October 2004 Archives

We had our company Halloween Party last night. Maddie got to wear her costume for the first time:

WONDER WOMAN!

It rocked. We had SO many compliments about our beautiful baby and her awesome costume that our heads were about to explode. So many people wanted pictures with her, and she cooperated as much as a one-year-old can. One guy even came up to us and sang the entire Wonder Woman show theme song (funny).

We also took some pictures (for a change), but still not enough. At one point in the night, I decided to take a picture with all of WW's fellow Superfriends, but only got a few Supermen, The Flash, and another Wonder Woman. There were a gazillion Batmen, but I never thought to take a picture of any of them. (Sadly, there were no Green Lanterns or Aquamen. And definitely no Apache Chiefs, Super Samurai, or Black Vulcans. Just in case the geeks out there were wondering.)

My company does a pretty big shindig for Halloween, complete with haunted maze, food booths, puppet shows, circus performers, a climbing wall, and tons of those inflatable kids' attractions. And it's all free. Maddie didn't really care one way or another about all of that. She was more interested in the people--especially the little boys. We let her walk by herself, prompting a lot of surprised expressions, as always. Nobody ever thinks she's as old as she is, so they're always surprised she can walk. One of the perks of having a runt baby, I guess. But whenever we'd put her down, she would RUN. She'd go between people's legs, under tables, etc. We couldn't keep up with her, and she's so small that we worried people would step on her. So for the bulk of the night, I carried her around in my arms (facing out, so people could admire Alecia's WW craftsmanship). It was a fun, but TIRING experience for all of us.

Her costume had a few design flaws that we couldn't have caught until she wore it around for a few hours. We'll be improving upon it in the next few days, as she's got one more Halloween party on Saturday, and then Mission: Get Dad Candy on Sunday night. She needs to be at maximum cuteness so we can win the Mom's Club costume contest and milk our neighbors for tons of chocolate. :)
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That's what I heard all morning yesterday when I took Maddie in for her 12 month doctor's visit. As I mentioned to Bill yesterday, it was the roughest day for me so far as a mom.

It all started out innocently enough with measurements, etc. Maddie is a whopping 17 pounds, and 28 inches long. Bill and I both have friends with 4 month olds bigger than that, but the doctor said she's progressing fine and *still* not to worry about it. She's just petite. Then came time for her vaccines and flu shot. She got 4 shots, two in each thigh. They let me hold her as they gave them and the look she gave me each time broke my heart. By the end of it, we were both in tears.

Now Maddie has had vaccine shots every couple of months since she was born but those times were different. Up until now, she would just cry a little from the pain and then be fine 30 seconds later. Not this time. She wailed and then progressed into sobs, with the little breath-catching hiccups lasting for the next hour. I tried my best to console her, but nothing seemed to help. My poor poor baby just clung to my shirt and neck looking with fear over her shoulder each time the nurse even got within a few feet of us. Even after the shots, we passed the nurse on the way out and Maddie screamed when she saw her.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I then had to take her to the lab for some blood work. At her 9 month appointment they found out Maddie was anemic, so we've been giving her iron supplements for the past few months. They wanted to check her blood again. They needed 3 full vials of blood (as if that wasn't all the blood she had in her little body) so I had to hold her while a nurse held down her arm and another drew the blood. Again, more screams and it seemed like forever before they had what they needed. She held onto her blankie, biting it and screaming. It was the most awful experience I've ever had as a mom, watching her in pain and knowing there was nothing I could do about it. It sounds cliche, but you have no idea until you've been there. I cuddled her as much as I could the rest of the day yesterday and by yesterday evening she was doing well, running around and playing. She was a little fussy last night, and ran a bit of a temp, but she seems to be doing well today.

My other concern yesterday was regarding something a little different. You see, so far we've try to expose Maddie to many different cultures and races. Her playgroup has members who are African-American, Indian, Asian, Latino, etc. We want her to see that other kids and their parents can have different color skin, so that she has a little more of a worldly view as she grows up. My regret yesterday during her appointment concerned this. The nurse who gave Maddie her shots was of a particular race. Then, the nurses who drew her blood were of the same race. I didn't realize it at the time, but she must have made a connection with their skin color because later on we were at the pharmacy when a woman of the same race approached us to say hi to Maddie. She immediately screamed and clutched my neck. That has NEVER happened to Maddie with anyone, stranger or friend, so it bothered me at first. I slowly began to realize the association she was making and she calmed down when the woman walked away. It just amazed me to see a little how her mind works, but also disturbed me at the same time. I hope the negative association she has doesn't last.
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Maddie's first birthday is now officially over. After the party in Alabama, then the party in Atlanta, we're all partied out. Besides, she has every toy ever invented by now, so what else could anyone buy her?

This past weekend was a good one. My parents came in Thursday night, and got to see Maddie for the first time in months. I assume they were shocked by how much she'd changed. She was as happy to see Grandma and Grandpa as they were to see her. There were giggles aplenty. (Please kill me if I ever use THAT phrase again.)

On the first night my parents were in town, we took them to Maddie's second favorite restaurant: Sweet Tomatoes. Her first favorite, by the way, is McDonalds, but after watching "Supersize Me" with Todd the other night, we may have to cut down on the Mickey-D visits. Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa weren't overjoyed at the idea of a soup and salad buffet, but they were troopers. (Best quote of the night was from Grandma, about five minutes after sitting down: "So, do they bring the meat out to you or something?") Maddie rewarded her grandparents' patience by pitching her Elmo cell phone into mommy's orange drink, causing it to explode all over her. Good times were had by all.

On Friday, we had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays and then went up to Burt's Farm to go pumpkin picking. Pictures of that visit can be found through the link to the left. The weather was brisk, but perfect, and the day was a blast. Maddie seemed to enjoy every part of it, from the hayride to sitting on the giant John Deere tractor. She was in good spirits all day, and fell asleep in the car on the way home, exhausted and filthy. We nabbed four pumpkins at the farm: two big ones, a medium-sized one, and a teensy tiny one for Jelly Bean.

Saturday, everyone headed to the park to watch me and Uncle Todd play soccer. Todd showed some deft skill, getting the assist of the game, then following it up with a sweet goal. That's two goals in the last two games, which may be part of the reason the rest of the team believes Todd's an offensive player (he's not). Of course, they may just believe that because he won't stay back on defense. No problem, I'll stay back on defense like a good team player, never getting the chance to let my family see ME score. Some of us are just selfless like that.

After the soccer game, we had lunch at Applebees. Then came the highlight of the day: toy shopping. Maddie LOVED Toys 'R' Us. She touched just about every toy in the store (at least, the ones at her level). There wasn't a toy she didn't like, from the grossest boys' toys to the frilliest girl ones. Uncle Todd, Grandma and Grandpa loaded up a basket of toys for Maddie, while Alecia and I bought a baby gate and a doll. The doll was supposed to be "Maddie's first baby doll," and it was meant to be a birthday gift, but we didn't make it out of the parking lot before Alecia had unpacked it and given it to Maddie. She loved it. She talked to it, kissed it, and treated it like a real baby. Or maybe like a superbaby who was impervious to damage. She hasn't really learned "gentle" yet.

After Toys 'R' Us, we stopped off at Target, then got some ice cream at Brusters. Everyone did a good job finishing theirs, despite the massive portions, except for me. I had to get a bowl for my cone and take it home. Yes, that is unusual for me, but it was mostly a lack of time (we still had to pick up some supplies for Maddie's party) as it was a lack of apetite. Eventually, we returned to our house, where we watched the Tivoed ND/Stanford game from earlier in the day.

Maddie's birthday party on Sunday was a lot of fun. We had plenty of food (chicken and sides from Kroger) homemade cupcakes (half were decorated by Grandpa, half by Alecia...which was hilarious looking), and tons of guests. Our house has never had that many people in it at once. The few couples who came without kids were overwhelmed by the many munchkins running about. Maddie, however, was right in her element. The funny thing was, she was the only kid no one had to keep an eye on. I sat on the back porch and Alecia sat in the front room, and Maddie just wandered the house. She played with kids in every room, was held by a variety of people, and enjoyed the day. She's so social that she was right in her element.

The only regrets we have from the party are A) we didn't get to spend enough individual time with our guests, and B) We didn't take any pictures! Part of this was because I forgot where I put the camera, but it was also due to the fact that we were so caught up in the moment that we didn't think about pictures. There are some shots of a messy Maddie and of some of us after the party was over (links to the left). But there's no proof that we had a packed house and a ton of fun unless someone else captured it on film. If you did, send me copies so I can scan them and put them online.

On Monday morning, my parents left town and began the thirteen hour drive back to Indiana. I think they had fun with Maddie, and she certainly loved being with them. Things like this make me wish I lived closer to my hometown, but it seems unlikely that that will happen in the near future.

There's more to report, since Alecia took Maddie for her one-year checkup today. But she's waiting for me outside right now (with one car, we do a lot of picking up and dropping off), so I need to end this. Check back soon for her recap on Maddie's Black Thursday. Um...maybe that wasn't the way to put it. I'll explain later.

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It's been a while since we last posted and it's also been a busy couple of weeks, so forgive me for the long post about to follow.

Uncle Rob's Visit

My brother, Rob, visited a few weeks ago. He's touring the Eastern US right now performing science-based educational shows for schools. He graduated from Columbia in May with a degree in acting and has since attended a few workshops in specific styles of acting, most recently a European-style miming workshop in Ohio. It's not your typical park mime, but he did learn techniques for falling and improvising. Anyway, they had a show in Tennessee and then the weekend off, so he and his friend drove down to see us. It was great seeing him. I get to see my mom and sister pretty often, but I only see Rob a few times a year. He was amazed at how big Maddie has gotten and even got to witness her first steps (she actually got up and walked across the room to him for the first time.) We had a great weekend of the JapanFest at Stone Mountain, followed by a dinner of sushi and Jake's ice cream. We spent the rest of the time just lounging around the house and relaxing, but in all it was a great weekend.

Maddie's 1st First Birthday Party

No, that wasn't a typo. Maddie celebrated an early birthday last weekend with the first of her two birthday parties at my mom's house in Alabama. We invited all her Alabama cousins, including her cousin Seth who is only 11 days younger than she is. The two of them hadn't seen each other since they were about 3 months old, so it was great for all of us to see how much they both had grown. Maddie loved her cake and ice cream and was deluged with Elmo-themed gifts from everyone. She even got a "new car"! No, she isn't growing that fast, but she did get a Little Tikes car, an exact replica of the one my siblings and I played with when we were growing up. She's not sure how to make it move, but loves to sit in it while she watches Sesame Street in the mornings. It's her own version of a drive-in theater.

She walks! She talks! She pees her pants!

OK, the first two are the real updates. As I mentioned before, Maddie is now walking. It amazes us and most people that see her because she does it so well after only 2 weeks. It's as if she knew how to all along, but finally made up her mind to actually do it a few weeks ago. It's funny to watch her progress, which we measure by her arms. At first, she looked just like a little chimpanzee, toddling around with her hands high above her head. But it seems that with her confidence over time, her arms lower a little each day. She's now to the point that she walks with her arms at about chest level. It's the cutest thing, but she seems so old suddenly. My little baby has grown up. She's also saying more words (or at least attempting to) like "Elmo". Occasionally she'll go pee-pee on the potty too. I do realize that she's pretty young to even be worrying about potty training, and Bill and I aren't even attempting to try before Jelly Bean arrives. However, Maddie has recently shown an interest in the toilet and what happens there when Mommy's in the bathroom, so I moved her potty into the bathroom as well. Now, before her bath she'll sit on the potty and sometimes actually go pee-pee as well. No pressure, but as long as she's interested, I'll indulge her. When she no longer wants to try, we'll move the potty out again. She does seem to realize what she's doing, though, as she gets a really big smile on her face when she does go.

Queen Jelly Bean

Little Miss Jelly Bean is doing fine as well. This pregnancy has been amazing me by how early I'm noticing things and how early I started showing. We've been pretty lax about keeping up with the belly photo updates, but let me tell you that I am definitely visibly pregnant now. I'm 6 months along, which amazes even me. I can't believe it's gone by so fast. Also, in contrast to my pregnancy with Maddie, I can actually see Jelly Bean moving from outside my stomach. I see her little rumbles and flip-flops already. That didn't happen with Maddie until I was at least 8 and half months along and my stomach was stretched tight. I guess there's something to be said for stretched out stomach muscles, huh? She also seems to really respond to Bill's voice. He simply needs to talk nearby and she starts jumping around right away. She even kicked him in the head the other night.

Etc.

Other than that, we have an exciting weekend ahead of us. Bill's parents are in town for Maddie's actual birthday and party at our house on Sunday. We're looking forward to a fun couple of days with them. It seems short, but luckily we'll be able to see them again for a week or so during Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for pictures of everything I mentioned sometime next week.

Oh, and a big CONGRATULATIONS! to our friends Jamie and Jennifer Frazier. Their second daughter, Leah Katherine, was born on Wednesday evening. We can't wait to see pictures and to see her in person, guys!!!

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