Thursday

Thursdays are one of the days that Madeleine goes to preschool. I've been soooo impressed with all the cute stuff she's been doing and learning. They're only in the third week and already she's used: scissors, markers, crayons, paints, finger paints, tape and glue! :) Of course, she loves it!! She's learning to cut on a straight line and color in the lines. Today they did a thumb paint picture where they just used finger paints on their thumbs. They have Movement Class (like indoor P.E.) on Thursdays and Music Class on Tuesdays. She'll even have a Christmas program in December. She just finished a unit on "I am special" and here are some of the pictures she did.....

Learning to color in the lines/Bible Story

A picture of their school

Her sweet handprints Painting!
Her favorite project so far.... This afternoon after school, Madeleine was playing quietly in her room. I went to check on them and this is what I found -- she was trying to dress up Harrison!
He didn't seem to happy about it, but I guess that's just part of being younger. :)
Later, we went to Walmart to buy Madeleine a new carseat, so Harrison could have her old one (he's surpassed the weight limit on his). While I was putting it together, Madeleine was playing with -- what else -- the box. I look up and saw this......Harrison paying her back for putting a bow in his hair! Hehehehe.
Yep, she was pretty much stuck in there, under a hefty boy. :)
All in all, just a typical day at the Wilson House!

Harrison is 9 months old!

Saturday Harrison was nine months old! Yikes -- we're almost to one year. He can do SO MUCH right now! He's into everything and curious about everything. Everytime I pick him up he cranes his neck to see all the stuff that's too high for him to reach! Here are some of the things he can do:
* He can pull up and cruise around on the furniture
* He LOVES "real" food and won't each much baby food anymore
* His favorite foods are Fruit Loops, sweet potatos, Cheese-It Stix, corn, applesauce
* He can drink from a sippy cup & loves his apple juice
* He's picky about the texture of the food he eats & doesn't like anything slimey (like his mom!)
* He's got 5 (almost 6) teeth!
* He loves for us to hold his hands and let him walk
* His new favorite thing to do is pull the carbon monoxide detector out of the wall and listen to the ear-blowing screach! (Don't worry, I'm keeping stuff in front of it!)
* He's also found the toilet -- and the water in it! If someone forgets to put the lid down or close the door, he'll be in there in a flash, splashing in the water! :) This is especially gross, since Madeleine often forgets to flush -- GROSS! Harrison has had MANY, MANY hand baths lately!
* He loves to laugh and will laugh so easily at just about anything
* He adores Madeleine. He's so fussy the times she's at preschool and so happy when she's home
* His favorite "game" is to bounce up and down on my knees
* He can now climb stairs!
* He still has his dimples -- hurray!
* And, finally.......yesterday he said "ma-ma!" Yes, the real deal. After dinner I went to get him from his chair and he looked up at me and held up his hands and said "ma-ma." It was perfect! It just melted my heart! Matt said -- he just said "mama" to you! I've been training him for months to say it and finally it happened! Oh, how I love that word. It's the most precious.

His new favorite pasttime!

Mommy and Harrison

Checking things out and smiling for the camera :)

The Stars At Night Are Big and Bright.....

Deep in the Heart of Texas! Ok, so you can't see the stars where we were, but I had to post this line anyway.
This past weekend, Madeleine, Harrison and I went with my mom & dad to Houston. We flew down Thursday and came home late, late Sunday night. We started our trip with a visit to Matt's school to say goodbye and have breakfast with him. Although he was sad to see us go, it meant a weekend of getting sooooo much done without any distractions!


Then, we picked up my parents and headed for the airport. Madeleine was SO EXCITED! She couldn't wait to get on the plane and up in the air -- it's all she'd talked about for days. Here she is on the airplane, getting ready to take off.
And here's Harrison. I actually held him during the flight and he did great!

And here's Madeleine about 60 seconds after takeoff. She kept saying she was tired and could she close her eyes. I made her stay awake until we got off the ground, but she was asleep before we even reached the clouds! Ha! She woke up just as we reached the gate in Houston and Harrison did the same thing! Do I have great kids or what? :)
Our first stop was 59 Diner -- one of our favorite places when we lived there. Madeleine and Grandad had a "milkshape."
Yummy! My Madeleine LOVES her ice cream -- just like her daddy!
Harrison had cheerios and seemed a little upset that he can't have milk yet.

Our next stop was, of course, the mall where Madeleine found a little potty "just her size." I think it was one of the highlights of the trip for her. It doesn't take much at this age to amuse.

The mall had this amazing indoor playplace for kids. It's a one-way-in and one-way-out center with a security guard. Although timid at first, Madeleine quickly warmed up and had a blast! She climbed, slid, jumped, etc.

Here's a better view. I wish we had one of these in LR! I also found my new favorite kids store here! We wandered into a store called Crazy 8 that looked cute and found out it happened to be their first day. I remarked how much they looked like Gymboree, which I LOVE, and they said that the store is a division of Gymboree, only less expensive. They have the cutest clothes! Check out their website at www.crazy8.com. I actually went back to the mall to get more for the kids on Saturday.

Harrison had fun at the playplace as well. Look at him! He thinks he sooooo BIG!

Later that day we rode the carousel -- several times! Look at that smile -- she's having such fun.

Here's Harrison in the hotel. The kids did so amazing on the trip. It's never easy to travel with little ones, but mine were just angels. They were so sweet to each other and everyone we met.
Sunday we went to our former church. It was their 50th Anniversary celebration and it was great! Dad taught class and then they had Starbucks coffee and sweets for everyone in their courtyard. Then we had worship which was just wonderful. They said they had planned for 850, but ended up having over 1100. It was so special to see folks I haven't seen in years and let them meet my babies. It's strange to go back to places in your past. It's always nice to pause and take a walk down memory lane. It was good for me to see friends that knew me before I was both "wife" and "mommy." During church I took Harrison out to walk him around and get him to sleep. I couldn't help thinking as I walked the familiar halls, how much of who I am today is tied to that place, and those people. My youth group there was truly and extension of my family -- the first place (away from home) I felt like I could be just me and KNOW that I would still be liked and loved. They gave me confidence and helped mold me into the person I am now. It was there that I became a Christian, learned to drive a standard. It was the first place I took my very first car (a sporty red thing) and where I met my first love. It was where I made friends that still hold a very dear spot in my heart, even though I rarely see them. So it was very special to be back there.

Madeleine and Harrison had some fun playing in the nursery before we had to leave. They actually had those boat toys when I was there! :)

Sunday after church we headed back to the airport. Here's Madeleine watching for our plane.
And getting impatient about getting on!
We learned that now we really do have to buckle Harrison in the stroller. This is what he can do if we don't!
Both kids did great on the way back. Madeleine loved watching the lights out the window and Harrison slept again. Perfect! All in all, it was an amazing trip. I'm ever grateful to my mom and dad for letting us tag along and helping with the kids. I know I could NEVER have done this alone!

Cracking Up

Harrison has found a new favorite thing to do.... he LOVES bathtime! As soon as the water starts running he crawls right in there and waits. He will squeal and laugh the entire time. After he gets out he'll turn and head right back in to watch Madeleine. I caught them in there together this past week...

After 3 months of going without her paci, Madeleine is back on the wagon. Maybe we're terrible parents, but I've just decided that it wasn't time for her to give it up -- or maybe in my state of sleep deprivation, I've totally LOST IT! 3 months ago we told the paci bye-bye and, unfortunately, along with the paci went our sweet, little happy sleeper. We've had 3 months of fighting over going to bed, going to sleep, staying asleep, staying in her bed, so finally I said enough! I'm pretty much on my own 6 nights a week since Matt really has to have an entire night of sleep on his schedule (including Friday nights since he often has a Saturday class). Since he gets up a little after 5:00, there hasn't been much sleeping going on for me lately. :( So, Thursday night I asked her if she would go to bed and stay in her bed if I gave her back the paci and fuzz. (If you didn't know -- Madeleine has fuzz that she rubbs along her face around her paci to sooth and go to sleep. You just can't have one without the other!) She said "YES!!!!!" I gave it to her and now she's happy and sleeping well. So is mommy. I figure that in time, she'll get rid of it in her own way. Here are some pictures of Madeleine and Daddy reading before bed. Her new favorite book is Horton Hatches an Egg and she can quote pages from it (12 lines per page). Of course, we think she's pretty smart -- because she is!!!

First Day of Preschool!

Last night I said a prayer, one that many parents I'm sure have said, one that in many ways I wasn't prepared to say. I prayed that God would send my little girl a friend. That HE would watch over her, since for the first time, she would be away from me/family/church friends, and in the care of someone else. Yes, today was her first day of preschool. I know that it shouldn't be a big deal. I've been really, really looking forward to this day for a loooooong time. It's good for her. It's gonna be good for me. But, still it is a big change for our house. We've been on a waiting list for the ONLY preschool (not daycare) in cabot since January and we got the call last week that we're in and school starts today! Yikes. So, we spent the weekend scrambling to get all the stuff she needs -- they actually have a supply list-- and prep her for the big day.

She was excited! She came in our room at 4:15 this morning wide awake and never went back to sleep. She got dressed in record time, and after lots of picture taking to document this day, we were on our way. We met her teacher and she's so nice and Madeleine seemed comfortable. Then it was time for me to go. She got a little teary, but did OK. Driving away with just Harrison it seemed like something was missing. I got home and almost didn't know what to do. I spent such a large portion of my day keeping tabs on her (and what she's into!) that it felt so strange to just get my work done. I watched the clock all morning, waiting until the moment I could go get her. Funny. I couldn't wait to have some time with just Harrison and time to get "stuff" done; I guess it's just gonna take some time to find a new routine.

However, Madeleine had a blast. I think her favorite part had to be the "little" potty they had -- "just her size" as she put it. She also got to have chocolate cookies for snack and next week they start music and movement classes. So, I'm sure she's going to have a BLAST!!!!!