Adventures in Babysitting

Poor Miss Jeanie. She was so excited to have Madeleine daily back in September when Mommy and Daddy both went back to work. Then Mommy decided that she couldn't bear to be away from Little Monster. Now that the house hunting is under way Mommy has once again decided that maybe she should get a job and stop being a bum. Because of this, Miss Jeanie got to keep Miss Fuss for precisely two hours today, three quarters of which Madeleine hollered and carried on for. Apparently MJ was fine for the first fifteen or twenty minutes when she all of a sudden figured out that Mommy was nowhere to be seen. She then proceeded to let Miss Jeanie and the other kids know how she felt about that. (Hint: she wasn't too happy.) However, she did get her first swing ride which she reportedly loved. If we're lucky and Mommy gets this job, Goblin will only have to stay with Miss Jeanie for roughly an hour twice a week. It'll be good for her. (Or so Mommy keeps trying to convince herself.)

We will caption today's photos, because there were too many funny ones to just choose two. We didn't think y'all would mind. The first one was a serious, in depth conversation with Totoro.

Puffy face after an extended crying jag Tuesday night. Boy, does she cry like Mama or what?!

Madeleine gets very excited when she thinks she's up to no good - like pulling all of the toys out of her bookcase.
An apple that Miss Fuss demanded this morning at breakfast. It was Mommy's, then someone decided she was commandeering it. "This is mine. Don't even try taking it back, Mama."

Finally, a new variation on the booty dance.

Madeleine wishes you a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend! We will be meeting the realtor on Saturday to give her our wish list. Madeleine's involves a corral for her future ponies and a yard big enough for circus birthday parties. Daddy says, "We'll see."

Checkup Time

Madeleine went to see Dr. Koenig today to find out how much the massive amounts of Puffs have helped her grow. Little Monster measures 28.75 inches, in the 90th percentile, and 18.5 pounds, in the 50th. So she's long and slender, which you couldn't tell at all from her cheeks. Mommy got the go ahead to give Wee Goblin yogurt, egg yolks, and table food as long as Daddy cuts back on the spices. Dr. Koenig also mentioned that most taller babies crawl later, which has been worrying Mommy a bit. But then again, Miss Fuss is such a terror in her walker, Lord help us when she's mobile on her own. Thankfully MJ was not subjected to shots today except for a toe prick to check her iron levels, which were fine. Other than that, the nurse and doctor both said that Madeleine looks wonderful and is a charming and beautiful baby girl. But we already knew that, of course.

Last night while knawing on Mama's fingers another tooth was discovered. Funnily enough it is an incisor. Maybe our Little Goblin is turning into a werewolf after all. (Daddy says: Or perhaps a vampire!)

Tonight Madeleine joined Daddy at the office for dinner for tacos and afterward we returned home for bath night. Once again we've been having frequent wake-ups in the night, but it's probably all due to that pesky little fanglet. Whatever the case is, Madeleine is still her charming self during the day.

They Prowl Among Us

The day began like any other, with Baby Girl making some noise in her crib to let Mama and Daddy know that it was time to get up. Breakfast was johnny cakes and bananas, and the johnny cakes went over a little better than the sliced bananas did. When you are a Little Monster, it's often much more interesting to smash your cubed bananas into a viscous paste that it is to eat them. After all, don't smashed bananas look better in your hair, eyebrows, and nose than they do in your mouth? Wee Goblin definitely thinks so.

Miss Fuss didn't have any big plans on the day other than errands, so she spent a quiet portion of the morning playing with toys and helping Mickey Mouse solve Clarabelle's problems on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

But then the strangest thing happened.

The sun went dark and clouds crept across the sky. Heavy mists roiled up from the gardens. People ran inside their homes, shuttering their windows and locking their doors. A terrifying grunting and howling streaked across the countryside... because Baby Girl had turned into a werewolf!

Seriously, what is it with this Little Monster? Right alongside all of the coos and giggles come the terrifying roars, fiendish squeals, and savage howls. The best is when they come with a look of grim determination, like she can feel the curse of lycanthropy working.

It definitely doesn't run on Daddy's side of the family. Well, actually, it probably does.

Snow Day!

Today we visited Snow Mountain, as you can see by the pictures. It was a lot of fun, but, as you might expect, a bit short-lived.

Miss Fuss had a sort of agitated day, and she didn't have much enthusiasm. She didn't want to eat much and her naps were just functional at best. Even when we went up to Daddy's office for social hour and hot chocolate, Little Monster wasn't really into it. She ate a little bit and had a few li'l crunchies, but mostly she just lolled in her chair.

Then we went up to the mountain and played a little bit in the snow. We saw snowshoes and helped build a snow castle. Snow is a weird, funny substance, not quite water and not quite... whatever it was we thought we were grabbing. We watched the lights on the snowbanks from the deck, where we warmed up a little bit. Wee Goblin was kind of cold, but she really got a kick out of riding the sled down the hill with Mama. Of course, Mama wasn't exactly familiar with how snow worked, either, so just walking through it was an adventure of its own.

By the time we started to head home, Baby Girl's tears turned into chuckles, and after we got out of our nice, warm bath, she was all giggles and smiles.

Probably because she peed on the bed like a little heathen.

And Another Happy

Happy, Happy!

Well, we tried, Grandma B.J.! But shredding was way more fun than posing!

And for all of the rest of you:

House Hunting - Goblin Style

The search has officially began. The family spent all day Sunday driving around the desirable neighborhoods of Decatur looking for "For Sale" signs. Madeleine contented herself with her Leap Frog mirror in the backseat while Mommy and Daddy scoffed at the unrealistic pricing of hopeful home-sellers. While viewing one condo(221), Little Monster decided she would attempt to clear the kitchen island of any construction dust with her booty. The realtor thought that was pretty cute. We also viewed a townhouse that Mommy is in love with, even though the asking price is a bit ridiculous for the location. At any rate, Wee Goblin was definitely tired after a day of driving and charming, and she slept well last night.

Tomorrow Daddy is taking the day off so Mommy can go to a job interview. While she is being grilled by prospective employers, Miss Fuss and Daddy plan to spend some time together in Piedmont Park. Perhaps they will go to the duck pond. Or maybe Daddy will teach MJ to make fun of joggers in the park. Who knows what the day holds?

Also, according to Aunt Nicole, Madeleine was "an angel" for them Friday night. Apparently Mommy's fears were completely unfounded.

Cold Weather Blues

Brrrr! It's cold over here. Little Monster has spent the week cooped up in the house, bundled under many layers of clothing. She resembles a cute, pink Michelin Man.

All the weekend festivities went well. There aren't any pictures from the baby shower unfortunately; Mommy was hosting and Daddy was Monster-keeping, so no one had a free second for a camera. Hopefully someone will send us copies from their camera. Miss Fuss definitely had fun socializing and meeting new people. She's pretty much over the stranger-fear stage she went through back in the fall and is now a total charmer, of course.

Eva and Liam visited again on Tuesday, and after Liam napped for the first hour, he was ready to play with Madeleine. Watch out, Kasper and Oliver! Liam is on the move!

Tomorrow night Uncle Eric and Aunt Nicole are babysitting the Wee Goblin so Mommy and Daddy can go out for Valentine's Day. It'll be the first time Miss Fuss will have to go to bed without Mommy or Grandma Raye or Grandma B.J. Mommy's crossing her fingers that the evening doesn't make Eric and Nicole rethink getting pregnant.