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.

18 Months!

78 weeks, 547 days, how has this much time gone by since this:



Things she loves:
Eating - and the girl has a serious sweet tooth, I wonder where she got that from?

Dancing - anytime, anywhere

Being outside - we have just discovered this the last few weeks as the weather has improved. She doesn't even want to come inside after the short walk from the garage at the end of the day.

Pepper - bff's (most of the time)

Blocks - she loves to stack them and then knock them down

Cars (zoom, zooms)

The Playground - she will go through the entire things herself (carefully supervised of course!)

Books - LOVES, still the only one at daycare that will sit through an entire book or more

Tinkerbell - her favorite movie, she will sit through at least 45 minutes in this spot

"Drawing" - anytime I am writing something she always wants to draw scribbles on the paper

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & Sesame Street - she watches these in the morning with some milk and Cheerios while we get ready

Things she's saying:
Her vocabulary has improved so much in the last few months, I was beginning to worry we might have to do early intervention because she was so quiet for so long. Here are just a few of the things she's currently saying, I know there are more I just can't think of them all now!

mama, dada, pepah (with a french accent, adorable!), bye, bye, papa, kiikii (kitty kitty), baby, baah (what a sheep says), moo, rrgghhh (what a lion says, this might be our favorite), uh oh (all the time), zoooooom (while playing with cars), guh, guh (what a turkey says, peas (please), uuhh (up)



Things she can sign:
more, milk, water, doggie, all done, bird



Other things I want to remember:
She sleeps from about 7:30pm to 7:00am and most of the time lays in bed talking to herself once she is awake

She's in size 4 diapers now but still in mostly 12 month clothes. We are slowly transitioning into 18 months but most of them are summer and the pants are all too long

Her car seat is still rear facing and since she doesn't know any different she is okay with that

She currently has 12 teeth but at least 2 (if not 4) more are coming in right now. They make her super fussy but luckily she has never drooled while teething.

She is understanding so much more of what we say and ask of her. She will follow simple tasks we ask like helping clean up, throwing something away or going to get/find something.

She can still throw a mean tantrum by throwing herself on the floor.


She all of a sudden in the last few weeks has decided she doesn't like baths. They used to be her favorite and she'd coming running when she heard the bath water but now she screams through the entire thing as we try to bathe her as fast as possible.

She knows both patty cake and little bitty spider which are so cute to watch!

She gives the best hugs and still likes to snuggle with both me and daddy which is one of the greatest things ever! (hanging out after a long day of yard work)


She really is one of the happiest kids I have ever known and everyday she makes us smile and laugh. She truly is the greatest thing that has ever happened to both Alex and I and we are so looking forward to the ride as we watch the little person she is becoming.

Our Little Houdini

First, Happy Belated Mother's Day to everyone! Sorry for no pictures from the day but we forgot to take our camera with us, oops. It was a beautiful day and we ended up spending most of it in the backyard playing and doing yard work. It really made us look forward to this summer and fall!

I will give you this new picture though -

Last night I forgot to push up the straps of Maddie's car seat and in the 5 minute drive home from dinner she managed to get both her arms out from under the harness. As you can tell she was quite impressed with herself! She also has become a pro at taking off her shoes and completely unlacing them on the way into daycare each day. Little stinker!

Our Sunday Morning

Saturday morning I got up and made pancakes for breakfast before heading off to a baby shower for our friend Candace who is expecting a little girl later this month. Then I headed straight to work for two wedding receptions we had that evening.

So on Sunday morning daddy let me sleep in until 9am and then had coffee ready when I got up, it was fabulous! I only had about a half hour before I had to get ready for another baby shower so Maddie and I spent the time outside enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having.


I've had this sidewalk chalk for weeks just waiting for it to be warm and dry enough to bring it out and Sunday was the perfect opportunity.






She scribbled for a few minutes and then got distracted and wanted to play with Pepper, but she was not giving up that chalk!






And look what else is new around here, a single ponytail!!!

Easter (part 2)

After we got through all the Easter baskets we got dressed and headed off to church. After church we all went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (yum) then headed over to Grandma and Papa's house for the egg hunt!

Daddy did an awesome job of hiding the eggs!


And Grandma gave Maddie this gorgeous basket for her eggs.


Maddie was ready to go (unfortunately I waited until the afternoon with only a 30 minute nap to try and get a picture of her so this was the best I could get)


but not so anxious that she couldn't spend a few minutes of girl time with her best friend.


She needed to be shown what to do with the first egg




But then she was off. I'm kind of glad that she was the only kid because I'm afraid she might have pushed another kid out of the way of some of those eggs!












After she had all the eggs she wanted to check out the neighbors yard to see if any were over there.






And again, when you wait until the end of the day to take pictures this is the best you're going to get.

Easter (part 1)

First, Madeline hopes everyone had a HAPPY EASTER!!


We started off the morning with yummy cinnamon rolls.


Which led to a bath before we went through her Easter basket. At first she wasn't sure what was going on but quickly realized that there were some cool things coming out of this basket!




This cute chick makes chirping noises and Pepper was really into which did not make Maddie happy.




Then we moved on to the package she had received from my parents and grandparents.




Hmmm, what's this stuff?


Mom says if i save it in my piggy bank I can have some candy!


Now how do I get this open?


Maybe I'll just keep the money. What, where'd it go?


Mom, I would like some candy NOW!


Egg hunt coming up tomorrow!