Absolutely Adorable

Ok, a quick post tonight, but I have to put write this down so I don't forget it! We were driving the other day (all 4 of us) and a very loud car drove by. Emma said "oh my goodness. You guys, everybody ok?" It was the funniest thing! It reminded me of the other day when we were playing on the driveway and a car drove by. Emma said "mama, lookout be careful." Madison replied with "yes, mummy, careful pease!" I have such caring girls!

Emma has a boyfriend!

Ok, so some of you know that when Emma was 6-months old we took her to emergency in Ottawa after she rolled off a bed. She was fine, and while we were waiting, she met Lance, the 17-month-old boy who gave her kisses all night (Maddie was at gradma and grandpa's house, or else she would have gotten the kisses too)! I think it's funny that his name was Lance - very knight-in-shinning-armour if you go for that sort of thing! Well, at 2, Lance is long gone, and her new boyfriend is Rhett, or, if you are Emma, Whetsy Whetsy as she calls him. Julie cut the bushes in her backyard and she left the bushes on the ground before clearing them. Rhett, who is 3 (an older guy lol) said "Emma, want to walk in the woods?" The woods being the bushes in the backyard. Emma said "yes, we walk in the woods." They held hands and walked through the "woods" together. If you ask Emma if Rhett is her boyfriend she said "yes, Whetsy boyfend." AWWWWW! They get along very well because they are pretty much at the same level vocabulary wise so they communicate well. Maddie sometimes tags along, apparently Emma will say "Maddie come too" but she usually likes to keep Rhett to herself while Maddie hangs out with Zoe or Julie.

I should also mention that all weekend both girls were asking to go to Julie's! Maddie would say "go Julie's now?" No Mads, you are stuck with Mummy until Monday! They love it there and they learn so much. They can both say where they live, Emma can say my cell phone number. Their vocabulary gets better everyday and they are such happy kids!

How do you spell stubborn? M-a-d-i-s-o-n

So, little Maddie may be small in size but she makes up for it in will! This little peanut is as stubborn as a mule (or as stuborn as her mother used to be)! I have already written about her only drinking from a blue bottle. She refuses to drink from anything else. If you bring her a different coloured bottle, she will purse her lips together, throw the bottle on the ground and throw a mini tantrum. She has now decided that she doesn't want the soother with the brown nipple, she will only take the clear one. She only wants specific coloured socks and she will only wear certain t-shirts. She will only eat purple lollipops unless Emma has a red one. If Emma has a red one, Madison will throw her purple lollipop on the ground and demand a red one too. Sigh she is lucky she's cute.

We had a great weekend - the weather was nice. We went to the park and Emma sat in the swing and said "look at me everybody!" She climbed up the big kid stairs through the big kid tunnel and down the big kid spiral slide all by herself (with John at the bottom of the slide just in case). Madison wanted to do it too, but she couldn't get up the tunnel herself, so I had to go with her (and it is not as easy as it looks). Then she somehow turned on her way down the spiral slide and ended up going head first. John was at the bottom thank goodness, but she was a bit scared, so she stuck to the little kids slide. It's tough getting them to leave the park and getting them inside the house after playing outside. They love to be outside, especially Emma. When a loud car drives by Emma yells "lookout Mama, be careful!" Their vocabulary continues to amaze me. Madison actually says a lot more than we give her credit for, she just doesn't say it as clearly as Emma, so you have to listen for it. Emma strings multiple sentences together and sometimes I am struck by what a little lady she is. I am not nostalgic for my baby girl (they will always be my babies) as I adore this age. While they do have tantrums, they are not that bad. But we are holding our breath for the terrible twos that just might come when they turn three!

Maddie's Hearing Test

Madison had her hearing test yeterday and she passed with flying colours! Her hearing is perfect. They tested her because she was a preemie and because of John's hearing. She was amazing at the appointment. John took Emma for a drive while I hung out with Mads in the waiting room. She went right over to one of the toys and started playing. Every once in awhile she would look up at me with this really sweet smile. It's like she was trying to hide the smile, it was shy and special. When they called us into the appointment the doctor said "Hi Madison, my name is Mary and I will be checking your ears today." Maddie said "hi Mary, here ears."! They stuck something in both ears and she didn't even flinch. Then they took us in a room where different sounds went off and she had to turn towards them. When she turned towards the sound, a light would shine on a puppet. My job was to not speak but to make sure her head turned back to the middle after she looked at the lights/puppet. She finished the test in 20 minutes, and usually it takes an hour because the toddlers are not cooperative. The doctor said she has never seen someone so well-behaved! Yay Maddie!

We went outside to wait for John as it was a beautiful day. We counted birds and airplanes and ran up and down the driveway. When we got into the van Emma said "oh my goodness, Maddie, you ok?" We said that yes, Maddie is ok. And Emma said "Maddie doctor, you ok?" She must have asked Maddie the entire way home if she is ok! So cute. She is always concerned about her sister!

Today we went to Peyton's birthday party. Emma didn't nap, so ten minutes before getting to Cindy's house, she falls asleep! She didn't even wake up when we got to the party. So I took Maddie in while Emma slept in the car and John waited with her. He woke her up shortly after and she came into the party. She was really well-behaved surprisingly. I think there were a lot of toys and kids to distract her. She had a meltdown as we were leaving to go home because she didn't want to leave. They are now sound asleep after a great couple of days!

Mad-chu

In case you are wondering, Mad-chu is what Emma said to me this morning, which translates to "mad at you!" I always tell the girls to use their words instead of whining, crying, screaming or yelling. I give them examples by saying "if you are mad at mummy, say, mummy I am angry, or mummy I am mad at you..." Well, I guess my teaching is paying off so to speak because this morning, at daycare drop Emma told me she was mad at me. When I drop them at Julie's, they walk to the house from the van, but with the warm weather, it's more of a saunter, a lollygag, a stop-and-examine-every-rock walk to the house. This morning, Emma would not go inside. I had to go to work, so I said "Emma, you either walk to the house now, or Mummy is going to go over and pick you up. You choose." She said "I no go house." So I said "ok, I am coming to pick you up." She started to run away from me (picture me chasing her in my work clothes, high heels and all). I finally caught up to her, and of course, Madison, who was in the doorway of the house, comes over to rescue her sister. So now I have Emma going limp in my arms, so I throw her over my shoulder, and Maddie trying to pull her out of my arms. I finally get them into the house. Emma runs right over to see Rhett, who is 3 and she calls him Rhetsy. Every morning they give me lot's of kisses and hugs when I leave. Maddie gave me a kiss and hug but Emma wouldn't come over. I finally said "ok, I am going now, but I am sad as I didn't get my hug and kiss from Emma." So, she comes over, but turns her head when I go to kiss her. I say "no kiss for me?" She says "no." I say why? She says "madchu." Huh? I ask her to say it again and she says "madchu." I finally decipher that she is mad at me. I say "Emma, are you mad at mummy?" to which she responds "yes." I then say "ok, can you be mad at me but still give me a kiss bye-bye?" She nods, gives me a kiss and a hug.

Julie took the girls to the park yesterday and there were some older kids there. Julie told me how good Emma is at standing up for her and her sister. She would say "Emma turn, Maddie turn." And when the other kids would bud, she would say "no, Maddie turn now." Maddie is a little more passive. She may have to fight harder due to her size, but I have no doubt she will do it, as she does it when she really wants something.

Madison has her hearing test on Friday. Nothing to be concerned about, it's all part of the follow-up appointments as she was a preemie. John is taking the day off too and we are going to enjoy the afternoon after she is finished. Wish us luck that everything turns out fine!

Grumpy Girls!

Today was a day of grumpy girls! Not sure what the deal was, as they slept over 12 hours last night and had a 2 hour nap this afternoon. I think it was sort of a boring day. We usually do errands on the weekends and we had planned to take them outside, but it was quite cold today and their snowpants are at Julie's house. So we played in the playroom, upstairs and watched a movie, but they seemed tired and cranky. We had a lot of time outs today. Emma and Madison would fight over toys, and end up pushing or hitting one another. At one point I pulled Emma away from Madison and she said "Mummy, no pushing" to which I sheepishly replied "actually, I pulled you, I didn't push!" During their bath, Emma hit Madison on the head. I didn't put her in time out, which I normally do, so I just said in a firm voice "Emma, no hitting, we do not hit." She was mad at me and she took a cup of water and threw it at me! I pulled her out of the bath, threw a towel around her and put her against the wall for time out. She sat there with shampoo still in her hair, soaking wet and staring at me like she was shocked that I actually pulled her out of the bath for a time out. She seemed sad too, and when her time out was over she said "sowwy mummy, no do it" meaning she won't do it again.

One cute thing I need to mention is Emma now calls Maddie "Mads" which is the nickname John and I have for her. At first I didn't realize what she was saying. I thought she was telling me she was mad, but I realized she was calling for her sister, "Mads!"

First Time Apart!

So today the girls experienced their first time apart ever. I had plans to go shopping with my friend Tina after school. The plan was to bring the girls along, so Tina could see them and so we could head home straight from the mall. When I got to Julie's, Emma was ready but Maddie was sound asleep. Julie went to wake her (I could see her sleeping away on the couch) and she opened her eyes, looked at us and then went right back to sleep. Julie suggested I leave Mads to sleep, so Emma and I went shopping. As we were leaving Julie's, Emma realized Maddie wasn't coming and she said "Maddie, wake up, hafta come." I explained that we were going shopping and we would get Maddie later, after she wakes from her nap. As we drove to the mall, Emma asked over and over (and over and over) "where Maddie?" "Maddie coming?" "Maddie, where r u?" When we got to the mall she was distracted, but she still asked. When she couldn't see Tina, she would aske "where Tina?" After our shopping trip we went to pick up Maddie. She was fine and Julie said she asked twice "where Emma?" and that was it. It was sort of nice to spend time with Emma by herself. I am going to do the same with Maddie.

We met with a potential daycare provider for the summer. I want to put the girls in daycare for 2 days a week throughout July and August, to give myself a break. A friend of mine said Tuesdays and Thursdays will become my islands of relaxation! We found a wonderful lady who has an amazing set-up in her house. We haven't made a decision yet, but we are definately leaning towards her. When we went to visit her, the girls didn't want to leave! She has every toy imaginable and she has two cats! On the way home from the visit, the girls kept asking to see the cats again. They called the cats Odie and Lola, after my parents and sister's cats. One of her cats is actually named Lola coincidentally and the other one is Oscar. So the drive home was "more Oscar, more Loler." Too cute!

Poor Maddie

Little Maddie May is sick. Monday night she was crying at around 10 p.m. It wasn't a whimper, it was a full blown, heartbreaking kind of cry. John and I went in, and Emma was woken up so she started crying (she does this when she is woken suddenly, it takes her a few minutes to realize where she is I think). So John soothed Emma, who went back to sleep pretty quickly. I picked Madison up and she felt hot, but I figured it was because she was crying. I changed her into some cooler pyjamas, rubbed her back and told her to go back to sleep. She did, thankfully. The next morning she seemed fine, but at lunch Julie called the school to let me know she had a fever and that she was giving her some tylenol. She said that Madison had been acting normally, and Emma is the cranky one (due to her sleep being interrupted - that little girl loves her sleep)! Maddie is on the mend, but has been a bit crankier today. She threw a bunch of tantrums when I took away her rocks (the rocks she gets from Julie's garden and then bangs on our floor)! She loves her rocks and when I took them away she screamed "my wock, want my wock, gimme wock." I explained that I took them away because she is banging them on the floor and we don't want the floor to break. She tried to bite my leg in anger, so she went to time out. Of course, when Maddie is sitting in time out, Emma goes over too! She screamed when it was bath time. She didn't want in so I put her in her jammies. She didn't want her jammies, she wanted to go in the bath. Oh Mads, make up your mind! Finally she did a quick splash in the bath and calmed down a bit during her bottle. She seemed ready to go to bed and went up without fuss.

Both girls love to be outside and they love to walk everywhere "on own." They walk from the van to Julie's house, and Emma often takes the roundabout route to the front door as she stops to examine every pine cone, rock and piece of earth. I have to coax her into the house before I end up late for work! It's lovely to watch though and it makes one think of all the things we sort of take for granted and don't appreciate as much anymore! Through the eyes of a child, right? So true!

Want Pop Now!

It's been awhile since I have posted! Sorry to those who look forward to this everyday and have been asking me to post! LOL! I am taking a course and that in combination with taking care of the girls and my job is keeping me very busy. The girls continue to be amazing as always. They are so funny these days. It seems every day they are saying something new. Today Emma said "3 points Calderone" for the basketball player. She learns all about basketball and hockey at daycare, much to John's delight. Maddie and Emma both say "how bout dis?" when they are asking what's this? So they point to different objects they want to know the name's of and say "how bout dis?, how bout dis?" John and I constantly ask Emma where things are because we love to hear her say "wight dere, wight dere." So funny!

Today Miss Maddie fell asleep on the drive home. So cute and peaceful. But then she wasn't in the best mood for the rest of the night. She can be very quiet, compared to Miss Chatterbox Emma. I find with Maddie, everything she does is on her terms. She talks when she wants to, she eats when she wants to and she only cuddles when she wants to, not when you ask. Whereas Emma will readily give a kiss and a hug if you ask for one. Emma is definately more cuddly than Maddie at this age, so we have to hold on to Maddie when she does indeed feel like it.

I have a funny daycare story about both girls. Julie said to me that Emma was really upset the other day and kept saying 'me sausage, me sausage." Julie couldn't understand why she was so sad and so she figured Emma really wanted a sausage, so she went to the freezer, took out a package of frozen sausages and said "is this what you want?" Emma cried "no, me sausage." We almost peed ourselves laughing when I told her that she wants to be wrapped in her blanket like a sausage, which is what we call it! Julie said "no wonder she was dragging the blanket with her while she said it." So now Julie knows to wrap Emma in her blanket "like a sausage!"

Maddie had a similar story. She kept asking for pop. "Want pop pease Auntie Jooly." So Julie gave her a water bottle, which we call pop (some day they will be wise to our tricks, but until then, we call it pop and juice, but really it's water). She threw the bottle on the ground and said "want pop now!" I later explained that pop is what they call lollipops! These girls need to come with their own translators!

Madison is eating like a champ these days. She practically ate an entire roast chicken leg by herself the other night. She kept asking for more and I even checked under her chair to make sure she wasn't dropping it. Nope, she was eating it! She loves chicken with dip (sauce)!

Tomorrow we are checking out a few daycare places in hopes of finding a suitable place for them to go to in the summer. Wish us luck!