Aunty Alex's Visit

Aunty Alex and her boyfriend Chris came to stay at the end of August. We had a great time with them and they fit more into a 10-day visit than most - shopping, swimming, eating out, a night in Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam along the way, and still plenty of time with us. The best pictures we got were from a lovely day out in Sedona:

Ballet

In August, Abigail started weekly ballet lessons! I have never wanted to over-schedule my child's day, especially at three years old, but ballet is the one thing I always imagined a daughter doing. If she showed interest, that is, which she did. I danced ballet from age three to age fourteen and it was a huge part of my childhood. I searched for a local ballet school that resembled what I went to, and feel like it may be the only thing she experiences that's even close to my upbringing. 

We found this place - www.benderperformingarts.com, only a block away, and the home of this year's So You Think You Can Dance winner, if you watch that show. We also really like that parents can bring their morning coffee and sit outside the classroom and watch.

Abby LOVES ballet - from trying on & buying the leotard & shoes, to the very first lesson when she ran right in without a look behind her, she loves loves loves it. So, you can find us there every Saturday at 10am.

you already know this guy has to come everywhere

Beach Vacation

You'd be forgiven if you thought you were looking at the same post as last year - we took the exact same trip: staying on the beach in cousin Morgan's motor-home. Thanks again to Grandma & Aunty Milly who always arrange such a great beach time for us.

As mentioned last year, Bocalli's pizza is now Madonna family tradition

Morgan, Jayci and Abigail

It's only fair if you share your pizza with a squirrel

she seems to be eating corn in almost every photo this year

brushing the sand off our feet at the end of the day

sparklers for the girls

Just a Quick One

Question posed to Abby & Matteo one morning over breakfast: "And where do you guys think we get our eggs from?"

Abigail: "Target?!"

Ultrasound Pictures

Here she is! We were sent home with 108 pictures & a DVD movie of the whole thing which blows my mind! I know some people are creeped out by U/S pictures but, personally, I've been staring day-dreaming at them all day!

Mini-Madonna #2

And, more importantly: wonderfully perfectly healthy, measuring a week ahead of her due date :)

Pregnancy

Whether I feel fabulous & glowing or not, I want to be able to show my daughters how I looked while pregnant with them: