Fall Festivities @ Daycare & Football Fun Weekend!

Maci had a great week at daycare!  She didnt go to daycare on Tuesday because Nanny & Grandpa Mondell were visiting on their way out west.  They hung with her all day and had fun swinging outside.  After they left Wednesday morning, we settled back into our weekly routine with no more travel this week for me =)  Maci's daycare is getting into the fall spirit and was working on pumpkins.  They also believe Maci is working on walking and those first steps are any day now!!!

 Any day now!

Then it was finally time for the weekend - wahoo!!  Friday night Clint and I had some awesome plans to see Wicked as the Broadway show is in town for about a month and it was amazing!  The other thing that was amazing was Maci for her babysitter, nothing but laughs and giggles according to the babysitter - such a good girl!

Saturday was a day of a lot of potential plans.  However, Maci hadnt been feeling so great last week and with my travel/visitors earlier in the week, I just wanted some time with my lady.  Plus it was a rainy cold day so it was the perfect day to run some errands but to also take a nice afternoon nap with my family!  Maci went to bed like a little angel so Clint and I were able to enjoy the OSU game in peace and quiet.  We love Fall TV :-)

Sunday was a super fun day!  We had invited all of our mommy/me friends from when Maci was only 6 weeks old to come over for a Football Sunday, Mondell style.  We had the NFL ticket on both main TVs upstairs and down plus we made a huge pot of our white chicken chili.  We were so excited that 8 of the 9 moms and their families were able to make it, we missed you Betsy/Pete/Grace!  The babies had a blast in Maci's playroom and Maci was great at sharing both her toys and bed for several naps throughout the day.  I enjoy these ladies so much and the husbands have started to become great friends too!  The only thing that would have made the day better would have been a Bengals Win - UGH, the Browns?!

Back Row : Halston/Harper, Gena/Emmit, Kelly/Hank, Jen/Charlotte, Melissa/Rachel

Couch : Laura/Zach, Jaycee/Natalie, Me/Maci

Natalie & Maci

Yep Maci's Shirt Reads "I cant even talk yet but I already hate the Steelers"

Hi Rachel

Hey Harper. . . how are you buddy?

Hank & Momma Kelly!

After all the babes & parents left, our friends Trip/Lori and Jim came over for the afternoon/night game.  Jim was in town just for the weekend so we were glad we were able to get some good catch up time in with them too =)

Well we had a great weekend but now the entire house is exhausted!  We hope everyone has a great week!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Holy Cow - Someone is 8 Months Old!!!

I wouldn't believe it 7 or 8 months ago if you told me our peanut Maci with hip displasia would be 19lbs+, borderline walking & wearing mainly 9 month+ clothing at 8 months of age!  Wow what a difference a few months make!

It isnt quite as easy to do photo shoots with Maci any more considering everything around here is far more interesting than sitting still and looking at my camera.  However, I hope in some of these you can see her great 2 bottom teeth jutting right up :)  Enjoy her recent status updates & pics!

Maci Currently Loves :
* To chuckle (especially at my songs around shaking your booty)
* Daddy blowing on her belly
* Swim lessons with Daddy
* Story time with Mommy
* To Walk Grabbing onto Furniture
* To pull herself up into a stand position and just stand there, very proud!
* Doing the splits
* Swinging in her tree swing Daddy installed
* Grabbing Boomer's Ears
* Trying to catch Milo
* Organic Baby Puffs (apple & veggie flavor)
* To Eat Food!
* The Bengals (Who Dey Nation) and all the craziness that comes with our house at this time of year!

Maci Continues to Love :
* Pacifier at bed or during melt downs
* Blankets, all shapes & sizes
* Bath Time!
* All her friends at daycare, friends from Mommy & me and of course her FAMILY =)

Maci Dislikes :
* Being restrained - (high chair, carseat, stroller etc)
* Having non toy items taken away from her
* People Ignoring her

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Ciao Ciao Brazil! Mommy is Back!

Wahoo I am back in the great USA!  It was a good week in Brazil but I really missed my baby, husband and bed far too much!  So let's see what was going on while I was gone.

Before I left last Sunday, we had a fun 5k Suds Run on Saturday morning.  My boss, Peter, had his wife Sara come along with their 2 year old Elora.  Sara, Maci, Elora and I played while the guys & Steph ran.  Afterward we all had a picnic lunch and enjoyed a few beers - I think next year Maci and I may also run or walk the race!

Nice Group Pic of the Runners : Danny, Clint, Steph, Peter, Zach

So I left on Sunday and cried the entire drive to the airport ;-) but once I got there I was ok and ready for a week out of the country.  Thankfully Clint is amazing and kept me up to date on pictures via email of all the fun things going on with Maci at home!  Oh and she is doing something even more impressive.  She is now standing up on her own, no help of furniture, and just standing there.  I guess she does this all day long at daycare.  Enjoy all these great shots of our pumpkin!

Breaking out of Jail

 Feeling my Teeth!

 Daycare said it was Mexican Heritage Day or Something. . .Not Sure WHAT this was about?!  :)

 Missing her mommy at daycare in far too tight clothes :)

 Check me out - I stand on my own outside on the daycare playground!

 Social Hour!

 Morning Mommy - I miss you!

 Daddy lets me play in my PJs a lot longer than you ;-)

 Where is my mommy - she is here to get me today!!

I got home Friday morning after flying all through the night out of Brazil.  We had a very busy weekend with Clint's co-worker Serin's wedding on Friday night and then my momma/me friend's wedding on Saturday night.  Now I am writing this as I try to stay calm at the end of the Bengals/Green Bay game.  Our friends Lori/Trip are coming over for the afternoon game & some white chicken chili :) YUM - we LOVE fall!!!

We hope everyone has a great week!  The Mondell's (Kathy/Jack) are visiting us for a few days early this week before they head out west.  We then have a wonderful date night on Friday to see the Broadway musical Wicked here in Minneapolis!  Saturday we are invited to an Oktoberfest but not sure if we can make it since we have had a lot of babysitter services lately & we miss our lil Maci girl!  Then on Sunday we are having the mommy/me families over for some football Sunday & chili cook off!  We are very blessed to enjoy such a wonderful life!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Mommy's Going Where?!

This was a VERY busy week for me at work.  I am still slightly behind from our week of vacation and I was trying to get prepared for my work trip to Brazil next week.  It will be hard to leave Maci and Clint for almost a full week but I am looking forward to Brazil and some nights of sleep with no potential of a crying baby ;-)

However, while I was busy at work, Maci was having her typical amazing week at daycare!  The girls at the center just ADORE our Maci girl which makes us so happy!  Check out all their fun!

They thought Maci looked like a Rap Artist in her "spare" clothes after she had an accident

 Ummm I am NOT Amused!  Kind of Looks like Boomer's Face when I dress him up!!

Jack & Maci Playing with a Musical Toy - Go Figure, Maci is really intense about the activity!

On Tuesday Night, Maci got a fun gift in the mail.  Her Grandma & Grandpa Mondell sent her a Pottery Barn Kids Chair with her name on it as her Baptism gift.  Maci doesn't look too excited but she really enjoys her new chair and it fits great in her playroom.

Lastly, tonight while I was attempting to pay bills and start to get things in order so both Clint and Maci can survive next week while I am not around ;-) Miss Maci did her usual.  The usual entails a ton of crawling, lots of splits/yoga etc and now TONS of standing/furniture surfing.  However, it was a nice night out so I had our front door open so Maci decided to crawl over, stand up and bang on the screen door as if to say "let me out, I am ready to take on the world!"  How much trouble are we in for?  She is 7.5 months and full on standing, walking with the assistance of furniture and at times thinking about standing on her own. . .the kid has NO FEAR!!!!

I hope everyone has a great week and I will leave for Brazil Sunday evening and get back in town Friday morning.  If you have a moment, check in on Clint and my lil lady and make sure they are eating =)

Until next weekend - Lots of Love!
C, K & M

7 Months - 2 weeks late!

Well Miss Maci turned 7 Months for those keeping track back on Aug 23rd.  This was also the day we drove to Cincinnati so needless to say we werent on top of taking pictures on the drive with all the other excitement.  I have had this on my to do list but with so many other things in life I am just now getting these up here :)  Maci is the average size of most 7 month olds but she is far advanced on the movement scale and this is all karma for me worrying so much about her hip brace!  She is sitting, crawling, standing and "walking" from furniture to furniture.  She is still a really happy kid that is starting to LOVE her pets, their feeling on her isnt as loving.  The kid loves daycare and is honestly bored with us after a few days and is just the light of our lives as corny as that sounds =)  Enjoy these pics of her post Beef/Carrot lunch!

We will be posting 8 months before you know it =)
Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Weekend Fun!

How is it already Sunday evening?  Ugh life moves too fast!  This is evident by our ever growing and moving daughter.  Maci, Clint and I had a nice weekend.  On Friday, Maci had an eventful day at daycare which involved working on Fall art projects, dancing in front of the camera and working on her ballet =) or at least that is what they call it at daycare, you will understand from the picture.

 Do you like my dance moves?

That night, Maci girl was not ready to go to bed and would rather show off her new crib skills - ugh she is officially furniture surfing (i.e. standing and using the furniture to help her "walk" from where she is to where she wants to go.  CraZy girl!

Saturday, I had a bachelorette party for my friend Halston so daddy and Maci had daddy/daughter time from about 2p until 10p.  I rode with my friend Jaycee so her husband Ryan and daughter Natalie (from mommy/me) came over and watched college football with Clint and the girls played in Maci's playroom.  Here is a pic of Halston (in white) on the stage at the Shout House. . . good time!

Today was supposed to be an exciting kick off to the NFL season but typical Cincinnati style we screwed it up at the last minute and so Maci spent a lot of time in her playroom so she didnt have to hear all my favorite 4 letter words.  We are now about to enjoy some white chicken chili (YUM FALL) and get some last minute things completed before the impending work week.

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Back to Daycare & 1st Swim Lessons!!

We have almost all survived our first week back to work and daycare, only one more day :)  While Clint and I may miss vacation when we get back into the busy grind of our day jobs, Maci couldn't wait to get back into daycare.  We have such a social butterfly.  On Tuesday when I dropped her off, I expected some tears or maybe a little clinging.  Ummm NOPE, I put her down and she started laughing and crawled away from me over to her friends.  We are so glad she loves daycare!  I also love that I am getting more of my fun pictures on a daily basis again :)

Yay - A Late Summer Morning Walk

Check out our Chub with her Mouth Wide Open in the Back Row :-)

 Ummm Weird - Maci & Reese Were Putting Scarves on Their Heads Today!

I Laughed So Hard When I Saw These - 2 Goofball Buddies Already :-)

Tonight Maci had her first swim lessons at Foss Swim School.  This is a Maci/Daddy activity and mommy is just there to take pictures and enjoy watching all the fun.  One of my mommy/me friend's daughter is also in the class and they are doing the same daddy thing.  So Maci already had a friend in the class, little Natalie, and Clint had a friend too in the daddy, Ryan.  It was so cute and I didn't warn Clint in advance that there is a LOT of singing to the babies through out the class ;-)  I had to get him in the water first before that was sprung on him HA Looking forward to many fun Thursday nights since this runs through December!!

Maci Rocking her Euro Girly Swim Diaper

 Buddies!!!!

 Natalie/Ryan & Maci/Clint

Lots of Love,

C, K & M