Two Little Words

Madeline and I were in my office. She was playing and coloring, and I was on the computer. All of a sudden, I heard those famous words, "OHHHH Noooooo!" I turned around and this is what I saw:
Madeline had pulled her diaper tabs apart, and the diaper fell down around her ankles. She was terribly distressed by this, and I found myself laughing so much so that I jiggled the camera as I took a picture.

Then she actually pulled it back up and redid the tabs as best she could. I offered a bit of help.

Then I turned around and saw this:

Madeline then became a ham for the camera.

Never a dull moment around here.

Spring Weekend Fun

This past Saturday was gorgeous...the warmth, the sunshine, & the 3 of us being together. We didn't do anything terribly special, but it was awesome. We enjoyed Saturday morning at the park, had a picnic lunch in our backyard, played in our backyard, opened the windows and blared our music into the yard, read books in the sunshine, and just had some good old fashioned family together time.

On Sunday, the weather was quite the opposite --- chilly, windy, rainy. However, we had a special day planned for Madeline. We took her to our friend's barn to meet the horses! Madeline loved it. She even rode on Jen's horse, Rhinestone Cowboy (with Jen of course!). The funny thing was Madeline liked to trot, not walk, but trot. Jen was taking it slow at first, but Madeline started to fuss. We gave Jen the go ahead to tighten her grip on Madeline, make Cowboy trot, and oh how Madeline bounced, squealed, and smiled! It was fun! (Unfortunately, all the pictures of this event are on Jen's fancy camera that her hubby was using to capture the event! Hopefully, we will get those soon!) While Jen took Cowboy out to the jumping/obstacle area, we roamed the grounds. Madeline loved all the dogs.

What a fun weekend for all of us!

Nineteen Months Old

What a month it has been! Madeline continues to be our sweet yet spirited little girl. Over the last month, her comprehension has really improved, and she does really well following simple directions. Her verbalization has become much more clear to us and even others who've seen her regularly over this last month. Madeline has started to string together a couple of words to make statements such as: "I fall down." "I slide. I swing." "Boo-boo. It hurts." Occasionally, she'll belt out with an "I wuv you." or "Bless you." at the appropriate time. It's really neat to watch her figure out how to communicate and be successful. She's very into having things organized: putting her books back into the basket, if the corner of a rug is flipped up, she'll bend down to make it flat again; picking up things off the floor and putting them into the trashcan; if the drawer/a door/a cabinet is slightly open, she'll walk over and shut it; if her gate is not closed at the steps, she'll shut it.

Madeline seems to have gotten over her separation anxiety for the most part. What a relief! I think she's gotten used to her Daddy's travel and my flip-flopping gyms, so she's figured out that we always come back for her regardless of our schedule.
Madeline is no longer on any bottle. Woo hoo! She dropped her nap time bottle on her own one afternoon simply because she pushed it away when I tried to give it to her before nap. I went cold turkey on nap time bottle from that day forward, and as I suspected, Madeline did just fine without it. I planned to drop the nighttime bottle after our weekend away to Greenville so my brother's family wouldn't have to listen to her cry it out at night. Well, she ate so much at each mealtimes with them that she pushed the bottle away when my sister-in-law tried to give it to her, so she just put her down for the night. After that, I just stopped giving it to her at bedtime cold turkey. Again, she did fine without it. Madeline actually seems to prefer milk to juice or water, so she gets plenty of milk calories throughout the day without those extra bottles. Madeline is a roller coaster eater --- some weeks she eats us out of house and home eating & trying anything on her plate, and some weeks she's the pickiest eater and goes on food strike. I think in the long run, she's going to be a good eater and eat what she's served. Speaking of eating, her use of a fork and a spoon are coming along quite nicely. However, if she's really hungry, she will forgo the utensil and just grub down with her hands.

Madeline has finally cut all of her teeth --- these last two lower canines have been terribly painful for her. I actually think the canines have been the worst teeth of all as far as making her wake up in the middle of the night crying out in pain, the buckets of drool and runny nose, the cranky disposition, and the gnawing on anything. Phew, I'm glad to be done with teeth for now, and I'm sure Madeline is excited too!

Madeline is happiest when she can "read" her books, color, play outside, and just wander around chatting to me, her babies, or her stuffed animals. I marvel at how independent she really is to be so young. Of course, I play with her, but I let her come to me when she wants a story to be read to her, etc. because sometimes she'll push me away if I try to play with her as if to say, "I'll let you know when I need/want you to play with me." I love her independence, and I know in the long run her ability to play by herself will come in handy. Her little mind certainly knows what she wants, and when she doesn't get her way, she's sure to let us know. However, she's simmered down in the testing of boundaries and limits this past month (thank goodness!). I guess this consistent Mama made those limits very clear. Madeline has really started to respond to a "firm, teacher voice" because she will stop dead in her tracks and look at me when I call her name in my teacher voice. I am happy for that not just for discipline reasons, but also for safety reasons if she's about to get herself in a dangerous situation (being near the open oven door when I'm making dinner, getting too close to the curb when we are outside, not holding my hand walking to the car, etc.). Madeline is quite curious about everything around her, so I have to keep tabs on her.

Madeline's sleep habits continue to be awesome and like clockwork. She goes down for her nap around 1 PM and will sleep until about 3 or 4 PM. Her bedtime remains between 7-8 PM even with the time change, and she gets up between 7-8 AM. I can't complain about her sleep. She has had to "cry it out" more before nap and bed lately simply because she's in a new routine. Madeline is having to learn how to calm herself down instead of relying on the 8 oz. bottle to relax her. We do read her a couple of stories, but sometimes that is just not enough to fully relax her. Her crying it out usually lasts less than 5 minutes, but there have been a few times that she's let us know for about 15-20 minutes that she's angry about being in the bed. Unfortunately for her, we don't give into the crying --- no rocking, no back rubs, & no going back into the room once she's down. (Of course, I like to sneak a peek well after she's asleep to make sure she's okay.) Luckily for us, the times we've had sitters or relatives keep her for us recently, they have followed our strict orders to let her cry it out, so that has helped us to remain consistent in the new routine.

Madeline's little life is zipping right along (sometimes just entirely too fast!), and I am so happy that I get to be home with her to experience it all with her.

We love you sweet girl!

Tagged

My friend, Nancy, tagged me for this, and what fun! The instructions were to post the tenth picture in my first picture folder. So here is the picture...

Wow, this picture was taken one month before Madeline's birth---July, 2008. Eric and I were at my brother's house --- my oldest brother, Pat, and his wife, Kim, LIVE on their deck in the summertime. They invited us over for cocktails and dinner. Well, I enjoyed ice cold, refreshing tap water while my husband enjoyed cocktails. Kim was so excited to have a niece that she showered me with presents ALL THE TIME. It was pretty awesome!

In this picture, I am opening a sweet little picture frame that she had "stolen" a 3D ultrasound picture from us and framed. I came across that picture and frame in our move, and I just marveled at the fact that our sweet Madeline really did look like that when she was born. Technology is amazing.

I also look back at this picture and am reminded of how easy my pregnancy was --- no sickness ever, no complications, hardly any weight gain (only 15 lbs.), no swelling, easy labor and delivery, no crazy aversions or unusual sensory issues, no nothing, and we were blessed with a beautiful, "easy" child. I think about little Madeline now, and yes, she tests boundaries, but she is just a sweet and easy going as can be. I am also reminded of how I used to get my nails done every two weeks in a French manicure (look closely), and NOW I am lucky to even notice that I have nails. :)

I enjoyed this little "tag" because I ended up looking back through pictures that I had not looked at for the longest time. It was a lovely trip down memory lane.

Wahoo! Mama and Daddy Alone Time!

My brother, Greg, and his wife, Angela, gave us THE.BEST.2009 BIRTHDAY.PRESENTS.EVER --- an adults only night away! We cashed in on our gift the first weekend in March.

Greg and Angela live in Greenville, and there is an amazing fine dining restaurant in downtown Greenville that they gave us a gracious gift card to use for ourselves while they keep Madeline for the whole day, night, and "come back whenever you feel like it next day"! If you've never been to downtown Greenville, I highly recommend it. It's a fun, family oriented, dog friendly, & less granola Asheville type place. Anyways, the weekend was so refreshing and fabulous.

Eric, Madeline, and I headed up to Greenville on Friday afternoon to hang out with Greg, Angela, and their 6 year old, Drew. We had a wonderful dinner with them while Madeline and Drew played so wonderfully together. That little Drew is just a dear child with Madeline, and he just loved playing with her. Of course, Madeline was very charmed with him.

We woke up on Saturday morning, got ready, and headed out the door for our adults only adventure. We had nothing really planned except to explore the downtown area & our dinner reservations that evening. The weather was gorgeous, the adults only conversation was carefree and chit-chatty, and the beverages were fantastic.

Meanwhile, back at Greg and Angela's on Saturday, Madeline was having the time of her life --- being a spectator at Drew's basketball game clapping wildly for both teams, going out to lunch for pizza, snatching Uncle Greg's sweet tea and sucking most of it down, taking a 4 hour nap making Uncle Greg and Aunt Angela question whether Madeline was breathing or not, eating hot dogs & french fries with ketchup for dinner, sharing a pound of blueberries with Drew, going to the park to feed the ducks in which Madeline didn't get the whole throw the bread in the water thing & ended up eating her piece of bread, sharing a pound of strawberries with Drew, playing hard, DROPPING the nighttime bottle because she was STUFFED to the gills, and sleeping until NINE the next morning causing Uncle Greg and Aunt Angela to miss church.

While we were roaming the downtown area, we stumbled upon this, and we feel sure that Madeline would approve of this establishment!
On Saturday night, Eric and I got dressed up, had a wonderful dinner, more lovely "just us" time, and an evening out post dinner. We had so.much.fun!

On Sunday, we didn't race back to Greg and Angela's since they suggested we come back whenever we felt like it, so we did. We had brunch, shopped, and took our time heading back to get our sweet girl.

The weekend was a blast for all of us --- Eric and I obviously loved our alone time exploring Greenville, Madeline got a glowing report from her cousin, aunt, and uncle, and my brother, his wife, and son enjoyed having another child in the house for a weekend. Win-win for all!

It's Official...

Madeline is officially enrolled in the two year old program at our church preschool. Wow, is she old enough to be thinking about this already?

She will attend on Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 9 AM - Noon. Eric and I never intended for her to start out with a three day/week program, but it just so happens that the 3 day/week program has some "extras" in the curriculum that Madeline will love --- music movement and library. So, after much deliberation (I know...we're first time parents, so this was a big deal for us!!), we decided to go with the 3 day program. From talking extensively with the director, the "extras" were just how the schedule worked out with the teacher's fall schedule more so than the number of days/week. At any rate, I know Madeline will love library and music movement, so that is all that matters to me.

We'll love it, and more importantly, I know she'll love it. Now that we are comfortable with our preschool choice, I'm on the look-out for a super cute satchel for our sweet girl! :)

Let It Snow Again

I don't mean to be ungrateful, being a gal from South Carolina and all, but really a second snow?! C'mon Mother Nature!? It was wonderful and beautiful the first time, but this time, in March, this Southern gal is ready for SPRING or at the very least, some SUN!

I actually didn't even know it was snowing until I logged into Facebook and looked outside to see what all the hub-bub & status updates were about. (When the hubby travels, I am a complete hermit at night! No lights, no windows, no TV, no nothing...just me, the bed, a lamp, and a book! And, of course, the usual computer time!)

If the gym is on a snow delay tomorrow, I might be a little bit mad. :)

Books and Coloring...

...are really important around here. Madeline loves to color and loves to "read" books (regardless of the book). Many minutes (that eventually add up to hours) in our days are spent like the following pictures. Of course, I don't mind because I get a lot of "office work" done for Eric while Madeline is busy reading and coloring. She's happy as a clam sitting on the stool at her desk using her crayons reading her books. :)

Eighteen Month Well Visit

Today Madeline received a good report from Dr. Kapp --- physically & developmentally. She received a few shots today, and to say the least, Madeline was p-oed. This was the first time that she really "fought back", and our girl put up a good fight --- arms flailing, legs kicking, and the over-the-top, high-pitched crying that may have done damage to my eardrums. However, Eric, the nurse, and I managed to pin her down to get the job done. All was well once we got back to the car, got some snuggles & love, turned on our coveted Laurie Berkner Band DVD, and had a frosted Shredded Wheat snack from the snack trap. Needless to say, Madeline is napping very well today.

Madeline's latest stats are:

• weight: 24 lbs. 2 oz. (48 %)
• height: 33 1/4 inches (89%)
• head: 46.5 cm (49%)

We are the typical first time parents at the doctor's office, I'm sure. Of course, we had our list of questions to go over with the doctor. Mostly we asked all sorts of "developmental" type questions just reassuring us that all of these tantrums, a little aggression (swatting at us mainly), and big signs of strong independence (not wanting to hold our hands in parking lots, on the stairs, etc.) were "normal". Our doctor is wonderful. He graciously let us know that we are not slack parents, and Madeline's current behavior is typical of this age. I'm so glad that we have a relaxed, laid back doctor since I am not a relaxed, laid back parent when it comes to some of this "nasty" behavior that I am seeing as of late. :)

We don't have to see the doctor again until Madeline is two years old, and until then we are satisfied with her clean bill of health she received today.

What Could Be ...

more fun than sitting in a box?
READING in a box, of course!

If you look closely, you can see that Madeline is wearing shoes with her footed jammies! :)

The Beginning

We have started the process of creating Madeline a "big girl room" in the new house for when that time comes. No, we don't have one on the way that we need the crib/nursery room. :)

My parents are down-sizing, and they have had these twin beds since my oldest brother was moved to a "big boy" bed, so that means these beds are waaaay old. Then, my other older brother came along, and they shared a room. These beds were used as bunk beds. When I came along, the boys had long since gotten larger beds and rooms of their own, so naturally these became my beds as twins. I used these beds as until I moved out of my parents house for good when I received my first teaching job near Charlotte, NC way back in 1998. So, needless to say, they are family, and they are perfect for Madeline.

I've been looking for comforters/duvets since I was pregnant since I knew I was getting these beds for Madeline. I happened to stumble upon these duvet covers, and I really liked them. I wanted Madeline's room to be girly yet not too toddler, so that she could use it for awhile. (My hubby appreciates my practical-ness because it doesn't happen very often.)

It just so happens that these duvets match Madeline's nursery curtain, rocking chair cushion, and all of her wall hangings from her nursery, so I am going to work those things into the new room as well. My decorator/friend of a friend, Jim, has taken the curtain in order to find fabric to have bed skirts made since I didn't like the ones that came with the duvets. (you can see swatches in the picture---Eric and I are sure Jim will be responsible for making this room look fantastic as well as many other rooms in our house.)


For Christmas, my parents had their friend make a "dollhouse" bookcase for this room. It's perfect since Madeline loves to read, and it's a cute, girly way to display books in her room.

There is lots to be done yet, but I love working on this room. It's girly, simple, and fun. I can't wait for the finished product!

Eighteen Months Old

YIKES! Madeline is only six months away from being TWO! That, to me, just means that she is a full fledged toddler!

Madeline has a zest for life, and it's so funny to watch her bee-bop around. She will walk up to random strangers if we are walking together and just join in the conversation with a very enthusiastic "HI!" Madeline loves to be around people, and she wins them over with her hilarious antics whether we are in the grocery store or the church nursery. She loves being around other children, and she tries to play with them. Unfortunately, she does lack a few social graces, but with some effort and play dates, we can hopefully correct those. Madeline adores her Daddy, music, dancing, her bunny lovey, and her books. This child is destined to be a reader! She will thumb through chapter books jibber-jabbering away as if she knows what she is reading, and she's memorized so many of her board books. She loves to color, to walk around in my shoes, carry anything on her arm as her purse, be outside, "roughhouse" with her Daddy, and just play. Madeline still enjoys playing independently, but she likes to be within a closer range more so than she used to prefer. If I'm in the kitchen, Madeline has her books, toys, etc. right there near me. If she wanders off down the hallway, she comes back to check to see where I am and what I am doing after a little bit.

Our dear, sweet Madeline has really become a handful as many of my posts have addressed lately. Yes, she is asserting her independence, is very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with her temper and emotions, and has a mind of her own as of late, but I also think this is a stage of frustration. She can understand SO much, but she cannot totally communicate her needs and wants. Therefore, we are left to guess or just "make" her do this, that, and the other. Everyday I have to remind myself that she is going to test boundaries, rules, and limits, and it is our job to enforce those boundaries, rules, and limits. I only pray that Eric and I model the behavior we are preaching in hopes that she will see that we practice what we preach. There are some rules that Madeline continues to challenge as if to question my consistency (seriously, when will she learn that I have 10 years of teaching 5th grade under my belt?), and there are some that one discipline action is enough to curb the behavior.

Madeline's general temperament continues to be happy-go-lucky and obedient. Madeline has adapted to our change over the last 9 months really well, but this month she has shown a tad bit of separation anxiety. I think her Daddy's increasingly busy travels have caused the anxiety to fester and rear it's ugly head. Some days are better than others, but she's cried and clung to me more than she ever has especially in familiar places. We will just power through it, and our little sweetie will learn that Mama always comes back. (Everyone tells me that she calms down almost immediately with an enticing distraction which makes me feel better.)

Madeline has become quite frustrating in the food department lately mostly because her appetite is up and down, & she doesn't want to sit in her chair at the table for a long period of time to eat. However, her use of a little fork and spoon are improving. She loves to use it, and she does pretty well for someone of her age. Her pickiness and aversion to some foods has no rhyme or reason. Some meals she eats like she's never been fed, and some meals she hardly eats a nibble, and it could be all of her favorites. She'd live on Goldfish and Cheez-its (and other similar snacks) if I let her, and I've really curbed the snacking in hopes of creating a very hungry child at mealtimes. Again, if she could communicate just a little more clearly, I think she would operate well under an "A or B" choice for breakfast and lunch, and then that's what SHE chose, so SHE has to eat it or be really hungry. Of course, I am sticking to the dinner rule --- eat what we eat. Black eyed peas and lima beans were part of a recent dinner, so I kept consistent with my rule, and Madeline especially loved the black eyed peas. I quote, "Yummmmmy!" as she shoved a huge fistful of them into her mouth. She ate the very same leftovers for lunch the next day and scarfed them down. So, in addition to Madeline's current favorite foods, I am adding black eyed peas and lima beans. Madeline is not big on sweets, but she discovered chocolate covered raisins and loves them. Ironically, she won't eat plain raisins.

Madeline still does really well in the sleep department. Believe it or not, Madeline's "bewitching hour" is between 11 AM and 1 PM not the typical 4-6 PM. Her afternoon nap can be anywhere from an hour and a half to three and a half hours. I've tweaked her nap time routine, and it's going remarkably well. When it's time for nap, (most days, Madeline will say, "Night Night." when she is ready for a nap/bed), we go upstairs to her room, read a few stories in the rocking chair, have a few snuggles, and down she goes. Rarely, do I hear a peep from her room. She's a great nighttime sleeper sleeping 12-13 hours each night. She's always in bed by 7:30, or we really pay for it the next day. In light of our nap time routine going well, the nighttime ritual is soon to be tweaked as well. (Yes, I admit it --- my 18 month old still gets a bottle with whole milk at bedtime. More on that later.) Unfortunately, Madeline is very attached to her paci, and she's only allowed to have it in her bed right now. I have plans to go cold-turkey on that later this summer when it warms up so I can retreat outside while she screams for her paci because I know she will scream for it.

As challenging as this past month has been as far as having to step up the discipline, this past month has been really fun to watch her grow physically, mentally, and emotionally! Madeline has mastered the stairs going both up and down. Of course, I haven't removed the gates at the stairs, but she is much more confident in her abilities to navigate steps. She's learned how to climb onto chairs, sofas, etc., but luckily for us, she has also figured out how to get down and land on both feet. Madeline's vocabulary continues to explode daily. She is so eager to repeat words, use her new words correctly, try to use simple sentences, point to things wanting to know what it's called, explore how things work, and do things all by herself. It has been amazing to watch her figure problems out on her own. She has really blossomed in that area over the last month, and I have resisted the urge to jump in and do it for her. Before she would try to figure something out, and if her solution didn't work after a minute or so, she gave up and whined for me to help her or found something else to do. Now, she sticks with a task, and her logic has become much more reasonable and well thought out. Therefore she's become successful in accomplishing her tasks she sets out to do, and she's looks at me with a proud smile across her face. It's so cute as if to say, "Look at ME, Mama! I did it all by myself."

As much as Madeline may try our patience or test our boundaries, she hugs, kisses, and blesses us with her "conversations" tenfold each and everyday. Most of all, she is just a lovable, huggable, spunky child, and she's our sweet little Madeline Grace.