Birthday Bash - Part One

Sunday was Maddie's second birthday. All week we talked to her about how old she would be and how we'd play and have cupcakes and visits. We even taught her to say how old she would be! We thought she'd want some play time with her buddies on Saturday and also some family time on Sunday -- so we gave her two parties instead of one.

Well, the gathering on Saturday wasn't really planned as a party, but as a small, fun playtime with cupcakes. OK, it involved cupcakes, so it was a party.

We asked her if she wanted balloons for her birthday. Yes. What kind of balloons would you like? DORA!

I was really trying to wait until her fifth or sixth birthday before caving in to the cartoon character-themed parties and decorations. But this was her only request... She got two Dora balloons. What can I say?

Pre-party. Notice the gigantic Dora balloon (1 of 2!) in the background.

Her friends Noah and Stella Dot came over to partake in the yummy snacks. Oh, and they brought gifts! Oh, and their parents!

I think it's important to note here that Stella Dot opted for the vanilla on vanilla cupcake while Noah went for the vanilla on chocolate cupcake. Maddie picked out the chocolate on chocolate cupcake. She's her mother's daughter!

Stella Dot's Mom, Amy, made this gorgeous knitted elephant for Maddie. Noah gave her a cool magnetic dress up doll which she loves.

We had a great time and opened presents, rode the rocking horse and played dress-up. Poor Noah was dressed in a princess/fairy outfit as well. Hey, don't judge, everyone was entertained! Um, except maybe Noah's Dad.

Two hours into the fun, Maddie became upset and overly sensitive to anyone touching any of her things. She just wasn't herself and wasn't having fun anymore. We said goodbye to our friends and spent some cuddly time with her until she went to sleep.

Up next is Part Two -- Sunday with the family. I'll upload everything as soon as I can!

Snow Day?? No way! Way!

Snow, lots of snow greeted us Tuesday morning. It snowed all day. We haven't seen snow like this since 2000 when we were snowed in our townhouse for one solid week. Okay, it snowed only six inches today compared with two feet in 2000, but this is a big deal.

We promised Maddie "outside" after teasing her by letting her look into the backyard and seeing her swing and slide covered with the white stuff. Luckily, her friend Noah only lives two houses away and he was equally interested in seeing what all the fuss was about.

Maddie kept asking for the third little amigo -- "Ste Dot" (Stella Dot). But I kept explaining that Stella Dot wasn't feeling well. We missed you, Ste Dot!

Hang on to your hats, folks. We have tons of photos. Too many. But Maddie's first Snow Day was full of firsts.

Maddie and Noah explore the cul-de-sac.

Janet teaches Maddie the fine art of making snowballs.

After our first outing in the snow -- yes, I said first -- we decided to visit with Noah and his family a little longer in the warmth of their house. After the wet clothes came off, Maddie was left in her German tights (strumpfhosen). They were warm and comfy and everyone liked the snail pic on her "butt-butt." It says Little Snail in German! She enjoyed lots and lots of apples with Noah (see their blog).

Six whole inches!

Family snow day!

Robin wanted to show the kids how to sled, so we had a trash can lid and a hill. This should be easy, right? Not really!

Of course, Maddie had to try sledding also. Janet tries to push her down the small hill.

Silliness and Furry Friends

The long weekend gave us lots of time to hang out inside, work on our knitting and laze about with the cats and kiddo. I think everyone enjoyed the snuggling and keeping warm. We were ready for the forecasted snow on Sunday night. But nothing happened. Then on Monday night, the "bottom fell out" as they say. More on that in the next post......Here are some pics of the snuggly, silly weekend.

Sunny during one of his more peaceful moments. If only he knew his pillow was a (toy) dog!

Don't let her grimace fool you -- Ginger is a fan of the new knitting fad. She's in it for the yarn.

Fun fur to the rescue of a bored toddler!

We opened the dress-up bag and out came a fairy, in pajamas....er, riding a horse. Right, that's what she is....

Illin' and Chillin'

Since last I wrote, Maddie has made a full recovery. In toddler terms, this means she is still snotty but really, who isn't these days???

Now, Frank and I are reeling from whatever she had. I missed a few days of work. And now Frank is coming down with the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching.......you get the idea. Much of this week has been spent resting. Frank has been taking care of both of us and doing a great job of it.

This week, Maddie began what I'm going to call her "look phase." It is very endearing and makes me smile every time. "Look, Mommy," at my juice cup right next to your juice cup. "Look, Daddy," at the funny picture I drew. She is not just wanting our attention and whining about it, she's at least asking for it in a very polite and direct way.

We have recently borrowed overalls from one of Maddie's friends. Frank dressed her in this for daycare this week. The outfit looks so cute on her. It screams "country girl."

I'm going to see a man about a horse.


Did I say horse? I meant cookie.

Maddie is getting pretty adept at holding her guitar (ukulele) and her new banjo. Tonight, they brought the house down with a roaring jam session.

The Patient

Maddie has been sick for a few days. 101.5 fever, cranky, sweaty and generally grumpy. We've kept her at home so far this week, alternating days out of the office. She has watched entirely too much Noggin. She misses her friends and we miss them too. Maybe tomorrow.....

Toddler Tunes

The last week has been filled with projects and play-dates. We are dreading the return to work on Monday, but are looking forward to some kind of schedule. We have discovered that without a schedule, Frank is grumpy from assigned long-overdue projects around the house. Janet operates in spurts of obsessive cleaning/straightening and exhaustion from obsessive cleaning/straightening.

On New Year's Eve, we traveled great distances (two houses down) for a get-together at Robin, Waylon and Noah's house. Stella Dot brought Amy as Grant was still recovering. Waylon's sister and brother-in-law and their baby girl were there also. Partying really takes on different meaning when toddlers and babies are around. The kids and parents partied till they were pooped (tired). We had tons of good eats! Maddie was super clingy with Mommy so there are few pics of the festivities.

Maddie the train conductor. Noah has a huge train set and Maddie found his hat.
She wore it for at least an hour like this.

Last night, we invited Noah and his parents and Stella Dot and her parents over for some chili and chillin' (get it?) We were also planning to christen the new fire pit but it rained, so we stayed inside.


Amy (Stella Dot's Mom) has been hinting to Frank and her husband, Grant, that the kids would really benefit from some live music. So the guys put their musical differences aside (Frank plays old-time banjo these days and Grant plays rock guitar [is that right?]) and coalesced nicely to entertain all of us.

Getting in the groove.

Toddler tunes never sounded so good.

All the extra time with Maddie has been wonderful. She is speaking in four and five word sentences now. Last week she said, "Night night, see you in the morning," before climbing up the stairs to bed. Yes, she's getting a bit independent. She is able to request songs from Mommy and Daddy. Favorites include Twinkle, Twinkle, Old MacDonald, Farmer in the Dell and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Frequently, she combines all of them in a toddler medley that is so sweet and funny we will try to record and share with you soon. In the interim, here's an idea of how it goes:
"Dinka, Dinka lida dah (twinkle, twinkle little star),
famah in dah dayah, famah in dah dayah (the farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell),
i-eey bi-eey bitah uh waaah bou (the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout)."

Tonight, when I was rocking with her before putting her down for bed, she requested "Dinka," which I thought was "Dindah," (Ginger, our cat.) As I explained that Ginger was sleeping downstairs, her request became louder and louder. Then, thankfully, she started singing it and I understood what she wanted. To be fair, "Dinka" and "Dindah" sound similar when one is tired.

Tuning her guitar (er, ukulele) just like Daddy.