I think we have weaned

This morning after Maddyson's 5 minute feeding I decided that we are probably done with breastfeeding. At 1 year 2 weeks - She will be fine with it. The question is, will I? I had a little cry, and Steve was there to comfort me. I did want that little bit of freedom back (I want to be back on my regular pill) so this will be good. It's a little sad to think that that part of our relationship is closed, but I truly enjoyed it and am so grateful that we stuck with it for so long. It's good to know that I will have the opportunity to breastfeed again with our next child. Our baby girl is growing.

Is It June Yet?

I am so ready to be done with this school year. I'm ready to go back to kindergarten. My 2nd and 3rd graders this year are pretty good kids, but teaching two grade levels is just way too much work. I think I truly was meant to teach the peanuts. Hopefully next year I'll be back where I want to be.

Maddyson is 1 Year Old!

Maddy is now one. We celebrated her birthday by taking her to JC Penneys to have her 1 year portrait taken. She wore a red outfit that we bought in Chinatown in Chicago last summer. It fit pretty well considering that we had to predict what size she would be in 5 months before we wanted her to wear it.

That afternoon we took her to see all the grandparents so that they could see her in her outfit and wish her a Happy Birthday. We actually almost forgot to give her a card and gift, but we made time for it before we put her to bed. She got a big box of Legos of course (my favorite). Every toddler/child needs Legos.

We can't believe how fast her first year has gone. We are so fortunate to have our Maddyson.

1st Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Maddy's 1st birthday with family and friends. Gold Rush chicken, cake and gifts. Maddy enjoyed herself and was in bed by 6:50 without a peep, which is quite early for her. She loved her piece of birthday cake. I made a white cake with pink vanilla frosting. I gave Maddy her piece on her tray, and she just dug right in. It was all over her face, clothes and hair. But it was fun to watch.

I can't believe that she is already one year old. And what a year it's been. We are so blessed to have her.

Whining

Maddy spent a good part of the weekend whining. I think her teeth might be bothering her. I don't know what else it could be. She is completely content when she's eating. She's been a bottomless pit lately.

On Saturday we went to Mayfair to buy Maddy her first pair of good shoes from Strite Rite. They're cruisers since she's not quite walking yet. $40 but well worth it for her ankles and feet. They said we'd be back in 2 to 4 months for her next pair.

Afterwards, we went to Boston Market for dinner. It's been a while since we've eaten there. Maddy enjoyed the mashed potatoes, chicken and green beans. She's such a good girl when we're out and about.

The End of 2004 is Already Here.

So we finally made plans for New Year's Eve - yesterday. We're going to dinner with friends, Liz and Abdul which is nice because we don't get to see them as often as we'd like to. My parents are watching both Maddy and Nate. Last year for New Year's (and 8 months pregnant) we went to my parents to snack on foods and play board games. The year before we celebrated on a Miami beach, sipping beer under fireworks. At least we're mixing it up!

Maddy is Officially Bigger Than Jackson

Now I think I've got the hang of it! This pic. was too cute. Maddy and Jack looking out the window together at Steve. She's already wearing 18 month clothes! This outift was given to her by her cousin Zachary. It has hearts on the front of it. Too cute.

Posting a Picture for the First Time!

Maddyson on her first Christmas Eve.

Once Again, Christmas Has Come and Gone

But I'm o.k. with it. We had a nice time with both sides of the family. Maddyson was great, going for three days straight and barely skipping a beat. Now I'm just trying to enjoy my week off. Lunch with Tracy yesterday, lunch with Steve's family today, movie with Rebecca tomorrow and then Wave game and dinner on New Year's Eve. I haven't stressed myself with housework or schoolwork. Not going to. Nope. Well, I might just make sure the bathroom, Maddy's room and our room are cleaned before I go back to work on Monday. But that's it!

Christmas cards - not what they used to be

My Christmas cards are not what they used to be. A few years ago when I first had my own address and decided to send out a stack of cards to my beloved family and friends, I took the time to write a quick note to each person. Then last year we decided to take the photo card route and had a picture of Jackson with reindeer antlers. I simply signed them. This year we have a new model to photograph and a much easier *lazier* (more expensive) way to show we are thinking of the aforementioned beloved. A pic. of Maddy and a preprinted message that includes our names. All I had to do was lick the envelopes. I call this the working mom Christmas card.

Hi

Maddy is just too cute. Lately whenever I pick up the phone, she says hi, hi, hi, hi over and over again. Tonight when I was on the phone with my parents, Maddy wanted to say hi so I put the phone up to her ear. She is still confused about why she can hear grandma and grandpa's voices coming from that little gray thing that she likes to chew on, but on cue she said hi. Then I noticed (while I was still on the phone with my mom) that Maddy was putting her hand up to her ear and saying hi so I pulled out her little red phone rattle that she's had since she was a newborn. Now we can play telephone with that. Can't believe she's already participating in symbolic play with her hand and an imaginary telephone!

I Am Thankful For...

our girl. We are so blessed to have Maddyson in our lives. We thank God for her every day. In church this morning, we were asked to think about the things that we are thankful for from the past year. Maddyson was the first thing that we thought of, of course.

Maddy is now pulling up onto everything. She also likes playing with doors - closing them and opening them and so on. We have taught her how to blow kisses. It's cute if you can get her to do it. Whole fist in mouth plus sound to mimic mom and dad's kiss sound. Too cute. So we've established that she's trainable. ;)

Our girl.

Happy Halloween

We made it through Maddy's first Halloween. She wasn't real impressed with her costume - I think it was either supposed to be Winnie the Pooh or a Hunny Pot. Either way it was cute and best of all - FREE. A mom at school gave it to me. She bought it on clearance last year at the Disney Store.

After Maddy's nap which, by the way, was cut short by a little kid screaming into the house "TRICK OR TREAT!", we took her over to my parent's for pictures with Nate and his green frog costume. He was cute and considerably happier than Maddy. She wanted out of that costume fast. She just sat there, grumpy. And when she tried to move, she didn't get very far. Everyone had their fun watching her in her misery and then I took her out of her Hunny pot so she could play. Too bad we had to put it back on her when it was time to go because we didn't bring any other coat for the ride home.

Love My Weekends

It is so difficult for me to go back to work on Monday mornings. I miss Maddy so much after spending all weekend with her. I just cherish that time. For the past month and a half we've been going to swim class on Saturday mornings. Our last class is next Saturday which is nice because now that the days are cooler, I want to just stay in our cozy little house with her on Sat. mornings and just snuggle up.

This weekend we went Christmas shopping for the first time as parents. Maddy came with us, of course, but I kept telling her to close her eyes. We bought her a wagon, an infant sled that you pull, a Fisher Price doll house (girl stuff, yay!), and some Duplos (one of her birthday presents). We also bought Nate a truck and the Fisher Price farm set. That was also our first time shopping at Farm and Fleet, but they had all their toys on sale so I couldn't resist. I'm still looking for a doll, an xylophone and a Leap Frog toy.

Today we took Maddy to Swan's Pumpkin Farm. I really just wanted to go for the photo opp. We sat her in the middle of a pumpkin patch and I snapped away while Steve recorded the event on film. New parents over here! Maddy had a good time taking in all the sights. We picked two pumpkins - one for Maddy and one for Daddy. Steve's was 35 pounds. Carving night should be interesting.

Alas, the weekend is over. We're getting ready for bed, and I find myself looking forward to the morning when Maddy wakes up and smiles at me when I go into her room to get her. That hour that I get to spend with her at the beginning of our day really does get me through to the evening.

I Miss Kindergarten

I am definitely not a second grade teacher. I am definitely not a third grade teacher. I miss kindergarten. I miss zippers and shoelaces and buttons. I miss it even more after visiting another school that has adopted the Reggio Amelia philosophy in their early childhood program. I love Reggio, and wish I were teaching a K grade so I could really get into it. Someday.

Maddy's Crawling

I barely have time to check my e-mail these days let alone blog, but I needed to record that Maddy has started to crawl. She did it last Thursday night (Sept. 30th) on her bedroom rug. When Steve came home she crawled over to him while he knelt down in her doorway. I almost cried. Then by the weekend she already had the hang of it on the slippery hardwood floors. Her crawl is so cute. Her body switches from side to side as she slaps each little hand down on the floor. She still seems so tiny. A whole new world has opened up for her, and now a new level of worries for me. Although, Jack usually keeps our floors free of any tiny debris that might seem attractive to our babe.

Now I Get It

So it took a 9 month pregnancy, 12 hours of labor and me becoming a mom for me to finally realize why the previous owner had a lock on the door that leads to the basement of our house. I originally thought it was so that they could lock their kid down in the basement. I didn't really think that was what they did, but couldn't understand the need to lock a basement door that lead to nothing but a basement. And then it hit me...........seriously only like a week ago.............the lock was probably to keep small children from opening the door and teetering at the top of a very steep and dangerous staircase. The lock is long gone so now we will be buying one and installing it very soon. Good thing I figured this one out.

Maddy Wants to Blog

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More Firsts

Maddy has a tooth! My mom found it today while she was babysitting. When I came home from work, Steve told me to feel Maddy's lower gum. And sure enough, I could feel her first little tooth. I don't even recall it being a problem for her. We haven't even bought Oral Gel yet. She did wake up twice this week at about 9:00 p.m., and I thought it might have had something to do with teething, but she was easily soothed so it didn't seem like she was in any pain. They say it's easier for some kids. But this is still just the beginning.

She also stood up by herself this week - for a brief moment. She was sitting in the laundry basket while I was folding clothes. When the basket was finally empty she put her hands on the side and pulled herself up to her feet. She was trying to get to Jackson. I couldn't believe it. Of course it happened so fast, there is no picture. Next time.

Shopping Carts

Steve is coaching at a soccer tournament in Madison. He's been gone since Saturday morning. It was just Maddyson, Jackson and me this weekend. We had Maddy's swim class yesterday. As soon as we get into the water, she's thrilled. Her eyes get real big and she just wants to move around under the water. Nathan is really liking it too. Kollette was floating him around on his belly, and he was actually moving his arms and legs like he was swimming!

One of my goals this weekend was to try the new dollar stores that are in our neighborhood in search of things for my classroom. Last night after I fed Maddy we went to the one in St. Francis. Steve accidentally took the baby carrier with him to Madison so I couldn't use that to go shopping with which is our normal way of doing things. So I had to try her in the shopping cart. I knew they'd be smaller at the dollar store than the big honking ones that they have at Pick 'N Save. I put Maddy in, and she seemed o.k. She liked being pushed around the store. She sat there so nicely trying to take everything in as usual. Then this morning I thought we'd visit the other new dollar store (this one's by Target). The shopping carts at this store had little seat belts. Maddyson showed her excitement by yelling and bouncing through most of the store.