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!

"Say-t-belt Mommy!"

I have this terrible habit. It is putting my seatbelt on after I've already started driving. Granted, I usually have it on before I get a mile down the road, but still... I know, terrible. Now, I *always* make a big deal about Madelyn having her seatbelt on before I put the car in gear. I don't have to worry about Greyson because I phsyically put his seatbelt on him, Madelyn does hers on her own. I guess the "big deal" about Madelyn having her seatbelt on has really sunk in, at least for Greyson. About two weeks ago, Greyson starting noticing that I don't have mine on before we take off. All the sudden I've been hearing, "Say-t-belt Mommy!", from Greyson at a polite but very LOUD tone from the backseat. I always say, "Yup, Mom should have her seatbelt on. Thank you." It is double terrible when your two-year-old is telling you how to be safe. All the sudden, after years of my bad habit, I don't seem to have a problem with buckling my seatbelt before I put the car in gear.

Full Plate

I haven't forgotten about you guys! I'm off doing too many things in too short a time. This is my second night up past midnight just trying to get done what needs to be done. A lot of boring stuff (mostly financial stuff) but I *am* working on that dress that I mentioned a few days ago too. I think it is turning out great! Madelyn had a fitting this morning and she didn't want to take it off. I guess that is a good sign.... All I have left now is hemming the bottom and putting the ribbon on the waist. I have been amazed at how long it is has taken me though. I'm just not a throw-it-together kinda girl. I'm telling you, I've tried! It's just not in me!

Well, tomorrow I need to mail our state taxes and do some cleaning in the morning and then Ben and I are going to take in an afternoon together. I'm looking forward to that! Thanks Beth and Joel for watching the kids for us!

Oh, a funny thing Madelyn did today that I want to get down - Ben and the kids were doing "knock, knock" jokes (the really bad, "whatever comes to mind" kind) and the following happened:
Madelyn: knock, knock
Ben: who's there
Mad: banana
Ben: banana who
Mad: banana bread (long pause) MOM! We should make banana bread!

It was like she just said "bread" to finish the joke and then was struck by the fact that she needed banana bread RIGHT NOW! Okay, maybe not so funny in writing, but Ben and I laughed harder than we have in a while... Then, of course, they wanted to recreate it *over* and *over*! And Greyson was so cute saying "ba-nay-nee bed".

Okay, time to find my pillow. Night-night.

Finally, a hair cut!

Well, today Madelyn got her first official haircut.

Here are the before pictures:



She said she was nervous and took Lola (her baby) to help her "be comfortable". Lola hid under the gown though. The hairdresser is a neighbor and friend with a little girl about Madelyn's age. So that helped Madelyn feel more comfortable too.




Madelyn's (and my) new haircut!

What peace?

So my kids are full swing into squabbling these days.... it does a number on my nerves, too. I'm embarrased to say that you might even catch me getting in on the act sometimes. Yesterday though, I couldn't help but laugh. Let me set the stage - I was cooking dinner and, as usual, Madelyn and Greyson are playing with their toys in the living room. Madelyn was playing with something and put it down for a second, when the mischievious Greyson snatches it up. (I sincerely think he does this for effect!) Here's what was said:

Madelyn: GREYSON!!! GIVE THAT TO ME!!
Greyson: no.
Madelyn: GREYSON, I HAD THAT FIRST!
Greyson: no.
Madelyn: (starting to cry, get frustrated, and pulling at the toy) Greyson, give that to me NOW!
Greyson: (screaming now) NO! NO! NO!
Me: That is enough! Madelyn, I know that he took your toy when you didn't want him to, but your response is not okay. You are older and you need to keep the peace.
Madelyn: What peace? (or did she mean "piece")
Me: (laughing) Nevermind... Greyson give the toy back to your sister.

Here are a couple of recent pics for you to enjoy!

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.

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!

I love you, Dad!

Dear Dad,

I feel so privileged to be the daughter of Michael Alan Cobb. You were (and are) such a terrific dad and grandpa. You always took an interested in what I was doing but was always careful to give enough freedom to allow me to find myself. However, you were also stern when stern was needed! (I'm specificly remembering the late night outing that I wanted to take!) During our last trip to Grant, I loved watching you with your grandchildren. I can tell that you are little out of practice, but that you loved having them around too. I wish we lived closer to you and Mom... it would be such a blessing to see you and kids interact more often! I would also just love to sit and talk and be with you.... I love you, Dad.

Well, Dad, I had this great idea about putting together a picture collage and having it printed and framed and sent to you - something you could put by your computer and I could update every so often with recent pictures. It really was (and maybe is) a great idea.... in theory. So, I got the collage done, no problem. However, the project got stuck there until it was too late. :( I am still planning to follow through, I promise. Let's plan on me having it for you at Christmas, okay?

Our Family "Story"

For better or for worse, my family has adopted a weekly tradition. We "watch Ty" on Sunday nights. We eat dinner and throw the kids into the bath in time to have them in pj's and ready to turn on the tele-y by 7 to watch extreme makeover: home edition. We like it and the kids seem to like the family sitdown time too. Something funny happened today though. Today the kids and I were toodling around town returning some things, shopping at Target, the norm. When we got home, Madelyn busted out with "Did Ty build our house?" My answer: "No, sweetie, Ty doesn't build all the houses, just some." :) Funny girl....

Greyson's first real word: BALL

I say "first real word" because to be a real word he has to know what he is saying right? Well, Greyson definitely knows when he is pointing to a ball when he says the word "baw". I was hoping it would be "mama" but I'll take "baw". What does this say about him and his future? Do we have a ball player on our hands? We'll just have to see! (As Ben groans and says "how do I handle an athlete son?")

A mouse?

Madelyn sits at the dining table to eat facing the window that looks out over a tree in our backyard. We have a walkout basement so the picture below is basically the view that she sees. So, yesterday we were sitting down eating dinner when she said very matter-of-factly looking toward the window, "I see a mouse." Seeing that it is too cold outside to have mice running around, my first thought was that a mouse was INSIDE MY HOUSE! So my first question was, "Is it inside?" "No," she says, "It is outside in the tree." I am stumped so I look outside for a minute and then I see it. Can you see what she is talking about in the picture below?


It is really a branch that is going off in the opposite direction but I have to say it does look like a mouse! Madelyn is pretty convinced that it is mouse too. :) I told her today when she was talking about it again, "You know it isn't a real mouse, right?" She replies after a minute, "Mama, it IS a real mouse. It isn't pretend." I left it at that for now. She added tonight that it has "a really long tail."


It is kinda fun to watch her lately recognize shapes and other objects in interesting places. Today she also told me that she had made a flower on her apple. What she meant was that she had eaten her whole apple in such a way that it looked a flower. It probably is an expected development milestone, but I'm impressed with her creative mind nonetheless.

Especially for Uncle Mike

Well, it is ironic that this happened today after my post yesterday.... but Greyson found our random guitar that nobody plays downstairs while we were waiting for Madelyn to wake up from her nap. Not only did he find it, but he demanded help in figuring out how to play it! It was uncanny how he seemed to know that the strap goes over his shoulder and that his left hand went on the fretboard (I looked up that word) and his right hand was used for plunking/strumming the strings. Maybe he picked up from others he's seen playing the guitar around him, but come on! That's awesome! It is almost like he was given special understanding or something. I had visions of how I'm going to be showing this video at graduation or something similar to show when he got his start at playing the guitar. I might be completely wrong and that will be okay. But here is my question - how do you encourage a 16-month-old to hone his guitar skills? LOL

just kid stuff

Here are the kids eating one of their favorite things - grapes! They are extra nice and polite when I pull them out!

Here are those animals sounds that I mentioned Greyson makes.... disclaimer: this is *right* before nap, hence the crankiness....

I did remember a Madelyn story today when the kids and I were at the library for storytime. Today when Miss Ann (AKA Librari-Ann :) was doing a handplay, I remembered when Madelyn was about 2 she would come home from daycare saying in the unclear 2yr-old way something like "slap uh monkey uh ta da twee". huh? What is this place teaching my daughter? I was stumped listening to her say it for about 3 weeks until I remembered to ask and they laughed and explained that she ws saying the last line of "5 little monkeys" - snapped that monkey right out of the tree. I laughed and laughed. :)

Greyson has totally gotten into doing handplays these days. He loves doing one called "open them, shut them". He gets all excited! Madelyn and Greyson both love doing "a ram sam sam" and "if you're happy and you know it". I'm so glad that they love music. Madelyn is our little singer and Greyson loves to play instruments (especially the piano and tamborine). It will be interesting to see how they decide to use music in their lives and to love God.

"I am going...to prepare a place for you."

Madelyn and I have been going to church on Wednesday nights. Madelyn was invited to be part of the preschool choir and since she LOVES to sing, we decided to take her to be a part of it and the program that runs after it called Awana. It is a bit of a hardship to make it happen though. The choir meets at 6pm and because it is rush hour it takes about 45 minutes to get there. That means we have to leave at 5:15pm, which means that Ben has to leave work early and I have to have the kids fed before he gets home. However, I have concluded that it is SO worth it because.... a week ago Madelyn memorized her first Bible verse! It really isn't just that she memorized her first verse, there are other things too - like the time she gets to spend with friends and teachers and learning about God - but when she memorized a Bible verse, that was my realization of how good it is that she spends this time at church on Wednesday nights.

Remember when... Madelyn met Tinkerbell

On the 4th of July, Madelyn was having so much fun playing with sparklers.... until she burned her finger. It hurt SO bad that Madelyn was having trouble going to sleep that night. Usually, she has no problem going to sleep after her two bedtime stories and hugs and kisses. This night, however, she laid in her bed and cried for 15 minutes before Mom decided to see if she needed help. Mom went in and laid down with her to see if she could calm Madelyn down, to no avail. Mom tried to tell her a story and tried to hold her and tried to sing to her..... nothing worked. Then, Mom had an idea! She asked Madelyn if she wanted to meet Tinkerbell, a fairy that fixes things. Madelyn said "YES!" Then Madelyn said loudly, "Tinkerbell!" and we watched her fly in and sprinkle her magic dust on Madelyn's burned finger. Suddenly, her finger didn't hurt as bad! Madelyn asked Tinkerbell to sleep with her that night and she held her close all night until morning. Tinkerbell came back for a couple more nights after that to make sure that Madelyn's owie was healing okay too. Thanks Tinkerbell for fixing Madelyn's owie!!

Now, Madelyn is completely hooked on Tinkerbell! Madelyn has invited Tinkerbell to her birthday party. I hope she comes!

Remember when.... Madelyn would say Greyson-own-ya

It took a long time for me to realize why Madelyn would call her brother "Greyson-own-ya". She would always say it in this sweet and loving tone; when she was paying special attention to him. After hearing her call Greyson that for probably months, I started to think about it and it all the sudden dawned on me that she was trying to mimic Ben and I when we call him "Greysonian" (think Smithsonian Museum)! We use it in very much the same way - when we are spending special time with him and speaking softly and lovingly. What a sweet sister Greyson has.....