18 month check up

Today was a big day - 18 month check-up!!! Beforehand, we went to the library for storytime (lap infants to 18 month olds). It was much quieter than the last one (18-36 month olds). Madison still had fun hopping, turning around, and shaking the maracas. She was fine at the doctor until I laid her down to take her clothes off - the crying and clinging began. This had never happened before. She improved when the doctor and I were talking, but disintegrated the moment the doctor moved closer to listen to her heart and look at her ears. Of course, the two shots were not the highlight of the appointment. She did settle down within the time it took to read one book. Here are her stats:

• Head circumference: Now - 19 in... 95th percentile (at 15 mo - 18.5 in)
• Height: Now - 32.5 in...75th percentile (at 15 mo - 30 in)
• Weight: Now - 23lbs, 9 oz... almost 50th percentile (at 15 mo - 21lbs, 3 oz)

She doesn't have to go back til she turns 2. However, she does have to go for a check on her urinary reflux, which involves a catheter! I am not - after this appointment - looking forward to that. It's not til August, so we have some time to prepare.

In other news.... my dad's surgery on his neck vertebrae went well according to the doctor, but the recovery is more painful than he was expecting. He is used to all things back surgery, so this is just different. And somehow he thought it would be easier - the neck is, after all, smaller than the back. The problem is that you use your neck for everything. Think about it: it holds your head up/on... what do you not do with your head??? Please pray for him as he continues to recover.

A Few Things

This week went fast for me.  I think it was because we were so busy – in a good way.

Monday – walking with Tara and Grace and played at the park while my car got an oil change

Tuesday – pool party with co-workers at RHS.  One of our intervention people is leaving us, and this was a last hoorah.  Madison got to connect with Maci, her friend from daycare.  Unfortunately, Maci was a little fish, and Madison was hesitant of the water.  She hung out by the snack table (just like her momma!) and marched around the deck.  Here are a few pics:

                                      

           

Maynard and Gloria took us out to dinner that night, and then stayed overnight. 

Wednesday – I went to summer bridge – a 3 day (only a few hours a day) event to get to know the kids in our academy.  (RHS is becoming academies/small schools… if you want to know, I can explain it sometime.)  There weren’t very many kids there, but I had a lot of fun getting to know them.  Maynard and Gloria got special grandparent time with Madison while I was gone. 

Thursday – We met Danielle and Mia from our small group at the library and park to hang out.  She is a teacher also, and Mia is only about a year older than Madison.  It was good to be able to spend some time getting to know her a little better.  Hopefully, we will get together more this summer.  Madison and I tried out the little pool for the first time on a whim.  It was a bit cool outside, but I put some warm water in; it kept her busy for a good 45 minutes.  The first time I filled it she sat in the water, so I just stripped her down.  Then, she pooped in it.  So, we dumped it out, and started again.  Jeremy had added posts to the deck, and we can put up the baby gate for the stairs.  So, it felt good to watch her play while I got some things together for supper in the kitchen.  Next time, we’ll use a swim diaper!

                       

Friday – I took Madison to the last day of summer bridge which was a the zoo!  We walked around and met the students for lunch.  It was good to mix personal and professional life.  I don’t often let the kids in on a whole lot, so this was a good opportunity to do it.  This was also our 5th anniversary.  Jeremy brought flowers home for me.  And I cooked a good Pan-Roasted Corn with Shrimp and Pasta meal.  It is a really light meal/flavor, but it is so good (and easy)! 

Father’s Day and more

Friday, my brother (Nate) and his family came to Columbus.  They called to let us know they would be coming to the zoo, which was great because we have had little to do this week.  I was excited to see them.  We met them about 10:30 at the zoo, applied sunscreen, loaded up strollers, and headed in – 5 kids and 3 adults.  Here we are waiting for tickets – Sophie, Madison, and Chloe:

 

Pax wanted to see the bears first, so off to the polar bears we went.  I had never seen the polar bears doing anything, so it was a nice surprise to see them swimming in the water.  We went down the ramp to see them underwater.  It was fantastic!  Up above, we watched them wrestle; this is most of the kids entranced by the animals:

 

From there we headed to my favorite thing – the Animals on Safari show!  We ate lunch while we watched, which is an excellent use of time.  After the reptile building, Megan, Madison, and I headed home to take naps.  The two sat in the backseat and talked and touched hands a little before falling asleep.  Nate, Jen, and the other three returned about 4:15 and we ordered pizza and stromboli from Carfagna’s Kitchen.  (If you live in Columbus, I recommend this place.  The pizza was good and the restaurant is casual – serves great food!)  They left after an ice cream treat from McDonald’s (yeah, I know there are better ice cream joints here, but this is cheap and fast!) 

On Saturday, Jeremy and Madison spent some quality time on a bike ride.  We got this trailer off Craig’s List, and she seems to enjoy it.  (For those safety people out there, I just bought her a helmet.)  It is so cute to watch them.

                  

             

Sunday, we celebrated Father’s Day (without a picture to commemorate it).  We headed home after church for a gathering at the Bricker’s.  Amanda made some delicious chip dip that held us over til the burgers were ready.  Madison took her time warming up to people, but eventually joined Mark at the piano.  We stayed til about 4pm, then went for a quick stop at my parents’ house.  We ate a little there, swung, tried the new slide, and played with others.  We took off by about 6:30pm.  Such a whirlwind, but it was good to see everyone.  

Today my dad had surgery.  From the initial sound of things, it went well.  My brother sat with my mom at the hospital, which I was glad someone was there for all that waiting with her.  Hopefully, his healing process will go quickly. 

Thunderstorm

Today I heard there might be rain coming, so I tried to find some indoor things to do in the morning with Madison.  We went to the church to pick up
Sunday school material, then to the library (found out there is story time once a week for her age group…. super exciting!), to the swings, and to the mall’s playground.  I wanted to see if Madison would like that play area as a rainy day option.  She loved it.  It is for kids 5 and under and you run around barefoot.  She loves being with other kids, so this was better than some of the quiet parks we end up with since there were a lot of kids.  We ate at Cheesecake Factory afterwards; I was just tired of whatever was in the fridge.  She was tired and fell asleep on the way home, which she has done every day that we go out.  It is a hard shift to get rid of her little morning nap.  After her nap, there was a thunderstorm.  She stood at the back sliding door with it open and enjoyed watching the rain; we did not go out and play.  I love her in this little outfit:

 

Madison and Grace

Madison and I went walking with Tara and Grace yesterday morning again.  It is a good time for some adult conversation, which frankly, I need.  After walking, we played in the park a little while before heading home.  Madison fell asleep on the way home.  I carried her in like a sack of potatoes and let her snooze on my chest for a few minutes…. it felt so good!  I got her up so I could make lunch before putting her back down for her nap.  Tara needed to go to a class last night, so I offered to have Grace over to play.  It went really well.  They shared toys, smiled, “talked,” and played.  Madison did get a time out for poking at Grace’s face after being told not to twice.  They were super cute.  Here we are at supper;  I love the close up of Madison’s cheese face!:

                 

Then, I stripped Grace down for her bath, and Madison came to lay beside her.  I will say she misjudged where she was at and almost sat on Grace, but we righted her before it happened.

            

The bathtub was a lot of fun, too!

               

Madison went to bed about 45 minutes before Grace went home.  So, Grace practiced walking while watching Wipe-Out.  It was a fun night.

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend we celebrated with Jeremy’s sister, Jen, as she married Arturo.  We traveled to eastern Pennsylvania near Scranton to go to the wedding.  Madison did a fantastic job in the car; it was about 8 hours of driving. We could drive for about 3 hours before she hit her limit; then, we would get out, eat, walk around, and play at a park when we could.  We got there just in time to see rehearsal– and be a part of… Jeremy was a scripture reader.  Here are some pics from that night….

                  

                             

It was beautiful and shaded at about 6pm, but the next day at 1:15 would be in full sun.  For good or for bad, it was raining all the next day and the wedding was moved indoors to this simple room.  Here are pictures from the wedding ….

            

            

                                

The dinner was outside under a tent.  The tables looked beautiful.  For most of the meal, I was back at the cabin while Madison took a nap.  When we returned, we dressed in warmer clothes since it was pretty cold outside.  The cakes were arranged on tree stumps, which I thought was a pretty neat idea.  Madison was a dancing machine and pretty much went up to anyone.  Our only mishap during the dancing was when she tried three times to dance with a little girl about her age.  The little girl shoved her down three times!  Poor Madison, she didn’t know what was happening. :(  Otherwise, it was a good night!

            

              

             

             

We traveled home on Sunday to my parents’ house.  We were able to connect with Luke’s family while we were there as well.  On Monday we finally made it home in the morning.  It felt like a longer than a 3-1/2 day getaway… I think there was just a lot of traveling, rather than just relaxing.  We were glad we could share in the special day.  Congratulations, Arturo and Jen!

Summer Vacation!

It has begun, and I am so excited! On Monday, Madison and I went on a walk to the park to swing a bit. On Tuesday, we met Tara and Grace at Park of Roses for a walk. We walked for almost an hour. (Tara is a relentless partner!!) Then, they had to take off for an appointment. Madison and I enjoyed the surprisingly cool (relative term here) morning by playing in the sand and with the other playground equipment. It was a great place. Today, I sent her off to the sitter's again and headed to the school for a day of planning for our new academy next year. (If you really want to know what this is all about, I can explain it sometime.) It was a good day of collaboration with teachers, but I don't know how much we finalized. After dinner, Madison and I headed out to the driveway to play with the rice (read a few blogs back) and sidewalk chalk. We both were sweating by the time we were out there for a half hour or so. I look forward to more memories - even just sitting on the couch after her nap watching Barney with her on my lap... so sweet :) I do not look forward to more heat... looks like mornings will be busy, naps in the afternoon, and maybe a venture out in the evening again. For all you other stay-at-home moms, I am free to hang out now; give me a call.... while playing with Madison is a blast, I also enjoy some adult interaction!

Jeremy and I signed up to teach the 4th graders at church for this month. As much as I have rebelled against this in the past because I already teach all week, I really enjoyed doing this with Jeremy. We only had 4 kids this Sunday, but they were fun - super chatty! They did a great job with the Bible passage from Acts 14. Paul and Barnabus are preaching the Gospel in various cities. When they get to one town, the people want to worship them like gods; they flee. This was to illustrate how people need to stand up for what is right. It was good. I also brought them pumpkin muffins, which they raved about and all wanted the recipe when I told them how easy they are. So, I gave it to them :) For all you teachers out there that just want Sunday as a break, maybe you just need to try an age you don't normally teach and do it with someone you enjoy!

Time Out

I think I have just entered the next phase of parenting -disciplining. Madison had her first time out last night. She was drinking her milk - or was supposed to be - while sitting on the couch beside me. She tipped her sippy cup upside down and tapped it on the couch cushion. (She used to do this on her high chair tray and make the milk spray out all over.) I told her "no" when I saw what she was doing. So, she looked at me and gave me a cute little smile before jamming the cup hard on the cushion to make a puddle. I picked her up and said, "No, no, Madison. You are going to time out." And I set her down on the floor. Her little lip came out, but she didn't cry, and she did stay seated. After I washed off the milk, I picked her up and followed Super Nanny's instructions - tell them what they did wrong, tell them you love them, and give them a hug .... I did neglect to have her tell me sorry. It went quite well for never having done it before. I think she knew what it was because the sitter has given others at daycare a time out before; although I don't think Madison has ever had one. That's it; I have 1-1/2 days of school left before summer break. I can't wait!!!