fun fun fun

Josh stayed home tonight with the wee one so that I could paint the town red in honor of Kelly, a fellow mommy from playgroup, turning a year older. Suzi (another playgroup mommy friend!) and I were each other's dates for the evening. We started at the Carolina Inn for some drinks and bluegrass music, walked to the Franklin for another round of libations, and then on to 411 West for a yummy Italian dinner. The crowd moved on to The Yogurt Pump for dessert, but Suzi and I needed to head home so I'll have to leave that adventure for another time. The name of the place alone would be reason enough to give it a try!

It was great fun to meet Kelly's family and friends, including Ed and Heba. I won't post any pictures from the evening because I don't want to reveal how they currently look (they are contestants on The Biggest Loser) -- well, maybe I'll backpost a pic after the season finale. I am awed by what they have done and are continuing to do. They are amazing people (and a complete riot!).

splash

Once there was a break in this morning's rain, I hurried us out to the car so that we could run some errands before naptime. I knew that she'd go straight for the water, but thought I could just redirect her towards the open car door and get her in her seat without much fuss. Madeline had other plans. Right after I snapped this pic, she proceeded to jump in the puddle and splashed both of us. I just had to laugh.

we're still here

So it's been a while... thanks for continuing to check in on us. Life has been pretty busy for me since Duke's fall semester started up again. I had forgotten how much chaos ensues at the beginning of each term. I plan to be better prepared next time -- we'll see how that pans out! Despite the chaos, it is nice to have the Theta girls back in town (hip-hip-hooray for free babysitting!), and I appreciate the opportunity to mentor them and share with them my passion for leadership development.

In the interest of keeping some semblance of chronological order to our blog, I'm backposting the pics and videos of our recent adventures. I'll start way back at Aug 22 and work towards more current times, so either scroll back to witness the cuteness that we've been keeping under wraps or patiently wait here until I get caught up.

amazed

While we were running errands this morning, I heard a faint little whistle coming from the backseat. When we pulled into our driveway, I tried to capture this new-found skill on video for posterity. You may have to turn up your volume to hear it (my voice is pretty loud at the beginning -- sorry!).

field trip

Our playgroup took a trip to Greensboro today to visit the children's museum there. It is an amazing facility that has activities appealing to a very broad range of ages. I was overwhelmed by it all. Madeline's two favorite activities were pressing the button in the fire house to turn the on siren (I know, a siren indoors -- egads!) and having a tea party with Katie.

latest stats

M's 15-month check-up was this morning. She continues to be a long, lean little gal: 32.25in tall (95%) and 23.5lbs (60%). Man, does she have some long legs. She wears 18-24-mo pants with the adjustable waistband cranked all the way to the smallest size, but still wears 12-mo onesies. Her arms are also longer than average (just like Mommy and Daddy), so we're glad that the three-quarter length sleeve look is still in fashion.

Other fun notes about her at this stage:

We're noticing her vocabulary and comprehension expand every day. There are some words she will only sign, some she will only speak, and some that she will simultaneously sign and speak -- isn't it amazing how the brain makes these associations? Most of her spoken language is only understood by us. She leaves off the consonants at the beginning of most words right now, so that can make it difficult for the untrained observer to interpret. She has also decided that dogs are to be called "boe-boes". The dog across the street from us has a bark that definitely sounds like "boe-boe" and so he sealed the fate for the rest of his species.

She understands what it means when we say "You need a time out."

She prefers to blow kisses than to wave bye-bye.

Still drools a ton. Josh said he didn't stop drooling until he was in 2nd grade, so we may be dealing with soaked shirt-fronts for a while.

Still has just the 6 teeth -- four top and two bottom. We thought/hoped at first that the drooling was linked to additional teeth breaking through, but that seems to be unfounded.

She has mastered the skill of having her body go completely limp when she doesn't want to be picked up. We've almost dropped her a few times because of it.

Only ticklish in her armpits.

Loves to read books, climb on chairs, play in water, carry around bags and/or purses, hug the cat, and run around in the yard.

She is fascinated with other kids and also by cars and trucks driving through our neighborhood.

popular

At playgroup this week, the kids couldn't get enough of the ball-popping toy. It has a fan that blows these ping-pong-sized balls through a clear tube and shoots them up into the air. The orange funnel at the top is supposed to catch them and direct them back down into the toy via the blue track so that they can get shot back up into the air again and again. It was a hoot to watch them all crowd around it to try and grab the balls as they were shot into the air.

Katie, Madeline, Cadence & Linus wait for another ball to appear.

but i just wanted to hold you...

Our Buddleia (butterfly bush) has been quite prolific this year, so we've gotten to be up-close and personal with quite a few winged visitors this summer.

shoulda stayed home

We went back to Pullen Park today for the Theta Family picnic. We were so worn out from yesterday's fun that we didn't even make it back to any of the rides or the playground! Jenny & Dave brought along their black lab, Stella, and she entertained Madeline more than any piece of playground equipment could. That was fine with us!

It was fun to visit with the other Thetas (and their husbands), but we encountered a couple of mishaps that left me wishing we had stayed home. First, M and I both were bitten by ants. It was a new experience for me and one that I hope I never get to repeat -- man, did it hurt! Luckily, she only had one welt. I had at least four. Yowsa! Our second *insert groan here* moment happened right before we were going to eat. A little baby squirrel fell out of the tree next to our picnic shelter. Well, we assumed that it fell out of the tree. We couldn't see anywhere else a nest could possibly be. None of us knew what to do -- it was squealing, but we couldn't tell if it was calling to it's family or if it was hurt and/or dying or a combination of these. Ugh. It breaks my heart just thinking about it now. We decided there wasn't anything we could do for it, so we left it there and hoped that it's little squirrel mommy would come get it. Tear.

oops

We went to Pullen Park today to play and meet up with other area Thetas for our annual family picnic. After a few trips around the park and peeking into every picnic shelter we could find, I realized that the picnic isn't until tomorrow. Oops. So we made the best of it and enjoyed the rides.

I used to drive by Pullen Park when I worked in downtown Raleigh and have been hankering to ride on their little train. I don't know why, I just have. Madeline was a bit overwhelmed by the experience, probably due to our close proximity to the train's whistle. Now we know to wait for the next departure instead of taking the car behind the engine!

After we recovered from the train and took a few slips down some slides, Josh took her on the carousel. That seemed to be more to her liking. I was impressed by how long the carousel ride lasted. They kept spinning for almost 4 complete songs - not bad for a total of $2 admission!

next season's designs

Here's a preview of M's avant-garde look for next season...


Apparently layering will be key.

today's fun

We met up with our fab playgroup friends at Duke Park this afternoon. Madeline tried out a new look today -- pigtails. I was nervous about yanking her hair around to get it fastened in the teeny tiny little elastics, but she took it like a pro.

Swinging with her friends Stick and Fork. (M is hardly ever empty-handed.)

Getting in a quick hill workout -- how else can you expect to keep such a svelte figure?

Experimenting with sand.

Wyatt looks questioningly at the paparazzo, Madeline is trying to distract Mommy from seeing her dirt beard, and Linus is just hoping those elusive pigtails will hold still long enough for him to touch them.