't sang her to sleep since she was a tiny baby. She always preferred just being left alone and didn't want me rubbing her back. It was good for my soul.

It was crazy setting up Ava's crib for a baby though. Raising up the mattress, putting the bumper and mobile back on the crib and getting the changing table all set up. It seems like a decade ago we were doing all that before Ava was born and struggling to comprehend that in a few weeks we'd actually have a real, live baby sleeping in there. Now it's hard to imagine life without a baby.

A few weeks ago we were able to go to South Padre Island for a little family vacation. Tony was sharing at a church there and some friends of ours from our church here had moved down there and offered to let us stay in their beautiful condo while they were out of town.

Thanks to Dora the Explorer we made the 10 hour drive there and back (which with frequent stops to feed Madelyn took more like 13) without mishap and had a wonderful time together as a family at the beach. The first morning we went walking on the beach and Ava was so excited. The love of the ocean is in her blood and she wasn't afraid at all and just charged right into the water in her sundress.

The weather wasn't wonderful but we did get to spend one whole afternoon at the beach (where Ava spent a lot of time in the water with her dad and building sandcastles and Madelyn hung out in her stroller in the shade), swim a couple times in the condo's pool, walk around the town a bit and just relax and enjoy our time together. On Sunday Tony shared about GFA with Island Baptist church and we had such a great time with the body there and having lunch with the pastor and his wife afterward. Tony even got to go night fishing in the bay with the pastor the next night and brought home a gallon Ziplock bag full of fresh fish for us to take home.

Here's some pictures of our trip.

I love vacation!

All ready to head out to the beach.

What's taking everyone so long? Let's go!

Vacation is all about the naps.

Ava color coordinating her shape sorter pieces to the bar stools.

She was a little bothered that there was not a correct stool color for each block but she finally conceded that the pink piece could share with the blue piece on the blue stool and that the purple piece would have to go on the yellow stool.

I was super happy that we were able to take some pictures of the girls in their matching dresses in this beautiful house. And even happier that we made it through the weekend of beautiful breakables, all tile floors and snow white couches without ruining anything.

I don't know why but this one makes me laugh.

My sister's on the shelf!

Dada's home!

Sunday night we went and picked Tony up from the airport. He'd been in Virginia for 5 days and had been at GFA late the night before so it had been 6 days since Ava had seen him. She was pretty excited when I told her we were going to the airport to get Dada. As I was packing up Madelyn and getting my stuff together she came running up to me with Tony's Redskin's baseball cap and said "Bring Dada's hat?" So I said, "Yes, you can bring Dada his hat." She carried it out to the van, held it on the trip to the airport and carried it out to the airport. We met Tony out on the sidewalk outside the terminal. She she was him she took of running, arms out stretched, hat in had. When she reached him she gave him a HUGE hug and put that hat on his head, saying. "Dada's hat! Dada's hat!" It was so cute! I think I need to go away for about 6 days so I can get that sort of welcome home!

Ava enjoying watching the waves at the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine

Megan and John

The whole gang. (Teressa's Dad's side of the family)

Benedicta Cemetery

Our lake view

Our lake house. Good times!

Big Girl Bed FAIL

So last night was the night we decided to finally move Ava into her big girl bed. Ever since I read in Parent's magazine that it's best to keep them in their crib for as long as they still fit in it (as long as they're not climbing out of it) I haven't been in a huge hurry to make the switch. After all it is nice to know she's safe and snug in her "cage" and not roaming the house or pulling down the curtains in her bedroom at 2am. But we're getting tired of Madelyn being in our room and I think all three of us will sleep better in our own space. Ava jumped to sleeping 10 hours a night soon after we moved her to her own room.

All that to say that yesterday we bolted her shelves to the wall, put safety latches on her closet doors, double checked everything to make sure it was child proof and then Ava and I put her new sheets and blanket and pillow on her bed and had the talk about how to stay in our bed until morning. She's taken a handful of naps in her big girl bed and done very well and she was very excited to go "night-night" in her new bed. We video taped her getting into bed, we read our Bible story and prayed and she snuggled down like she was going to go to sleep. But I guess the excitement was just too much.

At 12:30 I gave up and put her back in her crib. She never got out of her bed, she just never fell asleep either. For a girl who usually promptly goes to sleep at 8:00 every night this was unheard of. I know I could have just left her and she would have eventually fallen asleep but I'm the type that can't go to sleep myself until all my little chicks are sound asleep and I've checked in on them. So I guess we'll just nap in there today and try again tonight with maybe a little less fan fare. She should be plenty tired after her late night last night.

I'm catching more and more Spanish words coming from Ava. The other night Tony said, "I think she's speaking Spanish because she's holding her hands out wide and saying "largo" and then bringing them in small and saying something else." We determined she was indeed and saying "corto", Dora must have been teaching them "long" and "short"? Could it be that Dora can actually teach her to be bilingual? If only, that would be awesome. I may need to brush up on my college Spanish so I can keep up with her.

Yesterday we went for a walk out to Lewisville Lake. We walked out on a dock and we're sitting there taking a little break and enjoying the beautiful weather. Ava was sitting next to Tony who was laying on his back. Tony licked his thumb and rubbed some dirt off of Ava's cheek, then laid back down. About 10 seconds later I see her stick her thumb in her mouth and then lean over to wash Tony's face with it. Startled him and cracked me up. So of course she kept doing it. Sticking her thumbing her mouth and then scrubbing his cheek with her slobbery finger. So funny.

Also yesterday, she and I were in her bedroom doing something and I heard Madelyn start crying in the other room where Tony was. I asked Ava, "Can you go see why Madelyn is crying?" just because I was curious about what she would do. Ava said, "Yeah" and trotted off down the hall to Madelyn, very business like. I followed and came in to see her putting a toy in Madelyn's hand. Tony said Ava had come running in, found Madelyn's lion and gave it to her, than found the toy for her and was saying, "It's ok Madelyn, don't cry Madelyn and patting her tummy. After that little test I'm pretty sure I can go to the mall by myself and leave Ava to watch Madelyn.

Here's some more pictures of Maine. I think this may be the last of them and so the pictures of our trip to South Padre are on deck. :o)

Signing me and Madelyn in at the Reunion under my Grandpa Frank's (deceased) name

The Rush Family Reunion
8/21/2010
Benedicta, Maine
"To Work is To Pray"

Aunt Rita, my Grandpa Frank's sister

Harold, my Grandpa's brother

My cousin Robert

And his wife Sara

Aunt Rita asked to hold Madelyn. They both really enjoyed each other. She sure has a knack with babies.

Uncle Jerome my Grandpa Frank's youngest brother