Spinning and Singing

WARNING: THESE VIDEOS CONTAIN EXCESSIVE ROTARY MOTION. IF YOU GET MOTION SICK OR DIZZY EASILY, CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED!

Maddie is obsessed with spinning lately. Chris picks her up and spins her and she can't get enough. What's funny is the way she holds her legs out. See the first video.

Soon she realized that we cannot always spin her around and she took matters into her own hands and began spinning while singing to her favorite songs. Take one of Bare Necessities from The Jungle Book.

Sometimes she shows off some moves other than spinning. Take two of Bare Necessities.

Maddie Quotes

Maddie's language continues to develop and some of the things she is saying are either so funny to us or amaze us and make us question, "where did she get that from?"
So I had to record some of these so I don't forget.

Tonight, she was playing with her Little People nativity set and was carrying Baby Jesus around. She said, "Baby Jesus, you my best friend?"

New favorite word: actually - here is an example
"Mommy, look there's a camel." (pointing at a lawn decoration)
"I think that's a reindeer Maddie."
"No Mommy, it's actually a camel."

She told my mom today to "interrupt the movie" she was watching.

Instead of TV she says television - "Dora's friend is Boots the monkey...on the television."

She pointed to an inflatable lawn decoration and said, "Daddy, it's deflated."

Trying to leave the house yesterday, Maddie told Chris, "One second Daddy."

First thing in the morning:
"My belly hurts."
"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat breakfast?"
"Ummm, I can have........3 lollipops!"

At my parents house one day, Maddie came downstairs after her nap and was greeted by my dad saying, "Magpie!" That is his nickname for her since I am his "Bird" and a magpie is a little bird. She responded to him calling her Magpie by saying, "Stop it that Grandpa. My name Madeline Eve Moskal!"

Big Girl!

We have had no luck with getting Maddie to go on the potty. She would sit on it, but we've never actually had anything happen until today! Maddie went pee-pee for the first time on the potty. I think she surprised herself and me for that matter. It was very exciting. I thought she was going to do more because she was bending forward and pushing and saying, "Maddie going poo-poo" but nothing ever came out. It was a good effort though. And although it hasn't happened since, it's a start!

The Zoo

We had no plans one Sunday a few weeks ago and decided to go to the zoo. I have a goal of going downtown to the zoo at least once a year. We didn't get many pictures of the zoo, mostly Maddie playing in the leaves. The big cats (Lions and Tigers) were a hit and of course the elephants were awesome. Can't wait to go back next year!

The Napping House

My friend Mia sent Maddie a book called The Napping House. And I'm happy to report that we have returned to being a napping house. We had a great week with Maddie napping every day. Some days it still takes her a while to settle down. Her latest sleep time adventure was taking ALL of her clothes out of her drawers. The drawers are now empty and Maddie's stuff has pretty much taken over the guest room. So sorry folks, we can't have any visitors right now because that room has boxes of diapers and wipes, all of Maddie's clothes, all of her shoes, her books, and the changing table!
And there are benefits of Maddie being in a bed now. This morning she woke up at 6:40 (kind of early for her) so I went in her room and got under the covers in her bed with her and we snuggled there and both dozed off until 7:30. Aaaaahhh, heaven on earth.

The bed issues continue......

No pictures for this post. If you need a picture to go along with this post, see "Big Girl Bed" below. If I don't document these stories, I'm afraid I'll forget them so here goes. It has been a roller coaster ride these last few weeks with Maddie's naps and bedtime. Long story short, she has been enjoying the freedom of being in a bed versus a crib. We however have not enjoyed it as much. She discovered how to get out of her room (she was previously unable to open a door with a knob). Check that off on the developmental skills checklist. Opens doors with knobs, check. Great. Now what? We tried the baby gate in the doorway after repeatedly, and I mean repeatedly as in 20-30 times, coming out of her room during naptime or bedtime. That went over horribly and we listened to a pitifully screaming child, "Mommy, wanna get out!!" for an hour one night and realized that was not the solution. Put the door knob covers on you say? Nope, tried it and Maddie/Houdini still managed to get the door open. So we got serious and switched the door knobs around so the lock is on the outside. Bed time has gotten much better, in fact, I sit here tonight writing this after putting her to bed, not locking the door and watching her drift off to sleep quietly in the monitor. Maybe that's because she didn't nap today and she's exhausted!!! So we still have some progress to make on nap time. Maddie often prefers to just play instead of sleep. But at least it's contained play. The highlights and funny things I don't want to forget of these sleep challenging weeks are the following.

1. I found her on top of her changing table with a bottle of lotion all over herself. Yes, she climbed up there all on her own. How? I don't know. But it's no longer in her room.
2. She fell asleep one night after taking off her pants and diaper, on the floor with her bare butt facing right up into the monitor.
3. Has started telling us to "Wait!" as we leave her room. She stands up, holds her finger up and says, "Wait!" Then the words that follow are enough to crack us up (me, Chris, and my mom).
"Wait!.....Can you do me a favor?"
and one night, it was
"Wait!.....I have to go potty." This coming from a girl who otherwise has no desire to sit on the potty. Man, she's good.
4. At my mom's house, Maddie was grunting in the monitor which is a sure sign she has pooped. Then it got totally quiet. Since she was out of view on the monitor, my mom went in to check on her and found her sound asleep on the floor. She stayed asleep the entire time Nana changed her diaper and never woke up.
5. And finally, last Sunday morning, we were woken up by a smiling face in our room instead of hearing her wake up in her room and call for us. Chris said that's a day that he'll always remember. She is getting so independent.

Some days I find humor in all of this. One day when she wasn't napping and doing all sorts of crazy things in her room, I called Chris at work and was laughing so hard telling him about it, that he put me on speaker phone so his coworker could hear me and he asked if I had been drinking! Other days, I'm at my wits end, trying to figure out why my child won't nap. Those days I usually call a friend or my mom. Thank you Chris, Mom, Mia, and Michelle for keeping me sane. Misery loves company and it's nice to know Maddie's not the only one having a party in her room at nap time!

Halloween Fun.... Go Big Red!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Maddie was a Nebraska Cornhuskers Cheerleader. Grandma Mary's friend Nerita gave her the outfit a while ago and it made for a perfect Halloween costume this year. Chris was born in Nebraska and although their football team has seen better years, we still need to show our Husker pride!

We started early with a neighborhood parade on the Sunday before Halloween. My parents and Chris's Mom came out to see Maddie in her costume. The kids did a treat hunt where the they walked around and gathered treats and then had a parade. Maddie walked around the whole circle during the parade by herself and loved it. She started with some little friends but was so interested in everyone around her, she slowed down and ended up on her own. It was beautiful weather and a really nice thing for the kids.

Then on Halloween night we had a pizza party in the court, a group picture with all the kids, and then went trick-or-treating with Paul, Michelle, and Livia. The girls were so cute together, Livi was Minnie Mouse so they matched well in their red, white, and black. They both enjoyed a lollipop while riding in the wagon. They went up to a few houses of people we knew and then we walked around the neighborhood with them in the wagon to see all the action including some crazy decorations (blow up Shrek and Tigger being the favorites) and even a movie being projected on someone's garage. Our neighborhood really goes all out. Each year it gets more fun to celebrate this holiday!

Jess and Baby Carson visit from CO!

We had the most wonderful long weekend with Jess and Carson. Chris, Jess's husband, is in Iraq and so they took an extended trip to the East Coast which included a stop here in Northern Virginia. Carson is just too cute for words and his pictures don't do him justice. I loved every minute with them and miss them so much now that they're back home! Maddie loved both Carson and Jackson and it was fun seeing her be the "big girl" in the bunch. Jackson just smiles all the time. We spent a couple nights at Jennie's, went downtown for a picnic lunch, and they spent one night here. It was so much fun, and a little chaotic at times coordinating the schedules of a 2 year-old, a 9 month-old, and a 2 month-old. Thanks Jess for making the long trip out here!

Smiley Jackson with his Mama

Carson and Jackson meet

Jess with her hands full!

Maddie helping feed the peanut!

Downtown, in front of the Capitol

Maddie's new cheesy smile for pictures!

So sweet

Again, the cheesy smile. Let's hope she figures out how to smile naturally before school pictures!

I have to include this story. The day that Jess and Carson left, Maddie and I stood on our front steps and waved goodbye. She waved to them and said, "Bye Baby Carson, I love you." Well that made me start to cry and Maddie got a concerned look on her face and then the conversation went like this:

Maddie: "Mommy's sad."

Me: "Yes honey, Mommy is sad because I'm going to miss Jess and Carson."

Maddie: "Here Mommy, you eat a grape, feel better, make you happy."

She had started eating her lunch again while we had this conversation and hence the grapes. If only grapes made everything all better! But that day, Maddie giving me the grape did make me smile.

Big girl bed!

Well, the dreaded finally happened. Maddie climbed out of her crib during her nap time. I heard a big thump on the floor and found her lying down on the floor holding her head. She cried for a while, then fell asleep in my arms. I was a bit freaked out, worried that she had a concussion and didn't know whether I should let her sleep. So after 10 minutes, I woke her up and made her walk down the hallway to make sure she had her motor skills intact. Then she fell asleep on my bed (with pillows surrounding her to avoid yet another fall) and I proceeded to remove her rails from her crib. Her crib turns into a toddler day bed, the perfect little size for a little toddler. Well that night, I made a big deal about her new big girl bed to get her all excited to sleep in it. Chris was out of town and I was bummed he was missing out on all this fun! I placed a body pillow on the floor next to her in case she rolled out. Well before I went to sleep, I watched her on the video monitor roll out twice, but she never woke up! I picked her up off the pillow (twice) and put her back in and went to sleep myself. At about 2:45 a.m. I glanced at the monitor and didn't see her. So I went into her room and found her in the middle of the floor sound asleep! This continued for a few more nights until we borrowed a rail from our neighbors. So now she stays put and can still climb out safely if she's so inclined. I had to sneak in one night to get a picture of her sleeping on the floor. Although it looks bright, it was 1:30 a.m. when I took this! Sound asleep........

Pumpkin Patch

We had a fun-filled afternoon at one of the local pumpkin patches where they have all sorts of activities during the fall. We still didn't make it to the corn maize which is supposed to be awesome.....maybe next year. We went with the Baums and Michelle's good friend Melissa and her family. Good times! Notice Maddie's dress - she keeps growing and it's very short on her, but she loves it and asks to wear it whenever I ask her what she wants to wear!

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

As a tribute to our beloved Yankees and the historic last game at Yankee stadium, I had to post a couple of pictures. I was born in NY and lived there until I was twelve and was lucky enough to go to Yankee Stadium. The highlight of one game was when I was given a signed ball by a player on the opposing team. Geordie could not believe that I got the ball and is still bitter to this day I think. Geordie is a die hard fan and went to the games on Friday and Saturday this weekend. On our recent trip to NYC, we got Maddie a Yankee hat. Chris even lets her wear it, but I know she'll have a Cubs hat soon too!

Here I am at Yankee Stadium

And here's Maddie!

God Bless Our Troops!

There is so much talk lately about politics and it's actually the first year that I'm really paying attention. It must be that over 30 thing. Regardless of everyone's political beliefs, one thing that unites us as a nation is the gratitude we all feel for our military. As many of you know, my best friend Jess served 4 years in the Army and spent time in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne. Well now it's her husband Chris's turn to serve our country overseas. So Chris, as you prepare for deployment, we all salute you! My dad taught Maddie to salute the flag, so this one's for you Chris and all the brave men and women who you work with. You are in our prayers.

Baby Jackson

This post is long overdue. As was Jackson! Jackson entered the world only 2 days late, despite the doctor's predictions for a week overdue (good boy). Jennie is doing great and Jackson looks like a little version of Kevin with the McDreamy hair and everything. People joke and call Kevin "McDreamy" from Grey's Anatomy because he's a doctor and has the dark, wavy hair. I saw them in the hospital and at their house his first weekend home. Here are some pictures when he was a newborn.

I caught Kev mid-yawn. Love this one.

Today we went over to visit Jackson again and this time Maddie came. She wasn't too interested in Jackson, she liked getting kisses from Bodhi though. We went on a long walk (Maddie ran) around their neighborhood and we had a nice visit. He is such a sweet boy and so precious!

Singin' in the Rain

Yesterday we got dumped on by Tropical Storm Hanna. We have really had such beautiful weather all summer so we had to get creative and find ways for Maddie to let out her bountiful physical energy. We set up the air mattress in our bedroom and that was fun for a while. Then we let her play in the rain on the deck. She got to wear her new raincoat from Aunt Samie for the first time. She has watched a little bit of Singing in the Rain at Nana's house so she loves to play with the umbrella. We just need to get her one that won't poke anyone's eye out!