She's not up on all fours, but she definitely gets where she needs to go.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Maddie Eats
As the second child, poor Madeline sometimes gets the shaft on the blog. I record her milestones, I take pictures and videos, but sometimes it takes a while for said pictures and videos to get uploaded to the computer and then published. So.... Welcome to Maddie Week! Wherein we will catch up on all of the things our busy little girl has been doing lately. Way back during the first weekend in October, we started Madeline on solids. Getting ready for the big moment: 
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She immediately took to the rice cereal and gobbled it up like a champ:
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She immediately took to the rice cereal and gobbled it up like a champ:Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Emma's Birthday: The Details
I started researching birthday party ideas about 2 months before the actual event. I chose ladybugs because it was cute, classic, non-commercial, and there was a clear color scheme to tie everything together. I had a lot of fun putting together the details and decorative touches.
Things to remember:
*I gave prizes (to everyone) after each game, which each child put into a bag that became the "goody" bag. I thought it was a great idea, and it might be for older children, but three-year-olds can't keep track of their own bags. Plus they had so much fun playing the games that it didn't really matter about prizes. Next time I would keep all prizes for the end.
*Loved these tissue paper pom-poms from Martha. They could work at almost any kind of party.
*Party games! We played classics that I remembered from the backyard birthday parties my mom used to throw for us. Frankly, I could probably play a version of the same games for the next 6 or 7 years.
*I kept a party notebook for ideas and kept internet links on xerpi. I am going to keep that notebook to replicate ideas for future parties.
*I made a schedule for the party and posted it in the kitchen to help myself remember everything in the midst of the controlled chaos. You need to keep toddlers moving!
Things to remember:
*I gave prizes (to everyone) after each game, which each child put into a bag that became the "goody" bag. I thought it was a great idea, and it might be for older children, but three-year-olds can't keep track of their own bags. Plus they had so much fun playing the games that it didn't really matter about prizes. Next time I would keep all prizes for the end.
*Loved these tissue paper pom-poms from Martha. They could work at almost any kind of party.
*Party games! We played classics that I remembered from the backyard birthday parties my mom used to throw for us. Frankly, I could probably play a version of the same games for the next 6 or 7 years.
*I kept a party notebook for ideas and kept internet links on xerpi. I am going to keep that notebook to replicate ideas for future parties.
*I made a schedule for the party and posted it in the kitchen to help myself remember everything in the midst of the controlled chaos. You need to keep toddlers moving!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Emma's 3rd Birthday
For Emma's 3rd birthday we had a ladybug party. You might think that with Emma's Halloween costume, she has a thing for ladybugs. Rather, she has an enthusiasm for life, and when I suggested ladybugs as a theme because I thought it would be cute, she responded with a resounding "Yeah!" We invited over several girls from church for our adventures.
Group shot
Pin the spot on the ladybug 
Throwing beanbags on the leaf 
Playing Musical Spots 
Ladybug Pinata 
Collecting the loot from the pinata
It was a great party, and we all had a lot of fun, even Maddie! Though after it was over I spent the evening with my feet up. :)
Group shot
Pin the spot on the ladybug 
Throwing beanbags on the leaf 
Playing Musical Spots 
Ladybug Pinata 
Collecting the loot from the pinata
It was a great party, and we all had a lot of fun, even Maddie! Though after it was over I spent the evening with my feet up. :)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
November!
After a rainy September and October, November dawned sunny and warm. We have spent the last couple of weeks doing things like this:
I think I have a new favorite month!
I think I have a new favorite month!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Madeline: 6 Months
Madeline turned 6 months old about 10 days ago. (Why oh why am I always late doing this??? I swear I don't love her any less than the first. I just have less time. :)
Stats:
Weight: 12.4 lbs (2%)
Height: 26 inches (61%)
Head: 15.5 inches (1%)
Madeline's supermodel ways continue, and she is slowly falling off the charts in weight. The doctor assures me she's growing perfectly on her growth curve, which is more petite than most, and is not worried at all. Not that I am either--I just wish her pants would stay up! Her head is tiny, about the size of a grapefruit.
What she's been up to lately:
*Chewing, chewing, chewing. She eats anything she can get her hands on, and has a preference for paper and socks.
*She has also started "solid" foods. (An entire post coming on this, as soon as I can figure out how to download videos from the video camera to the new computer). Like most people, she loves her some carbs, fruits (pears, applesauce, peaches, banana), and can do without the vegetables I've tried to stuff in her. She has a delicate appetite, and if I don't time it just right she won't eat anything at all. She still nurses like a champ, though we're trying to cut back on that just a bit and get going on solids.
*She "talks" whenever she isn't chewing on something, which admittedly is not all that often, but often enough that we've noticed it and think it's cute. My favorite is when I bring her downstairs in the morning: she sees her Dad and big sister, smiles wide, and makes a little satisfied, happy "humph" sound. It's adorable.
*Maddie's favorite hobby is to lay on the floor rolling, playing, chewing. It works for me! She can move around the majority of the family room, but has yet to venture further afield. A change this month is that instead of moving randomly, she moves very deliberately when she sees something she wants. It makes us very careful of what we leave out!
*Her legs are almost ALWAYS moving, even when she's asleep!
*Madeline has been working out her abs. She sort of sits independently, if you count independently as 30 seconds or less. In the bathtub I have a sling I usually lay her on, and lately she's been bending her body in a V shape so her legs and her head are in the air.
*If Emma is our drama queen, then Maddie is our mellow girl. She sleeps well, eats well, and is happy being dragged wherever we take her.
We love our little lady, and can't believe it's been six months already!
Stats:
Weight: 12.4 lbs (2%)
Height: 26 inches (61%)
Head: 15.5 inches (1%)
Madeline's supermodel ways continue, and she is slowly falling off the charts in weight. The doctor assures me she's growing perfectly on her growth curve, which is more petite than most, and is not worried at all. Not that I am either--I just wish her pants would stay up! Her head is tiny, about the size of a grapefruit.
What she's been up to lately:
*Chewing, chewing, chewing. She eats anything she can get her hands on, and has a preference for paper and socks.
*She has also started "solid" foods. (An entire post coming on this, as soon as I can figure out how to download videos from the video camera to the new computer). Like most people, she loves her some carbs, fruits (pears, applesauce, peaches, banana), and can do without the vegetables I've tried to stuff in her. She has a delicate appetite, and if I don't time it just right she won't eat anything at all. She still nurses like a champ, though we're trying to cut back on that just a bit and get going on solids.
*She "talks" whenever she isn't chewing on something, which admittedly is not all that often, but often enough that we've noticed it and think it's cute. My favorite is when I bring her downstairs in the morning: she sees her Dad and big sister, smiles wide, and makes a little satisfied, happy "humph" sound. It's adorable.
*Maddie's favorite hobby is to lay on the floor rolling, playing, chewing. It works for me! She can move around the majority of the family room, but has yet to venture further afield. A change this month is that instead of moving randomly, she moves very deliberately when she sees something she wants. It makes us very careful of what we leave out!
*Her legs are almost ALWAYS moving, even when she's asleep!
*Madeline has been working out her abs. She sort of sits independently, if you count independently as 30 seconds or less. In the bathtub I have a sling I usually lay her on, and lately she's been bending her body in a V shape so her legs and her head are in the air.
*If Emma is our drama queen, then Maddie is our mellow girl. She sleeps well, eats well, and is happy being dragged wherever we take her.
We love our little lady, and can't believe it's been six months already!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween 2009
The festivities began on Wednesday with the Church Trunk-or-Treat.
Do you know what 200 pieces of candy looks like?
Emma was a bit bewildered by all the activity. We had to remind her how to trick-or-treat.
Thursday night was a carnival at the library. It was adorable, with games, a scavenger hunt, treats...they even gave us a free book! Unfortunately, 2 kids + 1 mom + a crowd = no pictures.
We started off the actual day by heading to the pumpkin patch. Yes, I know, we were a little behind the game this year. (Though, come to think of it, we didn't go at all last year...)
I'll take the one on the right!
Later that afternoon we headed for "Scare on the Square."
Around sunset it was time to hit up the neighborhood:
Maddie fell apart shortly after this picture was taken, so I took her home for a bath and bedtime. Dave and Emma were out for about an hour. As darkness fell, she began to get nervous about the other kids in costumes and reminded her father that it was bedtime, so they trekked home. All in all a fun week! Emma is especially thrilled about having candy for "bessert" after dinner.
Do you know what 200 pieces of candy looks like?
Emma was a bit bewildered by all the activity. We had to remind her how to trick-or-treat.
Thursday night was a carnival at the library. It was adorable, with games, a scavenger hunt, treats...they even gave us a free book! Unfortunately, 2 kids + 1 mom + a crowd = no pictures.
We started off the actual day by heading to the pumpkin patch. Yes, I know, we were a little behind the game this year. (Though, come to think of it, we didn't go at all last year...)
I'll take the one on the right!
Later that afternoon we headed for "Scare on the Square."
Around sunset it was time to hit up the neighborhood:
Maddie fell apart shortly after this picture was taken, so I took her home for a bath and bedtime. Dave and Emma were out for about an hour. As darkness fell, she began to get nervous about the other kids in costumes and reminded her father that it was bedtime, so they trekked home. All in all a fun week! Emma is especially thrilled about having candy for "bessert" after dinner.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A Conversation
We gave Emma a refresher course on how to trick-or-treat last night.
Me: Emma, what do you say when someone opens the door?
E: Hello! (with much enthusiasm)
She still came home with plenty of loot! Pictures to come...
Me: Emma, what do you say when someone opens the door?
E: Hello! (with much enthusiasm)
She still came home with plenty of loot! Pictures to come...
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