Granny Panties

Since Madeline started wearing panties in October, she has only been interested in the print designs. The panties I bought had 2 pairs with flowers, one solid pink, one solid purple, and one solid white. She will reluctantly wear the solid pink or purple if the flower panties are dirty, but has refused the white ones. Recently she has started wearing the white. I asked her why she liked her white panties now, and she gave me her look of exasperation that I would even have to ask and said “mommy, grandma wears white panties!”

Happy Birthday Breck!

Breck,
Madeline wanted me to buy cupcakes for your birthday today. I told her we have to wait until you come visit. :) Hope you have a great day!

Dance Lessons from Madeline

I hate having a perfectly quiet house. I like having music or the TV on just for background noise. Usually I turn the TV on one of the music channels just to have something on in the background. This weekend Madeline and I were working on a puzzle on the coffee table and I started moving to the music. Madeline told me “That’s not how you dance Mommy!”. I asked her what appropriate dancing was, and she said “Mommy, you just move your dress like this”. And she started swaying her hips. I pointed out that I wasn’t wearing a dress, so she said “Mommy, just move your bum. “Ok, Madeline I’ll just move my bum” To which Madeline replied “And your gina Mommy, move your gina too!”

Enabler

I am an enabler. Actually, I think I'm quite strong, but I've always had a soft spot for sleeping. Madeline didn't sleep through the night until she was almost 9 months old. She would wake up in the middle of the night, and I fed her, so she woke up every night for her 2 am snack. Then for about a year and a half, we were really strong, and she slept very well. Sometime around her 2nd birthday we started staying in Madeline's room until she fell asleep. For 7 months we said it was just a temporary thing, that we would stop. Finally we decided enough is enough, so now I'm listening to my sweet angel cry her eyes out, praying she cries herself to sleep quickly.

Timeout!

Madeline loves her baby dolls. She has been in love with all of them for a few months. For awhile she just had 2, a cabbage patch, and a baby doll her Granna gave her. They were named "Baby Doll" and "Baby", respectively. She then took over a doll that was my sister's when she was younger (I'm pretty sure its a jazzersize doll, based on its clothes). That one is also named "Baby Doll". We would try to suggest an actual name for them, but she would just roll her eyes, and say, "No Mommy, that's silly!". Finally about a month ago, the idea made sense to her, and when my sister suggested she name a new doll after a family friend. Now we have "Baby Katie". This Christmas she received her first two Barbies (both named Barbie), and "Sophie", a cute little Pottery Barn Kid doll. All of her dolls are naked, and get their diapers changed frequently, even Barbie, which is really kind of weird to watch. Today, I walked into the game room, and all of her dolls were in separate corners. Madeline was standing in the middle of them all telling them, "That was very bad. Hitting is not nice. No ma'am. You need to go to time out!" It was so cute!

Life Lessons

I have learned that as many lessons I try and teach Madeline, she never stops teaching me new things. Today I was putting away all of the Christmas decorations, and trying my hardest to bait Madeline with any distraction I could think of so I could put everything away. I finally conceded to let Madeline watch as she drank her milk. As I was putting away the nativity scene my grandmother gave me, I had just finished putting Mary and Joseph in the box and reached for Jesus when Madeline yelled "Wait Mommy" as she began reaching for Jesus. I started telling her to be careful and to give Jesus back to me, when she put Jesus up to her mouth and gave Him a big kiss and said, "I love you Baby Jesus, Happy Birthday, Good night." And then she gently put Jesus in the box. It was so sweet, and such a perfect reminder of what Christmas is all about.

No Longhorns!

I don't hate the Longhorns, and I do cheer for them sometimes, just not always. My family however are all huge longhorn fans. So Madeline was bound to learn about them early in life, and I was not surprised when we left her with my parents for a weekend in September that she came back saying "Hook em Horns" and randomly yelling out "Go Texas!". I really didn't mind, it was cute. But, as November approached, I worked my magic. :) I could NOT have Madeline cheering for UT on November 1st when Texas Tech played their biggest game. So we worked on "Go Red Raiders!" and "Guns up Red Raiders" and "Go Texas TECH". But she still liked hook em horns, so I taught her "No Hook em Horns!" and "Hook em horns are yucky!" (I think that's very harmless jeering for a 2 year old). After Texas Tech beat UT, I have been very neutral with UT. But Madeline learned her jeer, and has no intention of quitting. Today, the Fiesta bowl was on TV and Madeline proudly looked at me and said, "Look, Mommy, those are hook em horns. Those are yucky!" I know chances are she'll end up at UT, but I'm still holding out for a more neutral school, like Harvard or Columbia.

New Year's Resolution

After much peer pressure from my sister, I've decided to be a better online mother. So this is my blog. I will try to keep it updated, but I make no promises. I consider myself fairly ambitious, but am really not always the best at following through. I started a stocking for Madeline shortly after she was born in 2006. Christmas 2008, the stocking is still about 3/4complete. I am bound and determined to finish it in time for Christmas 2009. I figure it's just in time for her to start remembering..... I'm not much one for resolutions (I never manage to stick with them for longer than a month), but this year my resolution is to follow through. I will finish Madeline's stocking, and I will be a good poster (hopefully).