On the trail!

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day! Spring is a season that I am experiencing for the first time this year, in TX it seems we always go straight into summer from winter. It has been nice easing our way into warm days before we find smouldering hot days. The only thing I would change about this new found season is the pollen. Holy smokes that crap is everywhere!! My car has a perpetual film of yellow on it, and I cannot stop rubbing my eyes.

Since yesterday was so pretty I decided to take full advantage of some of the amenities we pay for at this absurdly overpriced apartment complex. I went outside with Madi and Derby and went for a long walk. We did the entire fitness trail (1 way = 2.5 miles) and then we walked from our building all the way to the back of the complex and around from the clubhouse. We walked for almost 2 hours! It was great! Madison took full advantage of her comfy seat in her stroller and slept the whole time, and Derby was a champ. He loved the walk, although he hasn't gotten out of bed yet this morning. :) It felt so good to get outside and get some sun & exercise. I was in a really good groove of working out in the mornings before work and I was doing soooo good until I got pregnant. Then the extreme tiredness took over and other than work and caring for the fam I didn't want to do anything! Now that I have my sweet baby with me and some free time on my hands I am so excited to start working out again! Technically I haven't been "cleared" by the doctor....but I feel great! I will continue to 'take it easy' until I get the go ahead at the Doctor in 2 weeks.

The fitness trail is amazing, it is through the woods behind our building and wraps all around the complex. You feel like you are on a hike and the trees are great. The really cool thing about VA is that there are so many trees, and BIG ones! You will be driving through town and then all of the sudden there are woods to your left or right. It's neat!

On the home buying front, I toured 2 homes this week....one of them was craptastic! I cannot believe people would show their house in that kind of condition and expect to sell it for $200,000+! The entire property smelled like cat pee!! GROSS! I have a couple other houses that I want to go look at this week, since they are short sales. Our lease isn't up here until September but we want to have a seamless (or as seamless as possible) transition. It's stressful and exciting to find a new house in a new area. There are just SO MANY things to think about, and the homes out here are very different from the houses in Texas! Everything feels kind of vanilla in the houses, so hopefully we can find one with personality and promise that we can be happy in for a few years.

Okay enough rambling, the baby just fell asleep and after a sleepless night I am going to follow her lead!

Bunnies, Rock Band, and Birthdays!!

Spring time is always very busy in the Major house. With Justin and Bethany both having a birthday in the same week I always feel a little nuts the last week of April. This weekend we celebrated Easter with our VA friends who are very quickly becoming family. It was so nice to know that we had plans for Easter and even though we could not celebrate with our families in TX and OR, we still got to feel at home.

We started out the weekend BIG with Bethany hosting her first sleepover. She had her BFF, Abbey over after our church group Friday night and they had a blast. We have no idea what time they finally went to sleep but it was way after midnight. Justin was so sweet to make breakfast for the girls and help them dye Easter eggs. Madison had a hard night Friday night so I was lucky enough to sleep in while J entertained the older girls. He even brought me breakfast in bed...what a guy!

Saturday after the eggs were dyed and the girls were clean and presentable, we headed to church to celebrate Easter. I love our church, it is very upbeat and always has a great message. Although I am having a hard time adjusting to having the baby and sitting in the family viewing area....I am just not ready to leave Madi in the nursery. We went to the first service and then served in the infant's room for the second service. After seeing the amazing volunteers in the infant's room and meeting the lady that is in charge I have much more a sense of calm about leaving her in there. I think maybe by next week I will be ready...maybe. There is nothing that will brighten your day quite like a room full of babies. It was so much fun volunteering in there, and Justin loved it too.

Sunday was a great day for family time. Justin made his famous Major potatoes and we headed over to the Ramsey's house for linner. It was so nice to have homemade fried chicken, and for the kids to get to play. We have so much fun with them, our other friends the Kitchen's also joined us and between the 3 couples there were 6.5 kids running around. It was a little crazy but 100% fun! We finished the night with some rock band and lots of laughs. Nothing like celebrating Christ's resurrection with a little off key singing of No Doubt.

Today we are celebrating Justin's birthday, and I am going to be adventurous in the kitchen and make the bday cake from scratch....fingers crossed!

Happy 27th bday to my amazing man and happy 1 month Madi West!!!

4 weeks already?!

4 weeks old!
1 week old

I cannot believe my baby is 4 weeks old today! In some ways it feels like it has gone by in a blink and in others it feels like I have always had her with me. I love spending my days playing and snuggling. I don't really care if the laundry sits in the hamper for a couple days or if I lose a few hours to just staring at her. Happy 4 weeks little one, you truly are amazing!

just born...

Enjoying some Mommy time after she ate for the first time!

Inside Mommy.....around 28 weeks (I think)

Let's try this again...

I have thought about doing a blog for a long time, and now that I am home with the baby I thought it would be a great way to share what we have been up to with our friends and family. I was surprised to find out that I had started a blog on here back in 09....definitely forgot about that one! So that made starting this thing easier, since I had already started it!

Today is a very happy day for us as Bethany is turning 6! We celebrated this weekend with a party and lots of fun. She had about 10 of her friends over to the playground by the apartment for pizza, a pinata, silly string, and bobbing for apples. I might venture to say it was the most successful birthday party to date! Since today is her actual birthday, I am taking the girls to the mall so Bethany can finally get her build a bear! She has wanted one for a couple years, and we decided that turning 6 was the perfect occasion.

Madison is doing so great, and she will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. She is starting to spend more time awake, and is really focusing on us more. Her eyes are so beautiful and captivating that when she is awake we just stare at each other....its amazing. Everyone said there is nothing like being a Mommy, and even though I have been mothering B for almost 5 years, it is different. I feel like I have become more patient with B and being home the last few weeks has given me such a sense of calm. It is so amazing to not have to rush around in the mornings and to know that I don't have to spend 12 hours at work. I am loving this stay at home thing.

This week is Bethany's spring break, so we have been doing fun things each day. Yesterday we went over to our sweet friends' house for a playdate! The Lord has given us some great new friends in Virginia, that have made our transition to the new area much easier. The Ramsey's have 3 little girls who are 2, 3, and 5 so when they get together with B it is a messy, fun, crazy time!

I am so looking forward to each day now, and cannot wait to see what cute things Madi is going to do!