Pictures!!

I'm finally getting around to getting the 'Washington Grandparent visit' pictures posted!! We are so busy at work. My paperwork ends up spilling into my days off.....especially with picking up extra patients on the weekends. Hmmmmm it'll be nice to have a break from work when Baby Kies arrives....although I think the 'work' will just be slightly different!! The pictures turned out pretty well. Maddox has turned into a monkey the last couple of weeks. She LOVES to climb up on the kitchen chairs and benches to get at whatever happens to be on top of the table, which is generally my laptop....although in the last 24 hours it has found a new home on top of the buffet! She is almost unstoppable and can tear up a few paper napkins into bite size pieces in about 1 minute if the napkin basket happens to be sitting up on the table. Since it's been nice out the last week or so we have been opening the blinds by the kitchen table and she is really mesmerized by all the birds. It seems with spring arriving, all the little birdies have returned to the corn field and the trees behind our house ( thank you Bettendorf for not developing this land...!!) She will squeal and point to them while we are sitting at the table having meals. I don't think she really knew what a birdie was until we were at Grandpa Jim's house over Christmas and she watched all the birds coming to his feeders on the back deck. Imagine how excited she'll be to see the birds when we are there in April....!! Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean brought Maddox a DORA fishing pole on Sunday. We are excited to use it when we go over to visit in April. (hopefully the weather will cooperate) Right now it is sort of a hazardous weapon though......she doesn't quite know what to do with it and has no idea of its size in spatial relationship to her body so it ends up jabbing her and other objects ( or people) nearby!! Hopefully Grandpa Jim can give her a good lesson on fishing pole safety when we get there in April. Enjoy the pictures!!

A busy 48 hours!

Maddox and I have been busy the last couple of days ( and Eric too :) ). Yesterday Grandpa Jim, Grandma Jean and Great Grandma Reta came over for a visit. Maddox got a good two plus hour nap in in the AM before they arrived so she was good to be the show stopper for the afternoon. She loved showing off for all the grandparents. It started out rainy but turned out to be a nice afternoon. We all sat on the back deck and let Maddox venture in and out of the house through the sliding door. At first she was a little teetery going in and out negotiating the threshold but after probably 40 times of 'practicing' she had it down pat and could even go over the threshold with her hands full, NOT hanging onto the door frame. We brought her popper and her giraffe out for a little fresh air and she had a grand time being the center of attention playing around on the deck. She was really good but started to definitely get tired about 4. She still really LOVES her naps and needs 2. The grandparents left and Maddox probably would have slept right through dinner but we woke her up about 5:30!. She was still tuckered out. We are lucky to have grandparents who are able to travel to us!! It is nice for Maddox to have her OWN stuff to play with/show off with while they are here. Thanks for making the trip....we appreciate it. Today Maddox and I ventured back to the zoo since it was another nice day and it is still FREE. Today the train was operating. So after standing in line for what seemed like forever ( I had plenty of snacks to keep her entertained and really she just enjoyed 'talking' with and 'bumping' the other kids in line) we took a train ride around the zoo. She liked everything but the dark tunnel. There is just a short tunnel but it is pretty dark. She cuddled in, not really knowing what was going on....but we were soon back out in the light. Since it was nice out the animals were all out in their playards. We actually saw some different animals today in comparison to last week. We saw a black and spotted leopard, a jaguar who actually meowed at us....., a bobcat, a red wolf, and a black bear. Somehow we missed all those animals last week!! We had a great time again. She DID fall asleep this time on the way home but luckily transferred up to her bed fairly well. I forgot my camera this time but I'll get some pictures posted later of the Grandpa/Grandma visit. It has been a good couple of days and the week has just begun....there is talk of a big girl bed making an appearance next weekend!!

Niabi Zoo and Happy 18 months Maddox

I saw on TV, earlier this week, that the Niabi Zoo opened on Monday....and it has FREE admission through the end of March. So Maddox and I decided to take advantage of the fantastic weather and we traveled over to Coal Valley to visit the zoo. It was a beautiful day!! We had such a nice time. We got to see all of the animals that Maddox is able to 'point to' in her animal board books which was really validating. I think she thought we were just going to a GIANT 'Kim's house' with all the kids roaming around the parking lot and the entry gate. She was laughing, waving, pointing and shouting out before we even got up to the front gate, so excited to see all the kids. But, when we turned the corner and saw 2 HUGE elephants walking about she got even more excited. It was really phenomenal....it seemed like every time we'd come up to the fence of each of the animals' habitats they would start moving, walking, eating, yawning etc....which made for picking them out MUCH easier. She loved the giraffes. They have 4 at Niabi and you can get EXTREMELY close to them, I swear like 5 feet away....they are huge and she was mesmerized. We even got hear the lion ROAR....I don't think I've ever even heard a lion roar. It was really cool. Most of the animals were out and walking about in the nice sunshine. Maddox and I rode the carousel which she thought was slightly more fun when it was NOT going around than when it was. She clapped her hands to the music and pointed to the other kids and kicked her feet watching herself in the mirror to the inside of the carousel. BUT THEN it started moving and she kinda got the deer in the headlights look. The train doesn't start running till Friday but we are hoping to go back next week pending the weather and I'm excited for her to experience that as well. We even spotted Karla's bench!! It is right in front of the giraffe exhibit a beautiful spot to sit and remember her. Maddox was so well behaved happy, laughing, pointing and she can even say ZOO now....it is so cute. I let her out to run a bit at the end and BOY did she have a blast. I have never seen her go to fast and she tolerated the uneven grass, gravel and muddy areas too....look at the bottom of her shoes ....they are black. It is only about 20 minutes to the zoo from our house, door to door. She was pretty much asleep when we pulled into the driveway and transferred up to her bed really well. I had to wake her up at 5:30 for bath time and lasagna ( which I had managed to make while she was taking her AM nap...a double batch too...one for the freezer for when BOY Kies arrives!). I"m sure she would have slept more. It was definitely a great day and a sort of 'birthday' for Maddox. She turned 18 months today!! Can't believe it. She was so fun today. We are very blessed to have such a great little girl. I know she won't remember this day but I sure will. Thanks for the beautiful memories Maddox. When we came home we had a St. Patrick's Day package from Aunt Diane, Uncle Brian and cousin Hannah. WOW!! Could she be a more lucky kid? The pictures aren't the best because I was SOLO. It is way tough managing a moving 18 month old and the stroller all while trying to get good snap shots. Hmmmm....add on an extra set of hands and feet and things are going to get really interesting come June aren't they??

Maddox uses a Spoon

I got some pretty good video of Maddox trying to use her spoon. As you can see it is assisted by Eric but I think she does fairly well. Thursday afternoon when I picked her up from Kim's she threw a fit not wanting to leave which is always somewhat happy and saddening for me. I'm happy she loves Kim's but a little disheartened that she doesn't want to go home with MOM.....but she does it to Eric too. Anyhow, she had had a poopy blow out at Kim's that day which is pretty unusual in the last few months and I hadn't really surveyed what was in her diaper bag for extra clothes, so when I saw her from across the room at Kim's I had to laugh. Tight pink leggings, a shirt that didn't really match, and is probably getting too small, AND the brown suede cowboy boots!! HOW FUNNY. Well she was in the best mood that evening and was runnin' around here like a crazy woman. I got lots of great video that I thought was hilarious. There was just something about that outfit and the way she was acting and then the box on her head. I had to share!!

A Lazy Wednesday

It is rainy and cool out this AM. Maddox and I have been enjoying the great indoors, other than a quick trip to HyVee early this morning to get milk and laundry detergent....and a cinnamon roll for breakfast but don't tell Dad!! :) It seems we buy more milk and laundry detergent to keep this house afloat. Maddox was SO HAPPY to see Eric Sunday morning after having been gone since, basically, Tuesday night on Maddox terms. Despite having a little cold she enjoyed hanging out with Eric Sunday while I went to see a patient (we're still crazy busy at work). Then Sunday night we enjoyed our first family meal together. Eric sat on one side of her high chair and I on the other. At one point, Maddox smiled, reached over to Eric wanting a big hug then she reached directly over to me with those little arms getting a hug from me. It was so precious. She couldn't tell us but she was DEFINITELY indicating she was happy to have us both with her again. She has had a cold for the last few days but it seems we are managing this one a little better...could it be her age? She isn't quite as stuffed up and her nose isn't running all that bad and she is still sleeping and eating like a champ! We just keep using the booger sucker, plenty of boogie wipes, and fluids. We started having her try to use a spoon last week. She is pretty good at holding it but needs a lot of help with the actual motion. We say 'SCOOP' and then 'IN' and she is seeming to get it.....but will take a bit more practice. I SCORED big on Sunday in the infant baby boy clothes department. One of my good friends Terri Tucker has 2 boys, one born in May the other in June....and they are done having kids. She was ready to get rid of some stuff so I went over and got a TON of newborn and baby BOY clothes......socks, bibs, shoes, sandals, flip flops, onsies, little plaid shorts, overalls, jeans, holiday shirts, infant diapers, cotton pants, and even an infant DUCK Halloween costume....which Maddox has, more than once, gotten out of the basket and tried to claim as hers. She was even talking to it the last time I found her with it. SO CUTE. It is really soft and of course limp because it is a costume but she had a hold of the head and was talking right into the bill of it. SO FUNNY. Thank you Terri.....thanks to you and your boys our little one won't have to go around naked for the first 6 months of his life. Cousin Carter also shared with us several newborn sleepers last week.....can't believe he is really going to be that small to start out. How quickly we forget. Thanks Carter!! Maddox and I are headed out to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown Davenport on Saturday, pending NO RAIN. Poor Eric is seeing clients on Saturday so he won't be able to join us. She really enjoyed the last parade and now being a bit older I think this will be just the same. I"ll post some pictures after Saturday. PS we love the new "Knowles Family" blog. I showed it to Maddox this AM and she was excited to see the pictures of Carter. We are working on saying CARTER but she just can't get the 'Ca' sound quite yet. She has been putting this lego container on her head and walking around the house lately. So funny....and she even kept it on long enough to allow me to get a picture.

A 5th TOOTH!

Maddox finally got a 5th tooth this week. I won't be able to show it to you because it is way in the back....which is entirely unusual....but hey, we'll take it. It is really what I consider a grinder tooth, not really a molar, and will allow her to start eating food a little easier. Although thus far she hasn't really had too much trouble with anything I've thrown her way. Eric is out of town and has been since Wednesday so Maddox and I are up at Grammy and Grandpa Dick's house.....which is always a treat. Maddox and I met up with a college friend of mine for lunch yesterday. Katie has Evan, 2 3/4 years old and Mackenzie, 3 months old. Needless to say, as you can see from the pictures Evan wasn't too interested in having his picture taken. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen, one of my favorites...and Maddox's too. We had a barBQ chicken pizza that was delicious and Maddox loved every bite of it, in fact I think she ate more than Evan did. It was interesting observing Katie managing 2 kids.....I was definitely taking notes!! She did a great job and both Evan and Mackenzie were very well behaved....can I be so lucky too. Maddox was enamored with Mackenzie. From the moment Katie took her out of the car seat Maddox reached her little hands up to her as if to ask to hold her. Then when I held Mackenzie she wanted to touch her and was giving me the 'I can do it' look. So I think that was a pretty good response to another little baby, a good sign for June!! Maddox is gaining in the WORD count. In fact a couple of times I have heard GRAMMY pretty well, but then what would you expect being at Grammy's house the last couple of days. We worked on EVAN all day yesterday in the car but it really came out as EMMA which is the name of one of the little girls at her sitter. She can say AUBREY pretty well which is another girl's name at Kim's. She's good at UP and we're trying to add on the UP PLEASE and she is starting to get her P's. She said FROG kind of last night, getting the FR sound but not the OG sound. She definitely likes to talk and you can tell she really wants to say the words.