It's a snowy morning

It snowed last night. We actually got enough snow to play in it. We are totally excited about sledding with our cousins. :) I personally want to take pictures.

Picnic in the basement

We've had family in town for a little while now. We all decided to stay home tonight and play at our house with our new toys. We bundled up and came home about 6 pm. We ordered pizza and had a picnic in the basement and watched "wipeout".  

The girls played with all of their stuff. Maddy played with her new toys, Reagan played with her Princess Castle and her cash register. She and Maddy eventually climbed under the fort and hung out with Furbie for a while.

Reagan is getting the hang of the cash register and how it works. Now we need to find the directions so we can play some of the games for her to do.  Maddy played one of Reagan's new strategy games - it was cute to watch her play with it. She and Reagan also played with the basketball hoop. It was way too cute to see them play together.

We let them stay up until almost 11pm. Wow. But we've stayed up all week. Needless to say, I'm tired. But it will be nice to sleep in.

Reagan's 5th birthday

Today, my wonderful, beautiful daughter turns five. Sniff. She is getting so big and is growing up fast... She woke up in such a good mood - excited to be turning five. We went to Mimi and Papaw's house for the morning to hang out with the family. All the cousins were here.

Jim and I ran home to put Maddy down for a nap and to get all the stuff ready for the party. This was the first time all her cousins were at her party for her ever. So cool. When I was about ready for the guests, they all started showing up. As usual, we got the party decorations done at the last minute. :)

Reagan had a blast. Playing and laughing. She is so different this year than last year. She is so much more assertive and in control. She definitely knows what she likes and does not like.

She loved blowing out the candles and being sung to, but the funniest part was when she opened her presents. I told her "let's open presents next" and she immediately went to the pile in the living room and waited. Waited... not patiently, but waited. She said "I'm waiting". In normal circumstances, I would have been mortified, but she had already waited for five minutes. Anyway, she was so excited.

She started opening gifts and shouted "Oh Yea!" about every time she opened one. It was hilarious. She loved literally everything she got. I was so happy to see such a positive response. She opened one present and actually did a whole fist pump and said "OH YEAAAAA!"

hilarious.

Maddy talks a lot

Maddy is cracking us all up. She is so vocal and is able to speak in clear descriptive sentences it is amazing. She literally mimics everything that is said around her... even Furbie. We noticed yesterday that she was saying some things that Reagan's Furbie animal said. When you listen, she actually will say "tay tay nu nu" or some of the other things. 

At first, I started to worry about it. I thought, "what happened to her vocabulary". Then I realized it was the new martian language that had entered our home. Whoops. :) My little parrot.

Loose tooth

My darling Reagan officially has her first loose tooth. Her top, front, right tooth. The only reason I noticed it is because her teeth are basically perfect. The one was pushed back. So either she had gotten bopped or it was loose. :) Sigh, my little girl is getting so big.

Updated on December 29th...
Reagan finally told me what happened. She actually fell into a piece of furniture in my parents' basement. Nice. So I will probably take her to the doctor to make sure no damage was done. Either way, she will probably lose this tooth. :(

Updated on December 31st...
Yup - there is nothing we can do. Her permanent teeth didn't look effected at this point. Her gums are good. So no visible damage. But they also decided to do nothing with it. So my little girl officially has a loose tooth and may get to lose it soon. I'm hoping it stays in a bit longer. I'm not ready for her to be toothless, but she certainly is. :)

Hot dogs are for eating

Maddy decided today at lunch to put her hot dog down her shirt and dress. We looked over and she was holding the top of her shirt looking down. We figured it out. "Maddy, did you put your hotdog down your shirt?" She answered no promptly. Then looked back down.
We asked, "Then where did it go?" She answered "no" again.
So we asked one more time... this time we got a "Yesssss" with a smile. Nice Maddy.

Airplanes and Santa

Today, the girls went to go see Santa. We got them dressed up and was trying to take a picture when Maddy took off "flying". Vrrooooommmm she said as she flew around the room. We didn't know what to do but giggle. I just wanted a stupid pictures, but she wanted to fly. How funny. Then Reagan got into the act. She started hoping and flying around. There goes my picture. But boy was it fun watching them have a great time playing with each other.

Maddy is sick :(

My poor little girl is sick today I think. The school called and said "loose stools" and said to come get her. Of course, there is no fever and no other issues. Interesting.

So I basically came home from work to turn on Dora and watch her play. Fun for me. :) Right now, she's curled up on the couch all tucked into "bed" with her red blankey and her animals.

Cruver me up mommy!

I have to go potty

and she did! :)

Still sick

Okay - so she's had this cough for some time now and they are trying to tell me it's now allergies. After telling me there was "no way" it could be allergies. Geez. I'm really pissed she's going to be sick on her birthday. No reason for it. Ugh!

Fire?

Tonight, Reagan has been really upset about a fire starting in our house. On Thursday this week, her school had the fire department in to talk about fire safety. So I'm guessing that information finally filtered down to her brain that she really starting thinking about it.

Before bed, she wanted to check the alarms. She asked questions about "how will I know" "Can we get out" "Can I get a ladder for my room" All sorts of things. Then she told me and Jim not to light candles because that's how fires start. It went on for two hours.

She finally went to bed, although upset. I fell asleep writing this post. So at 12:00 am she came to get me on the couch. She was just beside herself.  I went upstairs and just lay in bed with her. I couldn't help it. I needed sleep and she was way too upset about this subject not to.

So I slept in Reagan's bed most the night.

Reagan loves tumbling

Reagan was so excited to go to tumbling today. She's been asking to do it for some time and I'm really happy that we could get her enrolled. We actually got there quite early because I just didn't have the timing down yet, but she was more than content to sit and wait on her friend to show up.

When she did, it was a cute reunion. She and S just hugged and played. Too cute. Then they got called out to the floor. From there, I couldn't really watch much, but she seemed to be bouncing and having a good time.

When she got finished, she was just so happy. I kept asking her and she kept saying how she wanted to go back. Cute!

When we got home, she refused to take off her leotard. And she's sleeping in it now. I wonder how long she'll keep it on.

Potty training update

So, Maddy is still not got the whole "pee in the potty thing" down. It's frustrating. But I've been convinced all along that she's not ready. She went from being willing to go, to not at all interested. We didn't even start Reagan until after she was two. She was not peeing at all during the day until one of her teachers left. With Linda gone, the extra hands in the room just don't seem to get the whole potty training thing and it's frustrating.

Now I'm starting to wonder if I should move her rooms.

ABC song

She's got it down... most of the time. I actually took a video of it so we had it recorded. She says "lalalalalalaa" for the LMNO section of the song, but then she picks it right back up. Too cute.

Tonight at the park, that is all she did - sing the song while she played.

I finished my work today

Reagan must have had a really good day today. She was singing, talking and in a good mood. When we asked her about her day, she said "Oh mommy, I finished my work today". She explained it. I had a hard time figuring it out - but it definitely had something to do with numbers.  I'm so happy she is excited about stuff she's doing.

Singing in French

I can always tell when Reagan has had French class. She comes home singing songs or randomly talking in French. It's cute. Today, she came home singing Bon Jour Bon Jour etc.. It was to the tune of Frère Jacques. She was able to sing it in French, English and Sign language. Nice!

My little yellow belt

Reagan is really starting to get into the whole karate thing. I think her yellow belt came at just the right time for her. She was probably getting bored with it a bit - she didn't seem as interested. But, when Sensei said she was ready to move up, it really perked her up.

She did well tonight in class. She was starting to get a bit jittery, but she still did well.
She's also starting to identify herself as a yellow belt which is just awesome. I'm glad she's connecting with it and enjoying it.

Counting in Spanish

Maddy counted in spanish to ten for Jim tonight. He was shocked. I had to tell him that she did it last week. It's crazy! She's not even two and she's speaking in full sentences clearly, counting to ten in english and spanish, sings the alphabet song. It's ridiculous.

Getting X-rays

Had to pick up Maddy today to take her of X-rays. She still has a horrible cough. I'm seriously getting tired of her being sick. I don't know why they won't just give her the right medication. One doctor says its not allergies. Meds don't work. They change their mind and say that it is allergies. I give up. Ugh!

Going to Rocktoberfest

Jim took Reagan to Rocktoberfest today. They got to ride rides and play games. They seemed to have a great time together. Reagan won a few games which meant prizes. She wanted to bring home something for Maddy. She won her a plastic Dora doll. How cute. Maddy loved it. Reagan was proud!

Park!!!

Maddy loves to go to the park. Any time we go for the car, she tells us she's ready to go to the park. It cracks me up. She says "paa-aaarrrrrrk"! She doesn't care how call it is either, she just wants to get out there and play. She can navigate most of the stuff by herself. She is a bit of a dare devil so I have to be careful not to turn my head away too much or she might jump off the top or something crazy like that.

She has almost walked down the tallest slide a few times. I have to tell her "NO" as loud as I can. She just giggles at me. Geez.

ABC song

She's actually got the whole song down...

Potty

We are still not real great on the whole potty thing. She'll go for days without an accident, and then she'll have days where she'll have multiple at a time. Ugh. So hard. I'll be glad when she gets it figured out.

Yellow Belt

She graduated tonight to yellow belt. It's just an awesome thing. Sensei invited her to come into the bigger kid class to get her new belt. It was fun to watch. She kept looking at all the other bigger people (kids and adults) - just looking. I wondered what was going through her head. But she kept up. She did really well. Mimi & Papa were able to make it for the graduation.

She was able to get her belt off and walk over it. She turned around at first and we all giggled because she was supposed to be facing all the Senseis. It was cute. She got turned around the right way and went through the graduation. She was so happy to have the belt tied on. I was so proud. :) Jim was on the floor with her when she got it. I'm sure he was proud as well.

Playing Montesorri

Reagan played Montessori tonight. I guess that means that she is finally getting into the swing of things at school and is accepting things a bit more. It kinda sounds like she's been assimilated... maybe she has. But I think she's a much happier kid overall. She has far less tantrums, is easier to work with and honestly seems more creative. I love watching her grow up.

The pony tail lives

She is now proudly wearing her pony tail ever day. She no longer wants a top knot. She wants a low pony tail. Most days she won't even wear a bow in her hair. She looks so grown up now it's hard to believe she's almost five.

All grown up

My little Reagan is getting so grown up. She picked out her own outfit at the store last week. I washed it and today she's in it. Pony tail and bow. So grown up. Sigh... What am i going to do with a little lady. :(

Becoming so expressive

I had a neat talk with Maddy's teacher today. She said that she was becoming much more expressive and better at communicating what she needs. I could agree 100%. Maddy is really good at saying what she wants. She speaks clearly and the words she's not solid with yet, we've figured out.

She loves to play mommy with her Dora doll. She carries her around like she is her baby. She even puts Dora in her cubby to sleep. It's way too cute.

When other kids do something she doesn't like, she is able to communicate well with them. At home, she immediately throws a temper tantrum. That's expected. But she's too cute when she does it.

I love Pawpaw

Jim asked Maddy tonight "do you love Daddy" and she responded with "I love PAW PAW" just like a song. She said it like that all day. I guess she does.

All of her numbers & letters

Not only can she recite her numbers, she knows them by sight as well. She can count every other one with you and actually count objects. Hmmm...

Maddy tonight

For some reason, once we decided to potty train Maddy (or move to underwear) the desire for her to go IN the potty went away, at least at home. She still does really well at school for the most part - we're hitting probably 80%. So what's the deal. She goes to the new school, starts going on the potty ALL the time. Ugh.

Tonight, she actually sat on the potty and pooped & peed. Yea Maddy. Next we had dinner. Then I put her down and she promptly went to the couch, spread her legs and started peeing. REALLY!?

Maybe it was all the food she ate - she did eat two hot dogs, rasberries, two containers of mandarine oranges and a block of cheese. Seriously.

Four word sentences

Maddy is just cracking me up lately - she's been speaking in full sentences. You can have a conversation with her at times as long as it's simple. She takes Dora with her like she's a little sister. She pats her on the back, let's her eat, puts her down for a nap and even blames the poopy morning diaper on her. It's funny.

Her latest is "I don't want that Mommy". She also interacts with both Dora and Diego shows. She understands what they are asking her and either points or shouts ou toud. Impressive.

Ms Helpful

Reagan has been changing since she started her new school. She is learning manners, learning how to care for her things and the space around her (I'd say world, but it's too soon to say that) and overall becoming more lady-like. Tonight, we were done eating and I started washing dishes. She got up from the table, picked up her dishes and brought them to me. She said "mommy I want to put these in here" pointing at the dishwasher. So I let her.

Then she bussed the entire table, put the dishes in the dishwasher (all of them after I rinsed them) and then asked "What else can I do to help Mommy?"

WOW!

Just ballet mommy

Tonight, I took Reagan to a ballet class tonight to see if she wanted to take the class. The basic answer was no. It's funny how we got there.

So, she really misses her friends from her old school. It's sad to listen to, so I thought maybe I'd sign her up for a class they were in. Ballet. I know better, but thought I'd try. She's not a dainty ballet type, she's a karate type, a tumbler. All sorts of anything but dainty type.

Regardless, I thought I'd try. I was more worried about her making it through the hour long class. As my day went on, I started worrying about losing the one night we had to ourselves. So I just decided I didn't want to enroll her.

We got there. All her friends were there. She acted shy and "interested" sorta. I went to the bin to find some old ballet shoes that she could borrow. She said "I don't want to do this". I wasn't sure what she meant - the class or the old dingy shoes.

I took her to class. She said "yes" kinda and went along with the crowd. She did great. She could do everything everyone else was doing. She did great. I was happily surprised that she did that well. I actually watched for a while and was impressed myself. I actually started rooting for her to take the class... a little.  I eventually left and went to sit with the other ladies.

At 6:30 pm, I went back to pick her up. She was happy, dancing and giggling. She was playing with her friends. When I asked the teacher how she did, she said "great" and that she kept up with everyone else just fine. She seemed happy.

The girls played for a while after class while we waited for all the moms to come pick up the girls. While we waited, she played hard.

So, we get in the car and I asked her if she wanted to take dance. Her immediate answer "no". What? Really? I said "really? how come?" She said, "mommy it's just ballet and nothing else". Well, she was right. Nice. I asked her a few times and the answer was still the same.

So that's out. Interesting.

Please and Thank you

Maddy has got Please and Thank you down. She is the most polite one year old I've seen. Of course, she's 23 months, but she's been working on it for the last month or so. The sunday school teacher told me that she was a little lady and really enjoyed her in class. She was so polite.

Way to go Maddy!

Teeth

Her molars are in - all of them... Really!?

Rockin' the piano

Reagan is really starting to take off with her piano. Not only that, she really likes to go and loves her teacher. She doesn't practice yet much - but she only needs to see it once before she has it. Sometimes she doesn't even need to see it. It's really cool to watch her.

I  hope she loves music in her life!

Nice

Maddy and Reagan play a lot together. Maddy will sometimes pick something up of Reagan which causes Reagan to have a fit. (The other way around does the same thing). Most of the time, if you tell Maddy to give it back, she will.  Sometimes she'll run with it. Eventually she will take it back to Reagan and say "here Reagan".

If we've told her it wasn't nice, she will automatically say "Sorry Reagan" and try to give her a hug.

Loves to dress up and pretend

Maddy loves to dress up and pretend with her dollies. She's been doing it for quite some time, but she has started getting into it more over the last month or so. If she sees any dress up item, it has to immediately go on her body in some way. If it doesn't fit, she tries it on Dora. Right now, she's wearing Reagan's barbie glasses... upside down. :)

Blowing her nose

Maddy knows how to blow her nose. Is that weird?

Good night

Tonight, Reagan was quite agreeable for the first time in a long time around bedtime. She had a nice bath and didn't put too much of a fuss getting out. She let me read to her and then even said "I love you Mommy" as I left her room. That was it. So strange. I can't remember the last time she didn't pull me down or hold onto me and beg me not to leave. I can't remember the last time she just went to sleep.

And now I'm down her in pure silence. No begging to go back to bed. Could it have been that easy... or was she that unhappy. Wow!

Last Day of Preschool

Today, Reagan had her last day of preschool. She went to Goddard for two years and had a great experience there. This morning, she woke up happy, giggle, smiling and just the best I've seen her in months. She was eager to get ready and happy about her day.

We had a wonderful morning together. She was helpful getting Maddy up and ready. We went to Remke's - I let her pick out treats to bring to school - rice krispie treats and busken cookies. She bounded into school with me and was so excited.

She had a great day! She had fun wit her friends and played all day. When I went to pick her up, she said "Mommy, is it really my last day"? I said yes. She sighed and said "But Paige will miss me, I need to stay".

It hit her a bit on the way home I think. She had asked again if she was going back. It made her a little sad, but she just keep giggling and laughing.

I think it won't hit her for a bit. I'm excited for her new opportunity. I'm a tad sad that she won't be at that school anymore, but excited she will be doing something else for a bit.

Maddy's the Boss

Apparently, she put Dora in a spot today at school and said "sit dora" and walked a way a few steps. then she looked back and said "don't move". Wow.

Last week at school

Reagan has actually had a slightly better week this week at school. I don't know if it is because every thing is so low key, or if it's because she's leaving. Either way, she seems to be doing better. Every time I bring it up, she just seems happy that it might be over soon. I'm hoping that she really enjoys her new school.

Maddy and the microphone

Reagan found her microphone and pulled it out of the toy closet. She got it all set up only to discover that Maddy wanted to play with it. It's a good thing she had already gotten bored with it. Maddy took it over quickly and basically ate the microphone. She shouted into it, wiggle her butt and had a blast singing. It was cute to watch.

She then started obsessing with where the microphone was located in the bonus room. She started picking it up and carrying it all over the place. Not one location would work. She'd let it sit for a while and dance and sing and then almost as fast as she put it down, it was back up in her arms.

Every once in a while, the stand would come out of the base. She actually was able to get it back on. Interesting.

Ride'em cowboy

Today, Jim went with Reagan's classroom to the Northern Kentucky Horse Park. She did everything - rode horses, brushed them and played. The one thing that she snubbed her nose at was mucking stalls. (That's my girl). he hee. I'm glad she didn't actually.  Apparently there was zero fear while riding the horse. I'm so happy she just goes for it!

Coney Island

Jim took Reagan over to Coney Island today. Apparently we have a little dare devil on our hands. She tried every roller coaster that she was allowed. She road the twister, bumper cars, ferris wheel, pirate boat and a few others. She'd giggle when on a ride and said that it "tickled her tummy".

They also mined for gold and had a ton of really bad carnival food. She was reluctant to try the fried dough, but eventually admitted she like it. She loved the cotton candy, of course.

When she got home, she was happy as heck. I love seeing her smile. It just makes my heart happy.

Potty Training Day three

I can't believe it - Zero accidents today again. Wow!

Potty Training Day two

A total success. No accidents all day. Even spent a ton of time in the car going back and forth to karate. Impressive. Hoping it's not a fluke. :)

Potty Training Day one

So far so good. We got home today from Maddy's first day in underwear and she had zero accidents. It's really not too surprising actually. She's been using the potty for four months, we've just never committed to it. It wasn't until I was cooking and not paying attention that she quietly started playing in the corner. She sat down to play and then had an accident. She didn't tell me - I figured it out later. So the first day with only one accident at the end of the day is awesome in my book.

Berry picking

Today we went berry picking again. As soon as we mentioned it to Reagan, she was ready to go. She apparently had enough fun that she wanted to go again. This time, I actually dressed them in cute things because they really didn't get involved last time.

Well, today was different. Maddy actually walked around and helped Jim ut berries in the bucket. Actually, we think she ate more than she put in the bucket. Reagan walked around with me and was so excited to get her bucket filled up. When she was done, she wanted nothing to do with walking back, she wanted to ride.

By the end of it all, they were both covered in berries and their juice. I was impressed how much they did.

Food in mouth

Maddy has always had this thing of overstuffing her mouth with food when she eats. Lately I've noticed that she carries it around in her mouth. I wonder why she does this.

Went for a walk

Today, Reagan and I went for a walk to feed the ducks. We put on our sunscreen and sunglasses to take our stroll down the block. Reagan carried the back of old bread and I carried my camera. I hoped to take some good pictures.

We got down there and the ducks immediately came to shore, even before we had the food out. Reagan started feeding them and they were very nice.

Then I looked up and saw the geese coming. Ugh. They are not so friendly. They came to shore ready to eat and seemed pretty aggressive. I kept Reagan close to me, but kept feeding them. Once I figured out they were not very nice, we started backing up more.

Then the geese hissed and started chasing us. Whoops! I said "run" and she did. I walked backwards to make sure they didn't follow us to closely and to keep my little girl safe.

She said "I don't like geese. They're too mean to feed". :)

Maddy knows numbers

Today, Maddy picked up two Dora dolls (one of hers and Reagan's) and said "two Doras".
Wow - really?

Pick me up!

It's been a very long six week. The hernia surgery was a must, but I couldn't pick up my little girls. It was very hard. But today, I got to pick up Reagan and carry her like I used to. I almost forgot how heavy she was - she's so tall. Ha. Maddy almost didn't know what to do with me picking her up in the morning and at school. I was personally in heaven. :)

New school

The decision has been made. We are moving her to Montessori for the fall school year. There have been enough factors that I've evaluated that I just don't feel we can wait. We will then also move Maddy next year if the school is able to provide what we think it can.

Reagan is ready for a change and is not happy at Goddard anymore. All of her friends graduated and are going on to kindergarten. Sadly, her school said she was too young even though she was smart enough.

She's ready. It will be nice. I'm a tad anxious because I really don't know what to expect. But I have a lot of people that I've spoken to about the concept in general and they all cheer about the outcomes. So we are ready.

One month and counting.

New school?

We took Reagan over to the new school today for her interview. I took Maddy to school and then met them there. She was already engaged in the room and seemed to be doing well. She looked happy and interested in what was going on. Of course, after speaking with her I really wonder what she was thinking.

We watched the interactions between her and the teacher. It was definitely interesting. We like it because she seemed to pick up on the responsibility and other things almost immediately.

We were both really excited about it when we left thinking she would be excited.

She wasn't actually. She threw a holy fit about going back to school. She complained about the interview and said it was boring. She hated the building, the roof, the doors, the bathrooms, the kids, the everything. It was weird.

So now what. I didn't expect that. Not that it's actually her decision, but it does throw a kink into our plans. The other issue is that the other kids that we think are not quite up to par actually go to this school.  Wow.

Reagan piano

Reagan had another piano lesson tonight. Jim took her and said she had done really well. They started on some note reading a bit. She paid attention and did what was asked of her. I think she is really starting to enjoy it some. She's definitely getting used to it.

I hope she sticks with this for a while and really starts to be able to play.

Giving directions

Mimi and Papa came over tonight for a quick visit. Maddy and Reagan really love it when they come - they always end up getting colored on and doctored up. Tonight, Maddy was playing in our rocking chair in the living room. She wanted to sit in it. But Mimi was. So she started pulling on her arm and said "my turn". It took a second to understand her, but when we realized what she was saying, she was pulling so hard on her arm that she had figured it out.

Maddy crawled right up into the chair, rocked a bit and then got down. "All done".

She did that a few times and then pranced off on her tip toes with her ponytail bouncing along with her.

Montessori interview

Reagan had her montessori interview today. We took her over and didn't really say much about it. She really just jumped in and started working and playing. She was able to figure out quickly how the room worked. She engaged with the teacher and responded to her corrections well. She seemed to really like it.

She did walk around the room. It is interesting to see how the teachers interact. They really expect the child to do for themselves. She was at the restroom and said "here's the switch" but didn't turn it on. Reagan just looked at her. Reagan doesn't need that help, but I found it interesting how they approach things.

When Reagan was playing, the teacher went to her. She had conversation one-on-one with her and Reagan seemed to really engage with her. I liked seeing that. It seemed like such a calm, quiet place - almost like their was a white noise-type hum in the room with the kids.

After about 30 minutes, her time was over. She didn't look like she wanted to leave. She seemed to want to stay.

Maddy's language

Maddy's language is getting so clear. It's just amazing how clear her language is getting. She's been speaking in at least three word sentences for a while now, but not all the words have been clear. I'm just amazed at how far she's come.

One of the things we've noticed is that she's really not had any issues with her ears or sinuses lately. That and she's not really been a huge milk drinker either. Maybe the combination of the two has helped her get clearer hearing and therefore better language. I'm not sure, but it's just nice to have our little one speak clearly.

Drawing things

Reagan is getting really good at drawing things. I am amazed at some of the things she is bring home this week verses some of the things that she brought home in the spring. She seems to be more interested in actually drawing things and colors inside the lines really well now too.

It's got to be something that just clicked with her this summer. She's gone from scribbles to actual drawings. I am so excited for her.

Talking

She's starting to say more complex words like strawberry and more phrases like "oh no, what happened?" She is getting to the point that we can have a Q&A type conversation with her. She still whines a lot for what she wants, but is really good about stating what item she wants. She rarely just points and whines unless she just doesn't know what it's called. Once she knows the name of something, she typically will say that item.

Snack and couch

I guess once I stopped being able to pick up the girls, Jim started a routine of sitting with them on the couch after work and eating fruit while I cooked. He really had to be the one managing the kids because I couldn't pick them up, so I had to do all the kitchen work.

This week, Maddy gets home and wants a snack. She then immediately starts saying "couch" over and over again until she gets there and expects you to join her. And don't forget the snack. Then it's cuddle time for a bit while we eat our fruit. It's way too cute.

I ate beets willingly

Sick?

Tonight, Reagan threw up. That simple. She had refused to eat all day. I made her eat her dinner (nice job mom) of chicken and veggies. We went upstairs for bed. She wanted to sleep on her beanbag. Instead of making her sleep in her bed, I just agreed.

Jim walked in as we were reading books. He was behind her and I was in front of her. After I finished her last book, she looked up at me and said "mommy, I think I'm going to throw up".  She's said that before, but I never believed her. For some reason, this time I agreed. She had a "look" on her face and her body looked tired. I knew she was right. She said it again and with that I started saying "Jim, Jim... over and over again. "Get her up".

It took a second for him to click into gear. He did. And we got her all the way to the hallway before she launched. Wow! There goes dinner. We got her cleaned up. Back onto her beanbag and asleep. I kissed her head and left her up there.

Within 30 minutes, we heard her cry again. I knew it! Jim had said early in our marriage that he had to wait for a "golden moment" with Jordan. I should have listened here.

Needless to say, she had throw up again. She was so upset, she couldn't stop crying. Jim picked her up and carried her downstairs to lay on the couch next to me. We slept side by side until about midnight when she decided she was done. She had looked up at me and said "Mommy I want this to be done" at one point. I felt so horrible for her.

We went upstairs eventually and I slept next to her in her bed. In this experience, I learned that she talks in her sleep and hits. Not so good for me. But I will say, I'm glad she made it 4.5 years without puking. I hope she makes it at least that long before she does it again.

Noisy

Maddy is very noisy. We got home from the swim meet tonight and I could hear her in the garage. They were eating dinner and she was saying "yaaaaa, yaaaa, yaaaa, yaaaaa" so loud. Lauren told me she was loud. Apparently she had been going all day like this.

Playing doctor

For some reason, this weekend, Maddy has picked up the doctor's kit and started playing doctor. She likes to seriously poke and prod. There is nothing gentle about it either. She's pretty hard core. She picks up her stuff and gets it all organized and then starts working on her patient.

I think she watched Reagan play enough she figured out how to do it.

More teeth

Maddy's four canines are finally growing in - too bad it is all at once. The top right one is actually through the gum, but the others are quite close behind. Wow!

Piano lessons

Reagan had her best lesson yet at this point. She walked in and didn't twitch, fidget or play the whole lesson. She bowed immediately and then got right up on the piano.

She had learned how to do the first five notes of the scale. Reagan and I had worked on her fingers. He was very impressed. She knew the notes, had her fingers right, did all the "stuff" and then even behaved well. Wow!

I'm glad she's doing well.

Super tired

Reagan has been super tired this week. Each evening we've had various meltdowns. Tonight, was the calmest one and it was tough. She gets so tired that she can't cope. But she's so tired, she can't calm down too. It's an endless loop. Tonight, she made a choice to have a longer bath and no books. Boy she was not too happy when she got to her room and realized I was serious. Needless to say, she didn't handle it well at all. Hopefully she gets some good rest tonight. She needs it.

Little Miss Independent

My daughter is turning completely into a little independent thing. She is starting to want to do things for herself like brushing her own teeth, opening her own stuff carrying things. It's odd. She's also wanting to take care of Maddy a little more like a mommy. It's cute to watch them interact together. She takes such a leadership role with her and teaches her things. I love watching.

She is growing up too fast for me.

Getting dressed

Reagan this morning had a lovely attitude about getting dressed. I often have to get her dressed while she's half sleeping. But today, she was not interested. She wanted to wear a specific thing and threw a fit so big that I left her to figure it out.

She finally came downstairs in such a get-up that I had to stop myself from laughing. So it starts today. Her new sense of independence is moving towards her clothing. Interesting.

She came down in all different clothes, including her underwear. Blue skirt, veggies tales shirt, floral socks and her holy shoes. Wow. Impressive. Love my little creative girl.

Potty training

So Maddy is potty training right now. For the most part, she is doing really well. She is starting to ask on a regular basis. At school, she only uses the toilet. It's awesome.

Tonight, she asked to go potty. Yea Maddy. She did. She peed in the toilet. Jim thought she was done. We celebrated. She walked around naked. She got a potty treat.

Moments later, after the celebration, Reagan started yelling. "She pooped on the floor." What? She repeated it again. I asked "What?" again thinking what was she saying - she can't really be saying that.

She finally said "Mom!!! She pooped on the floor over there!!".

Yes she did. She pooped on the floor in the dining room right in front of the windows.

Thank goodness it was solid. :)

Laughter is the best medicine

Maddy has the goofiest laugh. Funny thing - it's mine. I don't know how to describe it but it's a girly version of the Horshack. It sounds like someone is gasping for air while giggling. It's hilarious. She moves her face all around in such funny ways. She shows her teeth and squints her eyes and just laughs. It's contagious. I love it.

I'm happy when they laugh

The one thing that our home is not short of is laughter. My girls LOVE to laugh. They love to makes each other laugh and they love to just make you laugh. One starts and the other one chimes in. It's awesome. Reagan has this fantastic belly laugh. She gets so excited when she laughs. I love watching - her eyes shine. I love watching her be happy.

Maddy will typically start in either after Reagan starts or if Jim starts poking on her some. She loves to try to bite his finger at the table. It's a game. He points his finger at her and just tries to tickle her. When he gets close, she grabs his finger and tries her best to put his finger in his mouth. That starts it all.

Once she starts, Reagan starts in too. She then starts her excited belly laugh that is so contagious that all you can do it laugh.

Peace!

Fever

Maddy has a high fever with no other symptoms. The thermometer hit 103.1 immediately and started beeping. Not sure why, just did. Needless to say, she's a tad lethargic today and snuggly.  I can't remember the last time she ever just sat around. My poor little thing.

Reagan's a big sister

Reagan is really starting to grow into her big sister role a little more seriously. She's always done well with Maddy. She typically is good with her. But lately, since Maddy started at Goddard, she's gotten more serious about it. She's very protective of her. She likes to walk her to her classroom in the mornings and help pick her up in the afternoons. She also loves to play with her in the evenings.

They are starting to play together much better. I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that Maddy is older and is able to do much more. Either way, she's starting to do things like pick her up to hep her do things since I can't. She's just doing more.

I love watching her grow into her role. The two of them will be thick. I just love watching them grow up together.

Movies & Ice cream

We took Reagan to another movie today. We waited until we had Jordan so we could go as a group with both older girls. She was so excited about it all. We saw Madegascar III.  It was just adorable. It made us all laugh. At certain points in the movie, when they had some cool music, Reagan would get up and dance by her seat. Too cute.

On the way out to the car, we were all singing the circus theme song with their twist "Afro Circus..."

Way too funny.

Dora rocks

For some reason Maddy REALLY likes Dora. It's hilarious. She started carrying around Reagan's dora dolls about three weeks ago. Then she started screaming at the tv for Dora. She knows the images just like Reagan did. She gets a little dance started when she thinks she gets to see Dora. I also found this little Dora doll for $10 at the store - that made her day. Now she carries that around like a snuggly. Too cute.

Must be growing

Reagan ate an entire hamburger with a bun tonight. She got so mad at me because I cut up her burger and put it on her plate. She came over to me and complained to me. So I gave her a whole burger with a bun. She asked for mustard. I was completely shocked tonight when she called for me multiple times to tell me how much she had eaten. The fact that she was eating a regular burger was amazing itself. But, the fact that she willingly at half was amazing.

By the time dinner was over, she had eaten the entire thing. Holy cow. She was so proud of herself too. She ate it all and said "mommy, I was just so hungry". He hee - maybe the biking made her hungry or maybe she's growing.

Either way, I was totally impressed by her volume tonight.

Potty training

Maddy is potty training. Once we put her at Goddard, she started going on the potty on a regular basis. The teachers asked if we could train her. I wanted to wait just in case it was a fluke. It wasn't. Then I had surgery  to fix a hernia. I told the teachers after my recovery, we'd bring her to school in underwear.

She's been asking for the last two weekends to use the potty. Funny thing is that she asks more for #2 than #1. That is usually the harder thing to figure out. So I'm glad she is.

I've been amazed at how different potty training has been for Maddy. She doesn't seem to care if she has a diaper on or not. She still asks to go. I am guessing once we put her in underwear, she will have very few accidents. I just have to be ready for the public restroom. Ick! Although, it would be nice to be without diapers. :)

Maddy's got a cold

Maddy is getting another cold again. I am sad to say that I may have to take her back to the doctor again. It's been quite a while. We all thought we might be out of the woods with her on her sinus issues. She actually started getting sniffly on Thursday. I keep hoping it is just a cold. I'll wait a few days before making a decision. Regardless, her doctor is getting a call in the morning to check in to see what he wants to do.

Big girl on a bike

Reagan had a huge first today. She rode a bike for the first time. We took off today to go to the bike shop with full intentions to purchase her a new bike. She was ready. She hopped on the one she wanted and off she went. It took her a little while, but she finally figured it out. That was all before we even bought the bike. She picked out her new helmet - she asked for one. It has mermaids on it. Perfect for Reagan.

When we got home, we grabbed sunscreen, water bottles and a bathroom break and took off for the local park. Despite the 100 degree temps, we made two treks around the soccer fields - the second time was twice the speed as the first. She actually caused Jim to jog a bit. I laughed.

She had a great time. We were all sweating like crazy, but it was totally worth it.

Language!

Maddy can literally say anything you say and well. She is now speaking in sentences to us - most of the words I actually understand. She's getting a pattern in her language which helps me understand what she is wanting.

In the mornings, we'll hear her babble in her crib while she is waiting for us to get her. Funny thing - she doesn't really babble, she practices words. It's funny to hear her say "bear", "pink" and other words until she gets it right. I really do think she is practicing.

Makin' pizzas

Tonight, we made pizzas for dinner. We actually had everyone make their own, including Reagan and Maddy. Maddy realized in the process that she apparently LOVES pepperoni. Reagan redefined her crazy love for cheese. I think she ate a bowl of it.

By the time the pizza actually was done baking, Reagan didn't eat much of it. Maddy did, but that's only because she eats everything.

Piano

Reagan is doing much better than I expected. She is really responding well to her teacher. She listens and does what he asks. She still jumps around and is hyper, I think it is honestly just because she is excited. I was so impressed, I was ready to sign her up again despite the cats. :) I'm happy she found something else that she likes. Ahhhhhhh

Maddy going to bed

I think since Jim has been putting Maddy in bed every night that she is back to being a Daddy's girl. She started coming to me much more often, but it has changed. Tonight, after Reagan's swimming, we got home and she was still up. Jim offered to let me read and snuggle. I'm sure it was a reaction to me saying "I never get to because of my surgery". He made the extra effort to let me do it.

So we did. We read and snuggled. I loved every second of it. It made my heart happy. I missed putting Reagan in bed, but I missed Maddy too. So once we were all snuggly, Jim came in. I guess he thought if it was quiet it was time to go to bed. That was fine. But Maddy now wanted Daddy. Sadly, I gave her up. She wouldn't stop calling for him. I went back into Reagan's room and snuggled there for a bit.

Ya know. I don't know how long my girls will let me snuggle. But I plan to do it every night that they will. There will be one day that they say, "I'm good" or some form of that. Never will I take this time with them for granted. Such blessings. Love the snuggle. Need a tissue...

Swimming across the pool

Reagan swam all the way across the pool... four times. Holy cow. She swam on her belly and on her back. She now can roll from back to front and then swim the rest of the way in. I'm so excited for her. I am so happy for her and can't wait to take her to our neighborhood pool to practice everything that she's learned so far! Way to go Reagan Mae!

Blackberries

Today, we skipped church to hang out. We picked our brains to figure out what we could do and Jim came up with blackberries. We piled in the car pretty quickly and headed down to see Aunt Brenda. She and her husband have a blackberry farm and winery. I'd never been. It was fantastic.

We all got to ride on the golf carts, pick berries and just hang out. Such a nice way to spend the day. Maddy rode on Jim's shoulders carrying a bucket. Every time Jim would drop a blackberry into her bucket, she'd pick it up almost immediately and eat it up. She was covered in juice quickly.

Reagan would pick berries for a while, but then go back into the store and hang out with Brenda and Jimmy. She got to eat popsicles and chill out. Anytime there was an opportunity to get into the gold cart, she was all over it. She wanted to do anything to climb and drive. She had a great time.

By the time we left, the girls were tired. Maddy fell asleep on the way home and then took another nap. I had to lay down for a bit because of my bee-bo. Reagan chilled out watching Bugs Bunny for a bit before ramping up for the evening again.

Awesome day to reconnect!

Bless you

Maddy's language is just getting better and better. She literally says just about anything we say. Today, someone sneezed and she actually said "bless you". So not only can she say it, she knows the right timing as well.

Fruit

Maddy loves fruit. Actually both she and Reagan do. Jim started grabbing a piece of fruit as a snack. He's done that for weeks. And every time, both girls curl up with him on the couch and eat it with him. With the new summer season, we've had lots of different fruits. We have discovered that Maddy and Reagan both LOVE apricots, nectarines, peaches and all sorts of berries. Maddy tonight chomped down on a nectarine. She ate it like nothing. Super fast. Yum.

Reagan took her time. So I grabbed a bite. It was super sour. Wow. Reagan and I puckered up a bit. I was amazed. Maddy didn't seemed phase by the taste. Wow.

Karate chop

Tonight was karate. She's starting to get a tad busy isn't she? She is getting confidence and starting to look forward to the class. I love it. We had Sensei Halvin tonight. He is really good with kids. Once Reagan got out onto the floor, she became the one that made him laugh, a lot.

He had them doing kick and punch drills. I was actually impressed with her load on her front kick and equally impressed with her fist. :) Her "noise" was extra loud and every time she kicked she yelled. Halvin liked that.

After three classes, she is definitely getting the hang of it. Plus, she looks totally cute in her gi. :)

Little Swimmer Girl

Tonight Reagan swam. Simple as that. She pushed off from the side of the pool and swam to her teacher. Dog paddle and kicking. Face in the water. Only one breath to get about a quarter way across. I didn't actually get to see it - Jim did. But I am still oh so proud of my little girl.

I'm impressed with the fact that she has made such huge improvements in 10 lessons. That's it. She started with a crazy fear of water. She hate putting her face in or getting her hair wet. Now she is willingly swimming to her teacher. How cool is that?

Little Musician

Maddy may be a budding musician. Anytime I put the Suzuki music in the CD player, she starts to dance and wiggle. She will actually come over to me if we are at home to listen. Today in the car, I had the Mozart Einsteins DVD playing. When the piano part started, she started "playing" a pretend piano. It was adorable. I asked her "are you playing a piano" and she giggled.

Testing?

Should we or should we not send her to kindergarten early? That is the question. So far, she's had two days of testing and she is going back for her final set of tests tomorrow. This is, quite frankly, ridiculous to me. I know she's smart, but I'm not really caring at this point if she does. She is very smart and I know it. She knows it.

The tests that they have them go through are just crazy. It's interesting to see how they test. It's reading, writing, recognition of words, sounds, pictures. It's sequence and memory. It's crazy.  Most of the testing was K-6 or K-Adult. So where is her mark?

She got so restless the psychologist called it a day and asked for us to bring her back tomorrow. She did say "I'd like to see what she can do". It set me back some. I found myself getting really frustrated because I wasn't sure what the real expectation was at all.

So tomorrow, Jim is taking her. I'm going to work. He wants to see how she does. I'm curious and will pray. I don't know the best answer.

Reagan's first splinter

Poor little Reagan got a splinter from my parent's deck tonight. Ugh. It didn't really bother her too much, but it was deep into her big toe and we were worried about it getting infected. As daring as she is, she was petrified to have us work on it. We had to hold her down and talk with her. I bribed her with a new stuffed animal (saved for these occasions). I bargained and all sorts of things. She wanted nothing to do with it. She cried so much we thought she'd puke. She almost did. Jim volunteered his hat. That made her laugh.

In the end, she was scared. She was scared it was going to hurt. There was no logic, just mommy and daddy coming at her with a needle and a pair of tweezers. She freaked out like any normal kid. I think the whole thing took us an hour. We started at about 9:40 pm and she got to bed right before 11:00 pm. Ugh. Poor thing.

We skipped bath and just put her straight into bed. No PJs, just bed. I curled up next to her to comfort her. She was so exhausted I do not think she even noticed or cared that I was there.

Crazy amount of words

Maddy is exploding with her language. It is just amazing. She speaks in sentences. She can tell us "no" quite a bit and is very aware of how to tell us what she needs or wants. And when she dances, she points her fingers.

Dancing girl

Tonight was Reagan's dance recital dress rehearsal. All the girls we so cute in their costumes. We all sat in the front row and waited for the groups to go on. They lined up so nicely and played together. in their seats. When they got up on stage to do their performance, they all did a great job. Reagan was near one side and shook her little bootie as best she could. She smiled and sang and danced. I was so proud.

Karate

Reagan took her second karate class tonight. She seemed very eager and ready to go when we got there. She got into her gi without a challenge. She went out onto the floor and watched. She just watched. We were there early so that was all she could do. I was amazed. She didn't move.
When class started, she actually payed attention and listened. She played, but quite frankly, she did awesome!
I'm so excited. I hope she really likes this stuff.

Little things go bump

Maddy decided to make the morning exciting. She tipped her chair over this morning and smacked her head on the wall so hard that she dented the wall. Needless to say, the church nursery probably wasn't a good idea.

Fun morning

Maddy decided to make our morning exciting. During breakfast, and of course when no one was looking, she pushed herself back and tipped her chair over. Our table is a high-top table with chair to match, which means she had a long way to fall. Needless to say, she's a tad spacy still (three hours later) and there is a nice head-shaped dent in our wall. :) Love that. She freaked out a lot. She clung to me, which is so shocking considering she is a daddy's girl so much. She wanted me.

I stayed home from church to watch her. She's a tad spacy and tired, but she seems to be okay. She finally got hungry about three hours after she tipped.  She ate blueberries and a banana. She seems to want more fluids then anything.

Nice way to start the day, but nice to stay and snuggle. :)

dancing girl

Reagan likes to dance, by herself. Today, we went to the basement to play and hang out. She danced. She turned on her dj station and just started going. It was so fun to watch. I was actually amazed at how good she really was. She had nice placement of her hands - nice flow for her arms. She had expression. She amazed me.
Keeping in mind she is four, she was more than awesome! She was beautiful.

Seek and find

Reagan has gotten crazy good at these seek and fnd books. We had gotten her some kid ones and she just blasts through them. I bought her one that she actually has to read the words to figure out what to find. That frustrates her a bit. But, once she knows what to find, she can find most of them in seconds. It is just amazing to me.

Sick

She's had a sinus infection for a little while now.  We started the new round of antibiotics about a month ago. She is on her fourth round. The good news is that her ears are fine. Bad news is she seems to have a strain of bacteria that is extremely stubborn.
We have her on the strongest thing we can give her. Her doctor finally said, "we need to talk" about how to proceed with her. We've struggled for the last year with her health. At some point, we need to start looking deeper for potential underlying issues.
So I'm going to guess we will look at allergies and do a blood test to ensure her system can fight bugs correctly. I'm praying it's just allergies - how sad is that? Either way, she is responding to Bactrum. That is good. Just frustrating we have to go tot hat level.

My poor maddy.

What the heck?

Maddy can count to 10. That's all I have.

Swimming

Tonight, Reagan got to go into the big pool and do actual laps. I couldn't believe it. She is floating and kicking on her own and learning to push off the side of the pool. She was a little hesitant in the bigger pool. I think she was a tad afraid of the deep end, but she didn't seem to phased by it all. She did great!

She was so worn out by the end of her lesson, she went right to sleep. I was amazed.

Reagan's growth spurt

Reagan looks like she has shot up in the last few weeks. We've noticed that she's eating better during the day and also resting better too. Not only that, but her legs look longer. My little girl is getting so big on me. Sniff. I'm not ready for her to grow up yet.

Still sick

Maddy is still sick. Ugh. Fourth round of antibiotics. Going back to the ENT for a culture. So done with her being sick. :(

Shapes and Colors

Maddy knows her shapes, color and is moving onto letters and numbers. Rita was right. She is exploding with abilities. She can tell us what each shape is - heart, circle, oval, octogon, triangle and square. She can tell us colors - orange, blue, purple, yellow, etc... She's working on her numbers. Tonight at dinner, she started just saying random numbers - actually counting by two's which was weird. I'm sure it was a fluke, but it was a cool fluke. Reagan would say one letter or number, and Maddy would repeat it. So cool!

Sidewalk chalk

Today was the first time both of the girls played with sidewalk chalk together. It worked out that we had two different boxes. Maddy was intrigued when I showed her what the chalk would do. It was cute. I outlined Reagan's body and feet. I did Maddy's feet a few times. Maddy mainly carried it around and messed up Reagan's stuff. Reagan actually drew some cool stuff.

Language is crazy

Maddy's language has just completely taken off. She is speaking very clearly and repeating just about every word out of my mouth. It just amazes me how much she learns every day. She can say cool things like orange, blue and purple. She can also name most of the cards in the deck. She's saying stuff like horse, apple and other words that just amaze me.

The other neat thing is that she's starting to work on her numbers and letters. She already knows her basic shapes and colors. I'm just amazed.

Reagan's prayer

Tonight, Reagan wanted to say the dinner-time prayer. She thanked God for her friends, her family, the outside and then blessed our food (and candy). I was so proud of her. She just spoke up and said "can I?" We promptly said yes.

The funny thing is Maddy is copying Reagan. She wanted to say a prayer too. It was not as clear, but she bowed her head, spoke some jibberish and then said mamen. :) Love my girls.

Swimmer girl

Reagan was amazing tonight while at swimming. She floated and kicked on her back all by herself tonight. It was just amazing. The teacher just looked over at me while she floated on by letting me know "she's doing this on her own". I got my video camera out then.

She then worked with her on turning over and swimming to the wall. That scared her a bit, but she still did fantastic. My little swimmer. :)

Leg Tunnel

Maddy has this thing about running in between my legs and running around and doing it again. She thinks it is the funniest thing. And her laugh is so intoxicating that I have to laugh right with her. Love her laugh.

Cockroach anyone?

When Jim picked Maddy up today, she was chewing on a cockroach. nice.

Preschool choir

Today was Reagan's second time singing in church. The preschool choir started this year and my little girl got in with the first group. All the kids got up on stage and realized that they were all on the big screens. The kids looked all around at the screens, but not at the teachers leading them. It was adorable.

They sang three songs and my heart was just swelling with pride. My little girl was on stage! Singing for God!

Commando

I'm guessing Maddy is close to potty trained. Today, we picked her up from the nursery around 12:00 pm with no clue that she had no diaper on. We put her in her seat and ran a few errands while she sat nicely in her seat. We got home a little before 2:00 pm. I picked her up out of her seat and walked inside. When I put her down, I felt nothing. I usually feel something on her bottom. Nope. I looked and she didn't have anything on but her dress. Whoops. What? OMG! It was complete panic time. I told Jim to put a diaper on her and ran to the car.

Potty training here we come! No mess. :)

Talking like crazy

I am really not sure who is growing more right now. Every time I turn around, both of my girls are doing something completely new. It's just crazy. Maddy is repeating just about every word out of our mouths. She doesn't stop either. She tries each one. Most of the time she gets it right and will use it again later. Sometimes she struggles - it just depends on the sound of the letters.

What's amazing is that she actually talks to us. She will say "mama" or "dada" really loud and then quietly point her finger, talk to us, nod her head and then say "okay"? Seriously. What the heck happened to my baby?

Reagan is taking more of an interest in reading and writing. Those skills are growing like crazy now. Every time I turn around, she showing off her letters, writing, drawing or wanting to read. Something clicked in her. I am just amazed every day at how much my kids grow every day. Sniff.

Taking the Photoshoot down

Maddy and Reagan had pictures at school today. We started the morning well. We got up and ready. We waited to put the matching outfits on until right before we left. We arrived and got in line. We didn't have to wait long. Maddy was a little slow to get warmed up to the idea. She wanted to hold onto her blanket and cup. She didn't really look like she wanted to participate.

With some  help from her big sister, she walked onto the white tarp that was on the ground and started posing. Perfect... or so I thought. Not soon after the first few poses, they directed her to sit down. She did. Then she started scooting. Backwards. She scooted so far back that she bumped into the backdrop, which I'm sure she though was the wall, and about took it down.

She bumped it enough that it rocked and wobbled. We all paniced. She was un-phased - if that is a word. It rocked the photo set enough that we all had to wait while they put it back together.

Oops!

After that, Maddy did well. At one point, she got her feelings hurt. I'm not even sure why. I just know that at one point she got upset and just turned away from everything and stopped. She didn't answer anyone, she didn't move. She pouted. Sigh... my sweet.

Reagan was a pro. She posed and laughed on cue. I watched her sit there so beautifully act for the ladies. She posed so well, it actually made me a bit jealous that she doesn't pose that way with me. Hmmph. Either way, she looked like she had a ton of fun doing it.

First day for Maddy

Today was Maddy's first day at her new school. At first, she was totally fine. She'd been at the school enough to get Reagan that she didn't seem nervous. Once I entered her new room and stayed for a bit, I think she started to realize that she was staying and I was leaving. She clung to me like velcro. It was amazing. I think at one point I dropped my hand and she stayed put.

As soon as I handed her over to her new teacher, she flipped out completely. Normal and totally expected.

In that whole drop off process, Reagan decided that she would just go on to her room. She didn't want to get hit by a flying object and quickly excused herself. So I piled her up with her stuff and she took off. When I went to go check on her, she was hanging up her coat by herself and proceeded to tell me that she would take care of the rest by herself.

When I went back to check on Maddy, she had settled down and was hanging out on the lap of her new teacher looking at flashcards. Ahhhh. I'm sure she saw flashcards and felt right at home. My little bookworm. :)

I went all day without calling just simply because of my schedule. When I called at 3:20pm, they said "she's doing great". She did have a bit of trouble in the morning, but recovered well and just fit right in. She didn't really need to adjust much. They said she literally fell right in step with everyone else. Nice again.

Then they asked "is she potty trained"? Nope. Well, not officially. I'm sure the other school was starting it with her. They were awesome like that and knew she was ready. So they said "just bring her in underware tomorrow and let's try it". I said, "let's let her adjust to the new space and see if she continues this change, she is very young to potty train."

Jim picked her up and said she had a great day. Nothing of note other than she poured a cup of water all over herself and she needed a new outfit for the next day. Nice again.

Energy!

Reagan always seems to have a ton of energy. She wakes up grumpy every day, but very quickly she perks up and is moving on. She  loves to jump around and play chase with Maddy. The giggling and screaming might be the best part of the day. It's so fun to watch them play. It's so cute to watch Reagan be the big sister.

Playing together

The girls have really started to play together well. Reagan still gets upset when we tell her to not be rough with her little sister, but overall she's doing so well. They really seem to enjoy each other more and more each day. Tonight, we put them both in the bath together. When getting their baths, they tend to poke at each other and have fun. Jim actually soaped Maddy's hair up so much that it stuck straight up. That just meant that Reagan wanted to mess with it.

After soaping up and rinsing off, they were able to just hang out and play. They usually start off on opposites ends of the tub and stay that way. Tonight they actually ended up on the same side of the tub playing together so nicely. Reagan has a cool boat that spits out water. They both got so involved and so excited they played well together. I just sat back and watched.

I pray they will develop a tight bond as sisters. They are just so darn fun to watch when they play.

Playing with Lights

I had a fun experiment this morning with my girls. The girls had wands that lit up and twirled around. Reagan wanted to be in a dark room to watch the lights. I ran to get my camera and started to take pictures. The shutter speed was super slow. I wasn't really sure what would turn out, but what did was pretty cool... at least for me.  I'll be she'll do that again with me.

Maddy's New Breakfast

Maddy has never been super interested in cereal each morning. That was Reagan's thing. Today I gave in and gave her a bagel with cream cheese. It was gone in 60 seconds. :)

Kindergarten or not

It's an interesting question - should we or not? First of all, we have to get her tested. I have no idea how that would turn out. Her teacher says she is more than smart enough to do it, but kids sometimes just decide they don't want to do things. She's at that age. So even if she passes, do we send her? We don't know.

The thing that frustrates me is that she's bored. She tells me that every once in a while that she's bored at school. Is she? Or is she really being silly? I wonder sometimes if she would thrive more with the structure of school. I'm not sure. I think if she had it and got the constant reinforcement, she'd love it. I watch her when I push her and she does really well.

I don't know.

Reagan and her math skills

Reagan is really working hard at her math skills and her reading. tonight, we were playing with her tag. She realized that she had only four items left to do and she had completed one. That means "there are five mommy". See, (skipping over the first one silently) here's two, three, four and this one is five, but I already did that one". Then she kept going "and if you take away the first one I already did, that means I just have four left." It made me dizzy. But she's really thinking about this stuff.

Some days she pops out with some really crazy answers.

She's also finally starting to show and interest in reading. She's been doing sight words with us for a while, but I feel like something has clicked with her in the last week. So proud of my little girl.

Reagan's swim lesson

Reagan had her second private swim lesson tonight. Her teacher is very good with her. She is very strong with her and really works with her well. I tried not to watch too much just in case I made her nervous. She was able to do so much more in a private lesson than she ever did in her entire swim course with a group. She had her gliding and floating and pushing off the wall. She held her breath under water and blew bubbles for five seconds. All so much more than we ever got her to do before. I'm hoping she will get over her fear of water on her face soon. She's doing so well. I"m so proud.

Dog Training

Maddy's new thing is training the dogs. She gives them treats and she puts them in their crates.  The newest thing is telling them to sit and stay. She says those words so well, the dogs understand her just fine. She will say sit with her little finger pointed up. And stay is with a toe raise. Too cute.

Thank You

This morning, Jim came in with Hootie and said "say thank you". It took a long time of asking, but she did finally say it. And SUPER CLEAR! She pronounced the you part so well, I almost fell over literally. My mouth dropped, Jim laughed and Hootie just smiled big. She is getting really good with her language. I'm so impressed.

Singing Songs

Maddy loves to sing songs. Whenever you start singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Head Shoulder...", she will break out the moves for those songs and just start giggling.

Tonight, I was putting her in bed and she just randomly started singing these songs herself. No, she doesn't speak clearly enough to really understand what she is saying. The combination of the motions and the songs she sings is enough for me. Love her!

Reagan's imagination

She cracks me up. Sometimes she really reminds me of things I used to do. Tonight, Reagan decided to put her little play plastic doggies (from a barbie thing) into some water. When Jim wouldn't let her play with it in the living room, I suggested she go into the bathroom. She did.

I have no idea what she did, but she asked for many supplies at different times during the playtime. She asked for a boat (for the dogs), a rower thingy and some other stuff.

She played for at least thirty minutes in this bathroom. I went in later to use it and realized her stuff was still floating in the sink. I left it there. :)

Talking and climbing

Maddy is so talkative all the time now. It is getting easier to understand her every day. She walks around and talks to you in her sometimes jibberish and sometimes real words and it's real conversation to her. Real words. It's funny. I actually understand her most of the time.

Tonight, she was playing with me and my mom. She'd go into the kitchen and climb up on the stool. She'd play with the lights (we'd say on or off) and she'd giggle. She'd get down and run over to us in the living room. Then she'd talk to us about whatever she had in her hand and take off again. When she runs, her arms go out to the side, her chin gets tucked in and she waggles fast. So funny.

At one point, she walked over to the place where we keep her books and she called out to me "mama!!!!!!". I looked up and answered her "what?" She pointed at the books and said "booookkkkkk?" I said okay baby and got up to go read with her. She pulled out her books and we started reading them. Way to cute.

Maddy likes to eat

... but only fruit and cheese.

Climbing again

Tonight, she didn't just climb up the ladder on the neighbor's play set, but she also went up the "rock wall". She climbed up the stairs and green things on that until she reached the top. Are you kidding?

My monkey

Tonight, Maddy decided to scare the tar out of me. We were outside with the boys next door playing on the playset they have. I was talking with the neighbor and Jim called to show me what Maddy was doing. She was climbing up the ladder by herself and walking across the platform to the slide, then sliding down. Gulp.  It was about 10 rungs up a wooden ladder.

I can't believe I actually didn't completely flip out. Not only could she do it, she could do it well. Holy cow - really!?

I watched this over and over then I finally had to go get my camera to prove it to myself later. I can't believe she can do that.

No bottle tonight

No bottle for Maddy tonight. It was weird. She did want a snack at 8:30 pm. I was grateful because it made me more confident that she might be okay with out. We had started blending book time with Reagan. That routine went into action last night. We read books together. Reagan did her Tag while I put Maddy in bed.

I read another book to Reagan, sang one song, snuggled for a few minutes and put her down.

She fussed a bit, but fell right to sleep.

Yea Maddy!

Time to visit

Tonight, Maddy and Reagan wanted to go visit Mimi and Papa. Jim had taken the Maddy outside and they were calling to them down at their house. They could hear her all the way there. So Jim decided to take a walk and we just went along.

While we were there, Maddy walked around and talked to us about what she was looking at. She'd lean in and point at things like flowers and bushes and tell me what they were. She walked around and just talked the whole time. She was so busy. 

Reagan is playing dolls

It is so cute to watch Reagan's imagination. She started drawing today in the basement. Then she grabbed her Barbie and just started playing. Next thing I knew, I heard her saying "it's okay, mama's gotcha". Ha! That's what I say. :) She was tucking her baby into bed. Actually, she had colored a piece of paper front and back and wrapped it around the barbie doll. Then she glued it shut with a glue stick. Even cuter.

Now she is waiting for her doll to wake up from a nap by eating her peanut butter sandwich.

Should I go wake Maddy up now?

Maddy is tired

Tonight, we went to Mimi and Papa's house. We ate dinner, fixed their electronics and let the kids play endlessly. About 8:45 pm, Maddy started walking around saying "nigh nigh". She was tired. She had done so well. We played hard (or they did). When we didn't leave, she walked over to Mimi and said "bye bye" and waved at her. Then she walked over to the door and started knocking and started that routine all over again.

We did get her coat on. Normally she fights up, but I think because she wanted to go to bed, she was ready to do whatever. She was done and her clock told her so.

Needless to say, we got on our merry way. Jim put Maddy in the car. I wrangled Reagan into the car. They both fell asleep fairly easily. :) Yea team!

Maddy ate dog food

I didn't know that Maddy could open the dog food storage bin. Apparently she can. This morning, she opened it right after I closed it and put some in her mouth. I gave her some milk to wash it down.

GIrls

Maddy is up. Reagan is not. I'm wondering how long to let her sleep. I'm hoping her leg looks a lot better, but I'm guessing it won't.

Meanwhile, I guess it's me and the hootie-hoo girl. :)

Day One!

Today is the day that I start prepping for my new job. That means that I have to start getting up earlier and working out before the girls wake up. I'm hoping to get into that pattern over the next few days so that we I have to do it for real that it doesn't shock my system too much.

Today - INSANITY! 6:15 am.

Now - Recovery drink... waiting for the girls to wake up.

My girls

Today I spent the whole day with my girls. Reagan and I spent the day together hanging out because she was sick. We picked Maddy up a tad early and we grabbed some dinner and went home We played all evening. After dinner, Reagan chased Maddy around. The two of them were giggling and screaming for about 30 minutes before I had to put some noise control in. They were having fun.

We went to the basement. Maddy and I did books. Reagan did her puzzle for a while. Eventually, they played together again. After a while, Maddy decided to test my ability to not throw up - she climbed the stairs over and over again. Ugh. I finally got my camera out and recorded the whole thing. She wanted to walk down the steps, not slide or go on her belly. Wow, that about made me sick. I had to coax her to do it. Then she'd give me this look like "Yea right mama" and she'd stand up and dance. Wow.

The evening was great. We had a great time.

Chicken pox? Really?

Over the last week, I've noticed that Maddy had bumps on her booty. By Monday, they had multiplied enough that I thought it was best to take her to the doctor. The report was that she had a skin infection and we should treat it with an antibiotic ointment for 10 days. Okay. Easy enough.

Tuesday, Reagan woke up and told me that she had bumps on her leg and belly. Nice. I didn't worry too much because I thought it was the same stuff.

One Wednesday, her bumps had multiplied as well and I decided to just check since they were a tad different. Well, the doctor wasn't sure until he looked at her leg. There were three bumps, all in a straight line, very distinctive. Apparently chicken pox marks. He then said that his bet was the Maddy actually had it as well, but she was probably fine at this point.  Awesome!

So both of my girls, although vaccinate (Reagan twice) had post-vaccination chicken pox. There are no true signs other than bumps and pimples and other non-descript bumps. There can be, on occasion, normal pox marks which Reagan may have. So for precaution, she has to stay home until no new ones form.

Now what?

My daughter can read!

Today, Reagan stayed home sick with chicken pox. So I decided that she wold still have a structured day similar to her school environment.  We would do reading, play, lunch and whatever else, but wanted to still take the time to work with her on her reading.

We pulled out her sight word pack and went through it. It was about 20 sheets long (about 5 words each until you get to the end). After a while, she got antsy. She was done focusing. So I gave her the packet and said "read it to me".

She did! Thirteen words.

"Who is that? That is the princess. She is back at the castle."

Happy Leap Year 2012!

Such a rare day. I noticed it this morning when signing the papers at the doctor's office. Wow. I have to do something cool today.


Oh yea, stay home with my daughter. Chicken Pox!

Butterfly?

New cool words from the Maddy girl...
butterfly - bubbufffff
door - door (actually says it right)
doctor - docrrrrr
Jordan - Jooojoooo
Reagan - raaaa yaa
Mimi - mama
Mom - mama

Drinking from a cup

Rita has been telling us for a while that Maddy can drink from a cup. Every once in a while, we give her a cup and she spills it more than she drinks it. But tonight, we gave it to her and she drank from it and well. I was amazed. We all laughed and cheered. Then she did it again and she spilled it down the front of her. We felt so bad that we reacted that way. That made her pout. She stuck her lip out and was looking all around. After a bit of the lip going in and out, she went into full fledged crying.

We all felt so bad for her. Poor thing just wanted to show off. I love her.

Mama's girl

Tonight, when Jim asked Maddy who she wanted to put her in bed, she pointed at me and said "mama". :) he heeee Every time we asked, she would lean towards me and say "mama".

He heee

Pub mix and the tent

For some reason, Maddy loves "Pub mix" and the pink tent. She will go into the kitchen and pull the Pub mix container out of  the cabinet and carry it to me. Then she will set it down and start pointing at it and making "that" noise. Once she gets some, she giggles, runs and then hides in the tent until she needs more. Odd. Very Odd.

Air quotes

She did air quotes... really!?

Odd thing

I want to know why Maddy has a thing for my slicky underware. She goes into my closet and opens the drawer and just dives in. I don't get it. Then she will walk around snuggling my underwear until I pry it away from her. That is the point that she cries a lot. I don't get it.

Reagan's tired?

She doesn't like to sleep. She doesn't like to nap and she doesn't like to get out of bed. Today, I asked her if she wanted to go to the park. She said "whoooopppie" and ran to the steps - she knew we had to get dressed. We got upstairs and she said "momma, I'm tired. I want to take a cat nap." ???? What? A nap. Those words don't come out of her mouth ever.

She did. She sat up in her room and got her quiet time. She read a few books and came out dressed ready to go.

Is she getting sick?

Car?

This morning, I was holding Maddy up to Reagan's window watching life outside. Along came a car. Very quickly and quietly, Maddy said "caaa? Caaaaa" She pointed. Yes, there was a car. Yea Maddy. We saw a lot of cars this morning.

Rash?

Maddy has had a rash now for three days. It's gotten worse since last night, but she still doesn't have a fever. What gives with this kid!?

Principal's office already

Reagan got sent to the office again today. Once in Pre-K1 for not napping and disrupting (at my suggestion) and now in Pre-K2 (again at my suggestion). She cried, but then smiled. She doesn't really get in trouble because she isn't hurting anyone or anything. She just gets so inside her own head that she doesn't listen. Hmmm.

I have been struggling with her new sense of self since she turned four. She is a strong, stubborn, smart little kid. She has my way of dealing with "stressful" things and things she doesn't like. She smiles. My mom laughed when I told her what she'd do. She said "that's you my dear" with a pleasant little smile. He heeee.

Maddy's vocabulary

Is crazy! She is popping out new words on a regular basis.
The newest ones are: car, dog, cat, book, bed and this. She tries to say thank you. But that one is still more of a mumble.  She recognizes most of the animals and things in the picture book she has.

I can't stop being amazed at how she is growing. It is like she just took off in recent weeks. I feel like something clicked with her and she is just moving fast.

Silly girl

Tonight, Maddy was in a funny mood. Every once in a while, she will get her soft rainbow ball and carry it around in her mouth for fun. I think she mimics the dogs a bit. :) Anyway, tonight she had gotten it out of the drawer and decided to run around with it in her mouth. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. She run over to you and stick her neck out as if to tease you with the ball (like the dogs do). Then if you didn't bite the ball and play tug-o-war with her, she'd grunt a bit (like the dogs do).

So I started playing her game. She'd hold on and I'd hold on and she would giggle so hard it would make me laugh. My mom actually got a funny picture of this happening. Ha ha! I love how silly Maddy is.

Words from the week and new stuff

So the latest words she's been trying are:
heart (haart)
all meals = lunnn
penguin (pengwui)
shoes (shuusss)
socks (suxxx)
bye
love you (luuu uuu)
Reagan (ra ra)

 

She's also getting really good at all the body parts. She's known the basics, but now knows where her belly, bottom and hair are. Interesting.

She is really good at following instructions. When I say "it's time to go" she will literally run to the garage door and smack it.  She is also very particular about her dogs. She is very protective. But she also loves to climb on them and just in general snuggle on them.

Things she hates:
Taking her out of the bath too soon
Taking her away from her books
any type of yelling or screaming
any discipline towards her doggies

Favorite shows (I know I'm bad for letting her watch this early)
Mickey Mouse and Jake

The water is ON?

This morning, like other mornings, I needed to use the restroom before taking the kids to school. Maddy and I went into the master bath and I put a stool in front of my sink, a toy in front of Jim's sink to prevent her from getting into the drawers. I then pulled out her toys and went into the water closet. :) She and I played. She played with the toys. She came over and shut the door. We laughed and I opened the door.

After a little while of playing, she shut the door again. Ha ha I thought. How cute! The next thing I knew, the water was running. WHAT!? The water. I swung open the door (from a seated position) and there she was - up on the second step of the stool, soap in hand and looking back at me like "hi mom" with a HUGE grin on her face.

That a was a moment that I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I was a tad "busy" but she was totally in an unsafe place. In that same moment that I was thinking about what to do, she reached over and picked up my electric tooth brush and it's holder, which was plugged in. Decision made - GET UP!

I did get up. Neither one of us was happy. I personally found it hilarious that she did that at that moment. She amazes me every day at the things she does.

Note to self: don't use a stool to protect. HA!

Slide

Reagan loves to pretend. That isn't particularily unusual for a child, but her mind just cracks me up. I love watching what she will come up with next. Tonight, in her room, she made a slide. Out of what you might ask? A blanket. Hmmm. She actually tried to slide down it and convinced me that she did.

Get off Mommy

Tonight, I was giving Maddy a bath and she bonked her head on the faucet. I naturally put my hand there while she was bending down just in case she did it again. Apparently that was not what I was supposed to do.  While she was squatting down, she shot me a look like "no mommy". Very not happy. :)

She reached up and smacked my hand. When I didn't move it, she said "noooooo" and looked at me. He heee. I giggled.

Breakfast time

Maddy has decided in the last few days that she will eat breakfast like Reagan. She is starting to copy what Reagan does more and more. This will make the transition from bottle to food much easier I think.

It's too cute. Reagan got her own cereal and sat down nicely. Maddy went over to her chair and started fussing. I said, "do you want to eat cereal like Reagan". She said "yes" and pointed upwards toward the booster seat. Okay. Nice.

I sat her down next to Reagan. They looked over at each other and smiled. Maddy literally copied Reagan the whole time. It was just adorable. Sigh, they are both growing up.

I love my sister

Reagan and Maddy are starting to click together more and more. I think as Maddy gets older, she is able to do more and Reagan is starting to enjoy her more. They both get territorial about their stuff. I've had to ask Reagan to be patient. She is, but sometimes she gets frustrated. She's doing well.

The best part is watching them snuggle. Maddy will go over to her and just lay her head down on her tummy or shoulder and just love on her. She willingly gives her kisses and hugs. It is way too cute. Reagan will bring Hootie things when she is crying and try to help her a lot.

I love watching them grow up.

Carrying stuff around

Maddy loves to carry stuff around. She always has something in her hand or tucked under her arm. It doesn't really seem to matter what it is, just something.

Tonight, she decided that she wanted the HUGE blanket from the basement. She carried it around all Monday evening with her in the basement. When it was time to go up, she was walking towards the stairs with the huge thing trailing behind her. She carried that all the way up and held it during her bottle. What a hoot.

Maddy wiggles

Maddy's got back. :) Ha! She waggles her rear-end when she dances. She is a dancing queen. Man. Anytime she hears a little music, she just starts kicking up her heels and waggling her booty. Then she starts waving her arms and twirling. It is so fun to watch her go.

Reagan - my model

Today, Reagan embraced my crazy desire to take her photo. She posed so nicely and not nicely in her pretty purple dress in the perfection of the sunlight for me. When she got tired of me posing her inside, she took me outside with a container of bubbles and just played. I got some awesome pictures of her. Once she started playing, she was fine. She even got to the point that she let me just sit there and click away.

My little angel of life. So girly today. So sweet. So crazy. I love her. Thank you for posing sweet!

Words

Maddy said breakfast this morning. Really?

A few others that she is working on a bit more are circle, lunch, dog, shoes, fish, socks, miscellaneous body parts and yellow. love it.

Her doggies

This morning, Carson would not leave the bathroom. He only does this stuff when "the boomies" are about, but this morning there were none. And, just for the record, that drives me completely insane. I can't close the door which means kids can be chaotic in my room. Sigh...

So after a ton of coaxing, I had to pull him out of the bathroom.

This troubled the little Maddy a bit and she let me know.

Next was the bedroom. He just flat out would not leave. Hmmm.
So I went to my last resort of pulling him out again. This angered Maddy and she told me so. She screamed at me and immediately started crying. It was awful. I was shocked.

Not only did it make me stop, it made me realize how much she was connected to them and how much she loved them. Wow.

I stopped and he left. Nice.

Back to the doctor

I took Maddy back to the doctor today. The good news is that her lungs sounded okay. He said there was a bit of a squeak, but didn't sound too troubling. He felt she was on the road to recovery.

The bad news is she got an inhaler. Nice. She may not like that. We will see how she handles it.

He said she wasn't contagious at this point, but still watch her breating for any signs of distress. This was nothing to fool around with. Again, nice. :(

Reagan is pretending

Reagan's level of pretending has gone up a level. She really has embraced the Barbie element in her play and has started to make up her own games and jokes. I love watching her imagination at work.

Tonight, she made up this game with a bunch of Maddy's toys. It was called the Name game. I have no idea what we were supposed to do. She pretty much made it up as she went. But I had to just sit back and enjoy the ride. She just gets into it.

My parents came up and got swooped in as well. My dad and I played with her for a while. I wish I would have taken a picture of "the board". I did not. Maybe I can set it up again.

None the less, my little girl is expanding her brain and creativity.

Pills

Train your kids early on how to take pills. Tonight, I had to basically shove two pills from the first day of the zpack and yell at Jordan to swallow her pills. She has a huge mental block against pills for some reason. But I really didn't have a whole lot of patience for it.

After the whole thing, she hugged me a lot and told me how much she loved me. I thought that was worth mentioning considering how much a forcefully spoke to her and crammed food down her throat.

We tried water tricks, pudding, jello. The final thing that worked was jello. I put so much in her mouth she had to swallow it. She did eventually, but not before we had a volcano eruption of water (and jello), spewing of water and other things during the course of the event. I told her to think about her favorite things, including the possibility of kissing a boy. I believe that was the comment that made her like a volcano.  I also tried having her hold the spoon in her mouth to make her swallow (basically blocking her tongue from reacting). That didn't even work.

In the end, all is well. Jim is not too upset about my tactics.

She swallowed two pills.

Tomorrow, we have one more. :)

Moving furniture

Maddy loves to move things around. It doesn't really seem to matter how heavy the object is, she will find a way to move it. If it is light enough, she will pick it up and carry it somewhere, like her giraffe chair. If it is too heavy to carry, she will shove it as far as she can, like the kitchen chairs.

We're home again

Today we are home again. Maddy's cough is better, but I really still want to watch her. We visited Papa on the way home from dropping off Reagan. We did circle time. Now she is playing with her weebles. I just love watching her play. I think I'll be starting work soon, so I am grateful that I can just hang out with her.

I think a walk is in our future today.

Pneumonia is awful

I can't stand watching her be this sick. Ear infections, colds and scrapes are so easy compared to this. I hate watching her cough so much that it hurts. I actually wonder what she might cough up. I put her down for a nap today and she initially fell asleep. Once that happened, she almost popped her eyes open as fast and started babbling.

I put her down finally and thought she might just settle down on her own. It took her almost an hour, but she did. She woke up about an hour later coughing like crazy. She just couldn't stop. She eventually was coughing so much that she was almost choking.

When I got upstairs, she was on all fours, coughing and crying. My heart just hurt. She looked up at me like "mama help me" and all I could do was help her. She was so pitiful. So tired. So scared.

She seems to be doing better tonight. She is coughing, but it seems to be much better. Jim gave her a menthol bath and put the sudecare stuff in her room as well. We're hoping that really helps her breathing open up.

Prayers are being said. I know she will be okay, but it still is scary and sad to watch. I feel helpless.

Words like crazy

Maddy is popping out with new words today. They aren't super clear, but you can tell what she is saying.  She actually answered Jim "yes" tonight at dinner. He said "do you want the tomatoes" and she said "yeshhh" and shook her head up and down. We were amazed. She's been putting actions and words together much better too.

Oh, and her favorite word is Nooooooo.

Circle time

Maddy and I did circle time today. She still likes to do her "school schedule". It's cute.
I went through the animal cards and was pretty impressed with which ones she knew and some of their sounds.

She does the monkey motion; the cow, horse and elephant sounds and knows a bunch more. Love it.

Don't pick me up

For the last month, Reagan has been very strange about getting picked up early. We've noticed a bunch of behavior changes in her lately, but the one isone that I've had to manage differently. She doesn't want me to pick her up until the school closes basically. She doesn't want to be the first one to leave. She wants to be the last.

She has also started to not want anyone to leave at all. I have no idea why either. Is it because of the Christmas break - all the family and then none? I don't know.

I've started picking her up about 5:40 pm on most nights so she can play as long as she can. She enjoys it and seems to do better with me. We'll see how this works when I go back to work.

Pneumonia and circles

We took her to the doctor today to just make sure her lungs were still clear. She has been coughing more since finishing the zpack. I was right. :( She has pneumonia. And she said circle for the first time. Wow!

Eeeeeee

Maddy is extremely expressive and LOUD! She loves to scream and make tons of noise - especially sudden loud ones (that sound like shrills). It seems to be her way to get her point across. I'm not sure why, but it just gets the whole room going.

Her whole body actually gets into it. She will have her arms at a 90 degree angle, stand up on her tippy toes and shake her fists at the same time. Just such reinforcement.

Once she gets going, Reagan will inevitability join in as well. The two of them will play chase for a long time screaming the whole time.

Climbing over the dogs

Maddy has always loved the dogs. Lately, she's started loving on them and also climbing over them. Sydney will be laying on the ground and Maddy will crawl over her multiple times like a jungle gym. It's hilarious. She'll do it with either dog and neither one of them seems to mind too much.

Lovey

Maddy and Reagan love each other. Maddy loves to go up to Reagan when she's on the floor and just lean on her and give her kisses. Reagan lets her. It's cute.

Finding her motivation

Reagan's teacher found her motivation yesterday. She was asked to do some writing and just didn't want to "finish" her work. So her teacher said "well, we are going to make princess wands after writing. So if you want to do a wand, you have to finish your writing".

She told me this morning that it took Reagan 90 seconds to finish her work. He hee.

Cavities, oh no

Reagan got her cavities filled today. She doesn't like to be warned about stuff - she does much better when you just say "hey girl, this is what we are doing". If she gets too much information about something tough too early, she will sit on it and process it for way too long. Just like her mama.

So this morning I said (on the way to the dentist) "honey, we're going to the doctor to get your teeth fixed." She said "yea yea mama, just turn on the tv". Literally. I was getting ready to explain it to her. She was not at all interested. Okay...

The doctor and nurse were great with her. She was fine. They turned on Disney and put the mask and glasses on her. They numbed her up, she didn't even flinch. The only time she got frustrated was when they forced her mouth open for a period of time to fill the teeth. That hurt her, not the shot or the drilling. Wow.

Needless to say, I felt horrible. But it was kinda cool getting to see what they do to fix a tooth. She was numb for a while. I asked her if she wanted to go home or Starbucks. My girl chose Starbucks. *grin* We stopped by Kroger to get her some advil to prevent pain. She said "mama, it already hurts. but I'm okay."

Geez. Love her. She got four prizes for three cavities. I bought her four toothbrushes and promised a toy from the toy store after school. Sigh...

Maddy and books

Maddy, in the morning, sits down in the corner and reads books. She will pull them out one by one and look through them pointing at different ones. She will even talk about the things she is pointing at. Then she will, as systematically as she took them out, put them all back and get up. I guess that is her reading time.

Maddy and the battery

Maddy dug into the utility drawer in the kitchen today and pulled out two batteries - a C and a 9volt. He hee. She played with them both equally for a bit. She kept putting them in her mouth. After a while, the C battery was put down and she started walking around with just the 9volt. The best part was that she was giggling.

I started watching her. Apparently she was putting the two sides of the battery to her tongue and was getting a shock. She'd look up like - wooooo and then just giggle.  Eventually she brought it to me.

Maddy talking

Maddy just tried to say blue and purple. She held up a card with a blue triangle on it and said "boooooo" and then held up a card with a purple triangle and said "do dllllll". He heee

Giggle fest and 15-month visit

So today, I took Maddy for her 15-month appointment. She does not do well with shots. Today she was going to get shots. Uh oh. :) We got through the appointment. She's great. The doctor said she was doing well - height, weight, milestones etc... Before the shots came, she already started crying. Ugh. She had such a fit that the nurse and I couldn't help but giggle. She just got so worked up that I didn't know what else to do. I felt so horrible.

So by contrast - I picked her up today after school and she was giggling. Amber said that she had giggled all day. They didn't know why, but at times she would just burst out laughing for now apparent reason. Okay. How funny. She's continued that all night and I've laughed right along with her.