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)

Ready for the cold...

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.

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...

Winery

Sunday at the Stone Pillar Winery. Not too shabby.

Bathroom Fun

Kind of creepy too...

Horsey!

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."

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...

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!

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.

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 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!

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:

Maddie, enjoying a cookie while hanging out with Nana and Pa in Abilene, KS.

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.

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.

Duck toots

A bath time ritual.

A new car!

Well not really, more like a borrowed car that Maddie  became very attached to.  At Alaina's 10 year high school reunion, one of her classmate's kids had a little car that Maddie couldn't get enough of. She loved it so much that she wouldn't let any other kids sit in it. When we would say it's not your turn she would reply 5 seconds later "Now it's my turn."  Maddie 's language has been taking off again, it's hard to believe we can carry on conversation with her, as well as some of the phrases she picks up from Alaina and I.

Maddie faces

Tongue curling.

Kansas City Zoo

This past weekend we braved the first 'Hot' day of the year. Even though it was only the high 80's my poor body was not use to the high humidity and sudden temperature change. It was an extremely busy day at the zoo, as it was the first weekend in a month that was dry. Maddie loves animals and was very excited to see them up close and personal. She really enjoyed the sea lions, hippos, elephants, and lions. Some of her least favorites were the Canadian geese walking around the zoo, at least when they walked towards her, and the chimps. Apparently staring hairy humanoid creatures in cages are scary. I don't see it. Unfortunately we were not able to see the zoo in its entirety but look forward to a return trip to see the brand new polar bear park later on this summer. Here are few pictures I captured on my phone camera, we left the other at home, go figure.

Maddie faces

Number 3