Polar Bear Express

Tonight we took Madeline on her first train ride on the Polar Bear Express. (It also happened to be my first train ride. What a sheltered life I lead...)  It started with a story about a train before we actually got on.  This did not go well.  Madeline was far more interested in making a spectacle of herself than listening to the story. 

Fortunately once we got on the train, she was content to watch the landscape roll by and eat all the goodies. 

There was a giant polar bear walking around, which she proceeded to ignore by covering her eyes. 

 Mrs. Claus was a big hit and she even talked to her and smiled. 

Santa actually caused her to unzip her coat and bury herslef in it like a turtle. I think she doesn't like strange men. Smart kid.

  Over all, we had a lot of fun!

Addiction?

I am a complete addict to chapstick.  It's seriously out of control. I've been this way for as long as I can remember.  I am not proud of it. I cannot stop.

Lately Madeline has found a peaceful activity while we cook dinner. She takes the cup of spare pens and other random stuff like drywall screws and sorts it and counts it.  Apparently there was some chapstick in there. I watched in utter amazement as she opened it, applied, and closed it back up. And then repeated about 15 times.  I've inadvertently created a monster! (But I'm impressed with the dexterity involved in this task!)

Colts Fan

Despite a season plagued with injuries (Bob Sanders, I still love you!), we're still cheering for the Colts this season.

Another interception Peyton? Really?

Go Colts!

Disclaimer: The better the Colts do, the more jeans and sneakers days I get at work!

BFFs

Clara and Maddie enjoying a leisurely dinner. How cute are they?

Potty Mouth

I decided a long time ago that I was going to be super laid back when it came to potty training.  I wasn't going to make a big deal about it or force the issue. When my child was good and ready, it would happen and that was fine. 

HA. 

That backfired big time.  So in June, at the ripe old age of 16 month, Madeline became obsessed with the potty.  Taking about it, talking about what you do in it.  Trying to sit on it. 

So I caved and bought her a potty.  She's pretty little so I figured she'd need one her size.  And lo and behold. She used it!  Quite well even.  She even stays dry during nap time and will wake up and go pee right away.   The down side is that until we get her "issues" (see previous post) worked out, we can't really proceed on with this life event. 

Besides, running all over town on Saturday morning is a lot easier with diapers!

Freaked Out

So if you know Madeline in person or just read this blog, you probably know that she has a little bit of a growing problem.  As in she doesn't gain weight. Pretty much at all.  In addition to this, there have been some other issues, primarily of the backside nature.  So after months of stool tests and blood tests and probiotics and dairy-free diets, we were referred to a pediatric gastrointestinal specialists.  And after waiting MONTHS to see said doctor, we finally got in.  I spent the days leading up to this visit, including the drive there, telling myself that I was just making too big of a deal about all of this.  However, the doctor was definitely in agreeance that something is wrong.  It appears she is not absorbing food, hence her ability to out-eat me on any given day while maintaining her girlish figure.  So the next step is to take a peek at what's going on inside. As in...gulp....a colonoscopy.  Yes, someone wants to shove a tube inside of my child.  And not just a colonoscopy, but an endoscopy and biopsy of the colon.  And they want me to watch the whole thing.  Anxiety, anyone?  The doctor said it would probably be worse on me than her.  I think this may be true.  This whole plan goes down on Tuesday so please keep all of us in your prayers!

Big Girl Bed

The last few weeks have been a little unstable due to some major deviations in my sleep schedule. Yes, let's talk about that.  It was completely my plan to keep Madeline in her crib until kindergarten.  Or at least until age 3.  And she's never given any indication that she was interested in getting out of her crib.  That was until one lovely Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago when Brad put her down for a nap...and found her wandering around upstairs.  Turns out she managed to make an Olympic sport out of this feat, dismount and all.  This led to the realization that we did NOT have the right piece to convert our crib into a toddler bed, nor does Babies R Us.  In the mean time, Madeline determined that sleeping on her mattress on the floor was not going to be an option.  She spent that first night, waking up every 45 minutes in complete panic mode.  Neither of us slept at all.  Fortunately the Handshoes loaned us their pack n play while we tried to figure out the crib situation.  After hours and hours of phone calls to every organization that has ever been involved with our crib, we finally got the right piece.  And it only took a week of putting Maddie in her "big girl bed" for her to stop flipping out every single night.  Right about the time we got things smoothed out on the bed time side....enter Daylight Saving Time! 5 AM wake up every morning.  Here's the thing- I'm up at 5 every morning.  But that's MY time.  MY TIME!  The good news is that we seem to have found normal again.  This proves my theory though that we can never have another child because that child won't be a good sleeper like Madeline has always been. And then I may not love said child as much.

This was our first attempt at nap time without a containment system. Ugh.