May

It's been a fun and eventful month for us, with a strikingly successful weeklong vacation and the culmination of Madeline's first year of preschool.

For the vacation, we went camping in the woods of western North Carolina for five days before spending another couple days exploring Winston-Salem. Madeline had a great time and was a good sport as we faced chilly temperatures, sleeping in tents, hiking in the mountains and avoiding rainstorms. She's old enough to be a participant in the family vacation, rather than the baby that we pack up and take with us. During the trip she even crossed another state off her highest-point list when we crested N.C.'s highest peak - Mt. Mitchell (she scaled Virginia's Mt. Rogers in 2009).

The camping was much better this time than previous times we've had her in the forest. She loved hiking (most of the time), enjoyed playing around the campsite and even went to bed in the tent with very little trouble. The best part was taking her to see waterfalls. Sometimes we would need to hike through a half-mile or more of bland scenery, and she would become recalcitrant. But when the forest suddenly revealed a crashing waterfall, she was filled with awe and happiness. It was fun to watch that transformation and sit back as she explored the rocks and roots of the trail.

Otherwise, my little girl continues to grow and grow, adding a solid 3/4-inch to her height in the past couple months. She finished up her first year of preschool and will be attending a few 2-week sessions of summer camp over the next three months. We wanted her to remain familiar with the preschool environment, which she has really enjoyed this year. She's made several friends in her class and is looking forward to the summer sessions.

Here are some pictures from the month:
On our vacation, the campsite was right next to a river, where Madeline enjoyed tossing rocks into the water.

During the trip, Madeline got more and more confident about climbing and exploring, and loved checking out the waterfalls.


Madeline was a bit grumpy on the summit of Mt. Mitchell (the highest point in the eastern U.S.). Despite that, Madeline was still the highest person in the eastern U.S. for a couple seconds - with a little assist from Lacey.

The mornings in the N.C. woods were brisk, but Madeline warmed up with oatmeal and hot chocolate (and lots of layers).

Madeline found a new love - rolling down a grassy hill outside the Folk Art Center near Asheville.

Madeline made the almost mile-long ascent up the steep trail to the overlook of Linville Falls all by herself. She was happy to be hiking, and I was very proud. We took this hike on my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for much more than to be out there, hiking with Lacey and Madeline.

Madeline discovered some natural anomaly near our campsite and found it very humorous.

During a stop in Old Salem (in Winston-Salem), Madeline burned off some extra energy by running back and forth to the pole in the distance several times while Lacey and I lounged in the grass.

Back at home, Madeline collected wild strawberries in the back yard.

Madeline surprised me a bit with the rapidity with which she assembled her new 18-piece Dora puzzle, without any help at all.

We continue to spend as much time as possible outside, although it got pretty warm and humid this month.

Madeline flips through her preschool yearbook to find pictures of herself and her friends.

On her last day of preschool, Madeline brought home tons of artwork and a special book given to her from her teachers.

Madeline enjoyed a family cookout at Aunt Amy's house on Memorial Day.

Madeline joined me at Robious Landing Park as we scoped out the site of my upcoming triathlon. Here she gives me an enthusiastic, two-handed wave.

April

Our love of the outdoors turned on us this month, as the crazy pollen drove us indoors with sniffles and sore throats (did you know Richmond is the eighth-worst city for allergy sufferers?). But we spent as much time outside as we could stand, and spent the rest involved in sundry springtime activities (like cleaning).

Madeline had a fun month, and we got to see her interact with her preschool classmates during a pre-Easter class trip to a local playground. Madeline is pretty quiet in class, but usually has a hug and a goodbye for her friends, and plenty of stories to tell about her day as we drive home. It's fun to see those blossoming childhood friendships since Madeline has largely been an at-home kind of kid for the majority of her life. I've seen her get a little nervous around the more rambunctious kids, but also sweetly interacting with others in class or elsewhere.

Here are some pictures from the month:

In addition to planting our own vegetables this year, Madeline enjoyed harvesting some of the natural specimens in the backyard - namely the bunches of onions that sprouted everywhere. She also liked sending them down the sliding board on her new swingset.

That's my daughter, dressed in her fairy outfit - complete with homemade tiara - as she played soccer in the back yard.

Hanging out at Rockwood Park, where we made several trips this month to play on the exercise trail.

We made a stop at the beach near Grandma's house, and Madeline didn't waste any time making herself comfortable in the sand.

Madeline was almost obsessed with pollen this month, never failing to walk past a single, um, pollen conveyor (what are those things called?).
Madeline's preschool class spent a beautiful Friday morning at a local playground for a pre-Easter picnic.

Madeline shows me some of the Easter eggs she helped decorate...

including my favorite, which she made just for me.

I don't know if she has been practicing when I'm not looking, but suddenly Madeline can ride a tricycle like crazy. She loves making laps in the driveway.

March

Spring is in full bloom here as we find ourselves outdoors more and more. We spent three hours this afternoon just playing in the yard together - enjoying her new swingset (see picture below), doing yardwork and just reclining in yard chairs looking at the trees above. Madeline always seems happier when she's outside, and that's generally where I prefer to be, too.

In March we had to do a little readjustment with Madeline's bedtime. I mentioned last month that getting her to stay in bed was becoming an epic battle of wills every night. She would hop out of bed and come looking for us several times a night, for no specific reason. Finally we decided to just put up a baby gate on her door at bedtime, and let her sort herself out. And it seems to have worked astonishingly well. After the first night she was an absolute angel the next day, and now bedtime is much smoother.

Otherwise, Madeline is enjoying life. She loves preschool - which she attends twice a week - and playing outside, as I mentioned above. She also loves reading, and probably spends more time engrossed in books than she does with any other activity. She reads to herself, she reads to her stuffed animals, she reads to her parents and family members. And when she's not reading, she loves being read to. Holding a book seems to be her default state.

Here are some pictures from the month:

Madeline loves making music. To take this picture I had to interrupt our jam session and put down my guitar.

Instead of going all-out and starting a real garden, we're taking baby steps this year and growing some vegetables in pots. Madeline has been very involved in the planting and watering, and is enjoying watching her very own lettuce and carrots grow.

Madeline writes thank-you notes after her big birthday celebration. She's too young to write her alphabet, but gets excited when her doodles happen to look like real letters.

Madeline and I enjoyed a picnic on the back porch on one of the first picnic-worthy days of the year.

Grandma and the Little Gypsy. Madeline wore her nicest party dress to celebrate Papa's birthday, but needed to bundle up before heading to the beach to check out the snails. She might have been mismatched, but she was warm.

One of Madeline's favorite places to sit in the yard is the daffodil/ivy patch.

Madeline was the recipient of a new (to her) playground set this month, thanks to a friend of mine whose son had outgrown it.

The new playground has a very fast slide - it looks like she's about to slide in the photo, but in reality she sat there for about 10 minutes building up the nerve to make her descent. Once she did it, though, she ran back for more.

February

It's a good thing Madeline's officially 3 years old now, because it was becoming harder and harder for me to think of her as a 2-year-old. She's growing so quickly both physically and intellectually that it still surprises me some days.

It's been a month of ups and downs for us as we slogged our way through a couple weeks of sickness but then wrapped up the month with a wonderful birthday party. Madeline's big gift this year was a true big-girl bed and some other new furniture in her room. Now her little space looks much more like a kid's room than a baby's room. She's got a twin bed, a nightstand and even a vanity with a chair where she can spend all the time she wants checking herself out in the mirror (a favorite activity).

And speaking of her favorite activities, it's struck me recently how good she is at entertaining herself around the house. Maybe it's a function of being an only child or not spending a lot of time in preschool or daycare, but she can spend large parts of the day just playing alone - reading to her stuffed animals or taking care of her baby dolls or organizing the ponies in her My Little Pony stable (which belonged to her mother). I guess I should be happy that she's so self-sufficient, but sometimes I kind of miss playing with her as much as I once did. I guess that's part of growing up - she's more and more independent.

Except at bedtime, of course. Bedtime can become an elaborate dance and a test of wills, as Madeline thinks of every ploy in the book to prolong the exercise. She needs water, she needs to go to the potty for the fifth time, she needs kisses and hugs for her animals in the precise order - it goes on and on. I don't think this is anything that's uncommon, but it can be a struggle nonetheless.

Here are some pictures from the month:


Madeline is getting bigger and bigger - she can completely dress herself and loves seeing how high she can jump.

We took a trip to a (sort of) local park on a brisk day this month. It was chilly as we hiked around the lake. . .

but it was much warmer inside the park's nature center, where Madeline was entranced by the monstrous snapping turtle.

I got my little Valentine her very own rose on that special day.

A pony tail can hardly contain the effects of static electricity on the neighborhood playground slide.

Granddaddy joined us for a picnic at Maymont on one pleasant morning. We sat on a hill and watched the bison enjoy their lunch in the distance.

I will allow readers to concoct their own caption to this photo of Madeline and Uncle Ryan during a visit to a nearby park.

Here's Madeline's expression the moment she walked in her room on her birthday and noticed her present - an honest-to-goodness big-girl bed of her very own.

The shock quickly melted into excitement as she scampered into her new bed to test it out. (She then took a successful nap and, upon waking 90 minutes later, proclaimed "I slept very well!").

Here's this year's birthday cake - homemade by Lacey, of course. Banana cake with chocolate icing and cherries (which were a specific request by Madeline).

Madeline patiently waited for the guests to arrive to her birthday party. She was excited to put on her nice party dress for the occasion.

Someone loves being the center of attention!

Here's my annual collage of Madeline through the past year. Check out 2010's edition here and 2009's version here.

January

After spending almost all of December infected with one bug or another, it was wonderful to have a healthy Madeline for almost an entire month in January. And I can write this with no worries about tempting fate, because she fell ill with a virus just this weekend, ending about three solid weeks of healthiness.

In any case, it's been a quiet month, which is just what we were looking for after months of holiday hustle and the above-mentioned illnesses. We spent our free time playing at home and getting outside when the weather allowed.

Madeline has experienced some major changes in sleep patterns this month, perhaps as a result of the string of antibiotics she was on last month or, just maybe, because she's getting older. She has essentially stopped taking her afternoon nap, and we don't know if it's necessarily a good thing. She still sleeps the same amount at night, but gets pretty grumpy toward the end of the day. We wonder if she could still benefit from a shorter afternoon nap. But try telling that to an almost-3-year-old who wants no part of settling down in her bed.

And speaking of settling down in her bed, the second major change to her sleep pattern is her propensity to get up regularly through the night. When we first introduced her big-girl bed last year, she still seemed to not realize that she could easily get out on her own, and would call us to help her out. But suddenly she seems to have figured out that it's not that hard to get out, and she pops up several times a night - usually at bed time when she doesn't want to go down, but occasionally in the middle of the night when she wakes up for no apparent reason.

This all happened when she was ill at the beginning of the month - she would cry out in the night and then we could hear her feet pattering down the hallway to our room. She would come in, still crying, but calm immediately when someone got up and led her back to her room. And, generally, she would climb back in her bed and go to sleep without issue. I wonder if she's having bad dreams or just wants to make sure we're still there.

And, while we are physically present, I have actually slept through this process several times, completely surprised when Lacey mentions it the next morning. It seems to be a pattern I've developed.

Otherwise it's been a good month. Madeline loves preschool and is making friends there. She even passed her very first test - a simple evaluation of basic concepts and motor skills that she aced, except for the "standing on one foot" segment, which she refused to demonstrate because, well, she didn't want to.

Here are some pictures from this month:

Madeline tries out her new tricycle. She picked it up quickly, learning to pedal herself around in a matter of a few minutes.

Here's one of the few times we made it to a local park this month. The views of the foggy lake were wonderful, but the rain started only a few minutes after we arrived and sent us scrambling back home.


Madeline enjoys experimenting with static electricity.

Our second trip to a local park was more successful. Madeline hiked almost the entire 2.2-mile trail to and from the lake, talking the whole time.

Speaking of, um, speaking, I think Madeline likes to hear herself talk. She found the voice recording app on Lacey's iPod and spent a half-hour or more sitting by herself and recording various thoughts and observations.

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Here she is looking much older than what I would envision a 2-year-old to look like.

Another frigid January day, another morning spent inside, just hanging out with dad.

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This scene was not prompted - Madeline asked to sit at the piano and then, on her own, opened the Christmas songbook and started playing and singing to herself. She hardly seemed to notice when I got the camera and started recording her.