It's the Age

I just downloaded a bunch of pictures from my camera and found all these cute ones of Madi. Good timing too, cause I have a lot of stuff that I've been wanting to record about how Madi's adjusting to having a baby sister- AND being two!

We all like to have something to blame our kids crazy behavior on- a missed nap, teeth coming in, company in town, a new baby in the house, etc. etc. At least it always makes me feel a little better when I know why Madi's acting up, so that I know how to fix it. But lately I haven't been able to tell if Madi's hard days (or should I say "moments") are due to her wanting attention or simply just because she's TWO! One minute we'll be having the best conversation about the pictures we're painting, and the next minute Madi's painting on the table, watching to see what I'm going to do. One minute she'll be playing nicely with Elle, and the next minute Madi's chucking a toy at her! One minute we're snuggled up reading a story together, and the next minute Madi's grabbed the book out of my hands, insisting that she wants to read it.

Here's the sweet Madi, giving her sister some love.

It's been an exhausting couple of weeks- feeling like I have to watch Madi like a hawk when she's around her sister, to make sure she's being kind. Hitting has become an issue again. For some reason Madi gets the biggest kick out of picking on Eleanor. At least once a day Madi comes up and hits Elle's head. Maybe she thinks she's being playful, but it's still hitting and I'm determined to make Madi realize that it's mean! I discipline Madi for "naughty" behavior almost a dozen times a day. She's now started putting herself into time out when she knows she's done something wrong. I've taken it as a sign that Madi now needs something a little more drastic for punishment.

I feel like I'm constantly reminding Madi to "share" and to "be gentle" (nice, kind, loving, quiet, and soft can also be substituted here). But now I'm at a loss as to what else can be done. I've tried all the tricks I know and have come to a conclusion that it's simply the age. Well, that and a combination of going from only child to oldest child! She'll grow out of it- right?

Luckily we've got a good supply of the cute moments, that make the crazy ones easy to forget!

Good Intentions

Smile!

"It's ok Eleanor, I'll take care of you."

"What's the matter? Why are you still crying?"

"I need to give Eleanor a kiss."

"That's better!"

I know Madi really does have good intentions of being a loving, kind, nice older sister.

Interview with Madi

I've been having a lot of fun taking videos of the girls lately and learning all the tricks of my new camera. Uploading and publishing videos has never been so fast and easy! Just a warning: this first one's pretty long- a whole 4 minutes! I just thought it was funny how every question I asked her had a different answer than when I interviewed her a couple of days earlier (except for favorite song). Just shows how often a two year olds favorites change.

Here's a shorter one of Madi telling what she does every night before bed. I love having a checklist- it helps keep Madi on track during bedtime.

Pendleton

This is Madi at 14 months, along with her beloved lambie blanket- Pendleton (aka- Penny). You may have noticed that in many pictures I post of Madi, Pendleton is also somewhere in the picture. He's definitely one of Madi's favorite comfort items. I love it how she rubs his ears while holding him.

Well, several days ago Madi took Penny along to pick up Spencer from the Metro. Unfortunately, as we were getting out of the car to walk into the house, Penny slipped from Madilyn's grasp and ended up in a puddle by the wheel of the tire. I gasped and probably freaked out enough for all of us. Madi was heading off to bed within the hour and I knew there would not be time to get Pendleton washed and dried in time to accompany Madi to bed. Luckily Madi was a good sport about the accident (probably since it was her fault) and knew she'd see Penny in the morning.

Sure enough, the first thing Madi wanted when she got out of bed was to see Pendleton and wondered if he was clean yet. Shoot! I'd been doing other laundry and hadn't gotten around to washing him yet. So I let Madi help me throw Pendleton into the "bath". Then Madi ate breakfast- asking about Penny numerous times. The instant she heard the washer stop, she looks at me and says, "Penny's all clean! Can I snuggle him now?" I had to remind her that he needed to be dried first. I let Madi give him a kiss before throwing him into the drier. Then I headed upstairs to shower. When I came back down this is where I found Madi!

In the laundry room, watching the drier, waiting for Penny to come out. So sweet!

Oh, and totally a fluke that a bottle of Spray-n-Wash ended up in this picture. But it definitely seems appropriate- since it did play a large part in getting Penny clean!

The First of Many!

After charging my new Flip last night, Spencer couldn't wait to take the first video. So while I was cooking breakfast, he came down to document our first video that can actually be heard without having to blast the volume! Don't worry mom, this is just the first of many more videos to come!

A few things that made me happy today. . .

1) Going to the library with friends.

2) A trip to the doctor- getting the diagnosis that I expected.

3) Getting 2 prescriptions filled- lets hope this amoxicillin kicks in soon!

4) Receiving an early Christmas present from Spencer.

5) And getting to watch my girls play together.

This last one should really be a post by itself because of how many pictures I took.

First Madi sat down and got Elle's attention.

Then Madi got her smiling . . .

Finally Elle was so amused with Madi that she bust up laughing! It was so incredibly cute to watch!

Conference Weekend

Not only are spring and fall my two favorite seasons, but October and April are my two favorite months of the year. Aside from being Spencer and I's birthday months, I always look forward to General Conference. For any of you who may not be familiar with General Conference, it's a semi-annual worldwide broadcast held in Salt Lake City, UT. Members of our church gather together to listen (either at the Conference Center, or through radio, television, or the internet) to counsel from our prophet (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), general authorities, and other leaders. It's this time of year that I like to evaluate my life and decide what I could be doing better. After 4 conference sessions (5 for Spencer) I already have a good list started. Conference hasn't always been like this for me though. I remember being younger and feeling so bored with having to sit for hours, listening to speaker after speaker. However, it's just seemed to get better and better with each stage of life. It's kinda ironic how now- when I most want the counsel and instruction from our prophet, general authorities, and other leaders, it's the hardest to listen and focus. Even with the bingo board I laminated and coloring sheets I printed out for Madi, it still didn't stop the talking, laughing, and wanting of our attention while we struggled to listen. It's this reason I look forward to getting the November copy of the Ensign. I already have a list of all the talks I missed parts of, or just want to hear again. Saturday morning was one of my favorite sessions. I forget who the speakers were (I have a terrible memory these days) but there were three back to back that I was clinging to their every word, while reminding Madi to BE QUIET! I'm pretty sure it was David Bednar who reminded us to, "Become more consistent in the seemingly small things."

I have so many things I'd like to be doing better right now. My list is long and recorded in my journal (so not to bore those who've already read this far with the details). Another speaker Saturday morning said: "What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we do. What we do determines who we are." I just really liked that and now need to go back and find out who the speaker was and be reminded of the rest of his talk. Then this afternoon I particularly loved Jeffrey R. Holland's talk. He's always such an incredible speaker with an amazingly powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. I'll definitely be rereading his talk several times. It was Quentin L. Cook who reminded me that I need to be sharing my testimony with Madi (and Elle) on a more regular basis. I think I just need to start simple and begin talking about what a testimony is and then begin incorporating those "seemingly small things" better. Dale Renlund's talk I could totally relate to. Sometimes I need that change of heart. It's hard not to get annoyed with all the meetings Spencer has these days. I get mad telling Spencer to remind them that he's still in law school along with working over 20 hours a week. But then I have to calm down and realize how we even got this far. We've personally seen the blessings that come from faithfully serving and magnifying our callings. Once I step back and am reminded of the even bigger picture, I am more than ok with the meetings. More meetings= more blessings right?!?! Maybe not, but you get the idea!

Ok- enough about my conference experience (there are a least a dozen other speakers I want to listen to again and will be doing so shortly). I don't usually like to share like this, but after reading the Oct. Ensign (particularly the article on blogging), I felt I should write a little more.

Aside from being inside and glued to the TV for 8 hours, there were a few other highlights that made this conference weekend particularly memorable:

1) Enjoying beautiful weather (mid 70's and sunny with blue skies)!

2) Surviving the weekend with my first ever sinus infection! Oh, the joy of feeling like my head is going to explode (I'm hoping to get into the doctor tomorrow morning)!

3) Having Spencer home- and aside from being gone 3 1/2 hours Saturday night for Priesthood session and an early meeting this morning for stake YM's, I had him all to myself!

4) Spencer taking Madi out on a daddy daughter date- giving me 2 quiet hours at home!

5) Of course the daddy daughter date resulted in bringing home from the pet store a new addition to our fish tank: An African Dwarf Frog which Madi creatively named "Froggy." And here he is...

Seasons of Change

Notice the leaves changing color on the tree.

Summer clothes are packed up and our winter wear is now hanging in the closets. Of course I'm still wearing flip flops, but our attire has mostly been long pants and hoodies this week. As much as I love the fall time and the gorgeous weather we've been having, it's hard to get excited about the change when I know what's close behind. I'm not a fan of winter and I am NOT ready for the cold to hit. I'm not ready to give up morning runs, daily walks, lunch at the park, and feeding the ducks.

Summer flew by a little too fast for me and now I feel like I have to hang on tight to this beautiful fall weather. However, the chilly mornings and the falling leaves have only made me more aware of the freezing temperatures that lay ahead.

It probably doesn't help that I've had this dang miserable cough for over a week now. Just serves as another reminder of the sniffly noses, coughs, and colds that winter brings. Boohoo.

On a happier note- only 77 days until we head off to sunny Southern California!