Maddie – Page 2 – ANDI HAYS

Woodland Park Zoo

Posted on October 19, 2015October 17, 2015 by Andi

We have made a visit to the zoo here in Seattle many times. But on this visit, the kids were happy, the sun was shining and I just happened to take a bunch of pictures. So here are some pictures from a recent visit to the zoo this Fall.

We played at the park just outside the zoo for a little while before it opened. The zoo opens at 9:30, so when the kids are up before 7, it’s pretty likely that we are stir crazy before the zoo opens.

Next, the girls thought it would be fun to chase the jaguar. They don’t have much of a survival instinct. Smile

Up next were the gorillas. This one was so sweet and came to look at us right by the window.

Inside the zoo, there’s a really fun playground. They like to run around the path (over and over), stand on the ant hills, go down the rock slides and play in the spider webs.

One of their favorite places at the zoo is the farm. The animals were pretty silly when we were there.

More fun things to play in/on.

Dannie is starting to get the hang of standing on standing part of the stroller. For some reason Maddie wanted to sit in the seat.

The lions are kind of hard to see in this picture, but they were all out on the rocks which is something we don’t see very often.

We hadn’t visited the wetlands at the zoo in a long time, so we took a stroll through there. It was really pretty

The red panda (Firefox) is one of my very favorite animals. He’s so dang cute and fluffy!

We also saw the giraffes, hippos and zebras, but I didn’t get any good pictures of them. I love this zoo. The only thing I wish it had were more indoor areas. It rains here…a lot (in case you didn’t know) and it would be nice to have more options at the zoo for rainy days. But alas, it does not. I hope we can get a couple more nice weekend days to make another visit before it gets too cold (and rainy) for the season.

What is your favorite animal to see at the zoo?

Fremont Troll

Posted on October 6, 2015October 7, 2015 by Andi

We had some time one weekend and thought we would take a drive over to see the Fremont Troll. I had heard of it, but it was quite fun to see in person. It’s a huge sculpture under a bridge and the troll has a real VW beetle under his hand. It’s so whimsical and strange. I am glad we went to visit it.

If you look closely in the next photo, you’ll see a chuck and Maddie up on his shoulder waving to me. 🙂

Seattle Aquarium

Posted on October 5, 2015October 7, 2015 by Andi

We have been to the aquarium many times, but our most recent trip was a lot of fun.

We colored.

We pet animals.

We had our faces painted.

We stuck our heads in painted plywood.

We looked at the jellyfish. (This is the cutest picture ever, by the way!)

We looked at tropical fish.

Then we headed out. We weren’t there very long and only saw a small part of the aquarium. But sometimes a short trip is perfect!

The Fishers Visit

Posted on October 2, 2015April 7, 2016 by Andi

It has been ages since I have blogged about something other than books or Alex’s monthly updates.

Last week/weekend, my friend Trisha came out here with her daughter, Chelsea. They arrived on Thursday and left Sunday morning. We had a fun-filled weekend!

-THURSDAY-

After they arrived on Thursday, we headed to Starbucks and then I drove them by a few things before heading back to our house to hang out and get them settled in. Trisha brought gifts! She brought me a sweatshirt from Bluefin Bay and a really yummy soap! Chelsea brought handmade necklaces for the girls. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them.

That night we went to Red Robin and thankfully the kids were happy because we had the WORST service ever! We waited 45 minutes for our food and we arrived before 5:00. It was nuts! Then they didn’t bring drink refills or extra fries. I was not pleased I didn’t get more fries!!! But everyone survived and we headed back home to get the kids calmed down and ready for bed. Then we sat around on the couch and Trisha and I did some coloring. Smile Yep. We are dorks.

-FRIDAY-

Friday morning we went to a mall to let the kids play because it was a rainy day here. I had hoped to take them to St. Edwards State Park, but the weather wasn’t having that. So we went early and let the kids play at the play area. Then we went to The Disney Store and then the LEGO store for a while. We walked around a little then had lunch at McDonald’s. Then headed back to get Alex down for his nap.

I made pasta for dinner (Pasta from our food box we get weekly) and then we headed down to the farmer’s market down the road to hang out and play at the park. This was the last farmer’s market of the season, so some of the vendors were giving kids goodies away. The kids were really excited about this! Then we walked back home and got the kids ready for bed.

-SATURDAY-

Saturday was the day we really packed full of stuff. We left early and parked downtown and walked to the Space Needle. We spent some time there (and even got a peek of the mountain before the clouds rolled in) and then walked to Pike Place Market. It was a little chilly at first, but it warmed up into a gorgeous morning! We looked around a little bit before heading back home for Alex’s second nap. He slept in the carrier while we were walking around. He loves that.

Chuck took all the girls outside to play in the yard with balls and bubbles while Alex was sleeping. He even picked some roses from the garden on his way in. We decided to go out for Mexican food Saturday night and I was so giddy! Fajitas and Margaritas are my favorite! The kids were really good and the service was AMAZING. I thanked them for their quick service with the kids after we had such a horrible experience eating out Thursday night. After dinner it was time to head home and get the kids ready for bed again. We sat around and as was the theme each night after bed…chatting, cocktails and coloring. Smile

Sunday morning we brought them to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was sad to have them go, but it was so nice to have a taste of Minnesota here. We missed them and can’t wait until we can hang out again. Thanks for coming all the way out to see our crazy little family! You are welcome anytime!

Yogurt Bites

Posted on May 31, 2015May 29, 2015 by Andi

I saw on Pinterest, long ago, that you could use regular yogurt and make your own yogurt bites. I filed this away on one of my boards and promptly forgot about it until we were in the baby food aisle and my kids wanted yogurt bites. So instead of buying my 4 and 2 year olds baby treats, we headed to the grocery section to buy some yogurt.

All you need to do it get some yogurt (I imagine you can use any kind, but I let them pick the flavored they wanted). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Fill up a plastic bag with the yogurt and cut a small hole in the corner to squeeze the yogurt out. Then just squeeze the yogurt onto the parchment paper into bite-sized pieces.

After you have the tray filled, place it in the freezer until they harden.

Then remove them from the parchment paper and place them in a plastic bag in the freezer for snacking.

The girls went nuts over these. They were easy to make and the girls had fun watching me make them and picking out the flavor they wanted. And it's something they can go get for themselves to snack on. (Which I always love!)

Just note that they do start to melt if you leave them out too long. But no problem! Just get a spoon and eat them right up! And for this reason, it might be a good idea to put them in a bowl or on a plate so they don't melt all over your table or hands. Just think of all the stickiness! 😛

Sibling Love

Posted on April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 by Andi

Maddie and Dannie love “helping” when I take pictures of Alex. Or really when I do anything with him. These pictures cracked me up. He’s really going to be in trouble when he gets a little older. His sisters are going to pick on him and dress him up. One day he will have his revenge. 🙂

Let’s start with the sweet one. They look innocent, don’t they? Don’t let those sweet faces fool you, though! (Ok, Maddie looks like she’s plotting something.)

One of Maddie’s favorite things is to put toys on Alex’s head. The ring is usually the culprit.

He’s used to this one.

Then they got fancy and added a second toy to the mix.

Maddie finds this amusing.

But wait….”I have a better idea, mom! Hahahaha!”

Alex thinks this is fun. Really, he thinks the girls are laughing with him when they’re actually laughing at him.

Once he figures this out, the game isn’t so much fun.

“Why are you just sitting there and not helping me, mom?”

“I know what I can try.”

“Take THAT sister! Wait. She’s enjoying this. Crap!”

At least I’m fairly confident it’s mostly out of love!

But I’m happy to see Alex fighting back and learning to hold his own. 🙂

Wiggle Works

Posted on April 24, 2015October 2, 2015 by Andi

Last month, Maddie was invited to a birthday party of a girl in her preschool class (side note, this girl's parents have quickly become some of our closest friends here and we hang out with them all the time!).

Wiggle Works is a cute little place located inside a mall. They have a bunch of bright colors and inflatable toys for the kids to play on. Just take a look!

The kids had a great time and I can't wait to take the kids back. I saw recently on their Facebook page that they are moving to a different location in the mall, so they have a few new things and a bigger space! What a fun place for the kids!

Maddie’s 4th Birthday & Party

Posted on March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 by Andi

I'm about a month late writing about this. I couldn't skip it, so better late than never!

In the midst of our move, our sweet Maddie turned 4! She's turned into quite an amazing little girl and we are so proud of her. She's silly and caring and sensitive and helpful and smart and understanding and sassy and independent. Moving was hard on her. Leaving friends and family, her house and things she was familiar with. But she's been a great big sister and after some talks and snuggles, she has adjusted well.

She loves school, so I made sure to find her a school to start when we got here. We have since changed to a school closer to home and she loves every minute!

She's a singer, actress and a comedian. She loves putting on clothes to dance around and sing. Her newest love is singing and dancing in front of the mirror….usually in a million different outfits or a bathing suit. 🙂 (I did the same thing at her age!) She also loves making up songs. They are hilarious, ridiculous and so very off-key. But she sings with such passion! It's just heartwarming!

Back to her party. I met a couple new friends online (and an old friend) who have kids the same age, so they came as well as our wonderful friend, Kelly (who spoils our kids rotten…in a good way!) and her fiancé. And it so happened that my dad ended up being in town for the party. We were still in temp housing at the apartment, so we rented the theater room. I got some activities, snacks, popcorn…and we ordered pizza for lunch. We put a movie on the big screen and skyped with our moms. It turned out great! Here's a few pictures.

We are so happy her birthday turned out so well even with all we had going on. And thank you to those of you who were there and sent her gifts! You all made a four year old feel very special!

When Kids Use an iPad Camera

Posted on February 28, 2015February 28, 2015 by Andi

There were hundreds like this that I deleted. And both Maddie and Dannie are the budding photographers. From the eyes of a child, right?

Christmas 2014

Posted on December 27, 2014December 27, 2014 by Andi

This year Christmas was a little different. We celebrated with our families a bit early since we moved before Christmas. And since we were moving, I didn't want to move presents, so I had Amazon ship some gifts to our place in Washington. This worked out great! We needed to make a trip to Target to get basic stuff and Maddie asked for a little tree. So for $8, we made a little girl very happy! Maddie was worried Santa wouldn't find us when we moved, so having a tree made her confident we could be found. Chuck got some lights and Maddie decorated it with toys. 🙂 It's definitely a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but we love it!

Maddie also asked for a gingerbread house. (She's kind of demanding this year!) So Chuck sweetly went on a hunt for one. Not only did he procure a gingerbread house (and lots of yummy toppings), but he also got Maddie a big bear. My dad had bought Maddie a huge bear one year and she plays with it all the time and loves sleeping on it. The other day she told us how much she missed her bear. (No worries, it's just packed with all our furniture; she will have it before too long.) So we wrapped it with a note from Santa saying he knew she missed her bear, so he sent bear's little sister to keep her company. She loved it and now bear is well loved here.

We even baked some cookies for Santa. Gotta have cookies!

In the morning, the girls opened gifts and spent the morning (mostly) playing nicely together! Chuck made us a big breakfast and we hung out playing with toys and relaxing. It was a perfect, low-key Christmas. The most important part was that the girls had a great day and we got to spend time together. I sure love my little family!