Like Father . . .

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

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

Slippin' through my fingers

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

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

Late Night Playdate

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

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

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

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!