IKEA Tent

I got this great little tent at IKEA that wraps around and closes in the front.

So far, my wish has come true: Madelyn likes to bring her books and/or toys inside and close the door so she can play alone for a little while. (!!!)

The laptop she got for Christmas is getting more useful. I discovered that Madelyn knows all her letters! There is one activity on the computer that asks her to type each letter, in random order, and she knows every single one! Often she will also say a word that starts with that letter as she finds it. (Computer: "Find the uppercase letter R" -- Madelyn: "R...ring!" etc.)

Here she is celebrating after finding a letter. I am so proud of her. And very happy that she enjoys this activity.

Sometimes she has to fight a dog or two for tent occupation rights.

Fishin' Hole

Our primary "Spring Break"-ish activity consisted of a morning at Horning's Hideout in North Plains, OR with the Fairhursts. Randy finally taught Gary how to fly-fish while Diana and I took in half a game of disc golf and successfully kept the lake free of children.

Gary and I had heard of Horning's Hideout, but this was our first visit. I had envisioned shores where the water laps over a gradual descent of rocks or sand, allowing children to run and play without a risk of submersion. Unfortunately, the lake was entirely surrounded by ledges as pictured above. I just was not interested in having Madelyn soaked from head to toe in fishy water and/or ingesting algae and duck poop. The task of keeping her (and Jack) from running, toddling, tripping, or leaning too close to the edge was constant and not relaxing.

There was an old tire swing and slide that occupied them for a few minutes, and then we headed off to the disc golf course.

After discovering how much distance we would be covering, Diana brought up the double stroller and Madelyn and Jack were pretty content to hang out in there while we played a few holes.

Madelyn lobs one in!

Clap clap clap!

I would love to go back and play this game without bored children in tow. It was a fun course.

Back at the lake (AFTER I trekked back through the disc golf course and found my camera which I had dropped!), Randy helped Madelyn reel in a trout! He said the fish here are gross, so their many catches were released.

When we first arrived, we saw a couple of beautiful peacocks.

Then I noticed this stunning albino peacock! What a rare treasure!

But then I realized that the place was infested with the birds, and there were several of the white variety, so it must not be any spectacular freak of nature.

Here is one with all his pretty feathers out. Madelyn likes peacocks.

...And Big Boys

Trying to take up all of Grandpa's lap so Jack can't squeeze in

She's hugging him, right?

Awesome Uncle Randy

Bucket o' Madelyn

Little Boys...

Dressing up in hats and boots with Jack (his idea)

Swimming in Grandpa's hot tub with all the Fairhurst boys (Madelyn found Spiderman swim trunks to wear, but they were too small, and didn't last long)

Madelyn sits in the Jeep while Kaden attempts to push them out of the mud. Good girl.

Back on track

Evening with Grandma and Grandpa

After playing with the chicks together for a few minutes, I left Madelyn with my mom to babysit.

They made a beaded necklace.

Madelyn helped Grandpa move the baby chickens into their new house out in the garage.

Why are they running away?

I am so glad that Madelyn got to spend a few hours with my parents. Gary's mother is always more than willing to babysit, and we are incredibly grateful to her for that. Since my parents are both quite busy, and are often needed to watch their other grandkids, we rarely ask them to babysit. But it was a special opportunity, I think, for Grandma and Grandpa Winkel to get to know Madelyn a little better one-on-one, and witness her funny, bright personality firsthand.

Baby Chickens

Grandpa Winkel got baby chickens! (Hooray for free eggs again!) We told Madelyn about the chicks a few days ago, and finally got to visit them. Madelyn was at least as ecstatic to see them as I imagined she would be.

Peeking into their cardboard home. Note one of the Bryce-made heat lamps: a crystal bedside lamp fit with a halogen bulb and a pie plate dangling from a hole in the cardboard. Awesome.

I love my mom's face in this picture. They are both so excited!

Madelyn would touch the chick and then recoil in laughter saying, "Tickle!"

She was absolutely delighted, as you can see.

Now she is ready to hold one. A little too ready, she wasn't being overly gentle.

Look, Mom, a baby chicken!


Kissing and strangling this poor chick.

There are over 50 of the little buggers. What a great opportunity for these grandkids to watch them grow and Grandpa's house. I can envision the Cousins' Camp lessons now.

Care Bear Picnic

Don't you love the toy collections whose sole purpose is to be strewn all over a room but never actually played with? Or are we the only ones who have those. Primarily I speak of the plastic food in Madelyn's nifty play kitchen. We keep it all in two neat little baskets inside the wooden refrigerator. Madelyn gets the urge--often--to dump out all the food, then spread it all over the wood floor, then leave it there until we make her come clean it up.

So I have been very pleased on the few occasions that she actually plays with the toy kitchen and food in its intended fashion. Namely, serving lunch to two Care Bears.

Cheeeeese!

Explosion of Dog

During my first "stay-at-home-mom" weekend, I encountered an unexpected wave of homemaker-y-ness. One of my proud accomplishments was brushing our two Siberian Huskies. I wasn't going to waste precious naptime on this mundane task (I have to get my real, concentration-requiring work done during naptime), so I had to deal with Madelyn periodically bugging the dogs and essentially turning the piles of extracted fur into her own personal ball pit. But this was my choice.

Our family room floor after I finished brushing the dogs with Madelyn in the vicinity.

Oh, I failed to mention that during the brushing extravaganza, Madelyn stripped down to her birthday suit, refusing to put her clothes back on. I was almost finished, and didn't want to tease poor Kezia by saying she could get up when I would have to pin her down again to finish. So I eventually got some clothes on Madelyn, but no underwear, which explains the plumber's crack.

She was kind enough to help me vacuum up the explosion of dog which she helped facilitate.

When it came time to get serious about the vacuuming, I had the brilliant idea of giving Madelyn the Dustbuster. She didn't put up any fight trading in the big one for it, and not only did she feel like she was helping, she really did scoot around the wood floor picking up the stray white tufts.

Dots

I came out of my office to check on a much-too-quiet Madelyn to find her methodically sticking under-chair felt dots in a line on the hardwood floor. She found a whole bag of them in a drawer and emptied a card of small ones.

Here she is "counting" the "stickers." By the way, Madelyn picked out her outfit.

Such meticulous work!

Ready Set Go!

Madelyn had fun racing Kezia out on the deck today.

She yells, "Ready, set, GO!"

Usually Madelyn starts running around the word "set."

They ran back and forth and a good time was had by both.

Dang toddler bowl cut.

Two Cute Videos

Madelyn LOVES to sing. This clip is from back at the beginning of February. Now her rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle" has more recognizable lyrics. She can also sing the Alphabet Song pretty well, and loves "If You're Happy and You Know It," to which we have added many creative actions.

Here is the video my mom took of Madelyn and Jack doing their jumping at her birthday party on 2/28. I love when Madelyn crosses over and steals Grandpa from Jack.

First Haircut

I have been struggling for months with the decision of whether or not to cut Madelyn's bangs. On the one hand, I love her long, natural hair. On the other hand, I hate fighting to keep it out of her eyes and free of sticky, crusty food substances. Her long hair falls straight forward over her eyes, so a hairclip was a constant necessity, needing repositioning approximately every 20 minutes.

I decided, against Gary's wishes, to get her bangs cut. I promised a stylish, angled long bang, not the toddler bowl cut. I promised it would be easier to manage and just as cute, if not more so.

This is what I usually have to deal with all day (no manipulation for the photo, it looks like this often).

But it can also look very pretty.

Before leaving for the salon, I had Madelyn watch a video on YouTube of a little girl having her hair cut. I don't know if her behavior can be attributed to this spontaneous preparation, but Madelyn was about as perfect as I could have hoped during her FIRST HAIRCUT!

Madelyn watched quietly, and liked looking in the mirror to see what was happening. She may have been unusually subdued because she's a little under the weather. If that's true, I'd recommend getting kids' haircuts while they have a cold.

Still calm through the blow-dry.

And voila! Toddler bowl cut.

It's my own fault. When she was finished the first time, the stylist commented that the bangs were still a little bit long to stay out of her eyes, and asked if I'd like them a little shorter. Knowing that the reason I came in here was to cease the hair-in-eyes battle, and knowing that hair grows quickly, I said yes. I think that Madelyn's naturally wavy baby hair offers a different finished product than I was imagining, since her bangs don't sweep straight to the side. Gary misses her old style. I kind of do too, but I am getting used to the bangs, and do not miss the endless challenge of keeping the hair off of her face and out of her food. What do you think?

Grandma and Grandpa's Birthdays

We went out to dinner at Stanford's with Bonnie and Dale to celebrate their birthdays.

Doesn't Bonnie look amazing? She has already lost 25 pounds and is halfway to her goal. Keep up the great work, Grandma!

Two happy girls