Mmm...corn

Madelyn enjoys corn on the cob.  Surprisingly, she ate an entire ear last night!  I guess if she fills up on vegetables with dinner, that's not the worst thing in the world, right?  The best part is that after she was all done, she wouldn't relinquish the ear as it had become a trophy of her accomplishment.

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.

Sunday at the zoo

Here we are checking out the lions.  Of course, they're sleeping.

We saw a giraffe birthing.  Yes, those are feet you're seeing!

We saw a spotted leopard...

...sleeping.  It reminded us of someone at home.

Madelyn insisted on walking.

And lots of walking she did.

Westward bound

Honey and Poppie are coming!

They've sold their house in Illinois and are under contract on a house in Colorado.  We're looking forward to having another set of grandparents (and babysitters) close.

See you soon, Honey and Poppie!


Illinois house -

Colorado house -

18 Months...What?!

18-months old and I can...

• Feed myself with a spoon and a fork.
• Walk, run, climb, and jump. (It's my favorite!)
• Pet Sadie and Felix, sometimes more gently than others.
• Take my shoes off.
• Point to a picture of my family or something in a book when you ask me, "Where's _____?"  The other night she found all her relatives in pictures on the refrigerator when Daddy asked her!
• Talk.  I have so many words that when Dr Brandon asked Mommy how many words I have, Mommy had a hard time pinning down a number.

My favorite new foods are...

• Corn on the cob, peas, and baked beans.
• Turkey tenderloin and couscous.
• Great Grandma Gilbert's strawberry shortcake.

Happy 18-month birthday, Madelyn.  I don't know how or when it happened but you've turned from a baby into a little girl!

Before and After

Cornhusker

It's fun watching Madelyn try new foods.  Some she really likes (bananas), others not so much (ground beef).  At any rate, her palatte is developing.

On Sunday, we enjoyed turkey burgers, baked beans, and corn on the cob for dinner.  Madelyn helped Griff de-husk the corn and there was a discussion about this is "what they mean when they talk about Cornhuskers"...sort of.  Madelyn doesn't really like burgers yet so she had leftover chicken bites from the night before instead of burger.  She ate her chicken bites and baked beans well.  But, the corn?  No.  The few kernels that went in were promptly taken right out of her mouth.

As Griff and I ate our dinners, she looked longingly at our corn cobs.  So, Griff held his corn cob up to her mouth.  I wish I had a picture or video because it was the sweetest, cutest thing!  She ate corn on the cob!  When Griff's corn was finished, she looked at mine.  So, I ate what I wanted then gave the rest to her.

If only Madelyn's Nebraska relatives could have seen, they would have been so proud of our little Cornhusker!

Fish

The day we've been waiting for is finally here.  Swimming lessons started today!  For the next six weeks, we'll have our lesson at 1030A on Saturday at the Aviator Pool.  Below is a quick summary of today's outing.

Before -

During -

And, after -

Staycation - Day 3

Well, we didn't make it to Tiny Town as originally planned.  That outing is postponed until a later date.  We did, however, conclude our staycation in good fashion.  We went for a  l o n g  walk and ate our picnic lunch by the pond in Central Park.  Post nap, we went over to Grammy and Grandad's for some BBQ and backyard fun.

Madelyn played a little badminton,

Ran the community pool while Grammy supervised (and refilled the water, as needed),

 

And, after a change into dry clothes enjoyed sharing some blueberry pie with Aunt Shelley and Mom.  We headed home exhausted from a great Memorial Day weekend staycation.

Ready for Breakfast