This morning William did not continue the late wake up time. Oh, well. He was up at 6:20. Nothing compared to Mommy and Madelyn though - 5:40 - AWESOME! Yeah, not really.
Mommy and William made two banana and one zucchini breads to bring to the Mayer farm tomorrow. William loves helping bake. It went really well, too. Madelyn took notes. Don't worry, Mommy is next to the counter, just out of the picture, keeping an eye on Madelyn.
There was a quick trip to Old Navy today. Mommy, William and Madelyn were there right when it opened at 10AM. Funny, there were three other moms with kids walking in at the same time. Madelyn made out on this trip. She needed socks. She got them and pjs, a sweater, a pair of sandals, and a cute top. William needs sandals, but there weren't any there his size.
King and I for dinner! Then Nana came over for a quick visit. Then, Daddy and William started to pack the van for the big trip tomorrow. First big sleep over with Madelyn. It should be fun!
Madelyn is 5 months old today! Time sure does fly! She is still feeling sick, but getting better.
William slept until 8:10 this morning. He got up asking for Daddy, but he had to leave for work. Not sure what the extra sleep was for. That NEVER happens.
Mommy, William and Madelyn met Daddy at Kentucky Greg's (hmm) for lunch today. Right next to them sat Daddy's friend from work, Mike and another ENE guy. Everyone enjoyed lunch. Mommy and Madelyn went out to the car towards the end so Madelyn could eat too.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Madelyn Ali!
Today was more of the same, but William is feeling much better. Madelyn is still sick and slept poorly throughout the day. William's nap was less than an hour! Mommy hasn't had much time to get things done this week.
Mommy, William and Madelyn finally went for a walk with the new stroller to Mommy's friend Jenny's house. William really enjoys the stroller, but Mommy isn't too pleased with the way Madelyn's car seat fits in it. She should be able to sit in the regular seat soon enough though. At Jenny's William played with Aiden's trains and watched her two cats run around.
Madelyn had a good nap around dinner time and Mommy really wanted her to get some rest so Daddy, Mommy and William ate dinner in the family room! William LOVED it. He ate a lot too. Three helpings of taco salad!
When Madelyn joined us after her nap, she was playing on the floor and then...rolled over! Front to back! Daddy said that she probably could have done this a month ago, but she is rarely on her tummy. Probably true. The video shows the third time she did it - she started to get tired.
William is feeling better, but still not 100%. Madelyn is in the thick of it now. Lots of TV again for William as Mommy tried to get Madelyn to stay asleep. Maybe her congestion keeps waking her.
William drove around on his Jeep outside for a bit this morning. It was cold with the wind so it was a short drive. Daddy came home early though and William was able to go back out later in the afternoon. He watched Daddy trim and mow the lawn. Then he helped plant the blueberry, blackberry and raspberry plants. They also watered the grass seed.
Although Madelyn is sick, she is still her happy self!
Monday...ugh!
Mondays used to be Mommy's favorite day of the work week when she was teaching. The day went by quickly and the students were quiet and kind of zombie like. Not so much now. Maybe its because Mommy is used to having Daddy home to help out or maybe its because William is used to having constant attention from at least one parent. Maybe it is a combination of both. But, boy, oh boy. What a day!
William woke up at 6:30. He slept for 12 hours, but still sick. After breakfast Daddy gave William a "surprise." This surprise was used to close out Letter of the Week - C. A cookie from date night. Yup, Mommy looked at the clock and it was 8:18 AM! One might say that William is spoiled. Mommy says you have to take advantage of teachable moments!
Madelyn's naps were a mess today. Half hours only and she was a bit crabby. She is also sick now. Poor baby. Hopefully she sleeps well tonight and feels better soon.
William had snot all up and down his sleeves. At least he's draining. The end of these colds can not come too soon.
William and Mommy started cutting out letter D's and gluing them on construction paper. What a disaster! Mommy thinks she is going to steer clear of that activity until William gets over his cold and maybe a little longer for safe measure. Lots of TV today. William doesn't have any reason to cry, "William do it," during an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Nap time: let's talk about how fun that was today! William and Madelyn were both due for a nap around the same time. Mommy decided it would be easiest to put William in a little early so he wouldn't want to watch a Mickey. That would only push his nap back even further. Well, William pinched his finger in a kitchen drawer. He cried and asked Mommy to kiss it. All better? Finger? Yes. William however, was now upset because he wanted to close the drawer. Mommy doesn't even know how the drawer closed. Maybe she closed it or William did or it closed by itself. Mommy brought William and Madelyn upstairs and changed William's diaper all under extreme protest. Mommy just continued the routine as William cried. Still crying, now Willliam wanted to count the numbers at the end of his gardening book. Mommy just sat there and waited for him to calm down. He eventually started counting, but he was upset by something else and started up again. Mommy doesn't know why. After getting through the other two books, William was better and they talked about the day and sang songs. Madelyn was starting to fuss a bit. William wanted Mommy to sleep with William in his big boy bed. Mommy brought Madelyn in with them, but that didn't last long. Mommy told William she'd be right back after she put Madelyn to sleep. William was OK for a few minutes, but then called Mommy in. Mommy just got Madelyn to sleep so she ran into William's room and got in bed. A few minutes later, Madelyn woke up. William didn't want Mommy to leave. Mommy got Madelyn and tried to rock her in her car seat in William's room. William kept talking so Mommy had to leave the room with Madelyn. William called out to Mommy the entire time getting louder and louder. Madelyn was finally asleep so Mommy went back to William. After five, ten minutes of William talking and goofing around, Mommy decided it was time to get up. No nap for William. Great!
Madelyn woke up soon after so Mommy decided to finally get to the library to return the letter B books. Mommy had a late charge of $1.80 for those books. She didn't think they were out that long. Oh, well. Time sure does fly! William and Mommy found three books: one about a dragon, another about a dog and one about dinosaurs. Everyone was happy being able to get out of the house for a bit.
William did a great job of taking off his sneaker, hat and sweater after the library! Thank goodness. Mommy was cheering like crazy!
William needed a diaper change after the library and again he decided to run around half naked for awhile. Weird. He didn't try to go on the potty today though. In fact, Mommy asked a few times and he said no. While he was half naked he was doing somersaults. He hit his bare bottom on something and wanted Mommy to kiss it. Essentially, he asked Mommy to kiss his butt!
No nap = early bedtime for William. Madelyn? She had a difficult time getting to sleep. Mommy nursed her while watching the Sabres lose the series to the Bruins. She finally stayed asleep. Hopefully tomorrow goes better.
This morning the entire family went to Wegman's. It was a quick trip. Madelyn cried the whole way home and the hour and a half wasn't even up yet. She was already looking to nap. She may be feeling sick and needs the extra sleep.
Duke is having a difficult time pooping. Well, he's just confused. Since half the yard is covered in grass seed and another goal is to get Duke to do his business in one spot, away from the play area, Mommy and Daddy decided to take him out on his leash until the grass is well established. Duke has no idea what to do. He thinks it is time for a walk. It took him three days to poop the first time because he has never really pooped when on his leash. Stage fright? Low intellect? Annoying, whatever it is. He wants to go out all the time, but doesn't go when we are out. But, it will be great once he knows where his designated area is.
The family did a lot of nothing today. Daddy was schooling William on sports: hockey, golf, basketball and car racing (is that a sport?) while Madelyn tried to eat her sock.
William was getting his diaper changed when he got up and decided he didn't want to put on a clean diaper or his pants. After awhile, Mommy remembered she had big boy underpants upstairs. She brought a couple down and William tried them on. They looked so cute. He said they were "good," but wanted them off quickly. He played a little more before he finally agreed to getting dressed.
William tried the potty again before taking a bath. "Nothing's coming out." Maybe next time. He got to bed early tonight. He had a short nap and Mommy and Daddy knew he needed rest to help get over his cold. He never sleeps late so an early bedtime is the best solution.
Mommy and Daddy had an at home date night. They baked yummy chocolate chip cookies. Madelyn crashed. Half the date Daddy spent baking by himself while Mommy was trying to get her to sleep. Eventually Madelyn came down to observe the activity.
What a night! Who got any sleep? Well, Daddy did since he dosed on NyQuil and had a few beers at the game last night. William did. An early wake up, but he slept well overall. So, whose left? That's right! Mommy and Madelyn - very little sleep. Madelyn is either sick or teething. But who ever knows?
Daddy went out to Chautauqua with Mimi and Papa to start opening the cottage. William and Madelyn can't go the first time out with all the cleaning that needs to be done, but they will be out the next visit. It will be interesting to see what William remembers from last year.
Madelyn's schedule is completely all over the road. She woke up, maybe four or five times last night. Was up around 4AM. Had a half hour nap. Then an almost two hour, but was woken by William (as he was screaming because Mommy said to be quite - nice). Mommy was able to get her back to sleep and she slept for another 45 minutes.
William and Mommy stayed back in the family room most of the morning and early afternoon to make sure Madelyn got her rest. They played with his block puzzle, made a caterpillar and cut out and glued letter C's. William got carried away with the glue. That was all he wanted to do. No cutting. No gluing C's or any other paper down. Just glue! Squeeze as much glue out as possible. Mommy just let him. He was happy and wasn't hurting anyone. The glue bottle was getting low and it was getting more difficult to squeeze it out. His fingers were also very sticky. Put those two together and you get an extremely agitated two year old. He whined for awhile before he asked for fruit snacks. Mommy obliged.
While Mommy was on the phone with Laura, checking in for the weekend, Duke barked. Mommy freaked out and ran to the front of the house. There was a Trillium Florist van in the drive way. What?
Laura sent Mommy flowers as a thank you for her shower! How nice. Pretty.
And they were on the phone when they were delivered!
Daddy came home from Chautauqua with the canoe. It passed William's inspection.
Best conversation between William and Daddy today.
Daddy: "Why is this book out?" Asking William about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "What letter does caterpillar start with?"
William: "Letter Ceee! What else letter C?"
Daddy: "Cow."
William: "What else?"
Daddy: "Carrot."
William: "What letter does poop start with?"
Daddy, laughing: "Letter P!"
Mommy and Madelyn stopped by Jamie's Tupperware party just long enough to say hi and order something. Missy, Charlotte's mom said that Charlotte was asking where William was. They haven't seen each other since William's birthday party. Hopefully soon, before Missy has her baby.
While Mommy and Madelyn were gone, Daddy and William took all William's riding toys out of the basement and put them in the garage. Daddy got William to press the button on his Jeep. The button he was deathly afraid of on his birthday.
William expressed some interest in the potty today. Mommy asked him if he wanted her to take off his pants and diaper so he could sit on it and he said yes! He sat on it and tried to push, but nothing happened. He agreed to try again later.
Bed time for William was tough. He wanted to do something himself and was stuck in his tantrum. Daddy skipped books and songs and laid down with him in his big boy bed. They both fell asleep! Daddy woke up an hour later and went to bed.
Tough morning, but the day ended well! William was exhibiting more frustration trying to gain independence. It is tough being 2! He wants to help, but often times he expresses it after the task has been started and this throws him into the deep end. Reasoning is impossible, so the only action is distraction. Food is the best and easiest. He's been given chocolate chips and fruit snacks mainly. What kind of bad habit is being started here!? Dowatchagottado. He is also sick. Probably whatever Daddy has.
Madelyn started with a half hour nap. Mommy had a feeling it wasn't going to be a third day in a row of long naps. She did end up sleeping longer in the afternoon though.
William did some painting today. He made an original WC for Mimi, Kathleen and Papa. They will be very valuable one day. Keep it safe!
Since Mimi was on spring break she came to get William (awesome for Mommy) for a couple hours. She also picked up Kathleen and they went to see the big reveal of Ed and Kathleen's house. It sounds really nice and everyone is pretty impressed. After, they went to the store and then to Mimi's for lunch. When William came home, Madelyn had just woken up so she was in a great mood. After William showed Kathleen the birds in the back yard, Mommy put William in for a nap and Kathleen and Mimi visited with Madelyn (and without tears). Mommy is kicking herself for not taking any pictures of Kathleen and William and Madelyn. You've got to be kidding!
Daddy came home early and hung out a bit with William and Mommy before Madelyn woke up. Mimi and Papa came over for take out. Subs from John and Mary's...yum. Madelyn woke up crabby, obviously not well rested enough at 5, but Mommy tried to keep her up so she would go to bed for the night at 6:30. She wasn't happy with that idea so Mommy tried to get her back to sleep around 6. Then she suddenly woke up! Crazy baby. Mommy and Daddy were getting ready to go to the 5th game of the Sabres/Bruins playoff series. Of course, Madelyn and William were not cooperating. Daddy was putting William to sleep and he was protesting. Mommy was trying to decode Madelyn's range of emotions. Finally Mommy and Daddy got out of the house a little after 7.
The game was awesome! An awesome win for the Sabres! Mommy and Daddy had a great time. It was the first time they had been out together without children in over 5 months! Can you imagine?
Mimi and Papa did a great job with William and Madelyn. They worked it out just perfectly. Madelyn woke up 15 minutes after they left!
This morning Daddy woke up feeling even more sick than yesterday. Poor guy. Tonight is going to be a NyQuil night. There has been at least one person in the house sick for the last two months. Hopefully this passes soon.
This morning Madelyn took an hour nap (nice)! William, Mommy, Madelyn and Mimi went to Target to buy the Baby Trend Sit and Stand stroller! Mommy can't wait to try it out. The trip was ultra speedy since Madelyn had to nurse and then Mommy and Mimi had to call around to see which Target still had them in stock. After getting home it was clear that Madelyn wasn't going to nap after the hour and a half. Mommy decided to pack up and go to the library, but it turned out to be a bad idea. They didn't go. Poor William still has his letter B books. He's about to move on to letter C soon.
Genevieve came for a visit to catch up and pick up some crazy baby gear/clothing. William and Madelyn napped most of her visit and she didn't get to spend much time with them. Maybe when baby Federic is born we'll hang out a bit more.
Daddy came home early (Yay - Mommy loves when he does this) in fact, he just missed Gen. He took William over to North Dr. to clean up a bit and mow the lawn. Mommy and Madelyn stayed back and worked on dinner.
Mommy took a few pictures today, but none of them came out very well. Getting worse before she gets better.
Good morning sleepy heads! Check out the hair on these two! Making protein shakes.
Madelyn took three naps today. Morning - 2 hours. Early afternoon - .5 hours. Late afternoon - a little over 2 hours! She did this last Monday too. Hopefully this is the start of a longer nap schedule. Mommy will be very happy. And she is such a happy baby! She smiles and laughs all the time. She still enjoys Mommy's company best, but is happy to laugh and play with anyone from Mommy's arms.
Still a low grade fever for William. His difficult quest for independence is not as difficult when he is feeling better. He only had one meltdown today. Hopefully tomorrow he will have put his fever to rest and he will be his happy normal self again.
Mommy HAD to grocery shop today. Of course, Madelyn slept until 11 so it was a mad rush out of the house. Wegmans and Aldi. Really pushed it with Madelyn and she cried the entire shopping visit at Aldi. Luckily it only takes a couple of minutes there. She fell asleep on the way home. That was her .5 hour nap. If Mommy didn't go then the house would be starving since Madelyn slept the entire afternoon away.
William may just turn into a fruit snack, he eats so many of them. And milk. He has been drinking it like crazy lately. He's always liked it, but he slowed down and has recently picked it back up again. Not to worry. He is drinking skim now. Loves it just the same. He may also start talking like Mickey, or maybe Donald Duck. Lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV. He watches it when Mommy puts Madelyn to sleep and when Mommy takes a shower. He also watches it if he is being extra crabby...like this afternoon when Mommy and William were doing some yard work. William wanted to use his little shovel to dig up weeds like Mommy, but he was having a hard time. After 5 minutes of trying to reason with the unreasonable, Mommy brought William inside to watch a Mickey. Happy again. Well, not happy, but better.
After dinner, Nana came over to visit and pick up her Tupperware. She brought William a cool blue squishy ball that lights up when you hit it.
William and Daddy emptied out Daddy's car. He bought a bunch of great plants for the yard: blueberries and blackberries and grass seed. It is going to look great!
Check out some pictures from Katie's blog. At the playground. Playing with Safina while Mommy and Madelyn shopped.
William felt better today, but still had a fever. Katie and Safina came over to play since Daddy took Duke to day care. What a great day to play in the back yard! Safina was sooo cute trying to take off her sweater. She is also at the stage of doing things on her own, even when she doesn't quite know how yet. Katie gave Mommy some guidance on cameras and photography. Mommy is trying some new settings out so some of her pictures may not be that great, but hopefully will be better than great real soon!
Mommy had to go grocery shopping, but came up with dinner so she decided to put it off until tomorrow (again).
Later in the afternoon, Mimi came over. She hasn't been over in awhile and William and Madelyn were not sure who she was! Just kidding. It did take a bit longer to warm up to her though.
Daddy came home early since he didn't feel great and he wanted to get the top soil in the back yard. William, as always, was a great helper.
What a wacky day! William woke up with a fever and pretty crabby. Madelyn had an unusual morning of sleep (or lack of).
A trip to Quality was necessary for food since a big trip to Wegmans did not look promising. Everyone was happy until they returned home. William wanted to take his sneakers off himself. His newest and most spoken phrase is, "William do it." That is great that he wants to do things for himself until he is unable to do them. Don't try to help either. That makes it worse. Mommy acted like a crazy lady to get William to laugh and help him get his sneakers off without touching him or them. It worked. He finally got them off! Mommy went to take off his sweater and it started again. "William do it." Mommy was more than willing to show William how to do it by using her sleeve as an example, but William was too far gone - too upset to get back. Mommy left him in the mudroom and she went in the kitchen to put away the groceries. William climbed into the kitchen looking for comfort from Mommy. He calmed down and had lunch. All this time Madelyn is being a little angel. Crazy? No, lucky.
Nap time has been trying lately too. Today was no exception. William wanted to take his own sweater off (still on from earlier). He was so upset, Mommy couldn't distract him. Eventually, Mommy and William laid down in his big boy bed. William fell asleep quickly and Mommy had to sneak out. Just in time, too. Madelyn woke up as she was leaving William's room.
Mommy paid extra close attention to the monitor since William hasn't slept much in his big boy bed and she didn't want him to be afraid when he woke up. He only slept for 50 minutes. He may have gone back to sleep if Mommy laid down with him, but Madelyn was up and it didn't work out. William decided to get up and Mommy realized that his fever was climbing. Poor little guy. He happily took Motrin and, of course, fruit snacks. He watched a lot of TV this afternoon because Mommy wanted to avoid as much terrible two's with a dash of fever as possible.
William was in good enough spirits to help Daddy put up a clothes line in the backyard. Maybe it is his molars. Who knows?
Mommy took no pictures or videos today. Too crazy.
A bit of a lazy day today. Getting back to reality.
Gloomy, rainy morning. The sun came out in the afternoon, but it was still quite chilly. William and Daddy checked out the progress of the plant growth while Laura and Pete strategically placed wedding shoes around the yard to get the best photo. Don't ask. William spotted the bubbles and had to play with them for a bit.
Mommy got a couple shots of Laura, Pete, William and Madelyn before Laura and Pete were off again for another appointment.
Mommy and Madelyn played while Daddy was working in the garage and William napped. How many expressions can she cover in a 2 minute photo shoot?
Laura and Pete left around 4. They are already missed.
The shower went very well. Madelyn was a special guest since she wasn't taking the bottle. She was awesome. Perhaps, she likes being in the middle of the action. Good or bad news?
William slept practically the entire time Mommy and Madelyn were gone. Daddy watched the Sabres lose the second game of the first round of the Stanely Cup playoffs.
Mommy did not take ONE picture or video today. Not entirely true. She took a picture of Madelyn on her phone after she was ready for the shower.
Posted on Face Book by a friend of Laura and Pete's:
Everyone was exhausted and in bed early!
Mommy had a psuedo interview this morning. Long story, but no job. While she was gone Daddy was home with William and Madelyn. It turns out that Madelyn isn't too keen on the bottle. Uh, oh. That means she needs to come with Mommy to Laura's shower tomorrow. THAT means that Mommy needs a new outfit since the dress she originally bought is not nursing friendly.
Laura was off to one of her many appointments and Pete was on his way from Brooklyn with the car rental. William was in for his nap and Daddy decided not to go into work after all so Mommy and Madelyn went to the mall (once again). They were back to the house in less than an hour! Not because Madelyn was tired or hungry, but because Mommy found a super cute top and button down sweater. What a relief!
Later in the afternoon, William and Daddy were identifying birds feeding in the yard.
William and Madelyn stayed up a little later tonight to see Papa and Laura and Pete. Papa stopped by to pick up somethings for his trip to see Grandpa Butwin. Laura and Pete came home just a few minutes later hoping to catch the kids before another scheduled appointment. William had been waiting for Pete all day and was happy to finally see him.
This morning Nana came over to help Mommy with Laura's shower favors and games. The cookies came in the mail while she was over so it was nice to get them done and out of the way. Yeah, Mommy decided to order cookies since there was no way she was going to get them done, let alone the way she wanted. They came wrapped with a ribbon and everything. Saved a lot of time!
Later in the afternoon Daddy went to pick up Alanna, Ian, Izzy and Liam from the airport. Willam and Izzy had fun swinging on the seesaw and going down the slide. LaNova pizza for dinner! Mommy's favorite! William and Izzy sat at the little table on the deck, but William had to be moved since he kept pushing the table and upsetting Izzy.
After dinner, everyone went in the house and the kids let loose. They started running around and screaming. The Burt's and Butwin's get along so well. More time together would be nice!
Documentation of William's extreme helpfulness as he assists Daddy with his coffee.
Madelyn started the day off with a couple half hour naps, but she surprised Mommy with a long afternoon nap. William and Mommy spent most of her napping time outside. First, they started by identifying the birds they saw in the bird feeders. Then, they decided to do a little weeding in a couple flower beds.
While Mommy was getting dinner ready, Madeyln watched William as he painted a masterpiece!
During dinner William placed all his chicken nugget pieces around the edge of his plate. Then he said, "C, letter of the week!" YES!
Bath time with Madelyn.
This morning Madelyn woke up at 4:45 AM. Mommy wasn't holding her breath thinking Madelyn would take long naps again today, but she knew for sure she wouldn't when she woke up so early. Luckily, Madelyn went back to sleep at 6 and Daddy let Mommy sleep until 7:45 when Katie texted that she was up for the day. Mommy ran over there quickly to weigh herself for the biggest loser contest that the Buffalo Mother's Group held. Mommy didn't trust Mimi and Papa's scale for some reason. It wasn't showing much of a lose and there should have been.
Since Madelyn woke up for the day later than normal Mommy didn't have her try to get herself to sleep on her own. Instead, she soothed her so Mommy could hop in the shower and start the day.
Would Madelyn sleep longer than half an hour? Nope. Half an hour it was!
The three of them hopped in the car and met Katie and Safina at the Smallwood playground. Madelyn nursed before they left so, time was limited. Mommy thought that Madelyn may have been stimulated enough to push through the next 90 minutes cycle, but that didn't happen. Mommy felt bad having to leave, but thankfully, William was agreeable. He had a great time climbing up the playset and going down the slide. He was also pushed on the swing, but he enjoys being "free" more!
The day went on with half hour naps.
While William was napping, Mommy and Madelyn were hanging out. Madelyn has been trying for the last few days to roll over. She tries so hard! Over 17 lbs has got to be tough to roll over for the first time!
Mommy tried to get William outside as much as possible. While Madelyn was sleeping they checked on the peas and grapes in the backyard and the tulips out front. William is going to be a great gardener...and bird watcher, and mathematician, and artist, and cook, and entertainer, and...this author digresses!
Later in the afternoon William was up and down, on and off the couch. He made a static mess of his hair! And of course, he is hamming it up for the camera.
When Daddy came home he took William outside to help take out the garbage and recycling. Dinner was a little late since Mommy was nursing Madelyn. Leftovers anyway. Daddy cracked open a beer so Mommy poured herself the last of the wine from the Tupperware party. Mmmm.
William is starting to go to bed a little later...between 7:30 and 8. He seems to be sleeping in a little later.
**A VIDEO WAS POSTED ON YESTERDAYS ENTRY**
This morning William did not continue the late wake up time. Oh, well. He was up at 6:20. Nothing compared to Mommy and Madelyn though - 5:40 - AWESOME! Yeah, not really.
