Growing Up, Up, Up

Yesterday Maddie had her 2 year appointment and I was surprised by some of her stats.

Weight: 29 pounds (75 percentile)
Height: 36 inches (95 percentile) !

I knew she was a little tall but I didn't realize she even measured in the 50 percentile for a 3 year old! I talked to the pediatrician about discipline and food issues - things that seem to be an issue through the ages.

Here's Maddie showing her 2 year old pouty face (she can do this on cue, it makes me laugh :)).

Maddie's New Bed Update

Today is day 3 of Maddie in her big girl bed and she is continuing to do great. She has taken 2 naps (which is actually really good for her even in her crib!) and today she is doing puzzles quietly in her room. At night, Maddie is getting into her bed with no problems and falling asleep but she is waking up a few times during the night and getting out of her bed. My supersonic mommy hearing is tuned into her and as soon as she thumps on the floor or touches the doorknob I jump out of bed. Usually I find her standing in the middle of the room or curled up in front of the door. I then tell her to get back in her bed and she does and tells me she loves me :). These middle of the night comfort sessions are cute right now but maybe not after a few weeks so I hope this doesn't last too long.

Big Girl Bed for Maddie

Just after Anna turned 2 we moved her into a toddler bed. I vowed we would not move Maddie so early, yet after reading that Maddie's crib had been recalled late yesterday, we did just that.

We had purchased the Simplicity Ellis crib back in 2007 for Anna when she was moving rooms due to Maddie's pending arrival. We enjoyed the crib and how it could convert to a toddler bed; we even recommended it to others (sorry!). Because Simplicity is no longer in business, Target is accepting the recalled items that were purchased there. So today we loaded up the car with crib parts, went to Target and received a gift card for the full retail price. A receipt was not required (even though I did have my receipt, it was 2.5 years old and no longer valid).

We then came home and disassembled Anna's bunk beds to make it into two twin beds, moved the one from the top with the rails to Maddie's room and voila, Maddie had a big girl bed.



As I write Maddie is taking her first nap in her bed! I hope tonight goes just as smoothly.

Birthday Pictures

Birthday muffins with sister:



Birthday dinner, mac and cheese:



Birthday cake, chocolate oreo from Brusters!



Birthday jumping:





It was a great day to celebrate Madelyn's second birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Maddie!

A Helmet of her Own

We have been enjoying the warmer weather here in NC and spending many afternoons outside. The girls enjoy taking turns on the tricycle and scooter but didn't overly like sharing a helmet. But now, Maddie has a helmet of her own. While Anna and I laid in bed sick on Saturday, Erik and Maddie went to Dick's Sporting Goods to find Maddie a helmet.



And here she is going for a test ride (I just noticed how loose the strap looks, I think it has been tightened up since then!)

Maddie's First Haircut

I took Anna last week to get her haircut and while we were there I decided to get Maddie's cut as well. This happened to be the day I dropped my cell in the toilet, so I don't actually have any pictures while it was being cut, but Maddie looked so cute. She sat in a red fire truck, licked a lollipop and watched her favorite show, Caillou. With all these props, she sat perfectly still and Ms. Maria was able to trim up the back.



Anna's haircut looked great as well! I had been cutting Anna's hair over the past year and it was starting to get a little thick so Ms. Maria gave her a good shape-up.

"Big Girl"

In anticipation of her second birthday (not until the end of April!) Maddie has decided, and will tell you, that she is now "big girl". At restaurants she goes for the booster seat like her sister. At home, she prefers a chair without a booster. At stores, she refuses to sit in the buckled portion of the shopping cart and of course wants to walk and hold hands all the way through the parking lot. She prefers colored pencils to fat crayons and no longer does she leave out numbers when counting to 10. Sippy cups are being replaced by regular kid-sized cups and there is now maybe one nap a week. Yesterday during "naptime" Maddie decided to take care of her own poopy diaper by taking it off and nicely placing it in the corner. I entered her room to a foul smell and a naked behind. Today thankfully she only got her pants off. When did my little girl grow up?

Mommy and Maddie Night Out

Last night my husband and Anna headed out for the Daddy Daughter Date Night at Chickfila so Maddie and I had some together time as well. I had to pick up a few things at Target, so we had an early dinner at Shane's Rib Shack. During so many meals out I feel anxious about whether or not one of my kids is going to have a breakdown and disturb everyone around us but since Maddie and I had the place to ourselves, I was able to relax and enjoy the time together. I got Maddie her own cup with some water in it and she was as happy as she could be. Doesn't she look like such a big girl sitting in the booth by herself!

Maddie's First Painting

The paints don't come out too often in our house but yesterday I got out the paints for the girls to make a birthday card for a friend. Our paintbrushes weren't looking so good so I let them paint with QTips. It took awhile to convince Maddie to wear the apron but then she got into it.



All was going well until some of the paint got on her hands; then she was done.

Growing Girls

The girls had their checkups yesterday, Maddie 18 months and Anna 3 year. Everything went well and the girls are growing fast.

Anna:
Weight: 36.5 pounds
Height: 38 inches

Maddie:
Weight: 26 pounds (75%)
Height: 33.75 inches (83%)

A new screening for us was Anna's eye exam. Anna had to stand 20 feet away from a sign and tell the nurse what symbols she saw. There were a few problems with this: 1) Anna didn't know what all of the symbols were 2) Anna doesn't talk to people she doesn't know. Eventually we made it through and Anna passed but I could tell the nurse was getting frustrated with Anna and with Maddie who was naked, in my arms, fussing. Needless to say it was a fun doctor appointment :).

Big Girl Maddie

After turning 16 months this weekend, Maddie wanted to show just what a big girl she is.

Here she is walking into church holding daddy's hand with her bookbag on her back:



And eating a big slice of yummy pizza:

Maddie's 15 Month Checkup

I took Maddie to her 15 month appointment this morning. As expected, she was holding her own in the growth department:

Weight: 24 lbs 3.5 ounces (70 %)
Height: 31.5 inches (75 %)
Head: 48 cm (84 %)

Our main conversations were about behavior. I have gotten so accustomed to reasoning and using consequences with Anna that sometimes it is hard for me to remember that Maddie isn't quite there yet. He suggested I ignore some of the (non-aggressive) behavior and see if it goes away when she doesn't get the negative attention she is looking for. (For those of you who know Maddie, ignoring her shrill screeching isn't quite so easy to ignore :)). Just today at lunch when Maddie started spitting out her milk I looked at her and she smiled as milk spilled out of her mouth and then I turned my head and that was the end of it. So we'll see how it goes.

Another change that I started this week is during mealtime. I have to admit I usually don't enjoy lunchtime (except those wonderful Friday lunches out with the hubby, of course) and most of our dinners are spent with either my husband or myself constantly getting up and down from the table to get the girls' food. This week for lunch and dinner I have started putting a plate together for them with a variety of foods and that is their meal. So far it is working great. I am enjoying mealtime much more and without endless options from the pantry, Anna seems to be a little less picky. This seems like one of those 'duh' moments but it took me awhile to catch on :).

Here's Maddie showing off how much of a big girls she is with her first lollipop and going up the big girl slide.

Words Abound

Over the past few months, Maddie's vocabulary has grown. She's very good at repeating words we say and loves to call out 'Anna'. Her big sister is teaching her all kinds of things including her colors and fun songs. Maddie is also picking up on some of the tunes from TV, scary! Here's just a few snippets I caught on camera (which was only the fifth time I've pulled out the camera this year!).

A Growing Girl

Maddie had her one year checkup today:

Weight: 22 lbs 6 1/2 ounces (70%)
Height: 30 1/4 inches (80%)
Head: 47 1/4 centimeters (95%)

Maddie has transitioned well to being a year old. She enjoys facing forward in the car and seems to have transitioned well from bottle and formula to a sippy cup with whole milk. BUT there are a few new things that I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with.

First is meal time. I daily have flashbacks to meals with Anna around the one year mark. Maddie has gone from a girl who would eat anything put on her plate to only eating select items and throwing the remaining (which is almost everything) onto the ground. This makes mealtime at home hard, but eating out is almost unbearable. For example, in order to keep Maddie from throwing an absolute fit while we were having lunch out today, I let her have a fruit cup and goldfish as a meal :(.

Second is nap time. As it now stands Anna no longer takes a nap (may play in her room for about 30 minutes) and Maddie sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour once a day (and sometimes this is in the car). I have to admit I am absolutely worn out. I talked to the doctor and he recommended setting a timer (~90 minutes) and having her stay in her crib the entire time. Ideally her naps will gradually lengthen. I guess I'll put this on my list of things to start on Monday.

Maddie's Birthday Day!

Good morning birthday girl!



A trip to Marbles Kid's Museum:



Sitting in her birthday chair:



Ending the day with birthday pudding:

Happy 1st Birthday Maddie!

My Little Walker

It's official - Maddie is a walker. For the past 3 days Maddie has preferred walking to crawling. It's so cute to watch her toddle around the house. What's not so cute is how she likes to slide chairs over to tables and counters and then try to climb up on them :).



Maddie got her first fat lip last name from a face plant and I suspect there are many more bumps and bruises to come.

Happy 11 Months Maddie!

I can't believe my baby girl is just a month away from being a year old! She is completely enthralled with everything around her and usually likes to touch it (which keeps me on my toes). She is continuing to take steps but prefers to make her getaways the faster way - by crawling. I love watching Maddie try to do everything her big sister does and clap for herself once she accomplishes her goal. Here are some recent pics:

Maddie's "Walking" Debut