I’ve had this album ready to be published for a while, but I hadn’t gotten around to it. As usual, I’m getting behind on photos. This set was from our snow day in January - the most significant snowfall that we had this year. We had so much snow this winter! Maddie and Daddy went outside for only a few minutes. It was very cold. Click on the photo to see the rest of the album.
Something that made me happy this week: Going on a walk this evening before dinner with my family.
Something I’m thinking: I’m thinking about buying a double stroller. We could have both pushed strollers tonight, and that would have been fine. I’m sure there will be times where one of us will need to stroll both kids, and Maddie is still a bit too young to walk everywhere. I actually walked this evening’s walk with Cullen in the Sleep Wrap. It wasn’t too bad, but I don’t think I could walk around all day at a zoo or park like that.
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping that Cullen doesn’t get sick again. His temperature is a little elevated this evening (though not a fever at this point), and he’s not quite himself.
Something happening around the house: Ugh. We’re experiencing some “fun” home ownership issues. I guess our house is starting to act its age. The water heater broke yesterday. Gabe walked out with Maddie to go grab some lunch, and he discovered that the garage was full of steaming hot water. Not good. Fortunately, we found someone to come out almost right away and they fixed it yesterday. We have been enjoying our hot water today. We also bought a new kitchen sink and faucet today and plan on having the same guys install it. Our kitchen faucet and sink are falling apart and got worse this morning with the messed up water pressure due to air in the pipes. We are thinking about getting lighting installed in our library, something that we have wanted to do since we moved into the house. What kind of library doesn’t have suitable lighting? We are debating replacing the remainder of our brass light fixtures. I’m not sure we’re ready to do all of that.
Something I’m reading: I finished Flyte! Our book club is sorting out our picks for the next 6 months, so I might have to start reading some of those if I’m ever going to finish any of them.
Something tasty I ate this week: I made my own pizza for the first time! I didn’t make Cindy’s pizza, but she inspired me to give homemade pizza a try. Yum! I will have to make Cindy’s someday. It looks very good.
Something Maddie did this week (24 months old): Poor girl got strep throat for the first time. She seems to be getting all the same kind of illnesses that I had frequently as a child. Maddie felt pretty bad, resulting in some sweet cuddles with her Daddy. I think she’s feeling more like herself now. Not feeling well did contribute to some extra toddler tantrums. She is certainly embracing being a two year old. She continues to say funny things. She often requests socks saying, “her feet are cold” (whether or not that is actually true). This week, she came up with a new one. She said, “Daddy, I need my shoes. My socks are cold.” I love the toddler logic!
Something Cullen did this week (6 weeks old): He rolled over from his front to his back this week, though clearly not intentional. He has done this a few times previously on the bed, which I thought was a little sloped so it didn’t “count.” This time he rolled over on the floor. It certainly wasn’t intentional, but he was happier afterward. Cullen smiles a little each day. He still has a little acne and a lot of cradle cap. He’s holding his head up extremely well. We estimate he’s between 11.5 and 12 pounds.
Something I struggled with this week: Broken water heater, sick child, recovering my iTunes library (the only copy of it was on our iPods and a broken hard drive), dealing with toddler tantrums, realizing that my maternity leave is half over, realizing that Cullen is no longer a newborn, accidentally not refrigerating Maddie’s antibiotic necessitating a new prescription (which is not covered by insurance, by the way), chronic lack of sleep.
Something I’m doing towards my goals: I’ve been actively gathering suggestions and sending out emails for our book club. This falls under my goal of staying active in at least one book club. I’ve also done a little bit towards my MS fundraising goals and plan to focus some more efforts in that direction soon. I went back and created my 2005 photobook, so I guess that can potentially count as “create yearly photobooks for my family” since some of it has both Gabe and me. Ooh, and I see that “replace the kitchen sink” was one of my goals…we bought the sink and faucet and are replacing it very soon!
Something I learned this week: I learned that I had already scrapbooked 2005….after I finished my 2005 photobook! Hrm, oh well, the old scrapbook was heavy and bulky. The photobook version is a little different, but the important things are well represented.
Something I’m looking forward to next week: A relaxing, stress-free week???
Something random: We’re watching more reality shows than normal this season - Survivor, Amazing Race, and American Idol. We’ve really been enjoying all three! I’m not sure who we want to win Survivor, but I love the Heroes vs. Villains thing. I haven’t watched Survivor in several seasons, but I know a lot of the players this season. The cowboys on Amazing Race make us laugh. We are rooting for Crystal Bowersox on American Idol and also like several others: Alex Lambert, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Lee Dewyze, and Lilly Scott. Lee Dewyze is probably my second favorite at the moment.
Something captured: Poor sick little girl wanted to snuggle with Daddy and read books.
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
We had Catherine create the birth announcements, once again. We were very happy with how they turned out! Click on the photo to see all four panels.
Catherine came to town to photograph Cullen when he was 11 days old. As always, we were very happy with our photos. We hoped to get some photos of the four of us, but Maddie had other plans. I was very happy to get this cute one of the two kids. Click on the photo to see the rest of the session.
Something that made me happy this week: Maddie seems to be coming back around to Mommy. Since Cullen was born, she has been very clingy to Daddy and hasn’t wanted to have much to do with anyone else. This week, she paid more equal attention to us both (though still leans towards Daddy).
Something I’m thinking: I really need to do my taxes soon. I did a preliminary run weeks ago, but I haven’t had time to make sure all the numbers are right.
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping we’ll all be healthy this week. I thought that Cullen was over his cold, but he’s not quite well. He still has a little congestion that is making it hard for him to breathe. Poor thing.
Something happening around the house: Maddie and I made cupcakes today. I even made them pink, like in her new favorite book, Pinkalicious.
Something I’m reading: I think I read another chapter of Flyte. Otherwise, I read a lot of Pinkalicious and some of Maddie’s board books. I’m even way behind on my RSS feeds.
Something tasty I ate this week: Friends brought us tasty dinners this week!
Something Maddie did this week (24 months old): Maddie had her 2-year check up this week. She weighs 24 pounds, 6 ounces which puts her in the 20th percentile. The doctor was very impressed with Maddie’s communication skills and claimed Maddie was talking like a 3 year old. We were very proud.
Something Cullen did this week (5 weeks old): He graced us with his first social smiles this week! So far, he has mostly smiled at Mommy (but has smiled a time or two in Daddy’s direction). I’m sure the smiles will get bigger and more frequent soon! He’s been alert more and more each day. His acne is starting to clear up, but now he’s cursed with cradle cap.
Something I struggled with this week: I’ve been trying to ignore the fact that I’ve been sick. I feel mostly ok, and I think I might be mostly better now. That’s what I keep telling myself, and so far that seems to be working!
Something I’m doing towards my goals: Nothing in particular this week.
Something I learned this week: I learned it takes more food coloring than you might think to make cupcake batter pink. Plus, I needed to make it a bit more pink so that it wasn’t so subtle when the cupcakes were baked.
Something I’m looking forward to next week: Quality time spent with my newborn son.
Something random: Cullen has nursed over 750 times and has had almost 400 diaper changes.
Something captured:
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
Maddie was just out of Daddy’s sight, and he asked, “Maddie, what are you doing?” Maddie replied, “I’m doing the Maddie dance.” I don’t know where she comes up with this stuff. A little while later, I was curious about what she might do when asked to demonstrate the Maddie dance. Gabe and I were surprised and amused that she really did have a specific dance in mind. She demanded that we do the Maddie dance as well. The video shows Maddie showcasing her moves. Click on the post to see the embedded video.
Not too long after this video, she got into the princess “bucket,” put the lid on her head, and said, “Maddie’s in the bucket!” Followed shortly by, “I’m too big for the bucket. I not fit.”
I didn’t start Maddie’s letters until she was 4 months old. We were quite overwhelmed in those first few months. It would be interesting to see some of what I might have said in those letters. I thought I might as well start Cullen’s monthly letters from his first month. (more…)
Something that made me happy this week: I think Cullen and Maddie are mostly over their colds now, thank goodness.
Something I’m thinking: It’s my sister’s birthday. Happy birthday, Kristin!
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping Cullen’s baby acne clears up soon. I don’t think it bothers him too much, but it sure looks awful!
Something happening around the house: We had Maddie’s best buddies over for cake to celebrate her 2nd birthday yesterday!
Something I’m reading: Today I read Big Red Barn and PInkalicious, both of them multiple times. Oh! And I actually read two chapters of Flyte, the Septimus Heap book that I was reading before Cullen was born. I don’t anticipate getting time to read generally. I have too many other things that I need to do with my “free” time, like sleep.
Something tasty I ate this week: Cake!! We ate birthday cake for Maddie yesterday and birthday cake for my sister today. Both were very yummy. We have a good amount of cake leftover from Maddie’s cake, so I guess we might be enjoying that for a few days.
Something Maddie did this week: She turned TWO and had a birthday party! She also tattled on Nana and Papa. Cullen spit up a little on the couch earlier this week, and I asked Gabe to get a wet cloth to wipe it. Maddie then started saying over and over (while pointing at a spot on the couch), “Papa washed it. It’s clean. Papa washed it. It’s clean.” I talked to my mom and asked whether there had been any mishaps with the couch when they were here while Cullen was in the hospital (at the time OVER three weeks ago). Sure enough, Abby had drooled on the couch and my dad cleaned it up. We were all amazed that she remembered this and communicated it to us!
Something Cullen did this week: He was a bit fussier than usual this week and had a few bad nights as far as sleep was concerned. He spent most of the week recovering from his cold, poor thing. He seems to be back to his “usual” laid back self, for the most part. Oh, and he’s growing like crazy. When we had his follow up appointment the day after being discharged from the hospital (over a week ago on Saturday), he hadn’t gained any weight since the previous Tuesday. We had an appointment on Thursday and found out that he had gained almost another pound, weighing in at 10 pounds, 7 ounces! Big boy!
Something I struggled with this week: We had a couple of days this week where Maddie absolutely would have nothing to do with anyone except her Daddy. This has been exhausting for Gabe, but it’s also hard not to get my feelings hurt when she won’t let me read a book (though I can’t say I’m heartbroken when she refuses to let me change her diaper).
Something I’m doing towards my goals: I set up Cullen’s college savings account which is the first step in paying for his education. It’s my goal to pay for Maddie and Cullen’s education so that they don’t have to start their adult lives with a ton of debt.
Something I learned this week: I remember thinking of something earlier this week that I learned, but I guess it didn’t stick. I did learn how to throw a party without investing a huge amount of time in preparation. I did not make a single food item for the party…not my best party offering, but I didn’t really have time to spend on making stuff. The toddlers didn’t seem to mind!
Something I’m looking forward to next week: Looks like we have some tasty dinners headed our way this week! I’m also looking forward to Maddie’s 2-year check up. I’m curious to know how much she weighs now.
Something random: I received an interesting comment this week on my post about the Emmaljunga prams. A representative from the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, in Las Vegas contacted me to see if we still had the pram for sale. We do still have one of them, but unfortunately it’s a smaller model. They were interested in the one pictured on the post for use in the show. I was excited for a day or so that we might be able to contribute to the production. How cool would that have been?
Something captured: The birthday girl with her crayon box birthday cake.
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
Wow! I can’t believe that I’m officially the mother of a two year old. Time really flies in our crazy life. It’s time for another letter to Maddie. (more…)
When we arrived home from the hospital after Cullen’s birth, Cullen came bearing a gift for his big sister Maddie. Consider it a sort of peace offering. His gift to Maddie was a brand new school bus tent. Maddie loves it! We quickly discovered the “short bus” configuration, which we use often to save a little space. The tent is great as it collapses completely flat, so we can stow it away when not in use.
Oops, the steering wheel is on the outside!
She loves getting in the bus with Daddy:
The bus has a nice sunroof.
Aunt Kristin played in the tent with Maddie. Who enjoyed it more?
And Maddie discovered that she could walk around the house in the bus. Click on the post to see the embedded video.