Impish energy, cocoa, and coloring

This morning Madeline was impish.

At day care they channeled her energy into making a day-appropriate leap frog puppet out of a paper lunch bag.  (She LOVES the puppet.)  But this evening, again, she was wild!

She got to enjoy her first hot cocoa -- complete with marshmallows outside the cup -- to complement the heavy snowfall outside.

Also, yesterday for the first time she engaged in some unsolicited and unassisted scribbling (with a pen on the back of an envelope).  She repeated the trick this morning.  Perhaps she's ready to begin using crayons for self-expression rather than sustenance!

Chatty

Madeline has been very chatty lately.  This video is from Sunday morning:




This morning she was thoughtful.

And the rest of her day was "not just good, but GREAT!"

Composure

This morning Madeline was composed.

This evening she was not.

Nice day

Today Madeline bonded with Petey ...

... played with her many toys ...

... and got started on classic literature.

It was nice.

Windy walk and library

Madeline and I had a fun day together while Max was at his conference. She loves to hug and pet Petey and look at dogs passing by outside.

She enjoyed breakfast--especially her banana.

In the face of high wind warnings, Madeline and I called upon our Scandinavian roots and mustered up courage and cold-tolerance for a lengthy walk around the neighborhood. She was quite amused by a rambunctious puppy that was walking ahead of us and studiously observed two boys throwing a football at the park. I pushed her on the baby swing, but she was much more excited when she was able to walk around on her knees and pick up sticks.

We took a break from our walk to visit the children's floor of our local library. Madeline clearly loved the library but was more interested in chasing around other kids and checking out the stuffed animal collection (including a giant tiger) than the books. She didn't want to leave!

Back at home we Skyped with my family, played, ate dinner, and did the bedtime routine.

Pumpkins, Bubbles, and BBQ

Today Max had two interviews in Boston (yipee!) so Madeline and I woke up early to drive him to the train station and then came home and played for a bit before daycare. She is increasingly interested in having particular books read to her. Today she requested Five Little Pumpkins three times (with a laudable attempt at Oh, the Places You'll Go in between).


She had another good day at daycare. When I picked her up she was pointing inquisitively at a younger baby and later enjoyed some dancing with the toddlers. During a brief stop at home she once again watched her beloved "I Love Kitties" YouTube video.

On the drive to the train station Madeline chanted her new favorite word: bubble. Once we had Max we stopped for a bite at LJs where she charmed all the waitresses. They remember when I was pregnant with Madeline (and well before) and cannot fathom that she is already one (neither can I!).

Madeline now gets a big kick out of sharing her food with us (Cheerios with me this morning and cornbread with Max at dinner). Tomorrow will be another mama and Madeline day as Max will be at a conference at Yale all day.

Breakfast: looking forward to a happy day

Another beautiful February day

This morning Madeline had a nice breakfast of O's as usual.

At daycare she spent much of the day outside -- apparently it was in the 50s (and will be again tomorrow).

At home, we played.

And for dinner, we had delicious things like asparagus and blue cheese (which Madeline's holding out to the camera below).  Now that Madeline's over a year old, just about all non-choking hazard foods are on the table!

Favorite Books

This morning Madeline woke me up by slapping me across the face. Later this morning, she brought me one of her two favorite books: Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch, which we read as she pointed out her favorite farmyard animals.

 She had a fun day at day care and a serious bout of playing at home this evening.

At bedtime she chose her other favorite book -- One White Wishing Stone -- and then, after she'd pointed out the sea stars and gulls, she settled in for sleep.

Finally, here's a link you might find amusing.  I know I did.

On the road

This morning we took our leave of Neal, Anna, and State College, and we spent the day on the road.  Madeline enjoyed a random rest stop in Pennsylvania where we got crackers from a vending machine.

She enjoyed chasing me across the parking lot even more.

Look at that picture again.  Oops!  We forgot Madeline's diaper bag.  Thankfully a nice man came and knocked on our car window to let us know.  Thank you, nice man!

Madeline spent the drive alternating among several activities: sleeping, playing with toys, sitting quietly, sitting loudly, and reading (pictured).

In Connecticut we stopped at a weird hybrid Dunkin Donuts/Subway.  Madeline had a bit of donut and a lot of happy.

We made it home with enough time to allow Madeline some quality toy-playing and cat-torturing before bed.  Good times.

Penn State and stories

Today (my birthday!) we wandered Penn State's campus, including a stop by Neal's lab.

The lab is dominated by a giant table full of physics-y machinery.

When you turn off the regular lights, the room glows green.

After our lab visit, Madeline returned to relative normalcy by admiring some ducks ...

... and partaking in a lunch including delicious gelato.

Back at Anna and Neal's, Madeline told Neal a hilarious story ...

... then Anna told Madeline a hilarious story ...

... then Anna told Madeline a very serious story about a child trying to find a kitten.

We had a fun day.  Sadly, tomorrow will require leaving our friends and spending several hours on the road.

State College

This morning we made it from Scranton to State College; we spent the rest of the day settling in with our friends. Most of today's pictures depict Madeline as a blur of activity -- she frolicked all around the apartment -- but here's one of Anna and Neal teaching her to play guitar.

Scranton

Today Madeline's daycare had a pajama party. And, even better, one of the other kids brought in brownies and cookies for his birthday. Madeline ate her own brownie and then stole a cookie from one of her teachers. Oh dear.

We didn't get as early a start as we wanted, so this evening we only made it as far as Scranton, Pennsylvania. The first three hotels we tried were booked, but the Quality Inn came through.  Madeline loves it:

Tomorrow we'll finish the trek to State College and see Neal and Dr. Anna!

Great uncle David's eye and nose

This morning Madeline was dramatic.

And this evening she met her great uncle David, in town for a music teachers' conference.  She helpfully let him know where his eye and nose were located.

Checkup

Today was Madeline's one-year checkup.  Her measurements -- 29.5 inches long, 20 pounds 6 ounces, and an 18-inch head circumference, all place her right at the 50th percentile.  (You might note, also, that they've been added to the "milestones" menu to the right.  We plan not only to resurrect but also to back-fill the menu.)  She was given a stamp of approval and a series of vaccinations, and then sent on her way.

As we were in East Providence and it was dinnertime (or dinnertime-ish) already thanks to an afternoon appointment, we ate at Gregg's.  Madeline enjoys their pickles and rolls.

Back at home, Madeline had some time to play before bed.  She's fascinated by her new Bitty Baby doll's eyelashes.

Then she had a bath from which she emerged in an inquisitive state.  High on her mind, no doubt, was the question why she was draped in a duckling.

First birthday!

Well, we started out here:

Then we hit one month:

Two months:

Three months:

Four months:

Five months:

Six months:

Seven months:

Eight months:



Nine months:

Ten months:

Eleven months:

And now here we are, a whole year later:

Madeline had a happy birthday.  We're still well-decorated from Saturday.

We brought carrot cupcakes in to daycare and apparently they were a hit (Madeline had two).  They gave her a crown and all the toddlers said, "Happy birthday, Madeline!" when we picked her up.

As a matter of fact, she must have had so much fun that she was truly exhausted.  She fell asleep at 6 only to wake up around 7 wondering what in the world was going on.  The "Kitty said what?" video roused her back to her normal self.

So we were able to open presents (this one's from uncle Matthew) ...

... and listen to grandma and grandpa sing the birthday song (she furrowed her brow as she tried to mouth the words, and the camera unfortunately cut off before the song ended and she pointed at the screen for an encore) ...





... and eat ice cream (yum!) ...

... and just have a generally fine time.  Which is a good thing -- you only turn one once.

I'd said I might reflect but I'm a bit too tired for that, I'm afraid.  I will say that Summer and I have modified the blog somewhat, design-wise; more changes (and fixes should anyone have issues with the current format) will likely come soon.