Valentine's Day

Despite the varying degrees of sickness in our household, we had a nice Valentine's day full of yummy food. The day started with my husband and Anna making heart-shaped pancakes...



... for lunch we went to a local hamburger joint and followed up our burgers with a Great American Cookie Cake which is one of my all-time favorites. After lunch we picked up my gift from the kids - an adorable mug with their handprints on it they made with my husband at Klaystation.



For dinner we feasted on weinerschnitzel, a Valentine tradition.

And of course it wouldn't be a special occasion without a cute outfit from Mimi. Here the girls are in their Valentine princess shirts.



This was a wonderful family Valentine's Day!!!

Maddie and the Straw

I think Maddie felt the pressure to show me something new after yesterday's post :). Here she is drinking from a straw.

Brrrrrrrr

It has been in the 20's today; a perfect day for hot chocolate and marshmallows.

A Mind of her Own

At nine months, Maddie is really starting to form her own opinions. Just yesterday I gave her her first assortment of cheerios. She carefully picked out all of the colored ones, ate them and then proceeded to throw the plain cheerios on the ground. It brought back some not so pleasant memories of dinner time with Anna; I guess all of that fun is about to begin.

On Monday Maddie went in for her 9 month appointment.

Weight: 19 lbs, 3.5 ounces
Height: 28 inches

(For comparison she's about 3/4 inches taller and 2.5 pounds lighter than Anna at this age.)

The main topic with the doctor was food. Since Maddie hadn't had any apparent allergies it was time to increase her solid foods and start experimenting. He told me I could give her most anything I give to Anna as long as it is cut into tiny pieces and is not a high allergy food like peanut butter/honey/milk. This came as a shock to me for some reason. When I look at Maddie I see "my baby" rather than a little one who is approach 1 year old! This week Maddie has tried chicken and rice casserole out of the crockpot, grilled cheese, and ground beef.

Maddie is continuing to pull up on everything and can frequently be found up on her knees. Just today she stood up in the middle of the floor by herself. She will push her walker across the room but doesn't seem interested in walking on her own - her other means of travel are way faster.

About a week ago I heard those gratifying syllables for the first time, "mama". "Dada" has been a favorite for awhile. We are definitely in that stage of something new everyday and I love it.

New Uses for Old Stuff

When I was a single girl living in an apartment by myself, I ordered The Firm - one of those fitness "miracles" guaranteed to get you in shape. I only used it a few times yet it has moved with me, twice. We don't even own a VCR anymore yet I still kept it stored in a closet. It now has a use! Anna likes to use the steps to climb into her big girl bed. I think she has stepped on it more than I ever did :).

Local Community Centers

Last week I was introduced to Tot Time at two of our local community centers. Basically it is an open gym for the little ones. Mats and toys are on the floor for the crawlers and balls, hoolahoops, and ride-on toys are scattered around the gym for the walkers. With the cold weather keeping us inside, this was a great time to let Anna run around (plus, it's free!). Our experience at each was very different...

Green Road Community Center: On Thursday we went to Green Road to meet a few friends. When I walked in with the girls there were only two other moms/kids. Anna seemed to feel very comfortable there and immediately took off to play with the toys. Because there were only a few people there, every kid had a surplus of toys. Maddie enjoyed crawling around on the mats and playing with the blocks and push toys. Anna rode around in a toy car. For me, it was a very stress-free environment. I could keep an eye on both kids at once and there was nothing for them to get into. When my friends arrived, we were able to watch the kids and actually have a conversation.

Lake Lynn Community Center: After a great experience on Thursday, I decided to join another friend at the Lake Lynn Community Center on Friday. The moment we walked into this gym Anna grabbed my leg and did not let go - there were approximately 45 kids running around! At this gym there was the addition of basketball and soccer goals but there were just not enough toys to go around. Whenever Anna would spot a toy she wanted to play with and run after it, another kid would get there before her. I also didn't feel comfortable putting Maddie on the ground because she kept getting hit with basketballs (heavy!). My friend told me there were double the kids there that week so we may try it again and see if it is less crowded. If your child enjoys running around with lots of kids, this is probably the place for you!

Ready for the Game

While their dad is in Tampa watching the Superbowl, the girls cheer for the Steelers back home. Go Steelers!