O Christmas Tree

We are a little behind in updating the blog. That's what going back to work does!

While Chris and I had dreams of taking Maddy and Annie to a Christmas tree farm outside the city, we realized this was not going to be practical. First- because our daughter falls asleep about 2 blocks from the house when she's in the car. Second- it was cold. Third- we were tired.

So instead, we chose a lovely lot that brings trees from a Christmas tree farm outside the city.  Almost the same thing. Except J&S Tree farm cut it and hauled it an hour into town and then bundled it for us. Basically, the saw was in Maddy's hands.

We did this on Thanksgiving weekend which means decorations went up with the ND- USC game. Joy all around.

"We're putting a tree in our house? Interesting. "

Picking just the right tree with Daddy. 

The only warm one in the picture is Chris. 

Snuggling close for warmth!

Working on our 'Go Irish!" Not quite there yet. 

"What is going on?"

Helping Daddy put the angel on top. 

Maddy's 1st Blast of Winter

We do not know how much snow that our little one was really exposed to in China last year, but she had a great day staring out the window watching the white stuff pile up.  As with her 1st meeting with Annie, it took some time to warm up to the real thing.

It was a big weekend for Maddy. In addition to the first big snowfall of the year, she survived two days alone with dad.  Friday night we went out for a BBQ dinner date, just the two of us.  She can already  tell how much the BBQ sucks up here and decided that she would only eat the Oreo's that came with kids meals.  Yep, dinner = 4 Oreo Cookies.  When asked why I allowed this to happen the answer was simple.  She was calm and sat at the table while I devoured ribs, pulled pork and a beer.  No question this was a good decision. Would do it again without question or pause. When I get her to some KC joints (OK Joes, Gates) she can chew on paper towels for all I care, so long as I get to finish my food (yes, very fatherly, I know...still catching up).

Saturday was uneventful.  Slept in and lounged.  I have never had so much imaginary drinks of tea.  If only the pretend-stuff made you feel full.  We channel-surfed to find some cartoons and came upon that SpongeBob jack-a$$.  That lasted for five minutes and then I had to change the channel.  Someone should douse him in gasoline and light a match. That would make for a good final episode of that wretched show.

Sunday was the real excitement with the snowfall.  Below are some pics. Despite the 'stone-face' that she displays to the camera, she is actually very happy and giggly most of the time.

Its Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas:

Yep, that is Annie in mid-air almost at my head height. Excited much?

What, is that my outhouse? You think I could even think about shedding the 18 layers of clothing into which I was just stuffed?

Enough already with the camera! This sucks bad enough as it is.

Wipe the grin off your face...I am cold and this white stuff keeps falling from the sky directly into my eyes.

Yep, 7 hours later and still snowing. 

I know how I feel about snow....GREAT.

Maybe this is ok, but now your eyes are closed, pops.

Wide angle - snow is everywhere! Cool shot of the trees in the background.

Getting more curious...

OK, now dad just threw a snowball at mom and they handed me one to throw.   I could learn to like this stuff <<"you better, you live in Minnesota now">>

Full of Thanks (& Cookies)

The day started at 52ºF and ended at 16º and snowing.  That's Minnesota for you. Luckily, I did think ahead and get my Christmas garlands and lights out before the winds of change swept in.

Chris operated most of Thanksgiving day which left Maddy and I together for most of her first Thanksgiving. We used our culinary skills to make a turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. Stovetop supplied the stuffing (Chris's favorite) and the McCue's supplied the pie. Maddy was not impressed by the sides but the turkey, pie and plenty of cookies from Nana Sharon went down easily.

Maddy & I sang lots of Christmas songs and she opened her first Christmas present. Not her first one this year. Her first. Ever. Before you get misty-eyed, realizing she's 2 and just now opening a present, take heart- she will not lack in this department for long. She got the hang of ripping wrapping paper within the first few swipes and I have a feeling she will have a lot to practice on this Christmas. We were able to FaceTime with our families and Maddy even drew her Christmas buddy name with her Roark cousins. Since Maddy's "shopping" consists of trying to grab every toy on a shelf, cousin Mia could have a very good Christmas!

Presents from Nana Sharon arrived on Wednesday- cookies, ornaments and coloring books!

Cookie Monster

"More, more!"

Just hangin' out, eating cookies and listening to my cousins read to me. 

This isn't my usual oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast...

...but it is delicious! Cinnamon rolls are yummy!

Watching the Rockettes and Macy's Parade

This is just after a veggie burger and yogurt. Holidays are tiring. 

Choosing my Christmas Buddy. 

"Mia, I got you!"

Facetiming with my crazy cousins

"Let me start my list, Heidi."

Trying out the turkey. "It's a little dry, Mom." 

Celebrating Thanksgiving with my girl. My favorite part a big "May-Men" at the end of our prayers!

Maddy's first Christmas present. In keeping with the family tradition, we opened our  Mineart Christmas present on Thanksgiving.  Thanks for the pink blocks, cousin Julia!

First Snow

Two posts in 1 day. Evidence that Chris put the girl to bed tonight.

I would be remiss if I didn't show Maddy's first snow. It was light but it did cover the ground and her trike (which her legs can't reach but she likes to be pushed on). She was not sure what to make of the stuff. We are hoping for some real snow this year so she (and Annie) can have some fun!

And yes, I did put mittens on her but she immediately took them off so she could touch the snow. I personally appreciate how she held onto her cheerios. It's always important to have snacks when heading into weather. 

One Month Home

Tomorrow is our anniversary of being home one month with our sweet girl. It's appropriate that it is the day before Thanksgiving as we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We have wonderful families and great friends and we have been blessed with an amazing daughter who amazes (and exhausts) us every day.

The past month has been an intense learning experience for each of us. Maddy has been adjusting to her new life and her parents the same. Sometimes it's hard to see the changes on a day to day basis but just before this post I was working on a life book and collage for Maddy and uploading pictures from Gotcha Day forward. The pictures from Gotcha day show a shut down and scared little girl. That's not the girl I see everyday now. The girl we have at home claps her hands when her daddy walks in the door, gives the food she doesn't like to her dog and gives her mama hugs. She continues to be cautious when exploring new things (like snow) and places (playground) but she is curious about the world around her. Such small things such as a leaf on our walk make her smile. It's been a gift to be at home with her these past weeks and watch her begin to blossom.

Maddy is working on learning to jump and climb stairs. She has the stairs down if they are shallow enough- her little legs just can't reach up most stairs!  Her English is slowly coming- the pronunciation is poor but we can hear some of it such as 'night-night' and 'shoe'. Today's word of the day was "gorilla" which sounds like 'rilla' from her and in southeast Kansas is actually part of a cheer. She learned this from reading Nonnie's "JR Goes to School" book in which the main character is a PSU gorilla.

Chris and I have been focusing on attachment. Maddy showed some attachment confusion after arriving home so we've had to adjust some things. This is leading us to have low key holidays with our families staying home in Kansas. As I was feeling sad about this my mother-in-law said some words of wisdom (that's right, Sharon- WISDOM!) "Your holidays are going to be wonderful because you have your little girl with you and that's all you need". She's exactly right.

And a few fun pictures around the house...

"Ready for some ice fishing, eh? "

"You're kidding about this gear, right?"

I'm not ready to commit, Dad... 

But I am fabulous. 

What day isn't better with leopard print pjs and a tutu?

Just your average Friday with a 2 year old who won't get out of her pjs with the tutu unless another is offered. 

If one is wearing a tutu, clearly Starbucks is the destination of choice.
" Seriously Mom, why aren't you more dressed up?" 

I like boxes. 

A Tale of Two Meals

The wine was excellent. It was from a California vineyard of which we had never heard but was certainly good. Luckily we had planned ahead and taken a cab to Tilia in Linden Hills.  Why not? Left at 6p knowing we would wait for close to three hours for a table. We strolled the streets near Lake Harriet and looked at homes we probably could not afford. It was early September so long sleeves worked perfectly.  Adults were gathered on the sidewalk outside. Laughing. Drinking. Joking about the length of the wait and how "I am sure they failed the last health inspection so you should all just get out of line and go next door."

When we finally sat down the waitress convinced us that several things would be a grand idea.
1. More wine. We didn't drive anyway
2. Escargot. Huh? Made of what? HUH? -- well, ok
3. Eat in several courses. The place didn't close for hours and it was Saturday
4. Dessert? Yes please. One of each.
5. Oh, and another thing...more wine.

_________________

Whoa! It is already 545p. The clock is ticking. Yep, there is a TGI Fridays just three blocks away so step on it. Good, a table with a buffer zone in case some food flies off the table. Quick, get an appetizer because it will get here FAST and serve as a distraction.

You know what you want? NO. Figure it out. Move move move. Speed speed speed. Get me whatever. A piece of meat and a vegetable. Better also get some fries in case we get something that we don't like.

Drink? Yes I will have a Sam Adams Seasonal.  Macaroni finally arrives (after maybe 7 minutes). SOUPS ON!!! Go go go. Oops, didn't like that piece so it is now on the floor along with another handful. Mandarin orange slices? Try little orange ninja stars good only for nearly hitting fellow diners.

Here you go. Fork full of cheese sauce. Let me wipe it on your pants. Feed feed feed. Now quickly eat eat eat the random piece of meat on your plate. Time to go! We should cry about it!

AAhhh, there is half a beer sitting right on th.....mmmmmmm, shotgunned it as we bolted for the door. Nothing but a trail of biodegradable litter in our wake.  We had only walked in the doors 40 minutes prior.


Can you guess which meal we had with Maddy?

Didn't think so. Nothing changed in my life.

will try to update on a more regular basis,

c



PS - Went to a medical appointment. Almost left with another toy. Voluntarily put it down. Progress.

PPS - See video below. Progress - R E V E R S E D because that thing you see on my child's head...is not clean.

So... how are things going?

We've been getting this a lot over the past week. Well, we are doing ok. Our little family is working on figuring this whole "life with a toddler" thing out. It's a little rough at times ( 'how can you not need a nap, Maddy?!' or "stop barking, Annie!) but overall we're all getting used to each other. Maddy is sleeping much better at night. She is eating well- even some fruits and veggies sneak in- and over the last week has started using utensils on her own. 

Chris went back to work on Monday. It was hard for Daddy to leave his girl and hard for all of his girls to not have him around. Maddy and I went on some adventures this week- we visited a pumpkin patch and played in the corn pit, met Jonas and Vivian Rasmusson (and Mr. Matt) for playtime and went to storytime at Barnes and Noble. Maddy is a busy girl and keeping her engaged and active is quite a task. As she becomes more comfortable in our life ( she is chasing Annie with a teacup and her baby stroller as I speak so I think we're getting there) she will start a music class and maybe gym or swim class. The swim class is prompted by her favorite toy- Annie's waterbowl.

My overall thoughts thus far: a day in the ICU less exhausting than a day with a 2 year old- my patients are intubated and sedated, not trying to stick their hands in stoves. 

A few pictures from our week:

Playing in the corn pit. Shoveling and dumping- super fun!

I'm not sure what this is, but it's fun! 

Halloween 2012. "Come get me!"

Painting our pumpkins.

My favorite outfit.

Maddy handed out candy this year instead of trick or treating.  And I use "handed out candy" loosely. She wanted to keep it all and kept trying to take it back from the kids.
We decided it was  a little too soon to stick her  in a costume, walk around in the dark and see monsters without being able to explain it.

Dad, I am not a gremlin.