May, 2013 Archive

H2 Oh So Cute!

by Alison Friedman in Marvelous Madelyn, Mommy's Musings

Nothing is more refreshing than a little water play on a hot summer spring day! It’s been heating up here in Ventura County, so I bought this water table on a whim at Costco. It was a good deal! And I’ve read too many blogs and seen too many Pinterest boards about providing sensory experiences for toddlers. So, in order to be Mother of the Year, I bought this little sucker for my little pisher to enjoy.

I even managed to put it together all by myself. I have a rule. Things that don’t require screws or batteries are totally up my Ali Alley. Everything else is Daddy-Only. This is mostly because I can never remember the names of tools. So I snapped in the handful of plastic parts to stand this baby up and was pretty proud of my handy work. Basically, I’m an engineer.

I couldn’t wait. I set it up on our greenbelt and let her go to town. I had the fancy camera handy so I snapped a bunch of pics, capturing a progressively soaking t-shirt and droplets of water that supplemented her happiness. It was a great first encounter with the water table and even when she was finished with it, she was high on cuddles and giggles.

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A few days later, I thought I’d try again, but go a little more pro. Madelyn was napping, so while she snoozed, I pushed the table outside, filled ‘er up on one side, and poured uncooked rice into the other side. When she woke up, I was so excited to put her in a bathing suit I’d received at my baby shower (Thanks, Sharona!) that finally fit her and snap photos of playtime at the new water table.

She got pretty into it. She mostly knocked down the waterfall feature and proceeded to mix the dry rice into the water, but it was all a welcome mess. This time, I got photos with my crappy iPhone and they were taken in harsh light in the worst angle, but it was really a picture-perfect vision to behold. My eyes savored the mental snapshot of my beautiful baby on a warm May day wobbling on her chubby legs as she danced with glee from water splashing her face and soaking her curls. Her shrieks of delight are forever engrained in my ears, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard as I watched her take it all in.

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Gosh, motherhood is awesome.

Moments of Madelyn from the Last Few Months

by Alison Friedman in Marvelous Madelyn, Photo Eye Candy

I’ve slacked a little bit with blogging, so I’ll share some favorite photos from the last few weeks that have been living in my iPhone just dying to get out. They are either part of a bigger, more detailed post that is TBW (To Be Written) or they’re randoms that don’t really have a home, but are too cute to dump. So, this little nook of the Internet is where they shall live.

If there’s one thing I don’t understand, it’s how Madelyn can eat slimy, drippy foods and not have the instinct to want to wipe it away. It kills me! As she eats her yogurt, I want to take a napkin and go to town on her face. Doesn’t she feel that? Doesn’t it bug her? Kids are so weird.
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Madelyn got her license!!

Just kidding. I had to put her down real quick while I moved some things in my car, so I stuck her in the driver’s seat. She really liked that. I did not have her chauffer me anywhere, but she did enjoy playing with the steering wheel.
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We went to Denver (more on that later) and spent a day at a ski resort. It was Madelyn’s first time in the snow and was very confused by the whole thing. She was so good at walking through the snow in her new boots even though she was packed tight in her winter clothes. Since she didn’t totally hate it, I’m thinking ski lessons are a few years away.
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I love this picture of Madelyn and her Grandpa “playing” chess. She likes to go to the chess table in Grandma and Grandpa’s house and rearrange all the pieces. I am never able to clean up after her because I don’t understand chess. I am really good, however, at checkers! Not the same thing?? Anyway, I love how they are both wearing their hoodies and jeans and playing so seriously. That’s what grandpas are for!
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Madelyn spent a couple hours in the ER last month when she woke up at 4 a.m. with a 105 fever! Turns out she was suffering from a pretty bad double ear infection. She may have been running a super high fever, but she still took care of her baby at 4 a.m. just like I was taking care of mine. No sickness gets between a baby and her baby!
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Madelyn was a flower girl again! Kevin and Lisa just got married on a beautiful, sunny day in April and Madelyn, decked out in a yellow dress, did such a good job walking down the aisle! I was so nervous that she wouldn’t cooperate, but she swung her yellow pomander aka “purse” over her arm and sauntered down the aisle and when she saw us at the end with the rest of the bridal party, she squealed with delight and ran toward us! The crowd loved it and it was a sweet way to start Kevin and Lisa’s lovely ceremony! Anyone need a flower girl? We can rent her out. She’s quiet a pro now.
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Tiny Dancer

Madelyn is getting a bit of a reputation as a party girl. The minute she hears music – any music – she smiles and starts to dance. She’s been doing this virtually since the day she could stand up. It is really a thrilling sight to see. First of all, it is perhaps the cutest thing ever, but it also really gets my parental pride meter going. M’s not even two yet and I’m already thinking Juilliard – like Center Stage-style.

Seriously though, what’s cool about this, to me, is that it seems like Madelyn really is into dancing – or at least really into music. I think she must really love music if every time she hears it she gets all happy and breaks out her moves. I mean this is a kid who likes the Sesame Street theme song (the modern hip-hop-like version at least) more than Sesame Street itself. In her early dance days, we’d just loop the opening of Sesame Street and she’d dance around the living room.

Sometimes we’ll put on Black Eyed Peas or Lady Gaga in our bedroom and she’ll dance away in front of the mirror with no regard for furniture or walls (or Princeton) and she just totally gets lost in it. I truly can’t wait to see how she evolves as a dancer and if it’s something she takes on as she gets older. You never know what your kid is really going to be into, so I’m wondering if this is our first glimpse of something.

The real fun has been at the two weddings where she was the flower girl. The pre-show was her walking down the aisle – twice! – without any issues. But the main event was her completely captivating the dance floor as she gets the party going with her awesome moves.

As you can see, she clearly has a choreography that is all her own. In fact everyone has started calling what she does “The Madelyn” since she, of course, invented it. Here’s a quick tutorial:

How To Do “The Madelyn”

Below are all the moves you’ll need to successfully perform “The Madelyn” at parties. Start out by doing them in order, then you’re free to alternate between each at will. You’ll really impress your friends at parties and if you do it right, you’ll be in the center of the dance floor with all eyes on you.

1) “The Bounce” – Start by putting your arms out about 45 degrees and doing a slight knee bend, bouncing ever so slightly to the beat. It also helps if you flail your arms randomly at times. Make sure to look up while doing this since, of course, everybody is taller than you.

2) “The Sway” – Next, you have to transition into the side-to-side sway. This is a very exaggerated sway though – you have to be sure to actually lift your left leg and tilt right, then slowly switch, placing your left leg down again, lifting the right leg, and tilting left. Repeat this motion while making a very wide-eyed face and smiling big.

3) “The Spin” – At random moments during the dance, stop what your doing and spin in a circle one or two times before continuing. This is ballerina style, except keep your arms kind of half down and half out as if you can’t really decide. It also helps if you almost lose your balance here but then don’t.

4) “The Jump” – This is an exaggerated version of the bounce and only happens very infrequently during the dance. It is usually aided by holding the arms of somebody much taller than you and then hopping up and down uncontrollably. This is the one move that usually ends up completely off-beat from the music as a result of the sheer excitement you get from performing it.

5) “The Applause” – When you decide you’re done, make sure to give yourself a healthy round of applause at the end. In fact, random clapping in the middle of any of the above four steps is also encouraged.

Madelyn hopes to see you out on the dance floor sometime soon!