More photos....

Victoria got some awesome shots of while she was here this weekend, and I totally snagged them to put up here (you should totally check out her blog).

 A couple better group shots from the get together:

I think this might be my most favorite picture ever:

 Ryan calls this move by Maddie "the fireball" and you can see why:

 The girls playing at Jungle Java:

 Maddie and Piper loving their new obsession, the slide:

And a couple other random pictures from the last couple days.  On Monday I stayed home with my munchkin because V, Scott & Piper stayed thru Monday morning.  M decided to give me a ride for my money.  The day included a child and family room covered in Bag Balm, a couch covered in pee, a couch, carpet and child covered in chocolate milk, and finally a coffee table covered in milk:

Today we had a 2 week post-op appointment with the ENT.  Here's M waiting for the doc like it's no big thing.  Sometimes she seems so old.  

And finally, we had a little bit of time to kill between our two appointments today so we stopped off at Jungle Java and M was showing off her slide skills...going down backwards and on her belly.

January 2012 Moms Get Together!!!

We had a big get together this weekend at Great Lakes Crossing.

Victoria, Scott and Piper drove out from IL to join us and crashed at our place for a few days.  The girls had a blast together!  They all arrived on Saturday around noon.  After having lunch we headed up to Jungle Java to meet up with Bree and Gia for a play date!

 Maddie, Piper & Gia

Me, Maddie, Piper, Victoria, Gia & Bree

The girls all had a BLAST at Jungle Java.  It was nice because they have a separate area for kids 3 and under that is blocked off so the kids are contained.  It was CRAZY busy, but thankfully most of the kids were older and happy playing in the big kids area.  I'll definitely have to take Maddie up there more often because she really ran off a ton of energy and then took a nice nap afterward.

Sunday we were up early with the wee ones.  They hung out and played really well with each other.  They enjoyed the push wagon and Piper was a big fan of Maddie's poker chips (and her sippy cups):

After we got everyone ready and loaded up, we headed off to Great Lakes Crossing to meet up with all the mommas, have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, let the babies run around in the play place, and do some shopping!

We made a stop at the Disney store and several of the kids were quite happy with their haul.  Ariel and Mickey put some smiles on some little faces!

We all had a great time and the kids seemed to have a blast!  I enjoyed getting to meet the moms IRL and put a face to a name so to speak.  It was pretty awesome because we had 2 Canadian moms make the trip out to meet us too.  Hopefully next time they can bring their kids with them!!!  Can't wait to do it again some time!

Oh!  I almost forgot!  The Canadian moms brought us a surprise from over the boarder:

MARCH FOR BABIES!!!!

It's that time of year again!  It's the March for Babies!

We did it for the first time last year in honor of Madeleine and all of the other January 2012 preemies from my mom's board.  This year, I would also like to walk in honor of several other preemies that have touched my heart:

Elizabeth, Avery, Will, Addison, Patrick, Alexandria, Christian, as well as baby Emma who we lost just a few short weeks ago at 4 months old.   And of course, John...Miss Maddie's preemie twin.

I hope to make this an annual thing that we do every year with Madeleine.  To celebrate.  To remember.  To give back.  To support.  Preemies will always have a very special place in my heart.

If you find yourself with some extra time the morning of May 5th, please consider joining us for the walk!  The more the merrier!  It was a really great time last year and the weather cooperated quite well.  If you're interested in walking, please visit Maddie's site and click the link to join us!

And as always, if you find yourself with a little bit of extra cash in your pocket, please consider donating to the cause.  You can donate easily by credit card, Paypal, cash or check by visiting Maddie's site: http://www.marchforbabies.org/mramsayer.

a&f kids is AWESOME.

Seriously.  And there are three reasons why.

1)

 2)

 3)

Yes.  That's right.  They named clothes after all 3 of us.  I'm like stupidly excited that they have something with my name.

And yes, Trina is the proud new owner of all 3 times for school next year.  I couldn't help it.

Best Delivery Ever!

 
Door-to-Door Organics arrived today along with some delicious Montgomery Inn Ribs!!!

Door-to-Door Organics is basically exactly what it sounds like.  Organic fruits & veggies delivered to your door.  If you're interested, I'd suggest checking out their website...it's pretty awesome.  We're signed up to get bi-weekly deliveries of the small size box.  Here's our haul this week (with a couple add-ons):

The box included:  4 sweet potato garnets, 1 bunch of rainbow carrots (tops on), 1 leek, 4 Fuji apples, 3 navel oranges, 2 tomatoes, 2 kiwis, 3 tangerines, 1 avocado, 2 red peppers, 1 mango, 5oz baby spinach, 1 package of mushrooms.  I added on: 1/2 gallon organic whole milk, organic heavy whipping cream, 1lb smoked bacon, and blackberry Shiraz preserves. 

Also included in today's delivery from CincyFavorites:

2 slabs of Montgomery Inn ribs completely with BBQ sauce, bibs & wet naps!  I was told by a very good friend that these are like the best ribs in the whole entire world, so I'm pretty excited to give them a try this weekend!

Baby Duffy's Shower!

Today was the day of Jill's baby shower hosted by her MIL, Denise!  I've been looking forward to it for quite some time, and I recently realized that shopping for a baby shower is about 10,000 times more fun when you've just finished the 1st year with your own little one.

Jill's shower was at noon in Troy at Maggiano's Little Italy.  Jill looked amazing rocking a flattering pink dress in keeping with the color scheme of the day!  When we arrived they had appetizers out to nibble on which included fried zucchini that was to die for.  Here are a couple shots of the tables:

The menu:

 A couple shots of the centerpieces.  The were too cute for words:

The favors where little soap bird nests.  And all guests were asked for fill out a "Baby Wishes" card for Baby Duffy to read when she gets older.  Those were placed in a bird cage on the center table.

Throughout appetizers and the meal instead of playing games they called out names for prizes which included the centerpieces and some awesome gift cards that Denise picked up!

After lunch was served, the real fun began....GIFTS!!!

Somehow they managed to fit this all in the back of their Jeep!

Jill, Maddie's future BFF, me & Maddie

And a couple pictures I stole from Andrea because I missed getting a chance to take them (thanks Andrea):

Mom & Dad To Be

The girls:  Mer, Me, Maddie, Andrea, Jill & Cathy

The yummy cupcakes and birdcage I spoke of:

Ryan and Maddie

We had a great time and were so glad to be invited.  Can't wait to meet Baby Duffy when she decides to make her arrival!!!  Love you guys!