Here she is!

Maddie's glasses came in today.  She's still getting used to them and I honestly can't tell if they've made a difference.  We're just going to pretend like the do.  :)

So here she is before:

And after:

She's now officially part of the glasses club!

And the patch club!

Random funny things

This was our conversation over breakfast this morning:

Me (trying to instill a little bit of confidence):  You know that you guys are important?  And you can do anything you want to do?

Parks:  Yeah.  Because George Washington won that war and we are free.

Me: Um, yeah, I guess.  So you can do anything you want to do.  If you want to be an astronaut, you can be one.  If you want to be a teacher you can be one.

Maddie:  Yeah I want to be a school bus driver.

Me:  Awesome.

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A conversation with Maddie over homework.  I was trying to help her with her vocabulary words.

Me:  Maddie, what does "active" mean?

Maddie:  It's like when you're in a play, like, "LAAAAAAAA!" (using her best opera voice)

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On Sunday I brought up a box of Chex from the pantry and Maddie announced that we were going to make a treat.

Parks:  Oh, oh.  I love those things.  What are they called?  Those brown things.  Oh yeah!  Muddy Friends!

I think from now on Muddy Buddies will now be immortalized at our house as Muddy Friends!

Do you see what I see?

So, here's the short story:  Maddie has HORRIBLE eyesight and has to get glasses.  They should be done any minute.  Apparently the lab had to restart her lenses because they didn't pass inspection the first time so it's taking longer than expected.  So we're still waiting, but not so patiently.   Here's the long story...

This all started at the beginning of November when the elementary school held vision screenings.  I was actually there helping all the kids get screened when Maddie got her eyes checked.  It was one of those crazy E charts, where the kids are supposed to turn their hand in the direction of the E,  like this:

She couldn't seem to make her hand go the right way.  I thought she just didn't understand what was going on, but in reality, she just couldn't see.  I was glad there was an actual nurse there to work with her and follow through.  If not, I probably would have just insisted she could see fine and that we didn't need to do anything.  But the nurse persisted and ended up giving me a referral form for her to see an optometrist.

It took several weeks for the optometrist to be able to see her.  Again, we waited patiently.  :)  The appointment went well.  Maddie really seemed to be OK with everything and the doctor was so good with her.  She had the full eye exam and he had a hard time believing she was functioning as well as she was.  He let me look through some lenses to show me how Maddie is most likely seeing the world.  I was astounded.  There was one little sliver of the lenses that I could see through.  Everything else was blurry and distorted.

So it turns out Maddie is farsighted, also known as hyperopia.  This is how she would most likely see the world if her farsightedness wasn't so severe:

Which I guess wouldn't be so bad, but she also has an astigmatism.  Which blurs everything- near and far.  Kind of like this:

She also has amblyopia, meaning one of her eyes is lazy, or weaker than the other. 

So with the combination of all those things, she really can't see!  Which leads me to wonder how the heck she's been able to function throughout her life. Every year at her physical her eyes are always tested, but the more I thought about it, I realized that she will never tell the nurse the symbols or letters on the eye chart.  I thought she was just being stubborn (which she is prone to be), but in reality I'm sure it's because she couldn't see!  I honestly had NO CLUE she was struggling with anything.  She reads, she writes, she dances, and hardly ever runs into walls.  :)  She is just such a fighter she must have been finding a way to make do with what she could see.

Anyway, I don't really know what all the technical details are, but I do know that the doctor said she's currently seeing 20/200 with her right eye, and 20/60 with her left.  By definition, being blind is anything 20/200 or worse.  Needless to say, she needs glasses!  The doctor said after she gets her glasses, her vision should improve to 20/60 in her right eye, and 20/30 in her left.

We'll also have to patch her left eye for a couple of hours every day to make the right/weaker eye work harder.  We're still working on getting an awesome patch put together, but it will probably end up looking something like this with a little bit of Hello Kitty flair- by her request:

There is a great tutorial here on how to make these patches.

So that's the news on Maddie.  We sure love that girl. I'm so glad her school did vision screenings, or we may have never discovered this.  Also, I can't wait until she gets her glasses and is able to actually see!   I'll post a picture when they finally come in!

Quote of the day

From Maddie: "Hey Mom, wanna watch me pump myself?"

WHAAA?

Apparently it's in reference to this lovely Kid History video at 3:48.  My kids could watch these for hours:





And here's their version:

A conversation over lunch

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Parks' and Maddie's conversation during lunch today. It went a little something like this:

Parks: Maddie, what talents do you have?

Maddie: What?

Parks: Talents. Like, things you do good.

Maddie: Uh, twirling around and round.

Parks: No. Not that. Stuff you do good.

Maddie: Front flips on the tramp?

Parks: No, something you're really good at.

Maddie: Eating? Writing the letter "P"

Parks: No, like if you do something really good you can be in the talent show at school.

Maddie: Folding clothes?

Parks: No. You can't show somebody that!

Maddie: Kissing somebody

Me: "WHAT?"


p.s.  I'd almost forgotten I have a blog here.  I'll try to use it a little more often.  :) 

Maddie is 5

Boy is she ever.  Maddie turned 5 in March.  It's a rare occasion that we have birthday parties with friends, but this was one of those years.  I decided I wasn't going to go all out this year because, let's face it, they're 5-year-olds.  So I had Maddie pick a theme from the dollar store.  She picked butterflies.  Here are some of the things we did.

We read "The Hungry Caterpillar", then made a couple of crafts.  Butterflies on a straw:

And painted symmetrical butterfly wings found here. 

We played some games, among them, Elefun:

And ate cake:

 And cupcakes (because they were so dang easy and cute):

Oh, and I can't forget the stinkin adorable treat boxes they took home.  My cute friend Jen made them.  She is super amazing. Aren't they the cutest ever?

I did, however find a tutorial for these little butterfly clippies here and tried to whip some together.  And by whipping I really mean cursing and poking pins into things that shouldn't be poked.  But at least they're cute, right?  RIGHT?!  I made some with the corker ribbon bodies and I actually liked those better.  Anyway...

Are you butterflied out yet?  Good, 'cause I think that's all I have to say about that.  
Happy dang Birthday Maddie!

A conversation with Maddie

(As I'm dancing around the kitchen):

Maddie: "Mom, you are so weird."

Me: "No I'm not.  I'm cool."

Maddie: "Yeah.  You're kind of cool weirdish."

I guess it's better than being just plain weird.

Mad Gab Hymn style

Maddie's Primary teachers tell me that she's good about singing loud during Primary. However, she sometimes makes up words when she doesn't know them. They kinda sound the same, but not quite. You know, like Mad Gab. Anyway, see if you can guess which hymn Maddie is trying to sing.

For the grandparents

Because they're probably the only ones who care to see this. It's Maddie's debut at the high school dance clinic. Woo-hoo! She honestly loved it.

Awesome

Remember how I posted earlier about Maddie knowing everything? Well, apparently she also knows how to match her clothes. She insists this outfit matches because, "Look, Mom. Blue and blue."

No matter how persuasive I am...

(The turquoise blue and the royal blue aren't friends. They don't like to be near each other.)

OR

(That red bow on your shirt looks a little lonely, don't you think those pants with the red bow would be perfect?!!! DON'T YOU!???!!)

...she refuses to change her clothes. Hopefully someday soon she and the color wheel will find a place where they can peacefully coexist. Until then, well...

Sigh.

Look Ma!

Maddie's been working on this, and she finally got it!

Kid Funnies

Yesterday I got "Hello, Goodbye" by the Beatles stuck in my head. I kept singing it and eventually Parks started singing it with me.

Aaron, ever the trivia expert, asked, "Parks, who sings that?"
Parks responded, "Mom."
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After church yesterday I asked the kids what they'd learned. Parks said they passed off the 4th Article of Faith song. So I started asking him how it went. I'd say the first part, then have the kids tell me the next part. Like this:

Me: "Second"
Parks: "repentance"

Me: "Third, baptism"
Parks: "by immersion"

Me: "Fourth, "
Maddie responds: "Laying on a bed"

I guess that kind of sounds like "laying on of hands". Sometimes it's just a laugh a minute here.

Watch out Michael Buble'

"I love to sing, sing in the shower." Remember that song from Sesame Street? Good times. Well, I heard Maddie singing in the bath today and it just made me smile. I recorded her singing (play the movie below), but I'm sparing you the video. Common decency, of course, requires it.

Random Maddie

Things Maddie has said recently:

"Mom, we need to go to a parade."

"Can you see my eyeballs?"

"Uh, Grandpa, a little help here."

"Mom can you put my blanket it my jammies so it can be my booty?"

I asked her what I should say about her in our Christmas letter. She responded, "I have to clean my room." Guess she hears that a lot.

Truth from a 3-year-old

This morning Maddie found my watch on the floor, brought it to me, and said,

"Mom, here's your watch so you can waste time."

Does she really know me that well?

Motivation to be a mom

This morning Maddie was a little incensed that I was eating cookies for breakfast, but she couldn't. She replied, "I'm going to be a mom so I can reach the cookies on the fridge." Motivation enough, I guess.

Maddie's Future Plans

Maddie recently learned that her Nursery Music Leader is a Bus Driver. She actually has a bus parked at her house every day. This is perhaps the coolest thing for any three-year-old to realize. Today we walked past said Nursery Leader's house and had this conversation:

Maddie: "Mom, I want to be a drive busser when I grow up."

Me: "Really?"

Maddie: "Yeah. When will I be growed up?"

Me: "I don't know. Probably in a lot of years."

Maddie: "Maybe when I'm fifteen... But then I have to do chores. I don't want to be growed up."


Ya know what? Some times I don't want to be growed up either.

Maddie's First Day

Maddie got in on a bit of the first-day-of-school action too. Last week she started her first day of preschool ever. She was so so so excited. She started asking me 2 weeks beforehand if her preschool was tomorrow. It took a long time until the day finally came and then she could hardly contain herself. She had a great time and can't wait to go back.

It's in the genes

Yesterday I was downstairs and realized I hadn't heard from Maddie for awhile. Trouble seems to find her easily, so I went upstairs to see what she was up to. This is what I found:

You can see the guilt written all over her face as she tries to hide the fact that she's snitched an entire donut. She had climbed up onto the stove top, grabbed a donut (and paper towel), and proceeded to eat all the frosting off the top of the donut.


I couldn't help but be a little amused by this. Of course she was doing something she shouldn't have, and she should have gotten in trouble. But I did this sort of thing all the time when I was a kid, so I can't really be angry with her, can I? Her affinity for sugar (and the swiping of it) must have come to her naturally. Sigh. I'm gonna have to keep my eye on this one.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Today Maddie turns 3! It's hard to imagine she's so grown up. But it does seem like it has been ages since she was born. I can't believe how much she's changed and how much she adds to our lives. And since this blog sometimes doubles as a journal, I'm going to take a minute to write about Maddie today. If you're not up for a lot of reading, scroll to the bottom for some pictures of today's festivities.


Maddie is such a sweetie. She is so good at always saying thank you and at helping out whenever she's asked. For the most part she is kind to Parks and likes to share with him. She loves to do things with dad. Dad is so patient with her and loves her very much. I don't think it's a stretch to say she's a daddy's girl.

She is such a big girl now. She is 100 percent potty-trained, she sleeps in a big girl bed and likes to think she can do everything herself. She doesn't like anyone to help her unless she's tried it herself first and can't do it. She talks very well and she can actually carry out a pretty decent conversation. There are some words she hasn't quite grasped and we get a kick out of hearing them (pee-nan-ee-o for piano, and chaco-mu-cho for muchacho).

She loves her babies and stuffed animals and blankets, which she still calls gee-kees, even though she can pronounce 'blanket' perfectly fine. Lately she has taken a liking to a Nemo PEZ dispenser which she must have in order to fall asleep at night (thankyouverymuch, Grandma). She also likes to look at real babies and wants to cuddle them and play with them just as she does her toys.

She is starting to learn some of her letters and knows all her shapes and colors. She tolerates coloring, although she'd much rather be running around, or dancing or jumping off of things. She is a strong little girl and I'm amazed by all she can do with that little body of hers. She runs, flips, bounces, and skips everywhere. She is an expert at climbing and pulling herself up into places I never imagined she could. She can and will hang off of anything. She's perfecting her forward roll and has a beautiful "finish position".

Maddie likes to sing. Her favorites lately are Primary songs and Barney songs (heaven help us!) I've heard more renditions of "I love you, you love me" and "Icey-creamy ice cream" than I care to. She loves to make up songs and I can often hear her talking and singing to her babies as she falls asleep.

She loves to go to Nursery and loves her Nursery leaders. Although she seems to be a bit of an enforcer when it comes to Nursery rules. She's constantly telling the other children what they can and can't do. She can be a bit of a boss at times but at least she's cute while she's doing it.

I'm sure Maddie will accomplish anything she puts her mind to. She does not like to be told "no" and is more strong-willed than I can deal with some days. She can hold her own very well and will not be pushed around or told what to do. It's even hard for me to get the upper hand sometimes. I love that she has that strong streak though.

Maddie is a pretty good eater. Her favorites lately are noodles (mac and cheese), applesauce, and yogurt. She really likes fruit, especially kiwi, but would rather pass on the veggies. She's also a girl after my own heart when it comes to sugar. She'll eat anything (anything) with sugar. She loves cold cereal which used to be my only source of sustenance in college. My stomach can no longer stomach milk, and Parks can't stand cereal, so it does my heart good to see Maddie downing multiple bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats. It's like she's carrying on some sort of very important legacy.

Maddie is not a wimp. She'll fall down and get scraped up and banged around, but she always pops right back up and says, "It's OK, mom. I'm OK." And usually she is. The only time she cries is if she doesn't get her way, or if someone is mad at her. Well, OK, that's not necessarily true. She cries if you put something away in the wrong place, or if you tell her to put her clothes away, or if she doesn't want to eat her dinner, or if she can't go in Parks' room, or if her sleeves aren't pulled down right. So she really does cry a lot...just not when she gets hurt. She is still a girl, after all, and her emotions are also very girlish.

I love Maddie. I'm so glad she's a part of our family, and I'm glad I have a girl on my side. She is a sweetie and I love her spunk and enthusiasm and silliness. We are all so blessed to know her and to share our lives with her. I love you Maddie, Happy Birthday!


Today Uncle Dustin and Aunt Monica came up to give me a breather and to help us celebrate Maddie's birthday since Aaron was in Europe this week. We had a grand old time. I think I heard, "Watch this, Dustin!" or "Watch this, Monica!" at least a hundred times. Maddie and Parks relished the time they got to spend with different faces today. After a week of nothing but mom, I think we all were grateful for a change of pace. So here's a little part of our birthday celebration today: the infamous birthday song and Maddie blowing out her candles:



The whole gang


Maddie enjoying her cake. She only ate the disgusting glob of blue balloon frosting, but loved every minute of it.


The "kids" playing with the presents:

Minus the traveling dad, I'd say it was a pretty perfect birthday!