My First...

Day of preschool!

Ok technically today was the second day of preschool but wouldn't know know it a bug kept her home for the "first" day. So today was HER first day.

She couldn't be more ready to go to school.

She busted out in a first day of school dance.

I gave her a perfect 10.

I always give her a perfect 10.

Her new back pack is from here. She picked it out herself. It is the junior size and it still looks like it might swallow her up whole. I guess sometimes she's still my little Loula Belle.


She'll always be my little girl.

Go get 'em bits.

mg

My first...

Niece!!!!!

Meet Juliette Adrianna.

She was born this morning at 7:17am. She is so very small and it makes me wonder if my girls were ever that small. I have have been assured that they were.

The very tired, but very happy parents. I can hardly believe that my little brother is a dad. He is going to be a very awesome one at that.

Madeline is even more excited about Juliette than I expected. She couldn't wait to visit her and spent much of the time there rubbing her head and giving her kisses. She must have asked to hold her a million times. Right after this photo was taken Madeline leaned in close and whispered, "I love you" to Juliette. Then I died. But came back as I didn't want to harm my beautiful *little* niece. (MY NIECE!!!!)

She spent the longest time just staring at her. Then reality hit, and she remembered she was a high energy 3 year old and she wanted to run around and play with the hospital bed.

And this guy...

not only is he a natural newborn baby holder, but he is an uncle now too!

Now for my favorite photo of the day!

Madeline isn't at all possessive. Nope, not Madeline.

Congratulations Elliot and Kathy! She is the perfect addition to our family.

Welcome Jules! We are thrilled to welcome you to our family! We can't wait to see the shenanigans you and your big cousins will get into as you all grow. For now stay small, stay sweet and stay beautiful. Some thing you are very good at already!

mg

My First....

Road Trip! (for Lydia at least)

Two weekends ago we packed our bags for Lydia's first road trip. Our destination was Overland Park, Kansas.

On our way.

Why Overland Park, Kansas. Well, why not?

Let me rewind. When I graduated high school I spent two years at Truman State University. My sophomore (and final) year I was a Student Assistant (SA) in the dorms and worked with some of the most amazing people. Over that year, I grew a lot as an individual and learned so much about myself and my place in the world and a lot of that growth has to do with the company I kept. Although I didn't return the following school year, the friends I made that year mean more to me that most of them will ever know.

Dobson Hall staff 1999-2000. It is hard to see but there are 13 of us in this photo. Eleven of us are wearing plaid. Gotta love the 90's.

Two of those friends are Adrienne and Michelle. Although we lost touch for a while these girls have become a huge part of my emotional support system over the last three years. Through the magic of technology and e-mail, I truly believe I am (emotionally) closer to them now than I was more than 10 years ago despite being (physically) very far away. One is in Nebraska, the other in Georgia.

In order to get us all together we decided we were going to have to pick a location that would be easy for all of us to get to. We chose KC because it was about the same distance drive for Adrienne and I and cheaper for Michelle to fly to than many other central Midwest destinations.

We honestly didn't do anything Kansas City related. We chose a hotel with a pool in a suburban and residential area with many parks. We met to spend time together and only spend time together. It was awesome.

Our lives are so very different than they were 10 years ago. All three of us are married, and we have four children (and one on the way) all three and under between us. Not to mention that our husbands had never really met each other. Even with all that, it was such a fun weekend for all of us.

Madeline playing ball in the hotel lobby with Alexander (3) on Friday night.

Our room faced the pool court yard.
Madeline was ready to hit the pool the moment we checked in.

Double trouble.
That mirror kept her entertained for a very long time.

Us now.
Michelle, Adrienne (who is 7 months pregnant and looks amazing!) and me.
Man, I look like a giant.

While we hung out, we let the kids play in traffic.
Devon (1.5) Madeline and Alexander

We picked up right where we left off and couldn't be bothered to stop our conversations for a photo. Don't you love Lydia grabbing her sister and Madeline recoiling in fear?

We broke from our conversation for a second.

The whole gang.
The guys are (l to r) Paul, Kevin and Bharath.

After a long, amazing weekend:

the girls passed out on the way home.

Traveling with small children was stressful but I can say without a doubt that the trip was more than worth it. The girls left the kiddos with the guys and had a wonderful lunch together and we even squeezed in a shopping trip.

To my dear friends:

Thank you. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for listening to my stories. Thank you for giving the best advice I could ask for, even when it isn't what I want to hear, I need to hear it. Thank you for traveling to KC to spend time together. Thank you for having excellent taste in spouses (because I enjoyed the time with your guys as much as I enjoyed my time with you)! Thank you for having such adorable and wonderful children. Madeline enjoyed them both! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Maureen


mg

My second...

trip to the children's ER.

Read about her first visit here.

Yep, that's Madeline with a nasty gash on her eye lid.

At 9am she fell and hit her head on the coffee table in our family room. Although we stopped the bleeding quickly we took her to the doctor to have it looked at because of how close it was to her eye.

The marks you see below her eye are mainly scrapes. That cut above her eye, on the lid, was a pretty gnarly looking cut that was surprisingly deep and gaping open. That coffee table was vicious.

After meeting with the doctor he confirmed that her eye is great, but the gash needed more attention then the pediatrician's office could handle so they sent us to the ER.

After two and a half hours (and only maybe 30 minutes total of medical staff interactions, oh how I hate waiting) she was cleaned up, and glued back together.


After one ice pack, three stickers, one cookie, Bread Company for lunch, two popsicles and a brownie sundae she was feeling much better.

I am exhausted.

We just returned from a few days away from home and today was suppose to be our catch up day. So much for that. (more about our weekend road trip soon)

I have more photos detailing our day, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

A HUGE thanks to:
-my mother in law for rushing over to the house to stay with Lydia during the doctor/er drama, Maw Maw rocks
-to my mother for leaving work on a very busy day and visiting with us in the hospital as we waited, it was a great distraction. Thank you Granny!
-Kevin, for being off work this morning so I didn't have to do this alone, and calling in to work so he could be there with Madeline (his love for our girls never ceases to amaze me)
-my dad for cooking me dinner as I had no energy left, so yummy
-Madeline, for being a super trooper through the whole ordeal and keeping me smiling and laughing all day long

Before I forget, my favorite Madeline-ism for the day:

as she is being seen by the ER doctor and a resident, "I really am an excellent doctor. You know my name IS Madeline Opal Lastname Doctor."

She never ceases to amaze me.

mg

My First...

mohawk!

One of Madeline's "first" posts was about her baby hawk. How could I resist with Miss Lydia?


And because I couldn't decide which of these two photos was cuter...



Melt my heart.

mg

My First....

GIGGLES!!!



Please ignore the high pitched squealing I am using to get those little chuckles.

I love this time in a babies development. She is becoming so social. With this increased awareness and sociability, comes smiles, giggles and interactive coos on the positive side. On the more negative side, Lydia is already showing signs of separation anxiety. She recognizes my face and Kevin's and gets a little anxious when we aren't around or if we walk out of a room. She is just too smart for her own good!

I love those giggles though.

mg

Christmas 2009

So my life is all about being behind these days. I am one day shy of a week late in posting our Christmas. It was a great holiday. Madeline and Lydia made out like bandits. Not to mention Kevin and I... our families were very generous to us this year. We only hope they feel the same way towards our gifts!

So festivities officially begin on Christmas Eve Eve when Madeline and I had the traditional "making of the Chocolate Pies!" Let me explain... this chocolate pie is a tradition of Kevin's family. Until just three or so years ago Kevin's grandmother, who will be 99 next month, made this pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When she moved out of her own home three year ago (at the ripe age of 96) I took over this task. I hope I live up to her tradition and standards. I really do try.


Having an adorable side kick to help you do the work can't hurt. That photo was taken during Madeline's favorite part. It took two adults, Kevin and myself, to stop her from sticking her fingers in the pie mix the entire time we were making them!


The next day our holidays truly kicked into high gear with Christmas Eve at my parents house. I took so few pictures I am kind of ashamed of myself. (Mom and Dad please tell me you have more photos... I was a slacker.)

I did get this totally awesome shot of Super Madeline.... my sister-in-law Kathy made the BEST cape and magic wand for Madeline... I think that is going to need an entire post of its own however...


After family presents were opened Mom and Dad opened their house to some of our extended family, including my mom's cousin's and their families. It was a fantastic evening with my very colorful family!

Then we continue with Christmas Day. Kevin and I were awake and laying in bed long before either one of our girls were up. Talk about kids on Christmas morning!
Once Madeline and Lydia finally got up we all came down to see that Santa had indeed stopped at our house!

Our tree with all of our presents.

Madeline didn't react the way I had anticipated. She was excited, but I am just not sure she really gets the concept of Santa and I know she didn't understand that all of the presents were for her. She just kept trying to give all of the gifts to other people. I guess I shouldn't complain. She does have a very considerate soul and a servants heart that is for sure.


Madeline asked Santa for two things in particular. Her very own camera and her own tools (like daddy's). I think Santa got the message. (I'll be posting her fabulous photography skills very soon.)


Lydia hanging out in her bouncy chair with her Christmas stocking. She looks really happy to be there doesn't she?

So after opening our gifts, eating breakfast (a sausage strata, yummo) and packing up our gear and children we headed to Kevin's parents house for the afternoon.

Lyda warmed up to Christmas after all.


Oh my gosh is she a doll. I mean really?!?! Look at that little face! I want to kiss her forever!



Anyone need a handy woman. I know just the person to call.

After naps Madeline and Lydia put on their Christmas best and posed for some photos.


Four generations. (L to R) Bruce, Madeline, Kevin, Grandma (or GG as we call her) and Lydia.


GG got some snuggle time with Lydia. (Lydia is named for GG, but that story deserves a post of it's own as well.) The love that GG has for her great granddaughters is amazing. Her face lights up when they are around and Madeline LOVES her back so deeply. It is an amazing bond. I am so glad that they are getting to know their great grandmother. She is an exceptionally strong woman. I am awefully fond of strong women being one myself... :)

I had to try to get a photo of my girls together too... but Lydia, as you can see, was DONE with being handled.


I still love this photo. (Can you see the scrape on Madeline's chin? Two days prior she was running though the house and tripped on the carpet which sent her face first into a speaker. She scraped her chin on a support bar in the speaker and brused the bottom of her chin and bit the inside of her lip. Because of the amount of blood in her mouth I was worried she'd knocked out a tooth. Gladly I was wrong and she is just fine now... )

So that was our Christmas. A wonderfully busy two days. This week has been crazy and with New Years and my dad's family's Christmas celebration the next three days will be even crazier. Look for me some time in 2010. Until then... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

mg

Why I should Twitter

There are so many little moments that I want to record but I don't have time for a full blog post. Like how a few days ago my little girl seemed more grown up to me then I ever could have imagined only because she said two little words. "Sesame Street" Until then she had called Sesame Street "Sessa Reet". It was sweet, it was cute, it was hers.

Or like how today Madeline napped laying on a pile of books in front of her bookshelf and woke up with carpet face and a impression of the edge of a book on her tummy.

Or how Lydia smiles (which have turned intentional in the last week or so) might be the best part of some hours around here.

Or how much I love the look of our exterior Christmas lights reflecting through our front door. (and how that might be the ONLY thing I like about our front door esthetically speaking that is.)

I want to capture those moments but I don't feel like that warrants an entire post.

That is why I should Twitter, but I won't. If I did there wouldn't be a record here of all the stuff I want to remember when I am less sleep deprived and many years removed from this time in our lives.

Until life is slower, so in about 15-25 years, I will embrace the shorter post. I will make it my own. Who needs Twitter anyway? Not me!

mg

My First...

HAIRCUT!

Getting Madeline's hair cut was not a decision I came to easily. (See here and here for proof.) I say I and not "we" (as in Kevin and I) because he has been telling me to do whatever I want for months now. This crazy was all me!

What was I worried about? I just didn't want to loose my "baby" or her curls. Holding on to that hair was me holding onto the last days of her as a baby and not a little girl. Although she really has been one of those for quite some time now.

I decided it was time to get her hair trimmed. I wanted that out of the way before #2 made its entrance and the ends of her hair were in rough shape. (They were all scraggly and damaged and knotted a million different ways every day.)

Before:
Not to bad, I know, but it was awfully long in the back and not very healthy looking to boot.

During:
Madeline was an angel. She sat almost completely still during her hair cut. She even looked down when the stylist asked her too.

Her good behavior may be attributed to the sucker in her hand however. (alternate post title, My First... sucker!) Although she looks nervous in this photo, it is just the face she makes when she is asked to smile.

After:
The finished product! She just wanted to keep looking at herself in the mirror.

She is looking good, and she still has her curls!

So, overall it was great. I didn't even freak out. Which was Kevin's big concern... and mine too really. She still has her curls. They are just a little shorter in the back. She loved her sucker and we may have created a monster now that she has had one...

I know she has a lot of firsts still ahead for her. As we get ready to welcome #2 it is hard for me to think about having two kids and more specifically how grown up Madeline is going to seem once there is an infant in the house. I know that I had to cut her hair before this baby got here because I am not sure I would have had the guts to do it after.

Ps. If anyone needs an awesome stylist in the STL area let me know. Anne, my stylist, is awesome...

mg

Florida, Part I

Kevin's brother Bryan got married last week. He and his now wife chose one of the most beautiful places I have ever been as the location for their wedding.

In 2003 I visited Sanibel Island with the family I was a nanny for and fell in love. Then in 2004 Kevin and I visited the island on vacation. We loved it so much we returned a year later for our honeymoon.

Although this trip was VERY different from our previous vacations on the island it was still a fantastic week surrounded by wonderful people and amazing scenery.


When we first arrived on Tuesday we headed out to the beach to give Madeline her first look at the gulf. She loved it from the start. Although she wasn't sure what to think about the waves lapping at her feet, she loved the birds catching their dinner in the surf and shells washed up on the beach.



The sun was very low so we didn't stay out very late that night. Madeline had a long day of travel anyway so we all went to bed early.


Wednesday we spent hours at the resort pool. We woke up, ate breakfast and went to the pool. Then we ate lunch, took a nap and went back to the pool.


Then there was dinner and although we didn't head back to the pool... we thought about it.

We spent many, many hours in the pool over the week we were there. But there was a lot of other stuff going on with the wedding.

Part II tomorrow.

My First...

BAKED CAKE!!


AND she baked it with her Daddy. Oh, how I love my husband. Especially when he makes chocolate cake. The cake was for my MIL's birthday (Happy Birthday Sue!) and it was delicious.

mg

Toddler lesson #4

Fork too.

I'm at lunch at my parent's house today. We were just sitting down to eat and Madeline asked for a spoon. When I came back without a fork she asked for a "fork too."


Now imagine a nineteen month old saying "fork too" over and over again. Yep, it isn't pretty. She was screaming this almost obscenity and my parents were laughing themselves out of their chairs.


Toddler lesson #4- You must listen very closely to be sure they aren't actually saying F-you!

Alternate post title: My First... obscenity!

mg

My First...

Apple picking and pumpkin patching!

Yesterday we spent a lot of the day in Belleville, IL at Eckerts Farm. We went apple picking AND got ourselves two glorious pumpkins! (photos of those to come) I have attempted a photo slideshow and I have no idea how it is going to turn out. So bear with me. You may have to click the stop on the show if it is going to fast and just click through them manually. There were just too many good photos to post on the blog individually! Enjoy!

The last few photos are of Madeline eating the apple crisp I made with the apples we picked. Today I made some home made apple sauce too. Yum, Yummy.

mg

Super-size me

Madeline and I ran some errands on Friday (Oct. 3). Normally I pack a little snack and her cup just in case. 99% of the time she isn't hungry and could care less about her water. But not on Friday. Friday she was totally parched. Her mouth was a virtual desert with no moisture in sight. She was so hungry she was in pain. (or at least you would think so based on her whines.)

I had forgotten her cup.

Her insistence that she was going to collapse with thirst unless she got water immediately was so bad that I thought about just buying her a new cup at Target, but that would mean an extra stop. So after almost 40 minutes of her asking for her "ah-ta" or water, I caved.

No, that is not a soda or a lemonade or any other one of the high fructose corn syrup laced drinks from the above fast food giant. It was before nap time, do you think I am totally crazy? There is nothing but water and ice in that cup. I felt really silly ordering a cup of ice and a bottle of water. But I really didn't want a Coney, or tater puffys, or deep fried anything. So why this resturant? Well, as crazy as this is going to sound... I love their ice.

I am a little obsessed with ice in my water. I can drink 64 oz. of water a day no problem as long as it is freezing cold with a ton of ice. (I dream of an automatic ice maker some day!) So what makes this particular establishment's ice so good? It is tiny. So there are like a million and a half little pea sized nuggets of frozen goodness in each cup. And because there are so many the water is freezing AND the ice doesn't melt very quickly. It just floats around and is wonderful hours later. It is ice water heaven. I am telling you, it is the little things in life.

This is the image that I got though. Isn't it hilarious. That cup is as big as her head! We sat in the parking lot, with that cup on her lap, just slurping away. I had a few mommies in their fancy mini-vans give me the look. You know, the "oh my goodness, she letting her baby drink that huge Coke?!?!?" look. I finally had to cut her off so we could drive home to avoid stares and the entire ride home, "ah-ta, ah-ta, ah-ta." So at home she drank to her hearts content.

That is until she desperately needed a new dipe.

mg