She's Come a Long Way, Baby!

Maudie's swimming lessons wrapped up this week. She's come a long way from the first lesson where she stood in the pool with her hands in her mouth crying for me. I think the problem was the structure of the lesson she wasn't ready for, not the actually swimming. Because a mere 5 lessons later she is swimming by herself (for a few feet) and diving under the water to pick up rings off the bottom.
She was pretty proud of herself when she earned a green wristband and moved to the intermediate class for next time. It was the same accreditation that the 3.5 year old in her class got that was swimming laps around her the first lesson. To top it off she made it thru the semester without pooping in the pool (however she did pee on the deck)! Yeah, Maudie!

Another Last

Well here it is, the long dreaded last day of maternity leave. As I sit here, waiting for my Lean Cuisine Panini to heat in the microwave, I'm looking over to Charlie who is sleeping soundly in his swing. I cant help to get choked up with overwhelming feelings of leaving him tomorrow. Don't get me wrong it's not because of a lack of confidence in our babysitter. She's truly a part of my family & has become a second mother to Maudie. If I want anyone to take care of my kids, it's her.
I'm sad because inevitably we have reached another last in our lives and it is a shocking reminder of how fast moments slip away. And no matter what you have planned and how you expect time to pass, it doesn't always work that way. I'm OK with that. I didn't get all the sewing done that I wanted to, or clean the front closet out, or get Maudie's room painted. However, I did spend many quiet moments together with my little man and those are memories that are more important than scrubbing the dog prints off the floor.
In honor of our last day on Maternity leave, Charlie and I had a little photo session to capture the perfect photo for my desk. We had some fun with one of the 'Mom' tattoos Heather gave Maudie for her birthday and I slicked his hair into a fohawk. I wanted a photo that would make me smile, and these have done it.

Long awaited updates...

Very sadly my summer is coming to an end along with my maternity leave. I haven't had this feeling since grade school when the inevitable change to fall meant early mornings to catch the bus and homework filled evenings. As least then I had a new wardrobe to look forward to. Back to work I will go, badly dressed and missing my babies

.Charlie is still a wonderful baby, however he still isn't sleeping thru the night even in the furthest stretch of the imagination. Last night he went 5 hours, the longest he's ever slept (at night). All that nursing is adding up to a very plump, healthy boy. At his two month exam (Aug 3) he was a whopping 13.3 lbs which put him in 83%, his height as around 60% (approximate due to the fact it's really inaccurate to measure babies) and 75% for his head size. He has surpassed little Madelyn next door who was born a month before him.

We celebrated his baptism last weekend with an incredibly long ceremony at St. John's in Waunakee. After the hour long mass and 45 minute baptism we were all ready for a beer and some of Chris's BBQ. In all seriousness, the baptism was lovely (with the exception of Maudie running wind sprints around the church while the Deacon lectured on discipline). Charlie wore Chris's Christening Suit that he wore almost exactly 32 years prior and was wrapped in a blue blanket given to him by a member of the parish. We chose Michael as Godfather and Godmother duties are split between Sara and my sister-in-law Kim. Godparents comprise of Catholic, Lutheran, and Jewish representatives....we'll get him into heaven somehow.
Chris built Maudie a swing set last week and she is loving it! Some nights she plays until it's dark outside, the other nights it was raining. He did an excellent job building it and anyone who know Chris could not believe it wasn't a kit. The only improvement my Dad made was adding a beer rest.
Lisa gave Maudie a Barbie toy of a bride and groom, complete with crown and veil. She made "Erica and Pete" walk down the aisle and kiss at least 100 times. She also had a good time putting the veil on Charlie and Grandpa.

Scenes of Summer

All these photos were taken around our house in the past week or so. Everthing is so beautiful in full bloom and Mya and Maudie were having fun with the Tiger Lilies. Why is it my daughter that has to get a good smell?
I've been meaning to post about how much I love our new location for a while now. Don't get me wrong, waterfront property on a crystal clear lake would be ideal but being born and raised in the country I appreciate farm land. That is why I adore looking out my bay window or sitting on my deck and watching the winter wheat that was planted in the field this year. There was days when it was young and green that it would catch the breeze and ripple like water. Other days it looked like the softest velvet laid over the rolling hills. As the grains dried they turned the most striking gold, especially in twilight. I found it hypnotic. I was sad when they harvested it this weekend, but Maudie was ecstatic that the farmer waved at her every time he made a pass.

Watch out for the cottage cheese!

Well, today Charlie was injured for the first time at the hand of his sister. We had just left church early because Maudie is about to jump into the baptismal fountain. I decided to make a quick stop at the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some chicken to grill along with the first sweet corn of the summer. I had just put the chicken in the cart and we were perusing through the dairy section. Maudie picks up a large container of cottage cheese and hurls it into the cart. It bounced off Charlie's poor little head and landed in his lap. So, here I am standing in front of the dairy case with Charlie screaming in my arms, Maudie trying to push the cart through the glass doors of the freezers and the teenage empolyee asking me if I'd like to sample the pizza. To make it worse, I tried to bee-line it to the check out and continusouly was getting stopped by little old ladies telling me how precious my little girl was. I was tempted to sell her... for cheap. She did apoligize to Charlie... ALL the way home, at the TOP of her lungs.
In her defense, Maudie has had a trying week. After spending her entire swim lesson crying, I decided that her pacifier is no good for her anymore. At almost 2 1/2 she needs to learn to cope without her beloved Nukkie. In times where she is REALLY jonesing for it, we give her a piece of bubble gum. Hubba Bubble... it's like Nicorette for pacifiers. She is doing well without it, she still gets one at night when she crawls into bed and gives it up as soon as she comes downstairs. She's also doing pretty well with potty training, however we are far from ditching the diaper.