New Year, New Blog!
Update on the Webster-Stoppel family can now be found at websterstoppel.com. Please come check out our new site!
A, J, and M
NOW AVAILABLE! SCOUT STORIES #1
1 year ago
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
These Are a Few of Her Favorite Things
It's been a while since either of us did any random posting; most of our recent posts have been event based (which is to be expected as this fall has been insanely busy--no idea how we're going to survive once she starts organized team sport-like things). So, with this is mind and in a sort of homage to one of M's current favorite movies, I decided to put together a short list of those things currently most beloved by the Madster:
10. Dance parties--First instigated by the Dad, who conveniently has Pandora on his phone, these dance parties range in theme from Raffi to the Wiggles to Mary Poppins and may last anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes. Beware of entering a dance party in progress as you will be pulled in, even if she has to pout to convince you.
9. Cooking--Maddie is now getting old enough that she can help more and more with cooking, and she's very adamant about being included in any kitchen activities. She grabs a chair from the kitchen table and pushes it up next to the counter/stove/sink and "helps" with stirring, pouring, and measuring. Mostly though, it's just an excuse to eat whatever odds and ends I'm prepping, up to and including raw flour. Yes, she's weird.
8. Singing--Here, I don't mean songs she's heard, although she sings plenty of those. She's taken to making up her own songs, and you'll hear her singing them while she plays, in the bath, when she's coloring, etc. I'd like to tell you that her imagine is really growing, but, um, I can usually only make out two or three words per song. She could be singing about rocket science in iambic pentameter, but you'd never know it.
7. Gwennie and "Zeldy"--Miss Thing loves her kitties, sometimes a little too much. She hugs them, she kisses them, she chases them, she jumps over them... Yeah, we've had a lot of talks about that last one. Thirty+ pound toddler landing on 6/12 pound cat = badbadbad vet visit bad bad. (It's a real equation; check my math if you don't believe me.)
6. The Wiggles--Oh, those cheesy, over-the-top, dancing, singing men from Australia. I know Maddie is hardly the first small child to fall for their catchy choreography, incessant cheerfulness, and songs that will get stuck in your parents' heads for week after annoying week, but she's fallen hard. This may or may not be further enabled by Jon's magical phone and its ability to play You Tube videos of Sam, Anthony, Jeff, and Murray upon demand.
5. Kindermusik--Right now, we're in the middle of our third Kindermusik session, and it looks like Maddie is really beginning to get the hang of things. She responds to questions in class, offers suggestions for dance moves on request (mostly jumping and stomping, more on that later), and most of all, she pays attention and follows directions for the majority of the class. This is a big improvement from previous sessions when she mostly ran around the room, inciting other children to run amok as well.
4. The Beatles--You can't say she doesn't have good taste (unless you don't like the Beatles, in which case you obviously have no taste, you fascist). One day while driving in the car, in desperation, I stuck in the a Beatles #1 hits CD (apparently, I had the wrong Kindermusik CD, and she was getting quite upset), and she's been in love ever since. She really likes "Let It Be," but her absolute must-have, super-favorite, best-ever song is "Yellow Submarine," and if you're in the car and it's playing, she will insist that everyone present join her in the chorus.
3. The Big Fish--So, it's well known that Maddie loves her aunts and uncles. She loves her cousin Oli. She loves her Grandma and Grandpa and her Nana and her Pa. She loves the pets of all of the aforementioned people, too, but for some reason, she's fixated on the "big fish" that lives in the fish tank at Nana and Pa's. Every time we mention going to Washington (KS), she exclaims, "And see da' big feesh?!" No idea...
2. "Classic" Movies--Not sure why, but Maddie has really latched on to some of the movies that Jon and I watched as children. The thing is, these weren't "new" when we watched them. Current favorites include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins, and I'm on the lookout for Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang and Annie at the library. (There may be some parental fast-forwarding during certain parts of those...). I think it's the music that draws her to them, but she adores them, which can be a nice motivating tool, if used correctly. (What? Okay, so it's really just a nice way of saying bribe. Shut up.)
1. Daddy, no Mommy, no Daddy, no Mommy--Starting at about the one year mark and continuing to the present, the Madster goes through phases where she's all about one parent or the other. These phases usually last about 2-3 weeks, and come and go on a whim. If you're "in" with M, you're walking on air. You'll be the recipient of frequent unsolicited hugs, kisses, and 'I love you's. Your company will be highly sought, and you will be chosen to accompany her anywhere she wishes to go. If it's not your turn, you are an unlovable loser who can do nothing right, and you really, really should not have gotten out of bed that morning as you're clearly not capable of making her happy in the least. (I may be exaggerating, but you get the idea.)
Anyway, that's a little Maddie update for you. And by little, I obviously mean long-winded and rambling, as usual. Sorry...
Maddie, at Jon's surprise 30th birthday party (Photo by Larry Stoppel)
10. Dance parties--First instigated by the Dad, who conveniently has Pandora on his phone, these dance parties range in theme from Raffi to the Wiggles to Mary Poppins and may last anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes. Beware of entering a dance party in progress as you will be pulled in, even if she has to pout to convince you.
9. Cooking--Maddie is now getting old enough that she can help more and more with cooking, and she's very adamant about being included in any kitchen activities. She grabs a chair from the kitchen table and pushes it up next to the counter/stove/sink and "helps" with stirring, pouring, and measuring. Mostly though, it's just an excuse to eat whatever odds and ends I'm prepping, up to and including raw flour. Yes, she's weird.
8. Singing--Here, I don't mean songs she's heard, although she sings plenty of those. She's taken to making up her own songs, and you'll hear her singing them while she plays, in the bath, when she's coloring, etc. I'd like to tell you that her imagine is really growing, but, um, I can usually only make out two or three words per song. She could be singing about rocket science in iambic pentameter, but you'd never know it.
7. Gwennie and "Zeldy"--Miss Thing loves her kitties, sometimes a little too much. She hugs them, she kisses them, she chases them, she jumps over them... Yeah, we've had a lot of talks about that last one. Thirty+ pound toddler landing on 6/12 pound cat = badbadbad vet visit bad bad. (It's a real equation; check my math if you don't believe me.)
6. The Wiggles--Oh, those cheesy, over-the-top, dancing, singing men from Australia. I know Maddie is hardly the first small child to fall for their catchy choreography, incessant cheerfulness, and songs that will get stuck in your parents' heads for week after annoying week, but she's fallen hard. This may or may not be further enabled by Jon's magical phone and its ability to play You Tube videos of Sam, Anthony, Jeff, and Murray upon demand.
5. Kindermusik--Right now, we're in the middle of our third Kindermusik session, and it looks like Maddie is really beginning to get the hang of things. She responds to questions in class, offers suggestions for dance moves on request (mostly jumping and stomping, more on that later), and most of all, she pays attention and follows directions for the majority of the class. This is a big improvement from previous sessions when she mostly ran around the room, inciting other children to run amok as well.
4. The Beatles--You can't say she doesn't have good taste (unless you don't like the Beatles, in which case you obviously have no taste, you fascist). One day while driving in the car, in desperation, I stuck in the a Beatles #1 hits CD (apparently, I had the wrong Kindermusik CD, and she was getting quite upset), and she's been in love ever since. She really likes "Let It Be," but her absolute must-have, super-favorite, best-ever song is "Yellow Submarine," and if you're in the car and it's playing, she will insist that everyone present join her in the chorus.
3. The Big Fish--So, it's well known that Maddie loves her aunts and uncles. She loves her cousin Oli. She loves her Grandma and Grandpa and her Nana and her Pa. She loves the pets of all of the aforementioned people, too, but for some reason, she's fixated on the "big fish" that lives in the fish tank at Nana and Pa's. Every time we mention going to Washington (KS), she exclaims, "And see da' big feesh?!" No idea...
2. "Classic" Movies--Not sure why, but Maddie has really latched on to some of the movies that Jon and I watched as children. The thing is, these weren't "new" when we watched them. Current favorites include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins, and I'm on the lookout for Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang and Annie at the library. (There may be some parental fast-forwarding during certain parts of those...). I think it's the music that draws her to them, but she adores them, which can be a nice motivating tool, if used correctly. (What? Okay, so it's really just a nice way of saying bribe. Shut up.)
1. Daddy, no Mommy, no Daddy, no Mommy--Starting at about the one year mark and continuing to the present, the Madster goes through phases where she's all about one parent or the other. These phases usually last about 2-3 weeks, and come and go on a whim. If you're "in" with M, you're walking on air. You'll be the recipient of frequent unsolicited hugs, kisses, and 'I love you's. Your company will be highly sought, and you will be chosen to accompany her anywhere she wishes to go. If it's not your turn, you are an unlovable loser who can do nothing right, and you really, really should not have gotten out of bed that morning as you're clearly not capable of making her happy in the least. (I may be exaggerating, but you get the idea.)
Anyway, that's a little Maddie update for you. And by little, I obviously mean long-winded and rambling, as usual. Sorry...
Maddie, at Jon's surprise 30th birthday party (Photo by Larry Stoppel)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
2010 Pumpkin Carvings
I have always loved Halloween and the stuff that goes along with it. As you may know I made Maddie's Oompa Loompa costume this year. In the past I have created several pumpkin carvings that in turn have caused the demise of its character. I did a George Bush pumpkin, his later years didn't turn out so well. I also created a Kosmo Kramer pumpkin. A few months later he was all over the news for his racial slurs. Last year I did a Mark Mangino pumpkin and a few weeks later was canned. This year's pumpkin carvings are Batman and Dexter. Alaina and I, more so me, are big fans of the show Dexter. He seemed like a fun and challenging character. I think it turned out well. I just hope my pumpkin jinx doesn't ruin anymore people.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Foot-Loose and Toddler-Free
It's been a quiet weekend at Casa de Stopster. No crying, no yelling, no chasing the cats, only occasional whining. It was almost like the pre-kid days, before diapers and sippy-cups, before potty training and scheduled naps, before tantrums and time-outs. Why? Because, this weekend, there was no kid.
Friday morning, we packed Maddie off to Larry and Nancy (a.k.a., Nana and Pa), and from then, until about 6 p.m. this evening, we were officially off-duty. (Well, as off-duty as you ever get when you're a parent--meaning there was lots of texting and at least two Skype conversations.) This isn't the first time we've done this, but it's the first time where we've had hours upon hours of leisure time at our disposal.
So, Friday evening we took a trip to Whole Foods for some really good ingredients, and then Jon made dinner while I acted as prep chef (read, I chopped brussel sprouts and measured ingredients into dishes, all ready to go when he needed them). Chef Stoppel created individual smoked-blue cheese souffles paired with fresh, pan-seared brussel sprouts in a honey reduction. (The brussel sprouts were from a recipe that Eric Ripert tweeted last week.)
While the souffles were baking, we enjoyed an assortment of olives and peppers from the Whole Foods olive bar. Then we repaired to our rarely used dining room for the main course. These were the first souffles Jon has ever attempted, and I must say, the man is a force to be reckoned with the in the kitchen. They were amazing. The brussel sprouts were also really good, and we're hoping to try them with Maddie sometime soon. We finished up with cannolis and a chocolate parfait (also from Whole Foods), and then took our wine into the living room to start watching Season 4 of 30 Rock. I will admit that that part may not fit in with the rest of the evening, but whatever. Doing what we want!, the theme for the weekend.
Look! The souffles rose and everything.
Jon did make me remove my shoes and creep in and out of the kitchen on tip-toe while they were baking.
Saturday morning, Jon had to work, but I, being more fortunate, slept in. Yes, I know! I actually managed to sleep in! Sorry, if you don't know, since having a kid, I am unable to sleep in. It doesn't matter if she's there or not, or even if Jon offers to go get her. I can't sleep in. It took some effort, but in the end, the 45 minutes I took talking myself back to sleep were well worth it. Saturday, we lounged around the house, took a nap, and then headed over to Stone Pillar Winery to meet our friends the Meyers for some wine on the patio. After that, we hit up Johnny's for some burgers and musical trivia bingo.
Sunday, Jon slept in while I read in bed. This was followed by coffee and more lounging. In fact, truth be told, I didn't change out of my robe and shower until about 4:40 this afternoon. Yes, feel free to be jealous...or grossed out, whichever appeals to you more.
All in all, it was nice to be able to just "be" together for a while, without worrying about scheduling and entertaining the Madster. It reminded us of why we got together in the first place. However, both of us were 100% ready for Miss Thing to come home this evening. We missed her bunches, and judging by the fact that she threw herself on the sidewalk in excitement at our arrival, I'm assuming she missed us, too.
So, thanks, Larry and Nancy for giving us a weekend off! I hope you're resting up from all the trips to the park and the ice cream shop.
Friday morning, we packed Maddie off to Larry and Nancy (a.k.a., Nana and Pa), and from then, until about 6 p.m. this evening, we were officially off-duty. (Well, as off-duty as you ever get when you're a parent--meaning there was lots of texting and at least two Skype conversations.) This isn't the first time we've done this, but it's the first time where we've had hours upon hours of leisure time at our disposal.
So, Friday evening we took a trip to Whole Foods for some really good ingredients, and then Jon made dinner while I acted as prep chef (read, I chopped brussel sprouts and measured ingredients into dishes, all ready to go when he needed them). Chef Stoppel created individual smoked-blue cheese souffles paired with fresh, pan-seared brussel sprouts in a honey reduction. (The brussel sprouts were from a recipe that Eric Ripert tweeted last week.)
While the souffles were baking, we enjoyed an assortment of olives and peppers from the Whole Foods olive bar. Then we repaired to our rarely used dining room for the main course. These were the first souffles Jon has ever attempted, and I must say, the man is a force to be reckoned with the in the kitchen. They were amazing. The brussel sprouts were also really good, and we're hoping to try them with Maddie sometime soon. We finished up with cannolis and a chocolate parfait (also from Whole Foods), and then took our wine into the living room to start watching Season 4 of 30 Rock. I will admit that that part may not fit in with the rest of the evening, but whatever. Doing what we want!, the theme for the weekend.
Look! The souffles rose and everything.
Jon did make me remove my shoes and creep in and out of the kitchen on tip-toe while they were baking.
Saturday morning, Jon had to work, but I, being more fortunate, slept in. Yes, I know! I actually managed to sleep in! Sorry, if you don't know, since having a kid, I am unable to sleep in. It doesn't matter if she's there or not, or even if Jon offers to go get her. I can't sleep in. It took some effort, but in the end, the 45 minutes I took talking myself back to sleep were well worth it. Saturday, we lounged around the house, took a nap, and then headed over to Stone Pillar Winery to meet our friends the Meyers for some wine on the patio. After that, we hit up Johnny's for some burgers and musical trivia bingo.
Sunday, Jon slept in while I read in bed. This was followed by coffee and more lounging. In fact, truth be told, I didn't change out of my robe and shower until about 4:40 this afternoon. Yes, feel free to be jealous...or grossed out, whichever appeals to you more.
All in all, it was nice to be able to just "be" together for a while, without worrying about scheduling and entertaining the Madster. It reminded us of why we got together in the first place. However, both of us were 100% ready for Miss Thing to come home this evening. We missed her bunches, and judging by the fact that she threw herself on the sidewalk in excitement at our arrival, I'm assuming she missed us, too.
So, thanks, Larry and Nancy for giving us a weekend off! I hope you're resting up from all the trips to the park and the ice cream shop.
No. 1 Crush: An Update
I'm happy to announce that it's finally been accomplished. This weekend, one of my in-laws managed to capture the illusive TR smile on camera:
Todd, our sincerest apologies. I'm sure you're not half the cheese-ball she thinks you are...
Todd, our sincerest apologies. I'm sure you're not half the cheese-ball she thinks you are...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
No. 1 Crush
First of all, you should know that I've been meaning to blog about this particular item for quite a while. See, I was waiting to get a specific picture of Maddie doing a specific thing, but about two days ago, I realized I was trying to achieve the impossible. Any sane person would know that trying to get a specific picture of a toddler doing a specific thing never works. Cameras are not that fast, and most importantly, toddlers are nevernevernevernevernever that cooperative. (Sorry, we've been having some "no" issues, lately.)
Anyway, it would seem that the Madster has developed her very first crush. No, it's not the four-year-old at daycare, her friend JJ, or even the little boy at Kindermusik with the huge eyes and ridiculously long eyelashes. No, no, Maddie is aiming high. How high? Quarterback high. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it would seem our girl likes a man uniform. Oh, and we're not talking some high school or juco quarterback. Hardly. Miss Thing has chosen to bestow her undying obsession and infatuation on none other than KU's former "big man on campus" Mr. Todd Reesing himself.
See, back in August, we attempted to go to a KU football pep rally (it was rained out, thus, attempted), and TR was going to be there, signing his new book. Jon decided to teach Maddie to parrot, "Todd, I'm a big fan," which 1) yes, she can say, but 2) she would never ever, ever, ever have said when faced with the man himself. Sorry, digression over. Moving on... Then, in September our friends, the lovely and magnanimous Jantzer-Wards gifted Maddie with a signed copy of Rising to New Heights, Mr. Reesing's new book. Maddie took one look at the blonde, blue-eyed, stubbly-chinned man on the cover and fell in luuuurv.
She carries the book, sorry, Todd around the house. She says goodbye to Todd before leaving for daycare. She greets Todd when she comes home, and if you ask her about the book she will tell you the following: "Dis' Todd. He smiwin' like *dis* [This is what I've been trying to capture for posterity, but no luck]. He frow da baw. He catch it; den, eveybudy go Wooooo. Rock Chawk, Jayhawk!" Oh, and there's also the hugging the book, I mean Todd, kissing book-Todd, and saying "I wuv you, Todd." Yeah...Miss Thing is totally crushing.
The best part is that, in pure little girl fashion, the crush does not work the way "big girl" crushes work. She doesn't just want to be with TR, she wants to be #5 herself. Occasionally, when faced with shirt choices in the morning, she will rule out all proffered clothing, and state unequivocally, "I want to wear Todd." (It's not as creepy and Silence of the Lambs as I may have made it sound right there.)
So, below, our little #5, proudly supporting her main squeeze:
We haven't yet had the heart to tell her he no longer takes the field for the Jayhawks...
Anyway, it would seem that the Madster has developed her very first crush. No, it's not the four-year-old at daycare, her friend JJ, or even the little boy at Kindermusik with the huge eyes and ridiculously long eyelashes. No, no, Maddie is aiming high. How high? Quarterback high. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it would seem our girl likes a man uniform. Oh, and we're not talking some high school or juco quarterback. Hardly. Miss Thing has chosen to bestow her undying obsession and infatuation on none other than KU's former "big man on campus" Mr. Todd Reesing himself.
See, back in August, we attempted to go to a KU football pep rally (it was rained out, thus, attempted), and TR was going to be there, signing his new book. Jon decided to teach Maddie to parrot, "Todd, I'm a big fan," which 1) yes, she can say, but 2) she would never ever, ever, ever have said when faced with the man himself. Sorry, digression over. Moving on... Then, in September our friends, the lovely and magnanimous Jantzer-Wards gifted Maddie with a signed copy of Rising to New Heights, Mr. Reesing's new book. Maddie took one look at the blonde, blue-eyed, stubbly-chinned man on the cover and fell in luuuurv.
She carries the book, sorry, Todd around the house. She says goodbye to Todd before leaving for daycare. She greets Todd when she comes home, and if you ask her about the book she will tell you the following: "Dis' Todd. He smiwin' like *dis* [This is what I've been trying to capture for posterity, but no luck]. He frow da baw. He catch it; den, eveybudy go Wooooo. Rock Chawk, Jayhawk!" Oh, and there's also the hugging the book, I mean Todd, kissing book-Todd, and saying "I wuv you, Todd." Yeah...Miss Thing is totally crushing.
The best part is that, in pure little girl fashion, the crush does not work the way "big girl" crushes work. She doesn't just want to be with TR, she wants to be #5 herself. Occasionally, when faced with shirt choices in the morning, she will rule out all proffered clothing, and state unequivocally, "I want to wear Todd." (It's not as creepy and Silence of the Lambs as I may have made it sound right there.)
So, below, our little #5, proudly supporting her main squeeze:
We haven't yet had the heart to tell her he no longer takes the field for the Jayhawks...
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham?
So, the Madster turned two, and like the good (and consumer-pressured) parents we are, we threw her a little party. While it may not have looked like it, we did scale back from last year, mostly in terms of food served. No full dinner this year, just cake, cupcakes, fruit, veggies and hummus, and popsicles. (When I asked Maddie what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she told me "Spiderman!", but when I clarified and asked her what flavor she wanted, what it should taste like, she told me "Popsicle!" So, Miss Thing got popsicles instead of ice cream with her cake.)
The day of, we decorated the kitchen and backyard with balloons, dragged out the sprinkler pool, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles, invited family and all of our friend who have kids over, and hoped for the best. Honestly, I think it went pretty well. People showed up (which is always my biggest fear with parties, that no one will come), the kiddos played, food was eaten, the presents were opened (and dear lord, our daughter is spoiled/loved), and everyone went home.
We decided to do a Green Eggs and Ham-themed bash this year, in honor of Maddie's current favorite Dr. Seuss book (and also because I stumbled upon a whole cache of Dr. Seuss stuff in Target's amazing and addictive dollar bins), so I dusted off my limited baking skills and made a selection of yellow and chocolate cupcakes that, when iced, somewhat resembled "green eggs." Jon, whose baking skills are considerably better than my own, whipped up a "green ham" cake. (See below.) Um, yeah, he's pretty amazing.
I've included a picture of Jon's awesome cake and one picture from the party, but feel free to click here to check out more photos on Facebook. (As usual, all photos, except the cake, are by my estimable father-in-law, Larry Stoppel.)
The day of, we decorated the kitchen and backyard with balloons, dragged out the sprinkler pool, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles, invited family and all of our friend who have kids over, and hoped for the best. Honestly, I think it went pretty well. People showed up (which is always my biggest fear with parties, that no one will come), the kiddos played, food was eaten, the presents were opened (and dear lord, our daughter is spoiled/loved), and everyone went home.
We decided to do a Green Eggs and Ham-themed bash this year, in honor of Maddie's current favorite Dr. Seuss book (and also because I stumbled upon a whole cache of Dr. Seuss stuff in Target's amazing and addictive dollar bins), so I dusted off my limited baking skills and made a selection of yellow and chocolate cupcakes that, when iced, somewhat resembled "green eggs." Jon, whose baking skills are considerably better than my own, whipped up a "green ham" cake. (See below.) Um, yeah, he's pretty amazing.
I've included a picture of Jon's awesome cake and one picture from the party, but feel free to click here to check out more photos on Facebook. (As usual, all photos, except the cake, are by my estimable father-in-law, Larry Stoppel.)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Horse Riding
Our cousin Whitney hooked Maddie up with a horseback ride tonight. Maddie absolutely loved it. She did really well and was fearless from the beginning. She definitely wants to go back and "ride more horsey."
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Family Photos
Hello, my lovely readers!
Recently (like a week and a half ago), Jon, Maddie, and I ventured out to Prairie Center and met the lovely and talented Sarah Dickerson for a little family photo session. First of all, seriously, if you haven't been to Prairie Center and you live in the area, you should totally check it out. It's a little "rugged" as Sarah described it, but if you wear good walking shoes, it's gorgeous. Lots of wildflowers, ponds, trees, etc. (Um, also giganto bull-snakes, if you get off the path to try to take pictures by some trees, so I don't recommend that...)
Secondly, Sarah was great. She trekked all over the place with us, was patient with Maddie, and most importantly, she got some great shots. I'm only going to post our favorite shot here because sometimes uploading photos onto this thing is a pain, but you should definitely check out more images from our session on her blog. (We've also placed her blog in our list to the right, so feel free to check out more of her work, if you have time.) We're buying a disc of all the pictures from this session, so we'll put them all up somewhere online when we have that, so you can browse if you're so inclined. (And if you're not, I totally get that. I know we're stunning, but even that amount of pretty gets old after the first 20 pictures or so.)
Anyway, all in all, Sarah was awesome, the light was awesome, and thank goodness it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been. Oh, and it should be noted, Maddie will do about anything for raisins. I think we went through about 3/4 of a bag...
Recently (like a week and a half ago), Jon, Maddie, and I ventured out to Prairie Center and met the lovely and talented Sarah Dickerson for a little family photo session. First of all, seriously, if you haven't been to Prairie Center and you live in the area, you should totally check it out. It's a little "rugged" as Sarah described it, but if you wear good walking shoes, it's gorgeous. Lots of wildflowers, ponds, trees, etc. (Um, also giganto bull-snakes, if you get off the path to try to take pictures by some trees, so I don't recommend that...)
Secondly, Sarah was great. She trekked all over the place with us, was patient with Maddie, and most importantly, she got some great shots. I'm only going to post our favorite shot here because sometimes uploading photos onto this thing is a pain, but you should definitely check out more images from our session on her blog. (We've also placed her blog in our list to the right, so feel free to check out more of her work, if you have time.) We're buying a disc of all the pictures from this session, so we'll put them all up somewhere online when we have that, so you can browse if you're so inclined. (And if you're not, I totally get that. I know we're stunning, but even that amount of pretty gets old after the first 20 pictures or so.)
Anyway, all in all, Sarah was awesome, the light was awesome, and thank goodness it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been. Oh, and it should be noted, Maddie will do about anything for raisins. I think we went through about 3/4 of a bag...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
I Be Two!
To my lovely Madeline:
Oh, baby girl, where do I even start? I guess, first, I should start by dropping the “baby,” since you no longer, and haven’t for some time, fit that label. Today, you are two (go ahead, hold up all five fingers and tell me you’re two), and there’s no more pretending that you still retain even the smallest vestige of babyhood. You sleep in a “big girl” bed, you wear big girl clothes, and you use big girl words (we won’t mention the fact that yesterday you confused couscous and goose, and told me that couscous goes “Honk, honk!”).
I wonder if you’ll ever get tired of your birthday being a bittersweet day for me (and maybe your Daddy, I’m not sure). I do love watching you grow-up, watching you discover your world more fully and find your place in it, but at the same time, your birth day will always be a reminder of the things we’ll never get back, the moments we’ve probably already forgotten. You move so fast (seriously, child, you’ve got to slow down at some point—it’s like you’re training for some sort of toddler Iron Man), and it’s all I can do to keep pace.
Sometimes, when I look at you, I can’t believe what I see. A year ago, you had a handful of words. At your last birthday party, you were still about 60:40 on your walk to crawl ratio, and you certainly weren’t jumping off the hearth while shouting, “Mommy, watch ‘dis! Watch me, Mommy!” Two years ago, you couldn’t even hold your head up or make eye contact. Now you have entire conversations (mostly about bouncy castles, The Wiggles, and cookies, it must be said), you’ve mostly mastered the stairs, and you insist on picking out at least one item of your own clothing every morning. (Note to older Maddie: I hope, by this point, you’ve learned that Elmo socks do not go with everything.)
So, now, you’re two, even if you don’t know it, and I just wanted to say that no matter how fast you keep moving, your daddy and I will always do our best to keep up with you, even when you’d rather we didn’t. You are still one of the best things in our lives, and we love you so very much. Happy Birthday, Madster! You be two.
Love always,
Mommy
Oh, baby girl, where do I even start? I guess, first, I should start by dropping the “baby,” since you no longer, and haven’t for some time, fit that label. Today, you are two (go ahead, hold up all five fingers and tell me you’re two), and there’s no more pretending that you still retain even the smallest vestige of babyhood. You sleep in a “big girl” bed, you wear big girl clothes, and you use big girl words (we won’t mention the fact that yesterday you confused couscous and goose, and told me that couscous goes “Honk, honk!”).
I wonder if you’ll ever get tired of your birthday being a bittersweet day for me (and maybe your Daddy, I’m not sure). I do love watching you grow-up, watching you discover your world more fully and find your place in it, but at the same time, your birth day will always be a reminder of the things we’ll never get back, the moments we’ve probably already forgotten. You move so fast (seriously, child, you’ve got to slow down at some point—it’s like you’re training for some sort of toddler Iron Man), and it’s all I can do to keep pace.
Sometimes, when I look at you, I can’t believe what I see. A year ago, you had a handful of words. At your last birthday party, you were still about 60:40 on your walk to crawl ratio, and you certainly weren’t jumping off the hearth while shouting, “Mommy, watch ‘dis! Watch me, Mommy!” Two years ago, you couldn’t even hold your head up or make eye contact. Now you have entire conversations (mostly about bouncy castles, The Wiggles, and cookies, it must be said), you’ve mostly mastered the stairs, and you insist on picking out at least one item of your own clothing every morning. (Note to older Maddie: I hope, by this point, you’ve learned that Elmo socks do not go with everything.)
So, now, you’re two, even if you don’t know it, and I just wanted to say that no matter how fast you keep moving, your daddy and I will always do our best to keep up with you, even when you’d rather we didn’t. You are still one of the best things in our lives, and we love you so very much. Happy Birthday, Madster! You be two.
Love always,
Mommy
Saturday, August 7, 2010
I Go Underwater!
Perhaps not surprisingly, this post is out of order. I've been meaning to write it for about a month, but well, New York and a family reunion got in the way, so... Anyway, we enrolled Maddie in swimming lessons for the first time this summer.
This particular class--the Parent-Tot Session A, through Olathe Parks and Rec--was two weeks long, four times a week. In reality, there was very little "swimming" going on. It was mostly a way to familiarize the kiddos (anywhere from 3 months to 3 years) with water. Held by their parents the entire 30 minute lesson, the "tots" blew bubbles in the water, kicked, moved their arms, did supported front- and back-floats, jumped from the side of the pool, and horror or all horrors, went underwater. Oh yes, Miss Maddie, the girl who previously had to be laid down in a very shallow bath to wash and rinse her hair, went underwater.
While the actual act of going under was scary and quite unpopular, once accomplished, she would proudly tell anyone who would listen, "I go unnawaddeh!" I also found that it was easier to let her just slip underwater after a jump than telling her about it in advance. Strangely, surprise-dunking is more acceptable than a full-body soaking you're prepared for, I guess.
All in all, while she certainly can't swim at all still (and that wasn't an expectation going into this, so no disappointment) she's definitely more comfortable in the water, pool and bath. You can now wash her hair in the usual way, by dumping cupfuls of water over her head, and she'll blow bubbles in just about any water she can find. I may try to get her in Session B in the winter with the hopes that even though she won't be quite three, they'll let her sneak into the first instructor only level next summer. Who knows, maybe we have the next Michael Phelps living under our roof--you know, minus the whole I'm-too-stupid-to-know-not-to-smoke-weed-around-a-camera thing. Below, pictures!
This particular class--the Parent-Tot Session A, through Olathe Parks and Rec--was two weeks long, four times a week. In reality, there was very little "swimming" going on. It was mostly a way to familiarize the kiddos (anywhere from 3 months to 3 years) with water. Held by their parents the entire 30 minute lesson, the "tots" blew bubbles in the water, kicked, moved their arms, did supported front- and back-floats, jumped from the side of the pool, and horror or all horrors, went underwater. Oh yes, Miss Maddie, the girl who previously had to be laid down in a very shallow bath to wash and rinse her hair, went underwater.
While the actual act of going under was scary and quite unpopular, once accomplished, she would proudly tell anyone who would listen, "I go unnawaddeh!" I also found that it was easier to let her just slip underwater after a jump than telling her about it in advance. Strangely, surprise-dunking is more acceptable than a full-body soaking you're prepared for, I guess.
All in all, while she certainly can't swim at all still (and that wasn't an expectation going into this, so no disappointment) she's definitely more comfortable in the water, pool and bath. You can now wash her hair in the usual way, by dumping cupfuls of water over her head, and she'll blow bubbles in just about any water she can find. I may try to get her in Session B in the winter with the hopes that even though she won't be quite three, they'll let her sneak into the first instructor only level next summer. Who knows, maybe we have the next Michael Phelps living under our roof--you know, minus the whole I'm-too-stupid-to-know-not-to-smoke-weed-around-a-camera thing. Below, pictures!
Monday, July 26, 2010
NYCD3
So, we're home now, which is sad and wonderful at the same time: Sad, because the real Manhattan was fun, but wonderful because, well, MADDIE! (I will try to talk in a later post about the serious withdrawal both Jon and I were going through the entire time we were gone.)
Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking our third and final day in NYC, not how awesome my daughter is. It's not like we don't have a whole freaking blog for that... Ahem. Yesterday morning we rediscovered something we learned that last time we were in the Big Apple--the city that "never" sleeps at least dozes a lot. If you want something other than pizza after 10 p.m. or anything other than tap water before 10 a.m., be prepared to walk for it, especially if it's Sunday. We hit the streets at 9:30 in the morning, and we still had to walk about five or six blocks just to find coffee. (And what we did find--they out-bittered Starbucks. Yeah... After Gregory's Coffee, we wandered up to Central Park to finish our walking tour.)
Two stops in, we got a call from an old college friend of mine who was also in town. He and Jon had realized, via Facebook, that we were all in town, so we met up with Scott for an early lunch. It was good, if random, to see him again, and I didn't mind spending an hour or so sitting in the a.c., munching on a sandwich.
That short interlude over, we walked back to the park and finished our tour. It was really great walking around the park, which is of course gorgeous, and both of us being amateur history buffs (just different preferences when it comes to most interesting periods), Jon and I both enjoyed hearing about the creation of and original intentions for New York's "backyard", but, um, it was hot. Hothothothothothot. Hot. Haaaaauuuught. We'd been walking for 2.5 straight days at this point, and both of us had matching blisters on our feet, sore calves, sore backs, and stiff joints. So, enjoyable but painful (much like I'd imagine certain fetishes to be, if you're into that sort of thing), also a constant reminder that, damn, we're getting old.
Central Park toured, we went back to the hotel, where I sat and finished the blog while Jon ran out to get sandwiches from Murray Hill Market. After we ate and rested our poor feet, we took the subway up to Times Square to see what we could get at the TKTS booth. The TKTS booth has got to be one of the best things that's happened to the theater/tourism industry in NYC. See Broadway shows don't always sell out, and much like hotels and airlines are starting to realize, it's better to sell an empty seat at a discount than not fill the seat at all. So, on the day of a show, starting at 3 p.m., the TKTS booth offers seats to both on and off Broadway shows for anywhere from 20%-50% off the original ticket price. It's really an amazing deal. Jon and I were able to see Avenue Q for slightly more than $50/person, which is about $50 less than face value. The show was awesome, but it's, well, definitely not for the faint of heart. There's language, what could mildly be termed as toilet humour, and puppet sex (I'm not kidding. It sounds a bit gross, but really, it's hilarious). Anyway, top rate show for half the price, fantastic. If you're even in town and you want to see a show but you're not set on any particular show (obviously new or super-popular shows are harder to come by), I highly recommend this option. You do have to physically go down and stand in line for tickets, but as long as you don't go right at 3 p.m., it's worth the short wait.
After the show, we toyed with the idea of going out for a small snack and drinks, but no. We were both exhausted, and since our flight left at 7 a.m. this morning, we decided we needed sleep more than food and beer. (Maybe that's really when I knew we were getting old...) We hit up one of the several hundred souvenir shops dotting all areas of the city, grabbed some t-shirts for the special kiddos in our life, and went to bed.
And that, dear readers, is pretty much that. If I get around to it, I'll post something later this week about the "aftermath" of NYC--getting home, how Maddie fared, etc., but Jon's off to his brother's bachelor party mega-weekend on Thursday, and I'm off to a family reunion in Arkansas on Friday, so time may be short. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, check out more of Jon's photo skills below and feel free to share any thoughts in the comments.
Back over the rainbow,
A & J
Empire State Building
The next two photos are my inner 'Ghostbusters' geek coming out!
Opening Credits:
New York Public Library
The church in this photo was stepped on by Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The building to its right is Dana Barrett's apartment building.
Central Park
Time's Square
Sunday, July 25, 2010
NYCD2
Good morning! We've now completed day two here in NYC, and while we're tired and still sore, we're looking forward to getting back out there and enjoying our last day here.
Yesterday, we got started a little later then we'd planned, so we hit up a little bakery near our hotel for coffee and mini tarts/cupcakes. (Maddie, I just want you to know that while your Daddy may think cupcakes are acceptable for breakfast, they are not. You, my love, may not eat cupcakes for breakfast until at least college.) Following this, we walked 30 blocks or so to Katz's deli for lunch: pastrami on rye, potato salad, and a huge heaping plate of pickles. Soooo good...mmmmmm.
After lunch, we took the subway to the Met, where we managed to fit in the Greek and Roman, Roof Garden, Picasso, European Paintings, and Egyptian exhibits. I'm not even really sure what to say about the Met. We spent three hours there, and we still barely touched the place. I would love to go back and spend more time there--preferably when my legs and feet don't hurt quite so badly. We did pony up the extra cash for the audio tour, and I would highly recommend that. Yes, it's $14 we don't have now, but while I know I like art, I don't know what makes art "art", so it's nice to have someone tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at and why this particular painting of 17th century peasants is different than those other three paintings of 17th century peasants.
Met time over, we schlepped back to our hotel, where we quickly showered and changed for the wedding. Then, we hopped in a cab for what has got to be the most pointless cab ride ever. See, Bryant Park Grill, where the ceremony and reception were held, is only five blocks from our hotel, and the only reason we were taking a cab was because while my 4" inch heels were (and are) totally hot, they were not (and aren't) practical when it comes to such pedestrian matters as walking. (Do you like how I managed to use pedestrian there? I know. Sometimes, I even impress myself.) We got in the cab, went 2.5 blocks, wasted seven minutes, and because a street was closed, still had to walk 2.5 blocks to the wedding, where we squeezed past the already assembled wedding party to get to our seats just before they started seating the parents. Yeah...
My snark about lame cabbies over, the wedding. Oh, the wedding. I don't even know that I can describe the loveliness that was this wedding. The ceremony and cocktail hour that followed were on the roof of the grill, and the meal and dance were in the main area. Aside from the 97 degree heat (ugh, and again, ugh), it was gorgeous. The bride, groom, and bridal party were stunning, the food was excellent, and music was awesome (Seriously, Sam Cook's "You Send Me" for the first dance. Very retro-hip.), and to top it all off, the groom rocked the mic for a bit with "Disco Inferno." (He apparently spent some time trying to be a Broadway star, so he's, yeah, good.) Overall, best. wedding. ever., and it makes me sad that my writing skills are not such as to do it justice.
We tried to do the whole top of the Empire State building thing after, but um, fail. It was midnight, and there were still huge lines, and I was in heels, so we called it a night, grabbed a cab back to the hotel, and crashed.
Today's agenda:
COFFEE!
Finish our Central Park walking tour
Eat something sometime
Maybe a Broadway show?
More eating
Pack...
Still sore,
A & J
Yesterday, we got started a little later then we'd planned, so we hit up a little bakery near our hotel for coffee and mini tarts/cupcakes. (Maddie, I just want you to know that while your Daddy may think cupcakes are acceptable for breakfast, they are not. You, my love, may not eat cupcakes for breakfast until at least college.) Following this, we walked 30 blocks or so to Katz's deli for lunch: pastrami on rye, potato salad, and a huge heaping plate of pickles. Soooo good...mmmmmm.
After lunch, we took the subway to the Met, where we managed to fit in the Greek and Roman, Roof Garden, Picasso, European Paintings, and Egyptian exhibits. I'm not even really sure what to say about the Met. We spent three hours there, and we still barely touched the place. I would love to go back and spend more time there--preferably when my legs and feet don't hurt quite so badly. We did pony up the extra cash for the audio tour, and I would highly recommend that. Yes, it's $14 we don't have now, but while I know I like art, I don't know what makes art "art", so it's nice to have someone tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at and why this particular painting of 17th century peasants is different than those other three paintings of 17th century peasants.
Met time over, we schlepped back to our hotel, where we quickly showered and changed for the wedding. Then, we hopped in a cab for what has got to be the most pointless cab ride ever. See, Bryant Park Grill, where the ceremony and reception were held, is only five blocks from our hotel, and the only reason we were taking a cab was because while my 4" inch heels were (and are) totally hot, they were not (and aren't) practical when it comes to such pedestrian matters as walking. (Do you like how I managed to use pedestrian there? I know. Sometimes, I even impress myself.) We got in the cab, went 2.5 blocks, wasted seven minutes, and because a street was closed, still had to walk 2.5 blocks to the wedding, where we squeezed past the already assembled wedding party to get to our seats just before they started seating the parents. Yeah...
My snark about lame cabbies over, the wedding. Oh, the wedding. I don't even know that I can describe the loveliness that was this wedding. The ceremony and cocktail hour that followed were on the roof of the grill, and the meal and dance were in the main area. Aside from the 97 degree heat (ugh, and again, ugh), it was gorgeous. The bride, groom, and bridal party were stunning, the food was excellent, and music was awesome (Seriously, Sam Cook's "You Send Me" for the first dance. Very retro-hip.), and to top it all off, the groom rocked the mic for a bit with "Disco Inferno." (He apparently spent some time trying to be a Broadway star, so he's, yeah, good.) Overall, best. wedding. ever., and it makes me sad that my writing skills are not such as to do it justice.
We tried to do the whole top of the Empire State building thing after, but um, fail. It was midnight, and there were still huge lines, and I was in heels, so we called it a night, grabbed a cab back to the hotel, and crashed.
Today's agenda:
COFFEE!
Finish our Central Park walking tour
Eat something sometime
Maybe a Broadway show?
More eating
Pack...
Still sore,
A & J
Saturday, July 24, 2010
NYCD1
Greetings from the Big Apple! For those of you who don't know (and that's got to be a small number since I'm pretty sure we told about anyone who'd listen), Jon and I are in New York to attend the wedding of a good college friend of mine, so we thought we'd do a day-by-day blog of what we're getting up to in the city that never sleeps.
Our flight left at 7 a.m. yesterday morning, so we were up at 4:45 a.m. (actually, I was up at 3:45 a.m. because my secret inner eight-year-old was too excited to sleep) showering, feeding the cats, last minute packing, and main-lining coffee. Flight (Midwest) went off without a hitch, and we arrived at our hotel around 11:15 a.m. We're staying at the Hotel Roger Williams, a little boutique joint near enough to the wedding site to make a short cab ride. (Jon wanted to walk, but I showed him my heels and asked how many blocks he thought he could carry me.) I'll talk more about our accomodations in a later post.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we walked over to Bryant Park, where the wedding will be held, then made a brief impromtu stop at the Walgreens in Times Square for an umbrella. After that, we stopped at Heartland Brewery for a pick-me-up beer for Jon, who was feeling a wee bit grumpy after his unexpected second shower (little did he know what was to come).
I think most of you know that Jon and I are sort of wanna-be-foodies. I will never truly be considered a foodie, simply because I won't eat fois gras and veal on principle, and I don't like fat or skin or any of the supposedly tasty stuff on my meat, but we do like good food. We're fanatical Top Chef and Top Chef Masters viewers, and when we found out we were going to be in town during NYC's Restaurant Week, we felt we must partake, at least a couple of times. Having established this, we made lunch reservations at Chef Marcus Samuelson's Aquavit restaurant. The food was very good and very interesting as well, with both of us getting to try a few things we don't normally eat (cold fish for one, and I don't mean smoked fish, just served cold). The meal was still pretty pricey, once you added in drinks and coffee, but it's one of those things that I think you have to do when you're here: Eat a really good meal and a well respected restaurant, and Restaurant Week allows you to do that without spending nearly as much as you would otherwise.
Following this, we checked into the hotel and changed for an audio tour of Central Park and the Yankees/Royals game. I should say that while it had been raining earlier, it was not raining by this point. In fact, the sun was out. In fact the sun was out and the humidity was rising. In fact, the sun was out, the humidity was rising, and the air was not moving, not even a little bit. It was awful outside, and the subway platforms were even worse. However, under the very determined leadership of Jon, we perservered and made it to Central Park to start our audio tour. Sadly, there was some argument as to whether that building was (me) or was not (Jon) Tavern on the Green (it was), and we spent a large portion of the time allotted back tracking, trying to find stuff. I think we're going to try again on Sunday morning.
Sweaty and a little grumpy now, we (under the leadership of Captain Jon) walked 20 blocks or so to a gelato place , then spent about 15 minutes (Jon's edit: Alaina embelishes) trying to find the subway, so we could get over to the Bronx for the game. Once we got there, we had to fight the crowds--including one of New York's finest, who took one look at Jon in his Royals' jersey and took to his megaphone to tell him to get back on the train and go back to where he came from--and a fiesty ticket agent who was quite sharp with me for not having my ID out, even though there were no signs indicating I would need my ID to pick up tickets at will call. Whatever...
Anyway, we watch the first 4.5 innings of the game, and then it starts to rain. We were up under the awning, so at first we were just getting hit by the occasional sprinkle. Then it was really raining. Then...it was cloudbursting. Seriously. The rain moved to torrential downpour territory, and the wind was blowing so hard that even standing against the back wall of Yankee Stadium, it felt like you were getting hit by a sprinkler. Everyone was soaked. They finally resumed the game about 9:30 p.m., so we stayed until the beginning of the eighth inning and then called it quits. After the rather crowded and lengthy subway ride back to our area of town, we grabbed some take-out from a little 24 hour Korean place, ate it on our bed, and fell into an exhausted sleep.
Today's Agenda:
Our flight left at 7 a.m. yesterday morning, so we were up at 4:45 a.m. (actually, I was up at 3:45 a.m. because my secret inner eight-year-old was too excited to sleep) showering, feeding the cats, last minute packing, and main-lining coffee. Flight (Midwest) went off without a hitch, and we arrived at our hotel around 11:15 a.m. We're staying at the Hotel Roger Williams, a little boutique joint near enough to the wedding site to make a short cab ride. (Jon wanted to walk, but I showed him my heels and asked how many blocks he thought he could carry me.) I'll talk more about our accomodations in a later post.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we walked over to Bryant Park, where the wedding will be held, then made a brief impromtu stop at the Walgreens in Times Square for an umbrella. After that, we stopped at Heartland Brewery for a pick-me-up beer for Jon, who was feeling a wee bit grumpy after his unexpected second shower (little did he know what was to come).
I think most of you know that Jon and I are sort of wanna-be-foodies. I will never truly be considered a foodie, simply because I won't eat fois gras and veal on principle, and I don't like fat or skin or any of the supposedly tasty stuff on my meat, but we do like good food. We're fanatical Top Chef and Top Chef Masters viewers, and when we found out we were going to be in town during NYC's Restaurant Week, we felt we must partake, at least a couple of times. Having established this, we made lunch reservations at Chef Marcus Samuelson's Aquavit restaurant. The food was very good and very interesting as well, with both of us getting to try a few things we don't normally eat (cold fish for one, and I don't mean smoked fish, just served cold). The meal was still pretty pricey, once you added in drinks and coffee, but it's one of those things that I think you have to do when you're here: Eat a really good meal and a well respected restaurant, and Restaurant Week allows you to do that without spending nearly as much as you would otherwise.
Following this, we checked into the hotel and changed for an audio tour of Central Park and the Yankees/Royals game. I should say that while it had been raining earlier, it was not raining by this point. In fact, the sun was out. In fact the sun was out and the humidity was rising. In fact, the sun was out, the humidity was rising, and the air was not moving, not even a little bit. It was awful outside, and the subway platforms were even worse. However, under the very determined leadership of Jon, we perservered and made it to Central Park to start our audio tour. Sadly, there was some argument as to whether that building was (me) or was not (Jon) Tavern on the Green (it was), and we spent a large portion of the time allotted back tracking, trying to find stuff. I think we're going to try again on Sunday morning.
Sweaty and a little grumpy now, we (under the leadership of Captain Jon) walked 20 blocks or so to a gelato place , then spent about 15 minutes (Jon's edit: Alaina embelishes) trying to find the subway, so we could get over to the Bronx for the game. Once we got there, we had to fight the crowds--including one of New York's finest, who took one look at Jon in his Royals' jersey and took to his megaphone to tell him to get back on the train and go back to where he came from--and a fiesty ticket agent who was quite sharp with me for not having my ID out, even though there were no signs indicating I would need my ID to pick up tickets at will call. Whatever...
Anyway, we watch the first 4.5 innings of the game, and then it starts to rain. We were up under the awning, so at first we were just getting hit by the occasional sprinkle. Then it was really raining. Then...it was cloudbursting. Seriously. The rain moved to torrential downpour territory, and the wind was blowing so hard that even standing against the back wall of Yankee Stadium, it felt like you were getting hit by a sprinkler. Everyone was soaked. They finally resumed the game about 9:30 p.m., so we stayed until the beginning of the eighth inning and then called it quits. After the rather crowded and lengthy subway ride back to our area of town, we grabbed some take-out from a little 24 hour Korean place, ate it on our bed, and fell into an exhausted sleep.
Today's Agenda:
- Grab breakfast and coffee
- The Met! (Yay, someone's super-excited!)
- Maybe Lunch at Katz's Deli
- Wedding
- Late-night view from the Empire State Building?
More tomorrow!
Best wishes and sore muscles,
A & J
Best wishes and sore muscles,
A & J
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sayonara Crib
As you can see from this post's title, we've bid the crib a fond farewell, letting the solid barrier between sleeping (or not-so-sleeping) Maddie languish in the basement, awaiting sibling to be conceived later. We actually did this about two weeks ago, but you know me and the fear of blog karma--I was worried that talking about the fact that it was going relatively smoothly (we're dealing with an almost-two-year-old here, so relatively is all, well, relative) would totally jinx us, and we'd go through two weeks of sleepless hell as payment for our smugness.
Truth be told, we can't really take all, or even most of the credit. We only ordered the toddler bed rails (we have a convertible crib) and reconfigured the crib because Laura had Maddie start sleeping on a mat for naps about a month ago. To be fair to the Madster, though, Laura can't take too much credit either. Aside from the occasional leaving of the bed or, ahem, bugging the other child sleeping in the room, she's done beautifully. The first day, Laura was very clear with her that she was going to sleep like a big girl, and she hadhadhad to stay on her mat, and if she moved, Laura would have to come up and put her back to bed. Maddie laid down on the mat, on her back, arms at her sides, and three minutes later when Laura checked on her, she was fast asleep, still on her back, arms at her sides.
So, two Sundays ago, we did the big switcheroo. The first nap trial wasn't so great. We ended up having to bust out the "pacis" to get her to take a nap. Since then, like I said, relatively smooth. Bedtimes have been a little rough, wake-ups have been a little early, and we've gone back to the crap-nap, which is my new term for the length of her at-home naps as compared to the marathons she regularly bangs out at daycare. BUT, she is sleeping through the night, and while she does talk to herself (or scream for me) before going to bed, she doesn't get out of bed, most nights. It's going to be a transition, and we were prepared for this. (Not really looking forward to it, but prepared.) Anyway, here's a picture of our big girl sleeping in her big girl bed, just like a big girl...big girl, big girl, big girl. It's bittersweet, as are most milestones.
Truth be told, we can't really take all, or even most of the credit. We only ordered the toddler bed rails (we have a convertible crib) and reconfigured the crib because Laura had Maddie start sleeping on a mat for naps about a month ago. To be fair to the Madster, though, Laura can't take too much credit either. Aside from the occasional leaving of the bed or, ahem, bugging the other child sleeping in the room, she's done beautifully. The first day, Laura was very clear with her that she was going to sleep like a big girl, and she hadhadhad to stay on her mat, and if she moved, Laura would have to come up and put her back to bed. Maddie laid down on the mat, on her back, arms at her sides, and three minutes later when Laura checked on her, she was fast asleep, still on her back, arms at her sides.
So, two Sundays ago, we did the big switcheroo. The first nap trial wasn't so great. We ended up having to bust out the "pacis" to get her to take a nap. Since then, like I said, relatively smooth. Bedtimes have been a little rough, wake-ups have been a little early, and we've gone back to the crap-nap, which is my new term for the length of her at-home naps as compared to the marathons she regularly bangs out at daycare. BUT, she is sleeping through the night, and while she does talk to herself (or scream for me) before going to bed, she doesn't get out of bed, most nights. It's going to be a transition, and we were prepared for this. (Not really looking forward to it, but prepared.) Anyway, here's a picture of our big girl sleeping in her big girl bed, just like a big girl...big girl, big girl, big girl. It's bittersweet, as are most milestones.
Sweet dreams, baby girl. (Yes, she piled all that up herself. I don't know.)
P.S. - So, last night, she slept until 6:45 a.m., which is a good half hour later than she's slept previously, in the new bed. Also, today, she took a 2.5 hour nap at home, which is a good hour longer than she's slept previously, in the new bed. Yes, yes, I know. Bring it on, blog karma!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sunday on Campus
It was such a pretty day today we decided to take a walk on campus. Hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
I think it's probably time to let you all in on a little secret: We have a new family member, here at Casa de Stopster. (No, don't even think it. Before anyone [cough, Nana, cough, cough] pees his/herself with excitement, I'm not pregnant again. Not even a little bit.) We've suspected it for a while, but it's now becoming quite clear that Two has really and truly moved in, and she seems to have no intention of leaving.
I hate to sound all Debby Downer here, but the thing is, we were fine before Two came along. Our unit worked, and everyone was happy with their place in the family. No one fought (much), no one yelled (not really loudly), no one cried at the drop of a hat (not too often). Sure, Two can be really cute and funny. She talks all the time and makes really silly faces, but she also causes havoc and chaos on a daily basis. Two yells at the cats for touching her toys. She refuses to talk to people and then cries inconsolably when they leave. She won't follow directions. She hits people when she doesn't get her way. She continues to climb on the coffee table after being repeatedly told not to, and to top it all off, she thinks time-out is a game.
Last week, in the morning before daycare, Two asked for some water. Even though I was already running behind and had five other things to do before loading her and Maddie into the car, I dutifully put Two's water in a sippy cup and politely handed it her, only to have it slapped out of my hand. "No! Nooooo! No, no, no!" Two shouted. She cried. She screamed. She threw herself on the floor, fists flailing, feet pounding. Exasperated, I threw up my hands (which I seem to be doing a lot of since Two moved in), put the water on the floor, and walked away. "Fine," I said. "I'm going to leave the water here, in case you change your mind." Thirty seconds later, Two sat on the floor, chugging the water, tears standing in her eyes. *Sigh*
How long will Two be staying, you ask? It's hard to say. Two has a transient life-style, but those who've had her in semi-permanent residence before say she can stay anywhere from six months to two years. Plus, I don't think she even has all her "stuff" moved in yet. There are still times when she goes, and we don't hear from her for a week or so, which is sort of nice, even though I feel bad admitting it. Sometimes I think "Poor, misunderstood Two. You're probably just frustrated with your lack of ability to communicate with the world. It must be hard to have people impose their will on you day in and day out. Perhaps I should try to be more lenient, more giving." Then I get smacked in the face again, and the feeling goes away.
Two, you have officially out-stayed your welcome! Please depart quickly, so the three normal, sane people who live in this house can return to their pleasant, peaceful lives.
I hate to sound all Debby Downer here, but the thing is, we were fine before Two came along. Our unit worked, and everyone was happy with their place in the family. No one fought (much), no one yelled (not really loudly), no one cried at the drop of a hat (not too often). Sure, Two can be really cute and funny. She talks all the time and makes really silly faces, but she also causes havoc and chaos on a daily basis. Two yells at the cats for touching her toys. She refuses to talk to people and then cries inconsolably when they leave. She won't follow directions. She hits people when she doesn't get her way. She continues to climb on the coffee table after being repeatedly told not to, and to top it all off, she thinks time-out is a game.
Last week, in the morning before daycare, Two asked for some water. Even though I was already running behind and had five other things to do before loading her and Maddie into the car, I dutifully put Two's water in a sippy cup and politely handed it her, only to have it slapped out of my hand. "No! Nooooo! No, no, no!" Two shouted. She cried. She screamed. She threw herself on the floor, fists flailing, feet pounding. Exasperated, I threw up my hands (which I seem to be doing a lot of since Two moved in), put the water on the floor, and walked away. "Fine," I said. "I'm going to leave the water here, in case you change your mind." Thirty seconds later, Two sat on the floor, chugging the water, tears standing in her eyes. *Sigh*
How long will Two be staying, you ask? It's hard to say. Two has a transient life-style, but those who've had her in semi-permanent residence before say she can stay anywhere from six months to two years. Plus, I don't think she even has all her "stuff" moved in yet. There are still times when she goes, and we don't hear from her for a week or so, which is sort of nice, even though I feel bad admitting it. Sometimes I think "Poor, misunderstood Two. You're probably just frustrated with your lack of ability to communicate with the world. It must be hard to have people impose their will on you day in and day out. Perhaps I should try to be more lenient, more giving." Then I get smacked in the face again, and the feeling goes away.
Two, you have officially out-stayed your welcome! Please depart quickly, so the three normal, sane people who live in this house can return to their pleasant, peaceful lives.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Remember the Cuteness, Part III
So, it's been a bit since Remember the Cuteness, Parts I and II, but Miss Maddie has been changing so much and so quickly lately, that I felt it was time to capture some of her current quirks and idiosyncrasies for posterity. Here goes:
1. A-Okay: Lately, the Madster's response to everything you ask her is "O-kay!" It's really that enthusiastic, too. Want to go upstairs? O-kay! We need to go change your diaper. O-kay! It's time to brush your teeth and get your eye drops. O-kay! (No seriously, that just happened tonight.) Now, if only she actually were okay with half the things she so easily acquiesces to, well, life would be a lot easier, let's just leave it at that.
2. Baby-stalking: There's no way to sugar-coat this one--the girl is obsessed with babies. She loves them. She loves to talk about them. She loves to point at them and squeal. She loves to touch them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and sorry, got stuck in a bit of a loop there. Most of the time, it's adorable, but sometimes, it can be a bit of a nuisance. For instance, there were three or four families in our Kindermusik class that had new infants, and the parents just brought them to class with them. Maddie was so interested in all the babies, that the poor moms and dads had to leave their newborns in their car seats behind a little barrier in the class room, just to keep her from running over and touching them every five seconds. (Sidebar: The "You'll really have to get her one of those comments" got a little annoying by the end of the semester. While we probably will "get her one of those" at some point, I have no intention of creating another human being simply because my almost-two-year-old wants one. On the other hand, this strand of logic would explain a lot of the crazy and ridiculous choices some people make. It's obvious; they were listening to two-year-olds.)
3. Swimfan: Our little Monkey-face loves her some chlorinated water (See Meltdown). As soon as the first warm day in June rolled around, we took her to one of the pools in our sub-division, and while she had to be coaxed into the water the first time, once in, it was love at first splash. She loves the kiddie pool that she can get in and out of by herself, she loves the big pool with its steps, and she really loves going back and forth between them, making whichever adult is the current "designated parent" chase after her, in and out, in and out. She alternates between calling pools "poooo" and "a baf wif kids," this last usually being shouted at Jon from across the pool: "Daddy, I takin' a baf! Daddy I takin' a baf wif kids!" The only downside to this aquatic fixation is her lack of understanding when it comes to timing and the pool (Well, that and the fact that our sunscreen bill is through the roof). She does not understand, for example, that one cannot simply just go to the pool first thing in the morning (especially when one's parents have to go to work), in the rain, right before bed, or on the way home from daycare (And lucky us, we pass three of the damn things going to and from this last one. Ugh.). Still, on hot summer days, it's a good way to kill an hour or so.
4. Kiss, Kiss, Hug, Hug: Finally, the baby who couldn't be bothered to cuddle with you, who didn't need to be held, has turned into a little girl who loves to give hugs and kisses. Yay! Yay! (Sorry, that was me doing a song and dance in my head. I'm pretty pumped about this.) She asks for kisses; she bestows unsolicited kisses; she gives "big hugs" in which she wraps her chunky, little arms as far around you as they can go and says "Ahmmmm." And last but most definitely, certainly, without a doubt not least, sometimes, sometimes, she will say, all on her own, "I wuv ooo, Mommy. I wuv ooo, Daddy." It's usually followed by a hug or a kiss on the leg (It's all she can reach if we're standing). Heart.melting.now.for.real. She did offer all the people in Home Depot a kiss the other day, after bestowing one on both Jon and myself, but we're trying not to read too much into that...
And now, since I know you're only reading this to placate me, here's the picture you popped over to our blog for anyway:
1. A-Okay: Lately, the Madster's response to everything you ask her is "O-kay!" It's really that enthusiastic, too. Want to go upstairs? O-kay! We need to go change your diaper. O-kay! It's time to brush your teeth and get your eye drops. O-kay! (No seriously, that just happened tonight.) Now, if only she actually were okay with half the things she so easily acquiesces to, well, life would be a lot easier, let's just leave it at that.
2. Baby-stalking: There's no way to sugar-coat this one--the girl is obsessed with babies. She loves them. She loves to talk about them. She loves to point at them and squeal. She loves to touch them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and kiss them, and sorry, got stuck in a bit of a loop there. Most of the time, it's adorable, but sometimes, it can be a bit of a nuisance. For instance, there were three or four families in our Kindermusik class that had new infants, and the parents just brought them to class with them. Maddie was so interested in all the babies, that the poor moms and dads had to leave their newborns in their car seats behind a little barrier in the class room, just to keep her from running over and touching them every five seconds. (Sidebar: The "You'll really have to get her one of those comments" got a little annoying by the end of the semester. While we probably will "get her one of those" at some point, I have no intention of creating another human being simply because my almost-two-year-old wants one. On the other hand, this strand of logic would explain a lot of the crazy and ridiculous choices some people make. It's obvious; they were listening to two-year-olds.)
3. Swimfan: Our little Monkey-face loves her some chlorinated water (See Meltdown). As soon as the first warm day in June rolled around, we took her to one of the pools in our sub-division, and while she had to be coaxed into the water the first time, once in, it was love at first splash. She loves the kiddie pool that she can get in and out of by herself, she loves the big pool with its steps, and she really loves going back and forth between them, making whichever adult is the current "designated parent" chase after her, in and out, in and out. She alternates between calling pools "poooo" and "a baf wif kids," this last usually being shouted at Jon from across the pool: "Daddy, I takin' a baf! Daddy I takin' a baf wif kids!" The only downside to this aquatic fixation is her lack of understanding when it comes to timing and the pool (Well, that and the fact that our sunscreen bill is through the roof). She does not understand, for example, that one cannot simply just go to the pool first thing in the morning (especially when one's parents have to go to work), in the rain, right before bed, or on the way home from daycare (And lucky us, we pass three of the damn things going to and from this last one. Ugh.). Still, on hot summer days, it's a good way to kill an hour or so.
4. Kiss, Kiss, Hug, Hug: Finally, the baby who couldn't be bothered to cuddle with you, who didn't need to be held, has turned into a little girl who loves to give hugs and kisses. Yay! Yay! (Sorry, that was me doing a song and dance in my head. I'm pretty pumped about this.) She asks for kisses; she bestows unsolicited kisses; she gives "big hugs" in which she wraps her chunky, little arms as far around you as they can go and says "Ahmmmm." And last but most definitely, certainly, without a doubt not least, sometimes, sometimes, she will say, all on her own, "I wuv ooo, Mommy. I wuv ooo, Daddy." It's usually followed by a hug or a kiss on the leg (It's all she can reach if we're standing). Heart.melting.now.for.real. She did offer all the people in Home Depot a kiss the other day, after bestowing one on both Jon and myself, but we're trying not to read too much into that...
And now, since I know you're only reading this to placate me, here's the picture you popped over to our blog for anyway:
Maddie, enjoying a cookie while hanging out with Nana and Pa in Abilene, KS.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Bouncy Castle
Maddie LOVES jumping. Here she is playing around at the Festival on the Trails in Gardner. We have been asked about going to a bouncy castle everyday since this video was taken.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
M Is for Meltdown
So, to start with, Maddie has developed a deep, profound, and unshakable love for the pool. She alternately calls it a "poooo" or a "baf wif kids", but it's the same. She lurvs the pool, and she will smite anyone who stands between her and her watery soul mate, in so far as toddlers are capable of smiting.
To fuel her obsession, we drive by not one, not two, but three separate pools on the way to and from daycare, and each time we pass one, a small, squeaky voice in the backseat pipes up, "I go poooo. I go baf wif kids! I go poooo a liddle bit. I go pooo latuw." Every day it's the same thing, and every day we say maybe. Maybe later, maybe after dinner, maybe tomorrow. It's always maybe because while we're still newbie-parents, we're not completely amateurs. We know that a promise to a toddler is like a trained tiger--it seems harmless, but you turn your back on it, and it'll bite you in the ass. Seriously...
Anyway, this evening, we actually did go to the pool, no maybes. We went to the pool, and she played in the kiddie pool, and she jumped off the steps, and she tried to touch other kids toys while splashing them. And, when it was time to leave, even though she had been given several "after this we're going, in two minutes we're going, it's time to go now" warnings, she pitched a nutty.
In her defense, it was a Grade A nutty, complete with real tears, gut-wrenching screaming, and a red scrunchy face. When we got in the car, it got worse. When we tried to get her into her bath, it got even worse, and when she refused to lie down to have her hair washed and we were forced to pour water over her head, it reached biblical flood proportions. After that, she was pretty much inconsolable unless Jon was pretending to cry, too, at which point, she laughed in a crying, hiccuping sort of way until lapsing into tears again. She cried through her diaper change, she cried through her lotion application, and she cried while we forced her into her pajamas. Oh, and she also pee'd on the floor twice, but that's not really related, just slightly gross.
Finally, we read The Sleepy Little Alphabet twice, and then we were suckered into reading Goodnight Moon once as well. After that, she was fine. She gave hugs and kisses, she repeated prompted "I love you"s, and she went to sleep with two stuffed animals over her face, leaving her parents to contemplate many more nights of the same.
To fuel her obsession, we drive by not one, not two, but three separate pools on the way to and from daycare, and each time we pass one, a small, squeaky voice in the backseat pipes up, "I go poooo. I go baf wif kids! I go poooo a liddle bit. I go pooo latuw." Every day it's the same thing, and every day we say maybe. Maybe later, maybe after dinner, maybe tomorrow. It's always maybe because while we're still newbie-parents, we're not completely amateurs. We know that a promise to a toddler is like a trained tiger--it seems harmless, but you turn your back on it, and it'll bite you in the ass. Seriously...
Anyway, this evening, we actually did go to the pool, no maybes. We went to the pool, and she played in the kiddie pool, and she jumped off the steps, and she tried to touch other kids toys while splashing them. And, when it was time to leave, even though she had been given several "after this we're going, in two minutes we're going, it's time to go now" warnings, she pitched a nutty.
In her defense, it was a Grade A nutty, complete with real tears, gut-wrenching screaming, and a red scrunchy face. When we got in the car, it got worse. When we tried to get her into her bath, it got even worse, and when she refused to lie down to have her hair washed and we were forced to pour water over her head, it reached biblical flood proportions. After that, she was pretty much inconsolable unless Jon was pretending to cry, too, at which point, she laughed in a crying, hiccuping sort of way until lapsing into tears again. She cried through her diaper change, she cried through her lotion application, and she cried while we forced her into her pajamas. Oh, and she also pee'd on the floor twice, but that's not really related, just slightly gross.
Finally, we read The Sleepy Little Alphabet twice, and then we were suckered into reading Goodnight Moon once as well. After that, she was fine. She gave hugs and kisses, she repeated prompted "I love you"s, and she went to sleep with two stuffed animals over her face, leaving her parents to contemplate many more nights of the same.
Kansas Thunderstorms
Here is a couple of pictures I took of some Kansas clouds. The first is a picture of some upper level winds causing a pretty cool whisping effect, technical terms I know. The second picture is a pretty sweet thunderhead at sunset. Out of the thunderstorms that rolled through yesterday we received 3-4 inches of rain. It made for a fun drive home.
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