Last year at Thanksgiving....

....stay tuned for this year at Thanksgiving....

A few "good mornings".

Madeline is always her happiest in the morning. A typical routine for us is like this:
She wakes up about 7, I go get her and bring her back into bed with me to snuggle and play in the pillows, which is her favorite thing to do (play in the pillows), then we'll watch a little cartoon...then it's time for breakfast. After that it's just time to play. She'll play with her books, play with her toys, play with Jersey...and of course, play with her box of Cherrios. And recently, since our move to condo land, she likes the piano. Perhaps I'll have to relearn so I can start to teach her! She's too young, I know, but she thinks it's pretty neat when she touches those keys!
And the popcorn popper pusher thing-I bought that before she was walking. And she never cared for it, obviously, but now it's a favorite. Although, her face in these photos would suggest otherwise....priceless nonetheless.

A visit from the twins.

Suzie stopped by the other day with her beautiful little girls, Elliott and Claire. Hard to believe they are already 11 weeks old! I was absolutely impressed with her ability to transport two babies with such ease and her calmness overwhelmed me. If anyone could handle two babies with such patience it would be Suz.
Madeline went down for her nap just as they arrived and of course she slept for their entire visit only to wake as they were getting ready to leave. But she sure was sweet with them, very excited to see the babies. I wonder if she realized they are "real" and not like her dolly?

I'm happy to say I can tell them apart here, only because Claire is a little bigger and has more hair.

Looking adoringly at their momma.

HELLO!!!!!!!! (Claire)
Elliott just chillin'

15 Months!

Hi all. Madeline is 15 months this week. I thought I should update you on her latest happenings:

• Walks everywhere. Just learned how to get into a standing position without the support of a chair or another object.
• Smiles all the time when she walks, she's SO proud of herself, and she should be!
• Loves her books. She has started to pick out a book and bring it to us, then she'll start to try to climb on your lap for you to read to her. Every book is a touch and feel book to her, she must touch all the pages.
• Avidly explores everything. Her recent finding is the lamps/lightbulbs. Those are pretty neato.
• Loves to be around other children, which, for a baby not in daycare I think that's fantastic!
• Revels in water. Loves bathtime, and loves to put her hands under the faucet.
• Brushes her teeth every morning and every night. And she doesn't just suck on the brush, she actually moves it back and forth. Amazing.
• Picks up her toys when you say, "Put the toys away."
• Loves to look at herself in the mirror. She has found her shadow, too, so when the light is right and she finds it, she'll move her arms and head and laugh at herself.

At 15 months Madeline is 26.5 lbs, which is in the 90th percentile and she measures 33" long which is in the 97th percentile. So basically she's going to be long and thin. She's going to be a heartbreaker someday. Good for her!

Madeline still has no interest in feeding herself table food. We did start to try teaching her how to spoon feed herself, that lasted about 1 minute. She does drink her own bottle, but has minimal interest in a sippy cup. I think I've invested a small fortune in sippy cups trying to find the right fit for her, thinking if I found the "right" cup, she would take to it. Her pediatrician is stumped as to why our baby has no interest in these things, but assures us that as long as she's eating she's not concerned. She explained it seems like it's more of a social norm for a child to have a sippy cup but in her opinion, if it's a source of comfort to her, then she should have it. Okay then.

Madeline is a smart little girl and every now and then I catch a glimpse of her and see that she's not a baby anymore, she's turning into a true toddler. I love it! I'm anxious to report what she'll have discovered in my next update at 18 months old!

Weekend away.

Good friends, good food, good fun. We spent the weekend in Wisconsin with our friends Heather and Colin, along with their two girls Isabelle and Paige. It was a nice little getaway from the city. It gave John and I a chance to be social with our friends and Madeline the opportunity to play with her friend Isabelle and of course for Jersey to run around outside, with her friend Sadie, until she could no longer move.

Isabelle and Madeline on their daddy's shoulders

Got on my coat and my hat, I'm ready to go outside!

Can you see Jersey in there?

Playing domino's....sort of....

I have baby Paige's Nuk....and she wants it.....

...but I want to play with it a little longer!

Can I go outside with the puppies?

Let's watch Mickey Mouse...no, let's watch Little Einsteins!

Finally...

Hello everyone. Here's a lengthy update......

We've successfully packed our entire house. I lived there for about 5.5 years, John lived there with me for about 2.5 years and Madeline has lived with us for about 1 year, not including the time spent in utero. That's a whole lotta time to accumulate a whole lotta stuff.
We moved into our temporary "home" which is a two bed/two level condo in Nordeast Minneapolis that we are renting from my parents until we find our "real house". A much smaller home that we're used to, but it's beautiful and we have an incredible view of the Minneapolis skyline as well as the new Twins stadium and let's not forget the lovely Hennepin Avenue bridge. The location is fantastic. Steps away from some of the greatest places this city has to offer. We're very fortunate to call this place home.
Madeline doesn't know it yet, but one day she'll be bragging to her friends that she lived in this place ;-)
On Monday the movers arrived at the old house and I saw, for the first time since July 30th 2004, my house....empty. It was a little sad, I was a little melancholy for a moment or two but I didn't have much time to be nostalgic, I had to move onto the next thing.
Friday we will close on our home and it's officially OVER. What an experience moving is. Takes a lot out of a person, physically of course, but emotionally....wow. I'm drained. I told husband that Friday evening we're celebrating with wine and good food! Then it's time to sit back and relax and enjoy what ever comes next.

All that said, we've just returned from a nice jog around Nicollet Island to take advantage of the warmer temperatures and the sunshine this evening.....dinner's in the oven, gotta go!

Enjoy these photos from Madeline's session earlier this fall.

And.....she walks.