Madelyn, looking like such a big girl! The weather was cool last week so, MJ sported her jeans a couple of days. Oh, isn't she a cutie!
Thursday, Mimi came over and watched Madelyn and William while Mommy got a lot of stuff done. She went to get a portable wardrobe from a friend for the garage sale, got a hair cut, and prepared for the sale! Mommy is hoping that all the time she has invested in this thing pays off!
Mimi, William and Madelyn played outside, took a walk and played inside too. William didn't nap, but that meant early bed time! While they were on their walk Mommy worked on a project for Daddy. You can see it at
Mommy and Katie's blog.
William has definitely been hearing what Mommy says when she talks. He was feeding Madelyn yesterday and as he gave her the food he says, "Here ya go, sweetie." Randomly, Mommy will hear him say to Madelyn, "Let me see those teeth." Super, super cute, he said to Mimi, "Sweetheart, Mimi" as she was working on something.
Friday, Maureen, Leslie and Abe came for a visit. So fun! They played in the family room, backyard and then had lunch. Burly and Duke hung in the backyard while all of this was going down. Actually, Burly hung and Duke barked. Not as much as normal though, so it was bearable.
Just before they left Mommy enlisted Maureen to help her move Madelyn's dresser down stairs. All the kids hung in Madelyn's crib to be out of the way. And this gives you an idea of how it went...
Saturday...garage sale. The fam was up and at 'em bright and early (nothing unusual there) preparing for the garage sale. It was a beautiful day and it was hot compared to earlier in the week. The garage sale was a success, but Mommy thought people were cheap and tried to get something for nothing. All in all, money was made, but not as much as Mommy hoped, items were sold, but again, not as much as Mommy thought. Good thing is, during naps, Mommy piled everything she no longer wanted (basically everything except baby clothing and gear) into the van and after naps, Madelyn, William and Mommy dropped it all off at Good Will.
Daddy went to a friend's bachelor party so, Mommy made French toast for dinner. Daddy doesn't like breakfast for dinner. It was delicious, both William and Mommy agreed!
Sunday morning Mommy packed up William and Madelyn and went grocery shopping at Wegman's. Mommy is getting used to the 7AM, Sunday morning Wegman's trip. It is so quiet and it is done with and out of the way for the week!
Later, everyone, except Duke, went to Eric and Maureen's for dinner and to visit a couple of Daddy's college buddies. William and Madelyn were troopers - they allowed Daddy to visit until 8. Madelyn fell asleep almost immediately in the car and Mommy was able to transfer her easily. William was off to bed soon after.
Monday back to work for Daddy. Nana is on vacation this week so she came over to visit. She was amazed at Madelyn's dare devil behavior and loved playing with William. She a lunch of PB & J and carrots and read William two books before he went in for a nap.
Dinner was at Mimi and Papa's with Katie and MaryJo. It was great seeing them and dinner was delicious!
Tuesday, Daddy stayed home from work! How awesome. It was a fun-filled family day. After Madelyn's morning nap they all headed to Glen Falls for a nice walk. They watched the water falls and dukes. Daddy and William went to look for critters under rocks, but didn't have much luck. Then, they went to Panera for a yum-yum lunch. Madelyn even enjoyed eating an apple!
It is great having Daddy home during the week!
Madelyn climbed two stairs today!
Here are a bunch of videos from the month of August...
August 7th - Naked baby walking and talking
August 27th - Shaking, laughing and screaming
August 22nd - This was past bed time. A little overtired?
August 16th - Tried to catch Madelyn saying, "ba," but got William with his face painted instead!
August 12th - Practicing crawling.
August 10th - William has a new pair of shoes!
Madelyn crawled up one step this morning!
Ugh. There was a post started for yesterday and somehow it wasn't saved. Darn.
Madelyn's sleep schedule seemed to straighten out yesterday. Nope. Today it was right back to its craziness. All Mommy can think of is maybe she is teething. But isn't that every parent's excuse when something with their child is out of whack? Well, it is Mommy's, anyway.
Yesterday's post went on and on about how Mommy is so in love with her children. Maybe it was meant to be that it wasn't saved. It wasn't bragging, just pure admiration and affection. Oh, what the heck...Madelyn is so amazing. She moves around the house with such determination and purpose. It is astounding. Mommy is confident that she will be walking within the next couple of months. She is so happy and willing to visit with family and friends. Why is this relevant? Well, Madelyn was a bit on the crabby, only Mommy (and sometimes no one) could soothe her, side. A complete 180! She smiles so big that she scrunches up her little nose and squints here eyes. It is the cutest thing you've ever seen. She squeals, and lets face it, screams so loudly. When she is talking, she has the sweetest voice ears have ever heard. Mommy loves her chubby little legs and how she holds them up when she is getting her diaper changed. She is an angel. She loves William to pieces. She cracks up when he is running around the house and she (much to William's dismay) wants to play with everything he does.
William is such a happy, loving little guy. He loves his cuddles and it melts Mommy's heart. It is amazing what comes out of his little, 2 year old mouth. Mommy sometimes drops her jaw in disbelief. He is a chatter box. He goes on and on with such accurate descriptions of events or situations. He has a memory that Mommy only wishes she had! Helping Mommy and Daddy is his favorite activity. Laundry, housework, dishes, yard work, you name it, he loves having "work to do." He loves being read to, doing crafts - cutting and gluing, and playing with his trucks and tractors! If Mommy let him he would watch garbage trucks on YouTube all day long! He is a wonderful big brother. Although, he does get frustrated with Madelyn sometimes, he is generally super sweet to her. He entertains her while Mommy needs a quick minute, he shows her how toys work, he give her hugs and kisses (sometimes he doesn't realize his strength). He has such a beautiful heart!
Mommy is so fortunate to be able to stay home and be with William and Madelyn all day. It is definitely tough some days, but nothing will ever replace these wonderful years together. Mommy thanks Daddy for working hard and providing for the family! He doesn't stop working when his 8-5 (longer these days) is over. He comes home and is "in charge" of William all through the night. He helps Mommy when she needs it and doesn't complain.
Whoa, with the mushiness!
Yesterday, not much going on. Mommy was extremely tired and the only trip out was for coffee. Oh, and a walk! Madelyn actually enjoyed it! The only reason Mommy headed home was it was starting to sprinkle.
William eating taco salad (minus lettuce and tomatoes) for dinner. He has paint on his forehead. He was painting and he uses the same paint brush for different colors, but doesn't like to mix them. So, he uses all of one color, then brings the brush to the upstairs bathroom to clean it. And repeats. There is paint on the steps. Mommy has yet to clean it up. What? It's dry!
Madelyn eating a teething biscuit for the first time! She loved it. She loves all food. She loves things that aren't even food, paper, leaves, you get the drift!
Today, Mommy felt much better rested since she went to bed at 8:30 last night. But read for half an hour so 9:00 (that doesn't sound as pathetic). Mimi stopped by for a quick visit and then Madelyn took a short half hour nap.
William, Madelyn and Mommy got dressed and went to the library. William picked out 3 videos and 2 books. Then they went to Clayton's and William and Madelyn picked out a toy each. Madelyn got a Baby Stella baby doll. She is so cute. And William got a cement truck. Pictures to come. Thanks, Ed and Kathleen.
Madelyn took another half hour nap and William didn't nap today. They spent some time playing in the backyard.
William mowing the lawn.
Madelyn watching.
William explaining something.
Checking the gas.
Watching and chewing.
And trying to eat leaves.
Trimming with his pretend trimmer.
Get ready...
wait for it...
bubbles!
This is what the family room looks like when there are short or no naps...
And this is the other end of the family room...
garage sale prep!
Yesterday, Daddy slept in a little while Mommy, William and Madelyn had breakfast and played. Then Daddy worked on his truck a bit. Later in the afternoon, Jon, Gen and Charlie came by for a visit. William was sleeping, but Madelyn enjoyed seeing someone younger than her!
Daddy brought William to Mimi and Papa's after his nap. He had an exciting evening with them: a yummy dinner, Trigger the Horse, ice cream at Scoops and then a sleep over!
Madelyn went in for an early evening nap...4:30...not good. She woke up at 5:30, right when Daddy came home with take out, and didn't go back to sleep until 8:30. Ugh. Mommy and Daddy utilized the hour well though. They made decent progress in the basement - the sell pile has started in the family room. What a mess.
After Madelyn was in bed Mommy and Daddy watched The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. Not bad, but the book was sooo much better. Mommy could hardly keep her eyes open at the end to read the subtitles.
Sunday morning Mommy and Madelyn woke up, got ready for the day and went grocery shopping. Wegman's at 7AM is AWESOME! Not too many people around and Mommy was happy to get it out of the way.
Daddy went into work and when Madelyn woke up she and Mommy met Mimi, Papa and William at church.
Dinner at Mimi and Papa's! Yummy. Pork tenderloin, green beans, baby red potatoes, salad and rolls. Papa did a great job. Mimi also made a super sweet, but very delicious Oreo cookie dessert. The crew had to leave before Andrew made it home. Madelyn was getting tired and William didn't nap so needed to get home for bed.
Well...that didn't happen. They both were so wound up that they didn't go to sleep until close to 8:30. What the heck is going on!? They played in the tent for a bit and then headed outside to watch the neighborhood kids play a game of baseball. They so loved it! Come to find out one of the neighbors friends goes to school at Christ the King and had Mimi as a teacher last year! They knew all about the Matthew Butwin family.
Videos to come...so tired.
Posted by
Ida
but here are a few pictures from the last week, week and a half.
Madelyn eating puffs!
William at the block party.
Madelyn standing at the train table.
Busy, busy, always so busy.
Long story short:
Daddy started
Letter of the Week - P with William.
Madelyn started crawling on Thursday, August 12 at 4:44. Yup, Jessica's birthday. It is bit of a modified crawl. She lunges forward and crawls for two steps then sits up and repeats. She does this to get to where she wants to be. She is pulling herself up on EVERYTHING. Mommy can not turn her head for a second before she is standing. She is even trying to attempt the stairs! The other day she "crawled" from the fire place to the end of the family room going towards the steps. Accomplishing much is difficult when she is awake.
William is still going strong with big boy potty. Still a little tricky with the pooping. He has greatly improved though. Instead of going to the bathroom 20 times before he eventually goes it is down to maybe 5. The problem now is when he goes pee he doesn't pull down his shorts and under pants far enough and he dribbles on them. Cleaning the bathroom has taken on a whole new meaning!
This past weekend Laura and Pete were here. Mommy and Laura met Nana downtown for dinner and then Mommy and Laura stayed out a little while. They realized which bars NOT to go to!
Saturday Daddy and William got up and went to the dump to sell scrap metal. William loved it! Later in the afternoon was the Walton Dr. (first annual) block party. William enjoyed himself and Mommy and Daddy met a few neighbors. Jessica and Chris stopped by too. The Butwin's appearance was a bit short since Mommy and Daddy had to get Madelyn and William into bed. Jessica and Chris stopped by too and witnessed an awesome screaming match between Madelyn and William!
Sunday Mommy, Jessica and Mimi went to breakfast up in Lewiston. Then they headed over to Barton Hill Spa and had facials and pedicures. How nice! Then everyone met at Mimi and Papa's for Jessica's birthday dinner. Laura and Pete even stopped by!
This week Mommy has been super busy! She is having a big purge of a garage sale Saturday so she is going through tons of stuff and getting them ready. While doing that she is organizing closets, the basement and the office. There are a ton of projects she wants to start on:
1. Make photo/art display for Madelyn's room
2. Make tie for William (for Alainna's wedding)
3. Make hair band and flower for Madelyn (for Jessica's wedding)
4. Refinish night tables in Mommy and Daddy's room
5. Make a mesh bathroom toy bag
6. Make curtains for Madelyn's room
7. Get the basement super organized, paint walls and scrape and paint concrete floor (the current paint is chipping and Mommy is finding it all through the house - driving her NUTZO)
8. Paint the blue wall in the family room
There are many more, but they are all little projects that don't NEED to be done. As the purging, organizing and cleaning progresses Mommy keeps adding projects to the list.
As a result of all this crazy, over-ambitious planning Mommy has totally fallen behind on Butwin Family Adventures, as well as Facebook (to Daddy's enjoyment). Once the garage sale has happened time will be better managed.
AND...Mommy and Katie are working on a "project" blog. It will be revealed soon. They are super excited about it.
Daddy has been uber busy at work. We are all just getting through this week and things will slow down.
More updates with photos and videos soon...promise!
Daddy came home from work a bit early on Friday and the fam packed up the van to go to the lake for the weekend. Papa was there finishing his vacation. Mimi was on her way back to Buffalo to fly out to NYC for Jessica's third and last bridal shower.
Both William and Madelyn fell asleep on the way out. Madelyn woke up as soon as the car stopped, but William transferred to bed easily. Madelyn was up visiting with Papa for an hour and a half before she finally went to sleep.
Papa, Mommy and Daddy ate some stew and relaxed before going to bed too.
Saturday was a nice day for getting some small projects done and relaxing. Mommy worked on hair bands for Madelyn as a break while Daddy and Papa were outside playing with William and Madelyn.
No nap again for William and he woke up at 6:30 instead of 7:45 like his normal missed nap wake up time. What is going on?!
Daddy took a great picture of a beautiful rainbow after a rain shower.
Later in the evening, Papa, Daddy and Mommy sat around the fire, drinking, eating smores, and talking.
Sunday:
Up bright and early with Madelyn. No surprise there. Mommy took a picture of the sun rising. You could already feel that it was going to be a hot day.
Everyone ate breakfast before Mommy, William and Madelyn packed up to go home. Papa and Daddy stayed back to make some progress on the banister.
Madelyn eating puffs. She loves them and when she sees the container flails her arms and legs excitedly!
William convincing Mommy to share Madelyn's puffs with him. He was successful.
Madelyn napped the entire ride home, but William was a cranky little guy. Mommy put him to bed as soon as they got home - 11:15AM. He fell asleep for a couple of hours. Thank goodness. He enjoys Chautauqua so much, he doesn't want to sleep.
Monday:
Daddy worked from home for awhile before he left for his business trip to Maine. Mommy, William and Madelyn took a short trip to Mimi and Papa's to set their DVR up to record Mickey Mouse Clubhouse since Mommy canceled cable. The four of them walked down to a cute shop on Main St. to look at headbands and hair clips for Madelyn to wear for Jessica's wedding. Super cute.
Madelyn engages in self play for a good 5 - 10 minutes at a time. As long as she can look up and see Mommy close by she is OK.
Tuesday:
Yes, William has been making his own pb & j sandwiches. No, I do not know what in the world Mommy is thinking.
This afternoon Mommy, William and Madelyn went outside to enjoy the sunshine.
William was collecting what he could find outside to match the colors Mommy painted in an egg carton.
Madelyn biding time until Mommy turns her back so she can dive, land face first on the blanket, and reach for the leaves that she intends to eat. Oh, you ask, what about the toys on the blanket? Definitely not as tasty as dead, dried up leaves!
Mommy filled up the water table...correction, Mommy turned on the hose and William filled up the water table, and watered the plants, and anything else he could get to before Mommy turned it off. William and Madelyn played in the table for awhile. No pictures since Mommy was holding Madelyn standing. She loved it as much as William. Mommy thought when she poured a cup of cold water down her front she might freak out, but she didn't. Tough chick. Soon, again, she became more interested in dead leaves. Mommy needs to sweep!
William and Duke were sun bathing and Mommy took a couple cute shots.
As crazy as Duke makes Mommy she definitely can not deny the love the family has for him and vice versa.
Peppers, cherry tomatoes, a cucumber and zucchini from the Butwin garden.
Wednesday:
A trip to the zoo had to be postponed due to a very tough night at the Butwin house. William woke up at 1AM calling for Mommy. Mommy, in her sleepy stuper, got into bed with him. Three CD's later, at 35 minutes, William was still awake and Madelyn woke up.
Picture this: Mommy leaving William's room to soothe Madelyn back to sleep. William crying out, "Mommy, where are you?" Mommy telling William where she is and saying to come into Madelyn's room until Madelyn goes back to sleep. "It's dark." Mommy gets up while nursing Madelyn to turn on the bathroom light, then sits back down in Madelyn's room. William comes in also. He has to go potty. Mommy tells him to go ahead. He goes to the bathroom, pees, and starts crying, "I pee'd on the floor." Mommy reassures him that it is alright, just wipe it up with toilet paper. William comes back into Madelyn's room. Madelyn is now wide eyed and cracking up at William! Not sure what was so funny. Mommy finally decides to let Madelyn cry herself to sleep and bring William in her bed. Madelyn fell asleep in 5 minutes and William 10.
So tired today! William actually slept until 8, but since Madelyn is up every morning at 5:30 it really didn't do Mommy any good.
Mommy, William and Madelyn went over to Katie and Safina's to play. It was nice to be out of the house after the disastrous night. Everyone played so nicely and William even encouraged Safina to use the potty since he did!
William decided not to nap today. He went in and rested the length of his CD, but was up after that. Bye, bye productiveness, Mommy.
Rita came over to visit William and Madelyn. She hadn't seen them in such a long time. William was excited to show her his bedroom with his big boy bed and show her where he goes potty. Madelyn played with William and Rita for a few minutes (yes minutes) so Mommy could do a couple of things.
Dialog between Rita and William:
Rita: How old are you?
William: 2
Rita: You're 2? Do you know how old I am?
William: 46
Thursday:
William was up again last night! Mommy just swiped him up and brought him into bed with her. Forming bad habits? Maybe, but with Daddy not home Mommy isn't concerned with it right now. She's more concerned with getting some rest.
Good friends, Katy and Safina came over for a visit. Mommy and Katie talked about making the head bands for Madelyn instead of buying them. Mommy is excited to get started. They talked about other project ideas too.
No nap again for William - what the heck?! Using the potty has been going very well though. He hasn't had any accidents in a while, but is still figuring out the timing on poops.
Madelyn's strength is incredible! She can go from sitting onto all fours and back to sitting. She can pull herself up onto the play table and Mommy's reached out hands. She stands while holding Mommy's fingers and even takes steps!!! Oh, my goodness. She slides herself backwards, but she is trying to crawl. She may just start walking instead.
Daddy went straight to the office after his trip. He offered to bring home take out as an offering of appreciation for all Mommy's hard work this week. LaNova - Mommy's favorite! Pepperoni, onions, black olives and green peppers.
Some pictures from earlier this week:
Friday:
William has been requesting to sleep in his big boy bed for a few days so Mommy and Daddy asked him if he wanted to "get his crib out of here" and he said yes. Daddy and William took it down this morning and it is going out to Chautauqua for Madelyn! Potty training, big boy bed. William is growing up FAST!
Mimi and Papa came over to watch Madelyn and William while Mommy went to the dermatologist. Mimi did a great job getting Madelyn to sleep for her nap. Papa enjoyed Madelyn once she woke up. She was smiling and starring at him for 5 minutes before she decided to play. Mimi was impressed with Madelyn's ability to climb over her legs to get a toy she wants. William enjoyed many books with Papa and showed how great of a big brother he is.
Mommy, William and Madelyn went to Katie and Safina's for a short visit. Madelyn chewed on toys as Safina and William chased each other through the living room and kitchen. They have so much fun together. William was a little grumpy, but he had a poop brewing.
William went down for a nap, but never fell asleep. Mimi and Papa came to pick him up to go to Chautauqua for the night. When they left, Mommy and Madelyn went grocery shopping.
Mommy nursed Madelyn long enough for her to fall asleep in Mommy's lap. It was nice for Mommy. She doesn't get to do that with Madelyn as often as she did with William.
Mommy and Daddy rearranged William's room now that the crib was out. Such a big boy!
Saturday:
After a couple errands, Daddy, Mommy and Madelyn made their way to Chautauqua. William was happy to see everyone. Mommy, Daddy and Madelyn missed William too!
Lots of outside time. Daddy, William and Papa did some fishing. Some at the end of the dock and also out on the boat. William enjoys reeling in the line, but doesn't want to touch the fish. Not much luck. A couple small perch.
Madelyn is such a squirmy wormy. Mimi predicts that she will be a dancer or gymnast since she never stays still. She loves to stand. Standing in your lap, standing on the floor (with assistance, although she is getting stronger), standing on the table, anywhere and everywhere she enjoys standing. Again, once she is mobile, Mommy is in TRROOOUBLE!
William is doing well with the potty. No accidents lately. He is still working on timing for poops, but he is at least going in the toilet.
Daddy and Duke relaxing. Have to take advantage of these moments when you can.
Who is actually brushing their teeth? Daddy or Madelyn?
PUUUUFFS!
Mimi, Papa, Daddy and Mommy enjoyed conversation around the fire. William climbed out of his bed after his CD was over and came into the sun room and said out the screen door, "Where is everyone?" Oh, my goodness. Everyone laughed. Mommy and Daddy didn't catch the end of the CD to turn it back on so William took matters into his own hands.
Sunday:
Back home to get ready for the week!
Another week has passed. Wow!
Madelyn is 8 months!!!
And William is 90% potty trained. Still working a bit on pooping. He knows when he has to go it is just getting the timing down.
Last week in video and photos... |
| Madelyn in motion...rocking. Next, crawling! |
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| William matched the colors of the puzzle pieces to the colors on the mat. |
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Who needs toys when there are cardboard boxes around?
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| Hammering the train track apart. |
Friday night the family packed up the car and headed out to visit Aaron and Meredith at their lake house on Schickshinny Lake. Patty, Chuck, their new pup Marti, Eric, Maureen, Leslie and baby Abe were all there too.
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| Aaron, Daddy and William |
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| Meredith with classic Madelyn |
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| Eric, Maureen, baby Abe, Leslie, Meredith, Patty, Marti, Daddy and Madelyn |
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| Marti aka Oso aka Special Agent |
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| Maureen and baby Abe |
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| Leslie and Bun |
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| Madelyn stopped in her new car seat on a potty break for William during the trip home. |
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Looking miserable. It's not that bad. Wait until September!
Andrew was at Chautauqua this weekend with a few friends when a tornado touched down in Mayville! Yes, crazy, scary. It would have been cool to be there, but super scary too. Mimi and Papa went to visit him on Sunday and she brought William a gift from Andrew. It was an inflatable balloon. William loves blowing it up. Madelyn also enjoys chewing and sucking on its legs and trunk. Thanks uncle Andrew. |
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Last week Madelyn moved into her big girl convertible car seat and William got a Britax booster. Getting so big! William's Britax car seat is in Daddy's truck. Daddy pointed out the fact that there is currently $900 worth of car seats between Mommy and Daddy's cars. Not to mention the one in Mimi's and the infant seat that Madelyn no longer uses. Ugh. Expensive.
Madelyn has been crawling backwards and getting aggravated when she isn't reaching the object in front of her. She is such a mover and a shaker. Watch out Mommy once she's mobile.
Madelyn is eating a peach in this video! Beware. Mommy was a bit shaky with this one - motion sickness sufferers: beware!
William received a package in the mail. What could it be?
Great William quotes:William was between Mommy and Daddy. He first runs his finger across Mommy's forehead. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Stripes." Then he runs his finger across Daddy's forehead. "One, two. Stripes!"
Great...he's counting wrinkles.
Before bed...William: "We have to go downstairs."Daddy: "Why do we have to go downstairs?"William: "To get my medicine."Mommy: "Why do you need medicine?"William: "For my temperature."Daddy, laughing: "You don't have a temperature. You're perfectly fine."
Mommy, William, Madelyn and Daddy at Ecology and Environment's Family Wellness picnic. Madelyn and Mommy made it until 7PM. William and Daddy stayed later. William especially enjoyed his goodie bag!
