Duck Dock and Pumpkin Patch

Daddy took off from work Friday to spend the day with Mama and Sweet Girl. Little Monster had such a good time with the ducks the other day that on Friday, Mama and Daddy decided to bring her back to the park. When everyone got there, a big flock of geese had taken over the dock and when they saw Wee Goblin heading their way with bread, they all got up to come meet her. It was very exciting, and Miss Fuss had to stay in Daddy's arms to avoid being spirited away by a press gang of geese. The ducks followed the geese, so everyone got some nice, stale bread. After seeing the ducks, Little Monster visited Noni for some pasta while Mama and Daddy had sandwiches.To wrap up the day, Sweet Girl went to Petco to look at the kitties, turtles, hamsters, and fish. It's always exciting to see so many animals in one place!

Speaking of animals, on Saturday Baby Girl visited a pumpkin patch. They had a petting zoo there, and if the housepets at Petco were exciting for Little Monster, the petting zoo at the pumpkin patch was downright amazing. She got to play with bunnies, pet a pair of goats, speak with a wide-eyed calf, and even ride a pony! She also wandered the pumpkins to look for a favorite, but she didn't find one to her liking. Unfortunately, she didn't have a chance to jump in the moon bounce because too many kids were playing in it, but the pony ride was so much fun, she wanted to ride twice.

Football Party

As they say in Where the Wild Things Are, it was quite a wild rumpus around here today. It was Mama and Daddy's turn to host Football Sunday, so Daddy made a pot of chili from the recipe he got from his dad. That chili was too spicy for Baby Girl, but it didn't stop her from having a grand time with Spencer, Hafthor, and Emilia. At one point, the kids were making more noise than a whole house full of adults -- it was quite a cacophony of toys, games, crashing into things, and climbing over things. Sweet Goblin was a charming hostess, and she did it all with only the barest portion of a nap. Hey, when it's party time for a Baby Girl, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit.

During the football party, Little Monster had all sorts of adventures. She ate cookies, she shared her toys with her guests, and she turned her room into a playroom for anyone who wanted to come throw down. At one point, her bed was a corral of wild child caught mid-hootenanny. Much book-reading went on, as did much cracker-eating and friend-making.

At the end of the evening, both Mama and Daddy were completely wiped, and Sweet Girl's brief nap proved too much for her to bear. As much as she wanted to watch the Bears-Falcons game, she was just too tired. After brushing her teeth and reading about how Madeline Loves Animals, she went to bed with a great party under her belt. Now all that remains is the cleanup tomorrow... but that can wait until hopefully both she and Mama get a chance to sleep in. Who knows? If Mama makes more cookies tomorrow, there might be a chance to lick the mixing spoon again.

Reading books with Emilia.


Having chow mein and sweet chili calamari at Doc Chey's.

Wearing a jaunty cap with Totoro to run errands in the Highlands.

Daddy is Old!

Just kidding. He's just a bit older than he was yesterday.

We've had a bit of a rough weekend over here. Miss Fuss has been feeling under the weather again, running a low grade fever and not eating her normal massive amounts of food. We even made a trip to the emergency room late Friday night, but gave up on seeing a doctor after waiting for three hours. Don't worry, if Munchkin is still not up to snuff we'll take her to her regular doctor this week.

Despite the icky-sickys, Little Monster has had a pretty fun weekend. She spent Friday night out with Aunties Joddie and Nicole, Tracy and Kasper. Saturday she received an early Christmas present from Aunt Angi (Mama's sister) and knew immediately that it was meant for a Tickle Bug because of the lack of wrapping on the brightly colored box. Mama hadn't planned on making her wait for it, but once she saw the box it was all over. She could hardly wait for Mama to put it together before she started bouncing away and making music on her new ride-on horse.

Today we are off to run errands before the new babysitter, Elena, comes over to spend the evening with Little Monster. They met last week and absolutely adore each other, so we're sure there won't be any issues while Mama and Daddy go out for some dinner and drinks.

Words/signs MJ has learned:
Mama (finally!)
Daddy (very clearly "Daa-dee")
more (sign)
eat/drink (sign)
cheese
kitty
puppy
up (when she wants to be picked up or put down)
bib (word and sign)
bye-bye (word and wave)
baby
hi
all done/all gone (sign)
no (word complete with head shaking)

No More Rain! Just Boogers.

Daddy got it in his head that he wanted to watch The Point with Baby Girl, because years and years ago, he watched The Point with Papa Den. Sweet Girl, on the other hand, had no interest in sitting still for such fare. Daddy wants to try again -- Little Monster liked all of the pointy shapes and contrasting colors, at least -- but he's resigned to the possibility that it might just be him watching this old classic by himself.

Right now, Little Werewolf is all smiles, but those smiles are 90 percent boogers. Sweet Girl is getting over her cold and just moving past a shot from the doctor's visit, so she's not at her best. It's resulted in a few cranky afternoons early mornings and early evenings, but she still has toothy smiles for everyone at some point during the day.

Sunday, Tickle Bug went to Dru's house with Mama and Daddy for a football party. There, she played with Ginger the dog and gave her kisses on the nose. So sweet! She also ate some pepperoni puff pastries, some of Oscar's avocado nachos, and even some sweets. She played with Daddy's beer and hung out with Fred a little bit, too. A lot of people came to Dru's party, and Giggle Girl charmed them all.

Tonight, Miss Madeleine had a box of raisins on the way home from Anna's house. When she got home, she had a little bit of tuna fish (some of which she wore on her eyebrows) and a little bit of her new favorite, sloppy Joes. If there's one thing this girl does well, it's eat, and Mama and daddy are finding clever ways to sneak additional vegetables into Little Monster's mostly meat-and-pasta diet.

Rain Can't Stop Miss Sunshine

Since she's started walking, Sweet Girl has truly made the house her own. In fact, she's so fearless and far-ranging that Mama has had to break out the baby gates in an attempt to corral the Commando Goblin from setting up ambushes all over the place. Little Monster isn't exactly clear on the game of chase — sometimes she chases, sometimes you chase — but she definitely likes to scour the entire range of the house in her hide-and-seek endeavor.

Little Werewolf scored major loot the other day. First came a visit to the doctor: In addition to being a little bit boogery right now, she is 23.5 pounds and 33 inches. Long and lean, so they say, with a runner's physique (plus a bit of baby belly). After the doctor and a few shots, Mama took Tickle Bug to a consignment sale, where she took home a nifty new rocking chair, a dinosaur playset, and some sweet new kicks. Just about time, too, since the Pedoodles Grandma Raye got for Wee Goblin are almost too small already! What a growing girl.

Today was a little dour. Georgia has been having terrible storms, and Daddy's road to work was delayed because of a mudslide and a collapsed stretch of pavement. He came home early only to find Mama worried that there was an animal upstairs. Daddy didn't find it upstairs, and he thinks its a squirrel, which Miss Fuss would enjoy no end. As it was, her sunny disposition lifted the dreary day, and she spent the evening after dinner reading a magazine and looking for pictures of puppy dogs.

The Final Word: We're Walking!

Who is this helpful girl you see? It's Tickle Bug, of course, and she's giving Daddy a hand in the kitchen. Little Monster really enjoys spending time in the kitchen, whether it's stirring things in her little pot, blowing on pasta steaming on the stove, or clamoring for her breakfast sausages. She's especially enthusiastic about the dishwasher, where she grabs silverware from its tray and hurls it into the interior. Let's hope she remains such a vigorous helper when it comes to chores several years from now.

But let's get down to business. Baby Girl is walking! She can easily traverse the whole house, from the living room to the reading room and back again. She's quite the explorer, and isn't afraid to poke around in Mama and Daddy's dark room when the lights are off, or in the bathroom where she takes her baths. It's a good thing there's a door in front of the upstairs staircase, because Daddy saw her climb a flight of stairs at the babysitter's place when he picked her up yesterday. Sweet Girl has a kiss for you at the end!



In case the idea of Little Monster trundling unassisted all over the place isn't scary enough, consider this little ghost's seasonal Halloween fright-fest. Boo!

Staying With Friends

Yesterday, Sweet Girl visited with Anna Rut and had a really good time. Anna Rut is the wife of one of Daddy's coworkers, who was kind enough to let Sweet Girl stay during the day. Baby Girl had a great time and didn't want to leave! She stayed with Anna Rut and Huni's son and daughter, Hafthor and Emilia.

Madeleine spent the day playing in the playhouse that occupies the living room. She especially liked opening and closing the red door, playing with the kitchen toys, and drawing on the easel. Here are a few pictures of her enjoying herself.



Oh, and here's a picture of Hafthor, "supplementing" his diet with some chocolate frosting. Baby Girl, don't let him trick you into eating junk food!