A Wonderful Visit with the Lows

Chris went to SC for an annual golf trip with some Verizon guys and this year I went along for the ride and continued down to Shelley's new house near Hilton Head. It worked out perfectly! Lourdes (3 1/2) and Maddie (2 1/2) were fast friends as soon as we arrived. And I got to meet Baby Landon (4 months) for the first time. He is such a sweetie and so adorable. Lourdes (Lulu) was so generous with all her toys and she and Maddie played very well together. I've actually never seen Maddie interact so much and converse so much with another kid as she did with Lulu. And it was so great to spend some quality time with Shelley. She is an amazing mommy and a wondeful friend!

The first day we enjoyed the pretty weather and walked all around Shelley's beautiful neighborhood. They have too many amenities to list! It's like living at a resort!

"Us? Tired? No, we don't need a nap. We'll just rest here!"

Landon was the trooper of the weekend. Even with a cold, he came everywhere with us and was such a good boy!

On Saturday, Valentine's Day, we took the girls to an indoor playground with moonbounces, a castle with slides, and tons of other toys/activities to keep them busy. Other than Maddie unknowingly taking a big bite out of Lourdes's perfectly decorated Valentine's cupcake, everyone had a happy fun-filled Valentine's Day.

On Sunday we drove into Hilton Head and went to Harbour Town. There was a neat playground and we had lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe. Lunch was hilarious. Lourdes fell out of her chair; we waited forever for our food with hungry little girls; Lourdes had a horrible PB&J with the jelly squirting out the sides so it got all over her shirt; Maddie kept taking her shoes off and came close to spilling her milk; Landon got fussy and Shelley had to leave with him; then just when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse...Landon spit up all over Shelley and onto the table! We laughed so hard and when Lourdes wondered why we were laughing so hard, Shelley told her, "because sometimes when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade." Maddie and Lourdes happened to have coordinating outfits (unplanned) so they wore them and looked so cute together!

After Hilton Head, we went to the horse stables in Shelley's neighborhood to feed the horses some carrots. What a great place to grow up!

These two are just two sweetpeas in a pod and we can't to see them again in May! I wish we didn't live so far away!

"If only you could drive this thing all the way up to Virginia. That would be great Lulu."

A Story Worth Forgetting (but really I have to write it down)

I don't have enough time to write all about the on and off sleep battles that have been occurring in this house. As I mentioned in a previous post, we got desperate a few months ago and switched the lock on Maddie's door to be on the outside. She hated the baby gate and would not stay in her room for anything. We hadn't needed it lately, but in recent days Maddie has started exercising her freedom by not staying in her new big girl bed or her room at nap and bedtime. Apparently this is common for 2 year-olds. So to anyone reading this who has an older child, please tell me it's a short phase, and anyone with a younger one, good luck, I hope this a phase your child skips. Chris and I decided that we really didn't like the idea of locking the door anymore and wanted to work through these battles without using the lock. We began to wonder if that was part of her power struggle. Well Friday night was interesting.

Chris and I both were in her room, getting her settled for bed. She wasn't actually in bed yet, and like usual, she had to get something from another room so she ran out of her room. We sat there and together watched our 2 1/2 year old leave the room, close the door behind her and.....lock the door. Then we heard two more doors closing (our bedroom and our bathroom). Chris and I were locked in her room. Now I know what you're thinking....didn't we have a key in the room just in case? Nope. No key. We can't find one to our doors and they are turn locks, not push locks. At first we kind of laughed, then we kind of started to worry, then after about 5 minutes (which seemed like 30!) I was freaking out. Chris was very analytical, trying to figure out a way out (which there weren't any that didn't involve breaking down the door or climbing out the 3rd story window). I was worried about her, not knowing what she was getting into by herself in our bathroom, worried that we had no phone to call a neighbor, no tool to unlock the door, worried because she had the run of the house!!!!
After a few friendly "Maddie come here, please open the door." And a few unfriendly, "Madeline Eve get back here right now!!!", she finally came back. Needless to say, there is now a screwdriver hidden in her closet to remove the doorknob...just in case.

If these bedtime battles continue....you may see our family on an episode of Super Nanny. Let's hope not. One day Maddie, you will be reading this blog. This would be a good time to hug us and tell us you're sorry for all these shenanigans.

There is a really sweet book called, I Love You So... I recommend this book for all parents to read on days when you're not sure if you have enough patience to make it through the whole day. Here are my favorite parts:
"I love you." "How much?" "SO much." "How much is 'so'?" "WAY, WAY more than you know..."
"Do you love me EVERY day?" you ask with doubting awe, "or does love go up and down like a teetering see-saw?"
I love you as steady as the earth rounds the sun, though some days of life are the farthest from fun.
"Like when you feel mad?" you ask with distress, "cause I've broken the rules or made a big mess? Or when I'm unkind and your feelings are blue, do you love me although I do what I do?"
I love you being nice, and when you are cranky, too. I love you without liking the naughty things you do.
You're my sweetie, my dear, my smile and laughter. You're my playmate for always, and my joy ever after.
I can't imagine life before you came along...me there singing senseless, no meaning to my song. Call it meant to be or simply blessed fate, you fill my heart with love...and for that I celebrate.
"I love you." "How much?" "So much." "How much is 'so'?" "WAY WAY more than you know."

I have always said that I love being with Chris so much because he keeps life interesting and exciting. Looks like I now have two Moskal's in my life to keep it interesting and exciting. And I wouldn't trade either of them for anything in this whole wide world.

First Snow!

We have had a pretty uneventful winter here in Virginia. COLD, but not much snow. We finally got a little bit and had a chance to go out and play. It wasn't really enough for sledding, but it was pretty!

All suited up and ready to go out! Blankie had to stay in though.

Potty Party!!!

Maddie woke up one morning in early January, walked over to the dresser, took off her diaper, and put on her Ariel underpants and said, "Maddie wants to wear big girl underpants." I was a little shocked and not sure what to do, but I went with it. I was thinking of potty training her using the concept in a book that my friend Mia recommended. You use a doll and "teach" the doll how to use the potty first, then teach the child, and when the child succeeds...you throw a potty party! There is a lot of planning involved for the day of the training/party and since Maddie decided on her own, I was less than prepared for this momentous day. But I started off with the concept of training the doll. So I sat the dolly down on the potty and said, "Maddie, let's show dolly how to use the potty!" And she said, "No Mommy, no dolly, Maddie's turn." And just like that, she sat down and did her business several times that day! I know it sounds weird to say this, but it actually was a lot of fun. We did nothing that day except play and go potty and it was nice to be able to praise her achievements, spend time together, and focus all my attention on her. That afternoon, we made a quick trip to Target (I was practically running through the store in fear of a public accident) and got a cake and decorations. Chris brought home some balloons and we had a potty party! She's been in big girl underpants ever since!

A Wonderful Christmas

I had expected this Christmas to be a lot of fun given Maddie's age, and I was not disappointed. We had a very fun, very peaceful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Chris's family and Christmas Day with mine, then made a quick trip up to PA to Great Nana's house on the 26th. Maddie was so into everything this year from the trees, lights, Santa, snowmen, decorations, and yes presents. What was so nice though is that she didn't have any expectations for presents or ask for anything. It was truly just a pure enjoyment of the spirit of Christmas, not the "stuff." But she did get lots of stuff from family and friends and for that we are grateful, because she has been playing like crazy with all her new things.

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's (Santa even came!)

Christmas morning at home. Her Christmas present to us was sleeping until 8 a.m. That will probably never happen again on Christmas morning until she's a teenager!

This video demonstrates how much Maddie loved Christmas music this year. The look of awe on her face is not for the gift she is opening, but the sound of Little Drummer Boy playing in the background. We could have skipped presents and just played music and she'd have been happy. She was excited about her Bitty Baby too.

Christmas Day at Nana and Grandpa's House

Giving the "peace" sign. My dad says to Maddie, "Peace baby" and she says it back and does the fingers, so my parents made her this "Peace Baby" bag.

Day after Christmas at Great Nana Flo's

This is Heidi the Goat, the hit of all Christmas gifts this year. It is too funny. It is a goat that sings the puppet song from Sound of Music, Maddie's favorite movie. My Nana found it for her and she loves it. See the video below! Note: the video is very dark and it will make you dizzy (see warning on previous post below about Maddie's obsession with spinning).

Baby Aiden in his Santa suit, so cute!

Enjoying all her gifts.

The day after all the festivities, we spent the morning at home just playing. I looked over at one point and noticed Maddie had her Sleeping Beauty dress on, was playing with Heidi the goat, with her stoller and Snow White, on the trampoline. Now that's mulit-tasking.

And just in case you didn't get enough of the goat in the above video, here's an encore. This time she is also jumping, and spinning of course, on her new trampoline from Grandma and Grandpa. We will be loving this on cold winter days when we're stuck in the house. A great way to get her willies out!