High Chair Antics

Not sure why, but we seem to have a disproportionate number of video clips of Madelyn doing silly things in her high chair. I assure you that this is not at all the only time she does cute, silly things. My best guess is that it's the only time when she's strapped in and mostly safe so there's actually three seconds to grab the camera and start filming!

Stealth Crawler

Kurt calls Madelyn's latest trick the "stealth crawler." She picks up two of her plush, stackable rings and proceeds to crawl around the house with them, or rather she straightens both arms so her hands can slide and just her little knees have to crawl. We have hardwood floors, so typically, we can hear her little hands slap-slapping into all the places she knows she's not supposed to be. But in stealth crawler mode, we honestly can't hear her!

Sydney Bristow look out :)

Life Lately

Hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday...ours was fun! We participated in a Ladd's Addition neighborhood parade in the morning with Lucas and Emma, the kiddos I used to nanny for. They were 4 months when I first met them, and they are 5 1/2 now. Hard to believe. We had a blast, and Madelyn was all eyes as the bikes and scooters and puppies zoomed by her. Later that evening, we went up to my parents' house for a BBQ with all 4 of our parents. Madelyn is so blessed to have all of her grandparents close by, and she just lights up when she sees each of them.


This photo documents Madelyn's first official bite of ice cream. We went for ice cream one hot hot night and discovered that she is (not surprisingly!) an enthusiastic ice cream fan...of chocolate in particular. Good girl :)


Here are a few photos of Maddie in her room. She likes to be in there lately and is especially intrigued by her menagerie of stuffed animals.

Ode to the Bathroom

I hope by now, it is evident to all of you who graciously read this blog how much I love my daughter. Every minute with her is pure joy. Even when she's crying or irritable there is satisfaction and an odd sort of peace knowing that it's my job to soothe her and comfort her. I don't ever tire of caring for her, and I really don't miss all of the "me" time I had before she entered our lives.

Having said that, I do frequently become exhausted with being "on" all the time. I am constantly (and I do mean constantly) on the lookout for choking hazards, making sure she doesn't fall and hurt herself, planning her daily nutritional intake, inventing new games to play with our same old toys, trouble-shooting diaper rash, redirecting her away from the shoe mat/oven/computer/toilet/garbage can/dishwasher, etc. etc. etc. There is a particular tightness in my chest just trying to keep all of these balls in the air all day long, and even though I don't necessary feel stressed, I know my brain never stops racing.

That is, until I get to go to the bathroom. I started realizing several weeks ago that a wave of relief--even excitement!--would wash over me every time I was on my way to the bathroom (on my WAY to the bathroom, people, not IN the bathroom...good grief...). I have come to the conclusion that the bathroom is a mom's home base for the game of tag that is parenting--you are blissfully off limits. Whether I've put her in her crib with a toy or two or Kurt is home and watching her in the family room, I know I have a few precious minutes of time that is guaranteed to be undisturbed, generally quiet, and guilt free (using the bathroom is a necessity, after all).

So here's to you, bathroom. Many thanks.

Books!

Many of you might remember a video that Kurt posted several months ago of wee Madelyn providing a very thoughtful and provocative critique of her book "10 Little Monkeys." We (ok...I) was tickled that she seemed to like books so much, and I'm pleased to say that her affinity hasn't seemed to waver. Madelyn LOVES her books. We moved all of her board books out to the family room on a shelf that she can reach, and she logs considerable time everyday pulling them off the shelf, sitting amongst them, gnawing on their bindings, and trying her best to flip through the pages. What is so amusing to Kurt and me, though, is that she has clear favorites. Not even 10 months and this little Bugtuss has opinions about which book she'd like to read! I love it. Far and away her favorite at this time is Jamberry. "One berry Two berry Pick me a blueberry..." and on it goes in its delightfully rhythmic and deliciously imaginative way (the illustrations depict elephants skating on a pond of strawberry jam with waffle lily pads, etc.) Madelyn "Busy Bee" Olmsted will actually sit still for the entire 4 minutes it takes to read this book. She "mmm's" her enthusiasm and pulls the pages in close to give them kisses. But the best is when she hears "Strawberry ponies, Strawberry lambs, Dancing in meadows of strawberry jam" and starts dancing. Every time!


On a slightly related note, we've tried to create a little reading nook by the shelf with all of her books. We found this adorable monkey rug that is really more like a stuffed animal pancake. Our intention was to put it at the foot of the rocking chair in her room, but Maddie loves to cuddle with it so much that we decided we couldn't dirty it up with our feet! It now lives right by her book shelf so she has a cozy spot in which to get book lost. Upon coming out to the family room every morning, she has to crawl over to this monkey and lay on it and give it a kiss--an affectionate gesture that is ALWAYS available for the monkey but only sporadically bestowed upon Mommy and Daddy!