The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me

The requisite Halloween Post

2009-11-03T08:45:00.001-08:00

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

2009-10-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T09:04:00.001-07:00

So readers - which witch is which??

My little Degas

2009-09-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-18T18:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-15T04:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-06T06:25:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-07-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-06T08:55:00.001-07:00

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

Twins!

2009-05-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

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

Closer Than my Peeps You are to me

2009-05-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

The Girls took a walk down to "Crabbie's House" AKA the creek at the end of our street with Steve. They chased each other the whole way back!

Gabby came over to help Madeline get over her fear of the PowerWheel. I hated the thought of her super fun toy sitting in the garage all summer!!! Gabby is a pretty fearless little one so she took Madeline for a spin in our backyard to help warm her up to the idea! Madeline eventually warmed up to the idea and tossed Gabby in the back of her truck for for a ride! Gabby was so cute and kept saying "She's not scared anymore!" Gabby's a good friend!

A year ago today...

2009-05-18T17:08:00.001-07:00

She was such a .....baby on this date last year! Sniff.......

Fast Times on the Farm

2009-05-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

I insisted that Steve let me drive the tractor today to TRY to bring this little baby boy into the world but....even after an hour of mowing the bumpy yard...no baby. Zilch. Oh well. Least the yard got mowed!

Madeline wants two things right now - 1) To be with Daddy as much as possible 2) To be outside as much as possible. So they have been making the most of the nice weather of late and have been spending LOTS of time together outside. It gives mommy a chance to recoup - as I have NO energy these days, and tires Madeline out right before bed which doesn't hurt anything! Daddy got the idea to hook Madeline's wagon up to the big tractor and she couldn't have been more thrilled! They rode around all over the yard for quite a while. (And no worries the exhaust doesn't come out the back!) They also flew a kite, watered flowers, planted grass, took scooter rides, visited "Crabbie" at the creek, walked down to see the miniature ponies, went to the post office, and took Austin on a walk!

We finished up our weekend with a cookout with the neighbors which we all enjoyed. Madeline drove around the backyard in her PowerWheels Ford F150 and enjoyed swinging in the hammock.

No idea when babyboy is going to make his entrace - every time I feel like it's just around the corner, it changes ... I've just decided to accept that he'll come when he comes and there's not much I can do to control it. Sigh.

IT IS FINISHED!

2009-05-01T07:34:00.001-07:00

Well loyal readers - you remember when the spare room looked like this: Very beige - husband loves the beige

Beige!

Now this!

This sippy is from my friend Christa! Gotta love the details!

The nursery is done! The newborn diapers are out! Though littleboy won't use the nursery right away, it still feels sooooooooooooo good to have it finished!!!

This is Emily Yeung writing a blog

2009-04-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

So Disney's morning lineup has changed. And since I've been pregnant Madeline's morning routine has come to start with half an hour with me in bed watching a cartoon. Depending on when she wakes up determines what show we watch together. If I have to get ready to go somewhere, she maaaaay get another show in the morning.

A few times we have caught "Special Agent Oso." It's one of Disney's new original shows.

It's terrible. I mean I really hate it. Granted, no cartoon has me enthralled (except for Charlie and Lola oh how I love them!) but Higglytown Heroes was tolerable - the Wiggles aren't bad. (Imagination Movers though - I hate them too) - even the little "in between" shows weren't bad - Choo Choo Soul, Emily Yeung.... now we have the double whammy of Oso and "Pass the Plate" which Madeline and I both hate.

The premise of Oso is that he gets called in to help children do something they don't know how to do. The first one I saw he was helping a child get a book at the library - great - promote reading! Show kids how to use the computer! (Oh remember using card catalogues??) But then the projects got stupider. Special Agent Oso helps a kid get the mail. Oso helps a kid pull up his pants. Oso helps a kid take off a band-aid.

Maybe I doth protest too much. But this is a cartoon I just can't stomach.

BRING BACK EMILY YEUNG!!

I have it so hard

2009-04-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

It seems that I seem to think that my life is the hardest in the world sometimes. Ohhhh it's so hard to be at home all day with my crazy two year old - oh it's so hard to live so far away from my friends...... blah blah.....sometimes I just get sick of myself!

I just watched a little "blip" with a mom feeding her child some milk. She had some sort of disability (I think maybe cerebral palsy?) and can't do much herself. She showed all the steps she went through to make the milk and thicken the milk and put it in a certain glass that she can drink out of and then feeds it to her. She was talking about trying to give her little "breaks" here and there because what child wants to chug an entire glass of milk at once?

I get annoyed because my child can't put her own crocs on.

Sometimes I'm just so sick of my own attitude. What an easy, easy life I have.......

Growing Up

2009-04-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, I still have no pics to post yet..... I blame it on my husband for downloading the pictures on my camera onto his computer instead of mine. All the cute Easter Pictures haven't made it yet.... I promise they will come soon!

Madeline seems to have hit a phase of growing up at the speed of light. Maybe it's because I know we'll be bringing home a little tiny helpless baby soon that she just seems to have grown up overnight, but sometimes I swear she's an adult trapped in a child's body.

Madeline is very into pretend play now. She still loves to pretend she is different animals and will tell me that she's a "dinosaur" or a "bumblebee" and occasionally a "toaster." (?) She LOVES being outside and would play out there all day if I had the energy to chase her. She loves riding in her Flinstone car and playing with sidewalk chalk. She also LOVES playing in the dirt. With all of our water issues over the past month - our neighbors have had piles and piles of dirt to play in. She loves climbing in it and throwing clods of dirt. I am SO glad that she isn't all squeamish about getting dirty. It's usually after dinner that she's running around outside wanting the dirt so I usually have no problem letting her play to her heart's content since there's a bath coming. In my mind, that's part of the joy of growing up in the country. We now have a 6 foot by....10 foot hole in the middle of our yard as step ONE in the process to fix our water problems. She is obsessed with throwing things (usually clumps of dirt) into the hole which scared me to death as I don't want a Baby Jessica on my hands. (And if you don't know who that is you are far too young). She will come up to me and say "Mama? We need to check on the hole!" I assure her that it's still there and that we'll look at it together after Daddy gets home - as I feel better with TWO sets of hands there to hover over her. She is, however, very good about listening to me when I tell her she's too close or that 20 pound rock is too heavy for her to pick up. We have been working very very hard on listening to Mommy and Daddy and making the right choice the FIRST time.

We've had a few battles of will in the last few weeks. They seem like such small issues and I am soooooo tempted to just give in and do myself whatever it is I am asking her to do - but then I watch Supernanny with these children who are 7 and 8 and scream and yell at their parents when they try to make them do things. I know 2.5 is young - but I don't think it's too young for her to start the learning process of who is the parent. *Segue.....have any of you other parents ever noticed that people are always sooooooo happy to tell how advanced and smart their children are - but yet - when it comes to disciplining them or "expecting" them to do something - they are all the sudden "too young to understand." I want to say "Really? You just told me that your 2 year old can work the Quadratic Equation - I think they can understand not throwing things at other peoples heads." Anywho...* Madeline dumped out a cup of quarters a week ago and then flat out refused to pick them up. I told her she had to go to time out if she wasn't going to pick up the mess she made. So she went to time out, I got her out, and she then refused to pick them up again. I had dinner on the stove, a dog whining to go out, and laundry that needed to be switched - the LAST thing I wanted to do was make my child do what I could just do in 10 seconds.

But I knew it's what needed to be done. So I sat down with her and explained that Mommy would help her clean up the quarters, but that when you make a mess, it's your job to clean it up! She sat there and looked at me for a minute or two and I told her that we were just going to sit there until she decided she was ready to clean up. I kept reminding her I was happy to help her, but she had to pick up as well. She sat another minute and then started scooting verrrrrrry slowly toward the edge of the dining room. (Like I wouldn't notice lol!) I told her to come back by Mommy, and she had to sit there with me and could not play etc... until she picked up her quarters. We sat there another minute - and then she picked them all up with some help from mom. We were able to do it without screaming and tantrums and bribing - just by telling her the cold hard facts. She understood 100% percent what I expected from her and decided to do it after testing me to make sure I reeeeeeeeealy meant what I said. I didn't get upset or worked up either which was a nice change for me. I just decided that THIS was the most important thing that needed to happen right now and that there was no reason for me to get all worked up over it.

We've been working really hard on learning to obey the first time Mom or Dad asks. It's one of those concepts that I don't expect her to master at her age, but want to plant the seed for. Again - I see those kids whose parents have to ask them 39 times in 39 different ways to get something done and then "trick" or "bribe" them into doing it - and honestly - it just seems like a HECK of a lot more work to me than teaching them slowly that if you make the right choice the FIRST time, everyone is happier. I don't want a mindless robot who obeys me out of fear, but I don't want a brat of a child who knows their parent doesn't mean what they say and manipulates them because of it. I have found that asking Madeline to do something once, she will normally do it - if she doesn't, I usually remind her "How many times does Mommy ask you to do something?" and she will say "one!" and then she'll do it. I saw this in action the other day when we were taking a family walk down the street a few nights ago. She was running down the middle of the street (not as dangerous as it sounds if you knew where we lived) and was about 5 steps ahead of Steve and I. I saw a car turn onto the end of the street and so I wanted her to go onto the grass. I knew who was in the car (another perk of having 4 houses on your street) and knew he knew Madeline would be with us. He was going one mile an hour so I told Madeline to get over to the side of the street in the grass. There was some urgency in my voice - and she did it right away. She knows full well what I expect, and I just hope I can be consistent enough to teach her this to fruition - especially with another baby thrown into the mix!

She is doing very well on her feet now. It's hard to think that this time last year she had just started walking and we were sooooo nervous about it! Now she runs and kicks balls and even jumps under the right circumstances. You have to laugh at yourself as a parent for worrying so much that they were going to crawl into Kindergarten.

She is still doing fantastic in her big girl bed. She knows she isn't supposed to get out and has done excellently with that. Every so often I'll overhear her saying that she's a big girl and doesn't need a crib anymore. : ) It's beyond precious.

Potty Training is also still going wonderfully... She is now confidant enough to take herself to the potty and can do everything except the mechanics of getting her pants etc back UP. Nothing as cute as your child shuffling toward you with their pants around their ankles! I can't remember the last time she had an accident. Though she likes to go potty about 5 times in the first hour she's in bed, she seems to have totally graduated to "big girl" status at this point. Big girl bed - big girl underwear...... I don't know how it happened! She seems so big now - but my mom keeps telling me to just wait until we bring the baby home, then she'll be a giant! Seems impossible...

Daddy Doll Under the Bed

2009-04-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

Since Madeline's been deciding that she likes to get up before the very crack of dawn, she gets to say goodbye to Daddy most days before he leaves for work. I noticed the other day when she was playing with some of her dolls that the first thing the Daddy doll "said" was that he had to go to work. I try to remind her every day that Daddy goes to work every day because he HAS to, not because he WANTS to - that Daddy would love to stay home with us, but that he has to make money for us to eat and to buy clothes etc. When she gets older she'll understand (and hopefully see) that Mommy works too and contributes to the family the same way Daddy does. But for now I want her to know that Mommy gets to stay home because Daddy works so hard.

As I told her all of that one day I was reminded of an essay I studied in college called "Daddy Doll Under the Bed." IMHO - truer words were never spoken...

When I was a little kid, a father was like the light in the refrigerator. Every house had one, but no one really knew what either of them did once the door was shut. My dad left the house every morning and always seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to go in the basement by himself. He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood whenever it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He kept busy enough. He set mousetraps. He cut back the roses so the thorns wouldn't clip you when you came to the front door. He oiled my skates, and they went faster. When I got my bike, he ran alongside me for at least a thousand miles until I got the hang of it. He signed all my report cards. He put me to bed early. He took a lot of pictures, but was never in them. He tightened up mother's sagging clothesline every week or so.I was afraid of everyone else's father, but not my own.
Once I made him tea. It was only sugar water, but he sat on a small chair and said it was delicious. He looked very uncomfortable. Once I went fishing with him in a rowboat. I threw huge rocks in the water, and he threatened to throw me overboard. I wasn't sure he wouldn't, so I looked him in the eye. I finally decided he was bluffing and threw in one more. He was a bad poker player. Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say "I'm going off to work now" and threw him under the bed. When I was nine years old, my father didn't get up one morning to go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. There were a lot of people in the house who brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the father doll. When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much. I still don't know why.

Up to the highest height

2009-04-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today Steve and Madeline spent some Daddy daughter bonding time outside doing some chores and having some fun!

Just another wonderful example of Steve knowing when I can use a few minutes to myself!!

Madeline is now obsessed with the kite and is asking for it nonstop. This could be a long week.....

March Madness

2009-03-27T06:32:00.001-07:00

My camera is MIA right now, so another post with no pictures. Sorry.

I think I am the ONLY person in Indiana who HATES basketball. I especially feel this way when there is nothing on my 29348987 channels but basketball. GAG! Thank God for the Discovery Channel!

March is zooming by us and April is almost here - which means May isn't too far behind which scares me! Baby2 is supposed to cook until the end of May but I keep getting a bad feeling that he's going to come early. I hope not!

Madeline seems to be growing by leaps and bounds...every day something new comes out of her mouth and she's learned some new skill. She really truly JUMPED for the first time at her friend Fintan's house so that was pretty exciting! Yesterday the whole family walked to the creek to feed the invisible crab who lives there. On the way back Madeline informed us that she was a "Bumblebee-ah" and started doing this weird chicken walk whilest flapping her arms. Steve and I could barely contain ourselves. I don't know where on earth that came from.

She's doing GREAT in her big girl bed. She's gotten out twice and each time received a VERY stern warning from Steve or I that that is not acceptable and ONLY mommy or daddy gets her out of bed. It's worked well and she's hasn't gotten out in over 2 weeks. I really hope that continues well because it would give me all kinds of heebs if I ran into her one night wandering around upstairs. eek! I know that the arrival of baby2 may make this harder, but she is usually very good at obeying and we've tried to keep her routine as constant as possible.

She's also getting at least one of her two -year molars. We are going to the Dentist on Tuesday so we'll see if she can see any more. I don't like sticking my fingers in the back of her mouth and she doesn't much care for it either. I think that's been the source of her waking at night, and really really hope that passes soon because Steve and I are very very tired.

Pottying is going great! She rarely has an accident and does well going potty wherever we are. (She recently got to try out the child-sized potty at Children's Museum which she loved. Why don't they have those everywhere??? :) She loves picking out her undies in the morning and is still only wearing Pull Ups at night. (Oh how my wallet loves not buying diapers!!!)

My little trooper also endured one of her first real injuries this morning. We were all snuggling in our bed and somehow she got BOPPED with an elbow. She started crying really hard so Steve took her into the bathroom right away to check her out. Sure enough - bloody nose! Once she saw that in the mirror I think that wigged her out more than the pain. Steve held her while I tried to pinch her little nose with a cool cloth. Steve was cool as a cucumber - I was all spaz inside but mostly kept my cool while telling her that sometimes when you play you get hurt, and that accidents happen. I can just see her telling someone at church or playgroup "Daddy hit me!" lol! She was very concerned that she was getting Daddy "wet" when she saw the blood all over his shirt. We were able to stop the bleeding fairly quickly and she calmed down a lot. All in all she didn't even cry much more than a minute. She's always taken spills and knocks very well which she MUST get from her father. She's a tough cookie which I have to admit surprises me. I was FAR more rattled by the whole thing than she was.

Our days are ticking down as a family of three and I find tears pricking my eyes more than ever before. I know that having a sibling will be good for her,but there's still a part of me that feels like I'm robbing her of something. : ( I never had the experience of a new sibling coming home from the hospital so I don't exactly know a lot about it. I guess it's one of those things you just do on a wing and a prayer!

Daddy's Little Girl

2009-03-24T08:30:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was invited by some friends to join in their roadtrip to Greenville, SC. One of my former students lives there as well as one of my closest friends from college. (They actually live in the same condo complex right across the street from each other - odd I know!) I was hesitant to go for lots of reasons.

1) Steve would have to take time off work to watch Madeline
2) I'm 30 weeks pregnant
3) I would have to miss her sibling prep class at the hospital
4) I hate hate hate being away from them

Steve kept encouraging me to go - that I "deserved" it and all that... a last hoorah before baby2 is here - yada yada.... so I hesitantly agreed to go. As I shared my plans with friends and others everyone was just amazed that Steve "could" or "would" take care of Madeline by himself for 3.5 days. This really took me back.

First of all - I do it every day - it's not "rock science." (as Paris Hilton would say) Yes I don't pull an "all day" shift by myself, but from 7 to about 6 I take care of her "all by myself." I don't see anyone falling over dead at that prospect.

Second of all - my husband is not 5 years old. He is fully aware of "how" to take care of a 2 year old. YES Madeline can be trying, YES it's exhausting at times, but that doesn't mean he can't do it. She's not really a Mommy or Daddy's girl and we've worked hard to make it that way. She's had her phases where she prefers one of us (usually him) over the other - but they pass and we make sure that both of us "know" what her currant phases/needs are.

Third - It's good for both of them! I get to be with her alllllll day almost every day. I know she must get tired of my ugly mug! Daddy plays different, Daddy feeds her different, Daddy disciplines her different - tell me it's not good for her to have a few days of all Daddy all the time!

Am I being naive? Is it really such an AMAZING prospect that my husband would WANT to take care of his child for 3 days? Don't get me wrong - I am soooooo thankful for it - and for him in general. I don't have a "typical" husband who comes home from work, turns on the game, and doesn't even acknowledge his family (but, are there really husbands like that anymore??) - he loves coming home and playing with Madeline. He's not in the door one second before she has a list of things for them to do together. After a quick change of clothes, he's 100% focused on her
until she goes to bed - which, gasp, he does 99% of the time. He is a gentle giant with her - focused and loving, but not "afraid" to discipline her when she needs it.

I guess I was just surprised at how many people asked me who was going to "watch" Madeline while I was gone - as if my husband couldn't possibly be an option.

The best part is - he FILLED her days with fun stuff to do. They went to the car wash, the library, the Childrens Museum (which was packed from what I understand), her sibling prep class, church, long walks, and much playing in the yard. It wasn't some type of Disney movie marathon ; )

I guess, shocking or not, I'm so proud to have a husband who is willing to get into the child-rearing as much as I am.

Fee Fii Fo Fum

2009-03-16T04:39:00.001-07:00

So here I am in all my 30 week glory. I am going to try to dig up some pics of me at 30 weeks with Madeline but I know I am MUCH bigger this time round.

I have entered that "I can't stop eating all day long" phase. But especially over the last week my uterus has grown so much that my stomach feels totally squished so my meals are small but constant.

I still want breakfast food all of the time and anything chewy... My feet hurt a lot and nosebleeds are pretty common, especially if I get the least bit stressed out. Meanwhile baby2 has gotten a lot more "human" in his movements. Instead of just random pokes and bumps I feel an entire arm or foot slide across my tummy. This morning he woke me up tickling my entire left side. Sigh. My favourite thing to do is spoon Steve so that the baby kicks him in the back. Hee Hee misery loves company right?

The nursery is almost finished. It just needs curtains and a few finishing touches and then it'll be ready for our little pirate!

Music to Push by

2009-03-09T10:15:00.001-07:00

So as the time draws closer to D-Day, I am doing what many other soon to be moms are doing - nesting, preparing the laundry, buying clothes for the baby (which thanks to the GRANDMAS) I haven't had to do too much of. : ) and preparing my push list. I didn't have music on the first time I was in labour. I had Wheel of Fortune on (why that is so vivid I don't know). But this time around I'd like to try some music. There seems to be two schools of thought on this - soothing, yoga-esque music or workout music. I can see the rational behind both.

For some reason I was thinking of songs I did NOT want to be on the playlist - say like "Big Spender" by Peggy Lee or "London Bridge" by Fergie. Tee heeee...... so what else should NOT be on my playlist?

I work all night, I work all day

2009-03-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

Most days Madeline asks about Daddy and where he is during the day. I always try to use it as a time to remind her that Daddy doesn't leave us because he wants to, but because he has to. I want her to know that it's because of Daddy's hard work, that Mommy gets to stay home with her.

This morning we all three had a conversation before Daddy left for work.

Steve: "Ok, Daddy's going to work!"
Me: "Why does Daddy have to work Madeline?"
Madeline: "To make money! Make money Daddy!"
Me: "Why does Daddy have to make money?"
Madeline : "So we can EAT!"
Me: "That's right! Daddy brings home the--"
Madeline "BACON!"

Out of the mouth of babes

Inch by Inch

2009-02-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

We are inching closer to the nursery being done! Last Saturday Steve was able to spend some time working on adding some details and his favourite part - the canonballs crashing through the walls! Madeline loved watching him paint and kept calling the lines "spiders!"

Side view

A Cannonball attack!

Next step - Portholes!

DaVinci

2009-02-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

I got Madeline this Melissa and Doug easel a little while back and she usually just focused on the side with the paper and crayons, but I brought in some sidewalk chalk and she pulled up her stool and started drawing! She was so serious about her art! I think she just may have a future!

Father Knows Best

2009-02-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Madeline's has this runny nose, coughy, sore throat "thing" pretty much all winter. It comes and goes at will so I don't know if it something or nothing.....either way - I HATE hearing her hack over and over at night and during naps. I read that honey is excellent to give children before they go to sleep (obviously who are over a year old and before you brush the teeth!) to help coat their throat and ease the coughing. We've done it in the pass to some success so when she started coughing again a few weeks ago I broke out the honey.

Except she wouldn't let me anywhere near her. I coaxed, I bribed, I semi-forced. Nothing. I don't know what child wouldn't want something so sweet and delicious, but she wanted nothing to do with it. I tried a few times on a few different days but just gave up after getting honey all over half of my kitchen.

My husband came home the other night and asked if I was going to give her some honey before bed. I told him no because I was frustrated with fighting with her over it. I'm not going to GAG her just to get some down her throat. My husband walks to the pantry, gets out the bear full of honey and starts to talk to Madeline about honey-bear. Honey bear, if you're nice and rub his belly will give you a BIG spoonful of honey. Honeybear is full of such yummy honey - but you have to rub his belly and say please!! I was like "yeah babe - she's soooo gonna fall for that."

Next thing I know my daughter is rubbing the bear's belly and begging for honey. "More honey!" she says as she rubs his belly "More please!!!"

Uh - ok?! Great!

I'm not surprised my husband came up with something creative and cute to get her to do it - I guess I'm just jealous. I'm the mom - I'm the primary caregiver - If I can't get her to do something no one should be able to right? And with so little effort??

Sigh. My child continues to surprise me...

Potty Mouth

2009-02-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Madeline is still doing GREAT with potty training. I think the "boot camp" is over and now it's just about maintaining things. Sometimes she wants privacy when she goes, other times she likes to chat. Today we had the following chat while she took care of business:

(She is playing with the phone that hangs beside the toilet in the Master bathroom)

"What's this momma?"
"That's a seven"
"Seven!"
"What's this momma?"
"That's a four"
"Four!"
"What's this momma?"
sigh
"That's a five"
"Five"
"What's this momma?"
"That's the pound sign"

"No Momma, that's a wapple!"

Could she BE cuter??

*I just need to say that I have been craving breakfast food this entire pregnancy and I am very tempted to lick that picture of waffles right now but am showing restraint."

One small step

2009-02-10T13:57:00.001-08:00

We are one step closer to a real nursery! Steve was able to get a few hours this weekend to finish the base coat of the top part of the wall. He still has to add in the black detail like on the bottom, but I still think it looks pretty darn good!! The closet/bathroom entrance. Please ignore the clutter in the closet - baby2 will have to share his closet space with my ebay stuff for a while!

The BIG wall - those are portholes that will eventually be painted. Steve has other great visions for this wall - but we'll leave that as a surprise!

The double window wall. The dresser will sit right in front of that window. It fits perfectly!

I am so lucky 1) to have a husband who wants to do a crazy creative nursery 2) has the talent to actualize it. Because if it was up to me it would be "the great white nursery"

I did tell him that in one small corner of the room I was going to write "Ishmael was here" or something of the sort.....lol@Myself......

Potty Boot Camp

2009-02-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

I sort of decided on a whim this week to start potty training Madeline. I kept saying last year that "after the holidays" I'd get around to it. I didn't have a reason for not hopping to it after the New Year except that I was nervous. I knew that Madeline needed an all or nothing approach and the thought of not leaving the house for a few days didn't exactly appeal to me either . . .

So Tuesday we were snowed in and I kept thinking "Erin, this is the day!" but I had gotten up extra early and it was cold and . . . yada yada yada . . . One of my friends mentioned that she had sort of dedicated the day to PT so I decided to be inspired, knock off the excuses and just do it. I took off her diaper and let her roam! We talked about feeling like we needed to go peepee and letting Mommy know. She sat down once and squeezed out ONE literal drop. I still gave her a piece of candy and congratulated her. Around 4:00 she sat back down on her potty on her own for a few minutes. Then she came to me and said "Pee pee" and I was all "yeah sure honey, show Mama." So she brought me the cup (it's a little portable type potty) and by golly she certainly had gone! I was shocked!!!! We went and put it in the BIG potty, talked about all the things we do after we go, and then she got a piece of candy! She was very excited about that!

A couple of hours later before bed she sat back down on the potty again and went again! She was very excited and Daddy was there to witness it all!

The next day we did the same thing. Diaper came off and I tried not to "hound" her about it. I don't know which is worse - changing poopy diapers or asking her 300 times a day if she needs to go potty. She seemed very interested in going and I only had to ask once every few hours. If she said "no" I left her alone. I knew she'd have to go sometime and she was very unlikely to go on the floor. She went 5 times during the day and had NO accidents!! ON Thursday I decided to chance the nap. I put her down in just her shirt and socks and told her that we try not to peepee in our bed. I figured the worst that could happen is that she'd wet. No biggie. BUT she woke up dry! She also was able to do "both" in the potty that day! We also started a sticker chart. I am too retarded to make one of my own but found one online. However, it required 25 stars before the "goal" which I thought was a lot but - no time like the present to teach potty training AND delayed gratification. (Only one of which I have mastered) When she put a star on her chart we talked about how many more stars we need to get to the balloons! We also got totally rid of all the diapers in the house! Only "night night undies" (Pull Ups) are allowed! We gave all the diapers to the new baby. I have no delusions of her making it through the night without wetting, but I mention casually that we try to keep our night night undies dry. Some day she'll do it and shock my socks off! Of course this also means getting her up at the first sound of her being awake and babbling to herself, instead of giving me a few minutes to wake up. : (

Saturday was my biggest challenge because we had swim lessons that morning. We went potty before leaving the house and upon getting to the locker room. (um, ick) and then after swimming I asked her if she needed to go potty. She said "POTTY!" and I was very glad I brought her seat! She was able to go in the crazy loud, bright locker room like it was NO big deal! I had brought her chart along and some treats. That was all that mattered! I told her that since she just went potty she could wear her Big Girl Undies home. She kept them dry and was able to go potty right before her nap and have another dry nap!

Today we started the day letting her run around diaper-less and she was able to get the last two stickers to complete her chart! So after her nap (another dry one!!) she woke up to a great big Thomas the Train balloon! She got to wear her Big Girl Undies the rest of the day and kept them totally dry! It's funny how much she is "getting" the idea. After dinner she was running around and she said "cup?" and I told her that it was on the table. She kept asking and asking and then she said "I get it!" She ran into the bathroom, retrieved the cup that goes in her potty, put it in her potty, and went. Steve and I just sat there like codfish.

I couldn't be more proud of her. I'm not ready to call her "trained" as yet - but she's done so well! She's had NO accidents and done well with handling the stress of a totally new concept. At this point she almost seems "over" all the drama of getting treats and stickers and just wants to go on with her life!

Tomorrow we're going to take a short excursion to the post office, but will probably still spend most of the day at home learning the mechanics of underclothing! Meanwhile I am keeping all of my digits crossed that I maaaaaay be done buying diapers for at least a little while!

That funny little girl...

2009-02-03T05:31:00.000-08:00

Lots of my friends have been posting cute things their children say and do....and I need to catch up with the crowd.

1. Madeline is obsessed with "helping." As you can see - she LOVES to wash the dishes. She also loves to vacuum, dust, and wash windows. I hope she continues to feel so generous with her time when she can actually help!

2. Madeline's become very "in tune" with people's emotions. This is especially true if she thinks someone is sad. She remarked once about a baby crying and I told her that when people cry it's nice to tell them that "it's okay." So now she'll ask Daddy or I to cry so that she can say "It's ok!" and make us feel better.

3. Ever since she was born I have told her that she is my special angel. About 3 weeks ago I was putting her in bed and before I could get it all out she said "Special Angel!" Then a few days ago I heard her tell RedBear (her lovey) that he was her Special Angel.

4. If she ever wakes up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning I remind her that everyone is asleep. Daddy's asleep, Mommy's asleep, Austin's asleep.... sometimes in the morning I hear her tell herself that "Mommy's sleeping, Daddy sleeping, Austino sleeping..."

5. A few months ago I started telling her when she asked for a "treat" that she could have ONE. (ONE chocolate chip, ONE baby marshmallow) So now she holds up one little finger when she wants something and says "One mama? One? One." Then she says "Don't ask anymore." (I gently remind her that if she gets a treat, she shouldn't ask again - apparently I do this more than I thought)

Throwback

2009-01-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

I found this vintage Madeline video when I was sorting through some old pics....it was her first "real" laugh. Notice everything Mommy and daddy had to do to get it done!

The government that governs best...

2009-01-29T12:31:00.001-08:00

I had to call the IRS this morning which was exactly as painful and inept as you would imagine it would be.

Madda is OBSESSED with talking to anyone on the phone that she possibly can. Gramma, Daddy, Mommy's friends have all indulged her by talking to her on the phone. The other day I told her I was talking to the doctor and she couldn't talk to him. So every time I pick up the phone she says "Talk to doctor? Talk to doctor!"

Today she was whining at the top of her lungs to talk on the phone when I was trying to talk. I finally got frustrated and said "Madeline I am talking to the government NOT THE DOCTOR!"

She got quiet and then said sheepishly, "Talk to goberment?"

Swimmers

2009-01-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

Steve sent me an e-mail this week that he received at work. Ball State was

offering a beginning swim class for toddlers! He thought it would be a fun date for him and Madeline! *Segue - can I just say how much I LOVE that he didn't forward it to me and say "This would be great for YOU to do with Madeline" !!!! He found it and wanted my opinion on HIS taking her to do it together. What a man!*

So today was their first class. I got the bag all packed with her swim diapers and suit and a change of clothes and a snack etc... and took this picture before they walked out the door. I think she's saying, "Mom do I REALLY need all this stuff??" Nonetheless...

I was excited at the prospect of being home alone for a while to get some things done around the house and just to have a nice quiet home in which to do it! I got to sleep in (though, I get to do that every weekend because my awesome husband gets up with Madeline Saturdays and Sundays) and have breakfast in bed, and - after kissing my baby and husband goodbye - got lots of stuff done!

But then I felt left out. The entire time they were gone I kept wondering what they were doing, if Madeline liked the water, if I remembered to pack everything for them, what she was going to remember about the class.... I felt so......left out....... Talk about having your cake and eating it too! Here I have a many wanting to invest good quality time with his daughter, and all the sudden I feel out of the loop! I guess being at home, you are used to being 90-100% involved in all things. It's probably good for BOTH of us that he's the leader on this...though he did coax me into taking her next week while he's out of town. Yum - big maternity mama in the water....

OK Blogger - die

2009-01-21T05:55:00.001-08:00

After ALL that work....and blogger still jacks me up......GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Half n Half (2)

2009-01-21T05:40:00.001-08:00

Half n Half

2009-01-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

Well it is official that two of the four bedrooms in our house are now children's rooms. Crazy. I picked out an "Alice in Wonderland" theme for Madeline's nursery as soon as we found out it was a girl. Steve was totally game as neither of us are really "Nursery in a Bag" type of people. (Not that there's anything wrong with that at ALL - if there had been an Alice in Wonderland nursery set I totally would have bought it!) I just like things different. So with his painting talent and my mom's recent discovery of ebay, we put together a pretty unique nursery.

When baby2 decided to make an appearance in our lives, we now had to figure out another nursery theme. When we found out it was a boy we discussed all kinds of different options. Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Planets, and the Chicago Stock Market. (Hmmm whose idea was that last one?) We finally agreed on a Pirate Ship room after finding some pretty cool ideas on the internet.

We had a blank canvas to work with as most of the house is either beige or white. This particular room however was my "ebay room." So the challenge was more getting it clean. But I took it little by little, marked down my prices on ebay, and made myself purge a lot of the rest. All of the furniture in the room went down the lakehouse on Monday, so we have a nice clean room!

Steve and I found the design we liked best online and he went to work. Since it actually takes some artistic ability that immediatley ruled out my ability to help at all. I got the dropclothes moved around and did lots of taping and then cheered him on. I did try my hand at making some treasure maps that we're going to hang on the wall - and that too was a bit harder than I thought!

So above are the pictures of the room before... since Blogger is still in the stone age and loads all the pictures backwards, the NEXT post shows our progress so far.

Naming Names

2009-01-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

It's tempting to think that picking a name for the baby is one of the harder parts of the pregnancy, but after THIS pregnancy - I wouldn't tend to agree. But yet, it seems to be a huge responsibility..... this is the name they will have for life! Kids will tease them about it, they will have it written on the front of their desk at Kindergarten, they'll be trying it out with various boys' last names.....ok so our son won't be doing that..... but still - a huge decision.

My husband and I are lucky in that - our parenting methods and outlooks are very much in line. We don't tend to argue over how Madeline should be disciplined or if we were going to breastfeed - we sidestepped a lot of potential arguments because we agreed right away on how things should be done. (Even if the agreement was "We have no idea what we're doing anyway! ; ) But we couldn't be more different on naming our children. With Madeline I pulled out all of my favourite names I had been saving since adolescence. Ophelia, Portia, Yohanna... and all of them were rebuffed. We finally arrived at Madeline much by mistake and I felt fortunate that we ended up with something at least somewhat unique.....or so I thought until I met about 15 other Madelines her age. :(

When we found out we were pregnant again, I immediately started to try to indoctrinate my husband to be open to weirder names - so that we wouldn't run in to the "Madeline" situation again. Poppy, Lucious, Svetlana, Bjorn...... and was 0 for 4. We had finally somewhat settled on Mila for a girl when....we found out we were having a boy! Lucious and Bjorn were out....so I tried a little more mainstream - Jonas, Liam, or Roman.

No luck.

So we're at a bit of an impasse. I'm at the halfway point now, so we still have time...but something about picking a boy name intimidates me. Maybe it's knowing it will never ever change - no new last name or anything. Or maybe it's just that it's a boy...

Do all couples have this much trouble?

Oh yeah....

2009-01-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

I was reminded over New Year's that I need to make sure to update my BLOGS about baby stuff. I guess I just assume that everyone who reads my blogs either knows me/sees me on a regular basis or is friends with me on facebook and gets all of their gossip there. But I guess that isn't the case. So let me bring you up to speed.

1) I am pregnant again (20 weeks to be exact)
2) I am having a little boy

I can't believe I am at the "halfway" point already. This pregnancy has seemed to have flown by. I can feel the baby's movements well now, and Steve has been able to feel them a few times too! I have only gained 7 pounds, but have come to the conclusion that I must look "obviously" pregnant because at church yesterday someone I don't know all that well just walked up to me and said "CONGRATULATIONS!" So - that's that. I guess I just have to accept it at this point.

I am feeling well. My doctor is very happy with my weight and blood pressure. It's been a very different pregnancy than Madeline's (a LOT more sick and tailbone pain so badly that I'm almost in tears every night now) but similar in where I am gaining the weight. No stretch marks yet, but I know this dry heat in the house isn't going to help that situation so I need to invest in some good moisturizer! Then again, I didn't think I got any with Madeline but Steve so kindly pointed out the ONE I got that I couldn't see. Thanks Sweetie!!

I am starting to feel the nesting coming on strong now. I am desperate to get the new nursery cleaned out. (It's being used for storage) It's about 70% there... We have the theme picked out (Pirate Ship) and even bought the paint. So it's just about me getting my act together to get the rest of the junk in proper homes. (read: Goodwill)

Baby boy doesn't have all that many clothes yet, but between the Grammas and an excited husband I think that will be covered by the time he gets here. Though I should probably invest in at least one Tonka...

Like Father . . .

2008-12-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

Things I'm not sure were at the Manger - Part 3

2008-12-24T06:43:00.001-08:00

It's a little hard to see, but it's candy. Gold, frankensense, and mints!

Slippin' through my fingers

2008-12-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I can't believe I'm not still in the hospital with my newborn baby girl.

Freaky Friday

2008-12-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

This can't possibly be my little baby Madeline?? Who took my little newborn baby and replaced her with a 37 inch toddler??

She's sporting her new outfit from Gramma Ellie, and I think she looks like she's ready to start helping me bake!

Things I'm not sure were at the Manger - Part 2

2008-12-18T05:02:00.001-08:00

Late Night Playdate

2008-12-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

Emily and Gabby came over for an evening playdate last night. It was LOTS of fun. Madeline hadn't seen Gabby in so long that Mommy let her stay up until 8:00!! Gabby arranging the doll house.

Looks like this early Christmas present paid off!!

Like two little Whack-a-Moles!

We loved the nighttime playdate and hope there's LOTS more in the future!

My little Scrivner

2008-12-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Madeline hasn't been herself lately. I don't know if she's just honestly changing personality, or if she's in a funk, or doesn't like the cold or what, but it's been a hard few weeks on me trying to figure out my child all over again.

She's always been very even tempered, not rude, doesn't bite, doesn't kick, doesn't hit, doesn't scream. I really - I mean REALLY lucked out...or so I thought.

Lately she's gotten a little more bold. When I tell her to do something (pick up the stickers she just dumped on the floor for the 235 th time today, wait until I'm done putting away groceries) she's responding with a "no." That's it. Not a "NO!" Just a "no" sort of like "I'd prefer not to Mom" and goes on her way. That makes it a bit harder to deal with. I mean, I don't want her to think that she can tell me "no" and that is acceptable. (Unless I am asking her if she wants to do something. "Do you want to jump in the nest?") I mean, when I tell her to do something and she says "No." Sometimes I really feel like she's testing me to see if I'll follow through or not.

Today I heard her whining in the grocery store so I ducked back to see what was going on. (My Mother in Law keeps her in her cart, so grocery shopping is like a little vacation for me!) My MIL told me that Madeline kept standing up, and when she told her to sit down she said. "no." Madeline could tell that Grandma was telling me the story - her head hung down and she got embarrassed. I picked her up out of the cart (she was in the back part of the cart just for a minute or two) and told her that if Grandma tells her to do something, she needs to do it. She needs to obey and make the right choice. I said "If Gramma tells you to sit down on your bottom-" and got cut off with a sweet little "no." I was flabbergasted. I started again to the same effect. I finally put her down on the ground, crouched down beside her and said more sternly "If Gramma tells you to sit down, you. sit. down." Then she said "Oooooooooooookkkkkkkkkk" all drawn out which is ALSO something new.

A polite, yet still disrespectful "no." Who knew?

American Beauty

2008-12-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

The next time you feel like a bad mom....

2008-12-03T13:04:00.001-08:00

Don't.

I left two styrafoam blocks within an arms reach of my daughter's crib. You wouldn't believe the mess... the pictures don't begin to do it justice....we will be picking this out of places for months. good job Mom!

Things I'm not sure were at the Manger - Part 1

2008-11-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

A little Nightmusic

2008-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

We were on our way home about a month ago after dinner out with some friends... Madda has mastered this song now, but it's awful cute to hear her stumble through it.... Sorry it's all Blair Witch.

Writer's Block

2008-10-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself a "writer" while I do enjoy the past time. I think one of the things I look for in a "good" writer, is for him to say something that I have wanted to say but haven't found the words for. Sometimes it's simple phrases like describing the snow as if "the inner dome of heaven had fallen" or love "I shall do one thing in this life, one thing certain. And that is love you and long for you and keep wanting you until I die." But let's leap into this century...

Reading is of course my all time favourite hobby and it allows me a short escape into my very own private time every night before bed. Recently I started reading a book called "Waiting" which was supposed to be the inside scoop on the restaurant business. I found most of the book a letdown as it wasn't the gossip and scandal about waiter's spitting in food and the like that I was hoping for. However, the writer talks about the point she realized that she wanted to quite waitressing and devote all of time to writing. But this was at the exact same time as the birth of her first son and she found herself struggling at her 2 loves pulling her apart. She says,

"From the first moments of his existence, I knew that my son was not a project to be worked on sporadically or when I felt inspired. He could not be gone back to later, and I couldn't edit my mistakes. I could never rewrite my part in his life. He was, therefore, my work. Everything else would have to wait."

My little bookworm

2008-10-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share some of the books that Madeline can't get enough of right now. Pat the Bunny is a book I think meant for younger children, but she asks for it by name and follows the directions on every page. I love watching her smell the flowers, especially since the book was mine as a child and I'm pretty sure they don't smell anymore.

Madeline calls this one "Elmo book" even though I tell her every time it's Grover. This is also a book from my childhood and she loves turning the pages in this one to get to the "monster" at the end. She loves exclaiming "ME!" on the last page.

Yet....another book from my childhood. I LOVED this book. It was at my dentist's office and so I only got to read it a few times a year. A little bear is left at home by his parents on Halloween and so he has some of his bear friends over and they all bring popcorn! They decide to pop it and they make so much it fills up the entire house! There is one page that is filled with popcorn and little captions that say "What happened?" "HELP!" "Who turned off the lights?" Which she yells every time we get to that page. The next page is a picture of the kids eating all the popcorn and it says "crunch munch crunch" and then GULP! She loves the GULP!

We read a host of other books, but we read these at least 10 times a day. What books are your kids into right now??

Big Girl Room!

2008-10-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

I know that eventually - probably sooner rather than later, Madeline will be moving out of her nursery into a big girl room. Her nursery is an Alice in Wonderland Theme which I have loved. I wanted to find something equally unique and wonderful that she would like and could use for a while.

I stumbled upon this design by accident and I love it!! What do you think??

Lake Michigan with the fam...

2008-09-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we joined my sister Joy and her two children as well as my parents to camp out at Lake Michigan! It was Madeline's first experiance in an RV and she did great!
I think I see a fish...

Where to start digging?

Um - someone? Hint hint?

Finally! Sam and Madeline get a ride!

And of course Mickey wasn't too far behind...

We all had a great time and decided we wanted to make it a yearly event!

Yes we are alive....

2008-09-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Madeline's early birthday present - a bouncy house!!! She calls it her "nest."
We went into check on her and in addition to all of her stuff being thrown all over the floor, we found her little tiny legs sticking out. Don't you just want to kiss those feet?

My little sleepyhead....not quite awake.

YUM COOKIES! And I Helped!
Are they ready yet?

All Around Town

2008-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

Madeline LOVED being on Momma's scooter. I only went up the driveway once and was too afraid to go any further without her having a helmet!

Madeline loved watching the dogs jump for frisbees at the fair. If you look closely you can see the dog catching the frisbee on the right.

Madeline LOVED petting the "pony." He repaid her by nipping her hands. The State Fair is a rite of passage and this is one momma who is GLAD that passage is done for this year! She did get to ride her first "ride" and try for a goldfish, but those are on Daddy's camera so they'll have to wait!

Weekend Update

2008-07-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

Madeline - chillin' at ChiMu.

Steve said that my demure little girl climbed this wall almost by herself! Can you believe she hasn't climbed out of her crib yet?

Anywho who knows Madeline knows she is a hoarder. She LOVES the little garden at the Museum where you can plant flowers. But more than that she just loves to gather up all the flowers and hold them.

This is Madeline wiping her sandy hands on herself. I said, "Didn't you use the dryer to blow dry her hands?" But Daddy said that was for wimps so she let her go STRAIGHT to the sand from the water. (hee hee) I'll bet that was a fun bath night!

Bad Daddy!

2008-07-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

While Mommy was away Daddy braved the Childrens Museum for the first time with Madeline! They had a BLAST together and I'll have to upload more pictures to show all of their fun times.

But Daddy did a bad bad thing.

Mommy specifically told him NOT to let Madeline ride on one of the horses on the Carousel. I did this for 2 reasons:

1. I wanted to be the first to do it.

2. ChiMu specifically says that no one under 2 can be on an up and down horse.

SO - Daddy sneaked her on anyway and it looks like she was just takin' it all in!

Rock a bye your baby

2008-06-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...

2008-06-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a loooooooooong time. So I just spent a googleplex time trying to upload a video and pics and Blogger shot me down.

HISSSSS!

I'll try again soon....I have some adorable video of Madda and her friend Gabby.

You wouldn't believe it if you didn't see it!

2008-06-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

Friday night, as many of you know, we had a horrible horrible storm. Steve and I were trying to enjoy a little telly an and kept getting interrupted by Jude Redfield. We plugged in our weather radio and started tracking the storm. It was moving through Plainfield but then moved north into Madison County. It got really bad around 10:00 and I decided we needed to take Madeline down to the basement. So all of us including the dogs hunkered down in the theater while Steve tried to glean information from the tidbits we were getting from our satellite. All the sudden a bunch of hail hit the house and it sounded like it was raining marbles! Madeline woke up a little bit. Mostly to say "dog" when she heard the dogs barking around us and "badu" when I snuggled her up in her blankets. We stayed down there for about 20 minutes and she went back down with no fuss.

Steve and I climbed back in bed and were trying to settle in for the night when we hear this horrific crack of thunder and a bolt of lightening. Next thing we know.....the house alarm was going off....and continued to go off for close to 10 minutes. Steve called ADT and I was ready to try to soothe Madeline. (One of the alarms is right outside her room.) Except - she slept through the entire ordeal!

I knew you wouldn't believe it so I grabbed my camera to shoot some video!

Park Place

2008-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Who would have ever thought I'd be hiking, with a baby (on my back nonetheless), and a big dog!

Our little family has enjoyed a lot of fun in Falls Park latley. We went on a family hike on saturday and it was LOTS of fun! Madeline LOVES the park and so did Austin! We went on about a mile and a half hike and, though it was tiring for mama, it was a blast! Madeline was on my back like a little papoose and Steve controlled Austin.

We all had a great time and I actually think I'd like to do it again!

I need you to need me

2008-05-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

I was getting something out of the pantry yesterday when I saw one of Madeline's old pacifiers. She has long since kicked the habit. (yay!) However, for some reason I just can't throw that one out. I have one of her newborn orange pacifiers in her baby box. (I know, it sounds gross but it's not, I sterilized it before I saved it in a little bag.) It was SO MUCH a part of her newborn life I can't imagine not saving it. But I digress.... This one in the pantry is in no way special or symbolic. It's just there. It's one of the many places we put spares so that we could always whip one out when we needed to.

Every time I get something out of the pantry I see it and every time I say the same thing to myself. "I have GOT to throw that away!" (Yes, I even use that bad grammar because I am so passionate about tossing the dummy.) And every time I close the pantry door and do nothing.

It's not that I'm lazy. It's sort of an Object Placement (OP) issue. I was talking about this with a friend recently (Emily - was that you?) about how bad I am with OP. I delude myself into thinking that if I cannot see something, it doesn't exist. If I don't acknowledge something's presence, it will not affect my life.

Yes I know this is ridiculous.

I guess I feel like if I don't move the pacifier then she can't grow up. It'll always be there - just in case. I know she'd never use it again - I know she won't have a meltdown that will require the pacifier again, she doesn't have the sucking need she did as a newborn, but - I just feel better knowing it's there. My little baby's paci.

I've got to get over this. I've got to let my little baby grow up. The other day a little child in the library said to his mom, "Hey look Mom - a toddler!" and pointed at Madeline.

I almost cried.

She is a toddler - she is actually, bonified-ly toddling! But, I ache so much for my little one. I love the age she is right now. She can communicate many of her wants and needs - we can play together - but the bubble I can keep around her gets a little smaller every day. I have no choice. It's truly heartbreaking to let go a little every day. I wonder if this feeling ever subsides, if I ever won't wish for her to be little again...

They don't put this stuff in the parenting books.

Splendour in the Grass

2008-05-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

We had a Mothersday weekend extravaganza! (MWE) It started on Friday with flowers and pizza from daddy, a cookout with Daddy's family on Saturday and Lunch with Mamma's family on Sunday!

Grampa Jerry bought Madeline her favourite thing in the entire world. BALLOONS!

She loved roaming around in the field of dandelions behind my Brother in Law's house!

Gabby in "Lord of the Flies"

2008-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

We hope you'll invite us to your luau!

We had joy, we had fun

2008-05-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

It was such a nice day today that after church and lunch we ALL "played" outside! I cleaned out the Jeep and Steve cleaned out the entire garage! Madeline was ALL over the place enjoying the new garage treasures! Madeline in her rickshaw and every ball she could fit in!

Her new hotdog cart! Can't you just see her pushing this around selling veggiedogs?

YUM!

"I think there's more watermelon over there mom!"
Is this how you use a wagon?

Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me

2008-04-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Madeline and her best friend.....I may have posted this one already, but it's so cute!

She hasn't quite learned how to use the train table....

I'm Madeline Fulton - welcome to my crib!

Her favourite new treat!

No vacation pics yet....that would be because Steve has them all on HIS computer and they were taken with HIS camera which means they each take 2.8 days to upload. So - in the interim, here are some shots from when we got home!

Mm Mm Good!

2008-04-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!

2008-04-07T05:41:00.000-07:00

We had a gorgeous weekend in Indy, but most of it was spent INSIDE. Boo Hoo. We just had LOTS to do to get ready for our vacation. Madeline examines the lawn mower to make sure it's operating properly!

"Can't I just play in the box it came in Mom? It's so much more fun!"

My parents are redecorating their house and put Madeline's chair over in this corner. She dug it out and insisted on sitting in it!

Awww! Sharing snacks with Gramma Van!

"Is this how I use my new train table Mom?"
Showing off her new "Chick" outfit from Gramma Ellie.

BFF!

She decided she LOVED watermelon! Especially the rind!

Uh . . . we're not in Gerber anymore . . .

Closer Than My (Stale Easter) Peeps You Are To Me!

2008-03-31T07:13:00.001-07:00

Madeline got to have a couple of friends over this week for some playdate fun! Isabelle finds a rogue Easter Egg!

Why are you eating the ball Isabelle?

Want to ride on my sweet whip?

Friday, Emily and Gabby came over to play. Need some butter Emily??

Peek a BOO!

Gabby LOVED the slide!

The Baby has 2 mommies! Gabby let her special baby spend the night with Madeline on Friday! The baby enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, played some pool with Steve, and made a s'more in the fire! I know Gabby was glad to see her baby again on Saturday!

O Pioneers!

2008-03-27T18:09:00.001-07:00

I am going to sound like the world's biggest SNOB....but I just don't know how the pioneers did it! Seriously... like, their children had sticks and rocks to play with. No Baby Einstein, no Sand and Water Tables, no miniature kitchens. (What would those have even looked like? Miniature hearths and fires? ha ha)

A little while back Steve and I purchased the above monitor. (Yay ebay!) Of course, as soon as we got it we were all, "How did we live before this???" It did stink to try to sneak into her room and check on her, sometimes hitting the deck so fast any Navy Admiral would have been proud. It's especially hard when she'll wake up and cry and you don't know if it's because she's stuck in the crib railing or because she just wants picked up. The first few nights we just stood and watched it forever! It's soooooooooooo nice to just have an "eye in the sky" to be able to tell what she's doing. I never knew that simply watching my baby sleep would enthrall me so much.

Sorry, pioneers - My Indian and I have it quite easy compared to you guys!

In One Basket

2008-03-24T08:07:00.001-07:00

Madeline and I joined Daddy on Thursday for the Ball State Egg Hunt! It was Madeline's first egg hunt so we were very excited! Chillin' with Garfield

Getting the hang of it...

Checking out her loot!

Ready to go home!

It was a cute event that was *supposed* to be broken up by age. (e.g. she would only have been hunting eggs with children from 1-2 years old.) That didn't happen and it made me feel my first ever bit of real "mom anger." I was like "WHO LET THE SIX YEAR OLDS IN?" I didn't yell that, though I wanted to. I wanted my little girl to have a fun and safe time at her first hunt, not be mowed over by big kids. There was one point when she and Steve were walking toward an egg and a big kig came in and swooped it up. You can hear me on the video saying, "Look Madeline! Here is an egg!" Then in comes the kid swiping it and I say, "Oh never mind, that kid just stole it from you."

Oh no! I am turning into one of *those* parents!! ;)

Nonetheless, I think she had a good time. She enjoyed 2 more egg hunts over the weekend with each set of Grandparents!

Yum

2008-03-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

As a general rule Steve and I monitor Madeline's diet very closely, but on a day that was filled with lots of teething tears and Mommy trying to get lots of cooking done for Easter, I let Madda live a little. :)

Hot dog Hot dog Hot diggity dog!

2008-03-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

Madeline loves tickling anything and everything with bare feet (Thanks, Mom!) so she decided to tickle Austin this morning. (Apparently after listening to his heart and reading him some books.)

Think Think Think!

2008-03-19T18:52:00.003-07:00

You know you're a mom when you hear the words "Super Sleuth" on the news and think of this:

Crusin' Together

2008-03-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Madeline went for a little ride with Daddy in his Camaro up and down the driveway! Madda loved crusin' around with Daddy and felt super cool!

Don't let the baby boys see you in this cool car Madeline!

Madeline's Mumblings

2008-03-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Madeline has been constantly saying "Badu." I don't know what it means. She'll hold something up and say, "badu!" She'll say it to herself and I'll overhear it.

So, all I can figure is that she wants to listen to some Erika Badu music - of which I have none. Sorry Madeline!

While Baby Naps...

2008-03-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Funny things happen when the parents assemble toys when their children are asleep! I'm going to have Steve make a little strip of paper that says "Trader Joe's" to go over the WalMart sticker. ;)

Oh, and Steve wasn't really going to push Sugar Baby down the slide.

My toys bring all the boys to the (play) yard!

2008-03-06T05:04:00.000-08:00

So, Mommy thinks Madeline needs some new toys. She didn't get that many toys for Christmas so she is SUPER bored with her toys and ends up playing with batteries and wooden spoons all day. Poor baby! :( Daddy however, thinks Madeline has plenty of toys. However, Daddy isn't home with a bored baby all day! Plus. I just put away tons of her "baby" toys and now she has even fewer than ever!

Here are some of the toys I want to get her. What other good ideas do you have for new toys?

Play Kitchen: I like this one because it looks "real" like what she's used to seeing Mommy use.
But I love this retro kitchen too. (However, it's obscenely expensive.) I couldn't feel good about spending that much money on ONE toy!

Dr. Set: I happen to think that if we "play" doctor, then maybe she won't scream at the doctor's office so much! I like this one because I also want to get her a baby doll.

Outdoor Table: Hopefully we'll be eating lots of meals out under the new Pergola so here Madda can enjoy it with us! Ok, not a toy.....

I'd like to get her a Mr Potato Head because she LOVES putting little things in holes. Go figure! And perhaps these blocks and this vaccuum but I've decided that she can't have a Dyson until Mommy does! lol!

So what are some other toys we should think about/ talk Daddy into buying?

Oh, aren't you impressed with my hyperlinking? Go me!

Throwback

2008-03-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I'm really in to looking at Madeline's old pictures of when she was teeny tiny but I thought you might enjoy them too. I love this one because I thought she looked just like Daddy. I think this was her first swing ride!

Made for Walkin'!

2008-02-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

Here is living proof of Madeline's first steps. She's taking a few "falling" steps but never really kept her balance for any length of time. Only those who know us and Madeline could possibly know the joy these steps brought us. (Thus why you hear me start to get a little crazy at the end of the video.) Sometimes having to wait extra long for something makes it all the more sweet.

All she wanted to do today was walk around which made me SO happy! We're hoping it'll progress quickly from here!

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

2008-02-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

I love my daughter with a passion that scares me. Everyone tells you about it when you're pregnant (and even when you're not) that even if you don't like kids, you'll love yours with a fierceness that will startle you.

I remember the first time I had a mother bear instinct. Madeline was about 3 months old and I had stopped the car to put gas in it. I was looking at her through the window as she whimpered. I noticed a man filling his car with gas. He was walking around us. He wasn't doing anything weird or creepy, just walking. All the sudden I felt something rise in me for the first time. I got hot from my feet up. I thought to myself, "If anyone tried to hurt her, I could kill them with my bare hands."

I adore what she has taught me about love and about myself. I am amazed that she, of all the people in my life who have tried, has shown me the joy that children bring. To want to give up that career I had always wanted. To wake up every day, sometimes discouraged, but never defeated. To realize no one's hands or smile could change my day in an instant.

I used to be amazed when I'd read stories about mothers in oppressed countries who would give their children to other families so that they would be safe. Who wouldn't eat for days on end, to make sure their baby had enough. I remember one story about a mother who was told her daughter would never ever walk (I don't remember why). She quit her full time, high paying job and spent every day with her daughter - loving her and making sure she would have every opportunity that other children had. She bought a treadmill and worked with her daughter on it every day. She walked very very late, but she walked. Doctors . . . oh if they knew the power of mother's love. It's crippling and empowering. It's fierce and soft. It's love as God intended it.

If I had to run
If I had to crawl
If I had to swim a thousand rivers
Just to climb a thousand walls
Always know that I would find a way
To get to where you are
There's no place too far

Sicky Pics

2008-02-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

Steve's been playing Mommy and Daddy to Madeline since I've been sick. He's done a great job!

Um, Dad - does Mom know you're giving me a shave?

I thought there was supposed to be good security here....

Madeline - with her favourite dog and new favourite toys - "C" Batteries!

Choo Choo

2008-02-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

The other night we heard the train as we were coming home from dinner with friends. We were trying to teach Madeline how to say "Choo Choo!"

Sittin'

2008-02-15T10:39:00.001-08:00

Gramma Ellie got Madeline this cute new table. She loves sitting at it to eat her "appy" (apple). I can't believe how big my baby is!

T and that Rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!

2008-02-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Wow! Mommy and Daddy bought me a new toy!

8 ball, corner pocket!

Playing pool was tough! I'm going to rest here in the foof chair and try to open this blow pop.

Hopefully Daddy get some use out of his new toy other than letting Madeline play on it!

Baby Einstein

2008-02-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

Madeline joined Mommy for a shower today and Mommy had a liiiiiittle too much fun playing with Madeline's hair afterwards.

A picture of pretty Madeline after Mommy finished having fun with her hair. This is one of her Valentines Day outfits!

Bye Bye Paci

2008-02-05T09:14:00.001-08:00

We've decided, sort of on a whim, that we're going to start breaking Madeline of her pacifier. She's mostly only wanting them when she sleeps, but she'll pop one in if she comes across one during the day. Now seemed as good a time as ever, so we're officially in the trenches of breaking the paci. Wish me luck!

Yummy!

2008-02-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

I let Madeline taste a beater (ok a wisk) this week when I made cupcakes. She didn't know what to do with it at first, but then she got one little taste and the rest came naturally! Mamma's probably created a monster!

When I love her most....

2008-01-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

I don't know if there is any time she is cuter or more lovable or innocent.

Finally!!!

2008-01-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

Only a little less exciting than had she taken her first steps......her first pigtails! FINALLy!!!!

Et tu Brute

2008-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

Madeline and I would like to OFFICIALLY congratulate everyone who is pregnant. This is pretty much everyone we know. Please do not tell my husband.

Oh, and don´t let me drink after you.

Life inside the musicbox ain't easy

2008-01-18T09:59:00.001-08:00

I have music on a lot during the day. It helps fill the house with sound and make it seem a lot less lonely. Today I had my laptop playlist going and every single time it came to Regina Spektor's "Musicbox" - Madeline would stop what she was doing and smile big at me. She especially like the first few notes. I don't know why she would seem to like this song - maybe because I try to sing it myself. lol

If you're curious - you can hear it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkSwF42cOm8&feature=PlayList&p=E855AF1B5BC7E12C&index=4