The requisite Halloween Post

Madeline as "Miffy" her favourite show on PBS. And if we had a hare we had to have a....

Tortoise! What a smile on that cutie!

They were beyond cute trick or treating at Daddy's work on Friday. Madeline's get-up ended up not working too well at the last minute and she looked a lot more ragged than I would have hoped. BUT - no matter, everyone thought she was cute as a button anyway. She ToTed at all the cubicles throughout the second floor of the alumni center and made out like a bandit. By the end she was dragging her bag on the floor but she wouldn't let us carry it. Prolly thought mama would steal it and eat it herself! After we left Ball State it was rainy and yucky and we decided to pass on stopping by the church Harvest Party. I was WHIPPED from getting them both napped and dressed in costume etc....all by myself, but on the way home I had a change of heart and we decided to "stop by."

After some deLIcious chili. (I love chili with macaroni noodles in it! and with just a little tiny bit of meat!) Madeline went off to bounce away in the world's biggest bounce house in the gym and she even painted a little baby pumpkin with about 3 pounds of paint. She devoured my chili so I even let her have some fritos AND a cookie. (I know I know!) Jackson was beat so I took him home to get him ready for bed. I was trying to do 2094382-3987 things to get Madeline's room ready (Humidifier filled, water cup filled, pajamas out, Pull Up out, cd player on etc...) and I walked a little too fast while going into our bathroom and I started to slip with my little turtle in my arms. I flung my arm out to try to catch myself but I'm not exactly known for my grace or ninja skills. Jackson and I tumbled to the ground and he bonked his head.

I don't know who cried harder. I flipped out. Bonking heads is no small deal. I checked him out and he only cried about thirty seconds but I was beside myself. So I quickly hightailed it over to the wonderful neighbors' house for a checkup. Betty (a NP and our go-to for everything from bruises to broken bones) gave him a thorough checkup and cleared him. I was SO relieved. It's bad enough when your child is hurt, but even worse when it's your fault. : (

I was glad to awaken Halloween morning to happy, goose-egg less, baby! Madeline had her last swimming class that day so Mommy worked on finishing up our Halloween costumes for the party! Steve and I are big on themes and wanted to do a whole family theme. He nixed my idea of Hester Prynne and Revered Dimmesdale and I vetoed his idea of the Twitter whale and twitter bird. (what a dork!) We finally decided to do a Mario theme. Daddy was the star as Mario - with his best friend Luigi on his side! Madeline was Princess Toadstool and Jackson was a Goomba. We had a blast at our friend's party. She had a huge bounce house for the kids and a table set up with colouring and panting and even goodie bags!!! We had a super fun time hanging out, meeting new people, meeting sort-of new people, and TRICK OR TREATING!

Now, since we's country folk we had planned on trick or treating in downtown Pendleton, but we were having such a great time with our friends that we decided to stay and ToT in their neighborhood. HO LEE COW there were a lot of kids. People in suburbs must spend a monstrosic amount on Halloween!! Most of these people just sat on their stoops because there was a nonstop flow of kids! It was super fun to see all the kids and their creative costumes and their parents chasing them around. It only took Madeline about two houses to get the idea and she spent the rest of the evening running from house to house and yelling "WAIT FOR MEEEEEE!" to her friends. She simply had a blast and I couldn't have had more fun watching her. She wound down fast and Daddy ended up carrying her to the last few houses. As we drove home we had fun seeing all the late trick or treaters running through downtown Pendleton and we even made a quick stop at the neighbors to say Hi.

This year was the most fun we've had yet. Last year it was a lot of coaxing and reminding and promising..... this year she just took off by herself.

At least I have my little tortoise for a bit longer......

Send 'em to the chair

As I rocked my little peanut tonight, the familier squeaking returned.

"ARGH!!!!" I thought to myself, "WHY DOESN'T MY HUSBAND FIX THIS CHAIR!!!! AHHHHH!"

It did it throughout Madeline's entire childhood and looks like Jackson is destined to squeakiness too. And then I thought about the hundreds of hours my husband and I spent in that chair. Rocking to sleep, breaking fevers, reading stories . . . I remember spending hours in it when I was pregnant with Madeline. Wondering what she'd look like - how much longer I would have to wait ...... and then all the sudden - she didn't want to be rocked anymore. She wanted to read books on the floor or in her bed. So - into Jackson's room it went!

It greeted me the first night we were home from the hospital and Jackson needed to nurse every half hour. It became a place for a quick doze while Jackson was struggling to fall asleep. And sometimes, it held us both for hours for no other reason than - I couldn't put my baby down just yet.

Eventually Jackson will outgrow being rocked and it'll probably end up in a closet, or the guest room if it's lucky. People will sit in it - with no clue what it means to me. No idea of the memories it holds. Furniture now a days isn't really built to last through generations, but I hope this one will hold up a while longer. I'd love to give it to one of my children and know that it was still supporting the ones I love. And it'll probably still squeak. And that's not so bad.

Everybody Knows, it Hurts to Grow Up

I took Madeline and Jackson in for their 3 year and 4 month appointments respectively. Jackson is now closer to 5 months, but I really wanted to take them together.

We were just in last week where we got multiple bad diagnoses - an ear infection and nasty cough to name a few... so I was anxious to get them back in for a check up. When Dr. Hill-Birk came in she immediately started engaging Madeline and asking her a lot of questions. All the sudden I found myself nervous! I hadn't prepped her for this! Ahhhh!!!!

"Madeline - are you a girl or a boy?"
"I'm a Madeline"
"Yes, but are you a girl or a boy?"
"I'm a girl."
"What about Jackson. Is he a boy or a girl?"
"....he's a boy."

I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I mean, those aren't things we necessarily taught her. "You are a girl - he is a boy." In fact I've only just started pointing out that there are some things that girls do that boys don't - like put on sparkly lip gloss - or that "just Daddies" shave their faces. I was all aflutter wondering if Madeline was passing the Doctor's test. I was starting to relax when Dr. Hill-Birk hit her with the killer question. She drew a circle on the paper in front of her and asked Madeline what shape it was. Madeline just looked at it. Inside I am cheering - "Come on! Madeline you have known your shapes since you were two!!" But she just sat and looked at it.

"Is it a square?" Dr. asked
"No."
"Is it a ....circle?"
"No."

AOOOOOGAH AOOOOOGAH!!!! My heart was pounding out of my chest. Now the doctor is going to think my child is slow - she is going to require that we take her to some type of remedial shape class - she is going to call CPS cause really, what child can't identify a circle???

Then I hear my little angel's soft shy voice.

"That's a oval"

"Only your child would point out my poorly drawn circle!" Dr HB said.

All that obsessing for nothing. I know, so unlike me - right?

The doctor was happy with Madeline's vocabulary and ability to be understood. Her gross motor skills are alllllmost at age level (She doesn't alternate her feet when she walks up stairs if you must know) and her fine motor skills are spot on as well. Smart as a whip but we knew that. ; )

We discussed diet (possibly my favourite topic) and she was glad to hear that Madeline's intake of processed foods is minimal. She loves fresh fruit and veggies, won't touch juice, (which is all fine and dandy until you need your child to drink some Pedialyte!) eats all things Kashi, and rarely gets fast food. Her weight was in the 25th percentile, her height the 90th. No surprise there. Long and Lean and will probably stay that way. (Until she has babies of her own that is....) She was glad to hear that we had her in ballet and tumbling which will assist with her gross motor, and assuaged my fears that she wouldn't get into Brown because she didn't go to Pre-school this year.

I love my doctor - she makes me a lot less neurotic. (Ok, so not a lot - but somewhat)

Jackson was 15.5 pounds (50th percentile) and....right around 27 inches I think - which was 90th percentile I believe - and of course - his nogg was off the charts. : ) His gross motor skills are way ahead of the curve - he is tracking and raking and rolling and smiling just like he should be.

We left the Doctor's office and went straight to the Dentist! I had put Madeline's hair in two cute ponytails with sparkly princess crown barrettes in her hair. As she was climbing into the chair, the hygienist said, "OH those are the CUTEST barrettes! I'll bet you just love princesses! Do you just love princesses?"

Madeline just looked at her and mumbled something about Gabby. Her little friend Gabby is ALL about princesses so she just assumes that everyone knows Gabby loves princesses. I mentioned that we were more into trucks and Thomas at our house. When the Dentist came in, she made over her barrettes too. She pointed to the sticker of Belle on the light and said, "Is she your favourite princess?" Madeline just stared blankly at her so I mentioned again that she preferred Bugs and probably couldn't name ONE Disney Princess to save her life.

Oh well! My little non-princess loving Princess had NO cavities and the Dentist was very happy with how her teeth looked. She drilled me about her diet. "No gummy vitamins right? Those are the worst! the WORST!" (You'd think I was letting her eat straight from the sugar bowl) I assured her no such travesties were going on in our house - that she only got a piece of candy slipped to her once a month if we could help it. No juice, little sugar, and pretty much nothing that could "stick" in her teeth. This is as much for the fact that I have the most horrible teeth on the planet as it is for the health reasons that I wouldn't give her sticky stuff. The poor child is about destined to have worthless teeth. I pretty much have more cavities than teeth at this point. I even told her about Wateroos - my recent discovery of water-in-a-juicebox. She was thrilled and told me she'd probably stop on her way home and pick some up! (I think this tidbit should have involved some type of discount for me but alas....)

Madeline didn't care much for the cleaning, but muscled through it. I was proud of her. I hate it when people mess with my teeth. Ick.

I had a thought on my way to the car, that going to the Doctor was sort of like a performance review at work. I'm not saying that my doctor is the end all be all, or that I am even doing anything right - but it just feels good to have someone tell you that, at least in their opinion, you aren't failing - that maybe just maybe - the hours of research on the computer, the endless stack of books, the hours of work on manners and potty training, the overbearance on what goes in the tummies......it's all paying off. Mothering - Parenting - is so subjective. There just isn't one "right" way - so there's no way to know if you're doing a decent job most of the time.

I'd be the last person to ever put up my feet and say that I know at all what I'm doing or doing it at all right - but it feels good to know that this thing I'm doing - the career I put on hold, the degree I'm not exactly using, the hobbies and me time that have all gone on the back burner - is perhaps paying off. I know that I feel darn lucky to have the two healthy children I have - everything on top of that, is gravy.

Do not go gentle into that good night

My dearest dearest child,

In 45 minutes you will officially be three. Probably a good mom would let you stay up till then, but we've always been sticklers for an early bedtime. I could sit and write every single thing I love about you - I could wax on about how much you have changed my life for the better and shown me what true love is - - but, by the time you ever read this you will have heard it a thousand times and you won't really appreciate it until you're a Mother yourself.

You are the best parts of me and the best parts of your father. You remind me every day what is really important in life and though, I am often falling short of idillic motherhood, you are always willing to forgive me and let me start afresh.

You are my everything little one. My only daughter - my firstborn - my angel. I would do and will always do anything in my power to keep you safe and happy.

all of my love forever,

Mama

We have the same, we have the same

So readers - which witch is which??

My little Degas

Yes I know that I have been terrible about blogging. Stop hounding me!

Madeline started ballet last Tuesday at the Muncie Ballet Studio in downtown Muncie. Her teacher is Miss Lisa for both her ballet class and tumbling class. We bought her a little leotard and "real" ballet shoes from Spotlight. She was very very excited about her shoes. She wears them only for ballet, not to and from the studio, not in tumbling, only ballet so that automatically makes them extra neat!

She didn't take to it quite as I expected. I pictured her being thrilled and doing running leaps by the end of class. She was her shy usual self, but with only one other little girl in her ballet class (and only 3 of them total in tumbling) I thought that would help. However, the other little girl is one of those little boy trapped in a girl's body children. She was bouncing off walls and doing everything the teacher requested to the ENth degree. Whereas my child, who still has a bit of trouble with things like balancing on one foot with no help, got discouraged and tended to pout. I was WAY overinvolved with trying to get her to participate. But I just wanted her to have a good time. *Oh I all the sudden see flashes to her in High School and this becoming a BIG problem* Sigh..... Luckily I have Steve to tell me to chill.

She warmed up a little in tumbling and really enjoyed doing somersaults. She insisted on going potty in the middle of the lesson, and it really had me wishing for a two piece leotard! So we are hoping that classes go better tomorrow.





Jackson - chillaxin' through ballet.

Jackson is almost 4 months old. I don't know how it happened. He is smiling and cooing all the time. He can roll BOTH ways (tummy to back, back to tummy) and sometimes does both right after the other! He is in love with his hands and any little toy he can hold in them. He's starting to realize he has feet as well and loves it when someone will hold them up for him to see.

He is sleeping well most nights. I can usually count on 10 -12 hours at night now which is beyond wonderful. Maybe one or two nights a week he'll wake up for a middle of the night feed, but I don't mind those so much. However those long stretches at night mean that he's even hungrier during the day so he still nurses every 2 hours. He's not a big fan of taking naps either, so he still naps in his swing. I pity the day he outgrows the swing!!!!

He LOVES taking field trips to Ken and Betty's (our neighbours) and they love seeing him! Sometimes it's the perfect respite after a long day stuck with mommy! We will be leaving him for the first time overnight in about a week when we go downtown to see Yo Yo Ma and stay in a hotel downtown. I will be soooo sad to leave him for the first time, but know he's in good hands and that I will LOOOOOOOOVE sleeping in.

Madeline adores him and is always eager to hold him and LOVES to help change his diaper! She loves helping me give him a bath and is obsessed with putting baby powder on him afterwards. And YES you can call CPS on me, but there are worse things in the world than putting a smidge of baby powder on my son's butt. She likes for him to sit by her in his bouncy seat when we eat dinner. There's simply nothing that makes me happier than seeing the two of them roll around together on the living room floor, or giggle in the car.

Monkey See, Monkey Doo Doo

A few days ago was Madeline's friend Max's birthday. We were all invited to Monkey Joe's to celebrate with him!

It was Madeline's first time and I had a sneaking suspicion she was going to LOVE it!I was right! After we made our way through the world's longest line to get in, she was super antsy-pantsy to start jumping! I had a bit of a conundrum with a newborn in tow, but I was bound determined to do my best to let her experience everything. With LOTS of help from my dear sweet mama friends Madeline got to run, jump, and slip all over the place! My friend Emily wore Jackson in the sling so I could tackle some of the big slides with Madeline. Being her first time she was a little shy learning the lay of the land. But, in no time she (and I!) was going down these enormous slides and slamming into the inflatable walls. I knew getting her out of there was going to be heartbreaking, so I decided to let her stay an extra long time since we don't get down there all that often.

A lot of our friends left around noon,but a few stayed to play a little longer. After a yummy break of cupcakes and pine-cone throwing, we ventured back into inflata-land. My friend Julie offered to take Madeline with her and her two daughters to play while I nursed Jackson. Everything after that was in slow motion. I took Jackson out of his carseat and noticed he was quite smelly. I was expecting it as he hadn't had a dirty diaper in 3 days. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so huge. All the way through his diaper and up his back, through his onesie, and through his cute overalls. Sigh. I started peeling away the layers of ick with Madeline commentating on every step. "Now he pooped. Now you wipe it up. Now you wipe it up again." (Thanks Madeline) During this poop excursion she proclaimed she needed to go potty and started to dance. Julie came to my aid and offered to stay with Jackson so I could take Madeline potty. Her daughter also needed to go so I said I'd take them both. We get about 5 steps away and a little crazy child ka-BAM smacked into Layla and she bit it. I helped her up and took her back to her mom for some TLC.

Meanwhile Madeline's dance is getting more frantic. I rush back to her and take her to the bathroom and do THAT whole song and dance. (no pun intended) We treck back to our spot where dear Julie has finished cleaning up Jackson. She takes her girls to the bathroom as I finish up Jackson. As I was about to tighten his diaper I noticed that he had huge beads of sweat running down his face and hands.

I had a heart attack.

Jackson as born with a slight heart defect . We had a bunch of tests run after he was born and everything indicated that he was just fine and would continue to be for the rest of his life. The cardiologist told me to watch for ONE thing - excessive sweating. That would indicate his heart was working too hard and I needed to get him to an ER as soon as possible. So in the next 3 seconds I was trying to go through all the scenarios that needed to happen. Where was the nearest hospital? Did my cell phone get reception in here? Do I take him myself or do I call an ambulance? Will they allow Madeline to go in the ambulance too or do I need to call my parents? Is my child going to be all right?

Then my little narrator kept saying "He spill water on him! He spill water on him!" Then I noticed another little body part was wet.

SIGH.

And the mother of the year award goes to..........ME! Apparently I didn't get the diaper closed quickly enough and whilest lifting him to clean the poo explosion, he gave himself a shower. Oddly enough my husband had told me that he had read about this happening and I laughed at him. Out loud.

Oooooops.

I cleaned him all up and tried to let my blood pressure come down. I was overjoyed with relief that my son was in no real danger, but mortified at the amount of bodily fluids he had submerged himself in during the last 5 minutes.Julie reappears and helps calm me down - assuring me that I'm not the worst mother in the world, and wisks Madeline off with her girls to go bounce while I get myself together and try to feed Jackson.Madeline had an awesome time at Monkey Joes and I know we'll be back. But next time, I'll be prepared.

Changing a baby girl is not all glitz and glory;

But changing a boy is another horror story

You hold his feet with one hand

and the diaper with another

The whole time praying,"Please don't pee on your mother!" (or yourself, in this particular case...)

I wish I was a baller...

Yesterday I told Madeline that Gramma, Grampa, and I were going to be taking her back to the pool!!! Steve and I took her a few weeks ago and she just had a blast swimming in the kiddie pool and going down the HUGE waterslide with Daddy. So, I recruited my parents to help. Gramma offered to stay in the shade with Jackson, and Grampa and I were on pool duty!



I thought I would check one more time the hours the pool was open, and when I did I realized the pool was *closed* for the season. OHhhhhh drat. How do I tell my child who is IN HER SWIMMING SUIT or "baby suit" as she calls it, that we aren't going to the pool. Boo. So we all decided to spend the morning at Pinheads instead. I had wanted Madeline to try her hand at Duck Pin Bowling, and she loves the playland there.

It was awesome. She LOVED bowling (of course who wouldn't when you have bumpers and you get to stand 4 feet away from the pins) and got a special luch of pizza!!! It was a wonderful day together, though I think Gramma and Grampa may have enjoyed it just as much!

Jackson chillaxin' with Gramma

She LOVED when the ball popped out!

What form!

What I love about my kids

I stole this idea from my friend Leslie I hope she doesn't mind!

What I love about my daughter:

I love the way you sleep on the floor every night. Guess we didn't need to buy you that toddler bed afterall!
I love the way you are remembering to say please and thank you consistently now
I love your crazy wavy hair
I love how much you love bugs and dirt and mowing and composting and your hermit crab
I love how most of your toys aren't toys at all, but household items you've latched onto
I love how much you love to be read to
I love how your favourite songs aren't children's songs
I love how much you love your Daddy. More so, I love how much your Daddy loves you - how he lights up when he sees you and takes such an active role in raising you.
I love that almost all of your favourite shows are on Public Access Stations. Some of which I used to watch at your age.
I love what a good eater you are. (most of the time)
I love how much you love your brother and constantly ask where he is if you can't see him.
I love your hysterical laugh when you are really really happy.
I love how easily you potty trained!
I love how you call one of your Grammas "Black Gramma" and the other "Blue Gramma"
I love how creative you are getting.
I love that you can identify the Mona Lisa and Big Ben.
I love how much you love your friends, and are constantly looking for Gabby as if she'll just appear if you wish hard enough.
I love how you ask me what's wrong if you hear me sniff.
I love that you're using prepositions now. "Mama, will you play wit' me?" Can't say no to that...
I love that a majority of the time you are a patient, obedient, sensitive child.


What I love about my son:

I love that we experienced a magical birth
I love that from almost the very beginning you were a smiley baby
I love that your sister makes you smile when no one else can
I love that my husband has a son
I love that you have found your thumb and it keeps you happy at night!
I love your little snort when you're really hungry
I love that you're hearty and healthy
I love our quiet nighttime nursings though I'll be equally happy when they pass : )
I love your thick fuzzy hair
I love your bright blue eyes and hope they stay that way!
I love when you fall asleep in my arms and we take little cat naps together

Being a stay at home mother of two is far from where I thought I'd be in my life at 28, but I couldn't be happier!

Baby of Mine

Madeline had a few friends over today to watch a movie in the theater. I didn't get any shots of them sitting in there together, but it was awful cute.....
Maxine chillin' on the blanket

Josie investigating what's going on.

Little baby Maggie spying on.....

....Max playing with Mr Potato Head

Baby Katie and Baby Jackson! Jackson was sporting one of his sister's old outfits.....sniff.....it's a 3-6! Big boy.....

A fun and crazy time was had by all!!

Running Man

Steve decided on a whim that he would like to run the "Pound the Pavement" 5k held at Falls Park in Pendleton. I told him I thought he was crazy, but whatever....well crazy likes company so..... he got his equally crazy friend Jeremy to run with him. (This is the same guy who ran the mini with no training). Afterwards their clan came back to the homestead for a whole day of lots of fun! Austin chasing Jeremy on the dirtbike.

Spencer was in charge of mowing the grass!

Steve took the girls for a hay ride (minus the hay) and the girls loved it!

HERES TO YOU very old lady running the 5k. You are your velcro hat are in better shape than I will ever be!

Madeline helped Steve stretch out.

The boys and the girls.

madeline mimicked everything Steve did - it was quite cute. What a wonderful day with another wonderful family!

Party of Five

Madeline had a few friends over yesterday. There were a total of 5 children at the playdate! It was Jackson's first playdate, so he invited his new friend Matthew to hang out and chill....


First he worked his charm on Emily.

Matthew and Jackson just hanging out.

Laney being a perfect lady in her dress on the swingset!

Gabby and Madeline figured it out for a few seconds.

All three girls squished into the playhouse and played in the mulch.

It was a great day with friends and we hope to do it again soon!

A little bit of everything

Baths last night. I am new to the whoel "bathe a newborn" thing. Steve always did bath when Madeline was little! It's not so much fun cause he's REALLY slippery!

Madeline helping Daddy give Jackson his first bottle. He hated this bottle, but as since accepted good ol' Avent.

Her favourite place to hold him - in the blue vibrating chair. Lots of these shots to come I think.

Chillin' outside with Daddy

Daddy put her to work!

Better than nothing!

I have been beyond terrible in getting pictures up of Jackson (and Madeline for that matter) but .....well......both my kids are alive so hopefully that is worth something!

I blame some of it on misplacing my camera cord so all the pics go on Steve's computer and then they are lost in his big huge hard drive...

but here is, at least, one picture of Jackson. I took it while he and I chilled inside while our friends and family were building a great new swingset for Madeline! (Pics of that to come!) I call it his ghost picture.

He is doing well. He is gaining weight well and has finally taken a bottle from Daddy. The last two nights he's gone almost a 4 hour stretch! YEAH! He doesn't like tummy time, but has already developed a freakishly strong neck.

Madeline is still doing well with the new addition. Most of the time she just ignores him, but she likes to help change his diaper and she LOVES it when they can lay anywhere together. (usually in the pack n play) She doesn't understand that he can't do everything she can do and wants him to play on the swingset, take a bath with her, go potty etc..... I say she should enjoy not having to share while she can!!

Riding in Cars with Boys

I know I haven't done so well getting pictures of Jackson up....hopefully as his one month (!) birthday approaches, I will be able to do a better job!

Meanwhile, last night we spent some time together outside after Madeline went to bed. He LOVES being outside. It's something that calms him down even during his colicky fits!

We're so lucky to have the best neigbors ever how help us out a lot and LOVE our children. Ken decided to show Jackson the ropes of his new mower!

At last weight check (last Wednesday) he was 9 lbs 11 ounces!

Silent Saturday

Don't have time to write much - even cute captions - but thought I'd share some pics at least!

Twins!

One is Madeline, one is Jackson. Which is which?