I have been so bad about writing in the blog lately the past couple of months. We have kept busy this summer. It was nice having mom home almost everyday. We got to spend a lot of time with Carter as well, so of course I loved that! Gabe had the whole month of July off to study for Step 2 board exams which he took the beginning of August. He studied extremely hard and I’m sure that he did great on boards (he is anxiously awaiting the results). For the month of August he had a rotation in Spartanburg, but just last week he moved to Augusta, GA for the next month to do a Cardiology rotation. He is gone all week, but gets to come home on the weekends. We miss Daddy during the week and all of his normal night time tasks of taking care of Maddie falls on me now. I sure do take for granted all that he really does do around here! Maddie sure does miss her Daddy giving her a bath and reading stories to her and I know he misses it too. Unfortunately, he will be gone a lot these next few months. He has two more months planned in Columbia and Jacksonville, FL. Thank goodness I am with Mom, because I don’t know how we would survive all on our own!
The summer is coming to an end, but to tell the truth I am ready for some cooler weather and of course football! This morning instead of heading to the Y to work out, Maddie and I took Brady on a walk around the neighborhood. We haven’t done that in months because it has just been too hot! Brady was so excited and it was such a nice morning that I enjoyed being outside. We played outside for a while swinging and just running around. After about a year of Maddie absolutely refusing to even sit in her swing she all of the sudden loves to swing! When we got back from our trip to Philly and DC (another post will come about that) Omi took Maddie outside and put her in the swing. I said to Omi “you know Maddie hates the swing” and Omi just looked at me and said “no she doesn’t- she loves it!” Umm Ok?! Apparently Omi got her to swing and just got little miss hooked! It is hard to get her out of it now!
We had a great Labor Day weekend. Aunt Teresa came for the weekend to spend time with us Maddie and Carter. It is always nice having her around, especially since my mom always cooks awesome meals when we have company 
On Saturday we headed to the Simpsonville Labor Day festival. It was a hot day, but we still enjoyed walking around with Maddie. She had many firsts, including her first bounce house, first pony ride, first time being on a fire truck and big tractors, first petting zoo, and first time getting her hand painted (we attempted the face, but she was not having it). She is growing up so fast and can do so many neat things now. It is so much fun! I almost cried a few times throughout the day because I kept looking at her and saying “she looks so much older today”. She is getting so tall and the little bit of baby fat is melting away by the day. I love our little family outings and watching Maddie discover new things. We really had a great day!
That night we put Maddie to bed early and got to watch the first Carolina football game of the season. After a rocky start, we ended up getting our first win. Notice the outfit she wore on Saturday-it is a size 18 months (she is in mostly 2T now) so that is why her belly was hanging out all day! I’ve been trying to get her to say GO GAMECOCKS! She has had the “GO” part down for a while, because every time we are at a stop light and the light turn green she says “gooo!”
After a fun-filled weekend we are back to the daily grind of just the two of us hanging out. We are off to the gym now. It is funny because each time I drop her off at the nursery they say “here comes Maddie”. I don’t know if it a good or bad thing. ha! They tell me that “she knows how to hold her own”. I know they have had to put her in time-out a few times for hitting kids across the head. whoops! I am thankful though for an hour a few times a week to be alone.
