All About Madeline

Madeline is two. Dos. 2. 1+1. Dy. Time has flown by these last couple of years and I feel absolutely privileged and blessed to be her mama. A few details about her life so far:

Born on March 2, 2012 weighing in at 6.11lbs at 5:23am a very purple Madeline came rearing into this world with her toes spread wide apart and a cute little cry that stopped when they set her on my chest. She knew her mama from the beginning. We had a list of names for her, but none fit her round little face and red little hairs. She went without a name for two days, but we found one: Madeline Neve. Madeline--because I used to love the book and movie with the cute little girls in two straight lines. Of course, our Madeline isn't the smallest one like the little Madeline from the books. She was 21" fully stretched out! We pronounce her name Mad-e-lyn, even though I prefer Mad-e-line. But it was a compromise we made to get our little girl a name. Neve means radiance which I thought was fitting for our little ray of sunshine.

When she started eating solids she hated pears, and still hates them. I guess texture is a big thing to her, which isn't surprising because a few of her aunts and uncles (namely Aunt Alicia) hate gritty and slimy things even if the taste is good.

Her first word was "more" in both baby-sign and verbally which is very fitting since she has been eating non- stop since birth. I blame it on a fast metabolism because that little girl has no cute little baby rolls; just long legs and round cheeks.

At 8 months old, Madeline started crawling and the only thing that motivated her was, of course, food.

Her first steps took place at 13 months in my parents' rental in California because it only had hardwood flooring which hurt her knees so she decided to start walking.

She is skilled with small motor movements like drawing and began holding a pencil the correct way pretty much at 14ish months. I think she skipped the whole palm grasp stage, but she does hold a fork like that sometimes.

Her first "boyfriend" was David. He was such a chunky baby, but he kissed Maddy at least 5 times on their first playdate. Her most recent boyfriend is a boy named Aiden. They are trouble-makers but cute together. At the last ward party they escaped the gym and we found them in the kitchen washing dishes together--they had pulled two chairs to the sink and were standing on them.

Cute things:

• Sometimes if I am laying on the couch she slips her favorite blanket (the duck one her Manga/Grandma Lisa made for her) over my legs.
• She calls a sandwich an "on-wich" and I can't decide where she is hearing that sound /on/ from. 
• She knows that Sampson is not allowed to run in the house and sometimes when he does she says "Sampson, stop it. Shush." It cracks me up every time because she is very serious at him, but then she'll tuck him in with her blanket if he is sleeping by the couch. 
• She is obsessed with brushing her teeth.
• She loves animals--especially dogs, fish, monkeys, elephants, and horses. We got her little plastic figurines of animals for Christmas and she takes at least two of them anywhere we go, along with her blanket.
• Sometimes she grabs our fingers and guides us to her closet or under the kitchen table to play. Last Sunday I couldn't find her at all but then I heard her giggling from my closet where she decided to play a round of hide-and-seek without letting my know first. 
• Whenever I do my nails she waits for me to put some on her nails. Depending on if she is feeling patient or not she will wait to have her whole hand done or just stand for one finger.
• She loves riding on her papa's back like a horse.
• She likes to color.
• She has to be eating what we are eating or something very similar.
• She walks better in heals than I do and she has an early fascination with shoes of all kinds--especially boots.
• She knows the letter M and the shapes heart, circle, square, triangle, cylinder, and star. 
• Sometimes she takes herself to bed at night and then we follow her to do our nightly prayers and kisses. 
• Her favorite show ever is Little Einsteins which drives Marcus and me nuts! But we love her so much that she gets to watch it if she says please. 

Fun pictures:

Madeline went from such a small bean to...

...such a tall little sassy and spirited little girl with teeth and long curly red locks of hair. What a beauty. 

Coloring is a regular activity for Madeline and she sometimes assigns pictures names like "hearts" even though they all look like scribbles.

She always puts socks on her hands...it's weird and I don't understand why except that we have mittens for her and maybe that's where the idea came from. 

You can see the socks better in this photo. Plus she is smiling all cute. 

Papa and Maddy cooking some banana pancakes before I leave for school. I wish I could stay. 

She put the head band on all by herself and then she wanted to show me her drawing. She doesn't get the concept of "smile for the camera" even though she sometimes says "cheese." 

A Forgotten Post. Whoops. From Feb 14, 2014.

Today for Valentine's Day, I made those french toast stacks with Nutella and strawberries. It was sugary in a good way. Then for lunch Marcus made a cute heart-shaped cheeseburger and fries with a little tomato rose as a decoration. I loved it.

Madeline got some candy hearts and has been pretty relaxed all day. Today is probably my favorite day of the week because I don't have school and we've had good food! :) The only negative I can think of is I have a final to take for my Children's Lit class at 4pm. I have to pass or I don't pass the course. If I don't pass the course I don't graduate. It's a little stressful, but I have been studying, so I am hoping I do well. 

Sundays and Cute Dresses

I have been feeling it difficult to find appropriate Sunday activities that keep Madeline entertained. I mean, "appropriate" is a personal decision, but I feel we need activities that uplift and encourage us to be better and more religious...if that makes sense. We have been in the habit of watching television and being couch potatoes. Today, though, we have hymns playing on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Pandora channel. It is a nice way to have the spirit in our home. I found a list on lds.org but none of the items are quite child-friendly except reading a book or visiting friends/family. Here is the list:

1. Read the scriptures, conference reports, and Church publications.
2. Study the lives and teachings of the prophets.
3. Prepare Church lessons and other Church assignments.
4. Write in journals.
5. Pray and meditate.
6. Write to or visit relatives and friends.
7. Write to missionaries (friends, family members, ward members).
8. Enjoy uplifting music.
9. Participate in family gospel instruction.
10. Hold family council meetings.
11. Read with a child.
12. Do family history research, including filling out pedigree charts and
writing in family or personal histories.
13. Sing Church hymns.
14. Read uplifting literature.
15. Develop an appreciation for the cultural arts.
16. Plan family home evening study and activities.
17. Plan other family activities.
18. Friendship nonmembers.
19. Fellowship neighbors.
20. Visit the sick, the aged, and the lonely

So, this list seems good. I think playing with my children will be added to the list since children just need to play.

We put ALL of her clips in her hair because she found where I keep them. She was feeling extra pretty.

Marcus' Aunt Cheryl gave us three super cute dresses for Madeline. This is just one. They are from Zulily.com 

Marcus gave me a manicure using teal and black crackle nail polish. He did a pretty good job. 

How can I not be in love?! 

Look at that outfit! :) 

"Murder, She Wrote," What's New, and Pictures

Last weekend we spent time with some extended family in Utah for Anna's baby shower. We had a great time relaxing and I am not looking forward to the long week ahead... Marcus had to go back to Utah last Monday for some labs and then again on the 13th for his physical; it's just normal annual check ups for his job. 

Anyways:

1. We watch a lot of Murder, She Wrote as an "unwinding" show when I get home from school or when we just need to sit and think about nothing for a little bit. It's an old show about a lady who writes murder mystery novels and then finds herself in actual real life murder mysteries where she acts as a detective. It's old school, but I still enjoy it. The acting isn't all that good. 

2. I am going to be making Valentine's breakfast. I was thinking something like this:

From http://adamandhaleykjar.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentine-sweets.html

OR

This is made with Nutella! Mmmm. It's basically stuffed french toast loaded with Nutella and yum yum strawberries!

3. My sister-in-law, Anna, had her first baby this morning after a LONG labor (from 7am yesterday when her water broke til this morning) at least compared to my 3 hour labor. She had little Brian the 2nd at 12:10am. They are both happy and healthy. I can't wait to see pictures!

4. Madeline grabbed my hand yesterday and took me to hide in her closet and then when we were done hiding in the closet she took me to hide under the kitchen table. I think we will be making a fort in the near future! After we were done with the hiding thing she took me to play in her room and she was talking and talking and I only understood about a third of everything she said. It was something about animals. She is becoming so interactive and fun!

5. I feel a little pulled-in-all-directions lately. A lot of people keep asking me for favors. I don't mind helping people out, but lately it has been a lot more than usual, and I am sitting all stressed from school, but it's okay. I know helping people raises my Oxytocin levels and that it actually will help me cope with the stress better. I'm just having trouble having enough energy to keep up with all that is required of me. Sometimes all I can do is take care of me which is especially important at a time like being pregnant when the baby inside is effected. But then I feel all guilty for not being able to help others out. It is such a vicious cycle and I hope people understand that it is not personal when I can't help out. Just know, I am doing my best. Please understand.

6. Here are some pictures I found on Marcus' phone.

I miss her being this little! She has grown so much. 

From when we went on the cruise. 

They must've just gotten back from a walk or something.

We got this horse at a garage sale for $3! It has been a great investment. 

Me and my cuddle dog. He was pretty calm when this was taken. 

She built a wall around her toys. She was very particular where she lined them all up. 

Last week Madeline got into a pen and broke it during her "nap" time. We went and got her and found this. 

A Post of Funnies

Today I am just sharing with you some funny things I came across on the interwebs. Enjoy a good laugh.

I need to get this on a tag. 

''

This applies to me...

While I have a vanity so this doesn't happen and never to this degree, I thought it was funny.