Some misc. notes of '09 thus far

4/12/09

Easter – Izzy went all day – w/out peeing in her diaper – she went in the potty @ church, @ Juju’s & at home.


2/19/09
Uncle Paul came over last night. The girls love their Uncle Paul – Maddy always races to him for a big hug. Izzy chimes in with a hundred ‘Unca Paw’s trying to get his attention as she makes up some little dance move or shows him a book or whatever strikes her fancy at the moment.

2/18/09
My babies. They fill my mind with smiles every day while I'm at work. Belly laughs – and occasionally one or two internal growls thrown in there when I’m with them. They are utterly and completely wonderful. I never knew…never could have imagined how much I would adore anyone…much less two tiny – goofy little monkeys.
I want to be with them. They cuddle like they were made for it. Izzy tells us we make her heart happy. She says ‘Uv ooo sooo much’. Her eyes light up when she notices her heart racing after running around/playing/dancing/laughing – she comes up to us – huge smile on her face & says ‘Mommy/Daddy feel my heart!’ It’s beautiful.
She’s in dance classes now – Mondays at 4. Mike is actually able to leave early (shock!!) – he picks up the girls from Penny’s & takes them to the Louisville Ballet School. I go peek in when I’m able. Her teacher is Miss Ally. Izzy loves her. :) Miss Ally has her hold the little skirt out at her sides & tiptoe from the lobby to the classroom.

Maddy says ‘that’s funny’ and ‘I hold it’ among many other things…those are the two that just sound so grown up. She’s just a baby, but she has this amazing vocabulary.

They both loooove books. TV too, but books are a big excitement – Izzy is completely fascinated with spelling – in English and Spanish. She wants to know the word for everything & how to spell it. –Of course, she’ll rattle off a random string of letters & proudly say ‘Izzy – it’s my name!’ So she’s not quite soaking in how to spell everything yet, but at least the interest is there. Reading time at night extends well over an hour many evenings – there have been nights they don’t actually get to bed until 9:30. I don’t feel like a bad mom for that.

Maddy likes to say ‘-gen’ (again) after we finish a book – she wants to hear it over & over. Usually after the fourth or fifth time, she wants to hold the book to flip through by herself…she points out objects/people/actions & repeats the words we just read over & over…like she’s memorized each page.

Izzy tests…and tests…and tests. Particularly with bedtime. Since she’s in the big girl bed, she gets up, plays – pulls clothes out of the drawers, toys out of their place, books off the shelf – one time she emptied her sock drawer into Maddy’s crib…whatever she can rearrange to see if it’ll get a reaction. She’ll open their door – squinting at the bright light in the family room – sweet little voice ‘Mommy / Daddy – I need to go potty’ or ‘I need a Band Aid’ or ‘my baby needs her princess dress’ or what-have-you…any excuse to come out. My particular favorite – well, maybe favorite is the wrong word – I wish I could take a picture without encouraging it – let’s just say that…is when we’ll hear all sorts of giggles & bumps followed by Izzy asking us to come to their room – to find Izzy in Maddy’s crib – two innocent-looking faces smiling up at us. Precious, but dangerous…Poor Maddy has incurred many an injury in the process of her sister jumping in.
One night – around 10:30, Izzy had still not settled down, and we heard an exhausted Maddy plead ‘sleep…sleep’ -Izzy asked ‘what Manny – you want your baby go to sleep?’ – a little wimpery Maddy voice stressing ‘sleep’ still didn’t seem to get through to her big sister. Poor thing usually conks out – Iz continuing to play…I’m wondering if she’s going to be a night owl or if the novelty of being ‘free’ in bed is just taking a really long time to wear off.

2/18/09 (Facebook post from Penny)
Iron Man proposed marriage to Cinderella and she gave him several kisses. I take that as a YES! And it's all on video!! :)
(Lucas has a new Iron Man doll – Izzy has a Cinderella doll – awww!)

2/9/09 (Email from Penny)
Maddy has struck again!!! I found her naked from the waist down with a clean diaper on one side and a puddle on the other side!! She unsnapped her onesie and everything. I think we need a waterproof play yard mattress cover.

Our Maddy Moo is TWO

So I'm giving this blog thing a try. Why not...everyone else is doing it. And what better time? ~ Our sweet Maddy Moo (I hope she doesn't hate me someday because I call her that) turned two years old this month. I know every parent says it / thinks it - but Holy MOLY - where the frick did that time go?!?!



She's such a big girl! ~ Surprising us every day with her brilliance. She busted out a couple of long sentences this weekend. You have to admit this is impressive for a 'just turned 2'-er:
"What are you doing now, Mommy?"
&
"Oh no, it's not working now."
~eh? eh? - I'm telling you - this girl is a smarty pants McGee! (Much like her big sister!)

Izzy's favorite word of the week is 'yesterday'. She uses it every chance she gets - whether whatever she's talking about actually happened yesterday or earlier today or 'one time' months ago. (She also likes to say 'one time' quite a bit - thankfully she doesn't say it like the guy on Johnny Dangerously. (~Any '80's Michael Keaton movie fans out there?) :)

We are thrilled to be in our 3rd week of smooth-sailing bedtimes. We cut out Izzy's naps a few weeks ago & the struggle we had been - oh, let's just be dramatic - agonizing over for the last 6 months or so, officially passed! YAY! ~There were nights that little chick was up until almost 11pm! ~ Keeping poor Maddy awake too - throwing books & toys in her crib, repeated attempts to be 'awake' with Mommy & Daddy, etc. So now, while we feel a little regretful when she looks like she's ready to crash out early, we're loving that she actually quiets down with story time & both girls are snoozing happily by 8:30. Izzy falls asleep right away it seems - Maddy stays awake 'reading' her books. No less than three in the stack next to her - her 'gagak' blanket over her legs, & several 'friends' sitting next to her (Peter Rabbit, Cabbage Patch Kid (Selina), Puppy, and various other stuffed animals). We hear her flipping & 'reading' the stories aloud to her friends for a good 10-15 minutes before she snuggles down to sleep. -Yep - too cute. :)