Foto Friday - Just browsing...

...the Toys R Us ad of course.

"I wonder what I should ask Daddy for next!?"

Potty Training - Day 1

So I bought M a potty today. I'm not necessarily trying to rush her to potty train...but I have started thinking about it, and decided to at least buy her a potty chair so she could practice sitting on it.

This is what happened once we got home, and I showed her the potty. (She carried it in the kitchen herself.)

Yes, she ran away, and I found her in her room...with a fresh poopy diaper.

Maybe she is ready? But, I don't think I am!!!

(She's gonna love me for this video someday...right?!)

Toy Box Time w/ G'Pa

M's toys in our living room have become overwhelming...especially after the holidays. So, I finally decided on a toy box, ordered it from Amazon, and recruited G'pa Dave to put it together (Josh was super busy with work this last week, and I am impatient).

Madison had a great time helping G'pa Dave build her toy box! The proof is in the pictures!

She loved getting all the pieces out. Here she is trying to unwrap a wheel for G'pa.

She tried so very hard to get the wheel in the right spot!

She could get it lined up...just couldn't figure out the twisting part.

"Hmmm...maybe this will do something now...."

Peek-a-boo!

Eventually she got bored...but thought that coloring inside the toy box would be fun.

Being silly w/ G'pa!

All done...M loves the tools! (Josh likes this picture best!)

It was really easy to put together (so my Dad and M say). I love the safety hinge, the fact that it's on wheels, and that it also serves as a bench.

Of course it's filled to the brim already! Happy playing, M!

Foto Friday - Stuck!

:) Eventually she yelled, "Mama!"

And eventually, I helped her down (after taking her picture quick of course)!

Valentine's Day 2012

Normally I am somewhat anti-Valentine's Day. I typically think flowers are a waste of money...although I can't say I don't enjoy getting them! ;) And, I honestly think everyday is an opportunity to tell the ones you love that you love them. Right?!

What I really mean is, I don't expect a lot of fuss over V-Day...and in return, I don't have to plan anything either!!! Ah, the truth comes out...hey...I'm just being honest!

So, this year, Josh let it slip late last week that he had gotten a gift for M and I...and I was SUPER EXCITED and bummed at the same time...usually we don't do much to celebrate which gets me off the hook for doing anything extra special for Josh. (I'm a good wife...right?!)

We decided to celebrate on Monday since Josh was working from home. Anyone who knows Josh knows he cannot keep secrets and usually likes to give gifts early! So, even though the gift arrived late last week, I managed to hold him off of giving it to me until Monday...at least he was still one day early!

Why am I being so wordy in these posts all the sudden! Long story short...he surprised M and me with a Kindle Fire!!! :) I was SO SURPRISED and equally appreciative! I decided to make him dinner and dessert...he chose fish and puppy chow. Yum?!

So, let's just get to the pictures, shall we? They'll explain most of our day(s) anyways!

Part of the card says, "You are the "Fire" in the my heart." He was pretty proud of his creativeness. :)

Enjoying a yummy Valentine's sugar cookie for her snack!

Opening her card from G'ma Tracy.

Josh enjoying his dinner. The only thing I really prepared was the fish...the rice came from a box, and the asparagus was frozen...

On Tuesday, Josh had to work all day. Here's M making a card for Daddy!

Kisses for her new Minnie lovey. I had to get this for her at the store today because she picked her off the shelf and just kept hugging her...I'm such a softie.

So...for me typically being anti-Valentine's Day...I sure had a great 2-day celebration! ;)

VDay Cookies w/ Cousins

Last Saturday my cousin, Erin, and 3 of her kids came over to bake and decorate some sugar cookie cutouts for Valentine's Day. (Josh had to work...boo!)

Anyways, M and I were having SO MUCH FUN that I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted...and I burned like 4 sheets of cookies because I got too busy chatting! But, I did manage to capture one of my favorite pics of M of all time (the last pic posted)!

Enjoy!

Here's Erin, and Lydia helping Luke.

Luke (w/ Lydia's help) took this picture of me...he did pretty good, huh?!

Beautiful cookies...all decorated by Lydia!!!

I managed to hastily decorate two cookies.

Madison and Grant had a great time playing! They didn't do much decorating, but loved eating their cookies!

It was a fantastic afternoon of baking, laughing, decorating, chatting, playing, hugs, and memories!

As they were getting ready to leave...I tried to take a picture of Grant and M on the steps...here's what I got!

Grant looks cute...and of course M is squinting...

M tries to escape my second shot.

And, here's my SASSY M...arms crossed and annoyed that her Mama asked her to sit for one more picture! Grant, of course, was a perfect angel during all this!!!

So glad they could come over and spend the day with M and I!

18 Months...For Real This Time

I canNOT believe M is half way to her second birthday!!! Where has the time gone?!

Thankfully, my good friend, Laura, reminded me that today was the 13th when I was on the phone with her. Otherwise, I totally would have forgot...and so far, I've managed to take every photo for her monthly updates on the actual day. Thanks, Laura! :)

Ok...onto some updates about our "baby" girl!

The biggest change in our lives this last month has been the transition to only one afternoon nap a day! She transitioned fairly easily really. And, she now goes down around 1:15pm and sleeps for an hour to 2 hours a day.

Going to a one nap schedule has led to more outings and activities in the mornings!

We are just finishing up our Toddler Mommy and Me Music Class. It is a LOT of fun...and I think it's been a great opportunity for M to be social and be in a "classroom" setting following directions and interacting with other toddlers. We participate in circle time, parachute play, and of course music and movement. I'm so thankful I reconnected with an old friend on FB who invited us to enroll with her and her son. I don't have any pictures (because I wasn't sure how other parents would feel)...but I might try and get a group picture next Monday.

We also joined Stroller Strides! I Love it! Although on most days Madison is in her stroller for the majority of the one hour class...some days she's allowed to run free in the gym and interact and play with the other kiddos...and the best part is...I'm finally exercising!!!

Both of these activities have been wonderful for Madison to learn to be social with other toddlers and wonderful for me to get out a bit more and meet some new friends and local Mamas!

Ok...that was a lot of writing. Let's get to the pictures from earlier today!

Happy 18 months, Madison!!!

Cutie!

"Bye, Mom! Time to play!"

"See ya, Winnie. I see a stick that I must have."

Checking out the snow.

She finally hugged Winnie when I told her he was sad.

Last picture of the afternoon.

And some final random updates...

Height and Weight:
Really not sure of her exact measurements. I think she's around 27 lbs. She's in size 4 diapers. Size 24 mo. clothes are probably best for her now. Size 5 shoes seem to be ok still. Her size 18 month clothes still fit...but is getting snug and/or too short. Some size 2T will fit her...but some 2T is still too tight.

Teeth:
She is getting a molar on each side on both the top and bottom...so she's added 4 new teeth this last month (finally). We've been SO luck that teething for M has been pretty smooth...mostly just a bit of drooling and chewing on her fingers.

New Words:

Uh oh - says this all the time if she drops something or if something is out of place in her opinion.

No - says this all the time...to me especially! Haha!

Bye - her new favorite word!

Shoes

Unc (for Uncle)

Some of these words are probably only words I understand! Haha! Oh, and she has stopped saying "hi" as much for some reason.

Meal Time:

She is able to feed herself fairly well with a spoon and fork now! And, she would much rather feed herself. So meal times are messy. So messy.

She loves fruits! But, I am having a hard time getting her to eat or try any new foods. She doesn't eat any meat. She rarely seems interested in trying bites of any of our table food. Her diet and meal times tend to totally stress me out on almost a daily basis. I'll probably be doing a full post on this sometime soon...

Other Fun Stuff:

She loves to hug and pats your back or shoulder when she hugs you. She will always run to me when she hears the "I Love You" Barney song to hug and kiss me. Melts my heart every single time! I never thought I'd love Barney like I do now! Oh, and if she wants to hug you, but you are not near her, she will hold her arm out and lay her head on her shoulder...it's way of sending hugs to you! So sweet!

She finally can blow a kiss!

She is CLIMBING on everything!!! Enough said.

She is obsessed with pens and pads of paper. I have to hid ink pens from her. She'll color with crayons for a bit...but a pen will keep her attention so much longer!

Tantrums! She really only has them once in a while. Sometimes it's actually funny...sometimes, it's definitely not.

She tries to say her name...but can only say, "Maaa." She will point to herself if you ask her where is Madison? She is also able to point out other people's body parts (eyes, ears, etc.) and on her stuffed animals.

Every night we read books before bed. It is my favorite time of day. She loves the Little Critter books. Her favorites are, I Was So Mad, All By Myself, When I Get Bigger, and Just Go To Bed.

Wow...this is SO long! Thanks for reading if you've hung in there for the whole post! Whew!

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day (tomorrow)! Our Valentine's Day post will come later this week.

Our Week in Camera Phone Pics (3)

SUNDAY (the 5th) Good morning! (Closing her eyes in anticipation of the flash!) She played with these bottles of water for quite some time. Watching the Puppy Bowl with her beloved puppy, Winky! I actually made something from Pinterest for the Super Bowl party we went too...yummy cheesy bacon potato rounds!

MONDAY Chillin' on the balance beam things (not sure what they are called) at Music Class. Coloring! She LOVES coloring and hoarding crayons. Wearin' Daddy's stocking hat. Snuggling with Daddy before bath time.

TUESDAY I don't know how she did it...but she got in that thing by herself! She can't get out though, so she had to yell for me, and that's how I found her! She also found these cookies and helped herself. Hugs for Winky. Showing G'pa her new "MagnaDoodle."

WEDNESDAY We had a super long morning/afternoon. I'll admit, I was being lazy and allowed her to eat her yogurt on the counter. Bad Mama! Another pic of M and Mama. Of course she is squinting. When will she stop squinting for photos?!

THURSDAY Target is always fun! And then later that night she learned how to use the water dispenser on our fridge...and Mama learned there is a lock button for the dispenser! Wearing Mama's hoodie. Her first taste of a McDonald's Shamrock Shake!

FRIDAY It's SO blurry! :( But I had to include it because M and her friends from Stroller Strides were having so much fun after class that day! That's AJ, Liam, and Sarah Grace! Later that night she helped G'ma with a cheerio necklace...that she eventually ate of course.

SATURDAY This is M throwing a "tantrum" because I wouldn't let her use the TV remote. She fake cries with her head down.

Whew. Well, that was some of our week! I haven't done this since August. I've learned that M is SO hard to take pics of with my phone because she is almost always moving...or squinting! Hoping the squinting will end soon...although, I guess that's what I get for trying to take her picture all the time! Haha!

Foto Friday - Pony Tail!

Josh says she's looking more like her Mama every day!

It took about 20 minutes and lots of bribing to get her to even hold still for me to try this...and she only left it in for about 10 seconds. *sigh* :)