Sesame Street saves the day!

I am still sticking with Maci is going to be into electronics. I have been downloading Sesame Street podcast onto my iPod and letting Maci watch them. She loves it. There is all kinds of fun kid things for her to do with my iPod. She can listen to stories, watch short videos, and learn words with Cookie Monster. Everytime she sees Cookie Monster she gets excited.

The last two morning she has been doing her breathing treatments by HERSELF while watching Sesame Street old school videos. It is real progress. No fighting, crying and frustration by either one of us!

Christmas & Rubber Boots

All in all Christmas was a success! Maci open her own gifts and didn't need a nap in between opening as she did last year! It was a good thing she opened the box of markers and paper last. As soon as she opened that present she had to try it out. Good thing those markers are washable (confirmed after washing her blanket that accidentally had a couple of marks on it).

Another one of Maci's favorite gifts is her rubber boots from her Grandma Jane. She can put them on all by herself and has been wearing them ALL day today. She had her pictures taken today and she put them on during her photo shoot. Then she wore them to drop our car off. Then she put them on with her PJs. The boots are a hit!

Her words are becoming clearer and clearer. She will repeat most things you have her repeat. Some of her favorite words are milk, hat, shoes, boots, book, ice, dada, mama, papa, thank you, up, down, out, highchair, eat, and of course cheese! I am still working on I love mommy. So far I get a lot of tongue moving and not alot of sound. If things don't do what she wants she keeps repeating the words until she gets her way. For example, she has a play laptop that you turn on and it will make different sounds. Well the batteries are dead and I haven't replaced them yet. So she keeps saying push push push and pushing the buttons. Then she gets upset and I have to redirect her attention. Or milk, milk, milk until you give in and get her more! I use to think it was so cute when she said milk - now it is just so annoying!

Also, she loves books. She likes to pretend read and she likes for you to read to her. She also likes my ipod. I downloaded a couple of podcast of Seasame Street. She thinks it is really cool to put the ear plugs in and watch the little show. I just hope she doesn't figure out the lock button. I lock it when I don't want her blasting out my ears or changing the menu around. She is clever though she figures things out quickly!

Electronics?

Our DVD player is on the fritz - it plays movies until about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Then it shorts out. Well, we had our extra DVD player upstairs in our room of boxes. I hooked it up last night. I left the old DVD player and it's cords on our footstool. Today that was Maci's favorite new toy. She spent a LONG time putting the red, yellow and white connectors into the back of the DVD player. I am fascinated at the things she is interested in.

Of course, the cellphone is one of her favorite toys. She loves to talk on it. But when she says bye bye that means the call ends even if I was not done. She says bye bye and then snaps the phone shut! She has hung up on a few callers. Tonight she called her dad's phone on accident from my phone. They talked in the living room to each other kind of like walkie talkies! She does carry on a good conversation now. She use to only kiss the phone or say hi. She has definitely added to her phone skills.

So I think she might be into gadgets and electronics - I can't blame her I like them too!

Pull Ups & Christmas Lights

Maci is really into pretend play. So much that I thought she was going to wear me out with the off and on her potty game. Most of the time she just sits on it with her clothes on, but not today she was insistent that I take off her diaper. She kept sitting down and getting up sitting down getting up. I gave in and had a seat on the floor beside her, because I knew this was going to be a long game. AND I hate to keep her from the potty. BUT then she actually went pee IN the potty. This was an exciting moment for me - she seemed to think it was not so special. I tried to make her think it was special. So today before her 18 months check up we must go buy some pull ups!!

We have a snow day today (or ice day), and Maci and I were going to decorate our Christmas Tree. We can't find the Christmas Tree lights they are lost. I have looked in several places and boxes and give up. So with the pull ups we will be getting new lights for the tree. Surely, you need to replace those frequently anyway to prevent house fires.

Zippers and things that work. This is Maci new interest. She spent a good 30 minutes today zipping and unzipping up a bag that we tote her toys around. She seems so fascinated with the way things work.

Okay this just in...Maci just put her own jacket on. Another treasure in the toy box. Okay Derek just packed up a bunch of Maci's stuff in one big box. It is one of her old jackets really not big enough. She has had it on upside down and backwards...somehow she flipped it over her head and had it upside down, but on correctly otherwise. I think she might be able to dress herself! I love self sufficient kids. I wonder when she will start feeding herself...

Okay so tonight not quite as good naming the people in photos. Tonight she insisted that a picture of her was PARKER! And no Amanda I have searched all my photos...and no picture of you. I have one of Della - okay 1/2 of her. The photographer (I believe was you last Christmas) made sure that Maci was the center of the photo cutting out 1/2 of Della. So anyone that wants to be in Maci's picture book, please forward pictures to my email.

This post is for Grandma Jane. Tonight Maci kept pointing at something and I thought she was saying book. BUT the book kept moving as she was pointing in different directions. Well, I realized that she was saying BUG BUG BUG. It was one of the small beetle bugs that I can't get rid of...no matter what I do! I guess when I was little I use to yell BUG BUG BUG until someone got rid of the bug. It must run in the family!

We found our long lost box of toys tonight. During the move from cabin to house, we lost a box of toys. She really doesn't NEED the toys, but one of the toys was a fisher price train that sings a clever little song. Every weekend a commercial for it plays and she screams at the TV for the train. Dang cartoon commercial - they start at a very young age! Well it is found and she is back to dancing to the music. One of the toys I could have cared less if we ever found. It is one of those popcorn poppers that you push along the floor. She didn't use to know exactly how to use it, she does now. Thank you Uncle Dan for that toy. It might have to go in a box for a toy donation this Christmas. I think it is time for her to learn giving!

I think Maci is going to be a big bully. Jeanne said Maci has been having to sit in time out at her house. She doesn't like to share the toys she has and she hits when she doesn't get her way. Yikes. What do you do? Sometimes you can reason with her other times not so much. All you have to do is say no or don't and she cries, but I don't think she gets why you are telling her no or don't. I always mark it up to lack of sleep or she needs to eat. I think that could be issues for many adults that have issues too!

Maci is now recognizing people by their photo. We have pictures on the refrigerator that she loves to name the people in them. She also has one of her own photo albums she kept pointing at Grandpa Brad's picture saying papa. She also finds popo and calls him by name.

She is picking up on all types of things now. Last night I was cleaning up the kitchen and I asked her to pick up her toys in the living room. She was putting up a toy and taking out two! I asked her if she was cleaning up. So, the next time I looked she had out the swifer duster and was "cleaning" the floor! Too funny.

She had another first tonight. It was her first night to lick the paddle on the mixer! We were making cookies and she was sticking her finger in the bowl eating the dough. So I gave her the paddle. You can see how much she liked the chocolate cookies! Her favorite thing is sitting on the counter helping me do whatever I happen to be doing. UP UP UP she screams until you give in and put her on the counter.

Training a Baker

I have decided that Maci is ready to start cooking (I'm sure she is old enough - right?). Tonight she insisted on helping make rolls. She added flour in the mixer as we were mixing it up. Then she insisted on helping knead the bread. She loves to cook. The messier the better. However, when she was licking the spoon - she decided she liked taste testing cookies better!

Christmas Gift

So what do you think is a good gift for a 2 year old?

"The Nerd"

Maci attended her first play tonight. She likes to watch people, so I thought she would like it. Also, it was the only night we could work it into our plans. I have the tournament going on at my school. Mom's birthday is Sunday. So our only free night to attend was tonight. Ryan (cousin) was one of the stars of the show. Maci and I first saw him acting this summer at the relay for life as Dolly Parton. In his new role, he plays the friend of the nerd. He did a fabulous job.


I watched much of it from the back. Maci puked in the middle (that might even be pushing it maybe the beginning!) of it. (I can't wait to figure out what is making her sick) So she was a stinky kid. She watched the play for a bit, but would get distracted. I think she would have done better in a musical. She like singing and activity, and it might have held her attention. However, all in all it was good. I just hope the other attendees could enjoy the show.

Superstar

I know I am not suppose to laugh at her as I might give her a complex, but come on when she does things like this how can you not?

Happy Halloween!

This is my tired monkey! She did lots of visiting not too much tricking or treating. We only visited 3 houses, but it took all night! We are going to have to practice up if we are going to get candy next year!

Tippy Toes

Tonight Maci decided to walk on her tippy toes all the way to the house from the car. It was absolutely ridiculous! I don't know when she learned to do it, but it was definitely funny.

Baking Pumpkin Biscuits

The home bound kid has been cooking up a storm! Yesterday we made quiche and apple pie. Maci loves to help. Every time you go in the kitchen now she repeats until you give in - UP UP UP UP UP! She does this even when I am doing the dishes. She needs to see everything you are doing at ALL times.

Today as you can see we are cooking pumpkin biscuits. She loves to stir especially with the whisk. She also likes to sample her recipe as she goes. Last night Grandma Jane found the recipe in one of our magazines. Here it is if anyone would like to try it.

Pumpkin Walnut Biscuits
Mix together:
1 3/4 c. Flour
3 T. Sugar
1 T. Baking Powder
3/4 t. Salt
3/4 t. Cinnamon
3/4 t. Ground Ginger
Then using a pastry blender cut in:
5 T. Chilled Butter
After it resembles a coarse, flaky meal, stir in the chopped walnuts (Maci and I skipped the nuts!)

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the cream (we used fat free 1/2 and 1/2 - hey we are home bound we didn't have cream on hand), pumpkin and honey.
1/2 c. Cream
1/3 c. Solid packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1 1/2 T. Honey

Pour liquid ingredients into dry. Stir briskly until the dough pulls together, then let sit for 3 minutes. (ours was really wet...we just used extra flour when patting out)

Flour your hands and work surface. Gently knead the dough into a ball, then pat it into a a 1-inch-think disk. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut the dough into rounds and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving a couple of inches between them. Repeat until you have used all the dough. (I made Maci mini biscuits the same size as a doughnut hole.) Brush the biscuit tops sparingly with cream and then sprinkle with a little sugar. (We didn't I forgot oops)

Bake the biscuits on the center oven rack until they are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Enjoy. They really don't taste too pumpkiny.

When will this week end...

We are back home! Maci caught a virus that she so nicely has given Aunt Amy & Uncle Paul. It caused Maci to get a crazy high fever. She had Tylenol and Motrin and still registered a 104 degree temperature in the ER. Her temperature caused her to dehydrate and in turn made her heart rate to be WAY to high. She registered 215 before we headed to the hospital. They did a EKG and found that all was okay with her heart. Dr. Burdin thinks she just can't keep her heart rate down because her body keeps dehydrating. So we stayed at the hospital for two nights. We just got home this afternoon. She is doing much better. Now she is all congested. Dr. Burdin thought her allergy/asthma would kick in now and make her all snotty. We are just concentrating on drinking lots of fluids.

We need to start a new routine soon. Everyday when we get home we go out and let the dog out of the pen and play a bit with him. He was run over this week. It is my fault as I should have kept him at the farm. He just needed medicine everyday 2 times a day for his seizures, so I brought him to be here with us. So every time we come home Maci calls/shrieks for the dog. He was a very good dog for her. He let her wollar all over him and pull & poke and he never even moved. I am glad she is too young to remember or be effected. I will miss him.

On a happier note, Maci is increasing her vocabulary. Today she asked for me to put her shoes and socks on (she was ready to leave the hospital!). She said thank you to one of the nurses as they handed her one of her crayons. Every time she says things I just crack up. Earlier this week she on her days with Aunt Amy & Uncle Paul she learned all kinds of words. Uncle Paul taught her to say his name. Which I find very unfair. She still doesn't say mom. Every time you ask her to say mom she says dad. She just thinks she has two dads! Uncle Paul also taught her to say George and Grace (the cats). They read one of the Spot books. She was pointing out the ducks and saying quack. She is a hoot!

Say Cheese!

So today Maci spent the day with Aunt Amy & Uncle Paul. It was reported to me that Maci wanted nothing to do with Aunt Amy until the end of the day. It seems that Maci likes Uncle Paul. I think she better rethink her choices! I mean Aunt Amy is the one who does the cooking (not that Uncle Paul is a bad coice)! When I picked Maci up she was dancing and listening to Madeline music.

When we got home we did our daily visit to the cows. Maci has to scream at them and check out the pasture everyday. I had the camera with me and was going to catch a couple outside pictures before it gets too cold. I told Maci to stop and say cheese. AND I was SHOCKED when she actually said cheeeeese! Okay it was too funny. And she is still saying it. I think Maci is getting ready to start talking all the time....well she does now, but I don't understand her all the time.

Also, tonight we talked to Grandma Jane on the phone and she insisted on kissing the phone repeatedly. She is quite the kissy girl.

We are headed to the pumpkin patch this weekend. I will take some fun pictures and give you a new picture.

Yes is Here

Maci has shaken her head no for months. She was doing that about as soon as we started baby food. However, now the YES has finally come around. Last night I had board meeting and Maci was home with Derek. He said he was looking through a cookbook asking her what she wanted for supper. He said she kept saying no to all the different pictures...until macaroni and cheese! She shook her head yes and headed to the kitchen! Derek said she helped him make meatloaf by adding the oatmeal from the container. He said she had a blast. She has been saying yes sometimes prior to this, but I never knew if she really knew she was using it correctly. I would say now she does for sure!

Countdown to Jeanne Leaving

Well the countdown has begun. Jeanne is going to be off this Friday and all of next week. She is heading to Vegas to marry off her son. Aunt Amy has been reserved for several days during Jeanne's vacation. Jeanne might not return because Maci will be completly spoiled! I am sure we will have fun reports for you soon...

1946 vs. Today

Well this last weekend we had a party - a cleaning party! We cleaned out the White House basement. The basement was full of stuff that had been wet and starting to be very stinky. We carried LOTS of stuff out I will know how many trash hoppers tomorrow. In the process of cleaning, I was looking at Uncle Mark's journal for 1946. In 1946 diapers were $3.04! And I have a feeling those were not disposable, since they were only purchased once! They also purchased a receiving blanket for $.78. I don't think Maci has ANYTHING that was less than a dollar...

We found lots of treasures. I think Aunt Laurel must have received flowers weekly. She had many lovely vases. We also found their high school & college diplomas. Along with the treasures we uncovered some unpleasant things. Aunt Amy was cleaning out a corner and stirred up the nastiest smell. It was a good thing Aunt Nancy had brought us mask over from Grandma's house. Aunt Nancy was lucky enough to be around for the party. I bet that is the last time she comes to visit...well maybe Maci will get her to come back around. Maci warmed right up to Aunt Nancy because she was the only one to take her to visit Mark's cows. Maci has an obsession with the cows. We might have a cattle farmer! Or better yet maybe a veterinarian...

We had an eventful weekend. Jeanne was off this Friday so we added an extra day to the weekend. YEAH for us. Maci and I attended the Homecoming parade with Grandma Dunham. Maci loves to observe people, so parades are a natural fit. She thought it was a great time. We spent a couple hours at Grandma & Grandpa's house. She spent most of her time playing with all the toys. Madeline and Stella had to show her the ropes of where to find the cool toys.

Saturday we were off to the Alzheimer Memory Walk. We took POPO with us. He made it about 100 yards (his measurement) and turned back to find a nice shady spot to hang out while we walked the Long Branch Lake Dam. It was unseasonably warm this weekend for Missouri. We worked up a sweat. Maci took a nap! Then we headed to Grandma Jane's for the afternoon. Maci took another nap as soon as we got there. After her nap, Leah and the girls stopped by. We had to feed Shrimpy the bottle calf with Stella and Madeline. Stella and Grandpa Brad rode the 4-wheeler for a bit. Then we headed to Macon for Mexican. Stella rode with us. She gave Grandpa Brad lots of wet willies. He had both girls just cackling in the back seat. Poor Grandma Jane was getting squished by the squirming girls! Maci learned her one of her first bad habits of restaurant etiquette. She was out of her chair wondering about. We went to dinner early this night, but proves to make life hard the next day in Columbia! Then we spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa Young's. Maci watched Summer Magic (an Aunt Mary movie) she really likes movies with songs in them. She has just started noticing TV.

The next morning off to Columbia to visit the great-grandparents. We met them in Columbia for Great Grandpa Young's birthday (74th). Maci did very well for all the places we were dragging her about. She was ready to head home and just be free to play. For the first time I have noticed, Maci likes Grandma Jane and Grandpa Brad better than me. It was great when we were shopping because they had to tote her around. She may only weigh 21 pounds, but when shopping that is a heavy 21 pounds!

So this is my first week carpooling Parker and Maci. Barbara taxied them to daycare last week. You know there is a lot of responsibility that goes with taking another person's child around with you. I find myself driving with my hands at 10 and 2 (of course I always did before too...). I think this might just make me a better driver!

Other news on home front. Leah is still blaming her sickness on poor little innocent Maci. I talked with her this morning and now she thinks she has thrush. She is saying this was all onset by a couple sores she had in her mouth. She says it is very painful. However, when Maci had it I don't remember her complaining at all. Of course, she couldn't talk.

Anyone free on Friday? Maci is without a sitter. I think Uncle Paul and Aunt Amy are out of town. Of course, Leah is sick. So I think I might have a day off...

Pigtails

Okay so this picture of pigtails is not that great, but it is the only one I have captured so far. So as promised...



How about the ponytail... She is sitting in her Great Grandmother's (Young) little red chair. She LOVES it!

Carpooling

This is our first week carpooling from Ten Mile. Barbara is taking Maci & Parker in the mornings this week. I picked them up last night. Maci is a very jealous little girl. Last night I went to pick Parker up and load her up in the car seat and Maci about crawled up my leg to get me to hold her! But after we were loaded in the car all was fine. Maci talked and talked to Parker. Parker is the quietest baby ever and full of smiles! When we got to Parker's house I found out the Parker had fallen asleep at some point. I have no idea when because Maci talked to her the whole way. So apparently Maci doesn't require a lively crowd! They are too cute riding together. I will try to remeber to get a picture in the morning.

Did I mention that I get 15 minutes all to myself in the morning! Today I put away 3 baskets of clothes, finished the dishes, AND picked up all Maci's toys. Why I do that I don't know. She will just drag them all out again. It is just nice to come home and see the floor.

Sick Maci

This is Maci's first day back to Jeanne's. All week she has been running a fever, but not acting a bit sick. So who knows. Leah claims Maci gave her some terrible illness, but Maci did not whine near as much as I have heard from Leah!!

Since we were home I was able to catch a couple pictures. Here is one of them...

Doctor Visit - 15 month Check Up

We visited the doctor Monday. Maci weights 21 pounds 1 ounce which puts her in the 37th percentile. She is 30" tall or the 23rd percentile. Her head was 18 1/4 or the 66th percentile. We are going to continue the 2 steroid breathing treatments a day. And her Zyrtec allergy medicine. She is really congested. Dr. Burdin's goal is to keep her out of the hospital this year. We talked about getting a filter system for her to keep some of the allergens away from her at night. I am going to look for a room purification system. I have a friend coming to check out the furnace. I really don't want to spend anymore time at the hospital. NOT that hanging out with Grandma Jane everyday wasn't fun. We can arrange time with her without costing me an arm and a leg. Although, Maci was very spoiled and it was as enjoyable as a hospital visit could be! Maci did learn to like ice cream, cookies, and mashed potatoes while in the hospital. I guess Aunt Mary will have to make her King Arthur cookies and just bring them over to Maci at home this year! And Aunt Amy fixed Derek and I dinner one night - I am sure she wouldn't mind us coming over. Well, Uncle Paul will if we don't bring Maci with us!

I took some cute pictures of Maci last night on the porch. I will download those tonight. I just picked my comptuer up from the cabin. Still waiting on internet, but more post coming soon!

Happy Maci - Grumpy Mom

Well the good news is that Maci and I spent the weekend at the new house. We worked on it all weekend cleaning, arranging and STUFFING things in the unoccupied upstairs/storage unit! It is habitable, however, not organized enough for me. I think I might go nuts if I don't get stuff put away. I did get my closet, the kitchen, living room, and upstairs bath livable. We are using our extra fridge from our old house, and it was too big to fit in the kitchen. So our fridge in on the porch. Not real accessible, but usable! Maci and I have to go shopping for a microwave. I can't live without one. It takes way too much time to reheat her macaroni on the stove. Actually I am so spoiled, I didn't even think of it until Derek told me to just put in on the stove. Who knew you could use the stove to reheat!

With all that said. Maci was a SUPER girl all weekend. She played and played by herself while I worked away. The only time she really gets in the way is when you are using ANY form of water. The girl likes water. I was scrubbing the floors and she was mimicking me the whole time right in front of me. So not much cleaning accomplished. I would pretend to go back to unpacking something and sneak back over to clean after she had moved on to playing. This worked little bits at a time.

Maci was really into pretend playing this weekend. After I get above water, I will have to go get my old table in grandma's basement and the crib my parents saved from my play toys. She is going to LOVE them. This weekend she would sit on a little stool and use the end tables as her table.

I have to get a picture of her long hair. For the first time (okay first time I tried), I was able to put her hair in pigtails. It was too funny. And amazingly she left them alone.

Well, today we have a doctor's appointment. We will have an update on weight and height. Also, we get shots today. Her breathing has been acting up since Labor Day weekend. We spent the whole weekend outside and now I can't get her back to normal. Well normal for her. Derek is concerned about her feet, so we will find out if we need to go to the foot doctor. He thinks she is too flat footed. Update coming soon...

Maci is going to be a STAR!

Okay so maybe she is not going to be a star, however, a start on a college fund will be nice. The story goes...

There was a recall on Maci's carseat from evenflo. So I went to the website to verify the information. In the meantime I kept seeing all these ads for "Baby, You're a Star!" So, I entered her picture. Who knows if she will really win, but it is worth a shot! If she wins, she gets a $10,000 college scholarship.

So if you have time EVERYDAY to go enter a vote for Maci. Just click on the link to the left and it should take you right to the photo to vote. If not here photo id is 16435.

No More Crying!

Last night for the FIRST time...Maci fell asleep by herself in her own bed WITHOUT crying at all. When we first started this routine, she would cry for a bit. Lately it has been mostly a protest cry and then she immediately turns over and goes to sleep. Last night she was soooo tired she didn't even protest. I had to go look at her twice to make sure she was okay!

Tickle Tickle and More

Well, summertime has really put a damper on my blog writing.

Maci is becoming more independent. She will venture off without you, of course, looking back to make sure you are following. She walks alot more on her own. She is still a little clumsy, but her balance is improving daily. She tries to run, but is NOT ready for that yet.

Lately she has been wanting to throw things in the trash can. So she is becoming quite the helper around the house. And not until last night has she tried to take things back out of the trash. As far as other things I was dreading her learning - playing in the toilet was one I was hoping to avoid. I have only witnessed her trying to do that one time so far...She really likes water in any form, so I knew the temptation was too much. Bathtime is a breeze she loves to play in her tub. It is hard to get her out sometimes, but she will eventually. I don't enjoy her long baths, because there is only so much you can do while watching her.

Tickle, Tickle: She now goes around saying tickle tickle and running her fingers around any exposed skin. It is so funny. She doesn't say many words, but who knew tickle tickle would be one of the first! I really like to hear her say hot. She says it so quietly. Dog is still one of her favorite words. Of course Dad is a popular word in her vocabulary. She YELLS it at the top of her lungs at her dad. He might be in the other room, outside or beside her and she still YELLS for him.

She is still an eater. She has been loving the fresh vegetables. She will eat all of them. She even eats raw cucumbers. Her favorite so far is raw peas. I have been canning her green beans for this winter. She better like them, because canning is time consuming!

I haven't been taking many pictures lately. We went to a surprise birthday party for Aunt Mary and Madeline took a couple pictures. She was very interested in the ice cream cake. Leah could not cut it fast enough for her! After cake she danced. She is a funny dancer, she dances in circles and claps her hands. She makes herself dizzy and can't walk well after dancing!

I will try to keep you posted on new happens in a more timely fashion.

Maci has not been doing too many exciting things the last couple of weeks. She has some new funny things. She has a little bike that she rides and makes vrooomm noises. She love to sit on the four-wheeler and "drive". And her all time favorite is playing in her pool. Everytime she goes by it she has to play. Even when I want her to get in the car to go to work!

We are still working on the house in Ten Mile. Hopefully we will be moved in before summer is over.

Pool, Gardens & More

Maci has been a busy girl. So busy we haven't had time to update her blog! This week she spent some time at "the farm" - first she shucked corn with POPO. Then she went inside to cook, cut and box corn. She was able to visit with Aunt Amy, Cali, Max, Jeremy, Madeline & Uncle Mick all in ONE day! She was a bit cranky and required a lot of attention. She didn't care much for corn production, not enough attention on her! She is SUPER spoiled.

Her latest fun thing to do is play in her kiddie pool. She will spend as much time as I will let her on the front porch. She will get in and out of her pool. Then she will get out and wash rocks in the water. She waters the flower next to the pool. She really likes to spend times outdoors. It is too bad she has so many allergies!

She has also been helping me with garden activities. She especially enjoys eating raw peas as I shell them. She eats almost any vegetable raw. She even was eating green beans the other night raw! Of course corn is a new favorite.

CIRCUS!!

Maci attended her first circus tonight! She clapped and cheered almost the whole time. It was really hot for a bit, so she was sweating like crazy. Then it rained and cooled off for a more enjoyable temperature. She invited her friends Paige & Gentry to join her. There was tightrope walkers, hula hooping, clowns, acrobats, popcorn, peanuts, gymnist, poodles, ponies, and much more!



Paige was big enough to ride the camel. She had a great time. She decided against getting her picture taken with the BIG snake around her neck! She was all for having her picture with the snake until she saw them put it around someone's neck.

This photo was taken of Maci and Gentry discussing some important circus stuff!

Visiting

Maci and I went to visit Madeline, Stella, Leah, and Mabel last night. Maci had to show off her walking ability. She still wobbles a bit, but walks more than she crawls. I still wonder when you can officially call her a walker?

Madeline said the horrible NO word to Maci and made her cry. She cries such a pitiful little cry when anyone tells her no. I don't think she likes it when we all laugh at her after we tell her no. I am really enjoying being able to say no and it having an effect on her. I am NOT looking forward to when she ignores me and continues her endeavors into trouble.

Her new favorite word is UT-OH. Of course I have NO idea how to spell that. We are working using in the correct context. So when she drops things we are getting really good at saying it. She has her own language. She still uses it to "read" books out loud to me. She goes to town saying all kinds of words. She consistently says the same sounds for certain things, so we are on the way to talking. This mean that I have to learn to sensor my language. This will be harder than her learning to talk!

SICK

Maci was exposed to chicken pox a couple weeks ago at daycare. So far she has not broken out with any poxes. HOWEVER, she has some nasty flu. I can't keep much down her. We went to the doctor today. I came out of the pharmacy with the BIG bag of stuff. We are trying an inhaled steroid for her breathing issues. She is breathing better than last visit, but still not up to par for Dr. B. We were trying Zyrtec to see if that would help, but so far she has only kept 1 - 1/2 dose down without puking. So I don't think we will be able if it is working until she gets better.

Yesterday she spent the day with Aunt Amy and Uncle Paul so watch out they will probably be sick sick sick. However, I called to check on her during the day yesterday and Uncle Paul acted like I was crazy thinking Maci was sick! I should have sent her over to him today! About the 2nd outfit he surely would have said she was sick. I am in my 4th outfit of the day and holding! I gave up on her second and left her in a diaper it was SO much faster clean up.

I hope that we miss the pox break out. I need to get to work.

Walking! & Doctor News

First the exciting news Maci is taking steps on her own. She is still really unsteady, but I am sure she will be on her own soon!

Maci went to the doctor today. She weighs 19 pounds and is 28 inches long. Her oxygen level was low. Her doctor wants to reduce the number of breathing treatments we give her, so we are starting allergy medicine. We will see if that helps her breathing. Grandma Jane gave Maci her shots today. She was upset until we gave her a bottle. I think we are teaching her to turn to food when she is upset or hurt. If she is fat later she is going to blame me for sure!

My favorite things Maci is doing right now include, giving you kisses & patting your back when you hold her. She got a cabbage patch doll for her birthday this week from some neighbors. She gives it hugs and kisses. She also takes it's bottle and feeds her. She just keeps doing more and more fun stuff!

I spent the day cleaning the house at Ten Mile. There is lots of paint on the wood floors so I cleaned on them all day. I almost finished the living room. It is not fun! I hope to get moved there soon. It will save lots of gas money and time in the car.

Happy Early Birthday!

Maci had her 1st Birthday Party this last weekend, even though she doesn't turn officially a year old until this Friday. She had a great time. The next day she slept for 6 hours between 2 naps! She was worn out.
As you can see, she had her own cake to dabble in - I really thought she would be messier than she was. I also made homemade ice cream. Maci really didn't eat ice cream that day, but she had been testing the leftovers!
She opened lots of presents. She had enough toys before the party, but she loves all the new ones. Her uncle Dan bought her the noisy toys! Her aunt Chris bought her a tricycle and she thinks she is big stuff on it.

POPO Partying

Lost: Binky

So Maci is a particular baby sometimes. She only likes one kind of Binky aka pacifier. We have purchased several of them. Along the way we have lost all, but one blue Binky. I decided not to purchases additional ones as when we we lost the blue Binky we would be done with them. Well that day came two days ago. She had it at Jeanne's then when we headed home I forgot to get it. We made it through the night, and really wasn't a bad night. The next day I asked about it, and Jeanne thought she had it outside in the play yard. So they looked for it yesterday. IT IS LOST! However, she made it through last night too. So I guess all that worrying I did thinking it was going to be SO hard to get her to give it up - time wasted! I could have had one less gray hair!

We are gearing up for her birthday party this weekend. If anyone is in town, come on by for a little sugar!

Fruit

Last night Maci decided she likes fruit. She ate dried apples. She also ate grapes. She is quite the eater. She had supper with us. And then for her snack before bed she ate a nutrigrain bar (the whole thing), 4 grapes, 2 cheezits, and a handful of dried apples. So far she has not liked juice either. She just drinks formula and water. So maybe now she will like juice. As long as I keep food in front of her - I can get lots done! While she was chowing down, I started a load of laundry, cleaned the floor, & put away a load of laundry. It was great!

My first strawberry!

Maci had a BIG weekend. Saturday she visited Aunt Laurele in the hospital at Macon. We didn't stay long, but long enough for Aunt Laurele to tell us to get moved in to their farm house. AND how to wash the curtains when we got there. Oh and which bedrooms she suggested we live in with the seasons.

Then we stopped by Grandma Dunham's. Maci was famished after all the socializing. She joined Grandma having tuna fish and green beans. She is a big fan of Grandma's homeade bread.

Then it was off to Lisa Leather's wedding in Edina, MO. Mom and I stopped for a bite to eat in Kirksville prior to the wedding. Maci of course had to sample our dinner. We made it through the wedding. I asked Susan afterwards if she could hear Maci singing. Thank goodness she could NOT! We sat WAY in the back. After the wedding we stopped for ice cream, Maci enjoyed ALOT of it!

Yesterday we planted our garden. The neighbor, Tina, tilled and tilled and tilled some more. For our first break we headed to town for some needed supplies. Then it was off to Aunt Mary's for additional plants. She gave us a medley of plants. I thought Tina and I listed very carefully, however, we forgot what several of the plants were once we got home. We planted them all. My theory was if they turned out to be a flower instead of a garden item - I will move it then! While we were visiting Aunt Mary, Maci tried her FIRST EVER strawberry. We searched the patch for the reddest berry we could find. At first she was not real keen on it. But she did end up eating it. She has to like strawberries or she is not my child!

She ended the evening eating her spaghetti. I should have taken pictures. She was covered head to toe. I gave her a bath and had to empty the tub twice because the water was DIRTY!

Another Night of Sleep

Maci slept through the night again! We are setting records...

Maci's favorite food seems to be Macaroni & Cheese with a side of broccoli. I think that is very similar to Max's favorite...except switch the broccoli with peas! Maci has never had peas with hers, so it might be the same.

The waters are still very high. We took a trip to check out the creeks tonight. They are flooding the fields. The little corn plants barely stick up above the water. I don't know if they will ever get beans in the ground! Rain is in the forecast all week.

Cinco de Mayo

Last night Maci slept in her own bed for 7 hours! And I got my first good sleep since she was born. We will be moving her crib back soon. Before she would never stay in it, but last night she was exhausted so she made it all night. We had a busy day yesterday! She celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Great Grandma & Grandpa Young at their house. We really went down to help them mow their yard. However, the yard was too wet for mowing. Derek did get to weedeat. Maci played and played, and only took a short nap.

It is a very stormy day today. We drove back up to the cabin and it poured buckets on us. All the water levels are very high, and flooded in some spots.

Maci has been climbing all over EVERYTHING, and emptying any cabinet, drawer, basket, or bag she can get her hands on. Today, she kept emptying the cabinets before I could get the last one she had been in put back together. She also has been climbing stairs. She hasn't quite figured out the backing down yet, and has had a couple tumbles. I tried to teach her how to scoot down them, but she is very independent and wasn't ready to learn from me yet.

Undressing Myself!

Yesterday I showed up to Jeanne's house and Maci didn't have her shirt on. I asked if she had something on it ... NO she did not. Jeanne said she undresses herself now. She had been running around in her diaper most of the day. So now she can undress herself, I need to work on her dressing herself! And I thought her new trick was going to be walking. She does stand on her own now, but no steps taken yet...

Fun Photos

Maci's First Fat Lip! She is going to be a tough girl.




Maci's New Hat




Moviestar Maci

STUCK!

Today Maci got stuck in the field for the first time! Actually her dad got us all stuck in the middle of NOWHERE. And of course since it was in the middle of NOWHERE, neither cellphone would get out. So her dad walked back to the house to get the tractor. He lucked out and MFA was spraying a field so he hitched a ride. Meanwhile, Maci and I hung out with the truck. It was a good thing we had plenty of whales, "cookies" (vanilla wafers), and drinks! We had a picnic while we waited. We were just starting to have fun when dad returned (he only took 1/2 hour). I was anticipating much longer. Then we left the tractor and headed out another way. Later Maci and I took dad back to the field to pick up the tractor.

Easter with POPO

Maci had a great first Easter. She got up early and went to breakfast at church. Then after church Grandma Jane had Sunday School, so Maci went to Macon to pick up Grandma Dunham & POPO. She invited them down to Grandma & Grandpa Young's for lunch. She ate up the ham and asparagus casserole. She really likes her green veggies.

Of course the Easter Bunny had visited, he brought her lots of fun stuff. She is playing with a little people dump truck. Uncle Dan & Cassandra brought her a basket with a new dress, shoes, and lots of fun hair accessories. She now finds the bows and tries to put them in her hair. However, she doesn't leave them in for me like she did on Easter. She keeps taking them out of her hair. Also, since Easter one of her favorite toys is the pinwheel she got from Dan & Cassandra. The Easter Bunny left her a couple CD's and she seems to enjoy them. Grandma & Grandpa Young think that I will get very tired of them. So far so good...

Today was a beautiful day. The first one in a while, so Maci, Foster (the dog) and I took a walk as soon as we got home. She has just learned to point (today is the first time I have seen her do it). She kept pointing at the dog and saying her version of dawg! She says the same noise consistently, so I really think she is referring to Foster when she was pointing and talking. Then dad came home and, Maci went fishing at the "honeyhole" as her dad refers to it. She got to see her first fish up close. She really preferred talking really loud while eating her lil' crunchies! I think she is going to like picnicing. On the way home we had to stop and watch the turkeys. She was NOT interested in sitting still and being quiet. So we headed home.

We haven't posted many pictures in a while. I have lost the camera cord temporarily. So we are going to have a boring blog for a bit. She has posed for many fun pictures which we will add as soon as we can. I have good photos of her pulling up on the furniture and "cleaning" off the end table. She keeps me on my toes.

Since my last posting she also had her first injury. Her dad was devastated. She was crawling away from him and he was chasing her. She got excited and fell forward and busted her lip. She wouldn't let us put ice on it (she doesn't like cold or hot things) so it swelled up. I wanted to take pictures, but her dad would have nothing of it! I have some that were a couple days later I will share.

We have been having eventful days, but just no time to post them. More to come...

Sick & Tired

Maci has been running a fever again, but is not acting very sick. She woke up Friday with a fever, so we called aunt Amy to rescue us! Aunt Amy said she took a 3 hour nap in the morning and another 1 hour nap in the afternoon. She hadn't slept well the two night previously, so I think she caught up! I called to check on her around noon and Uncle Paul said she was just fine. Grandma Jane was there also checking on her for herself. (She doesn't believe anything I tell her until she can see for herself!) Tonight she still has the fever, but is acting fine. She is breathing good and no flu like systems. I guess we will wait it out and see what happens. She has to hurry up and get better. Today it was almost 80 degrees and she wasn't able to be out much. She love the outdoors, but I didn't think we should be out too much today...maybe tomorrow.

Maci has been posing for lots of pictures this last week. I thought I would share a few. I am sure she will be running from the camera as soon as she can.

Today she spent the day with her Great Grandma & Grandpa Young and her plain Grandma & Grandpa Young. We had lunch at the cabin and supper at her Grandparents' house. She had a great St. Patrick's day. However, I didn't have a green outfit for her to wear. Uncle Dan & Cassandra came by and brought their dog Docker who is growing very fast. He is very cute. Maci loves to watch the dogs play together. They were getting too hyper so Dan split them up for a while. Poor Docker was very sad.

Yoga

Maci has been doing Yoga. She does a great downward facing dog. She had been doing this pose a lot when she was first learning how to crawl.

Sick Again

I picked Maci up today and Aunt Amy reported that Maci had taken very long naps today. I had given her a couple breathing treatments in the last two days. She is all stuffy and full of yucky stuff. I hope she gets better soon. I thought she had been extra tired in the mornings because of the time change. The last few mornings she has not even waken up while I was dressing her. Jeanne will be sad to see the breathing machine show up tomorrow. Nurse Grandma thinks we should do 3 treatments a day to speed along the cold. UGH!

Mini Mozart

This post is especially for cousin Cali. Maci was learning to play the piano yesterday. I didn't recognize any of her songs, but with a little more practice she will be good! She did seem to enjoy banging about on the keys.

It was also reported that she really enjoys being outside. Yesterday Leah took her for a walk and she played on the swings with Madeline. Leah said they swung "gently". She really does like the outdoors. Today she spent the day with Aunt Amy. I am sure there will be good news to report! I think Maci likes to go there for the food.

Fishing!

Yesterday Maci went fishing for the first time. I was a bad mom and forgot my camera. She had a great time rolling/crawling around on the blanket. We went fishing with Aunt Chris, Uncle Don, and Trace. She loves to watch Trace. She fell asleep as soon as we started to head back to the lodge. So her dad took the opportunity to look around for deer sheds. She loves the outdoors. I am so excited that the weather is starting to get nicer.

03.10.07

We went to the hospital to visit her honorary grandma Donna & Uncle Ben. Maci made friends with all the kids in the waiting room. She spent most of her time crawling after the boys. She is a boy chaser already! She had a great time. She was quite the entertainer for everyone else.

Maci went to the doctor today she is 17 lbs 4 ounces (20 percentile)- 27 inches long (28 percentile) - and 16 inch head (60 percentile). Dr. Burdin keeps saying she is so petite. How in world with me is she petite? She is crawling around everywhere now. She is really trying to repeat and mimic our words. She has successfully said up and out - not consistently though. Derek is really trying for dad or some version. One of our questions was she waving yet. Mom said yes - she does to Emma. So I guess she has selective waving. Dr. Burdin said not to worry about her not eating baby food anymore. Maci still doesn't like fruit so she told me to keep trying. I tricked her tonight when she thought I was giving her a vanilla wafer - I quickly popped in a peach. Ticked her off, but she ate it.

03.07.07
Tonight Maci went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Young. Derek and I had a friend to visit in the hospital. Maci went out to check the cows with Grandpa Brad. She wore one of Mom's scarf, which she looked absolutely ridiculous! Mom claimed I hadn't told her that Maci was crawling. So, she was surprised to see Maci was not where she left her when she ran upstairs to get her tea. She said it was just for a second and she had crawled under the stairs looking for her. Every time she visits them she comes back with junk in her hair and very dirty. It was too late last night to bathe her and it was too cold this morning to do it, so she was the stinky kid at daycare! But she really likes hanging out with those crazy grandparents. She lights up every time she sees them.

Still Not Eating...

Okay so Maci still doesn't want to eat. She won't let a baby spoon near her. She was liking big people forks, but tonight nothing from utensils. So, we shared a banana. Then she fed herself a handful of Cheerios, and one peach piece. She did enjoy part of a flour tortilla from my quesadilla. We see 4 teeth coming in on top. I am marking up her weird behavior to teething.

Owen Visits

Maci had her first play date at home today. Owen Young (not related) came to visit. He was out with his parents driving around. Of course when they called to say they were in our neck of the woods I laughed and said no way. I mean really no one is just passing by our place...well unless you live on our road. I don't know if it is a coincidence or just because of Maci, but we seem to have lots of visitors for living so far from civilization.

Anyway Owen is 3 months younger and is about the same size as Maci. I think he might even weigh more. He is such a cutie. Maci seemed to really enjoy his company. She was a little rough with him. She seems to slap about with no sure direction. I think it might be a coordination thing. Owen is thinking about moving closer to Macon, so maybe more play dates in the future.

Nine Months Old Today!!

Maci is nine months old today!! Last night she crawled for the first time on her knees. She had been getting around, but just hadn't been up on her knees. I have mixed feelings on her ability to move around at a quicker pace!

The last couple days she has been refusing to eat baby food. She will drink a bottle or feed herself different finger foods. She really likes broccoli. I thought maybe her new teeth were bothering her, but who knows. It could be anything. Baby raising is just a big guessing game!

Curiosity

Maci is full of curiousity. I now have to either clean every surface at her level or spend the whole day behind her going NO! Then she does this pathetic crying face. The toliet paper roll has been her new finding. She sits in her walker while I shower. She usually sits in it and plays with one of the attached toys. The other morning it was really quiet, well, she was unrolling the toliet paper. Tonight she has cleaned off the end table and is starting to shred some of the paper. I am hoping she won't figure out the kleenex box. She is currently "reading" the Missouri Conservation Magazine - no she just switched to American Whitetail. I wonder if her father has read this issue yet? Well I best be off to clean up her mess...

Boring Life

We are back to the boring old life. Nothing really funny to write about. No crazy babysitting stories. No fun new activities. We will try to do something fun and exciting this weekend to report.

Back to Normal

February, 20, 2006

We went to the doctor today. We have been given a clean bill of health. We are down to just breathing treatments and hoping to wean off those in the next 2 weeks. Everyone at Jeanne's is also well, so back to the regular babysitter. Hopefully, Maci isn't too spoiled. I think she was starting to get use to the passing around.

Today she spent the day with Leah...well and Grandma Dunham, PoPo, Aunt Amy, Madeline and last but not least Stella! She had Grandma bread for the first time and decided it was GREAT! All these fun big people food is going to spoil her for sure. She shared a vanilla Oreo with Madeline. She smelled like a big cookie when I picked her up. Since I am in the weight loss competition, I thought she smelled wonderful!

Life is sure to be more boring now that we are back to regular schedule. I won't have crazy family stories to pass along.

Passed Around...

Maci has made it full circle of babysitters! Today Maci spent the day with Aunt Mary at the farm. We can now determine she has NO allergies to cats!! She was in very good spirits when I showed up. They were doing laundry. Aunt Mary even managed to bake bread while babysitting (and only got a small amount of flour on Maci's seat!). Mary managed to get Maci to take a nap on her. She did suggest that you should not drink tea before naptime because she was unable to go potty until the nap was over.

Maci thought the toys at her house were great. She had some of the original little people and accessories, also lots and lots of blocks. She had a great time rolling around and banging the toys together. And of course chasing/laying on the cats. I think Bob was her favorite! (At least I think that was his name...I get them all confused.)

It was reported that Maci ate well. I think she is going to like hanging out with Aunt Mary because she had mashed potatoes and vegetable soup. She is really liking people food much better than her pureed plain ole baby food.

So, I haven't lined up a babysitter for tomorrow. We will see who is up for the challenge. We go to the doctor tomorrow to see if we get a clean bill of health. Then as long as all the kids at daycare are not sick, it will be back the Jeanne's. If she will take Miss Spoiled Maci back!

Eating Lots!

Ever since we started the steroids Maci has been eating everything in site. She is not particular either. She is really started to like feeding herself, which is a huge relief for me. She entertains herself for long periods of time in her highchair as long as I keep the crackers coming!

She really enjoys going to G&G Young's because they give her whatever they are eating. Yesterday she spent the day with them. They had soup, veggies, cereal and they even made her snow ice cream. I know you are suppose to wait to introduce dairy, but too late to stop it! She had already had ice cream in the hospital, so she was ruined while we were vulnerable.

Today is the last day for her steroids, so we will see if the eating decreases. Or will she become a fat baby?

Visiting Grandma Jane

Of course I am staring this blog a little late for her first year of activities, but really she is getting to my favorite age anyway! Yesterday she was 8 1/2 months old.

We spent the last week in the hosptial sitting under a oxygen tent. Maci had pneunonia. The upside was Maci and I got to spend EVERY night with Grandma Jane. She stayed every night to watch over us. After a week of no sleep and much worrying, we are home. She seems to be doing well, however, we were directed to keep her away from germing kids. So no babysitter. Everyone in the family has been pitching in, so that I have been able to go to work. I would stay home, but next week the employees (poor teachers) are expecting to get paid!

Yesterday she spent the day with Aunt Amy. It was reported that the morning went well. She napped all alone, played, and was in a good mood. She did not want to take her bottles. However, she ate all her cereal and sweet potates. And almost every puff (these great fast disolving cereal like snack). For her afternoon nap she refused to sleep alone, so Aunt Amy napped with her. Then the small cousins (Madeline & Stella) showed up after school for entertainment.

Today she spent the day with Leah. Then the afternoon with Leah & Aunt Mary. I called to check on them around 3pm. Aunt Mary was with her alone. She reported that Maci did not like them! She said Maci would go to her and then want Leah. And when she was with Leah she wanted Mary. Leah also couldn't get her to take a bottle, but managed to get a little cereal and squash down her. No puffs though. (what this means for the mother is that she will make up for the lack of daily food ALL NIGHT long! - can't wait). Leah reported that at 10 am she thought about calling Madeline's school telling that she was sick and needed to come home. Maci has a fondness for Madeline. It could be all the attention and holding!

So tomorrow Grandma Jane is keeping her while I am gone to catch up. I should be able to do a week's worth of work in one day, since it is Saturday and no one will be there to mess with me. We will see how it goes...

Starting Out

Okay, so I enjoy reading Cali's blogging on first year teaching that I thought it was a great idea. So, I am going to attempt to blog my life as Maci's mom - the new identity I assumed. After having Maci I now realized NO ONE cares to see me anymore. Well, unless I have Maci tagging along with me!