Our week in Corvallis

little buddies

this kid can sleep through anything!

kisses from Grandma

she sleeps at last (in the clothes she was wearing that day, but hey, at 10:30 pm who cares?!)

playing trains

see-saw, oh the cuteness of the giggling with this one!

more trains

there's three in the bed and the little one said "roll over, roll over" so they all rolled over and one fell out........... can you hear the melody? at one point Maddy did actually fall out and it wasn't so melodious after that....

Last week there was a LLL training in Corvallis. Since my parents live there, we decided to stretch the visit out over a few days. And as a bonus, my friend Bethany was working at HP down there that week and we got to hang out with her daughter Esther while she was away. We stayed in a hotel with them part of the time (sleep was kind of a crapshoot, one night Maddy melted down, the next night it was Esther's turn) and the girls had such giggly fun with each other. And, well, a little grabbing and shoving thrown in for good measure. The training was nice, topics such as leader accreditation, balancing work and breastfeeding, toddler nursing and tiered membership levels. Plus great fellowship with my fellow nursing mama friends that always encourages and uplifts me. My parents house is getting closer to being done, they are at the drywall stage and hope to be moved in by the end of next month.

Sometimes you feel like a nut

When I got home from the gym tonight I laughed at the BIG pile of pistachio nuts on the fireplace hearth next to Jason. I slyly commented "Oh, had a few nuts tonight, did you?" And he smirked and said "No, MADDY had a few pistachios tonight." My jaw hit the floor, there had to be fifty of them cracked open. I guess we know where she gets that habit since we both love them, but good grief, that is a lot of nuts for such a little tummy!

Maddy at 2 1/2 years old

organizing her art work to be hung in the "gallery" - this is best done naked of course

static -- I love how she stands with her belly all stuck out, she HATES getting off the trampoline because it shocks her so badly, but we have figured out a way to ground it temporarily by having her grab a metal broom handle and then we grab it and then grab her - a good fix for now

watering flowers

art in her smock - now normally I am not a smock kind of mom, but this paint was semi-washable semi-permanent so I figured I might try it out - it was a present and now I am glad we got some use out of it since I always felt guilty it just hung in her closet.... but honestly it just annoyed her and she is fairly meticulous with her art so I think we can go commando next time, she prefers to do her art naked anyhow....maybe just put a towel down on the floor or something to catch any errant drips.

Hanging' with Grandpa

Bath time 4 1/2 months

chunka chunka delicious fabulousness!

Heralding Spring

I love this time of year for so many reasons and fresh didees fluttering on the line is such a landmark occasion -spring is finally here!

Jumper

Karis loves her little jumper. Unfortunately, because of how our house it, this is the only doorway it will fit in. And this is the doorway Maddy loves to run through and while she is running through, she unfailingly grabs ahold of the strap and gives Karis a way too wild ride. Yesterday she swung her so hard before I could get there that she almost hit the other wall, that is like four or five feet away, people. So down came the jumper until I can figure out a way to make it toddler-proof or install an itty bitty harness and helmet and pad down the walls and put bubble wrap on the floor. But I am sure glad I got these cute pictures while the fun lasted.

Tortillas

here she is shaking cinnamon into her face, she totally sneezed (all over the tortilla) right after I took this picture....
and then after sneezing on it, promptly rolled it up and ate it! atta girl!

Maddy's favorite snack nowadays is a tortilla rolled up with butter, cinnamon and sugar inside. She likes to spread the butter around with a knife (yes I let my toddler play with knives, especially the really really really sharp and dangerous ones made for buttering things), then put the cinnamon on (yes I let her shake the cinnamon all over the place and yes it does get all over the place), then she will say "Mama do dat shoog-ur" and lets me sprinkle the sugar on. Why doesn't she get into the sugar herself? I have no idea, but for some reason that is the snack job reserved for me. And for those of you that know Madeline, you can attest to the fact that she will allow me to participate in any of her daily self-care tasks in even the tiniest smallest way is a miracle of astounding proportions.