Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh my!

Today, our Wednesday Stroller Strides playgroup took a field trip to the Richmond Zoo. The Richmond Zoo isn't the best zoo in the world, but it's perfect for Madelyn's age group. We had a great time because the animals came right up to us. Madelyn really enjoyed the first half of our trip to the zoo and walked around with everyone and looked at all the animals. While looking at the tigers, one of them came right up to the glass window and scared Madelyn so she wanted me to hold her going forward which was not very fun for me. Madelyn's favorite animals were the monkeys and giraffes. She's been talking about them all day!

Looking at the birds with her friends, Bennett and Aiden. They were more fascinated with shaking the rope than watching the birds!

Watching the monkeys with the group!

Watching the monkeys some more! They were pretty entertaining!

This is the tiger that scared Madelyn which made the rest of my zoo visit not so enjoyable!

Madelyn and I hanging out with the giraffes!

The picture says it all!

We are very happy to announce that Baby McGuire #2 will be arriving at the end of March. I am a little over 12 weeks along and the due date is 3/29/10. We are very excited about growing our family and Madelyn can't wait to be a big sister. We are trying to explain to her that the baby is in Mommy's tummy. Sometimes the baby is in Madelyn's tummy and sometimes in Daddy's tummy. Hopefully she'll somewhat grasp the concept by March.

I have been feeling pretty good. I was very tired and nauseous up until a couple of weeks ago. Now I pretty much have it under control as long as I eat throughout the day and take a nap in the afternoon. I think I could get used to this afternoon nap!

We'll be finding out the sex of the baby the 2nd week in November. Last time, I had a feeling it was a girl. This time I have a boy feeling, but the heartbeat has been about 155 so I think it's a girl. It's an old wives tale but Madelyn was that range as well. Obviously, we'll be thrilled to have either!

End of Summer Fun at the Beach

We spent last week in Corolla at the Outer Banks with friends. We rented a huge house with two other families. Madelyn had a great time playing with all the kids. September is usually a great time to go to the beach because the rates are lower and the temperature is a little cooler. Unfortunately, we ran into some rain and it rained for half of our vacation. Despite the rain, we had an awesome time spending the last week of summer at the beach.

During the rain, we had to be creative in finding activities to keep all the kids busy. Despite the cooler weather on the rainy days, we were able to go on some walks on the beach as long as we bundled up with sweatshirts. On the day of Jackson's 4th birthday, we went to a mini aquarium, a lighthouse, and the kids painted wild horses. They had a good time and Jackson had a very fun birthday!

Madelyn loved the ocean and the waves, but she hated the sand. She said the the "Sand Hurt" which we know isn't true. She played in the sand as long as she had her water shoes on and I had to constantly clean off her hands when they got dirty. She loved having Bill carry her in the ocean and she leaned down and touched the waves. Madelyn also had a great time hanging out in the pool and hot tub at our beach house. The hot tub was a huge hit and we turned the temperature down to 98 degrees and it was a big bathtub for the kids!

Walking on the beach with Daddy!

Spending an afternoon at the beach on one of the rainy days!

Hanging out at the top of the sand dune with Daddy!

Madelyn is actually playing in the sand!

Catching some rays! Madelyn loved sitting on the beach chair and as you can see, she is wearing her water shoes!

Getting some sun with Daddy!

Getting doughnuts for Jackson's birthday!

Painting a wild horse with the kids!

Looking out at the water in Corolla!

The group eating dinner at the Oceanfront Grill in Corolla Light!

Madelyn loved hanging out at the pier after dinner!
Madelyn obviously loves sitting on chairs and benches!
Our family the last afternoon at the beach!

More Pool Pictures

I know everyone is probably sick of seeing pictures of us at the pool. Honestly, that's all we've been doing recently. We're trying to spend as much time outside before the weather turns. Madelyn is really enjoying the pool, and is getting braver every day in the water. Hopefully she'll continue to love the water when we go to the Outer Banks in a week. Earlier this summer, she hated the ocean and sand!

On Saturday night, we went to the pool for dinner with Nana, Pop, Aunt Amy, and Cora. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. Here are our some pictures from the weekend:

Wrapped up like a burrito with Nana!Madelyn loves watching Daddy swim!
Hanging out in the water with Cora!

Nana and Pop with their girls!

Summer, please don't end!

We've really enjoyed our summer being members of the Church Run Pool. We have definitely gotten our money's worth and have met some new people and hung out with neighbors which has been a blast. We have spent a lot of time at the pool with the Moore family and Madelyn has had a great time hanging out in the water with her friends, Jacob and Judah. Madelyn really enjoys sitting at the picnic table eating a picnic lunch or ordering pizza for dinner. We are so sad our summer is ending soon!

Tonight was one of our last nights ordering dinner with the Moore family before we leave for vacation. We haven't taken many pictures this summer at the pool so we decided to take some shots this evening. Here they are:

Jacob jumping off the diving board for the first time. He has come a long way this summer in the water. Hopefully he will be a Church Run Rocket next year! I'm sad I won't be a swim team mom for another 3 years!Judah, Madelyn, and Jacob waiting for their pizza!Eating pizza with silly Jacob. Madelyn mimics Jacob's every move!
The gang eating dinner!
Jumping into the pool with Judah. It's amazing Madelyn and Judah will be in the same grade in school!
Our family Summer 2009

Happy Birthday Meme!

I'm a little late posting these pictures to our blog. We've had some problems this week uploading pictures from our camera to the computer. Everything is all fixed so here are some photos from Meme's birthday party last weekend. Madelyn is very into birthday parties these days and loves singing and blowing out candles. She should be a pro by her 2nd birthday!

On Friday, we got together with a childhood friend for a breakfast play date. We have been friends with Alison since we were toddlers and now we all three have girls. It was so much fun to catch up and tell stories from a long time ago. As you can see in the picture, Madelyn was ready for her nap by the time we took the picture and would not cooperate!

This weekend, we did chores around the house and relaxed. We also got together with friends two nights and went to Adeline's (aka "Any" per Madelyn) first birthday party. It was a fun weekend and we are looking forward to our vacation in exactly 14 days! Yeah!

Blowing out candles with Meme!Giving Meme a birthday kiss!
Cora the party animal!It's so weird to see us with our baby girls!

Busy Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend, especially Saturday morning because I hosted a baby shower brunch for my friend Karen, Madelyn had a birthday party for her friend John Grayson at the Maymont Children's Farm, and Bill played in his company softball tournament. The baby shower was awesome, and we were able to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Lamb. It was so much fun to see my close friends from JMU (Kate, we missed you so much!).

Nana and Pop took Madelyn to John Grayson's 3rd birthday party. They had a great time feeding the animals and riding on the hay ride. Bill's softball team did really well (the first time all season) and ranked second in their bracket. He was pretty pleased, but he's super sore today!

Last night, all the JMU girls and some of our families had dinner at the Moore's house. The food was great and it was so much fun to catch up with everyone!

It was miserably hot today, so we spent time at the pool. The water was like bath water, but it was fun to relax with friends. Madelyn is really starting to enjoy the pool and loves jumping in with our help and blowing bubbles. We can't wait to get her some swimming lessons next year!

JMU girls celebrating the soon arrival of Baby Bobby Lamb!Madelyn and Jacob at the birthday party. Everyone has been saying that they look like the painting of the farmer and his wife.
Pizza and fruit, Madelyn's favorite!

Feeding the animals!