o christmas tree

madelyn added "bite" to her vocabulary this morning - as in "could i have a bite of your cereal, mom?". since madelyn was in the mood for sharing this morning, i decided that we should discuss her sharing in the church nursery so that she isn't the room "bully" any more. she told me that "yes" she would "share" at church today. and she repeated to say "share" as she played with her toys before we had to leave.

and there were lots of new things once we got to church too. it started as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. instead of crying when we pulled into the parking lot, madelyn called out "church" excitedly! and she repeated "church" a few more times as we parked. she did cry for a little bit when we got to her room and were taking off her coat. by the time we got off her outer layers she was happy and ready to go. but we got a surprise, madelyn was moving up to the toddler room today! the nursery folks bring her over to the toddler room halfway through the service so that she can get used to it and be ready when we drop her off there next week. everyone expressed that she was ready to be with the rest of the toddlers. at least some of them are her size - or almost that tall.

after church we went to run a few errands before the snow started since maddie and i would be indoors for a few days. between this afternoon and tomorrow morning we are expected to get anywhere from 6-8 inches of snow. and tomorrow it is forecasted to be really windy and really cold so we won't get to play in it until later in the week.

so since we were inside for the day by noon, matt went down to the basement for our christmas tree. (we have used a fake tree for years - we miss the smell but it is very convenient.) madelyn didn't quite know what to think about the tree parts. but once it was together and lit up she was pretty amazed and checked it out from every angle. we didn't get the reaction we were expecting. when she saw the exterior lights she was really excited and "wow" was said over and over, louder and louder. it might not have been her immediate reaction, but once she woke up from her nap and saw it all decorated then she was excited! i missed her reaction, but here she is giving a tour of the christmas tree's ornaments. bear is along because she just woke up.



she also went from a few flurries before she went down to a few inches of snow when she woke up. she was pretty excited about that too, but thankfully she didn't ask to go outside. madelyn has the start of a little bit of a cold. one of those where the congestion isn't really bad, but things are draining into her lungs. i am praying that it will be short-lived since i am heading out of town for a business trip next week and she will be spending the days with one of the neighbors and her son.

matt called me into the bathroom for bath time because madelyn had put on some new 'shoes'. this was the most modest of her poses to show me her 'shoes' and the only one that could possibly be posted. she would put them on her feet and then stick her legs straight up in the air, sliding backwards into the bath water.

i also managed to overhear her asking to have her hair "rinse". i asked matt if i had heard correctly and he said that she was saying "rinse" while trying to hand him the bucket we use to rinse her hair. and one rinse was not enough. he had repeated requests until bath time was finally over.

one last note for the day, in addition to saying "color" (to request to color and to demand that you color) and "i color" (while coloring) madelyn says "sitting" to let you know that she is indeed sitting. sometimes she uses it as a request for us to get her stool so that she can sit while coloring.

i am sure that there will be more snow posts for you all to look forward to this week. love.

thanksgiving visit

papa, nana, and uncle derek flew home yesterday and we were glad to have gotten to spend some time with them. unfortunately, i didn't get a lot of pictures (at least with everyone dressed and cleaned up - most were early morning pics). but we did do more than just eat thanksgiving dinner. what trip to visit maddie would be complete without a personal tour of the milwaukee zoo? it was a beautiful day to be outside and not terribly cold. i didn't even wear a coat - although i probably should have...

madelyn had a lot of fun holding every one's hands as we walked around checking out all the exhibits. we paused to take pictures at the photo-op outside the giraffe house. madelyn was really excited about putting her head through the whole after watching daddy and uncle derek do it first. but she was so excited that she just kept looking at the giraffe to see what she looked like - at least nana smiled in this picture.

as always, madelyn fell asleep by the time we got back to the house and stayed asleep for almost 4 hours! we had to wake her up so that we could head out for some cheese shopping and dinner.

cheese shopping is a popular activity for all of our out of town guests. not only is cheese here delicious, but the store we take them to offers samples of their cheese and produce. madelyn has learned that this is a tasty stop as well.

after stocking up on cheese, we took papa, nana, and uncle derek out for sushi (one of matt's favorites). papa and nana had never had sushi before and i don't think that they were very excited about trying it, but they were good sports about it. all in all, i don't think it was their favorite, but it wasn't too bad. madelyn had a lot of fun eating with chopsticks. we eat with chopsticks from time to time at home (because i love it) and madelyn was so happy to finally get a try at using them. she liked how she could dip them in the tempura sauce and that the rice would stick to them long enough to make it to her mouth. she also insisted that i use my set to feed her rice. it was difficult to get my chopsticks into her mouth with her sitting on my lap - i couldn't see her mouth.

we spent saturday like most other families - watching college football. unfortunately, uncle derek had to head to the airport before getting to see his GT alma mater win. but it was really good that they left saturday because they might have had delays today.

love.

happy thanksgiving!

we were planning on eating dinner at dinner time (around 5pm) so that left the morning open for testing out madelyn's new sled in the little bit of snow remaining in our yard. madelyn was all too ready to get outside and play in the snow. she was very cooperative as i went through the process of layering her up. she really wanted to sit in the sled and i pulled her around the yard for a little bit. after we got down to the sidewalk i had her get out so that i could carry the sled back up to a snowier part of the yard. and then she pushed the sled around by herself. listen closely to here her laugh.


it only took about 30 minutes for matt to get restless being inside this morning and he set out to put up the christmas lights. he an derek were out at work when i came out with maddie. matt hates putting the lights up because of how steep the roof line is, but he loves me so much that he does it anyway. it was nice that uncle derek was around to help him. madelyn was pretty interested in what was going on, but hid behind me like she was scared seeing daddy up so high. madelyn has never seen our house all decorated for christmas and i am so excited to see what she thinks of it all!

once daddy was done with the lights he showed madelyn what 'real' sledding is like. here was the first attempt...

and the roughest part of sledding is climbing back up the hill. (when seeing the video remember that matt has to mow this steep hill! when the grass is wet it is very easy to slip all the way down - matt and i both have done this.) madelyn is getting really good at walking up and down the hill without help and without falling. in warmer weather she likes to walk down so that she can swing on our porch swing hanging under the deck. she asked to "swing" today, but with the melting snow it was just too wet.

back to sledding. here is her third trip down in the sled. she almost ends up tipping over, but it is a much better push from daddy.


after eating our huge dinner we took madelyn out to see the christmas lights on our house for the first time. after a little delay there were several excited, and loud, "wow!" exclamations. i missed getting video, but here is a picture of her and daddy checking things out. i can't wait to take her out to look at lights closer to christmas. it is so much fun to see her experience things for the first time. love.

happy 30th birthday, daddy (yesterday)

poor daddy had to work on his birthday, so madelyn and i entertained papa, nana, and uncle derek. we went to get some lunch at a mexican restaurant (their favorite type of food) in a converted train station. madelyn really liked her lunch and the decor of the restaurant.

then we went to target to get madelyn some christmas presents so that papa and nana wouldn't have to ship them later. one of the items we picked up is sort of a present for daddy too. madelyn got a red toddler sled (more on that in the next post). after trying it out in the store, she was very upset to have to get out so that we could buy it and take it home. it didn't help that it was very much nap time either. she was passed out before we could get home.

at daddy's request, we took him out for a bar-b-que dinner to celebrate his birthday. and madelyn ate her first cheeseburger (see picture). well, she took a few bites before eating just the bun and picking off the cheese to eat. she also ate daddy and my corn on the cops.

lastly, here is some video of her walking around in my snow shoes because she wanted to go out and play in the snow. it is so funny how she walks with one of them on backwards.

madelyn and i love daddy very much and feel very lucky to have helped to celebrate his big 3-0 birthday! love.

too, too much to remember

okay, so here is a quick post to catch a few things that i forgot to mention yesterday.

- madelyn now remembers the activities of the day. we can ask her questions about the day and she will answer "yes" or "no" correctly. sometimes she even adds extra details from her rapidly expanding vocabulary. dinner conversations now include three. it is a lot of fun for us to 'quiz' her about the day's activities and it is a really nice way to let daddy hear about it straight from madelyn.

- "read it" is another common request for anything containing printed words - books, magazines, coloring books, etc.

all of our thanksgiving house guests arrived safely this evening. and tomorrow the eating begins! love.

few more notes

every time i post i think of something i forgot, so here are a few odds and ends...

- madelyn can definitely open door knobs now. she cannot be contained without baby locks any more. oh boy!

- "i color" is how madelyn talks about coloring. she says "color" to ask to color, but once crayons are in hand she tells me over and over that "i color". she is so proud. she is getting much better at actually coloring on the paper more than just lines/strokes.

- if something drops or gets away from her, when she picks it up she says "got it". tonight it was in reference to the bubbles in her bath. every time she would catch one with her hand she would say "got it".

- "fish" and "beach" are new words. she loves fish (to see and eat) so it was just a matter of time before she called them/it by name. "beach" was a little more of a surprise because we were looking at pictures of lorelai at the beach. i was telling madelyn about lorelai's bathing suit and sunglasses, but madelyn said "beach". it took me a minute to realize that the picture's background was indeed the beach. such a smartie!

- madelyn now likes to let me know when something is "stuck". this has really helped with her frustration in the car. she can tell me that the toy she wants is "stuck" instead of just getting more and more frustrated that i am not helping her when i can't see why she is upset; now she can tell me.

- one of the ladies from the church nursery was telling me how much she loves madelyn. that she is so happy, energetic, and a bully! she said that madelyn will go up to other kids and take their toy saying "no" to their stunned faces. she will then come back all friendly and say "hi" happily like nothing had happened. i was surprised to hear this since she is often offering toys up to share with friends and doesn't get upset when i tell her that something isn't hers and she can't have it. at least it doesn't appear to be a problem (this lady meant it as a compliment - i think). madelyn will be moving up to the older toddlers room in december anyway so she will have a harder time being a bully with the older kids.

love.

snow day

i know that yesterday i said posting would be sporadic, but how could i not post about the first real snow of the year?! we got a little over 2 inches last night and woke up to a blanket of white - i love that. plus, madelyn doesn't remember snow from last year so today was sort of like her first snow. when she woke up i told her to hurry and look outside with me. i don't think that she was quite as excited as i was, but she did go and get matt's hat to put on her head.

while eating her breakfast she looked at the deck and the backyard where the dogs had already had fun in the snow and said "uh-oh" over and over. i am not sure if it was because the snow was all tracked through or that it was all over the patio furniture and grill; either way she was distressed.

after breakfast i asked if she wanted to go outside and play in the snow. this was met with a strong "yes" and "side" as she headed to the door. i explained that we need to get all dressed for the snow and i got my first experience of layering up a toddler in snow gear. it wasn't really too cold today (mid-30s), but i should have bundled her a little heavier on top. oh well. she couldn't have cared less! we got her these bib overall snow pants and she didn't really like having them on at first because they were a little (a lot) big. but once i got her jacket on over it she settled down and ran to find her boots. once boots, gloves, and a hat were added to her outfit we were ready to go outside for a little bit.

madelyn didn't quite know what to make of the snow at first. you can see in the video that it took her a little bit (and my lead) to take a few steps out into the snowy yard. i like how she gave a little laugh after each of her first steps to squish the snow. this video is pretty long and not that eventful, but it is her first steps out into the snow. i was trying to capture it for matt since he was at work. i hate it when he has to miss a first.

she really started to understand the appeal when i showed her how to make snowballs. well, how i could make snowballs. she kept asking me for another and another wanting each one to be bigger than the last. she didn't really like how the snow stuck to her gloves - at first. after a while she stopped caring. this next video is shorter - i promise.

after playing around for a while we could hear some of the neighbor kids out having fun in the snow too. that was all madelyn needed. off she headed down the sidewalk to see who was out and about in the snow. i wasn't really planning on being out so long, but once madelyn saw michael and dylan in their yard she yelled an excited "hi"! and then michael came down to hold madelyn's hand up the hill to his house. madelyn was so excited to see that other kids played in the snow too. plus, michael and dylan know what they are doing and have lots of shovels and toys to play with in the snow.

we went out again in the afternoon because madelyn was carrying around her jacket saying "side" and trying to get me to come to the door with her. she was much more excited about the snow this time, but i left the camera downstairs and couldn't run in to get it. she was picking up the snow and throwing it up in the air over her head. i don't know where she got that idea from at all. i didn't show her and i don't think that she has really seen snow fall before. no matter where she got the idea, she had a great time doing it. she also liked trying to pick up the biggest pieces of snow she could from when matt shovelled the driveway this morning before work. after a while she was covered in snow head to toe and i had to carry her in kicking and screaming when it started to get dark - she was not done yet.

surprisingly, it snowed more after matt got home. i told him that he should take maddie out really quick to actually see the snow falling. matt threw on a coat and i wrapped maddie up in a blanket so that they could stand outside before it stopped. madelyn liked being wrapped in a blanket so much that she kept requesting it to be wrapped back around her shoulders every time it fell off. i wrapped it around her like a towel with the end tucked in so that it became a dress for her. she was so cute prancing around in the blanket dress. i took some cuter pictures, but this one shows one of her favorite pouting poses in the kitchen. i forget why she was pouting, but the back bend off the refrigerator always makes me laugh. love.