I’ve been working on this one for a couple of weeks (he was 18 months on July 22nd). I was a little slow to put the finishing touches on it and collect the photos. Now it is almost time to write Maddie’s 3.5 year letter. Whew. Here’s the latest letter to Cullen. (more…)
When I found out that both Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh were coming out this summer, I knew that it was time for Maddie to have her first movie theater experience. After hearing less than stellar reviews about Cars 2 (though we ended up seeing it and enjoyed it), plus concerns about it being too mature for the little ones, we decided that Winnie the Pooh would be her first flick. I don’t think we could have picked a better movie. I just about cried when it started (I know…who was more excited?).
She wanted to bring her big Pooh and little Pooh to the theater as well as her Winnie the Pooh ears. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more adorable movie-goer.
We met friends Melissa and Jason at the theater for Winnie the Pooh (and the adults viewing of Harry Potter afterward). We were happy they could go with us today (plus, we were running late to both movies, so it was fortunate to have friends to save our seats and save the day!). Melissa also snapped this super duper cute photo of the 3 of us (Cullen was at home napping the whole time).
She literally was sitting on the edge of her seat at the beginning of the previews. I worried that the previews might be a little confusing to her since we were at the theater to see Winnie the Pooh. It was difficult to tell what was going through her head when the previews started. I think she was in awe.
A few times throughout the movie, she asked questions about why a character was doing this or that. She got a little wiggly in the second half. At one point, she spent 10 minutes wanting to sit in my lap, sit on her booster (the movie theater has plastic seats to prevent the seat from folding up on the little ones), and sit on Gabe’s lap. Overall, though, she did very well. I think that the length was perfect for her. I don’t think we will want to take her to a longer movie for a while longer! The worst part was that she needed to take a potty break right near the very end of the movie. I was pleased that she asked to go potty and that I didn’t get peed on since she was sitting on my lap at this point (this was my biggest fear about taking her to the movie). We missed the end of the movie. She was a bit upset about the movie being over when we came back!
Maddie loved the movie and immediately wanted to go see “the new cars movie,” especially when she saw the movie poster outside. When asked what her favorite part was, she said it was when Christopher Robin was carried away by the backson. I have to admit, that part is quite catchy. Gabe and I can’t stop singing the backson song! We’re going to have to get this one when it comes out on blu-ray.
Hooray for a successful first time theater experience. It was wonderful!
Something that makes me happy: Creating family memories.
Something I’m thinking: I’m thinking we had a wonderful weekend. We had a dinner/play date with friends on Friday, swimming lessons and games night on Saturday, and movie day today. Good times!
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping that our kids are as well behaved at the next games night. Gabe and I managed to both play games on Saturday while the kids played with each other and other kids at games night. This is the first time that this has happened aside from when my parents were here and we had extra help watching the kiddos.
Something happening around the house: We had games night yesterday, and I think for once we ordered the correct amount of pizza and collected the correct amount of money. This almost never happens.
Something I’m reading: I started to read Inkspell (it’s been a while since I started that series), but then I decided to switch over to A Clash of Kings (again).
Something Gabe is reading: Gabe is reading A Dance with Dragons on the kindle. I don’t think he’s actually started it yet. It was released this week.
Something I’m watching: We watched a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones. We are way behind! We also saw Winnie the Pooh with Maddie and the final Harry Potter movie. Woohoo! We’ve been doing well with our movies lately.
Something I’m playing: I played a teensy amount of Super Mario Galaxy. I also was able to play 7 Wonders (twice), Fresco, Ricochet Robot, and Stone Age.
Something tasty: We threw a bunch of fresh veggies from our produce box into a crock pot soup today. It was yummy and felt like a healthy sort of thing.
Something Maddie is doing (40 months old): Gabe reorganized Maddie’s closet recently. She finally has her clothes in her own room, and she couldn’t be more excited. She’s been picking out her own clothes daily (sometimes she makes interesting choices), and she puts the dirty clothes in her very own hamper. She loves to play in her closet, too. She’s pretty content to play in her room by herself (for short periods of time, anyway). It’s getting to the point where instead of her room sometimes being a sort of time out (we send her there when she needs to calm down sometimes), she ASKS to go to her room. This week, I said, “Maddie, do you want to go to your room?” in reaction to her doing something she shouldn’t be, and she replied, “yes. Can I go to my room?” And so it begins. Today, we took her to see her very first movie in the theater. It was awesome. The Winnie the Pooh movie was a perfect first theater experience! All morning, she was asking us when we were going to the “movie center.” The movie was the perfect length at just over an hour. She got a bit restless towards the end, and she was a little upset that she missed the end of the movie due to an ill-timed potty break. Overall, it went wonderfully. I have to admit that I nearly got a little teary eyed from the experience.
Something Cullen is doing (17 months old): It’s been almost two weeks since Cullen has nursed, yet he still wants to nurse every couple of days. The last time he has tried to lift up my shirt was on Friday evening. He’s had some cranky moments this week. Little dude is not a good teether. I’m pretty sure that some of his other molars are going to come in soon (he has two on his right side at the moment, in addition to his 4 front teeth. His teeth are coming in in a strange order). I also feel like he will get those other top front teeth eventually. You can see the teeth coming down, but I don’t think they have broken through the gum yet. Hmm, a quick Dr. Google search indicates that we might need to have them checked out and have the gums cut. The teeth have looked like they might break through the gums at any second for weeks. We’ll be going to his 18-month appointment next week, so we’ll be sure to ask about it then. Cullen continues to repeat everything and puts together more and more two and three word concepts. Of course, he also repeated “dodo head” (thank you 5 year olds at the preschool for teaching the younger kids fun things). Cullen loves books! When Gabe reorganized Maddie’s closet, he also reorganized the kids’ books. We have a bunch of books downstairs, but now each kid has a bunch of books in their rooms. We have been reading a lot of books at bedtime.
Something I am struggling with: Sleep! I had one night where I think I had too much caffeine during the day and ended up with too many thoughts in my head at night. Then, I had two nights where I was trying to upgrade parts of the website and ran into some technical problems with the upgrade. I had to change many files, and it was tedious. Now the site should be more secure, so I suppose that’s a good thing!
Something I’m doing towards my goals: I started scanning my 2004 scrapbook. I’m planning to use the scrapbook pages in a photobook and fill in the gaps of the events that I had not yet scrapbooked. It’s a bit tedious as I have to scan each page 4 times and stitch it together in photoshop. Oh how I wish I had a speedy giant scanner.
Something I learned: I learned about some of the differences between php4 and php5 after upgrading the website to use php5. This was quite a bit of work, and I spent hours editing nearly every page on the website. Whew!
Something I’m looking forward to: My last photography class is this week as well as the last swimming lessons for the kiddos. I’m going to see New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys with Melissa on Saturday. That’s right. NKOTBSB. It should be an interesting evening…
Something random: So, we stayed until the very, very end of Harry Potter, just in case….but there was no bonus material. Unfortunately, we did not stay until the very end of the Winnie the Pooh credits and missed a bonus scene. Argh!
Something captured: Maddie’s perfect first movie experience.
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
I had another fancy hair appointment, and this time I knew I would be taking the stylist up on the offer to style it straight at the end. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work or what she would have to do to get the look. It was so weird to look in the mirror for a day and a half! I had many people compliment it, and many people who said, “I’ve never seen you with straight hair!” Well, guess what? Neither had I! I might have to get the necessary equipment and products to do it myself. We’ll see. Maybe next time I’ll get her to teach me the techniques. Right now, I don’t even own a hair dryer, and I have no desire to add any time to my morning routine. Since she did my hair in the evening, and it lasted the entire second day, I see that it’s possible to do it at night. I might be able to handle that….we’ll see. It was so weird to be able to touch it and run my hands through it (and it was so soft). Overall, it was a very strange experience (though not a bad one). I liked it!
Shannon and I had back to back appointments, again, and then we went out to dinner and a movie to celebrate her new job!
He can now travel outside of the country. Is it just me, or are baby passports hilarious? I think it is amusing that he will be using this same passport for the next 5 years. I thought it was funny when we originally obtained Maddie’s passport, and I especially think it is amusing that we are using that same passport later this year to go on our big cruise. Um, you really can’t tell from that photo that she’s the same child.
We applied for Cullen’s on his special day with Mommy, and he was a bit older than Maddie was when we got hers. At least he has hair in his passport photo, so maybe he won’t look quite as drastically different. Still, I think that it’s going to be hard to recognize him from his 15-month old photo when he’s 6 years old!
Something that makes me happy: The kids love to hear Howlin’ for You by The Black Keys (over and over). They both attempt to sing the dadadada part. They call it the “yaht-ya” song. Cullen even sings, “yaht-ya, yaht-ya” when he hears the opening beats of the song. It’s cute!
Something I’m thinking: Hmm. Another week, and I still haven’t thanked all of my MS donors. I feel like we’re crazy busy this month with all the classes for the kids and my photography class plus our regular mix of activities.
Something happening around the house: My parents came to visit us for the day on Saturday (when we had Games Night). This is the first time that they’ve been able to visit during Games Night, so that was fun! It was also nice for Gabe and I to be able to both play games at the same time. It’s rare for that to happen while the kids are awake!
Something I’m reading: I didn’t start The Giver for book club. I was too curious to see what the next trilogy in the Kushiel series would bring. So, I am about halfway through Naamah’s Kiss. I’ll have to read The Giver soon so that I can finish before book club. It shouldn’t take me too long to read it.
Something I’m playing: I surprised Gabe with the new Cornucopia expansion for Dominion a few days early for Father’s Day. Twice last week, we managed to play 2-player Dominion with the new expansion. We had games night yesterday, and I was able to play Dominion, 7 Wonders, Alhambra, Big Boggle, and Trivial Pursuit: Genus 6. Gabe played Stone Age, 7 Wonders, Through the Desert, Clans, Tichu, Big Boggle, and Amun Re.
Something tasty: I made a good batch of the sweet potato fries on Friday. I need to post that recipe.
Something Maddie is doing (39 months old): We had another dance class and another swimming class this week. Maddie talks about how much she likes both classes (but this week she said she likes swimming class but doesn’t like to get her face wet). She doesn’t participate in either class very much. She literally sits and stares at everyone for the first half of the ballet class. She eventually starts to participate towards the end, but I guess she just takes it all in first. Her favorite parts this week seemed to be when they take turns hopping across the room, stopping at each stuffed animal to do another dance move, and when they did ballet motions with a teddy bear. Swimming went better this week. She made sure to sit on the top step with only an inch of water, so I guess she learned something from last week’s experience! She was still very, very timid and refused to go with her instructor some of the time. She didn’t want to go any of the times that the instructor took them out into the water, but she did it willingly the last couple of times (after a bit of protest). We’re taking baby steps in this area. Maddie is doing great with her letter work. This weekend, she practiced Ps so that she could write Papa. She also learned Y so she could write “DADDY” on his Father’s Day card’s envelope. She writes her name pretty well, but she doesn’t always put them in order. Sometimes she does, and other times she just puts the letter on the page wherever she sees fit. It can be pretty random.
Something Cullen is doing (16 months old): After more than 2 months, he finally cut his 5th tooth. Oddly, it’s not one of the front ones. Maddie got all of her front 8 teeth first, then the first set of molars, then the ones in between. Cullen’s seem to be popping out in a different order. I kept thinking his top teeth next to the front two were about to break through. They haven’t yet. They appear to be very close. He was pretty grumpy for several days this week, and I was surprised when feeling around his gums to feel extra bumpiness in the back. Yesterday morning, I noticed that the tooth had broken through the gum. I really wasn’t expecting that! Poor little guy. No wonder he’s been moody. The gum back there looks very angry. It’s all red and swollen with sharp little tips of tooth poking through. Cullen enjoyed his second swimming lesson. Cullen definitely asks things like, “Where Daddy go?” and says, “Daddy go away” (when Daddy has left the room). This morning, the first thing he said was, “Where doggie go?” since my parents had their dog here when he went to bed. And then he said, “Doggie go away. Woof woof.” He’s definitely making progress with his 2-3 word sentences. Oh, and he definitely calls me “Mommy” and “Mama” now!!! Just this week, he did it multiple times. He will also say things like “Daddy shoe” in reference to Daddy’s shoes, and today he said, “Mommy shoe.” I said, “what? Did you just say that’s Mommy’s??” I knew that he had just been messing with me for a while. I knew he knew how to say Mommy!!!
Something I am struggling with: I’m struggling with this week’s photography class assignment.
Something I’m doing towards my goals: The kids each had another swimming lesson, and I had another photography lesson.
Something I learned: I learned how to play 7 Wonders and now have another game to add to my wish list!
Something I’m looking forward to: We have another ballet class for Maddie, swimming lessons for both kids, and a photography lesson for me. I have another haircut at the fancy salon (ooh, what will I do this time?) which will be followed by dinner and a movie with my girlfriend. We also have dinner and games with friends this week. I have some fun lunch plans this week, too. Our weeks are pretty busy for the next month or so. We’re having fun, but I’m looking forward to not being so crazy busy.
Something captured: I love this photo of Maddie and her buddy Sophie that I took at our picnic after dance class on Monday evening. I think I’ll be submitting it to my photography class this week, though I’m not sure it exactly fits the assignment of “art photography.” Whatever. Anything can fit into the “art” category, right?
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
I decided that I wanted to continue doing the letters every 3 months for Maddie. I still feel like so much happens in that time period, and I just want to keep it all documented for her (and for me!). I hope to put letters to Maddie into books for her along with other keepsakes, photos, and milestones. I only need to write one letter this month, since I’m doing Cullen’s every 3 months now, but I still can’t manage to get it written on time! I’ve had this one mostly written for a couple of weeks…but I just now found the time to add the photos. (more…)
Something that makes me happy: I’m sure I’ve said this many times already, but spending time with family and friends makes me happy.
Something I’m reading: I’m about halfway through Kushiel’s Justice.
Something I’m playing: We played Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers and New York Chase this weekend with the Leslies.
Something tasty: I made my Grandma’s chicken divan for the first time in a while.
Something Maddie is doing (39 months old): Maddie has continued to do a little more name calling as she’s being influenced by the older kids in her class. She was calling Cullen an “eyeball head” in the car the other day. I told her that it wasn’t nice to call people names, and she then said, “well, I’m an eyeball head.” I didn’t really have a response for that. I guess it’s ok for her to call herself names. She has been talking in extremes lately, especially with the use of the word, “never.” “You never give me a snack!” “I don’t like that food. I’ve never liked that food.” (when she’s never tried the food in question). She had soccer this week, and she was showing us some of the things that she learned. She’s signed up for a swimming class and a dance class that both start soon. She gives great hugs and kisses and tells us that she loves us unprompted at times. She says, “okay!” a lot in response to use telling her to do certain things. She doesn’t always listen, but it’s nice that she’s so compliant a lot of the time.
Something Cullen is doing (16 months old): I forgot to mention a few things from last week. We had our first ever exploding diaper. I had heard other parents talk about diapers getting so wet during the night that they spilled the gel/beads/gunk from inside the diaper. This was the first time it had happened to us! We have started weaning Cullen from the paci. He no longer has the paci at school now. We asked them to try a couple weeks ago to see how it would go, and it went great! He wasn’t using a paci in the car, but his last several days in the car have been so awful that we went back to allowing it in the car. We knew we were about to spend a lot of time in the car traveling, so maybe we’ll try again after our trip. He only has the paci when he’s sleeping and in the car, and he’s doing pretty well with it. He was sick this week with a high fever for a couple of days. His fever was up to almost 104. Poor little guy. The fever went away, and he soon had a rash on his torso. We didn’t take him back to the doctor as the rash went away, but we are assuming that he had roseola. We went through the same thing with Maddie at some point. He still continues to love books. He brings us books all the time and climbs into our laps. He puts a lot of stuff in his mouth, including books. Unfortunately, he’s eaten some corners of our books. Now I know why kids’ books are in such bad shape. Maddie didn’t abuse her books as badly as Cullen does. He will put anything he can find in his mouth, so we really have to watch him. We’re convinced he’s still teething as he drools a lot and often has his hands in his mouth. I know we’ve felt this way for a month or two, but I really think that’s the culprit of extra drool and fussiness. Cullen had his ENT check up and his “mucus glob” looked better, and the ENT declared that it was not a cholesteatoma. He had his first haircut on Friday, and he did great! He is saying more and more words all of the time. I’ve definitely lost track of them, but some of the recent additions are truck, broom, Elmo, fish, nap, bottle, duck, quack quack quack quack, mouse, Henry (Maddie’s doll), green, blue, mine, all mine, and Minnie. He also says things like, “I want that” and “I want milk.” It sounds like he’s saying those things, anyway. Edit: I thought of a few more words: bar (for breakfast bar), sleep, go, and bowl.
Something I am struggling with: Maddie slammed her head into my chin yesterday, and I just about bit my tongue off. It was not pretty. Some of my teeth actually slammed together, and my tongue was in the way. There was lots of blood and pain. I managed to stay calm and not shout obscenities, so that’s good.
Something I’m doing towards my goals: My photography class starts this week, but I unfortunately have a scheduling conflict for the first one. Darn.
Something I’m looking forward to: We’re looking forward to our trip to Cincinnati and Kentucky (and Gabe’s looking forward to seeing a Reds game).
Something captured: Cullen, during his first haircut!
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
Last week, I was trying to get Maddie to draw some pictures for Teacher Appreciation Week. She started to draw “M” and “A,” so I asked if she was going to write her name. She’s been spelling her name verbally for a few months, but as far as I know she had never written it previously. She hasn’t been practicing at school either as I asked her teachers about it. She did indeed write her name! I couldn’t believe it, and I was so proud of her. She then repeated the performance several times.
I think she was a bit proud of herself as well.
I feel like a ton has happened in the past month. The time always goes by quickly, but I felt like I had a little break from the letter writing this time…for once. I can’t believe I’m getting this thing out on time! Here’s the last monthly installment in letters to Cullen. My next letter to him will be in 3 months! (more…)