Bows, bows, and more bows!

Madelyn accomplished a major milestone today - she can tie bows all by herself! She has been working on and off on it for several weeks and today she conquered it. She is so excited and I am too! She is looking forward to getting a new pair of tie shoes for school. This has been an awesome example of how she can accomplish something if she puts her mind to it. And she is SO PROUD of herself (as she should be!). She been tying bows all day - on my shoes, on Greyson's shoes, on my shoes on her foot, in ribbons around chairlegs....

Here are some pics for you to enjoy:

Crossing the laces...

making a loop...

wrapping the loop...

pulling the bow tight...

and wah-lah, a happy girl!

Coloring in the lines

Madelyn has finally given in to the “right” way to color! Ever since she started using crayons to color, instead of scribble, she has had a hard time staying the lines. Not only that, she has also had a hard time coloring a picture to make it look like it would in reality, like a tree with a brown trunk or green leaves. Instead the tree would end up with all black colored so that you really can’t make out it was a tree to begin with… and she liked it that way! Now, hear me say this, I’m not complaining – REALLY, I’m not! I love that she has her own ideas of how things should be. She is a very independent thinker! (And God, please, please!, may that work out in YOUR favor!) But I’ve had this thought that she needs to know how to color to be successful in kindergarten. I don’t exactly know why. And I’ve also known that if I pushed her to color “right”, she would continue to bulk at the idea. So about week ago I challenged her. I told her, “I don’t think you can color without going out of the lines.” I listened carefully (without looking at her) to see how she would take this. I knew she’d either agree with me (dead end) or she’d decide that she could and show me! I’m SO GLAD that she chose the latter. It really was a gamble on my part. The second part to coloring “right” was thinking about what color should be given to each item being colored. I casually pointed out a couple of days ago that each thing in the picture could be a different color and that she could try to make each thing look like it would “for real” if she wanted. And that was all it took! And that, my friends, is how we went from this:

To this:

I also figured out this week that Madelyn REALLY doesn't like it when I tell her that she has done a "great job!". Wow... I've been saying this about everything since she was a baby... so I've been trying to stop and instead say things like, "That is beautiful!" or "Way to go!". It's been hard but I'm seeing a big difference in how she is responding to it! Thank you, God, for this marvelous insight into my daughter!

Spring is HERE!

Greyson is loving his "hand-me-down" bike. It is a GREAT thing that Madelyn wanted a green and blue bike a couple years ago because it suits Greyson *perfectly*! He loves riding up and down the driveway even though he routinely gets stuck where he can't get enough leverage on the pedals. Just a little push is all he needs though and he is off again! It is wonderful that it is finally warm enough outside for him to get out and enjoy it!

"Stay Up Day"

Madelyn has ALWAYS been an amazing napper. Heavy, long, restful naps. At 4 years old, she still takes 2-3 hour naps every day... that is until a couple of weeks ago. She was having trouble sleeping every day and I decided that maybe it was time to start weaning the naps. Most likely she will be going to every day, all day kindergarten next year and she isn't going to be able to get the same amount or quality nap in there! I guess it is time. So, she and I made a deal - she can have "stay up day" on Tuesday and Thursday and all the other days are still nap days. She happily agreed! Well, today I gave her the choice to stay up or go take a nap. Of course, she said she wanted to stay up but before I knew it she was "resting" on the couch (her words). Then while I left the room to go do something, I came back to her sleeping. I didn't mind. In fact, I applaud her for laying down when she was tired and getting some shut-eye (about 2 hours of it!). It was funny when she woke up though. She informed me, "No, mama, I was not asleep! I know because I had my eyes open!" Oh, really!

And I came across this picture of when Madelyn and I were planting our seedlings for this year's garden. She did a great job helping me get the soil moistened, filling the pots, and then adding the seeds. She loved it too. I hope that she'll love pulling the weeds too!

Here we go again!

Disclaimer: this is a monologue on potty-training... read on at your own risk!

Well, it has officially started I think. I can't believe it is here already! Greyson is potty-training! I guess I should modify that - Greyson is potty-training us. He has decided that it is fun to say that he has to go poop and/or pee and that we will stop everything and take him. Before a couple of days ago, Greyson would grab his bottom and say "oop" and then run with glee to the bathroom, sit on his little toilet, and immediately "say" (through signs, not words) that he was all done, usually followed by peeing or pooping in his diaper 5 minutes later. He even started using it as a bedtime stall tactic. I even got the point that I was only paying attention to his requests about a fourth of the time. However, a few days ago, he actually started sitting on his little potty like he is waiting for something to happen. And today I'm super excited because.... today, Greyson told me he needed to go poop, I sat him down (after undoing his overalls and onesie), and he sat there until he went poop! WOW! I'm pumped! Not because I think he is wonder boy (which I do :) or that this will be easy (pretty sure that it won't be) but because poop-training Madelyn was such a pain! I said after all our exasperated months of poop-training Madelyn, that I would not even try to start potty-training our following kids until some poop-training was in place. I know this is a long, arduous process but I'm excited that it has started without fussing, frustration, tears, or any expectations. With Greyson being a boy, I didn't and don't expect to be done potty-training for years!

Hmmm, I guess this also means that I need to stop putting Greyson in onesies.... Here is a cute pic of him trying out his little toilet a couple weeks ago.

Cribless in Minneapolis

I don't watch soap operas (at least, anymore). I do keep up with General Hospital but that only requires watching about two episodes a year. I had this weird thought to name this post with a soap opera type name. I thought "The Beds of Our Lives", "As the Sleeping Turn", "The Young and the Rest-Less".... I couldn't decide. So, I went with a spin on a movie instead.

Last month, Ben and I were noticing that Greyson was giving lots of cues that he wanted to sleep in a "big boy bed". He would race from the bathroom after bath to Madelyn's bed and lay down (naked, of course). He would sit on Madelyn's bed for 15 minutes at a time to just flip through books. When I put a pillow in his crib, he was ecstatic!! So, first I took one of the siderails of Greyson's crib off to see how well he would do staying in bed. He did REALLY well staying in bed, except that because it is so narrow he fell out a couple of times.


Then, we saw some pretty good deals on beds in the Labor Day circulars. So, we spent part of Ben's day off going out and finding a Labor Day deal on a twin bed and setting it up for Greyson in his room! He had so much fun trying them out in the store, watching us shoving them inside our van, moving them to his room, and then putting sheets on! He could wait to sleep on them! Actually first, he couldn't wait to JUMP on them!!

At first Greyson was doing a great job of going right to sleep when we put him to bed. However, now we are having to fight two different battles. 1. Staying in bed and going to sleep. It has been about two weeks of putting him back in bed consistently and it still isn't getting better. He is like a stubborn mule! (Where did he get that trait from? Mom AND Dad maybe?) 2. Getting up way too early and coming out of his room! Okay, some may not think that 6:15am isn't "way too early" but in my house we don't roll out of bed until at least 7:30am! He is in the process of learning that he has to stay in his room and play until then.

And our other bed change in our house:
If you remember back to shortly after Madelyn's 2nd birthday, you'll remember that she gave up her crib for a "big girl bed". Since then, she has been sleeping with her box spring and mattress on the floor to make it easier for her to get into bed and if she were to fall out (and she did a few times), it wouldn't be far to the floor. Well, Ben and I decided that on the day she turned four, she was old enough to move everything up onto a bedframe. She was so excited about this change and it made her feel so big to have a "really big bed"!

Sidenote: Yes, that IS Ben with shorts, a white tshirt, and BLACK socks!

Madelyn's First Day of (Pre)School

Okay, I give up! I will get all the past-due posts done, but I just can't keep putting off the most current ones! This is such a big milestone that I can't make it wait....

Madelyn started preschool today! I know she was in daycare preschool before and that it isn't kindergarten yet, but this is something she has been looking forward to for a LONG time. Madelyn and her closest friend, Lillian, are in the same class. We ended up driving up to the building at the same time, so they walked in together. It was so cute!

Of course, I had to bribe Madelyn to have her picture taken. She is NOT interested in having pictures taken. Actually, she hasn't been for over a year now. I don't really know what that is about. But I asked her, "If you could have anybody take you to school today, who would it be?" Of course, either not understanding the question or trying to be sweet, she answered with a smile, "Momma!" I said "ohhh, thank you, would you want someone else to come though?" She answered, "Aunt Christina!!" So, she let me take these pictures for Aunt Christina to see as she went to school this morning. Chris, I hope you don't mind being put of my bribe!

Madelyn dropped off great. She refused to put on her nametag, of course, and went straight to the sand table (of which she has mentioned several times since our short visit last week) and started playing there. I said goodbye, gave her a kiss, and left. No drama... so nice. When I picked her up though, I could tell that she was in a pretty "fish out of water" mood. That will probably fade away over the next few days though. She talked about the teacher reading a funny book and eating snack and the teacher saying that she needed to wear her nametag because she was afraid of getting "mixed up". I can't believe how fast my little girl is going up....

First stitches!

It has begun... might as well keep with the HMO now. I have a feeling that our kids are daring enough to keep the co-pays flowing. Tonight, we went for our after-dinner walk (such a gorgeous evening!) and Madelyn was speeding along on her bike and fell into a curb. Don't ask us how, we didn't see it all. All I saw was the bike careening out-of-control toward the curb and Madelyn chin-planting into it.... talk about pitter-pattering of my heart! Madelyn wasn't liking the idea of blood coming out of her chin but was able to calm down pretty quickly, especially when the nice elderly woman that lived in the house whose curb Madelyn chin-planted in came out with a wad of paper towels for us (of whom Madelyn later asks, "Was that girl a nice stranger?" :) ) and then used one of her own wet washclothes to clean her hands and face - so nice! Once we got a look at it though Ben and I knew that stitches were in order. :( So, I carried Madelyn home and on the way we talked about how the doctor needed to tell us how we should take care of it. She seemed okay with that, so we headed out to the urgent care clinic right away. She was a little sad because it hurt but did really well on the way to the clinic and decided on her own to ask Jesus to help her feel better and heal her owie. She then did an AMAZING job at the clinic - Thank you, God! I am truly proud of my BIG GIRL too! The nurses numbed up her chin and then rinsed it out. The doctor said she was going to put two stitches in, but then decided, when Madelyn was doing such a wonderful job of staying calm, to put four in to get it shut nicely. Madelyn is now saying, "The doctor made my owie smaller, so that it will heal up faster." :) Now we'll see how she wakes up in the morning! Hopefully her spirits will be as good as they were tonight about the whole thing! If you think about, say a quick prayer for her and the biggest owie she's had yet.... Thanks!

The SAHM update

Has it REALLY been 6 months?!?! I can't believe how fast it has flown by. Amazing! I had said from the start that I wouldn't reflect to hard on this new job until I was 6 months in and now here we are.... 6 months in. So, you ask, how do I feel about my new job? In a nutshell, pretty darn good! There are pros and cons (as there is with ANY job), but I'm really glad that I'm on my "journey from successful professional to stay-at-home mom" (thanks Tracy!). So, to utilize my left brain, I will make a couple of lists for you - the PROs and the CONs.

PROs:

• Seeing them grow minute by minute, hour by hour
• "Letting" my children "help me" clean the house and cook :)
• Being the one (along with my husband) to teach my children manners and how to love and learn and respect
• Teaching my children something and seeing the "oh, I get it!" expression
• The opportunity to help others/volunteer during normal work hours
• Getting to know other SAHMs in my neighborhood
• Cooking! (Who would have thought that I would end up liking to cook!)
• Having a little bit more time to work on my favorite crafts and projects
• the smiles, laughs, love, silliness, unrepeatable wonderful good times!

CONs:

• Neverending housework (On a 100% scale, this is probably 95% of my CON list!)
• Dealing with a certain 3-yr-old's independent, backtalking streak
• Dealing with a certain 18-mon-old's persistant exploratory ways
• the grumpies, fits, screaming, bickering, backtalking parts of the job!

And then if I weigh the PROs and CONs, like any good left-brainer, I think it is pretty clear! I made the BEST CHOICE! Thank you everyone that has supported me during this transition! And I thank God that He really prepared me for this change because I really feel like if I had made the switch earlier or waited longer, then I would have had regrets. It all came in His timing! Praise God!

Also, I have been known to say that I miss the technical challenges that came with being an engineer. And I do, kind of, but less than I used to. I have found some logical problem solving in my projects and that seems to fit the bill for now. I know that one day I might miss it again and then I will ahve to find another outlet, but I'll wait and see when that happens!

BTW, I know that my blog has been horribly neglected lately.... I'm sorry. I'm sure that I will get back into another upswing soon!

SAHM: Coming soon!

Well, after talking about it for over three years, I have finally taken the plunge! I have put in my two-weeks notice at work and won't be returning to my three-day-a-week office grind after Thanksgiving. As I look back on these last three years, it has been an interesting ride. There are times where I wanted to stay home so much that I could *taste it*! And there were other times where I couldn't even see myself considering it (ex: when Madelyn was at the peak of being "two":P ). But when I took 3 weeks off recently, I intentionly did it to "try on" being a stay-at-home mom (or SAHM, as I have learned). The three weeks had its challenges, but overall it was wonderful! I loved being with my children and seeing them through the WHOLE week. I know that to some it seems like there can't be that much difference in how I relate to them two weekdays vs. five weekdays, but I have discovered that, at least in my family, *it does*! They have both grown closer to me, and I don't think it is in an abnormal sort way. I didn't like that when I was home with them 2 days out of the week, I was mostly doing chores to keep up. When I'm home with them full-time, I get to spread out the chores and have more fun with them. For me, it just comes down to - I desire to stay home with them and I can, so why wouldn't I?

Now, for the truth about how I feel about this. Don't get me wrong! I'm excited! But there is the part of me that kept me from doing this for a long time. I'm scared that I'm not going to do a good job, that I'm not going to like it, that I'm gonna miss the professional interaction. I still have these fears, but after the three weeks off, I just figured out that the trade-off for working part-time wasn't worth it anymore for my family. I enjoy the extended interaction with my children, the ability to plan extraordinary things or to be able to just stick around home if we want. Work will always be there, and I may go back to being engineer one day, but for right now, my kids and my home get my full attention.

Two milestones to report!

Well, this week we have had two more items of interest occur in our house. On Saturday, Greyson attempted his first step. It was kinda interesting. He stood up from the ground (meaning he didn't pull himself up on anything) and then decided to pick up his foot and step toward something. It was almost like he didn't even think about it first - just did it. Then he got this stunned look on his face and dropped back to a sit. It was kinda surreal seeing it happen. He tried it again later, so I think this is the real thing. I can't believe that he is only a few days shy of 10 months old and WALKING!! And climbing.... here is a picture of him on top of our very little climber in the backyard. He climbed up on top of this all by himself! I decided that I wasn't going to help him and see how far he got. And wouldn't you know it! He made it all the way up! He also went head first down the slide part, but don't worry, I caught him before he hit the ground.

Greyson's mountaintop

Looking ready to drive off somewhere.

The other milestone reached in our house - Madelyn got up in the middle of the night last night and went potty all by herself and then just went back to bed. She didn't even try to wake us up. I find this to be a big step! She is still wearing pull-ups at night because she only makes it to the toilet dry about half the time in the morning. Ben isn't too keen on the idea of her getting up in the middle of the night. He was even less happy about her getting out of bed to go potty at 9pm tonight. I don't know exactly where this is heading but I hope that she isn't going to abuse this privelege of getting out of bed! I'm being optimistic and thinking that she won't though, as long as we, the parents, play it cool and don't blow it out of porportion. Anybody have any advice for us?

Greyson is MOBILE!

I can't believe it.... Greyson is mobile! I am completely surprised by this. He is at least 3 months ahead of where Madelyn was at this age. Not that one is better than the other - it just means that I was completely unprepared! Daily, it seems, I look up and see him doing something new... it is unbelieveable.



Greyson had been inchworming for awhile. Next he started pulling in his knees and rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. Then he started turning over from that to a sitting position. But he couldn't stop there! A couple of weeks ago he started pulling up to a standing position on EVERYTHING - couches, chairs, toys, baskets, bathtubs, toilets, everything.... It is kinda scary.... I try to keep a good eye on him so that he doesn't lose his balance and bust his head open. But surprisingly he has really good balance and seems to know how to get back down to a sitting position safely. What is funny is that he was standing before he was officially crawling. He started officially crawling on his knees on Monday. Now he is getting the hang of it and there will be no stopping him soon! I'm wondering when he is going to realize that he can stand up and take a few steps.... I considering push him over a few times to keep him from walking so soon....



Incidently, Greyson has learned how to "kiss". I use the quotes because his kisses are more of mauling of the mouth than a kiss. But it is so cute! He grabs your cheeks and pulls you in and then plants this huge open-mouth kiss either on your cheek or mouth. Your first reaciton is "Gross!" but then you remember that it is your 7 month old baby and just revel in it. Greyson got the chance to practice on Madelyn's baby the other day. He very much enjoyed it! Watch out girls!



As stated in an earlier post, both Ben's and my parents were in town a couple weekends ago. Both of our dads have mustaches. Greyson was so enthralled! He couldn't figure out what it was! It was very funny.

Summa Cum Laude

After 7 LONG years, Ben has GRADUATED! He is now a "Master of Divinity"! Wow! He also graduated summa cum laude.... I'm so proud.... It has actually been almost two weeks - he graduated on June 2nd. He's been working full-time and going to school (usually 2 classes per quarter) for almost as long as we've been married. There have been times of stress and strain on all of us at times but we've come through mostly unscathed. I don't think it has really hit us that he is done though because Ben usually takes the beautiful Minnesota summers off to spend with the family and rest. It will probably hit us when he doesn't have to go back in the fall. Yea!!

Since about year 4 for this 7-year journey, Ben and I have been discussing the bash that we would throw when it was all over. However, I know Ben and I know what he does when it comes to celebrating his accomplishments. He completely caboshes it!! I also knew that it would be so special to him to have people celebrate his accomplishment though. So, last fall, I started planning his surprise graduation party. I figured if he didn't know anything about it, he couldn't stop it!! I sent out invites to family and close friends across the nation and waited to see who would be able to make it. I was amazed at the response! I knew that not everyone would be able to travel to be here but many people came. And most of those that couldn't come sent a note of congratulations. I was so pysched that so many people wanted to be a part of Ben's celebration! The party went wonderfully and Ben was very surprised! Most of my family came (6 of the 7 extended family members that I have) and Ben's parents and sister came. Ben also had two close friends from college come, Jessica and Stacy. It was great to see everyone and Ben was so honored.



I didn't think I could pull it off at times for a couple of reasons: 1. I don't keep ANYTHING from Ben! He is my sounding board, my ranting partner, my favorite person to talk to! That was HARD! 2. So many people knew about the party that I thought someone would slip. There were a few things that were mentioned that I had to de-fuse but for the most part everyone did a great job of keeping the secret! Thank you everyone!!

Ben will most likely be getting his Ph.D. at some point. However, for now, he will be taking some much needed time for himself and his family. I can't wait until fall rolls around and he finally feels free of the non-stop grind of homework. I'm sure that the next step will be here before we know it though. We are relying on God to show us the next step of his plan and I'm looking forward to seeing it come together!

One benefit of having family here was that they got to spend time with the kids. Madelyn and Greyson had a blast being spoiled by all the grandparents and aunts and uncles. It was awesome seeing them interacting with extended family. God is good....

The week after graduation, we decided to take the whole week off from work and hang around the house. I have to say, that week of vacation is close to the best week of vacation we've ever had! Who knew using vacation to stay home would be so good! We work on a couple of projects around the house, slept some, had an indoor picnic in front of the fireplace (it was 56 deg that day), and just in general had a great time! It is definitely something we will do again!

Greyson's first bites

Well, a little over a week ago, we introduced Greyson to rice cereal. It has helped a lot with with his sleeping. When he wakes up now, he isn't acting hungry, which is great!! Here are some pictures of the big event. He likes the cereal but doesn't gobble it down (like his big sister did!). He's gotten the hang of swallowing it and the initial digestive upset has past now. Looks like Greyson will be sitting at the dinner table with us from here on out!

Here is another picture I thought was cute. One of the first baths, of many, that these two have taken together.

Good first day!

Along with my first day back to work, yesterday was also Greyson's first day at daycare (or school, as we call it). Here is a picture his teacher took of him with a new little friend, Mia. And there is that snake again!! For those of you that remember, Madelyn also liked the snake (see pic below). Greyson has the same teacher as Madelyn did at his age so he gets to play with the snakes too! It seems that the babies like them alot. They are the rubber kind that won't break off in their mouths and they like to chew them. I think they fell good on those teething gums! I always teased that she was flossing with it...

Anyway! I seriously think something is wrong with me! I had a great day yesterday! I didn't get all emotional or anything. I guess I'm just really comfortable with where Greyson is and how he is going to be taken care of. Not that much has happened at work while I've been gone. Getting back into the swing of things hasn't been hard at all. All of my emails have been opened and I have tasks ready to be worked on. It's nice to see the co-workers again and catch up on what life has been throwing at them. Yesterday and today I have been pretty sleepy in the afternoons... why aren't there cots to take catnaps in?

Madelyn is also doing pretty well. In general, life didn't change for her at all yesterday. She went to daycare during my maternity leave just as she does when I'm work - T, W, Th. So, going to school for her yesterday was in the same routine. However, she did ask "Mommy, what you doing?" when she saw that I was all dressed up and putting on makeup. And when I said that I was going to work, she looked at me puzzled. I guess she doesn't really remember me getting ready for work before. I was almost always in bed when she and Ben left in the morning.

I say that Madelyn is doing pretty well, instead of great, because she is seriously in the "terrible two's". She is throwing fits at the drop of a hat. She knows what she wants and doesn't give up easily when we say no. She pushes her boundaries constantly - always looking for a way to get what she wants. And she is a sneaky booger sometimes! She will wait until you aren't looking to do whatever it is and then act like she didn't do it! Hmmm... the downfalls to having a smart kid. We have a beanbag that she sits on when she is disobeying us or when she starts throwing a fit. It works most of the time but sometimes it takes sitting on the beanbag 3 or 4 times before her attitude changes. I keep saying the same thing to myself lately to get through the "not so cute" moments - consistency and patience! However, there are plenty of "cute moments" too. Madelyn got two VeggieTales DVDs for Christmas that are compilations of the songs on their other DVDs. We have some much fun watching them with her! She loves them and the songs are so cute. We all have our favorite ones. Ben's favorite is Endangered Love. Madelyn's favorite is My Hairbrush, and my favorite is I Love My Lips. You can check these out on YouTube if you're interested.