Rainy days

There hasn't been much to do outdoors recently, since it's been raining almost constantly for many days. Madeline has enjoyed watching the rain and mimicking the thunder from the dry confines of the front porch. She also likes putting her hand under the streams of water running off the roof above.

14 months

The time between posts here is getting longer and longer as the rest of our lives grow increasingly busy. But I thought I'd post a few recent pictures today, on Madeline's 14-month birthday. Madeline understands and enjoys silliness now - when stuff happens that doesn't make sense. Pants on the head, for instance.

Ready for the water

Last weekend we bought Madeline's swimsuit for the season. (She had one last year and only wore it a couple times during the week we were at the beach). Lacey hopes to take Madeline to the pool or the river near her family's home often this summer, hopefully to acclimate Madeline to being in and around the water.

She seems to like it so far. Below is a picture from a couple weeks ago that shows Madeline playing on the beach near the Englands' house. Also, yesterday I took Madeline to the Pony Pasture area of the James River in Richmond, and she had a great time. The water was very high as a result of the recent rains, and Madeline was a little upset that she couldn't splash around, but then she found a fun pile of dirt and rocks that kept her occupied.

Anything goes!

Yes, she's wearing her socks on her hands. See what happens when daddy and daughter are left unsupervised for too long?

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Actually, we've had a great week so far. Madeline has been pretty much perfect these last few days - eating all her vegetables, going to bed on time and without a fuss, and generally being pretty happy despite the cold, rainy weather that has kept us mostly indoors. I've enjoyed these few days of being a stay-at-home dad, but I hope next time we get some nicer weather.

Mommy's gone

Imagine Madeline's surprise when we told her that mommy would be gone for four days this week on a business trip to North Carolina. Well, it looked a little like the picture above.

Actually, Madeline has been on her best behavior since Lacey left yesterday afternoon. I took some days off work, so this week is daddy-daughter time. We're having fun so far, and I am a little shocked (happily so) that she's been so good. She has yet to raise her voice, just going with the flow as daddy fumbled through last night's dinner and bath time. She's hit all her nap times and has otherwise been perfect.

I am writing this because I am comfortable with the fact that it will not last. She has to erupt at some point, right? In any case, we're planning to have lots more fun until mommy gets home Thursday night, when we'll clean up all the cookie crumbs and make sure Madeline is in bed at a reasonable hour.

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(And the picture above shows Madeline's reaction to an unexpected noise that came from the farm animals puzzle she was playing with a few days ago. She knows it makes noises but always seems to be surprised when it actually happens. I think she just likes startling herself.)

Easter

Last year, Madeline was little more than a cuddly blob on Easter. Most of our visit to the Englands' house was spent tending to the baby, who was less than a month old. This year was a vastly different story.

As is her wont, Madeline spent most of the time speed-walking about, with no real destination. She happily transversed the yard while everyone else was searching for eggs. She didn't care about finding any treats - she ran past the most obvious eggs (see the photo below), even kicking some out of her way rather than stop to pick them up - but she clearly enjoyed watching all the big people run around and laugh.

She also got an Easter basket full of goodies from Grandma Vera, and she got to wear her Easter dress and her stylish, reticulated coat (courtesy of Aunt Hannah).

Have a seat

This isn't something that's generally included among major developmental milestones, but I have been impressed recently as Madeline has learned to sit. It sounds simple enough, but it was only when she started to do it that I realized she hadn't been doing it before.

Or maybe I should more specifically say that she's learned to sit on things. Rather than just plopping down in the middle of the floor, her sitting has become more targeted and deliberate. For the first time this week I've watched her intentionally approach a chair, turn herself around and back up to it, and sit. She does the same when she wants to sit in my lap when I'm on the floor with her.

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I think it's something about moving backward toward an object - she's been walking for three months now, and it's always been forward. I guess it's like a teenager who's learning to parallel park - it's easy to drive forward, but now she's attempting more complex maneuvers. It's a movement that we execute without thinking, but for her it must be a leap of faith to shift herself backward and trust that she'll end up on the chair.

It's just a blip on the scale of exciting achievements, but something I thought was worth noting.

Sunny afternoons

We've gained a new appreciation for local parks since Madeline has been with us. There's nothing quite like an afternoon spent running around a big, green expanse or having a picnic lunch in a scenic locale. The parks are free and close to home. What more could a kid (and her parents) want? This weekend we spent an afternoon at Richmond's Byrd park, then came home and stopped by the petting zoo at the neighborhood Easter gathering.

Hide and seek

Madeline enjoys playing peekaboo with us from behind the curtain in the kitchen.

A new word

Madeline has reached a new milestone - one that I thought wouldn't be here for another year or so. She's learned to say "no." I thought the frequent and vehement recitation of that word was the basis for the "terrible twos," but at only 13 months she's become very comfortable with it.

At first she simply repeated it after we said it - generally when she was about to mess with something she shouldn't. Then she added the head shake. Now she says it when she knows she's not supposed to be doing something (often she still does it anyway).

The funny thing is that when she knows she's not supposed to be doing something, she seems understanding when we say no and remove her from the situation. She just shakes her head, says "no no" and then carries on with something else. But she is far more likely to throw a tantrum when we take something away from her that she's been allowed to play with previously.

In the video, I had just told her not to play with the alarm clock. She agrees pleasantly and then moves on to something else. The second part of the video is just footage of her running around our house. She gets a kick out of being chased around.