Easter 2014

So stoked on her eggs!

Madeline was actually interested in coloring eggs this year. She got some easter egg coloring and glitter and stamps kits from my mom a few weeks before the holiday and spent every weekend asking me to let her "do the eggs!" Madi got her wish on Master's Sunday (which wasn't on Easter for once) when we all trooped over to the Johnson house so the boys could watch the golf together. I am sure Matt was hoping for some family-free time, but I wasn't willing to give him a Sunday away from us. We brought Madeline's egg kits and a dozen hard-boiled eggs with us. Madi had a fabulous time dying the eggs, and loved the glitter. The stamps were kind of a mess, but I might try them with regular stamp pads next year. I am loving that Madeline is so into doing these activities now, I am looking forward to the tradition of egg dying for years to come!

Madeline got to participate in multiple Easter egg hunts this year! She had a practice run at school on Friday (with a visit from the Easter bunny), a great time snatching up eggs from the field at the San Clemente Easter Egg-stravaganza, and finally hit up the Johnson's for an egg hunt with the whole Johnson and Lam crew.She has gotten very good at finding eggs and putting them in her basket. Next year she may be ready for some hidden eggs instead of the fairly easy to see eggs. Madi was especially excited to get an egg with her name on it and a special present inside from Aunt Alyson. Brilliant idea! Stamps are a kid's best friend. Ella's egg had a new pacifier with a pacifier clip. I didn't have one since Madeline did not really use a pacifier as a baby, but it has been a fabulous thing to have with Ella. Thanks Alyson!

Patiently Waiting

The Egg Hunt Field!

Waiting . . . less patiently

The hunt is on!

Look how many I have!

Post hunt Howe girls

Egg hunt at the Johnson's

Taking a little break

Madi-Ham

Disneyland!

For this blog dad is making a guest appearance to talk about Madi's first trip to Disneyland. I decided for her 3rd birthday that I would take her to Disneyland for the first time, the day before she turned 3 and was still free. I hadn't been to Disneyland since Crystal and I went about 12 years ago when we first started dating, quite a bit has changed since then. For one there is a new amusement park sitting where the parking lot was last time we went :)

I took Madi on Monday expecting that it would be fairly less crowded, turned out I was wrong about that. Despite fighting thru the crowds we had a great time. The first thing she wanted to do when we got there was go on the tea cups, a classic favorite of Dad's.

On the teacups

Then the next on her list was she wanted to meet Minnie Mouse, this was actually the thing she wanted to do most. She was so excited when we got to Minnie's house and she was able to go in and see her, the smile on her face was priceless.

Waiting for Minnie

Minnie's House

Minnie!!

After that she got to meet some of the other Disney characters, we rode the Autopia ride (which she loved), Winnie the Pooh ride, Carousel, etc. It was really fun bringing her there and I can't wait to do it again. Now I know about all these things modern technology has provided us, like phone apps that tell you the length of all the lines and calendars which forecast the crowd levels by day I'll be much more prepared for our next trip.

Carousel

Dad, Madi, and Mickey

Pluto's House

Madi & Goofy

Winnie the Pooh ride

Rolling over!

It's official . . . Ella can roll!!! She is a star at front to back, still working on back to front but easily gets onto her side when on her back. Needless to say much video has been taken and none shows actual rolling. I will endeavor to get some actual footage of the event . . . But no guarantees. Yay for baby progress! I am so proud of Eleanor and hopeful that with rolling will come happy playing time.

Ella is three months!

Eleanor just keeps growing and growing. I can't believe how giant she is, much bigger than Madeline was at this age! She is starting to grab toys (or try really hard to grab toys), she has rolled over (many times off a pillow that she is propped on from belly to back and once in extreme anger from back to belly), she "talks" all of the time and is definitely the loudest baby I have ever heard under age one! I worried when I was pregnant that I wouldn't love a second baby as much as I love Madi (especially since, if I am being honest, I don't have quite as much love for Jameson as I do for Lani . . .my first baby), but I really do love them both equally. Not always the same amount at the same time (haha) but I am amazed at the pure joy I feel with each girl at least once a day. I am so proud of their accomplishments and wish that time would slow down just a little so that I can relish the good moments a little more. At three months old, Eleanor no longer wants to be in the wrap but is willing to be in the Bjorn if she faces forward. Ella loves to be swaddled, enjoys her pacifier, has a great daily routine which includes naps in the crib but not for longer than 45 minutes, and she had her very first day of school.  Dropping her off is insanely hard for me (I am thankful again that Matt took Madi to school for the first few months) and picking her up is wonderful. Apparntly on her first day of school, Ella shared the strength of her lungs with her new friends and her teachers easily got her to stop by taking her outside to look at the tree. Poor Matt has another arborist on his hands! Madeline was so excited to have her sister at school that she went to the infant fence and requested that her sister be brought out so Madi could see her, haha! I feel so bad for how often Ella's teachers will likely be given directions by my little dictator. I spent Eleanor's first day of school going to the gym (ouch), going to work where I found out that my brain has turned off somewhere in the last two weeks, and running some errands. It was relaxing and nice and a little sad too.

More tummy time

Sleeping with Jameson

I will hit that rattle!

Morning cuddles

Ella sleeping on Grandma Sue

What Daddy and Ella do while Mama and Madi go to gymnastics

Hanging out while Mama showers with Lani guarding the rear

"I hit the bird!"

Madeline has decided that she wants a cat. She talks about kitties all of the time, she asks about kitties of our friends, and she loves her hello kitty doll (thanks Shea family)! Matt keeps telling her she never gets to have a cat, but I am going with the "let's talk about it after the dogs die" plan. I want a kitty too, so I figure we have five years or so for me to change Matt's mind and get him ready to live with allergies for a while! Madeline's also starting to learn that she has a full name. She used to tell us that her name is "Madi" but now she tells us her name is "Madi Twinkle-Howe." I am guessing that this has to do with the fact that her middle name is Starr, but she doesn't quite understand the idea of middle names. She tells us that "I am a Twinkle-Howe and Ella is a Twinkle-Howe and Mama is a Twinkle-Howe but Daddy isn't." It's so cute! Though I am not allowed to tell Madeline that she is cute to her face anymore. She told me that she wasn't cute, she was pretty. So cute (haha)! The girls and I have had so much fun the last few weeks. Ella and I spend our days together relaxing at home, trying to nap in the crib, hanging with the dogs, going on walks, meeting friends for lunch and running errands. On Wednesdays, all three of us go somewhere to play. The Zoo, Sea World, the Children's Museum. We have a surprising amount of fun, I get a workout carrying and pushing the kids, and if I get lucky there is a nap in the car afterwards and some mommy quiet time.

Playing at the zoo

Napping post-zoo

Napping post-zoo

Rainy day cupcake making (Madi wanted to do Pinkalicious after her favorite book)

Arts and crafts - I hate this damn bucket of fun but Madi loves it so much that we play with it every Wednesday. Thanks Cat . . . I'll be sending you one!

We had a cupcake daily after making them

Golfing practice with Daddy

Building at the museum

Sister time

 Matt and I got a new stove this month. It is so amazing! After a year of having only have my burners working, I am so happy to have a stove where everything works. The flat top is gorgeous and the giant glass front oven is perfect for the kids to see what is cooking. New appliances make me so happy!

Yay!

Testing, Testing, Madi's Almost Three

I feel like Madeline comes up with a new boundary to test daily. Lots of friends warned me that three is going to be worse than two and sadly, I think they may be right! A couple of Sunday's ago, Madi didn't make it through mass for the first time since she starting eating snacks.  We've had Sundays where it's been close, we had the infamous (well infamous to me) accident on the floor next to the pew day, we have had days where we ran out of goldfish, and many Sundays spent modeling a church voice and explaining why it isn't okay to stand on the pew and yell "Hi" to Father Matt.  But, this was the first time I actually had to just take Madi home early. Partly this is my fault. I told Matt that I think my expectations might be too high.  Madeline is usually so good, that when she does act out I am super irritated with it. I feel like she would be able to get away with so much more if she were just generally not as well-behaved as she is. You may be wondering what she did that was so horrible that I made her leave church? It was actually a super-normal toddler behavior that I have been very unsuccessfully trying to get her to stop doing. Madeline was picking her nose! Repeatedly, after repeated requests that she stop because it is gross and repeated offers of a tissue! I finally made the ultimate parental statement "if you pick your nose one more time, we will leave." As a teacher I know that you can't make a statement like this and not follow through. Just as we got to the "peace be with you" section of mass, she picked again! Darn kid, we only had 10-12 more minutes to go! I packed her stuff up and sent her out of the pew and out the door. Madeline started crying immediately. Once outside we discussed why we had to leave and how Madi would have to behave the following week in order to stay for the whole mass. Luckily, leaving was actually a punishment for Madeline. I felt so mean the whole ride home as she continued to sniffle.
This has been followed up with lots of little tests. Can I spit my toothpaste out on the counter instead of the sink (yep Madeline is big enough to use toothpaste and spit, so cool)? Can I throw food on the floor? Can I draw on the wall with my chalk even though I know I'm not supposed to? Can I splash water all over mom during bath time? Can I get you to sleep all night in my bed (talking to you dad)? And the biggie, what happens if I bite my sister? All of these little tests have been repeated and are starting to fade though she is super creative regarding figuring out boundaries. I have been waiting for the at home bite ever since we conquered biting (again) at school. It came just before bedtime at the end of a nice relaxing day of fabulous behavior. Basically instead of going in for a goodnight kiss, Madi tried to bite off Ella's big toe. She didn't break the skin, but she definitely left a mark. Madeline scared herself with this and it's results so luckily she hasn't bitten her sister again, but I get a little tense when Madi goes in for kisses. I am becoming more and more nervous about what kind of behavior three will have in store for us! Hopefully, we'll all come out the other side alive and well!

One great part about being almost three, Madeline is back into trying foods. her favorite foods - expensive cheese!

You know you're a mom when . . .

The Portland Howes were visiting San Diego Presidents Day weekend.  We got to have them over for dinner and had a late Christmas celebration.  On Monday, Matt, Jim, and Jeff went golfing while Cat and I took the kids to the Safari Park.  It was a great weekend.  I love getting to spend the time with Cat and I think Madi and Graham are equally entertained by each other.  Graham is huge (the same size as Madeline, but one year younger) and still very wobbly when he walks.  He looks like a giant drunken sailor, it is so adorable!  Madi enjoyed feeding him veggie straws and goldfish at regular intervals.  I am not sure if she thought he was as hungry as she is, or if she just liked giving him treats :) We're looking forward to our next visit with the Portland Howes!  The Sheas were also out here for a visit the week of Presidents Day.  We got to have a great dinner at the Gross' to celebrate and had an afternoon playdate on Wednesday.  The noise of 8 kids in one house to play and have dinner was outrageous!  The kids had fun, we had fun, but the silence in the car on the way home was a joy! How do people live with that many kids in their house?

"we're wearing our converse" - Madi

Christmas in February

Three kids stuffed in my backseat again

Madi-bat

Madeline and Graham

We followed up the week of seeing people we miss with a trip out to Hemet for Noah's birthday party.  Auntie Nee met us in San Marcos to drive part of the way with us, but only after I proved that being a mom truly is what makes you insanely late for things! We left the house on time, but in Kearny Mesa I realized that I had left the Bjorn at home.  There is no way I was planning to be gone for the day without a pack to carry the small fry in, so we turned out and picked up the Bjorn.  Now we were running about 15 minutes late but that's not too bad.  Around Miramar Madeline announces that she needs to go potty.  I pull off at Carl's Jr, we all troop inside, Madi takes care of business and we are on the road again.  Now, officially, a half hour late.  Luckily Renee is understanding and was hanging out at Kohls! The rest of the ride was uneventful and shockingly, Ella slept the entire way up to Hemet.  Madeline had a great time eating pizza and jumping in the bounce house!  She also loved the bubbles and getting to play with someone else's toys.  Thanks Shearers for the fun Saturday (Matt enjoyed having the guilt free chance to go golfing too)!

The Howe girls

Lani enjoying the sun in the playpen

We've been having a lot of outings during the week recently too.  The girls and I spent a Wednesday morning at Sea World, followed by Madeline getting a hair cut, lunch with Matt and a trip to Costco. I realized that I am truly a mom now thanks to two parking lot breastfeedings and an hour spent hanging out in my car outside Costco waiting for Madi to wake up from the first daytime nap she has taken for me in months. I have decided my ability to multitask, hang out in parking lots, and immediately find the nearest restroom when my daughter needs one has made me officially a MOM. Our exciting Wednesday was followed by a few days of pouring rain.  Madeline was so excited to wear her raincoat and rainboots to school. She was also so happy to have the Churchwells come over for a playdate.  Madeline did a great job sharing her toys upstairs and downstairs.  Riva and Madi had lunch together and Marissa and I got to hang out.  I am so amazed at how easy Zev is! He played on the playmat by himself for almost an hour!  Luckily, Ella slept through most of the visit so she was good too!

Madeline loves her new engineering game. Thanks Gramps!

Yay Sea World

Turtle time

Ella and I waiting in the Costco parking lot while Madi napped

Sleeping Beauty

My girls

It's raining

It's pouring

In between all of this fun, I have been doing way too much work.  San Diego Science Educators Association had a conference on March 1st,  I spent the last two weeks of February getting my table information ready and organizing my presentation. We also spent the last two weeks of February trying to get Ella to willingly take a bottle.  Matt prevailed with a bottle that has latex nipples instead of silicon. I was beginning to be terrified that Eleanor wouldn't take a bottle and Matt would have to bring her to Grossmont College every three hours for me to feed her. But, he won and I was able to be at work all day without any problems.  I also had the joy of pumping in a bathroom stall at the college during the day. A very nice, much older lady knocked on the stall door the second time I was pumping to make sure I was okay. Gee, what fun! This excitement was followed by a week of Noyce homework, CREEC newsletter, and another day of work for me for Noyce. Thanks mom for coming down to watch Eleanor while I spent the day at SDSU!! This Friday I have another Nature group meeting and then I should have a couple of weeks that aren't quite so crazy! I am so looking forward to spending time with the girls without having thoughts about my to do list in my head!

Snuggling with Jameson

"I don't want that bottle!"

The girls have been so entertaining lately. Madeline does this adorable thing with "trick or treats" where she flips her stool upside down, pretends that it is full of treats and asks you to choose a flavor. Due to her love of yogurt, Madi usuallly gives you peach, blueberry, or strawberry as choices however Matt has been getting her to add in cherry as a choice since that is his favorite. Once you pick your pretend treat, Madi tells you to wait to eat it and that "you have to blow because it is hot." Somehow she entertains herself with this activity for at least an hour every day. The dogs can't figure out why Madeline keeps putting empty bowls in front of them and tells them to eat when there is nothing to eat :) Madi also has decided that the zipper on her tootsie pajamas bugs her, she tends to look like Freddy Mercury each night when she gets ready for bed. I love it! She sings all of the time, making up her own songs about whatever we are doing at the time.  It is so fabulous to see Madeline's imagination growing, I hope we can keep nurturing her sense of play.
Eleanor is super awake now. She is sleeping wonderfully at night. Usually 5 hours and then 4 hours waking up at 6:30 for the morning. We get lots of smiles and Ella likes to watch the colors on the tv, the ceiling fan and the tree outside. She is super chunky, still wants to eat every two hours or so and she is starting to enjoy spending time on her playmat!

Watching Dora with Madeline

A thirty minute nap

Smiling at the play mat star

First nap in the crib! It was only 35 minutes, but that is still progress!

Madi as Freddy Mercury

Sisters (whether they are happy about it or not)