All in a few days!

Madeline finished another session of Gymnastics and Dance and did an excellent job. There were 6 girls in her final class and they all did the dances just as choreographed, and Madeline has become quite the gymnast. She is able to hang from the bar and pull her legs up over it, then hang with no hands! or flip herself over (with hands)! The trampoline moves are coming along too. Madeline is able to do a seatdrop (jump, drop to your butt, and right back up on your feet all in one bounce). She has really come a long way and gotten so strong. Her accomplishments are very impressive.

As many of you know, Zak and I were married 5 years ago last weekend. So, for our fifth anniversary Zak bought me a Pin Oak tree since the 5th year is wood. I thought this was a really great idea. On Saturday morning, we planted our new tree in the backyard. We all helped dig the hole, and Madeline was a big help mixing the soil to help our tree grow.

Madeline has had a dog bone (milkbiscuit) for her puppy (stuffed animal from Sue) for probably a couple years now. Well, she has decided that she needs a new one. So, she and Zak went to Target and came home with a BOX of milkbones! Now, she has one for all of her puppies. Madeline was so excited when she got home with that box of milkbones. She went right upstairs, dumped out the dogbones onto her bedroom floor in a pile and then gathered all of her puppies around it. She came downstairs and told us all about it with such excitement. I had to get over the idea of those dogbone crumbs in her carpet so my excitement was not shown, but Zak was awesome and assisted her in picking up the treats and making sure every dog got their own. Madeline brought them downstairs and put them on the coffee table, each with their biscuit. She was very attentive to them making sure they were comfortable with their treat.

Last weekend, our little family went to a local park where Madeline and I explored while Daddy fished. Well, near the dam there were some extremely large Carp so Zak decided he must try to catch one. While he was doing that, Madeline and I had fun taking a few pictures. She loves posing so here is a snippet of that love. Her natural beauty still gets to me.

Madeline has decided her hair is too long. So, after a few requests, I scheduled a haircut for our girl. She picked out the hairstyle and we went in for a style change. Now, you may not know this, but for children there are movies to watch while they get their haircut. They don't have to make small talk with the stylist, they can just watch the movie of their choice, tip their head this way or that, and they're done. So, while Madeline watched Elmo, she got about 6 inches cut off the length. She's very pleased with her new look.

Check out these October digs! Is it cold? Cold enough for hat, mittens, and sweater. Is it warm? Warm enough for capris and sandals. She's a funny girl.

First Field Trip

Madeline had her first field trip today; Apple Picking at a local orchard. She rode the school bus for the first time too (equipped with five point harnesses in every seat!). She was very excited and right in her element since she had done this a few times before. The weather was absolutely perfect for apple picking. The hot/humid days are over and fall has begun, so it couldn't have been scheduled any better.

Achy Breaky Tuesdays

I am so glad to hear that Madeline survived her incident with only bruises. What a scary thing!

Michelle, you have a great touch in bringing these stories to us. Thank you for taking the time to share.

I can imagine how big your house felt when you walked in the door without Madeline. Suddenly, no project seems as important. No nap seems quite as alluring......it's all about the kid. We never quite realize how much children add to our day until we find ourselves without them.

and how did this big step get here so fast.......wasn't Madeline just born a few months ago!!!!!!!

Love to all of you and thanks!!!! Gretchen

Alright, now that I'm finished crying I can post a couple more updates. I'll start with yesterday and work my way back...

Tuesdays are dance/gymnastics days so I was getting ready to go while Madeline watched a bit of TV in my bedroom. I typically close the door while I blowdry my hair because if I don't, Madeline will. She doesn't like the noise it makes obviously. Well, yesterday I was blowdrying my hair when I hear a loud crashing sound right outside the bathroom door and an instant cry from Madeline. I ran out to find Madeline under my chest of drawers (tall 4 drawer dresser with a TV on top) and the TV right next to her head. I instantly pulled the dresser off of her and got her out of there. She was very upset, as was I, so we just sat for a minute while she cried. Come to find out, she was more scared than hurt. I'm not sure how, but she came away with only a few scrapes and bruises. All of the weight of the dresser wasn't on her, thank goodness, so she has a couple bruises from the drawer pulls. Nothing broken. Of course I had to confirm this with her many times before I believed her.
Side note: When I was 4, I attempted climbed up a tall gravestone that ended up falling on my leg and creating a hairline fracture that we weren't aware of until much later in the day.

We got all calmed down, checked her over, made her walk across the room a few times, then decided if we were going to continue with dance class or just stay home that day. She said she wanted to go to class, so I put the dresser back, moved the TV out of the way, blotted up the coffee that was on the dresser, and finished getting us ready to go. No, I didn't finish blowdrying my hair.

If you're wondering how it happened... Madeline had pulled out the bottom drawer, then the next one, then the next one and wanted the top one to come open. It was caught on some clothes, so she gave it a good yank thereby opening the drawer but bringing the dresser down as well. We are very thankful that the TV didn't drop on her head, or she was crushed under the dresser, or ... I did my best to tell her how the dresser came off balance so hopefully she won't do that again. We can only hope and be better prepared.

Of course, I went out yesterday afternoon and bought a lower, wider dresser. So, maybe with a new dresser and a little bit of knowledge, this particular incident won't be repeated.

We went about our day yesterday, and if I didn't tell you about our morning, you never would guess that's how it started. She has either forgotten all about it or has chosen to push it away for now. I told her that now she has her own story like Mommy. She's not ready to tell it.



Last week was her 4 year checkup with the doctor. We had been getting Madeline ready for this appointment, telling her about the TWO shots she was going to get, how they wouldn't hurt for more than a second, and everything would be fine.

Well, let me tell you, this was a very brave girl. She somehow had come to believe us that the shots wouldn't hurt much and went through the appointment procedures like she did it everyday. She is now 40 1/2" tall, weighing 36 pounds. Her bloodpressure was 84/52 I think, which is apparently normal for someone her size, and her eyesight is 20/30 with impeccable hearing. She did a really great job with the vision and audio machines.

When it came time for the shots, the nurse told her to sit up on the table with her legs off the end and she did just that. She was ready. She laid down, I leaned over her to chat and hopefully take her mind off of things a little, then the first shot came. That was the end of her composure. She looked at me as if to say, "that didn't hurt a LITTLE! that hurt a LOT! and why did they hurt me?" Well, this went on not one more time, but twice more in her left leg and once in her right. Yep, FOUR shots! One being a tetnus that apparently stings like mad. So, we sat for a minute and cried, got ourselves together and went out to the front to get her tattoo for doing such a great job.

We sat in the waiting room deciding what we were going to do next. See, this was last Tuesday right before dance/gymnastics and the plan was to go right from the doc to class, then out to lunch whereever she wanted to go. Well, she said her legs really hurt (can't imagine why!) and said she really didn't want to go to class that day. Of course, I didn't force the issue and we headed home.

We went home and I gave her some Motrin and that made her feel instantly better. She felt good enough to walk (no bikeriding today, she said) to the Coney Island behind our house. We sat at the counter, which she really likes to do, and ate our lunch. Madeline's favorite diner food is french toast & sausage with milk to drink. She did a great job, and we even took more of a walk to Target to get some things, then headed home. Her legs were a bit achy for a couple days, but she's fine now. Tuesdays have not faired well lately, hopefully next Tuesday will be better. We need to break this streak of Tuesday luck.

First Day of School

Well, I just dropped off Madeline at her first day of Preschool. We had visited twice before so she was very familiar with the surroundings and knew her teacher by sight. I'm pretty sure Madeline was more at ease than I was. When we got there, we found her cubby with her coat hook and her basket for notes so up went the jacket and in went the backpack (packed with an extra change of clothes all labeled with her name).

A couple other girls were already in the classroom and immediately asked Madeline if she wanted to play. She wanted to so I gave her a big hug and I was about to ask her if she wanted me to stay, when she said "good-bye mommy", waved, and walked away to play. I was a bit surprised to find how UNready I was for that moment. So, of course my eyes started to well up so I made a quick exit, didn't look back for fear she would see me and left the building. I thought about hanging out in the parking lot for a bit, but since we live right around the corner, I thought it best to come home and cry instead.

It was certainly a change coming home without her, leaving her in someone else's care. All of the fears come to the front, and I just hope everything goes well. I hope she continues to have a wonderful time with her new friends and gets to do some things she's never done. Most of all, I just hope she has fun and comes away with a good feeling about everything. I know all of her days won't be that great, but the first day should be. Right?

Well, now I think I'll sit for a bit and give this a minute to sink in. There are a million things I was thinking I would do today, but I'm not sure my brain can think of anything else! Man, it's quiet in this house. Talk to you all soon. Love, Michelle