Quotes by Maddie

"I have a baby in my belly"

"Oh, Mommy, you give me best milk ever"

"I sorry 'bout that, Momma"

"I eat bologna all day.  I can't get enough"

"That's a hard word." (when I asked her if she could say "Josh and Amy")

"Look!  My baby sister moving too!" (while sucking her belly in and out...we had just watched my belly moving while baby sister was rolling/kicking)

"Momma, you give me energy."

"Momma, you my best friend."

"It's lunch time.  Stop cleaning Momma."

"Pray Jesus make Maddie stop crying."

"Mommy, you like bananas and hold banana peels?" (I let her hold the whole banana with the peel for the first time so it was a pretty big deal.)

These are a few...

...of my favorite things!  Just thought I'd take a minute to share some of my simple, every day pleasures with you :)

Ok, for anyone who isn't a fan of cleaning, this product is for you!  I'm not even kidding.  When I bought this for the first time I was looking for things to clean.  I quickly used up the whole bottle and didn't let myself buy anymore until I used up the Sam's Club size bottle of Lemon Mr. Clean I had in the closet.  I was so happy to finish that bottle over the weekend!  I immediately added Mr. Clean to my shopping list for Monday and I knew I was getting the purple one :)  I've been keeping my kitchen and bathrooms much cleaner since I bought it...and I even used it to clean Maddie's kiddie pool the other day!  This stuff is AMAZING!  The best part?  The price tag of $2.97 at Walmart.  Seriously!

This is my morning juice to take my vitamins with.  I was a little skeptical of the 50% less thing just because it obviously isn't 100% orange juice not from concentrate like the original Tropicana.  However, I was pleasantly surprised and now when I have "regular" orange juice it's too sweet for me.  This stuff rocks!

This is my newest favorite Yankee Candle.  It's pretty hot most days so I don't burn it but I still keep it out on the counter so I can pick it up and take a big whiff :)  This scent reminds me of Orange Blossom, one of the Straweberry Shortcake dolls I used to have when I was little.  (I still have it but she doesn't smell so much anymore)  Also, this is one of the double wick candles.  Ever since I tried the double wick I won't go back to the single!  These burn so much more evenly and you can start smelling it within 5 minutes of lighting it. 

These delicious fruit bars are something I just picked up today on a whim.  I was in the mood for something sweet and I had seen a commercial for them recently and couldn't wait to try them.  Oh my goodness!  I wish Blue Bell was available in all parts of the country just so everyone could experience this.  It's heaven on a stick...speaking of the stick, why do they have to use wooden sticks?  Why not plastic?  I can't stand that ice cream bars (or fruit bars) taste like a tongue depresser when you get to the end.  Is there a reason for that? 

Do you see this nutrition label?!?!  Only 70 calories and 0 fat?!?!  I'm pretty sure that's better than Weight Watchers ice cream, and it certainly tastes better too.  Seriously, if you can get Blue Bell in your area, you HAVE to try these!

The last of my favorite things is our new minivan.  We never pictured ourselves as minivan people but with the second baby just months away we started thinking of a bigger vehicle.  Well, we could really do with just the Accord, but we found a GREAT deal on this practically new van and we couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Every time I drive it I fall a little bit more in love...I guess I'm destined to be a soccer mom :)

So, there you have it.  My favorite things for now...oh, and there's this other delicious juice called Cranberry Concord Grape (I forget the brand, probably Ocean Spray) that I love too, I just don't have any right now.  You can't just get Cran-Grape, it has to be the Cranberry Concord Grape.  It just tastes like grape juice but with the added benefits of the cranberry juice...I could drink a whole bottle in a day!

What are some of the things you can't live without?

MDO out and a HUGE Milestone!

Today is day #4 of Mother's Day Out (MDO).  I thought by today Maddie would be used to the routine a little more than she is.  She's just having such a rough time getting used to it all...I still feel terrible when I leave her, but I know she's in good hands and that this experience will be beneficial to both of us in the long run.  It's just so hard to walk away from my baby girl when she's screaming and reaching for me and I bolt out the door.  I feel like I'm deserting her.  She doesn't understand that this is a good thing, she only sees Mommy bring her into this place that she doesn't like that much and then I leave.  I'm surprised she doesn't hate me when I come to pick her up.  Today is the last day she'll be going until July 14th so we have a 4 week break before she goes back.  I'm so frustrated that we'll have to go through this process all over again in 4 weeks.  BLAH!

Onto the huge milestone...last night I saw Maddie in her "poopy stance" in the playroom so I asked her if she wanted to put the poo poos in the potty.  To my surprise she said "yes"!  I was floored because she normally likes to deny that she's even pooping so for her to agree to the potty was amazing :)  I took her in to the bathroom, unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts (lesson learned...we're going to ALL ELASTIC from now on) and sat her on the potty.  She sat there reading her potty book and then she told me she was all done.  She stood up to show me what she thought was her pee pees, and to her surprise there was something else in the potty!  She told me, "what that Momma?" in a very curious/excited voice and I told her what it was.  We did a big potty dance (after getting cleaned up, of course!), washed hands then she had a Hershey Kiss!  That was a huge deal for her :)  She LOVES chocolate!  I told her anytime she puts the poo poos in the potty she can have more chocolate.  Another thing I had promised her was new underwear when she did poo poos in the potty.  So off to Walmart we went...she wanted Dora underwear or Princess underwear but the only ones they had in her size were Tinkerbell.  I asked if Tinkerbell underwear was good and she said "yes" with a big smile.  She has a Tinkerbell bowl/plate/cup set at home and a placemat so she was pretty thrilled about having underwear to go with it all :)

So, I guess we're entering full force potty training the rest of this week...maybe we'll start on Friday just being in underwear and see how it goes.  I also need to work with Maddie so she can learn how to pull her own shorts down.  I've never given her the chance to undress or dress herself before because I don't like the idea that she'll undress when I don't want her to...now's the time for her to learn!!

Potty Update

Maddie started showing interest in the potty on Friday.  Saturday she peed in the potty 3 times, Sunday 4 times.  So far today she's peed 4 times (it's 5:00 pm).  When I got her up from her nap I left her diaper off and she has peed 3 times in the potty with no accidents!!  The first two times I noticed signs and/or noticed that plenty of time had passed.  The third time she TOLD ME she had to pee.  That just blew my mind!  When I ask her if she can "feel the pee pees coming" and she says "yes", she really has to go!  She hasn't sat on the potty more than 3 minutes any time I've taken her.  I think it's pretty amazing that she knows the sensation already.  Hopefully this potty training thing will be easier than I was anticipating...I'll keep you posted!

Potty Time!!

Maddie just asked me to put her on the potty!  I've asked her before if she wants to sit on the potty and she's been turning me down for the past couple of months so I stopped asking.  Tonight when I went in the bathroom she wanted to pee too.  So I took her diaper off of her, she sat down on her potty and peed!!  I'm so proud of her for doing this on her own :)  I'm still not ready to begin potty training, but she's off to a good start on her own...

Mother's Day Out, Take Two

I was hopeful that today would go better since Maddie got the "unknowns" out of the way yesterday.  When she woke up this morning she was saying "my mommy always come back" and seemed in a good mood.  I brought her downstairs for breakfast and she told me "I have good nap at school" and was just talking about all the good things about school yesterday.  I asked her if she wanted to go to school today and without hesitation she told me "no".  I told her today is a school day so we needed to get all her stuff ready for school.  We talked about how Mommy always comes back and she seemed ok.  When we pulled into the parking lot of the church she started crying and saying "I not like this park" (there's a playground in the front of the church) and "I not like this school".  I reminded her how nice her teachers are and that Mommy would come back after naptime.  She stopped crying and rolled her backpack into the school all by herself.  That was the end of the "happy" time...as we headed back the hall toward the classroom she started to cry.  When we walked into the room, the cry turned to a scream.  I knew I was going to have a hard time leaving her today.  I just wanted to stay and hold her!  I did stay longer than I should've today.  I know I'm supposed to say my goodbyes, then head out the door.  But I couldn't today.  I held her and sang to her while she sucked her thumb.  Then I gave her one last hug and told her Mommy had to go.  She started screaming and tensing up her body.  I put her on the floor, hugged her and kissed her and told her I would see her soon and to be a good girl at school and have fun.  Of course I cried...again...her teachers are so sweet!  One picked her up and held her as I left and the other reassured me that it would get better :)

Around 11:30 my cell phone rang and I didn't recognize the number.  I usually don't answer those phone calls, but something made me wonder if it was about Maddie.  I thought they might be calling to tell me she was just having a break down and they couldn't soothe her.  I answered and it was Ms. Kristy (Maddie's teacher).  I immediately asked if Maddie was ok.  She said Maddie stopped crying on the way to chapel (they go at 9:45...first thing after being dropped off) and she seemed to be enjoying herself.  At 11:30 they were at the playground and Maddie was playing and having a much better day.  Again...I cried :)  I was SO RELIEVED to hear that she was having a better day today.  Ms. Kristy said every once in a while Maddie would say "my mommy always come back" then went back to playing.

I couldn't wait to go pick Maddie up this afternoon just because I was so excited to see how she was doing.  When I went to get her, she was just walking around playing in the room, not even holding snuggly.  When she saw me she smiled and came running.  She gave me a big hug and said "I miss you so much Mommy!".  I told her I missed her so much too and she just hugged me so tight :)  She had some tears come to her eyes but she didn't cry!  Then she told me "look this BIG MESS" as we looked around at all the blocks on the floor.  She was proud to show me her backpack and nap mat and told me she had fun at school today.  It was so nice going to pick her up knowing she had a much better day today!

Today her "report card" showed that she was happy today, ate most of her lunch (which I found to NOT be true...she ate 1 cucumber round, 5 mini pretzels and 5 raspberries...didn't touch her sandwich), she didn't nap today!!  This is the first time in Maddie's life that she went all day without a nap.  They said she was very quiet and just rested on her nap mat but she never fell asleep.  Looks like we get to have an early bedtime tonight.  Woo hoo!!

After school I took her to McDonald's to have a hot fudge sundae to celebrate a good day at school.  Then I let her play in the play area for a little while.  She was so much more confident.  She talked to some of the kids that were playing and was just really sweet.  I can already see a boost in her confidence.  Let's pray this continues!!  I'm SO PROUD of my big girl :)  :)  :)

Day 1 Down

Whew!  We survived day 1!  When I went in to get Maddie she was still on her nap mat.  All the other nap mats were rolled up and put away, all the other kids were playing around Maddie and there she was, just chillin' on her mat, sucking her thumb.  She didn't even seem to notice when I came in to pick her up.  When she did see me (after I had already knelt down on the floor in front of her) she sat up, started crying and hugged me.  I asked her if she had fun at school today and she said "yes" while crying.  Her teachers had a good laugh at that one!  Then I asked if she wanted to come back to school again tomorrow and she said "yes" again.  Both good things!  The teacher said she had a pretty rough day.  She needed to be held a lot and one of the teachers even held her to go to sleep.  (I'm so glad they were willing to do that!)

Here's a picture of the form they sent home with her to let me know how her day went...

After school we went to Tutti Frutti, a self-serve frozen yogurt place, as a special "I'm so proud of my big girl" treat.  Maddie seemed happy to get ice cream.  Tomorrow we're going to buy new shoes after school.  She's had the sneakers she wore today since February and when she ran through the kitchen after school today she said ouch, then bent down and grabbed at her toes.  Yeah, I think she needs new ones! 

So, Maddie wouldn't let me take any "first day of school" pictures before school so after school I asked if I could take some pictures of her now.  She HAD to stand in front of the tv for me to take pictures, but at least she let me take some!  Here they are...

after the FIRST picture she told me "I just need take a break" and went to get a drink of water.

and then the posing began!  You can even see her mouth forming the word "cheese" in some of the pictures :)

in this picture she was very concerned because Murphy started chewing on a toy.  Funny girl!

Maddie's Big Day

Maddie starts school in ONE HOUR!!  I'm nervous but also so excited for her to have this experience.  It'll be nice for both of us to get a break from each other...sometimes we start to drive each other crazy from being home together all the time.  This will also give Maddie an opportunity to have something that is only for her.  When her baby sister comes, she won't have to share this.  She's the BIG GIRL and gets to go to school! 

Well, I guess I should go get her out of bed so I have time to take some "first day of school" pictures :)

Look for an update later!!

The Moods of Maddie

The other night after I brushed Maddie's teeth I asked her to open her mouth so I could see her pretty teeth.  She opened wide and I stuck my finger in to check on the progress of her 2 year molars.  I didn't see any on the bottom but when I stuck my finger on the top, there they were!  Both of her top back molars had snuck in on me.  Then it hit me...remember when I was having so many problems with her?  When she was driving me insane and I couldn't figure out why?  I was actually blaming it on Eric leaving, how both of us were impatient with each other because Eric had just left.  Well, that could have aggravated it, but I'm pretty sure that's when those molars were coming in.  I kind of wish the bottom ones had come in at the same time so we'd be over it all by now!  However, she's up to her same old attitude, whiney, fussy self today so I'm wondering if we're going to have a couple more weeks to work on those bottom molars.  At least she was happy (mostly) for her birthday :)

Happy Birthday, Maddie!!

Happy Birthday to Mommy's sweet princess!  Today you are two years old and I can't believe you've been in my life this long.  It feels like time has gone by so fast, yet somehow like I've been your mommy forever.  On this special day I want to share with you some bits of your personality, your likes and dislikes so you can look back in the years to come and see how sweet you were as a 2 year old.

Your likes:

Snuggly!  This snuggly has been a big part of your life since you were about 6 months old.  We started out trying to keep snuggly in your bed but as you became more and more attached I gave in and let you have it everywhere you go now.  We've lost snuggly a couple of times (in the black hole called Walmart) but luckily we've recovered it!  I don't know what you would do without your lovey.

Your thumb...this goes along with snuggly.  You started sucking your thumb around 3 months old.  Daddy and I decided to take your pacifier because we were tired of you waking up every 5 minutes when it fell out of your mouth after you fell asleep.  After we took the binky, you tried just about every combination of fingers to suck on before you finally settled on your right thumb.  There was no going back from that point!  The nicest things about you sucking your thumb are that you're a good sleeper and you only suck your thumb when you're holding snuggly.

Animals.  You love all animals.  When you see birds you tell me "touch it" and walk after the bird like you're Snow White or Cinderella.  I wish animals flocked to you like that because I know you would love it...but unfortunately you're not a Disney princess :)  Right now you're really into Koalas.  You have three stuffed koalas that I often find in your bed with you when I get you up from bedtime or naps.  I showed you a picture of Mommy holding a real koala and you wanted to take that picture to bed with you. 

Your favorite tv shows are Wonder Pets, Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora, Diego, Max & Ruby, Backyardigans, Clifford and Barney.  You're just starting to get more into Sesame Street and LOVE Abby's flying fairy school.  I try to limit how much tv you watch but most days we at least watch Gabba and Dora.  You also like to watch the Disney Princess movies, with Snow White being your favorite.

Your favorite foods are blackberries (this is a new favorite as they're just coming into season), blueberries, green beans, peas, corn, quesadillas, grilled cheese, mac & cheese (do you see a theme here?  You LOVE all kinds of cheese!), marshmallows, peanut butter on bananas, popcorn and fruit snacks.  Oh, and ice creams and cupcakes, of course :)

You love to go swimming and have gotten so brave in the water.  You like to jump off of the side of the pool for Mommy to catch you.  You want to swim all by yourself and frequently say "Mommy, let go" while I'm helping you swim to the side of the pool.  You have the doggy paddle motion down but just have a hard time keeping your body above water :)  I think I'll keep helping you for a while!

Some of your favorite toys include your tea set that you got for your first birthday.  I can't believe you've had that thing for a year and you're still playing with it!  Your kitchen.  You like to make lunch for Mommy, Murphy and Audrey.  When you see me get my whisk out in the kitchen, you have to run and get your whisk too.  You absolutely love to read.  You ask me to read books over and over again until you have it just about memorized.  Books you can "read" on your own include The Foot Book, More Spaghetti I Say, and Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat Are you Waking Up.  I also recently checked out a book about a squirrel that is your new favorite.  It's recommended for ages 5-7 but you constantly ask for it :)  I'm glad you enjoy a good story and can pay attention even if a book takes 10-15 minutes to read.  Story time is one of my favorite times with you!  It's the only time you let me hold you and snuggle you anymore.

Your favorite color is definitely pink.  When I give you a choice between two outfits, 9 out of 10 times you go for the pink one.  Snuggly often has to "pick" for you.  I think you're too shy to make the choice by yourself so it helps you to have snuggly make the decision for you :)  You're lucky snuggly likes pink as much as you do!

You just started drinking out of a big girl cup (no sippy lid).  I gave you the cup two days in a row at meal times with about an inch of water in it.  The third morning I gave you the water, you picked it up with one hand and took a drink without spilling any or choking...it was like you were an old pro already.  I still don't trust you with the cup away from the table or with anything other than water...but we'll get there :)

Your dislikes:

Anything I tell you to do.  Yes, you have to do things when YOU want to.  Usually all I have to do is leave you alone and say "tell Mommy when you're ready" and within 10 seconds you tell me "I ready now". 

People coming to our house.  I don't know what it is but you don't like it when someone rings the doorbell.  I don't know if it's because it surprises you or if you feel like someone's going to take you away, or maybe you think Mommy's going to leave you with the person.  Whatever the reason, I have to hold you to answer the door and then keep you with me as long as the person stays (if they're staying).  I've left you at the table with your dinner before to answer the door and that just results in a melt down!

The heat.  It's only the beginning of June and you're already telling me "I super hot" when we walk outside.  You don't want to get in the car until after it cools down.  I told you to drink water when you're hot, it's like air conditioning for your mouth and stomach and you listened to me :)  Now when you're hot sometimes you'll tell me you need water. 

Taking a bath.  As much as you love the water you don't want me to put you in the tub anymore.  You cry when I put you in and cry while I wash your hair.  After that you're fine and then you don't want to get out of the tub!

Going to bed.  You whine or fuss everytime it's naptime or bedtime.  Even though you're tired and can barely keep your eyes open, you'd still rather be up playing (or sitting on Mommy's lap as it usually is when you're tired).  I just have to rub your back or sometimes read a book before naptime and then you're ok after I close the door.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much you grow and change over the next year.  Some thing we have to look forward to before you turn 3 are:  starting "school" (Mother's Day Out), becoming a big sister, potty training (hopefully), an ever-expanding vocabulary and probably starting to embarrass Mommy in public, Daddy coming home from Nigeria (for good this time!!) and many other things we can't even begin to imagine right now!

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Where has the Time Gone?

In just 2 short days I will have a 2 year old!  WHAT?!?!  I just can't believe this much time has gone by already.  I still don't know exactly what we're going to do for her birthday.  We had some plans but they fell through so it looks like it's just going to be me and my baby big girl for the day.  She has requested purple cupcakes so I guess I'll make some cupcakes tomorrow night after she goes to bed...I'm thinking angel food cake with purple icing.  If the weather cooperates I'll take her to the pool first thing Saturday morning, then we'll come home for lunch, have a nap (both of us!), play outside in the afternoon then hit up Chick-Fil-A for dinner (I have a coupon for a free spicy chicken sandwich).  :)  Maddie has lots of presents to open at some point during the day as well.  I have 3 presents for her, and between 3 of her grandmas she has 6 more presents to open.  What a spoiled girl!!  I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy just being home in the afternoon to open all her presents then playing with them.  She won't even notice if we don't go anywhere.

In baby news...we're 26 weeks pregnant today.  Next week begins the third trimester already!  I can't believe how insanely fast the second pregnancy is going.  With Maddie I was able to enjoy every day of pregnancy.  I read a ton of books, relaxed in the tub at least 3 nights a week reading, got to bed at a decent hour and led a relatively stress free life.  With this pregnancy I feel like I barely have time for a 10 minute shower in the morning, let alone relaxing in the tub with a book at night.  I can't really say I'm stressed with this pregnancy, certainly more than my pregnancy with Maddie, but not to the point where I can't handle things...but I just don't have the time to relax like I did before.  Maddie keeps me on my toes from the minute she opens her eyes in the morning until I tuck her into bed at night.  It's exhausting but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!  (some days I'd give her up for just one relaxing night in the tub with a non-kid book!!)

I am so blessed to have these two baby girls in my life and I try to remember that every day when the going gets tough.  I live a very blessed life and even though some days it feels like too much, I just step back and look at all I have and look at things with a different perspective.  It's so easy to get caught up in the normal, mundane tasks of every day life, complaining about this and that...that we forget to appreciate what we have.  I never thought in all my life I'd have the life I have.  While it's FAR from perfect, it's my life and it's just right for me!  Now, if we could just get it to SLOW DOWN A LITTLE, then I could appreciate it more :)

My Amazing Daughter

Just a few cute things Maddie has done lately...

The other night in the bath tub she was playing with her poof and swimming/kicking around in the tub when the poof got caught on her toe.  She stopped, pulled her foot up out of the water along with the poof and said "what you do?" I responded with "What did you do, Maddie?" and she said (in the most excited voice you can imagine), "I catch a fish!!". 

On Friday I had a pretty bad cough and a sore throat.  Since I was out I grabbed some cough drops.  Maddie asked "what this momma?" and I told her they were for medicine for Mommy's sore throat.  (I didn't want to tell her it was for my cough, because she might think she needed one every time she coughed).  She held the bag all the way to the check out and when we got in the car I popped one in my mouth.  When we got home Maddie was telling me "my froat hurt".  I couldn't really make out what she was trying to say (because she had never talked about her throat before) and finally I asked if she said her throat hurts.  She said "yes" in a sad, sick, pathetic sounding voice.  So I asked her where her throat is...she pointed to her armpit!  She was just pretending she had a sore throat so she could have a cough drop! Little sneaky snot.  I laughed at her and told her "that's not your throat, that's your armpit you silly goose!"  Surprisingly her throat hasn't hurt anymore :)

Maddie has recently taken an interest in my feet.  When she sees my bare feet she says, "hi mommy feet".  Then she talks to them and pretends like they are real things that can speak to her and understand her.  She tells them "watch me mommy feet.  I go play now mommy feet.  I be right back mommy feet".  If I put slippers on she cries because she wants to play with mommy's feet...and here I thought I was doing so well having her in a playgroup so she'd have REAL friends! 

We were at a car dealership today (more on that tomorrow) and Maddie was singing her ABC's while looking through a book when I was talking on the phone with Eric.  I could hear the two guys at the dealership commenting on her singing and mentioned she wasn't even two yet (they asked her age earlier).  When I got off the phone with Eric the one guy asked me if Maddie was enrolled in an advanced learning program or a montessori school or something.  I said "no".  Then he asked if I take her to day care and even asked if she does the "Your Baby Can Read" program.  I said, "no.  I stay home with her".  He was impressed :)  I was just beaming having these guys ask me about her!  It's one thing for women to comment on how bright babies are, but for MEN to notice is HUGE!!  :)  They were just so impressed with how much she was talking and how she was so much better behaved than most 2 year olds they have in the dealership.  YAY for Maddie!!!