The Zoo

So a few weeks ago, after the 100 degree heat but before the highs in the 50's like today (yes all you Georgia folks can be jealous), we took Maddie to the zoo. It's hard to believe how much she has grown since our last visit last summer.




One of the first animals we saw were the "monkeys"


Saying "bye, bye monkey"


Then on to the ducks (lots of pointing all day)




and finally, what we had been waiting all day for, the loin house. Maddie LOVED it! The smaller animals were "kitty, kitties" and they said "meow"


But this was by far the star of the day. She was sitting atop a rock in the cage just roaring over and over again. It was so cute, Maddie roared right back at her every time.


Unfortunately there were a lot of people around her so we didn't get any good pictures with her and Maddie. We actually did get many good pictures at all! It is so tough to get a toddler to sit still and look at a camera, y'all. Especially when there were all the awesome animals to look at. We are definitely looking forward to taking her back to Zoo Lights this winter.

A New Perspective

I finally broke down and turned Maddie's car seat around. I've been considering it for a while but just wasn't quite ready yet. As you can see from the above picture she loved it! She's always enjoyed looking out the window and I'm sure she will enjoy it even more now. I've now just got to break the habit of looking into the rear view mirror to see her reflection in the back seat mirror.

6 weeks!!!

Has it really been that long since I blogged?! Sorry folks for slacking off the last few weeks. We have been super busy with wedding planning though and have finally gotten all the invitations out and will have the rehearsal dinner invites done by Monday. We also went yesterday for our cake tasting (yummy!) and decided on the flavors and style for our cake. It's hard to believe we only have about six weeks left until the wedding!

I also can't believe what a "little Girl" Maddie is these days! I think she learns a new word almost everyday and her favorite one recently is "NO". As much as we tried to keep from using this with her a lot I think she learned it from daycare and now says it all the time. Other new ones are "yey-yow" yellow, "burpurl" purple, "melmo" both elmo and nemo, "wa wa" water. And she is now starting to form short sentences too.

We've also had some successes on the eating front. The other night at home she had a few brussel sprouts and pieces of grilled chicken off my plate. We went out to eat last night and Maddie enjoyed some pasta in a lemon butter sauce. (and the kid also ate grilled calamari but wouldn't touch the potatoes, go figure!) She is fiercely independent when it come to feeding herself which usually makes quiet a mess. And then she also doesn't like to have her hands be dirty and prefers to have her own napkin to wipe them off.




Here she is enjoying blueberries and tea in a rare moment when Pepper was not home and she could site on the floor and eat without worrying about losing her snack.

Hold The Phone

Yes, this is a picture of my child eating asparagus! ASPARAGUS PEOPLE! A green vegetable! And she ate them willing off my plate. Granted she only ate half of about 4 stems but still - a green vegetable. I'm going to call this a success!

What's New Around Here

1. New Friends



This is our friend's new daughter, Naomi, and Maddie was just a tad bit obsessed with her. When we moved the baby off her lap she held her hands up and whined until we put her back for a few more minutes. Since Maddie has been around her younger cousin 2 days a week she is very gentle with babies and likes to "pet" them on the head since she knows she cant touch their faces. It's so hard to believe that Maddie was ever this little!

While visiting with Naomi she also took advantage of having Meghan at her beck and call to read new books!

2. New shades


She loves to play with my sunglasses and I've got to remember to put her pair in the car so we have those for her when we go out. She also really enjoys her favorite "on the go" meal - fish fillet and french fries!

3. New Phone

I finally upgraded to a new phone and I love it! Not surprisingly Maddie does as well. I've been able to download a few toddler learning games (shapes, colors, etc) and she loves playing them. So far it's been a great way to keep her entertained if we are out somewhere without any toys.

4. New Chair

We recently bought this chair (and little elephant) for the living room. I love how it looks with the sofa and think I'm going to look for some curtains to bring out the reddish/orangish colors.

5. Cloth Diapers!!

You can go ahead and think I'm crazy (Alex does) but I have decided to start cloth diapering. I bought 3 through a service that would let me try them out for a month and return them if I wasn't happy but I LOVE THEM! I've thought about it for a while and finally decided to take the plunge. I'll do another post on them soon but they do make for awful cute baby bottoms:


And Maddie approves:

A Week Away From Mom & Dad

A few weeks ago after my parents visit here to Chicago they took Maddie back to Georgia with them for a week. Alex and I were a little worried about both the long car ride as well as her being gone for that long. Judging from these pictures she had a blast!




























I know my parents ans the rest of my family look forward to many more of these visits over the years to come!

And Maddie wants to say a big "Welcome Home" to her Fris!!!

Cheese!

Someone likes their spaghetti!

Clogged Tear Duct

Since she was a few months old Maddie's right eye has always "weeped". If you'll look closely at this picture you can see the tear in her eye.


I always felt like I was constantly wiping the moisture from under her eye. I mentioned to our pediatrician at her 12 month appointment and she told us it was more than likely a clogged tear duct. Most clear up on there own by 12 months but since Maddie's hadn't she suggested we see a specialist. We went about a month ago and she suggested a quick procedure to unclog the duct. The procedure is more successful and has a smaller chance of having to be repeated the younger the child is so we quickly booked a date for Maddie. For adults the procedure is done in an office visit but they require kids to be put under general anesthesia at the local hospital.

So a few weeks ago we got up bright and early at 5am and headed out to Highland Park Hospital. We grabbed Maddie right out of bed hoping she would sleep for the drive there but she had other plans. This was on the way (Daddy had put her to bed the night before and forgot to take her bow out).


She couldn't have anything to eat or drink before the procedure so I had packed lots of toys, books and distractions for the time beforehand. They also had a TV in the room we were in so she was in a fairly good mood.


Then came all the nurses and doctors coming in to talk to us. She was of course weary of all the (mostly male) strangers. Then cam the baby hospital gown and id bracelet which she hated!!! The bracelet went on her ankle and all she kept doing was crying and pulling at it, I felt so bad for her.


They gave her some oral medicine to sedate her which turned her into the floppiest and silliest smiley girl. I wish I had a picture of the grins she was giving us during this time but we were quickly taken back to the pre op room. She willing went to the male anesthesiologist (whom we loved) so we knew she was feeling good.

Alex and I were sent to the waiting room where we nervously waited for word. About 20minutes later the doctor came out and told us they were done and everything had gone great! She said the duct had been shut pretty good so she flushed it a few times and also used a small balloon thingy (yes, that's a medical term) on it in hopes that we wouldn't have to repeat the procedure.

They walked us back to the recovery area and had us don these amazing outfits:


I could hear her screaming in the next room so I probably got mine on in record time and rushed into her. And surprisingly her eye wasn't really bothering her it was all the equipment which now included monitors on her chest and a pulse monitor on her toe. The nurses in the recovery room were wonderful and quickly realized this and allowed us to remove everything but her id bracelet.


They then sent us back to the same room we had been in earlier which also didn't make her happy. She knew this was the same room she had been in earlier and in no way wanted to be there again. She and I spent the next 20 minutes or so roaming the nearby halls and charming the staff (her, not me) before they released us.


We spent most of the rest of the day cuddling and letting her have just about anything she wanted and she was back to her normal self the following day. Overall we were so happy with both the doctors and the hospital and we are so happy we chose that particular hospital because they allowed us to be with her almost the entire time she was there. We had to put eye drops in her eye for about a week and since then we haven't seen any signs of the moisture back in her eye. We'll keep an eye on it for the next few months but hopefully this took care of everything and we won't have to it over.

Fun with Ninnie & Buddy

Sorry for the lack of blogging, my parents were in town for a week and a half and we just had to much fun with each other and so much to do. Maddie had a blast hanging out with them everyday and was spoiled with multiple walks to the park everyday.


My dad was especially thrilled and how quickly she warmed up to him. She still has an issue with most men, including my brother (sorry Paul) but she was almost instantly okay with hanging out with her Buddy. This was a favorite pastime of theirs during the visit.


Ninnie and Buddy also brought a toddler bed with them for Maddie's "big girl room." We aren't moving her yet but I have started putting the room together and the bed is going to be perfect for when she's ready.


This previous Saturday my parents actually left Chicago with Maddie in tow! She will be gone until Sunday and it feels so strange to not have her here with us. We have gotten a ton of stuff done around the house though that would have taken us so much longer if she was here.

We got to skype with her tonight and her face when she first saw us on the screen almost made me cry! Tomorrow I am heading out of town on a girls trip to the beach (woot, woot!) and then will meet my parents in Atlanta on Sunday to pick Maddie up for the flight home. I can't wait to see her again but am also so excited about my trip. Not sure what Alex will do by himself for the next few days but I will make sure the fridge is stocked with frozen pizza for him! Until we see her on Sunday I just keep staring at all her pictures like this one which is a new favorite of mine.