quote of the night

The other night I woke up to a calm but obviously upset, "Mommy...sniff sniff....Mommy...Mommy...sniff...." So I went to Maddie's room, opened the door, and she was standing at the door, blanket tucked under her arm. She was scared. I picked her up, we talked, we turned off her nightlight (she said that was what scared her), I sang her a song...all the normal stuff. In a few minutes I had her laying back down in bed, but she was still scared. So I suggested a toy. She liked that idea, and in a moment had 2 bunnies and a dolly tucked beside her in bed. I sat down to rub her head, thinking of what I could do next to help her get to sleep, but Maddie closed her eyes and said bluntly, "Get out now." And that was that! I left and we both went back to sleep.

qotd

This morning, I put Caleb in a new summer outfit. It was a dark blue camoflage tank and shorts. Can't get much more boyish than that! He was fussing, so Maddie came on over in an attempt to cheer him up and said in her most comforting and encouraging voice, "Oh Caleb, what a pretty dress you have on! A pretty blue dress!"

conversation of the day

Today, since it was a warm beautiful day and Braden's day off, we decided to take the kids and go get some ice cream with these free coupons we've had and keep forgetting to use. We told Maddie we were going to get a special treat. On the drive over our conversation went something like this:

"Maddie, can you guess what the special treat is going to be?"
"Carrots!!!"
Chuckle of amusement, "No, good guess though. We're going to get ice cream! What color ice cream do you want?"
"Brown!"
"Okay! What do you want your ice cream to taste like?"
"Like a chwokit bunny!"

That chocolate bunny seems to have won Maddie over.

crying

Caleb can cry. I mean not just any cry, but the whole works--the big lower lip that pops out, the sad face, the glance around to see if anyone is paying attention, the loud wails, and the big big crocodile tears. Many times it's quite humorous because he works himself up and is crying for attention. The other day I took some photos of him when he started one such session. Don't worry, he was not hungry or in pain or anything! He was just playing with his toys when this episode started. (And after I took the pictures I picked him up and gave him a big snuggle.) :)

fuss fuss...anyone listening?

okay, I'm starting to cry here

I'm crying really loudly now! Do you hear me?!

you're not listening to meeeee!

time for the red face

and here's mommy's personal favorite

Odds and Ends, part 2

Cooking with Nonna. Yes, Maddie spends much of the 'cooking time' eating and licking. :)

Springtime Maddie

It's just amazing to me how we can go from that to this! Here's Maddie in another classic 2-year-old outfit. She's on the go as usual!

ever chewing

One of Caleb's latest things is to put his hands in the air. He thinks it's so fun, and he likes for you to do it too.

One of Maddie's newer favorite things to do--sit in Daddy's big study chair and play games on the computer!

Odds and Ends, part 1

I was scanning through all the photos I just uploaded to our computer. I'm posting some of my favorites for you all to enjoy.

This picture captures a common 'Caleb expression.' This is when he doesn't quite know what to think about what's going on. He's not falling for it...yet, at any rate. He's deciding.

One thing I sometimes wondered if I'd ever see--Caleb drinking out of a cup! He took a bottle about 3 times in his whole little life until about a month ago.

Cute buddy! Look at all the drool. :)

What a belly!

Another favorite from the other day playing outside.

Maddie and Daddy

What a mess!

clapping!

Maddie's bunny barrettes--she likes having bunnies in her hair.

Li'l Bobe.

friends

The Hydoskis came over the other night for dinner and a movie. Maddie and KJ had a fun time playing together. You might remember that Maddie and KJ were born just hours apart, and some of their very first pictures are together at the hospital. So we have a special fondness for seeing them together. Here they are at the piano and giving each other a goodbye hug.