Crazy Kids

Thanks Mom and Dad, we got the bounce toy you sent the kids. They love it.



Here's a funny story from this week. As back ground, we've moved Madeleine in to share a room with Asher. They love it...a little too much. We have to put Asher to bed first (since he doesn't take a nap) and then Maddie a little later, otherwise they just run around like crazies.

Monday night Paul went in to check on the kids before we went to bed and found this.

Madeleine had tucked herself in under her bed. He put her back to bed and there were no incidents. The next day, however, Maddie skipped her nap and so she went to bed before Asher. When Paul put Asher to bed he again found her sleeping under her bed, but this time all the way underneath, against the back wall. He left her for fear of waking her up so soon after going down and promised to come back later to move her into bed.

An hour later we could hear Maddie screaming. We rushed in to find her still under the bed, but now pinned in by a deeply asleep Asher, who had joined her under the bed. And so begins Madeleine's claustrophobia.

Fun in the kitchen

I was in our office, paying some bills when Madeleine called out "Mama! I want chocolate milk!" I told her just a minute and finished up what I was working on and headed into the kitchen. My enterprising two year old had decided to help herself. She thought chocolate milk powder would be a wonderful compliment to leftover chocolate frosting. A girl after my own heart.


I just had to laugh, especially when I brought out the camera and she yelled, "Happy teeth!" and began grinning. Those are some very happy teeth.

I told her it was time to take a bath and she said "I don't want a bath, just chocolate" Then I took her to the mirror. She stared in horror and held her hands away from herself. "I'm so messy! Help Mama!" Ah, my little Madeleine then gladly took her bath.

Happy Birthday Madeleine!

Our Madeleine just turned two years old today! She has been excited about her birthday for days! Every time someone said Happy Birthday to her she said Happy Birthday back to them. When I tell her Happy Birthday! She says "Happy Mother's day, Mama!" She even sang "Happy Birthday to you" all day long.

We got some chicken nuggets and french fries from her favorite gourmet restaurant with Golden Arches and headed to the park for lunch with Daddy.

Paul came home when she was midway through dinner and she couldn't finish another bite of her dinner and she begged to open her presents. Then she spotted the cake and begged to eat her cake. She couldn't decide which part was the most exciting.

We gave up on dinner and sang happy birthday with her before she blew out her candles. She then brushed the cake aside because she was so excited about her presents. Asher couldn't wait for her to open the perfectly round gift he picked for her and kept telling her "I got you a surprise ball!"
She received dress up stuff and pranced around in her fancy jewelry, shoes, dress, and puppy purse (from Grandma and Grandpa Ashby), all evening declaring "I'm a Princess!"
This picture of her smiling is the first time she has ever posed for the camera. When you ask her to smile, she blinks repeatedly. This time I told her to show me her happy teeth and it worked like a charm.
She also received a kids MP3 player from her Grandma and Grandpa Smith and she and Asher danced around throwing balloons until they crashed. Then we all watched Cinderella together until she was ready for her bath and bedtime.

Paul's birthday was March, mine was in April and Madeleine's was today. Asher keeps saying now it's my birthday when Madeleine's is done! His birthday isn't until October 30th and he is going to be skipped in order by our new addition. I think the anticipation might be too much for him.

Happy Mother's Day & the Swine Flu

Last Sunday, in the peak of Swine Flu fears, Madeleine was acting strange before church. She was sitting on my lap before breakfast. I smelled something and I asked her "Are you stinky?" She said "Madeleine throw up." Just a seconds later, sure enough, she threw up. With the warning, though, I was able to contain the mess to her jammies.

That was the first sign that she may have had the swine flu. More disturbing, however, was the sudden and overwhelming outbreak of pig-tails during her ensuing bath. She could see her reflection in the tub drain and got really excited. "I'm a bunny," she proclaimed. That helped cheer her up.

She got better that day.

Want a Cat?

Does anyone know who this cat belongs to? It is obviously someone's pet because it is just about the friendliest cat I have ever seen. It follows Asher and Maddie around in the backyard and adores their abuse. It doesn't even mind too much when Maddie pulls its' tail, it just meows at her. It begs to be let in every morning and it breaks my heart. I can't keep this cat with the new baby coming and because Paul doesn't like cats. I would if I could though.

I posted an ad on Craigslist to find the owners, but I'm not sure what else to do. If anyone wants a seriously sweet cat for their very own, let me know!

Miscellaneous

I (Paul) have a bunch of funny stories, but none of them come together as a real post, so I am just going to have a bunch of random pictures and stories.
Here is a picture of Vanessa and Madeleine a few weeks ago. Aren't they so cute.
Last week we had a hot couple of days and busted out the pool. The kids had so much fun and Vanessa liked them playing outside.This last picture has a couple stories. First I had to come home and watch the kids while Vanessa went to the dentist and while I was eating lunch I saw that Asher was trying to climb the tree. He would grab onto the lowest branch, wrap his legs around the trunk and hold on for dear life. So I went out and hoisted him into the tree. He was so excited as he exclaimed, "I can see Sister Price's house." Madeleine loved it too and there will be more on that in a bit.

But you can also see the cat Asher named "Rainy". It showed up on our patio rain soaked and meowed in vain for our two rainy days this week. He has renamed it "Sunny" when the weather cleared up. The cat has adopted our family despite the fact that I will not allow it in the house and I will routinely chase it out of the yard. Vanessa threatened to buy it cat food and start supporting it, so I countered that I would load it in the car and dump it in a neighborhood on the other side of the river. Our compromise is that the kids can play with it (which often scares it away) but it can't come inside.

Finally, from the tree climbing adventure. Madeleine was really excited about Asher being up in the tree and insisted on a turn. As soon as I got her up into a little fork that makes the perfect seat, she proudly proclaimed the following:


If you couldn't make it out, and we are still debating the final word(s), she says, "I'm a monkey (in the tree)."

It's a....

Girl!

We are thrilled! We really didn't care either way since we have one of each, but it was really exciting to find out! My intuition told me it was a boy, and I had guessed correctly with both Asher and Madeleine so I was more surprised than I should have been. I guess it proves that I am not cut out to be a psychic.

I get to go back in 8 weeks for another ultrasound because baby girl Smith wouldn't stop covering her face and the Dr. wanted a better look.

We asked Asher if he was excited after showing him the pictures and telling him that the baby was a girl. He said "I'm just confused and I want to not talk". Later, when he had some time to figure things out, he did say he was excited. I can imagine it being a bit confusing to a 3 year old.

Madeleine talks to my tummy and says "Come out Baby, Come out!" As you can see from the pictures, the baby needs more time to fatten up.