Last night, Madeline was using a brand-new bar of homemade soap to wash the layers of school yard sand off of her. "Look Mama! It has nuts in it!" she exclaimed, showing me the bar of soap.
"Actually, those are poppy seeds," I gently corrected, indicating the little black specks that were interspersed with oatmeal flakes in the bar.
Madeline's excited response: "Seeds? Then we can plant them and grow more soap!"
About eighteen months ago, any time that Madeline and I would take a walk around St. John's, she would practice one of her favourite activities: finding similar objects that came in different sizes. "There's a mommy snail, there's a baby snail, and that's a daddy!" she'd gleefully announce, crouching on the side of the sidewalk watching a group of snails slowly make their way to the lake. The same logic - that objects came in Baby, Mommy, and Daddy sizes - was applied by my little whiz kid to leaves, dogs, socks, crayons, and vegetables alike. Chris and I thought she was brilliant, making a size connection like that!
One day last week, Madeline announced that I was "medium", and I was sad. Somehow, small/medium/large isn't as endearing. But I am glad to know that she must be paying attention in preschool at least some of the time :)
Her chatter from the backseat of the car. She loves to play "I Spy" while driving around, and today she said that she was sleepy so she was cuddling with her carseat. Amazing that a year ago, I was worried that she'd never have more than a 20-word vocabulary!
I didn't think that Madeline was actually able to get dressed by herself until yesterday, when she rejected the jeans and tee that I'd brought downstairs for her to wear. She was so mortified by my taste in toddler apparel that before I even knew what was happening, she maneuvered herself into a pair of pants and long-sleeved tee of her own choosing. Huge accomplishment! The only negative was that the outfit she'd chosen was her favourite thing to wear: her purple jammies with the fairy appliqué. Not quite what Chris or I had in mind for a St. Paddy's Day lunch ...
Today Madeline elected to nap somewhere softer than the floor. She's more comfortable; I'm more nervous ...
After eating a solid lunch of just-the-right-temperature porridge, Goldilocks - err, Madeline found herself feeling a bit sleepy. She carefully walked up the stairs, and considered her napping options. In one room, there was a queen-sized bed with a cozy comforter. She climbed into it, and laid down, but immediately knew that she was not comfortable. And Madeline knew why - this bed was not for napping! It was for jumping! This was the bed that she jumped on when she wanted to wake up her sleeping dad!
Madeline proceeded to the next bedroom. Again, a queen sized bed, this time topped with a coverlet. Madeline jumped up, hopped under the covers, and closed her eyes. But she knew that she couldn't nap there - this was the bed that she only pretended to sleep in when she was in a mood to fool her mom and dad!
Sliding off of the second bed, Madeline considered the crib in the corner. It was just the right size. It had the just-soft-enough pink sheet and a familiar pillow. There was an Ocean Wonders crib aquarium hanging against the back rail, in just the right place for a small hand to reach up and turn it on. Finally, it looked like Madeline had found the perfect place to take her afternoon nap. But no - the crib just wouldn't do, for reasons that Madeline's mom just could not fathom.
Where has Madeline taken her afternoon nap three times in the last seven days? On the floor, of course ...
Madeline and I went to the Y today, after a three-week hiatus created by snow and our jet-settin' ways. I was kind of in a blue mood during my workout, but that changed when I went to collect Madeline from playing with her friends in the child-minding room. One of the caregivers came over to me and was gushing about how charming Madeline was. I guess that Madeline had wandered over to her, and then had this conversation:
Madeline: Hi! What's your name?
Caregiver: I'm Sherrie!
Madeline: Nice to meet you! I'm Madeline! (imagine hand offered for shaking)
And I was told that Madeline ended up repeating this exchange with the other caregivers and the older children. What a little shmoo she is ... charming when I'm not around, trying to to flood the kitchen when I am :)
Anyway. I heard an exciting announcement on the radio this morning, for anyone in St. John's who is reading along still. Aliant Winterlude Family Fun Day will be celebrated in Bowring Park on Sunday afternoon, from 1-4 pm. The weather might be okay for some outdoor fun ...
Last night, Madeline invited me to "go swimming" with her in the tub while she had her bath. So, we both jumped into our suits, and my toddler played with her bath stickers while I washed her hair (I posted a few weeks ago about what a treat hair-washing is for Madeline). After the last suds were rinsed from her hair, Madeline asked for the cup I was using and then proceed to gleefully pour cupful after cupful of water over my head. Revenge. I didn't realize that she understood the concept before :)
Also, thanks to everyone who commented two posts ago about the durability of the Mabel's Labels! I could have spent my pennies on a couple pairs of Stride Rites, but it sounds like the labels will last longer :) I am actually conscientious about where I spend my online dollars. Shortly before we moved to St. John's, I bought one of those Diapees & Wipees cases to better organize Madeline's diaper bag, and I was immediately disappointed in the quality of the product. I've never forgotten that, and really wish that I'd just sewn one instead. I could have used interfacing, and it still would have only cost a fraction of what the D&W brand case did.
Today, when Madeline was "washing" her cups in the sink, she started pouring cups of cold water over her head and shrieking with delight. Yet, when we rinse shampoo out of her hair in the bathtub, she screams. It's just not fair :)
Madeline has appointed herself the official phone-answerer for our household. It started on Wednesday - the phone would ring, and she'd race me to it. Of course, I'd have to slow down so as not to knock her little three-foot self over, so she'd get ahead of me and grab the receiver first. I'd stand off to the side, and whisper, "say hello!", hoping for the best.
Without missing a beat, Madeline does say, "Hello!". Sometimes it's "Hello! How's it going?", even. Anyone eavesdropping might hear her chatter about something that she's been occupied with, or else be treated to a stream of high-speed babbling, depending on the conversation. After a minute or two, I usually can make out, "okay, talk to mom!". She'll pass the phone to me and say, "it's for you!".
Also, Madeline finally started to say her own name about two weeks ago. Previously, if someone asked her what her name was, she'd chirp "I'm me!" or else just bury her head in my shoulder. For awhile I thought that it was our fault for giving her a three syllable name, but then I realized that many of Madeline's same-age or younger playmates were calling her by name. I concluded that Madeline was just unmotivated. Then, a few days before Christmas, one of Madeline's grandfather's friends asked her what her name was, and she replied, "I'm Ma-da-wen!" clear as a bell! Sadly, I was out of the room for this triumphant moment, but Chris's excitement over this development was contagious!
In other news, I wasn't online much this week and don't have much to offer in terms of nifty articles/do-dads/links, but I was delighted to see that the best-est nursing pillow ever (designed in Calgary, even) was featured on Cool Mom Picks two days ago! I ended up buying a Baby Buddy pillow after testing one out at the lactation consultant's office when Madeline was a few weeks old. It really made a huge difference in how comfortable I was breastfeeding!
