Snowy Leap Day

It feels VERY strange to say this is our one of very few super snowy mornings of 2012. By this time, we are usually sick and tired of seeing snow everywhere we go. Not this year! We have been waiting for snow to cover our hills and sled slopes to try out our new sleds for much longer than we ever expected. So, to see this when we woke up this morning was a happy surprise.

The kids got ready super fast! They were ready in 30 minutes when they usually take an hour. It was driven by getting out in the snow before we had to go to school!

Not only did they have a great time in the snow but it also gave me a great backdrop to try and get some pictures of the kids.  This is a good one, huh?

This one's for you, Tracy!  My attempt at one of your signature shots.

The kids with their finished super tall snowman. 

Love at first snow, man.

Another good picture but this one took a LONG time to capture and required a nonsensical joke told by Greyson to FINALLY get good smiles.  I gotta remember to try that sooner next time!

Oh, the down side to waking up to new snow - shoveling it off the driveway.  I'm a BIG snowblower fan, BIG!  Unfortunately when I got it started up and ran the first pass down the driveway, it got clogged again and again with the heavy, wet snow.  I finally gave up on it and put it away.  That left shoveling.... unhappy with our two shovels, I took a trip to Menards to arm myself and Greyson with a new ones.  So glad I did!  Greyson was my hard worker plugging away at getting the driveway clear.  Makes for one proud momma.

Traumatic with a great ending

I know what you are thinking.  How can I call a picture of such a beautiful girl traumatic?  Well, traumatic is the story of how we got here.  Today, Madelyn is off from school (along with the rest of Minnesota) and I decided to trim and layer her hair a little this morning.  Madelyn has been growing her hair out for a LONG time and it seems to never get any longer and lately it has been looking really fizzy and unhealthy, so I wanted to try and get the ends trimmed off.  Well, I have trimmed her hair before and I've done something like layering to Grey's hair before BUT.... it didn't go well this morning.  I got carried away and made a big mess of it and it was AWFUL!!!!  I was crying and apologizing profusely while Madelyn was at first shell-shocked and then bawling too.  I, then, called a friend that styles hair and when when I explained what was wrong and asked if she could fix it, she rescued us!  I took Madelyn and Greyson to her house, got a reassuring hug, and then stayed with her kids while she took Madelyn to her salon and fixed the mess that I made, painted her nails, made her smile, and loved on her too.  Thank you, God, for friends that will drop everything to help!  When they got back to the house, I loved the new look and was loving the twinkle I saw in her eyes too.  She is such a beautiful girl, but she showed me just how much when later when she commented, "Mom, I know that you didn't do it intentionally. It will be okay. I even like it."  She is my beauty inside and out....  I love you, Madelyn. 

starting 2nd grade

Happy 7th BIrthday, Madelyn!

You are growing up so fast!!! I love you!

The Balloons
This has become a tradition to wake up with balloons outside your bedroom door.


Because we are leaving to go camping for three days this afternoon, we decided to treat this girl to a breakfast party.  It seems appropriate since we all know that she is the "breakfast monster"!

The Presents








The Breakfast preparer (at 7am)




The Breakfast
Madelyn made me repeat her order back to her about a dozen times in the last three days - two fried eggs, mixed blueberries and strawberries, fried hotdog slices, and cinnamon toast.  I added the cupcake in the middle and turns out she didn't mind. :)




 
Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl! 

Splash Pad Fun

Madelyn's preschool class three years ago was so awesome! The moms bonded more than I expected. Since most of our kids go to different schools and it has become a bit of an annual tradition to get the kids (especially the girls) together every summer to see each other again. This year we got together at a local splash pad on a warm day.

Here is a group of some of the girls.  L-R Lily, Isabella, Madelyn, Marley, and Lauren




We stayed through lunch and chatted while the kids played.


They had a blast!  Hope this tradition doesn't fad away.  It was so great to catch up with everyone!

"Grand" Trip to Wisconsin Dells

Last year, my parents started a tradition of taking a grandkid on a trip.  Last year Madelyn went to Duluth and this year they took her to Wisconsin Dells.  She had a BLAST!  Well, except for riding the Duck, a boat that goes from driving on ground to motoring in water.  She found that VERY boring.  But hotels, out to eat, pools and waterslides, and go-carts and rollercoasters.... what more can a 6yr old want?  [Sidenote:  Before you start thinking that Greyson is the poor left out one, it will probably be his turn next year.  He's been too young for such a trip so far.]

a mama's pride

Madelyn turned six today - actually yesterday now.  I still can't believe it.  Where did the time go?  When did she turn into such a lovely, smart, thoughtful, precious, talkative, bossy, forgetful, and clumsy kid?  (This mama isn't completely blinded!)  What she did today though was really amazing.  She woke up today and before she even came out of her room she was dressed and had her bed made.  Then she found out that instead of getting everything ready for her party, we had to take her brother to the doctor.  She then found out that her extended birthday celebration of dinner, movie and sleepover were going to be curtailed by her brother's symptoms of strep. (We don't like getting our friends sick!)  And she did all of this without complaining and whining!  But what I'm most proud of is that she chose a week ago to take her friends to Feed My Starving Children to celebrate her birthday.  I wondered how much of that choice was because her dad and I chose to celebrate our birthdays that way.  Then I heard her talking to her friends on the way to pack food, and she told them all about how there are children in the world (and she mentioned Haiti specifically) that don't have food all the time and that they will be packing food for children like that.... my heart smiled.  I'm immensely glad for Madelyn's developing servant heart.

Madelyn's milestones - Six years old marks the start of self-directed, solo baths (and a very sad Greyson).  It also marks the start of using a bed light for reading after bedtime.  She reads so well and is so excited about having this time for reading to herself.  She also received her own portable stereo and some headphones for her birthday and is VERY excited about those too!  Can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Carousels and Butterflies

In the summer, Como Park has a free carousel day every month. My kids (and I) LOVE the carousel and we can't help but visit some of the zoo while we are there. This time we visited the butterflies, the "big monkeys" (per Greyson), and the seals. We also tried to see the new polar bear exhibit but they were having a demonstration of sorts and we couldn't get close enough. Not a big deal since we'll probably be going back again next month. :) Como Park is such an awesome St. Paul attraction!

Summertime Sprinker Fun

Swim Lessons

This winter I decided to put the kids in swimming lessons. They had a great time with it! And it went really well. (However, on the frigid -15* days, I was asking myself what I was thinking!)

Greyson's experience:
On the first day, Greyson was SO EXCITED about swimming lessons until the moment his feet touched the water at the edge of the pool where he REFUSED to get in... without me. And since I didn't have a bathing suit, he didn't get in. Everyone thought he was afraid of the water and everybody was wrong. He was probably a little skeptical of the new environment, but I suspect that he just didn't want to do it without me (the mama's boy that he is). He is most definitely NOT afraid of the water! This is my boy that holds his breath under water for what seems like forever in the bathtub. They have a class that runs at the same time that is a parent/child class. So, I asked and got permission to join him in the water with that class the next week. It was obvious to everyone at that point that he wasn't having a problem with the water, just with separating from mom. After a two weeks of joining him, at a convenient moment, I slipped him back into his original class (the man above was very instrumental in this!). He stayed with his class after that and had a great time!

Oh yeah, one more thing, it was during this swim class that I determined that Greyson needed to bulk up a little. His whole body would shiver from the time he got in to the time he got out. And his little ribs were a a little too noticeable. Although he was eating a lot already, I think his metabolism must be super-sonic fast. After this, I increased his diet's good fats and carbs (this would have been easier without a nut allergy to contend with) - whole milk, sunbutter, more cheeses, more pasta.... He seems to have gained weight and has stopped shivering so much while in the pool. On a side note: He also seems to have grown an inch or two in the last few weeks. Come to think of it, Madelyn seems to grown a couple of inches in the last few weeks as well.

Madelyn's experience: Madelyn was excited from the get-go about swimming lessons and it has been amazing to see Madelyn's progress from week to week (with the help of some "homework" in my gym's pool). She has issues with forward momentum but all in all, is getting the swimming movements down. In this picture, she is about to show me how she can go underwater and hold her breath. Very cool!

needed: bubble wrap

What an accident-prone kid!! Amazing. There we were at a well-supervised children's area of a fitness gym and Madelyn splits open her chin. The poor girl is off school today and I had already taken her to the dentist (which she and Greyson actually don't mind one bit - all they care about is leaving with a new toothbrush). We had planned a playdate with one of Madelyn's preschool friends that she hasn't seen in awhile. That however got canceled since we were instead rushing over to our pediatrician's office. I think the workers at the gym were a little surprised that I wasn't more anxious about the situation. But to be honest after this and this and the front teeth that were almost knocked out in October, this doesn't come as too much of a shock to me. As for the actual clinic part, since I've been through this before and it was lunchtime, I stopped and got lunch on the way (Dino Gyro's - YUM!) and we ate while we waited for Madelyn's chin to get numbed up and then she was bravest little girl EVER while they sewed shut her gapping chin with two stitches. No tears, no whining, no issues. (And Greyson was great too! With his toy car and some books as entertainment, he was much more patient than I would have expected.) After asking about our family history with stitches, the doctor gave me the go ahead to take them out by at home in four to five days. However, if you ask Ben, that would be a bad idea (but don't ask). I'll probably have Ben take them out.


Since it has come up, I might as well fill in some about the almost lost teeth too. On October 29th, 2009, a Thursday, our home phone rings at 8am and Ben answers (which in itself is unusual because he is usually already gone for work but ironically had a dentist appt that morning). I hear him talking to someone and then to Madelyn trying to calm her down. The nurse from school had called to say that she had fallen and that Madelyn was "fine" but wanted to talk to us. (Looking back, I wish I had talked to her.) We trusted the nurse and had her stay at school. When Madelyn got home, I realized that I won't trust this school nurse's opinion again. Madelyn's mouth and top gum were swollen and both of her top teeth were severely loose and sore. Evidently, a boy in another kindergarten class had playfully come up behind her and picked her up around her body and arms and then lost his balance or grip and dropped her forward onto the sidewalk face first. I was devastated. First, simply because it had happened but also because no one really helped her deal with it physically OR emotionally until she got home 6 hours later! She sobbed in my arms for at least an hour. I gave her some ibuprofen and then laid her down next to me to sleep some. I felt that I had completely failed her that day. In any case, since then we have been watching those front teeth closely to see if they were going to be a problem. They both discolored a little but then one returned to normal color but the other has just continued to get darker. She is so close to losing those teeth anyway that I'm not worried about that. I was more worried about how her permanent teeth would fare. The dentist said (after an x-ray in the beginning of November) that the permanent teeth look fine and as long as an abscess doesn't form, she's in the clear. It was interesting convincing Madelyn to not wiggle her loose teeth though. As a kindergarten, she has older friends in her class that are already losing their teeth and she wanted to lose one too! I think telling her that she could be without a front tooth or two for two YEARS convinced her to leave them alone... :) As I said earlier, we went to the dentist this morning, they confirmed that there is nothing to worry about. Whew.

Reading and Writing!

A "project" Madelyn put together at home - a background and four butterflies that are NOT attached so that you can fly them around. Very nice! But the best part is....

on the back, she wrote (WITHOUT ANY HELP!) the directions that go with her project!

It says (with spelling adjustments for your ease):
Madelyn Rhodes (b/c you ALWAYS write your name at the top of your paper.)
It goes like this.
You should do it like this.
Fly the butterfly across the paper.
And then you should land the butterfly on the flower.
And then you should fly the butterfly more.

Madelyn, I am so impressed! When did you learn to read and write as well as you do?!? You are only in kindergarten, right? Wow...

Craft-loving kids

A month or so ago, I set this table out in the dining room (it was hidden away under piles of 'stuff' in Madelyn's room). I don't remember what I brought out for to begin with... it must have been visiting children for dinner. Oh yeah! It was the Otto's! It was fun having Joseph and Birgitte over that day! Anyway.... Madelyn took to her new coloring area right away that was set up with all her new craft supplies she received for her birthday. She sits there at least once a day to "do a craft". Either coloring a picture or cutting and pasting or working on her letters/numbers.... pretty cool. It is also good to see Greyson joining in too lately!

First Day of Kindergarten

Madelyn had her first day of kindergarten today! She had been apprehensive for the last couple of weeks, but today she was only excited. PTL! Madelyn got up and did her "Four" with only a couple of reminders, ate her breakfast, and had 20 MINUTES left before her bus was supposed to come. WOW! I'm hoping and praying the upcoming mornings run as smoothly... As for me and my getting ready this morning, it went very well too. I'm hoping and praying that I do as well in the upcoming mornings as well...



We went outside to watch Madelyn's bus to make sure we knew which one it was. Good thing we did too! If we had wanted to put her on it, she would have missed it! We didn't know this was it until it had picked up an older boy and gone on it's way! (Take note of Ben's look - "Is this her bus?") She will ride it tomorrow though.



When we got to school, Madelyn stood outside in a line of kindergarten and 1st graders until the school bell rang and then she led us to her classroom (which she learned at the Open House). Her teacher, Ms.H, met her in the hallway and they both happy to see each other.



The obligatory teacher/student picture... Ms.H seems to have a very organized and structured room, which I appreciate VERY much! She hit it off very well with Madelyn at the Open House too and that made the transition this morning much easier!



Madelyn signing her name on the attendance list.



We took Madelyn to school, but she got to ride home on the bus! And she came off with a smile! I was so excited to see her and hear all about her day!



Grandpa was also excited to greet her home for her first day of kindergarten. It was so special to have GaGa and Grandpa here for this special day!



When I asked Madelyn what her favorite part of the day was, her answer, "Recess time."

Madelyn's Trip to Duluth with GaGa and Grandpa