Holy Snow, Batman!

After seeing the Boston Globe's Shaq-o-meter, I got to wondering how many Madelines it's snowed so far.  Stay tuned...more Madelines expected to accumulate.

Ears Johnny!!

True Story.  When I was a very small child, I was afraid of my own shadow. (My family will tell you that I was scared of everything when I was a kid.  Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World??  Horrifying!)  But, I mean, I was literally afraid of my own shadow.

I must have only been three or four because my hair was still short like it was before it turned into the big, frizzy mess that it is today.  (More on that later.)  The nightlight in my room was casting shadows on the wall next to my bed, and I sat up so I could see my own shadow looming larger than life before me.  What I saw sent ice through my veins.  I quickly turned my back to the wall, covers pulled up the my nose, too afraid to even move.  That couldn't be my shadow.  That was the shadow of some strange, evil monkey-human hybrid sure to drag me screaming under the bed at any moment!  The ears were just too enormous for that shadow to belong to a human.

Sadly, that monkey creature was, in fact, little-ole me.   Twenty-something years later, I am no longer afraid of my own shadow, but I do still have the same ears.  It's not that my ears are particularly big...it's just that they stick out so far from my head.  I am reminded of this every time I get my hair cut and the hairdresser has to apologize for getting the comb stuck on my ridiculously prominent ears yet once again.  On the bright side?  I've never had a problem getting sunglasses to stay on my head.

Now it seems that my daughter has inherited these same ears.  One day there was this loud "Boinnnggg" noise and Maddie's ears just popped out from the side of her head.  It was the strangest thing!

 I happen to think they look adorable on her though.  Little kids with big ears?  SO cute I want to pinch their cheeks.  The ears only become a problem when you hit puberty and they accentuate the painful awkwardness.

 Thankfully, the Baby Jesus has also blessed me with hair like a burlap sac, which is very useful when it comes to camouflaging my ears.

Since Madeline flies the same ginger flag as her mumma, it seems likely that she will also have hair like a burlap sac, and will thus be able to hide her ears....

At least, I think so.

P.S.  Don't worry grandparents, I realize my baby is probably the most beautiful baby to ever grace the universe.  You don't have to remind me.

Sicky

One of the many great things about my baby is that she has impeccable timing.  Eric and I had another snow day today, so if there was ever a good time for Madeline to get her first fever, today was it.

After being subjected to several awful tests at the doctor's office this afternoon, it looks like she just has a really bad cold.  We have instructions to give her Tylenol and to call back tomorrow afternoon if her fever hasn't gone by then.  

Looks like Eric will be staying home with the Maddie Bear again tomorrow since I really can't miss any more work this soon after my leave of absence.

Poor girl.  Hopefully she gets some good shut eye tonight.

For The Love of a Giraffe

Oh, Mr. Gie-raff....
Others may see your big brown eyes and think you're goofy.  

They may look at your long, colorful legs and think you're slightly creepy.

But this baby sees the pilgrim soul in you.

I love you, Mr. Gie-raff!

Music to My Ears!

I was in Madeline's room getting everything ready for her bath, when I heard her laughing from the other room.  

I ran into the living room to find her playing a game with Eric.  Thank goodness the video camera was nearby.  I've been trying to get her laughter recorded for a while.  Absolute magic!  I love these two goofballs.  She's already such a daddy's girl.  They're going to have a lot of fun together.  





(I was trying really hard not to laugh while I videoed, but it was in vain.  If you listen closely, you can even hear me snort.)

Oh, What A Year It's Been

A year ago this week, I found out I was pregnant with the Maddie Bear.  I don't remember the exact date, but I think it may have been the 26th, because it was only a few days before Bob's birthday on the 28th.  I didn't drink when we went out to dinner to celebrate, and because I'm obviously a lush, my mother became suspicious right away.

After everything that happened with Ellis, it took me and Eric a long time to accept that we were really having a baby. We were very excited...but also very cautious.  I had spotting on and off throughout the first trimester and a blood clot on my uterus, all of which added to my caution.  I was sure I was losing the baby on more than one occasion.  In fact, I can remember driving home from the doctor's office about a week before giving birth and finally saying to Eric, "Oh, my God, we're having a baby!!" Duh, Summer.  That's how long it took me to let myself really believe it.  

Luckily, all the worrying was in vain because it turned out to be a very uncomplicated pregnancy, and now, here we are with a beautiful, healthy daughter.  I thank my lucky stars every day that the universe decided to bless us with Madeline.

So, here we are.  Maddie has been our lives in one way or another for a full year.

It's pretty crazy to think that she's gone from this:

To this:

We love you, Little Peanut.

19 Weeks

Happy nineteen weeks, little Madeline.

I feel like she's learned to do so much in just the past week!  When I brought her to the doctor's last Monday, I was still a little concerned about her lack of interest in her toys.  Lo and behold, she's been grabbing at everything in front of her face.

Her favorite toy is a stuffed giraffe who we have dubbed Mr. Gie-raff.  Anyone remember that Raggedy Anne and Andy movie that looked like a bad acid trip??  If you do, her Gie-raff kinda reminds me of the camel from that movie.  He's quite ugly and sad looking, but she loves him anyhow.  She likes to grab his head and suck on his nose.

The thing she's most obsessed with, though?  Her toes.  Gal can't top grabbing her toes!  There's nothing cuter than a chubby baby holding her piggies in the air.  It always throws her off balance though, (Sorta like a turtle on its back.) and she ends up on her side.  This has helped her realize that she has control over her own body.  The wheels are turning, the muscles are growing.  She hasn't rolled over yet, but I don't think it will be long.

Another favorite game is "baby in the mirror."  She laughs at the baby in the mirror.  She makes sad face at baby in the mirror.  She flirts with the Mumma and Dadda in the mirror.  She spends a lot of time looking at herself in the mirror.  She's so vain, I bet she thinks this blog is about her.  

On the grosser side, she's a drooly-mc-droolerson these days.  I knew she'd eventually turn into a drool monster...all babies do, right?  But, it's still pretty gross.  When Eric hold her up over his head, he finds himself having to dodge the drool drops.

Her vocal tricks are continuing to grow.  She whines a lot now.  (Where did she get that from??)  Her favorite new noise seems to be a miserable sounding, "Ahhh, mumm, mumm, mumm, ba, ba, ba, ba."  In fact, I can hear it coming through the baby monitor as I type this.

She's a pretty amazing little sweet potato.  I'm so used to her presence in our lives now.  She's no longer new to me.  I've gotten to know her personality better, and more times than not, I can pinpoint what's bothering her when she's upset.  Don't get me wrong, there are still times where nothing seems to please her, but for the most part, I've got her number.  And before we know it, that "Ahhh, mumm, mumm, mumm, mumm, ba, ba, ba," will have turned into something more like, "Mumma! Get me out of this crib!!"