Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day? Our was pretty low key since Bob had to work all weekend but overall was nice and relaxing. Maddie started off the weekend with a cough and runny nose. We had some shopping to do on Saturday morning and finished early since I knew she wasn't feeling the best. We had a nice dinner at home and decided not to go to church on Sunday morning because I didn't want any other little ones to catch her cold. My Mom got Maddie this princess snuggie and she thinks it is the greatest thing! When ever she is hanging out watching TV or a movie she wants to be all snuggled in!
This morning Maddie was excited to open her Valentine present. My parents gave her a book called "I Love You A Bushel & a Peck". My mom always sings that song to her and she loved the book! She sang the song all morning too!

Miss Maddie is very girlie and loved her little sparkle purse. She even had to take it out when we brought Bob lunch today.

She also loves her m&m's and was ready to have them for breakfast! She got a movie and an I spy book and I think she was pretty happy. We read the book right away and she watched her movie while I got ready this morning.

We had fun playing with the play-doh that my mom had made for her and eating popcorn and watching movies. It was a snowy day and I think she is feeling better. It was nice to lay low and just spend time together. Maddie has enjoyed watching the ice skating at the Olympics! She thinks they are beautiful and tries to copy their moves. It's so cute to watch her as she goes in circles in the living room with her arms extended out! I think I need to get her in skating some day??

It's Presidents Day tomorrow so our office is closed. I'm looking forward to having another day off and Bob and I have some errand to do in the afternoon. I think we will go out to dinner to celebrate our Valentine's Day too! I'm lucky to have such a wonderful husband and daughter that love me the way that they do. I'm very blessed!

I'm back!!!

I know it has been a while, but I finally got my computer back and can update my blog with a few pictures. We celebrated Christmas with Bob's family in January and it was really good to see Phyllis again. She was so excited to see Maddie and it's always a joy to watch them interact together.
Maddie has the greatest aunts!! CeCe put on her pretty dress so she could "fancy dance" with her!

This past weekend my parents came to visit. Maddie was so excited to see her Papa and Grammy and was quick to show them everything in her room and any toys she had laying around. She loves anything princess and was happy to play the fishing game with her Papa. I love that he gets right down on the floor to play with her. Maddie is so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents!

Michelle and Matt came up Saturday night and stayed until the Super Bowl was over. It's nice that they only live a few hours away and can come up to visit. We all went to church in the morning and the girls did a little shopping in the afternoon. We had a great time and Bob had supper ready for us when we got home. He had a whole spread laid out to kick start the Super Bowl. It was a fun game to watch even though we wished our Vikings would have been there. Oh well....there is always next year!

My parents left on Monday morning and Maddie had to get a little more snuggle time in with her Grammy before they left. I just love this picture!!!

Well, I'm 14 weeks pregnant! I feel great and my belly is definitely growing fast! They say you show faster the second time around and they are so right! I'm that that stage where I'm not big enough for maternity but my clothes are getting to small. I guess there will be a shopping trip in my future since I had gotten rid of all of my maternity clothes. That shouldn't be too hard for me! :)

Our next Dr. appointment is 3 weeks away. I'm supposed to have an ultrasound and I hopefully they will be able to determine what the sex will be? I'm dying to know and I can't wait to start getting a babies room ready again and Maddie into her big girl room. Also we will start talking about names after we know what we are having. I think it's always difficult to pick out a name and we seem to have different ideas. It should be interesting??

Today's Dr. Visit!

Today we had our first appointment with our new OB doctor. I loved our Dr. that we had with Madelyn, but he no longer delivers babies. Our new Dr. was fantastic and was just as excited about this pregnancy as we are!

I was really excited that both Maddie and Bob were with me. I was even more excited that I hadn't gained any weight since my first appointment. I think that was due to the fact that our entire house was sick last week and nothing really sounded good to me. Maddie told the Dr. that she was going to be big sister and that I had a baby in my tummy. I think she thought it was neat to hear the heartbeat too? The monitor showed 166-167 for the heartbeat and she said that everything looked and sounded good. We have our next appointment in six weeks and we also have an ultrasound scheduled. I'm looking to find out the sex of the baby so we can get organized and get things rolling.

We have a lot of plans for our basement this winter/spring and know we will be pretty busy. I'm excited to get rid of a bunch of junk that we have been keeping for way to long and it is time to clean house! We are planning on converting Bob's work room into a den/spare room that will have another queen bed in it. We get so much company at our house that we need that extra sleeping space and need to make due with what we have.

On a positive note, I have been feeling a ton better!!!! I haven't felt pregnant the past few days and hoping that we are over the hump of morning sickness?? Time will tell!! My computer is being sent to Dell so I haven't had a chance to upload any new pictures. I hope it will be back in a couple of weeks and I will post some pictures of Maddie and my growing belly!

Sorry, It's been a while.....

Wow! It has been a rough week at the Hogue house! It started last Tuesday night with me getting the flu. Maddie and I were home alone since Bob had to work that night. There is nothing harder than trying to entertain a two year old when you feel so awful. Thank goodness Maddie is a little rock star and tried to help her Mama anyway she could. First she came into the bathroom and asked if she could sing to me? (thinking it would make me feel better) And then offered to snuggle me. It didn't last long as I got sick again, but I love her sweet spirit!

I couldn't wait for Bob to get home and was already in bed. I had no idea that our night would be so short. I was up sick in the night and it didn't take long for Maddie to catch the bug either. Bob got it too and it was hard for us to get out of bed and get Maddie cleaned up. She was a trooper and told me that she would be fine and I could keep my own puke bucket. In between changing sheets, blankets, and cleaning carpets, we were all wiped out!

Most of Wednesday was spent with us cuddled in blankets, eating crackers, and sleeping. By that night I thought we were all on the up and up, but I guess I was wrong. Today as I type this, it's Friday. I attempted to go to work this morning and it didn't last long. On top of the flu, I'm getting a wonderful head cold. I still felt terrible and came home and went right to bed. It feels nice to get some rest and I'm hoping to get my energy back soon. We all are still dragging a little bit, but I guess that comes with the territory?

Bob is at work, Maddie is at daycare and I'm tucked in bed. I'm not sure if I'm having a hard time recovering because I'm pregnant or this bug has really got me down? My computer is broken so I haven't been able to update with any pictures. We had a lovely time last weekend with Bob's family in Rochester. We celebrated Christmas with his family and had a nice visit with his mother.

It is my goal to do a better job with this blog this year. I want to document things that happen in our family since I'm not into scrapbooking and want to have something to look back on. I hope to document this pregnancy and update on our Dr. appointments. We have one this Tuesday the 19th so I'm looking forward to hearing the heartbeat and meeting with our Dr. We will have a new Dr. this time because mine no longer delivers babies. I hope and pray that everything goes ok and we have a smooth pregnancy. So far, this one has been a lot harder than with Maddie. I have felt more nauseous and tired this time. I would guess it's a boy, but we will have to wait and see???

Exciting News!!

We had a fabulous Christmas at home in ND with my family. We arrived late Wednesday night after battling drifting snow on the roads. We were even more excited to share with our family that we will be expecting a new little one next August!!

Anyone who knows our situation and the struggles we had to have Maddie will know this baby is truly a gift from God! I still am amazed that I actually got pregnant and so thankful and blessed that I will get to be a mommy again! Maddie did a great job telling Grammy that she was going to be a Big Sister!! My parents couldn't believe it and the look on their faces was priceless!

We are looking forward to next years Christmas picture to be a family of four!

We had a pile of snow at my parents house and there was no better place to be than at home. My sister baked cookies while the guys did some shoveling. It was so much fun to watch the kiddos play together. I only wish I was closer so we could spend some more time with each other. They all played so well!


I love that the girls had matching dresses! It is hard to get four little ones under the age of three to all look at the camera at once. But, we did the best we could! Papa and Grammy love their babies!


As far as pregnancy goes, I haven't been feeling the best. I have been super tired and feel like I need to eat a lot to feel better. I'm hoping this will pass soon and I will have a pregnancy like I did with Maddie? I loved being pregnant and it is my prayer that he/she will be healthy. The best thing about having a blog is I can document the events in our lives. Keep checking back and I will try to update more often. I wasn't quite sure why I wasn't feeling like myself, but was overjoyed when we figured out the news;)

Polar Express

Last night, Maddie and I met some friends and hopped on the Polar Express to head to the North Pole (Train Depot)! Once we arrived, we all listened to the story of the Polar Express! All of the kids received a little bell and got to see Santa! Maddie still isn't to sure of him and wouldn't sit on his lap.We enjoyed listening to carolers sing Christmas songs and looking at all of the trains in the museum.

Trevor and Maddie enjoyed looking out the window while on the train!

I'm so glad my friend Melanie invited us to go with her family! It was fun to watch the excitment on the children's faces!

The train was decorated so nice for Christmas and when it was time to get off, there were cookies, hot chocolate, and a fire to warm up by.

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here! I still have a little shopping to do and this weekend is so busy for us! We have practice for the Christmas program on Sunday and Maddie is excited that she gets to be a little sheep! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Wow! It's been a long time....

Wow!! It has been a long time since I last updated me blog! You can tell that the Holidays are here and I feel like I haven't had much extra time these days. Maddie and I decorated our tree upstairs on November 16th! She was so excited to help that it made decorating a lot of fun!


Maddie in front of the tree before one of our girl shopping days. She is getting to a fun age to take all day. I just have to remember to have lots of snacks packed:)

Maddie was so excited to have Papa at our house and to "fancy dance" with her! My parents came for Thanksgiving and that is all Maddie talked about. She couldn't wait to have a sleepover and wear her dress-up dresses and dance. I think she wore her Papa out a little bit?

Maddie is always wanting to help in the kitchen any way that we will let her. She was excited to help Grammy make whipped cream for the pies. She pushes her chair right up to the counter and is always ready to lick the beaters when your done:)

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we all headed down to Bayfront Park in Duluth to tour Bentleyville. There are thousands of lights displayed with hot chocolate and popcorn stands along with roasting marshmallow pits and visiting Santa. This is a huge thing for the City of Duluth and about 32,ooo people visited it over the weekend. It's a great place to bring your family and friends and it's free....donations accepted, and a lot of fun!

Maddie wanted to do her own thing and insisted on walking be herself and didn't care that there were a ton of other people there. She was hard to keep track of and thankfully Rob was with us to follow her around. She definitely is little Miss Independent!!

Uncle Matt and Auntie Shell had a fun time with our girl too! They came to our house Thanksgiving night and us girls were ready with our shopping shoes on and out the door by 3:30am on Black Friday. Shell, Mom and I had a lot of fun just spending time together doing what we all love the most....shopping!!!


Bob's brother Tom was also in town for Thanksgiving so he came up to visit us on the weekend! Maddie has been talking to Tom a lot via Skype so she was really excited when he came to visit.
Skype has been a great way to connect with family that lives away and makes it easier for Maddie to recognize who they are.

I feel so behind this year and really need to step it up! I haven't even sent out Christmas cards
and still have a lot of shopping to do. I don't know why I am having a hard time, but better get my act together! I'm very excited to get to go back to ND for Christmas this year! I can't wait for Maddie to get to play with her cousins and to watch them open presents on Christmas morning. Kids make Christmas time that much more special and we have so much to be thankful for!