Mommy has been very negligent in the blogging department. 2008 has been a whirlwind year and overwhelming, and I'm trying to take measures to make 2009 less, or at least to try to handle it all a bit better.
Of course, since my last blog entry Madeleine has turned 2. Life with a 2-year-old is the cliché: action-packed, fun, amusing, stimulating, rewarding, challenging, frustrating and exhausting.
Not surprisingly, Maddie has turned to be an extremely energetic and curious kid, always on the move and endlessly busy with her little "projects." She is fiercely independent. (I wish I could tell you how many times she insists "NO, MANNIE DO IT!" as we try to assist her with impossible tasks throughout the day -- and how earnestly we are trying to teach her that asking for help is OK.)
She is also an early riser these days. She poops out about 8:00 every night, and by 5:30 a.m. she is usually calling out for us from her bedroom: "Wanna go UPstairs!" As a crutch, we have kept the bottle around for bedtime and wakeup time, with the fleeting hope that a morning bottle will help her put her sleepy self back to sleep for awhile, but it usually only works about 25% of the time. Bringing her into bed is not helpful either - she writhes, climbs on the dog, plays with the curtains, climbs in and out of bed, sticks her fingers up my nose and kicks Andrew until she finally decides it's "yogurt time!", and we have to get up and have breakfast.
Maddie is still spending most of her weekdays with Clelia, her nanny, at another family's house (we do a share with a family who has a 1-year-old). Clelia arrives around 8:15 in the morning and Maddie dutifully "goes to work," collecting the toys she wants with her for the day and waving good-bye to me. They usually spend their mornings at the park or on playdates, and on Wednesdays they go to storytime at the local library.
I recently had to pick Maddie up for a doctor's appointment during storytime and got to observe her. Clelia has always commented on how Maddie sits on her mat, hands folded, waiting for the stories to begin and listening to them with quiet attention, while the rest of the toddlers wander about and cry and make noise. It's true - Maddie hangs on every word. Lately she's been "reading" her books to us at home, and she likes to say some words and then pick up the book, turn it around and show the room the pictures, just like the volunteers at library storytime do!
She's also at an age now where she is beginning to play on her own a lot more. She now has a lot of toys that allow her to begin imaginative play, and she can tinker and play for 15-20 minutes at a time sometimes without needing guidance or intervention. It's fun to watch her start to lose herself in play.
I promise more Maddie action as it happens this year - you might even call it a resolution!
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