Hair

Madelyn has a lot of hair.  (That's no surprise to anyone.)  But, it's now getting pretty long.  The back curls and the front is starting to hang in her eyes.  Griff asked the other day if she needed a haircut to help keep the front out of her eyes.  I immediately answered "No."  We just need to start pulling her hair back.

The trouble with that theory is that takes a wrestling match to get it done.  And, when I'm able to get her hair up, half of the time she'll reach up and pull it out.  Ugh.

So yesterday when I picked her up at daycare, she had this beautiful french braid.  What?!  How is that I cannot get her to sit still for a pony tail but she's more than happy to sit for a french braid.  I tried to take a picture of it for the blog but, go figure, she wouldn't sit still.

Blue

I'm not sure what this year's Mother's Day arts and crafts project from school will be.  Last year, Madelyn made me a sweet coffee filter flower which is still displayed on the book shelf in her room.  What I do know is that this year's project will be blue.

Upon pick-up yesterday afternoon, Griff finished cleaning the blue off Madelyn's arms and hands.  They must have done arts and crafts in their skivvies as Madelyn came home in the same outfit from the morning...and it was not blue.

However, before bathtime last night, we discovered that even her ear canals were blue!  She must have had her fingers in her ears at some point before getting cleaned up.  The blue cotton swab during bath time was proof!

Stay tuned for more details on the mystery blue project...

"More"

Yesterday, in a pinch, I used my first sign language.

Madelyn has a new favorite play spot - the bottom step. It's the perfect height for her to cop-a-squat on and read Spot Bakes a Cake or Christmas Teddy or to lean against and play with the stair rungs. She and I were playing on the step and I thought I'd offer her a drink of water.

Quick side note: She's doing much better with the sippy cup now. It just took some reinforcement and practice but she's getting it. She even gets some actual nourishment out of it instead of just putting it in her mouth and smiling at you.

I offered her a drink and she gladly accepted. She took a few drinks actually. I said, "All done?" and she replied, "All done," so I put the cup on the table. Within a few moments, I noticed her doing a hand gesture. She kept repeating it. (I had a quick flashback to Grammy's friend's grandchild signing "Help!" in its crib and getting no response because no one could hear it signing for help.)

Thank goodness Google exists. I was able to find a website with pictures of children signing basic words with the word listed right below the picture. I quickly scrolled down and discovered she was saying, "More." Proud of myself for having figured this out, I said, "Madelyn, more?" while making the sign and she did it back. I gave her her water cup and we successfully communicated.

Apparently Mom needs to schedule a mini-conference with her teacher at school to make sure I know the rest of the signs they use. At least I now know "more" and "help".

Toddler room - Weeks 2 and 3

Weeks two and three were MUCH better in the toddler room. We still have the sippy cup blues but she's trying. And, she hasn't used her bottle at daycare so that means she's getting enough fluids from the cup. Hooray!

Yesterday afternoon, Madelyn's classroom had a Valentine's party during afternoon snack time. The Friday crew is pretty small and consists of five full-time kids one of whom had gone home sick earlier in the day. That's okay. We still had quite the party.

Griff and I attended along with Ethan's mother and enjoyed snack time and playing afterwards. It's funny to see Madelyn in her element with her buddies. By the way, she's (a) the youngest in the room and (b) the only girl on Fridays.

In honor of the party, they had more snacks than they would normally. Snacks included bananas, mini cupcakes, Cheetos puffs, cookies, and water. Our sweet, little girl wanted only the bananas. While the boys were more than happy to inhale their cupcakes, Madelyn was willing to eat everyone's bananas, and only bananas. I wonder how much longer that preference will last?

Sippy cup blues

We've got 'em.

Madelyn is not interested in the sippy cup. We've tried several different brands and styles and she still refuses them all. She'll put the spout of a few of them in her mouth and take very small sips but other than that, there isn't much happening in our house in terms of sippy cup usage.

We (Madelyn) started in the toddler room full-time this week so she's had a lot of change. She's exhausted and teething on top of it. I'm not completely surprised that she's regressing to the bottle but just hope that next week brings our sweet, little Madelyn back.

Thank you, Luke's mom

Luke is one of Madelyn's buddies at daycare.

Quick tangent: There are three or four little ones in Madelyn's class all within one month of each other -- Ethan, Luke, Ollie, and Madelyn. Addie used to be Madelyn's best girl friend but her family moved to Boston. Ethan and Ollie are really good on their tummies but hate sitting. Luke and Madelyn are semi-pros at sitting but don't really like being on their tummies.

Back to the main story.

The other morning when I was dropping Madelyn off, Meghan (the morning instructor) and I were discussing the crinkle boxes and how they're so popular. Meghan mentioned that Luke's mom gives him crinkled up wax paper at home and how it's the perfect toy. First and foremost, it crinkles. Secondly, it's non-toxic. And third, the wax keeps it from getting soggy after having been played with (and stuck in one's mouth) after a while.

We don't have wax paper but we do have parchment paper. Tonight, I gave Madelyn a crinkled up piece of parchment paper...and the rest is history.

By the way, she had her Cindy Lou Hoo hairstyle when I picked her up from daycare today. Apparently, she's "our favorite little girl" so I guess that means she gets fancy hair-dos from now on.

Petite Picasso

They do a fair amount of arts and crafts at daycare. I'm always impressed with the different things the babies can make with a little assistance. So far, Madelyn's made a flower for me for Mother's Day, a card for Griff for Father's Day, a butterfly, and a fabulous painting not to mention the countless going away and happy birthday cards she's signed (with her footprint).

What impresses me more, however, is how she never comes home covered in paint. Every once in a while I'll spot some paint on a foot or on her sock...now I know their secret.

That big smile and the paint on her belly are priceless!

Splish-Splash Friday

Fridays at daycare during the Summer are Splish-Splash Fridays. We had to make sure Madelyn's swimsuit fit her so she could participate today. It's a little big but works just right for the splishing and splashing of little hands and feet in cookie sheets filled with water.

We were told she was a good little participant. (That's no surprise.) She happily kicked her feet in the tray and splashed the water all around. Next up -- butterfly.

Emergency clothes

Today is the first day Madelyn's emergency clothes at day care were called into use. Almost three weeks without a diaper malfunction is pretty good!

When I arrived this afternoon to pick her up, I thought, "That's not the outfit she had on this morning. Oh..."

Fortunately, it wasn't even a Class 1 blow out and her fancy little jeans are salvageable.

Daycare

Thank you to all for your kind thoughts and words last week as we embarked upon the next stage in our development as a family. To answer your thoughts, daycare (and work) is going well.

Every day the instructors jot down notes on Madelyn's daily sheet to let us know how and what she did. Her daily sheets have all had very nice things to say, including -

"I was a little shy at first but all my new friends & teachers just loved me!" (Day 1 - Last Thursday)

"...I was such a sweet girl." (Day 4 - Yesterday)

"...loved 'talking' and laughing for my teachers!! I loved my naps and ate a lot. I had such a great day!" (Today)

Clearly, she's doing well and we made a great decision in choosing her daycare. She even has a friend named Ethan. He's about four weeks older than Madelyn and helped show her the ropes these last few days. His parents have be-friended us, too, which really makes the daycare seem like an extension of our neighborhood.

The only downside is that she's exhausted in the evenings but she's still sleeping through the night. If that's our only complaint then we really have it pretty good.

Happy 3-Month Birthday!

Where did the last three months go?!

I know I've said this numerous times already but I have no idea how it's gone by so quickly. I think back about the 8th of each month and what we were doing at each point --

February 8 - Honey and Poppie had just left to return home to Chicago after a wonderful two-and-a-half week visit. Now Griff and I were on our own to figure out our new life together.

March 8 - We were getting this parenting-thing down a little more and were adjusting well. Both bedtime and bathtime were becoming easier for everyone. I was cleared for exercise and Madelyn and I were pros at running errands and visiting with friends. We even made a trip to the Museum of Nature & Science!

April 8 - Madelyn lights up when she sees her dad. And, she's discovered her hands and keeps us laughing and smiling with her excited squeals and coos. She's napping on a quasi-schedule and getting into a routine which not only helps me but will help in her transition to daycare.

It's amazing to look at how much she's changed in such a short time. Back when she was only 5 weeks old and wouldn't let me put her down during the day, it seemed like time stood still. Then one day I remember thinking to myself how I needed to appreciate this because she won't always be this little and/or willing to be held. Yes, she's still a little girl but not that tiny little baby that Grammy and I brought home from the hospital in January.

Today is the last day of my maternity leave. Tomorrow morning, Team Anderson will leave home a little before 7 a.m. to drop Madelyn off for her first day of daycare. I'm not sure who will have more separation anxiety -- me or her...probably me.

I had no idea 12 weeks could go by so quickly. I'm in awe of our little girl and can't wait to watch her grow even more.