One more GB Trip

Maddie and I took what will be my last trip to Green Bay before the baby comes.  Four hours is a long time in the car when you're 8 months pregnant!  We were excited to spend some time with Grandma Linda and Papa Dale, visit Great Grandma Pat, see Lori and the girls, have some fun play dates with Maddie's BFF Audrey, and to finally get to spend some time with Braylon and Jack, the newest baby boys on the GB block.  There is just never enough time when we're home, and there were still so many more people I wanted to try to see. 
Maddie & Audrey were very excited to see each other!  They play so well together, and always have a great time.

Maddie, Jack, Braylon, and Audrey at their first play date. The girls were definitely loving on those adorable boys!

Audrey and Maddie got to play at the aquatic center together. 

Maddie, Ashley, and Hannah visiting grandma at the nursing home.  Maddie was so excited to see "her" girls!



Milwaukee Trip

Catching up on posting some summer trips!  We met my mom and dad in Milwaukee earlier in the summer for a fun weekend.  It was Maddie's first time in a hotel since she was very small, and she absolutely loved it!  I'm not sure what she liked more, that or the Children's Museum.

Maddie jumping on the king-size bed in the hotel room. We

weren't sure if we were going to be able to talk her into leaving the room! 

We headed to the Children's Museum bright and early, and it was so much fun.  Here she is driving Grandma Linda and Papa Dale to the library on the bus.

She got to do her own grocery shopping in the pretend Sendik's.  Oh, how I miss that store...

 Checking out with daddy.

 Papa Dale helping teach Maddie how to change a tire.

 Fixing a car, sliding with daddy, and milking a cow...

 

Pretending to deliver mail, and reporting the news...

Definitely a trip we'll have to make again!

No baby yet...

Just a quick update on this stubborn little baby boy!  (WARNING: pregnancy details ahead!) At my last appointment I was dilated to 3cm, 50% effaced, and 0 station.  According to my doctor she's "shocked" I'm not in labor!  It's like Maddie, part 2.  So we're still just waiting.  If nothing happens by next week, we'll discuss inducing, so we don't have a repeat of Maddie's shoulder dystocia complication. 

At least someone in the house can accessorize

This is how Maddie decided she needed to go to school today.  She got new flip flops over the weekend and was so excited to wear them.  Because they had polka dots, she dug out her polka-dotted sunglasses and headband as well, so, as she told me, she would match. 

Third Trimester!

I just realized that I haven't written much about the upcoming addition to our family! Being a mommy of two takes getting used to, I guess.  I don't have a lot of pictures, but still wanted to give an update on how we're doing.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant right now, and due on August 29th.  People have been wondering how I'm feeling in the heat (the few days we've had any!), and I feel great!  I love heat and humidity, and being pregnant hasn't changed that at all.  It's nice to be able to wear skirts, dresses, and flip flops this time around. 

At the doctor this week, the baby is measuring right on track.  The heartbeat is strong and solid, and everything looks pretty good.  Right now the baby is laying sideways (transverse), rather than up and down.  Not a big deal now, just something we'll have to keep an eye on as we get closer to the due date.  I can DEFINITELY feel the difference, because it feels like my ribs are going to break sometimes!  I love sitting and feeling the baby move around, especially at night when there's so much activity.  We are starting to keep an eye on things to make sure we don't run into the same complications we did with Maddie.  I'm hoping for a much smoother delivery this time!

Maddie has been a wonderful helper, and is very excited about becoming a big sister.  She also has a baby in her belly, by the way.  That one is mine, and the one in my belly is hers, or so she tells me.  She's also been telling us that she plans to sleep with the baby in the crib, and we will cover them both up with a blankie.  She's going to feed the baby, rock the baby in the glider, read to the baby, and change diapers.  I have to say, I'm looking forward to all that!  Maddie talks to the baby, and likes to rub my belly.  Mind you, she feels the need to lift up my shirt to see my belly when she does that, and when you're standing in line at the checkout in Walmart, it's not quite as amusing as it sounds. 

28 weeks pregnant

Potty Training!

We've been working on potty training for a few months now, and Maddie's been doing great.  Our goal has been to get her out of diapers before the baby comes so we were excited when she asked to wear underwear to school last week.  She did great, only one accident!  Since that day we haven't looked back.  She wears "big girl panties" during the day, and went all weekend without one accident!  She still wears diapers at night, but has been dry for two nights in a row.  This is a picture of her on her first morning with underwear on.  She's pretty proud of being such a big girl!  I can't believe how different she looks without a diaper, her little tushie is so tiny!

Our Little Fashionista

I definitely can tell I'm in my third trimester, because I have had the uncontrollable urge to 'nest'.  I took the opportunity last weekend to spring clean Maddie's room and wardrobe, packing up everything from winter, and that doesn't fit, and finally getting out all of her shorts and summer things!  While I was sorting and boxing up, Maddie took it upon herself to try on different outfits and accessorize with shoes, headbands, and sunglasses.  This is the look she liked the best, and wore for most of the morning:

A swimming suit and winter boots...a classic combination.

Maddie's in Love

We got to spend some time with our friends Jim & Jaime this weekend, and their adorable son Preston.  Maddie LOVES "her baby Preston", as she calls him.  They are so cute together!

Miss Madelyn

I thought I'd share some recent pictures of Maddie, and give a quick update on some of her stories.  Maddie is such a fun little girl, and is absolutely hilarious.  She loves to dance (videos to come), and has been known to stop in the middle of whatever she's doing if a good song comes on.  She also likes to sing, and tell stories to her babies.  She's quite a ham when getting her picture taken, as you can see.  She loves to dress up, especially with headbands and sunglasses.  We're definitely into the two's, but not the terrible twos, although she can be quite opinionated and headstrong, especially when picking out what she's going to wear!  She's becoming a little bit of a drama queen (I have no idea where it comes from).  Maddie's quite excited about the upcoming addition to our family - she talks about the baby a lot, and likes to tell people how she also has a baby in her belly.  She's going to be a wonderful big sister. 

This is a sand sculpture that was in the mall in Green Bay after the Packers won the Super Bowl. Notice the cheesy smile - Mommy takes a lot of pictures, and Maddie's used to having to pose!

Showing off her Jessie nightgown.  Toy Story 2 is a favorite movie at our house.

If we're home on the weekends, Maddie knows she can talk Brian into getting her a "nummies doughnut" for breakfast.  A nummies doughnut on a nummies plate...m&m's are obviously the treat of choice in the Fritz household.

We had a 'first' recently...Maddie's first scraped knee.  We were all walking back from the park and Maddie and daddy decided to race.  They tried to stay on the grass, but Maddie got onto the sidewalk and fell.  It was a good example of the drama queen behavior she sometimes exhibits.  She was just devastated, and walked around with a limp for awhile, holding her leg.  This happened last week, and I still get updates: "Mommy, my owie's a little better today", "Mommy, I still have my owie".

 This was right after it happened. She was not happy to be getting her picture taken, but I had to document the occasion.



NYC

 When we found out in December that we were expecting, we knew our traveling days were numbered.  I wouldn't be able to fly after the end of May, then we'd have a newborn, and then we'd have to have serious cash to bribe one of the sets of grandparents to watch a baby and a (very active and entertaining) toddler.  Since I got a trip to Las Vegas for my 30th in November, we decided to take a trip to someplace Brian's always wanted to go, New York City, for his birthday in May.  We were so lucky that a friend of Brian's from college, Drew, who lives in town when he's not traveling all over the world for his NBC Sports job, was in the city at the same time.  He got us tickets for a Yankee game while we were out there, as well as a tour of 30 Rockefeller Center, where he works.  We also got to visit with Brian's cousin Taylor who just moved to SoHo.  We had a blast, walking all over the city and seeing all of the important sites, like Monk's Diner from Seinfeld.  :)  While we missed Maddie a ton, it was so nice to take a trip alone.  We took full advantage - packing light, eating out, staying up late, and sleeping in!

  

I love Glee, so this billboard in Times Square was right up my alley.

My pizza at Mario Batalli's Eately marketplace.  Hands down the best pizza I've ever eaten.  Just wish that glass of water in the corner could have been red wine... 

Brian outside of the deli that inspired Monk's in Seinfeld.  He's a HUGE Seinfeld fan, so this was on our list of places to find.  

Brian got his TV landmark, so I needed mine.  This is the building shown on Friends!  I was SO excited, you would have thought Jennifer Aniston was actually inside.

The famous Wall Street bull.  Notice the people grouped around the bull's tushie (as Maddie would say).  His back end was just as popular of an angle for pictures as the angle we chose. 

The Freedom Tower going up, and Ground Zero.  Easily one of the most moving sites I've ever been to,

especially the memorial across the street.  We were also able to see the churches next to the site that became the bases for the recovery.  It was absolutely amazing, and totally awe-inspiring. 

The view from our first hotel in Times Square.

 

Yankee Stadium!  The game was fun, even though the Yankees lost.  It was like a Packer game atmosphere in a baseball stadium.  Those fans are just as passionate as us cheeseheads!

 So fun! 

The view of our second hotel, in the financial district at the southern tip of Manhattan. 

This is the Hudson River, and Ellis Island. 

Of course, we had to hit up the M&M store in Times Square for Miss Madelyn.  It was 3 stories dedicated to nothing but 'nummies', which Maddie lives for.  She thinks the 'm' on them is for Maddie! 

It was fun to take a trip, but we were more than ready to come home.  We're ready to focus on finishing the home projects, and getting ready for baby!

Is it...for real...is the blog really...updated?!?

Yes, yes it is. Please, try to control yourselves. After some gentle requests (and one or two not-so-gently made demands) for blog updates, we're back. Since it's been a year since my last post, I'll try to quickly sum up the last year of our lives...

We moved back to WI from sunny FL last spring (no, we're not crazy, although it felt that way this past winter!). We're living in Platteville, and loving living back up by family and friends. Just hoping for some nicer weather! We've spent most of the last year working on fixing up our house, learning our way around the thriving metropolis that is P'ville, and watching Maddie get bigger and turn into a little girl. Here are some pics from the last few months...

February brought Maddie's first haircut, as well as her second birthday.

The Packers won the Super Bowl! Maddie and Audrey were very excited. Maddie got her first case of strep throat, and very reluctantly ate ice cream for supper for a few days.

We had a blast at Easter...

and loved all of the treats we got.

Brian did some major demo in the bathroom.

My amazing husband took me on my first trip to Las Vegas for my 30th, which was a blast, and we more recently returned from a trip to NYC for Brian's birthday.

Yankee Stadium!

That's all for now.  I promise to do better on updating, as I've realized that I take a LOT of pictures!  There are some cute ones from the past year that I may try to incorporate into some new posts.  I hope everyone (that's you, Sara, Kristin, and Sarah) is as proud of me as I am of myself!  ;)