6 great years

Happy Anniversary Ken :)

How did we get to 6 years already??

I'm such a slacker!

Sorry about the lack of posting lately! I had to work the last two days of last week, and I have to work Monday but then I have LOTs of time off - until the end of July! My Grandma and cousin Nick are coming tomorrow from Alabama and I can't wait to see them. Nick is staying with us - woohoo! He's my FAVORITE cousin. We might possibly be flying to DC on Thursday to the National Right to Life conference, and hopefully we'll get to meet Kathryn from Little Men. I think that would be the highlight of the trip!!

And not that I'm turning this TOO much into a craft blog, but I did finish another skirt - for the Fourth of July.

And we had a playdate with Quinn - she is so cute and funny!

And we did use the first skirt as our diaper cover all day today. I lanolized it and it took forever to dry. But I am happy to report that it worked GREAT!! It was dry all day, and we just used prefolds and changed her frequently (which we should do anyway!) She looked adorable in it too. Even after reading about all the benefits of wool, I was really surprised that it actually worked, but I'm about to order several more prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers. I actually think we might do this more often! After all, I have the stuff to make at least 3 more of these little skirts :)

Quick picture of the new skirt

This was just for "trying on" purposes last night. It fits her almost perfectly, next time I will make the rise in the diaper cover a little shorter, but everything else looks great. I lanolized it last night hoping she could wear it today but it's not dry yet!

I have so many ideas if this wool diaper cover thing actually works. Like - a little Colts cheerleader skirt for football season.... I worked a lot on it but it only took 4 days from start to finish - working a little during naps and after she went to bed. Not bad!

Haven't been on the computer in a few days

And that's because I got this great pattern and I haven't been able to keep my hands off of it!!

I am almost done with the first skirt and this afternoon I am going to the yarn store to get more wool. Don't tell Ken :) But they are having a big sale! I'm thinking she needs a red, white and blue one for the 4th of July....

Here are some new developments over the past week. I have been off work since last Tuesday, and it's been great! Madeleine is walking EVERYWHERE. She doesn't even crawl at all anymore. She is doing great, although still looks like a little drunken sailor when she walks. Now, she likes to hug and kiss everything. If you tell her something is "nice" she will smack her lips together and say "Kiss! Nice." It's so cute. And when we lay her in her crib she'll say "Kiss! Hug!" Also even when I leave her to go to the bathroom. I'll say, "Mommy will be right back!" She'll say "Kiss!" It sounds more like "Keese!"

It's getting hard to take her anywhere because now that she knows she can walk, she doesn't want to be confined to the cart or stroller. Most of the time she still likes her sling though - she especially enjoyed riding on my back in her Mei Tai last weekend when we went for a hike! Hopefully the extra 19 lbs will help me burn some more calories!!

Fun in the Sandbox

This will be my kid someday

Yesterday my friend called me with this story, which happened last week up by South Bend.

Her friend's sister works for a preschool, and last week they took the kids to the zoo. They were having a great day when suddenly they noticed that one of the little 4 year old boys was missing. His mother was there as one of the chaperones, and they couldn't find him anywhere. So they ended up calling the police and they searched the zoo for him. Finally after about 20 minutes he came walking back to the group. His mom and the other chaperones and the police tried to ask where he'd been or what happened to him, but he was acting really funny and wouldn't talk at all, say where he'd been or what happened to him. Everyone was getting really worried. Finally his mom said she was just going to take him home and maybe she could get him to talk to her there. On the way home, they stopped at McDonalds for lunch. When they got out of the car, the little boy insisted on taking his backpack with him. His mom said, "No, just leave it in the car." But he was very insistent and acting really weird. Finally his mom opened his backpack......and there was a penguin in it!!!!

Yes, the 4 year old boy somehow got into the penguin exhibit, caught one of them, stuffed it in his backpack, zipped it up, and kept it quiet while being questioned by the police, his teachers, and his mom. Apparently he really wanted to have a penguin for a pet.

Anyway, the poor penguin got out and started running around inside the van. They called the zoo, and they said DO NOT drive anywhere with that penguin. They came and got it, the penguin is fine, and I bet that boy will not be going to the zoo anytime soon!

Happy Feast day, St. Anthony

Most of you probably know my St. Anthony story, but since it's his feast day, I'll tell it again.

Two years ago in early June, after trying to conceive for 2 years with no luck, Ken suggested that we pray a novena to St. Anthony. St. Anthony? I thought that was kind of random but he had found the novena online and printed it out so of course I agreed! We started it and prayed specifically that God would give us a child. On the last day of the novena, I was listening to Catholic radio and they mentioned it was St. Anthony's feast day. What?! No coincidences, my friends. Two weeks later I took my first ever positive pregnancy test. And you know the rest of the story.

So THANK YOU for your prayers, St. Anthony. And happy feast day!

Freecycling is great

Today we got a free sandbox in the shape of a big crab. Then I went to Lowes and got 250 lbs of sand to put in it. I think we lost about 25 lbs on the way home in the van. Too bad we couldn't try it out today - it's been thunderstorming all day!

I made her Cinnamon French toast for breakfast yesterday, and Banana Pancakes today. She loved both of them and ate like a little piglet! I am getting good at Milk free baking! And she can have eggs! Yay!

I forgot to mention that the other day at Borders I got a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and without thinking gave Madeleine a bite. Pretty much immediately she started scratching her neck and it looked like she had a little rash or hives or something. I got a little nervous and pretty much stripped her down right there in the cafe to see if it was spreading. She was ok and I gave her some benadryl when we got home. So I told the doctor about this and he said that we should keep her away from all nuts and any further exposure could be worse, so we are getting an Epi Pen Junior tomorrow. The rash might not have been from the cookie, but we're getting one just in case because she's shown a propensity for food allergies. Poor thing. It makes me nervous and I hope this epi pen thing comes with directions, because I have no idea how to use it. And I REALLY hope she doesn't have a nut allergy. That will make her life hard (and make me worry a lot.)

Anyway, we're going to a birthday party tonight! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

What a great day!!!

I don't think I will EVER, EVER get tired of being a stay at home mom. It's my dream come true.

15 Month Stats

Any guesses?........

Weight 19.6 lbs, still 5th percentile
Height 30.75 inches, 50th percentile

She's doing great! She said a bunch of her words for the doc, and he was VERY impressed. He said he's only impressed about once every 6 months :) (He's a funny one.)

She had 3 shots today, which was really sad, but she recovered quickly and had fun all day. She had a little fever tonight though.

We're supposed to keep her away from dairy and all nuts until her two year old appointment, at which point he'll recommend some allergy testing. He said the longer we wait the more accurate the tests are.

So, starting tomorrow I am officially a PART TIME STAY AT HOME MOM!! I honestly had been dreading the past 5 days of work, since I'd have all three kids and none of them had anything to do, but it wasn't bad at all. But I'm now on a 4 day weekend and now my work days are starting to get fewer and farther between. I can't believe it's actually here! I'm really really happy. It seems like I've been waiting for this forever. I'm planning on letting Madeleine sleep in tomorrow, reading her LOTS of books in her pajamas, and then making her her favorite banana pancakes. Maybe we'll go for a walk, maybe we'll go get her favorite sorbet (she can't have ice cream, so that's as close as she can get, and she loves it!), maybe we'll hit the library, maybe we'll go hang out at my mom's pool. Whatever we do, we get to be together and we get to make our own schedule!!! *big sigh of relief*

Summer is kicking my butt

I'm exhausted. I'm sunburned. All this fun in the sun. Extra kids. Swimming, chasing this new little walker. I need a nap......ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

At 15 months

You are getting really good at walking - and you LOVE to walk. Whenever you're being carried or are sitting on someone's lap, you say "Alk!"

You have beautiful bright blue eyes with incredibly long eyelashes - everyone who meets you comments on your eyes. You have beautiful curly reddish brown hair.

You have a great smile which you give freely. You are very social - always talking to everyone. You say probably 200 words, and pretty much amaze everyone you talk to. You can even say giraffe and elephant! You've started to put a few words together. You've said things like "I dropped it" and "book fall down." Also, whenever you drop something, you say "Get it! Please!"

You still have your thumb in your mouth ALL the time, and love your "silkies." You like to have them in the car, when we're reading books, and when you go to sleep.

Speaking of books, they are your favorite things. You love to read books - and you even read to us! Whenever we're in the car, you have to have a book. When you get tired of one, you throw it on the floor and say "Book!" until we give you another one. You are not interested at all in TV. (that is good!)

Your favorite book is Good Night Gorilla. We read that one at least 10 times/day. If you can't find it, you say, "Illa! Where ARE you?" and look around until you find it.

Your favorite song is Baby Beluga. You LOVE this song. Whenever I start singing another song to you, you say "Uga!" and whenever we get in the car, you say "Uga!" as soon as you get in your carseat. Then again as soon as the song ends. You love it and you can say the last word of every line perfectly.

You have been sleeping through the night for a few months now, and Mommy sure loves that! You also usually take a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon. You are always happy, and have a great time wherever you go.

You are still pretty tiny - we'll see at your 15 month appointment if you've hit the 20 pound mark yet, and then you'll finally get to face forward in the car. You are in 12 month clothes, and even some of them are too big.

You LOVE playing outside - swinging, climbing on the playground, and playing in the sandbox. You're a great traveller too.

Every day Daddy and Mommy talk about how beautiful and smart you are, and how lucky we are to have you.

We love you Madeleine!

My Angel at 15 Months

She's a genius, I tell you.

My ladybug

My good friend needed a ladybug with a carseat strap. Here's what I came up with. What do you think? Ken edited it a little. I was pretty proud of it! And by the way, today was my first day off!! Even though this day included a pap smear and a pelvic exam (one year checkup, sorry TMI!) it was a great day. We had a playdate with my friend Susan and her three great boys. Madeleine kept kissing one of them! They'll be in the same class at school so we tried to capture a picture but she was too fast. Too bad - it would have been fun to show them that picture around 8th grade :)

We start 'em early around here

Enlarge to see the title of the book. And obviously that date is not correct on the picture, since she wasn't born yet. For some reason, Madeleine really likes religious books with no pictures. I tested it out one day - got her a religious book and a book that looked the same but wasn't religious - and she threw that one on the floor! The religious one she "read" for 15 minutes. She is especially partial to our Chaplet of Divine Mercy book.

Little Christopher

Yesterday I went to a Memorial Mass for the son of a good friend of mine. The baby died at 16 weeks gestation, so his parents were blessed to deliver him and get to hold him for a while. The mass was beautiful. Sad, but beautiful.

I was blessed last night to get to spend some time with his mother, and hear the stories of how, in his short life, he touched many people's lives. One example is the doctor who delivered him came to the memorial mass. She is Catholic, but doesn't have a church that she attends regularly. Now she knows she's welcome at our parish, and knows the priest who was with them at the hospital and said the mass. How amazing - this little boy could be the person who brings her back to the church!

I also got to see a picture of him, and he was so tiny, but perfectly and beautifully made. I am really sad for his family, his parents and brothers and sister. Please say a prayer for them, that they will be comforted in this time of grief.

I discovered yet another hidden talent

*Yes this is another potty post.* My life revolves around the potty these days, what can I say?

Today, here's what I was able to do successfully:

1. Navigate Archivers (scrapbook store) with Madeleine in the stroller and holding Ava's hand.
2. Find the bathroom with one second notice.
3. Push the stroller into the small bathroom with Ava and me all crammed in there.
4. Pull down Ava's pants and pull up and sit her on the potty.
5. Wipe her and flush.
6. Pull her pants back up and wash her hands.
7. Get her a mento (that's her treat for going potty.)

All while talking to my friend Lori on the phone about her VISIT this weekend! Yay! Am I good at multi tasking or what? I was pretty proud of myself (although probably pretty annoying to the other customers :)

In other potty news, because you're all SO interested, Madeleine said "Poo poo Mama" this morning. As if you don't think that's exciting enough for a 14 month old to say, she told me that right before she went!! I can't even get Ava to do that. Could this be an early potty trainer? Let's hope so.

One last story from the trip

So, Ken and I went out for a drive the first day we were there. We forgot to bring Madeleine's blanket, which she calls her "silky." She actually has several silkies and she sleeps with them and likes to have one when we're in the car. Anyway, we were on the sixth floor and when we got down to the car in the parking garage and started driving, she started saying "Silky. Silky." Over and over. We felt really bad so instead of going back up for it (D and P were taking a nap), we decided to try to find a Walmart or something and just buy her a new one. Of course this is the one place in the country where there's no Walmart to be found. It was really sad, she just kept saying "Silky." So finally we found a Big Lots. We went in and of course in the tiny baby section there are no silkies. (There were however, several kids running completely wild and no parents to be found.) We were walking around the store when we came to the clearance aisle. There was a silky looking thing with a handwritten tag that said "Bottom only, $4.00." It was all wrapped up so we couldn't tell what it was, but as soon as Madeleine saw it she got a big smile on her face. She grabbed it, put it up to her face and started sucking her thumb. So we bought it. When we got out to the car and unwrapped it, it was a TWIN fitted sheet. She didn't care that the thing was huge, she just held it and went straight to sleep for an hour in the car. Apparently she's not particular about her silkies.


Don't tell her, but that thing went in the trash can at the airport. There was no room in our suitcase!

Our first date

Yes, Ken and I finally went on our first date alone since Madeleine was born - almost 15 months! Maybe we shouldn't wait another 15 months before we go on the next one! Anyway, my Mom very generously came over to watch the kiddo and Ken and I went to Barnes and Nobles for some actual reading time (as opposed to reading one sentence, then handing her another book or piece of food or picking up one of those things off the floor after it's been THROWN.) And then we went to see Indiana Jones and the Golden Corral, I mean Crystal Skull. :) It was actually pretty good.
In other news, Grace has 5 and a half more days of school, and I only have this week and next week of working full time. I do work quite a few days in June, but have almost the whole month of July off. Then I'm working 3 full weeks in August and in September I will start my part time schedule - all day Monday and half a day Friday. Won't that be great?

Two more pictures from the beach:
My little crab.

Oh and if you think the wallpaper in the naked baby picture was bad in the last post, check out this couch!
And one from Memorial day - she did have a patriotic outfit!

Back from the beach!

And we had a great time. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Madeleine was perfect the entire time. I cannot believe how good she was. We had to wake her up really really early on Friday morning and she didn't even mind. She slept perfectly well for naps in the car, the plane, her stroller and in her pack and play, and even slept 12 hours both nights! We had a great time with our friends and Madeleine loved them. I think everyone knows "Baby Beluga" by heart now that we sang it so many times over the weekend. That kid is obsessed with that song. And the book "Good Night Gorilla."
Of course, there WERE some things that went wrong. For example, we missed our first flight, which was supposed to be at 6:10. The good thing is that we made it on a 7am flight and still made it to Florida before noon. We learned without any shadow of a doubt that an Evenflo convertible carseat does NOT fit in a bulkhead row of a plane. The rest of the 150 passengers learned it as well when we singlehandedly caused the plane to leave at least 10 minutes late. After 20 minutes of finagling with that thing, including scrapes and bruises on our forearms, a seatbelt extender, everyone on the plane staring at us, and flight attendants standing around looking helpless, the entire row behind us offered to switch us seats. Voila! It's MUCH easier to get the carseat in when it's forward facing AND you can lift the armrests - who knew?

The rest of the trip went extremely well. Madeleine LOVED the ocean, as you can tell from this picture. Whenever the waves hit her legs, she yelled "MORE!" When we tried to leave, she crawled back toward the ocean. She didn't even mind the cold water.

She loved the sand too, and was more than content to play in it for a long period of time. Lucky for us, we had SPF 60 sunscreen - no rays were getting through that stuff! She didn't mind getting sticky, dirty, or sandy one bit.
But she did enjoy her baths in the sink very much! We also had a whirlpool tub in our room and she took a bath in there with me once. She LOVED it and cried when Ken took her out.
Her hair was extra curly down there with all the humidity - it was very cute!!

This was her church dress - we went to mass on Saturday night. Right after the opening prayer and everyone said "Amen," Madeleine waited until everyone sat down and was quiet, and said, "AMEN!" really loudly! That was the first time I've heard her say that. Everyone around us laughed, so she kept repeating it until we had to take her back to the cry room. Of course she was a perfect, quiet angel back there.

We had some GREAT food, including lobster and steak and great salad the first night, and sushi and teriyaki chicken the second night. We went out for ice cream and Madeleine was perfectly content to have her "pop" (lollipop) for dessert that night. We got home last night and she went right to bed. She was really SO good the whole time, just went with the flow. I just love that baby :)

D and P, we had a great time with you - thank you so much for being so patient and working around us and our schedule, for the great dinner, for helping us with everything, and for reading and singing to Madeleine. She really loves you guys - she has said your names several times today and has been looking for you!

I guess I really didn't need to worry so much about travelling. It was a great trip but I am very glad to be home again!