What Child Is This?

It was a long holiday weekend for Little Monster, but there was a lot of rain, so we didn't get to go to the pool like we had planned. Instead, we went to a cookout at Vincent's house, where Sweet Girl played with a fire truck and ate a little bit of a hot dog. Baby Girl stayed up very late that night, and didn't make it to bed until nine o'clock.

Wee Goblin has been reading a great deal lately. Among birthday books, old favorites, and library loans, this is one Little Monster who has inherited her parents' love for books. Even though she can't truly read, she loves to page through books, point at the pictures, and tell her own stories about what she thinks is happening. We've heard ripping yarns about everything from Maisy and her panda to Curious George's antics at the zoo to princesses at a glamorous ball. Sometimes Miss Fuss has her books upside down as she's reading them, but that's okay. There's no need to discourage what we hope becomes a lifelong habit.

Another habit that Tickle Bug took from her parents is her adventurous palate. There's nothing this little critter won't eat. She loves kid favorites like grilled cheese, hot dogs, and burgers, but she also challenges herself with almost everything put on her tray. The other day, Daddy made a barbecue meatloaf that had spinach, pimentos, onions, and poblano peppers in it, and Baby Girl ate about 13 pounds of it! Today, Daddy made a faux caponata out of eggplant, asparagus, onions, and tomatoes, and Sweet Girl polished that off, too. French toast for breakfast, split pea soup for lunch, squash casserole as a snack — Little Monster certainly likes to celebrate the gustatory wonders of the world around her! If only one thing is certain, it's that this Little Monster isn't a finicky eater.

12 Month Check Up

Well, the day started out innocently enough. Mama and Little Monster had some breakfast, watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Imagination Movers, and Miss Fuss took a nice morning nap. More presents were waiting for her when she got up - this time some great puzzles, a book, and some blocks from Aunt Angi and cousins Shelby, Sammi and Steven. While MJ played with those, Mama fixed some beef stew lunch and kept the cat away from the tuna sandwich she had made herself.

Then it all went south.

As Miss Madeleine was getting in the car, it suddenly started pouring. Traffic was pretty bad heading into town, and Baby Girl was not happy about it. We got to the doctor's office, which has just been remodeled and has lots of new toys. Just as Madeleine was settling in with a book, we were called into the room. We found out that Sweet Goblin weighs 20 lbs (45th percentile) and is a whopping 30.5 inches long! She's still in the 90th percentile for height, and Dr. Koenig says that Wee Goblin is growing just as she would have expected. Miss Fuss was fascinated by the stethoscope and tongue depressor, and really didn't mind Dr. Koenig poking and prodding her. Then the worst thing of all happened - three shots! Poor Baby Girl had two in the leg, and just when she thought it was over and Mama was holding her, the mean nurse gave her another shot in the arm!

Now Mama has to go to work and leave Sweet Girl with Daddy, but something tells Mama that there is frozen yogurt in Madeleine's future. Well, there has to be some kind of reward for being such a good girl at the doctor's office - and in general.

Happy Birthday, Little Monster!

My, how time flies. Exactly one year ago today, Mama and Daddy welcomed a wrinkly, screaming critter into the world who was completely dependent and mostly content. Now we have a growing one-year-old, going on five, little girl. Miss Fuss is crawling like a Speed Racer, walking with her stroller, eating anything she can get her hands on (including cat food), and letting us know exactly who is boss in this house.

Today was all about Miss Madeleine. Mama and Daddy wanted her to feel very special, so we did lots of things that Little Goblin enjoys. For breakfast we had strawberry banana yogurt-cereal, a blueberry muffin, and a banana. After a some general room destruction in the form of tearing all clothes and blankets off the shelves Tickle Bug took a nice long morning nap. Meanwhile, Mama baked a cake and one lone cupcake just for Madeleine. After a beef stew lunch, Mama and Madeleine went to the park. We took the stroller-walker so Miss Fuss could work off some energy, and after a bit of wandering around we crawled through the tunnels (bumped our head when we got too excited playing peek-a-boo with Mama), took a swing ride, and walked/crawled up and down the playground equipment ramp. One of Madeleine's favorite things is going up and down ramps and steps, and she sure got her fill of the ramp today!

After the park, we stopped by Publix to pick up a few necessities, as well as a "1st Birthday Princess" balloon. Baby Girl loves balloons. She's not entirely sure what to do with them, but thinks it's funny when she bonks Mama on the head with one. After an afternoon nap, we had a graham cracker and custard snack while waiting for Daddy to get home from work. Once Daddy was home, Little Monster tore through her presents and had a tilapia, sugar snap pea and acorn squash dinner. She had her special birthday cupcake, which amazingly enough, she didn't seem too thrilled with. Madeleine licked a bit of the icing, ate a few bites of the cake, then proceeded to smear the icing everywhere. Ah, that's the girl we know. Now Baby Girl is in bed after a quick but thorough bath, and Mama and Daddy are reflecting on the best year of their lives, so far. We know there will be many more to come.

A Little Fairy

I’ll give thee fairies to attend on thee,
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,
And sing, while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep:
And I will purge thy mortal grossness so
That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.

— Wm. Shakespeare, A Midsummer-Night's Dream

On The Move

First Birthday Party!

"Hey, you! Yeah, you! You're invited to my birthday party! My birthday isn't until May 20th, but everyone is coming to my party this Saturday at the park."

"Here, you can have an invitation."

Baby Girl was surprised this morning when she woke up and found the living room full of balloons.

A walk in the park with fairy wings and Grandma Raye.

"What? This Cheeto? I brought it. It belongs to me."

Madeleine and all of her friends.

A cake for Baby Girl.

Of course, Sweet Girl had a cake all of her own to do with what she wanted. And she wanted to smash it and eat it.

You know it's party time when you're not wearing any pants and the action is still going on.

Joddie brought a stuffed camel from her visit to Dubai. Even though Joddie got back at five this morning, she still made it to Sweet Girl's party.

"I'm pretty sure there's a present in here somewhere."

Spencer gave Madeleine a flower!

Festival Time

Yet another busy week! Daddy checked his schedule and he's worked about 240 hours this month. That means time with Baby Girl has been scarce and precious. With that in mind, Mama and Daddy decided on a whim to take Little Monster to the Georgia Renaissance Festival on Saturday morning. They figured there would be plenty of things to amuse Sweet Girl, from performances to dragon wind chimes to colorful costumes. And if Daddy got to drink beer and eat a turkey leg as part of the deal, it was a win-win situation.

Wee Goblin sure loved the festival. From the moment she got there, she knew there was a lot to see and do. As a sort of pre-birthday present, Mama bought Sweet Girl a pair of fairy wings and some fairy dust (look closely in the picture), which she wore throughout the day and for which she received many compliments. Miss Fuss watched the acrobats for a little while, then she looked at the water fountain with the sculpted dragonflies nearby.

Little Monster got to enjoy one of her favorite lunches, too, because Daddy brought her a grilled cheese sandwich from one of the stands. After lunch, everyone took a little stroll, and Baby Girl got to meet an exotic saracen, a lady-in-waiting, and even Anne Boleyn (head still attached). Wee Goblin also saw another goblin that was part of a display outside one of the shops, and she pulled on his scary fangs.

On the way back to the parking lot, Sweet Girl made a new friend who could walk all by himself. With a little of Mama's help, Baby Girl walked over to meet him and say hello. After that it was back to the car and home so Mama could get to work on time.

After a long day in the sun, covered in sunscreen, Little Monster needed a bath, so Daddy set up Bathtime Duck, wherein Miss Madeleine played with her bath toys. It was important for Sweet Girl to wash her face in the bath, because she had spaghetti all over it from dinner. At the end of her big day, after a relaxing bath, Miss Fuss went right to bed.

Sunday was the usual lazy day that started with breakfast and a visit to the grocery store. Everyone lazed around the house a bit, and in the afternoon, Tickle Bug went outside to paint the sidewalk with water, which eventually turned into a romp through the grass. Sweet Girl even managed to crawl through the grass — finally ! — when the paintbrushes were just out of reach. We'll see if she takes this practice to the living room. When everyone came back inside, Little Werewolf wrestled on the couch with Daddy and then had a little crabletry instead of a nap.

Baby Girl has made some big advances in her repertoire of cleverness. She's pointing now, as well as standing both assisted and unassisted. Sometimes she takes a tumble, which scares her, but just as often leads to a giggling fit. She's speaking a few words that Mama and Daddy believe are real, like "no," "more," and "dada," but the context is still a little unsure. We'll find out the answer as she lets us in on her secrets.

Perhaps...

... the next Top Chef?