Welcome Winter

A few recent photos for you:

We're getting ready to welcome Christmas at our house, and someone is very excited about all of the sparkly things that are appearing!

We have a park right behind our house, and now that Madelyn has mastered walking, she loves to go for walks with Mommy and Daddy (and Nana!) to blow kisses to the doggies at the dog park and climb on the play structure. Just this weekend, she learned how to turn around on her tummy and go down the big spiral slide all by herself.

Hiss!

Hissing, snorting, meowing, and some diggin' for gold, if you know what I mean...

A Christmas Thought... prepare the soapbox

Hey there~

I know that I don't share the same beliefs with you all, but I think this can SO go beyond a belief system. Given the state of our economy, what if we gave differently this holiday season?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

Instead of worrying about how big the gift is or how much we spent, we could give relational gifts. Time to talk, eat, sled, climb a tree, hike, and play. Maybe bake something or create your unique gift. Offer to clean someone's house or babysit for a night or two.

The kicker? Use the money you were going to spend (or some of it at least) to help others in dire need. Could we make a difference?

FACT_
Americans alone spent $450 billion on Christmas in 2007. It would cost $10 billion (2.2%) to get clean drinking water to everyone in the world. We absolutely CAN make a difference.

Ok, I'll get off my soap box. Please check out www.adventconspiracy.org when you get a chance. Great information, videos, etc.

Thanks for listening/reading!

Feeling Her Oats

We've entered the land of tantrums. There was no warning or gradual build up; they just started out of the blue one day, and we now average about three per day. They don't happen every time she's told "no," and in fact, they seem to be most prevalent when she's tired or hungry--pretty normal toddler behavior (pretty normal adult behavior, too, I think). Here's the thing about tantrums: I was prepared to be patient but firm in sticking to the limits and following through with consequences. I was prepared to occasionally feel overwhelmed and at the end of my rope. I was NOT prepared to find them so hilarious that I nearly bruise my lips pursing them so tightly to keep from laughing out loud (I'm pretty sure that laughing at a tantrum is not a recommended way to establish credibility and authority as a parent). I can't help it. What's so hysterical to me is that, because of her still-developing gross motor skills, they sort of happen in slow motion. Madelyn decides to tantrum; they don't just happen to her in a fit of rage. She hears "no" at which point she dramatically stops what she is doing and bends over to put her hands on the floor. Once her hands are on the floor she gets on her knees and then stretches out until her tummy is flat on the ground and her arms and legs are stretched out as far as they will go. She then begins scooting backward, but occasionally her foot will get caught up on the floor or she'll run into a wall and she'll have to readjust or turn around to get back on track. Sometimes she grunts, but most of the time it is simply a silent, if not emphatic, protest. After I regain at least a workable amount of my composure, I plainly ask her if she's done at which point she typically stares at me for a moment, then stands up and sprightly walks away to begin a new activity. Man, she showed me!!

A Day with Maddie

Madelyn is nearly 14 months old now, and Kurt and I are just amazed at all of the new information her little brain is soaking up--and all of the little nuances of her personality that are emerging! It seems that she learns something new every day, and while it often seems that one day just kind of drifts into another, they are far from boring! Here is a taste:

1. "Chase" is Maddie's game of choice. We have one of those old-school popper push toys (i.e. LOUD), and at least three times a day, she brings it over to me and then smiles and runs away expecting me to chase her with it all over the house. Those of you with children know that there is a very fine line between "scared" and "exhilarated," and this tenuous place is Madelyn's favorite place to be lately!

2. Madelyn loves animals (this is nothing new). But she is getting really good at animal sounds. She can roar like a lion, meow like a kitty, moo like a cow, "ooo ooo ooo" like a monkey, snort like a pig, and most recently, hiss like a snake. If she is asked about an animal sound that she doesn't know, she just scrunches up her nose and blows air out of it. Go figure.

3. I may have permanently messed up my daughter's spiritual life. We have an illustrated Bible story book that we have read before every nap and bedtime for months. She loves this book and always sits perfectly still on our laps in her rocker to listen to the stories. A week or so ago, I decided to bring out some new picture books--non-cardboard ones that we don't let her handle on her own. Now, if we even show her the Bible story book, she signs "all done" and commences squirming until we bring out one of the other picture books. Her favorite? Where the Wild Things Are...a story about a naughtly little boy who gets sent to bed without dinner and sails off to a land with wild monsters whom he bosses around. Great, Mommy. Good one.

4. Madelyn LOVES to dance. If she hears even a measure or two of a song, she starts to dance, and her dance repretoire is growing fast. Check it out:


5. Kurt and I are realizing that we are raising a v-e-r-y sensitive and dramatic child (I know...you all are SHOCKED that my gene pool would produce a sensitive and dramatic child...). If we even look at her sideways or, God forbid, tell her to stay away from the hot oven, she literally collapses in tears and heaving sobs. It's the saddest little sight (and also a bit funny, if we're being honest).

6. Madelyn is a very affectionate little girl. She blows kisses to her parents, her family, her friends, perfect strangers, doggies in the park, leaves on the ground, lampposts, etc. When we go to story time at the library on Thursdays and Fridays, she kisses at least three other kiddos before I can even get her coat off :)