I can relate to this...

Since this is so small you'll have to go to the website to read it, but here's the gist of the Baby Blues comic from November 16: the mom is putting all of the items from her shopping cart onto the belt for the store employee to ring her up; the next thing you see is her child coming down the belt wearing a sweater with a pricetag on it; the mommy says "she really, really likes the sweater".

This is funny to me because it happens almost every Sunday, though not quite to this extent. After church on Sundays we go to the SuperTarget to buy our groceries for the week. During this time, Anna usually claims an item as "hers". This may be something yummy like rainbow colored goldfish but it may just as likely be a jar of spices - she is not overly particular. We then have to talk her into letting the items go long enough for us to scan it and then we hand the item immediately back to her. This isn't usually a big deal until you try using the self checkout at Harris Teeter where you have to put the items into the grocery bag or else it blows up - this is not a good situation for us and I have learned my lesson :).

Happy Thanksgiving

I love being a mom and a wife and am so thankful for my family. I love the midnight cuddles with Maddie, the cute conversations with Anna and everything about my husband. I have so much to be thankful for.

Have you ever seen...

...Elmo ride a unicorn? This happens frequently at our house :)

Crawling Update

It didn't take long for Maddie to perfect her crawling; she can now make her way around the house with ease. We are back to the days of keeping the puppy bowls on the counter and closing the gate to the stairs. Every item on the floor is fair game to go in the mouth and the puppy is in constant danger of having her tail pulled. The hardest part this go around is keeping Anna's smaller toys out of Maddie's grasp. Maddie also loves to pull up on anything/anyone she can find.



This is a relatively new experience for me - Anna was not overly curious and preferred to stay near me at all times. Thankfully this time I have Anna's help :).

Maddie is coming to attack my power cord so I guess that is my cue.

My "Blogging Spot"

This morning is the setting for perfect "blogging time". The house is quiet; the girls are yet to wake. I have a cup of my favorite coffee (Starbucks Breakfast Blend brewed on my Tassimo) and I can see and hear the SNOW falling through the window behind me. Ahhhhhh. There are cute Anna and Maddie events to write about, pictures to post and memories to be recorded - here is my favorite place to do it all... welcome to my breakfast nook :).

Shiny Locks

Doesn't her hair look so shiny? :) After getting a haircut I decided it was probably time to switch from the babywash to an actual shampoo for Anna. We bought Johnson's No More Tangles Shampoo with Conditioner for curly hair (who knew you could get a child shampoo for every hair type!?!?) It has really made a difference leaving her hair not as stringy as before and it smells great. I love the slogan on the bottle - when your child has outgrown the effectiveness but not the gentleness of Baby Shampoo.

Here they are...

By the time I got the picture of Maddie's first tooth, another decided to pop up as well:

Madelyn crawling

This weekend Maddie broke out into a full front crawl. Oddly enough, her first "big" crawl was for the Sunday paper just like Anna's. This afternoon Maddie has been working on perfecting her crawl which has caused the whole family to constantly remove things from her grasp - Anna has been a big help in this. I have a feeling things are about to get busy around here.

"Homemaking"

In my husbands blog this week he referred to me as a homemaker which makes me smile. I have come a long way from when I got my first apartment 6 years ago - who knew frozen pizzas come with a piece of cardboard on the bottom that has to be removed?!?! Back then, I probably would not even acknowledge that "homemaking" was something that I would one day aspire to. Fast forward six years and I'm now slowly but surely gaining confidence in the kitchen. I now find myself seeking out new recipes to try and am even cooking for guests and new mommies. I've tried cupcake decorating, babyfood pureeing and now my latest endeavor... bread making.

Here are my cupcakes:



And my first loaf of bread:



One of the biggest things I have learned through this is you never know if you can do something until you try. Maybe next I'll try sewing :).

Anna's First Haircut

I took Anna for her first haircut today. Per the suggestion of many friends, I took Anna to JJs Kids Cuts. On Wednesdays all haircuts are $12.50 versus the normal $17, so it seemed like a good deal to me. The waiting area has a big slide, kitchen set and lots of puzzles which Anna loved. When it was time for her haircut, Anna chose to sit in a police car and watch an Elmo video. Here she is in her cape:



The lady asked me what I wanted done to it - my only request was to leave the front long. So Anna ended up with a few snippets to "shape" her hair and a layer in the back to enhance the curls :). Five minutes after it began, the haircut was over - Anna did great. We left with a certificate that had Anna's picture on it, a little baggie of her hair and most importantly, a happy child. I highly recommend JJs.

Here's the before and after (yes, I realize there isn't a big difference):



And here's my favorite, Anna with clips in her hair:

First Tooth

Yesterday was a day of two firsts for Maddie which may or may not be related. While playing outside Maddie threw up all over me. Sad. Then while playing inside (after throwing up once again) she started nibbling on my finger and I felt it, a tooth! We tried to get a picture but Maddie didn't feel like cooperating.

After posting my blog, Maddie decided to prove she could do even better. Here she is in her favorite yoga position, downward dog :).

On the Move

Maddie has been impressing me with her moving skills lately. She is not quite crawling but that doesn't stop her from making her way around the room. She'll roll, scoot, twist, whatever she needs to do to get to a nearby (or far away) toy. She is even getting up on her hands and knees and rocking. I think she'll be crawling anyday now. Here are a few action shots:

Halloween Recap

We had a great Halloween day. The girls and I joined some friends at the local library for a Halloween program that included songs, stories and a costume parade. I have not taken Anna to the library for Rhyme Time since she was 17 months old (before Maddie was born) and this experience was so much better. Before, Anna clung to me and wanted a snack; this time Anna was up dancing and clapping her hands - so fun to watch. After the songs, the kids were turned loose to make their way around the library collecting candy from the library staff.

Halloween night we dressed the girls in their costumes yet again (Maddie made the switch to her comfy cow outfit) and met some neighbors for trick or treating. You have never seen anything as cute as five 2 year olds parading down the street in their costumes. Anna loved knocking on doors and putting candy in her bag. Somewhere along the way one of the parents told their little girl to just take one piece of candy and Anna was determined to do the same. At every house she would pick out one piece and place it in her bag then it was time to move on to the next house. Anna was having so much fun I had to make her go home after 10 or so houses because her hands were ice cubes. She spent the rest of the evening on the front porch with daddy handing out candy and glow necklaces to the kids that stopped by.

I have never been a huge Halloween person but I must say, there's something about watching your children get so much enjoyment out of something that really puts you in the spirit.

Here's the family ready to trick or treat:

2 Year & 6 Month Checkups

On Friday the girls had another wellness checkup and I braved the doctor's office by myself. The girls were great - Anna was such a big girl and didn't even cry when she got her shots.

Maddie -
Weight: 16 lbs, 12 ounces (75%)
Height: 25 3/4 inches (50%)
HC: 43.7 centimeters (80%)

Anna -
Weight: 31 lbs (90%)
Height: 34 inches (50%)