Madeline's very big day

I skipped the Tuesday Ten this week for a very important reason.

Madeline had her spring concert.

Now if you have never been to a preschool concert you have never fully lived. Why you ask? Because the 40+ kiddos in Madeline's school invite their 200+ family members and we all crowd into the sanctuary of church to watch our little darlings sing songs and fidget with their clothing.

And they there are the mama and paparazzi, aka. the swarm of parents trying to get the money shot of their child. You know the one. Where they are smiling adorably and don't have a finger up their nose. Yep, that's the one.

Then the 40+ preschoolers and their 200+ family members crowd into the fellowship hall where these hyped up 2-5 year olds are then presented with a table full of sweets just minutes from bed time. (or after bedtime in the case of my little sleepy darlings!)

OH and the PUNCH!! It isn't a church function without punch! Red punch which ends up mostly on the carpet or clothing. I don't know if I've ever ACTUALLY tasted church punch... Hmmmm...

It is truly a cultural experience.

But I digress... This post is about Madeline right? Right.

To say that Madeline was excited about her concert was an understatement. Kevin and I have learned when it comes to events it is best to give Madeline very few details and general time frames.

For example: Her birthday is coming up so we keep telling her it is next week but give her no more details than that.

But this concert was the talk of the classroom and she was amped up to the max for it. She started asking the previous week when her concert was and if we could go now and who was going to be there and what she was going to wear and what treats we were going to bring and if there were other parents and if they were all there to watch her and if she could wear tights and what the temperature was going to be and if all her friends would be there and what color the carpet was and how long we would all stay and and and

Catch my drift?

By 2pm the day of the concert Madeline was already in full on crazy mode. Jumping up and down, talking non stop and asking the above questions just at the rate of the micro machines guy.

By 3pm she took it upon herself to get dressed in her "fancies." Even after I explained that she had to STOP JUMPING UP AND DOWN if she was going to be wearing fancy clothes. (This kinda worked.)

By 4pm she was pacing the floors and asking every 20 to 30 seconds when we were going to be leaving.

At 5pm we were having dinner and she temporarily forgot about the excitement to come but by 6pm she was back in full out BRING IT! mode. (It is imporant to note that during dinner Madeline went the the bathroom three times.)

At 6:30pm (after visiting the rest room one more time) we left her in her classroom with her teacher who afterwards told Kevin that she was literally bouncing off of the furniture. (The teacher made note of this because this unusual behavior for Madeline at school... at home all bets are off.)

At 7pm the program started.




skidamarinky dinky dink, skidamarinky do

I love you!



I don't know if you can tell from her flailing hands, but Lydia was impressed and very entertained!

It is at this point, a little more than half way through her program that Madeline runs out the side door with her teacher. Why? So she can go to the bathroom! Ugh.

But she returned to finish the show with flair!


Madeline was fantastic.

By 7:10pm it was all over.

We stayed just long enough to eat a cookie and thank her teachers and then we were out of there. Madeline was so proud of herself but not as proud as we were. It is amazing to see how fearless she is. She knows no stranger and loves to perform with her class mates. What an amazing love for life this girl has. She teaches me more about living each and every day. Amazing.

Oh and what did 8pm look like?

Happy Birthday G.G.

Friday was a huge day in our family. Kevin's grandmother celebrated a very special birthday. If I told you how old she is I'd be in a lot of trouble. She really doesn't want people to know even though I want to shout it from the rooftops if/when I reach that age.

Don't think you can twist my arm. I'm not telling. Instead I am going to give you some interesting facts that a close family friend shared with us to celebrate her birthday. (Thank you Deb!)

In 1911* there were only 144 miles of paved roads and gasoline was sold in cans at the grocery store. And speaking of cans, canned beer had not yet been invented but you could walk to your corner druggist and buy marijuana, morphine and heroin over the counter without a prescription. Wild!

To celebrate G.G.'s birthday we all had dinner at her apartment building and celebrated with cake for all the residents.

Madeline snarfed down her roll.

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that my girls are getting to know their great grandmother's. (My maternal grandma is still around too...) The bond that Madeline, in particular, has with G. G. is something to see. We are so very lucky to have such a strong role model for our girls.

Happy very special Birthday G.G!










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*Shhh.... let's keep that our little secret now won't we. You can read Grandma's 99th birthday post (and the story of how Lydia got her name) here.

Playing Catch Up, vol. II

October 19. 2010

So after celebrating Lydia's birthday with about 60 people we spent her actual birthday very low key.

This (mini) cup cake I did make!

She devoured her first birthday cupcake.

So did Madeline.

We decided not to go totally crazy with gifts for Lydia's birthday. We usually don't go to wild with birthday gifts in general. Knowing that Lydia would get a ton of stuff from family added to the fact that we have accumulated a ton of stuff in Madeline's 3 1/2 short years of life Lydia wasn't really in want or need of anything. We chose to let Madeline pick out a gift for Lydia instead.

At her party she had no interest in her gifts. She was way into this one though.

Look at that happy face!

Madeline chose this blue haired friend for Lydia all on her own. If you've been around this bligity-blog since the dark ages you might remember this post from when Madeline got her Grover. Lydia had recently taken a liking to Madeline's Grovie and although she never really protested I think Madeline was really sick of sharing her lovie. Lydia's Grover has been a favorite since her birthday and, just like her sister, sleeps with Grovie each and every night.

Lydia did get some light reading materials as well.

It is hard to believe Lydia is one. She is a bucket of fun and cuter ever single day. I mean how can you not smile when you see that face?

That is unless you are dead inside.

Just sayin'.

Playing Catch Up, vol. I

I have a lot of catching up to do on this here bligity-blog. I have decided not to overwhelm you my dear reader and slowly catch up. So let's start way back in October of 2010. Do you remember October? After September, before November? Usually the peak of the beautiful fall colors. At least it is here in the Gateway to the West. Do you remember 2010? It was just 10 days ago? No? Me either.

I'm not here to talk about the past. (10 points to the first person to identify that reference...)

Ok, I apologize for the detour. I think I'm done.

Let's catch up...

Invitations, designed by me.

On October 16th I turned 31 and we threw Lydia a first birthday party. If you've been around this bligity-blog a while you may remember we threw a similar party for Madeline's first birthday. First birthday's are a big deal for us and we want to share it with all those who helped us get to this point in our lives. Even if that is 40+ people!

The Birthday Buffet

No, I did not make this cake.

I didn't make this one either.

Usually the more shy of our two kiddos, Lydia did enjoy a room full of people singing to her!

She barely got messy. She may not be my daughter.
Wait, I was there when she was born so, I take that back.

Before opening presents she took a moment to enjoy a spot of tea with Aunt Beth.

She had such a good day!

It really was the best way to celebrate Lydia's big day! Thank you to all who were physically there, as well as there in spirit!

A letter to my second daugther on her first birthday

Top to bottom, left to right: October 2009 through September 2010

Happy Birthday Lydia.

Today you turn one and, as cliche as it is, I can hardly believe it. To mark this occasion I have decided to finally write the story of your birth. It wasn't dramatic, but it was ours. I hope you enjoy it.
__________

Friday, October 16, 2009

Three days before you were born I celebrated my birthday with a doctors appointment. (Not exactly how I thought I spend my 30th birthday but what ever!) According to the doctor I was getting closer to your delivery, but it could have been an hour or a week away.

I was ready for you to be born. Really ready.

Your Dad couldn't wait either not to mention your very excited big sister.

So, on my 30th birthday, I scheduled an induction for 12am Monday morning. I was going to meet my second baby, my #2.
__________

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

After dinner at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's, Dad and I kissed your sister goodbye and left her in the capable hands of your grandparents. At home we packed the last minute items into a bag, tooth brush, deodorant, chap stick. It felt like we were packing for a weekend away. At 10pm I called the hospital to make sure they had a bed for us. They asked us to come in at 12:30am. So we waited, we tried to sleep a little and as I rested you kicked around. I like to think you were excited too.
__________

Monday, October 19th, 2009

We left the house about midnight and as your dad drove I sat very uncomfortably next to him. I was having small contractions all the way to the hospital. Once they checked us into the hospital and hooked me up to the monitors it showed that I was in fact having some contractions. You were as ready to meet us as we were to meet you. They started my induction at about 1:25am. Dad tried to sleep a bit. I rested as best I could hooked up to machines and IVs and all.

At some point in the mid morning hours (around 7:25am I think) the doctor came in to check on me. She had just finished an emergency C-section and wondered if she had enough time to go home for breakfast. She didn't.

What seemed like moments later I was ready to push. With the doctor and Dad at the ready I pushed for a total of maybe 10 minutes. I think it was three pushes and you were here. At exactly 8am my second daughter was born.
_________

Now, a year later, there is so much that could write about: How you have changed our lives. The love that you and your sister share. Your very first steps. The silly way you dance. Your goofy ear to ear grin. Instead I will just say that you are a perfect fit for our family and you will always fit perfectly in my heart.

Love,
Mom

mg

Iowa 2010, Part I

Two weeks ago (because I am about that far behind on everything in my life including laundry and dishes (just kidding (sort of))) we hopped* in the car and headed north to Iowa.

It was a very eventful weekend. The weekend started with a 5 hour car ride with two small children. That is not fun. Period. I know there are a million websites that will tell you that traveling with kids is great if you have the right stuff to keep them entertained, but that is just a bunch of crap. You know what I need? A never ending supply of DVD's for my three year old and a intergalactic transporter a la 'beam me up Scotty" for my 10 month old. Just kidding of course. They don't let children that young transport alone.

So after a short nap for Lydia and about an hour of mild fussing by both the girls we stopped for lunch at a park. I was navigating and as we got off the highway the road I directed Kevin onto turned into a gravel road only 100 yards off the highway exit. He was more than skeptical.

But I didn't lead him astray and we found a park with picnic tables and a play ground for the girl to burn off some energy.


Did I mention it was freezing? It was freezing.

Eventually we got the girls to go back into the car. It was like we were torturing them or something. Hell in a Nissan. We are so flippin' mean.

Eventually we made it to Iowa to hang out with Quentin and his parents.

Madeline promptly found a even smaller spot to hang out in. See! She loved torture by Nissan.

They didn't spend all weekend in a bucket.

The train table was pretty cool too.

Tomorrow's installment: How Aaron and Jenny got me to clean their entire bathroom, do two loads of laundry AND apologize for it! Stay tuned!
__________
* and by hopped I mean we spent hours packing to leave the house for only three days and two nights.


mg

"in and out" day

Today is a celebratory day in our household. Today we celebrate "in and out" day. Lydia was born 40 weeks and one day ago. This marks the day that she has been in our arms longer than she was in my belly.

I think Lydia is happy about that too.


Oh this girl. She is all smiles and a laugh a minute at only 9 months old. I can't wait to see what the next 40 weeks brings for her!

That smile will be getting a post all its own very, very soon.

Read about our first "in and out" day here.

mg

Madeline is three

and what a third birthday she had! We started the day bright and early and headed to the zoo with some friends. (more on that later)

Our first stop was the sting rays.


They suggest you lay your hands flat in the water in order to get the sting rays to swim up to be 'petted' but Madeline spent most of the time with her hands just above the water. Eventually she got brave and put her hands in, only to be splashed by a passing ray. She thought that was pretty funny.

So I said we were there with friends, and oh boy were we! We met three families at the zoo (very impromptu). There were 12 of us. Four mothers. One 5 year old. Five 3 year olds. Two under 1.

Did you get that... ::FIVE:: 3 year olds!!! One of the mom's commented that we probably looked like a preschool. I'd say we looked more like a five ring circus!

There are 6 of the 8 kiddos and one mom. A circus I tell you.


Hanging with the hippos.

I promised Madeline a birthday train ride, so after the rest of the kiddos headed home for lunch Madeline, Lydia and I boarded the train.


Of course she wore her new '3' shirt.

On our way home I let her pick where we stopped to get lunch. She chose a chicken quesadilla so we brought it home and had a picnic while we watched a little tv.

Eventually we ate the dinner she chose. We had hot dogs, mac and cheese, pineapple and carrots. A very three year old meal if ever there was one.

Then cake.


And family presents.

I think this might be the only photo with all four of us since our time in the hospital. We need to get a real photo very soon.Preferably one where Kevin and I don't look like we are about to sneeze and Lydia's face isn't buried in my arm pit. (That is very normal for her when she is tired. She nuzzles my chest and arm and will close her eyes and doze with her face in my chest or arms.)

And this face:


Was for this present:

My big girl got "her very own bike."

She had been talking about getting her "very own bike" for months. She was surprised and obviously very happy. She looks so very grown up on her "very own bike"!

mg

yesterday was a big day

So big in fact that we are still in recovery mode.

We gave her a pretty special present though.

This was her reaction:


Don't let the suspense kill you. I'll be back tomorrow with the whole shabang!

mg

Happy Birthday Big Girl

Dear Madeline,

Happy third birthday. I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. Thank you for making me smile every single day for the last 1,095 days. Lovies Loula Belle.

Forever, Momma


Today has been a spectacular day. (Both in fun and exhaustion.) More tomorrow. Until then...

mg

Goodbye two

So what does a girl do on her last day being two?

Watch a Wonder Pets marathon while eating breakfast which causes you to narrate the rest of your day in song. (Please sing the following lines in your best operatic voice...) "I'm gonna spray your hair!!!! No I don't want any milk!!! Do they have a bathroom here?!?!?"

I. am. sewious.

Do a little ballet in the morning. (or maybe a lot as the case may be)

Take a dip in the pool with Sheep, Zebra and Santa Claus.

Make your little sister wear a totally ridiculous (but amazingly adorable) hair bow.

Meet a buddy at the park for a picnic play date and some pre-birthday brownies. (Thanks Leo and Becca! Our afternoon was awesome and so were the brownies!)

Have a frank discussion with your sister on what it is like to be a big kid while getting tips from your older (by two weeks) buddy on how to be three.

So how do I feel about saying goodbye to my 2 year old? Frankly I'm a little sad. Although challenging, our two year old has been a lot of fun too. As much as I look forward to her growing up, I am a little sad to say goodbye to my first baby.

Here's to tomorrow!

mg