Christmas Program

Maddie had her Christmas program at church this past Sunday and the kids did great. Before church, I took a picture of the girls all dressed up! The bigger Mia gets, the more and more she reminds me of Madelyn as a baby. These two little girls are so precious and have brought us more joy then we could have ever imagined!
The kids sang "Away In A Manger" and "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus! They were so sweet and so much fun to watch! I love that Maddie has a great group of kids that are her friends and that she loves her Sunday school and Children's church class!

The stars in the sky look down where He lay....

After church we took Maddie down to Minneapolis so she could go to Disney on Ice with Matt and Michelle. She loved the show and Bob and I enjoyed a nice dinner and a little shopping. It was a quick trip, but glad that Maddie could spend time with her aunt and uncle.

Tonight Maddie was so sweet! I have somehow hurt my back and she wanted me to snuggle her after I tucked her in bed. I laid next to her and told her my back was sore and she needed to pray for me. Without hesitation her prayer went something like this...

Dear Jesus,

I pray for my Mom and that her back will be better. Give her a good rest tonight and be with my baby sister too! (She also said something about being blessed but I can't remember how she used it?) I just smiled as I listen to her prayer and I'm proud to have such a caring little girl!

Amelia is 4 months old!

My big girl trying cereal for the first time!
Yum!!

Mia tried cereal for the first time and she really wasn't sure what to do. More came out of her mouth then in, but it was a good try. She seems to be hungry all of the time so we thought cereal would help her sleep better at night. We still have a lot of learning to do and it's fun to see her go through different stages.

Amelia had her 4 month check up this week and she is doing great! She weighed in at 17 lbs. and 4 oz. and 25" long! Wow, what a big girl! She is such a fun baby to have around. Whenever she sees us, a huge smile come across her face! Even if she is fussing in the middle of the night, she will stop and smile as soon as we come into her room! It has been so much fun having a baby in the house again and I thank God for the beautiful girls he has blessed us with!

A few pictures!

Sweet Sisters!

Mia is such a happy baby and getting big too fast! Love this little lady!!

Love them in their matching pj's!

Grammy and Mia

November 28th, 2010

We had both of the girls dedicated at Central Assembly of God. Pretty special day for me:)

The girls had matching dresses for church. Don't they look so cute??

Mia's three month picture with Maddie!

The past two weeks have been a little busy at the Hogue house. I went back to work after being off for 12 weeks. I have to say that it is still an adjustment and I'm hoping to get a routine down soon? Having two kids to get ready and out the door in the morning as thrown off my old routine. I find myself getting up much earlier and I still can't get everything done that I would like to. I'm going to have to be much more organized and start putting out the girls clothes at night and getting Maddie up earlier (which isn't easy)!

Both the girls are doing well at daycare which does make it easier on me. Maddie loves playing with the other kids and Mia is content just watching everyone. She doesn't like to be left alone and wants to be where the action is! I feel so blessed that she has been a pretty easy going baby and is always full of sweet smiles!!

We celebrated Bob's 51st birthday on November 9th! He was off that day and got to hang out with the girls. Our friend Julie came over that night to watch the girls so we could go out for dinner. It doesn't happen enough, but it was so nice to have a date night with my hubby!

This past weekend I went away to a worship conference with our church. It was being conducted by Andrew Ironside for the Hillsong church in Australia. It was very informative and I had a great time getting to know everyone on our worship team more. I was a little nervous about leaving Mia for the night but knew she would be fine with daddy. Bob's sister CeCe also came up to spend time with the girls and they had a great time together! I got home late Saturday night and was excited to love on my girls.

Christmas is in the air at our house! We had to set up Maddie's princess tree last night in her room and I would like to have the trees up and decorated this week. I love Christmas and have so many wonderful memories as a child. Our house was always decorated to the max and I want our kids to have fun and enjoy the holidays too!

I haven't had my camera out much so I don't have any fun pictures to post. Mia started to giggle last night for the first time and it was so sweet. Maddie kept trying to make her laugh too and I love to watch them interact together! It will be interesting to see how they play when they get older? I really hope that they will be close because I know how much I love and appreciate having a sister!

Halloween pictures

Maddie was excited to carve pumpkins this year and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty!

Daddy did the carving and the pumpkins turned out cute!

Maddie's pals Chloe and Claire stopped by on Halloween and they looked so cute!

My little queen!

We went by one house and they called Maddie a beautiful princess! She was quick to correct them and let them know that she was a queen! She is so funny!

I love my little butterfly!! Maddie wore the same costume when she was a baby!

Amelia didn't go trick-or-treating but stayed with Daddy and passed out candy while I took Maddie out.

We had a fun weekend and Maddie got more candy than a girl needs! We only went around our neighborhood and it was fun to see all of the kids dressed up!

My first day at work went fine and it was hard dropping the girls off. Maddie was excited to play with the kids so I knew she would be fine. I know the girls are in good hands but I missed snuggling with my girl! It will take a little time to adjust to working full time and two kiddos, but we will figure it out I'm sure!

Girls, Painting Pumpkins and Dress-up!

It's my last week at home with the girls and we have tried to make the best of it. The weather has been cold and rainy so we have stayed indoors watching movies, eating popcorn and playing with friends. Maddie is such a great big sister! She loves to hold and snuggle Mia and is always willing to help when she can.

This sweet little gal is 12 weeks old today!!!

She LOVES to take a bath and have her hair washed!

She's in size 2 diapers

It's about time to pack up the 3 month clothes...she's a healthy little girl!

She is taking a bottle great as I am nursing a lot less

She is always full of smiles that make me so happy to be her mama

She has slept through the night once this week, otherwise wakes up between 5-6 a.m.

These are a few of Maddie's friends from church and it was so much fun to have them over to paint pumpkins!

They did such a great job and I thought I was doing a great thing by buying washable paints for them to use. Everything was going great until they dried. The paint just peeled off of the pumpkins and made a big mess. I'm so sorry to the moms that brought their pumpkins home and had the paint just flake off. I ended up washing Maddie's pumpkin with water and we will carve it later this weekend. Oh well, lesson learned! At least the kids had a good time and I enjoyed visiting with their moms!

Katie, Maddie and Chloe

Playing dress-up is so much fun!!!

Maggie, Katie, Maddie, Chloe & Claire

These girls are so sweet and they have so much fun playing together! It is only a matter of minutes and they are downstairs trying on all of the dresses and dancing around. We all go to the same church and it will be fun to watch them grow up together!!

This weekend is Halloween and Maddie is so excited to wear her costume that Grammy got her. I'm not sure if I will take Amelia out or not? I guess it will depend on the weather? We usually just go around our neighborhood and Maddie gets a ton of candy. I love watching how excited she gets and she runs from house to house...so cute!!

Sisters

I got the girls ready the other day and didn't realize that I had picked out purple until later. They looked so cute that I had to take a few pictures of them together. I was hoping to get one with both of the girls smiling and this was the best one. I'm so happy that Maddie has a little sister and I hope as they grow up that they will be the best of friends!

Play Date!

One of the greatest things about being on maternity leave is all of the play dates that we have had! I will miss trips to the park, McDonald's play land, and dress-up at our house. I'm so blessed to have wonderful friends from our church who have amazing children that Maddie loves to play with! Play dates are not only for the little ones...us mom's really enjoy our time together too!! This week my friend Harmony came over with her two girls Chloe and Claire. We thought it would be fun to make turkeys out of construction paper. We traced their hands for the feathers and their shoes for the body. The girls were probably more excited about playing dress-up, but we did manage to finish the project and the girls did great!

Harmony and I had to help the girls with most of the project, but they loved the glue stick and drawing the eyes with markers.

Maddie, Claire and Chloe with the finished project! It was a nice Fall day to hang out inside. We had cookies, watched a movie with popcorn and laughed as the girls switched different dresses and danced around the house.

We had a great night at our house last night! Amelia slept through the night and that makes me so happy. I had given her a bottle the night before with formula and had also nursed her right before bed. I think she had a full belly and peacefully slept all night. I'm slowly starting to wean her so she will be ready for daycare in a week. I can't believe how fast the past eleven weeks have gone by! My little girl is getting so big and I love her sweet coos and smiles!

Corn Maze

We had a wonderful time at the corn maze in Wrenshall today. Maddie wanted to be the leader and told us which way to go. This was the first corn maze that I have ever been to and it was a perfect day to do it on.

Little Mia slept the whole time we were there so I woke her up to try to take some pictures of the girls. I guess she really wasn't into it today!

Maddie picked out a pumpkin and we were ready to go home. We enjoyed spending the day as a family on this beautiful Fall day!

I LOVE FALL!!!!

Fall is my favorite time of year and it has been the perfect time to be on maternity leave. We have been traveling a lot and it has been nice to see the beautiful colors as the leaves are changing.

Sisters!!!

Maddie has been a great help with Mia and she loves her so much. It is fun to watch her interact with her and make her smile and coo.

I only have a few weeks left and it's time to go back to work. I have enjoyed being home with both my girls and will miss our little play dates with friends. I thought I would have gotten so many things accomplished while being on leave, but I should know better. I would rather spend my day holding a sweet baby and playing with Maddie. Before I know it they will be too big to hold and will have better things to do than to hang with Mom. I value every stage that they are going through and hope to make it special for both of them!

Look who's two months old!!!

Today Amelia had her two month appointment and she is a big girl!! She weighed in at 13 lbs. and 2 oz. and is the 95% for her weight. Everything looked great except that she is starting to get the cold that Maddie had. I feel so bad for her and she just wants to cuddle tonight. I hope that we have a good night and everyone gets sleep?I love that she is starting to smile more! She is such a sweet baby and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by!

We enjoyed a nice fall day at Enger Park and tried to take a few pictures of the girls.
Maddie is a little poser!

So far the past two months have been pretty crazy. We have had a house full of company and have visited family in North Dakota and Rochester. We have enjoyed play dates with friends and trips to the park. I have loved being home with my girls and I know this last month of maternity leave will fly by. We are having a girls weekend in Minneapolis the coming weekend and am looking forward to seeing my mom, sister, aunts and cousins.

The month of September has been pretty busy for us! The girls and I went to ND for a week and had a wonderful time. It seemed to go by so fast even though we really didn't have a lot planned. Maddie loved playing with her cousins and it was fun for my family to meet Amelia!

Dalen and Maddie are best of pals!
We tried to get some pictures of my parents with the grandkids. Five kids under the age of four pretty much equals pure craziness!

Both of the girls traveled so well and it was nice to have the help of my mom both ways.


This week, Bob is on vacation so we are in Rochester, MN. His brother Tom is also her from OR and we are hanging out with his family.

We all went to the Roberta Flack concert so Sharon came over to watcht the girls. This was the first time I left Mia with a babysitter and I think it went well! She brought all kinds of activities for Maddie to do and I knew they were in good hands! We all had a great time at the show!

Mia is six weeks old now and finally got to meet Grandma Phyllis! It was so fun to see the smile on her face! She just lit up when she was holding Mia and loved every minute that we were there!

Phyllis is 88 and Amelia is her ninth grandchild. She is so sweet and loves it when her family comes to visit!

Grandma's girls!!

Life has been pretty busy with two little girls, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Last Sunday, my mom flew in so she could travel back to ND with me and the girls. It was so nice the have the extra help and company to make the trip go by faster. We have been enjoying our time in Minot this week. It seems like we are always so busy when I come home and we haven't really done much. So far we have seen a little of the family and have done a little shopping but I find myself just enjoying time at home. We have a pretty busy weekend with my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary party. I'm looking forward to the rest of the family getting a chance to meet Amelia and Maddie playing with some of her cousins!

I haven't taken any pictures this week so I will post a few from last week. This picture is of Mia at four weeks, even though she is actually five weeks today. She has really started to fill out and put on the weight! I think that she has gotten a lot bigger this week and will be curious how much she weighs at her two month appointment?

Miss Amelia is....

- in size 1-2 diapers

- wears 3 month clothes

- still getting up twice a night to eat

- likes to use her mama as a pacifier so we had to find another kind that would work

- starting to stare at us and make eye contact

- loves to be held and cuddled

- a very sweet baby and we all adore her!

My sister Michelle came up to visit for a night and we always have a great time! She lives a few hours away so it isn't that big of a deal to make the trip. We got exciting news that she is expecting in April so we are so happy for them! She is at the stage where she doesn't feel the best and has a lot of questions. I try to help her out anyway I can and hope that she has a great pregnancy!


Maddie loves being home and playing with her cousin Dalen! They play so well together and I only wish we were closer? Tomorrow we are getting pictures made of the five grandkids together so that should be fun but a little hectic. I can't wait to see how they turn out?

The past three weeks...

The past three weeks has been the fastest three weeks of my life! I don't know exactly what I have done except trying to learn a routine with an active 3 year old and a newborn. I have been so blessed to have some extra help along the way. My mom was here for about 2 weeks and both of Bob's sisters have been up to help. I actually have only had one full day where I was on my own so we are still working on a schedule. I'm sure I will figure it out soon! Amelia's first sponge bath at home and she loved getting her hair washed!
Madelyn loves being a big sister!

Papa and his girls....

It was great that my dad came over for the weekend after she was born. Maddie adores her Papa so much and it will be fun to see the relationship develop with him and Amelia.

Sweet Sisters!!!

At Amelia's two week appointment she weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz.

She hadn't met her birth weight yet and was in the 47 % of her weight class. She's a little smaller then Maddie was but so far has been a content baby. Many nights I have to wake her up to feed her so I haven't been a sleep deprived Mama!

When I had Maddie three years ago, we had a little get together with some of the girls I worked with. Now, only one gal still works at Menards and there are an additional three little girls to add to the group! It was so much fun to get together again but a little crazy! The girls had fun playing together and it's always a blast when the "big girls" get together too!

It was fabulous to have my Mom here for almost two weeks! Even though she said that she didn't do much...she was a huge help! It was great just to have the extra set of hands and she helped around the house. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my Mom? She is a wonderful example of what a mother should be and I hope to be as good as her with my girls!

Grammy and her girls!!!

Bob's sister Jan and her daughter Danielle came up to meet little Amelia last weekend! Danielle lives in Maine and was excited to meet her second girl cousin! She is so good to the girls and we only wish we could see her more often! It was a quick trip for them, but we had a great time together!

I can't believe that my girl is three weeks old today! She is starting to fill out a little more and is a great baby! I count my blessings every day that I get to be a Mom to two very special little girls! They are both precious miracles who's Mommy and Daddy are very proud of!