we love fridays

i hadn't planned for friday to be a full day, but it just worked out that way. my plan was to go to the library for a bit and then head over to the zoo for some time outside before i started work that afternoon.

we were at the library waiting for it to open and were the first ones up in the kids area. madelyn got right on the computer games (she plays computer reading games while i work most days now) and mason and i went in search of a few books. once i had made a few selections i let mason out of the stroller to play in the kids area. he was frozen in place with excitement most of the time but was pointing and 'talking' so loudly that an older girl kept telling him to "shhh". on our way out we ran into one of madelyn's favorite friends from school and two neighbors which made it that much harder for her to leave but we had to get going if we were going to see any animals at the zoo before lunch.

the zoo was a little crowded but not too bad. it was also overcast which made it very comfortable to be outside. mason was exhausted but it only showed in his eyes. he was very happy and excited to be at the zoo. i tried to get a picture of them together but mason walked away by the time madelyn got situated (her pose, not mine. i just asked her to stand next to him.) it is funny because as much as mason just seems to wander away when we let him walk around home and our yard he does not like to stray away from the stroller when we are in public places.













after lunch we packed up and headed out. mason fell asleep before we left the zoo's parking lot. madelyn ended up not napping and came downstairs with me when we got home so that i could get to work.

after work we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. and much to madelyn's delight we were greeted at the door with a melon sample and they didn't stop there. she had more little plastic cups than she could carry. about a month ago we had been and they were giving out little ice cream samples so she kept saying that she hoped there were going to be ice cream samples too. but, alas, it was not meant to be.

once we got home i played with the kids while we waited for daddy to get home from work. we were all having fun playing mr. potatohead.

while i was prepping for dinner madelyn went to the bathroom and mason followed. the water was running for longer than usual and i heard her say, "is it a little too hot, buddy?" so i called to madelyn to see what was going on. "i'm just getting mason all cleaned up for dinner." ummm... i think i better bring the camera. mason had gotten up on the stool next to her and she was washing his hands for him. and he was loving it! he did not want to get off the stool when she was helping him down. the stool even flipped over because he was trying to hold on to it with his toes as she pulled him away trying to get him to step down. surprisingly, they did not make a mess.

after dinner we went for a walk. this is becoming a regular family outing that we all enjoy. madelyn likes that we stop at the park if anyone is out once we have done a 'loop' around the neighborhood. she also talks almost the entire time we are walking. last night she told me that she wanted to talk to God. i said okay - she often asks me if it is okay for her to talk to people before talking to them. and this is some of what she had to say: "God, the lions scared me today at the zoo, and i cried for my daddy. i didn't know what to do. we went to the library and i saw my friends." and on and on for about 15 minutes. the "i didn't know what to do." must be a new favorite phrase because she said it many, many times yesterday and quite often in her discussion with God.

it was cool and there were a few sprinkles. i didn't think that the mosquitoes were bad but when i saw mason this morning he was covered in bites! most of them were on his face too! i think you can see three in this picture of him eating a snack this morning. he also had one on his left ear and one on his right eyelid. there were more on his arms and legs, but i had never before seen so many bites on some one's face. at least they don't seem to bother him at all.

our favorite part of fridays is that tomorrow is saturday and daddy gets to stay home with us! love.

sharing

madelyn's favorite thing to share with mason is food. almost every time they are sitting at the table madelyn says, "should i give this to mason?" and it isn't enough to give it to him. she has to actually feed it to him. he is very willing to entertain this arrangement because it means more food for him. she loves to be his 'mothering' big sister.

she does like to share toys too. not so much 'toys' as activities. in the picture they each have one cymbal in their mouths and are cracking each other up. mason was doing it and madelyn wanted to play with him so she did the same thing. she often switches to whatever mason is doing in an attempt to get him to play with her. not to say that he doesn't copy her too.

i love that they get along so nicely. i think that they will do even better once mason can tell her when he has had enough and needs her to stop. like when they play "squish". they take turns laying on the floor while the other one gets on top, but sometimes madelyn gets a little too heavy and doesn't know that it is time to get off mason. but she is getting better at realizing that he is crying and she needs to stop what she is doing.

that's it. i think i am 'caught up' now. love.

giraffe class at the zoo

monday morning everyone loaded up and headed to the zoo. everyone that is except me. i stayed home to work while matt took time off to go to a giraffe class at the zoo with madelyn. (i am trying to save a few vacation days in case baby boy comes a little early.) since grandma loves the zoo, i sent her and mason too. they couldn't go to the class with madelyn and matt, but they were able to spend time walking around the zoo.

it sounds like madelyn and daddy had a great time during their class. and grandma pointed out that matt was the only parent/adult to wear their leaf hat when the class went over to see the giraffes at the end of class. madelyn came home with all sorts of crafts made during the class and loves that she has a bag to put them all into at the end of each day.

they met back up with grandma and mason for lunch and a ride on the carousel. grandma said that mason enjoyed watching the other kids more than the animals which isn't really surprising.

after the zoo everyone came back home for grandma to pack up her suitcase and get ready for the airport. matt ended up having to work so the kids and i took grandma to the airport. both kids fell asleep on the way and didn't get to actually say good-bye to grandma at the airport. they actually slept the whole way home too.

we had a nice time with grandma and hope that she had fun too. maybe next time big pop can come visit too and we won't have so many appointments that keep them stuck at the house. love.

grandma visit

grandma came to visit last weekend. i mentioned earlier that she mainly sat at home with one or both kids while i ran to appointments and worked. but we did get to do a few fun things during her visit.

since we knew that she would be stuck at the house most of the time, matt set up the pool in the back yard. madelyn was really excited to show grandma how she could slide in the pool. grandma was mainly worried about how cold the water (and air) were. she forgets that these are wisconsin kids and this is as warm as they get for playing outside.

of course i took very few pictures with all the running around. i have really been slacking with the picture taking this summer. i need to up my game!

mason has a really great laugh and grandma had fun getting him going. here is a picture and a video but it isn't as wild as when they first started.

one thing grandma always complains about when she visits is that we eat all the time. but it was not our fault that she ordered the largest cobb salad i have ever seen at dinner one night! we had to take a picture at this ridiculously large salad and her "cup" of soup. needless to say that she didn't finish it all. or even when she ate some for lunch the next day.

we took her to the zero-depth pool sunday afternoon. she still felt that it was pretty cold for 'swimming' but we had fun. it was daddy's first trip to the pool too and they both got to see what a fish little mason is getting to be.

there was still one more outing before she went home, but that will be in the next post. love.

in black and white

when i took madelyn to school on tuesday they showed me a clipping from the local newspaper where madelyn's picture was used! (and, yes, i had just signed a release form for them to use madelyn's picture.) here is the piece. love.

so what about mason?

i feel like i don't post enough about mason because he is usually just along for a ride in his stroller. so here is a post about what's been going on with him.

- is walking almost 100% of the time now. he doesn't just crawl when he falls either; he just gets right back up. even when he had a growth spurt last week and suddenly couldn't keep his balance. he fell almost every other step, but he would not go back to crawling.

- he has started climbing up more and more. i still wouldn't call him a "climber" - especially given how much madelyn climbed at his age. but he steps up on low items and managed to get into the laundry basket to recline and watch me load the washer.

- got his upper, left eyetooth on june 23. there are several teeth giving him trouble on his top jaw. i was really glad to see one finally break through and give him a little relief.

- he is getting good at following commands like, "bring it to mommy", "put it in the trash can", and "go get..."

- mason instinctively sits "criss-cross, applesauce" (that is what they call it here now that the old-school, politically incorrect "indian style" is no longer acceptable) when he sits down. it is so cute!

- he tries to use his fork at meals. he hasn't quite figured it out yet but he enjoys trying every much.

- he can now turn and open some of the door knobs in the house.

- mason seems to have a sixth sense about outside doors being open and toilets being accessible. he just comes a running whenever he senses an opportunity.

- there is not a thirstier boy around! this kid drinks more fluids than any child i have ever seen and it doesn't result in wet diapers either. he must get it from me because i am always dehydrated. but it still blows me away. he is constantly bringing me his empty water cup. just like with madelyn i leave his water cup on the table all day so that he can help himself when he gets thirsty and he can often be found making a bee-line for the table.

- he is definitely a dancer! madelyn liked a good beat, but mason stops to bust a move at any hint of music. even if it is just madelyn and i singing.

- tossing balls has become a common occurrence without any encouragement from us. in fact, i am trying to teach him not to throw things in the house.

- he knows the names of all the rooms in the house and can go wherever we instruct him without assistance (as long as the door is open for him)

- suddenly he is sleeping until 7:30am in the morning and it has been heaven! especially because madelyn is sleeping that late or later! if only matt and i could sleep in too...

i know that there is more but this covers the notes i had. and i will try to get more video and pictures of him soon. love.

3-year check-up

madelyn finally had her 3-year well check on friday. it was the first time she was nervous about getting a shot; which was a little surprising since she is always telling everyone that it just "hurts for a second". thankfully, mason was able to stay home with grandma so he wasn't there to feed off of madelyn's fears.

while we were waiting for the doctor to come in madelyn was checking out the exam table. she was looking at an on/off switch and asked me, "why does that say "no?" i told her that while those were the correct letters, the word said "on". but then i realized that she was trying to read even though we have not spent any time working on this other than reading anything and everything she asks. maybe i will start working with her... (without getting too crazy.)

the doctor did say that her vocabulary/pronunciation and counting were very impressive for her age. she did mix up pink/purple and brown/black; she knows them but sometimes she just uses the wrong name. now for her stats:

weight: 37 lbs. (90/91 percentile)

height: 41 inches (98/99 percentile)

bmi: 45 percentile

madelyn got two shots at the end of the appointment and cried for the first time ever where she kept crying as we left the office. and she complained about her legs hurting right in to the next day. she wouldn't even let us take the band aids off. the good news was that she didn't have any fever or tiredness like other times she has gotten shots and she doesn't get any more until she turns 5. love.