Another Manic Monday...

I have no idea why I am quoting music from my teenage years. It does feel like it's been one of those weird, thoughtful kind of days though. I keep thinking of things from a year ago, and how much progress we've made - and then in the next breath, how much further we have to go! Arg. Thankfully, God is not finished with me yet, much less little miss.

We had a great time at gymnastics. She's grown so much -we even saw a little bit of toddler bum on her hiney - she never used to have much butt. She's growing so much though - and she's STRONG. She had a great day though - and listened well, learned some new stuff. She actually did a handstand today - with the teacher's help of course. It's fun to watch that, although my heart jumps up into my throat each and every time she tries something new. She was also swinging back and forth on the rings today. Crazy stuff!! But she loves every minute of it.

She also helped with the laundry today. Normally, that just means a little extra work for me - but she loves to help, so we make it work. I get a big basket (which is actually a very small basket, but it works for Melanie) and she sorts socks and rolls tights. She thinks she's big stuff, and we get to talk and stuff in the process. It works for us.

She saw commercials today for the first time I think pretty much ever. We just hardly ever watch commercial tv with her around, and I think it's paid off for us - because she doesn't normally ask for things. But man - she was all over the commercials today. "Can I have that mermaid doll? Can I have a house like that? Can I... Can I... Can I?" I was dissapointed, and learned my lesson. We did have a nice talk about not getting and not wanting everything that you see - but that's so hard to learn as a three year old. Who am I kidding?! That's hard to learn as a 30-something year old, too!!

Anyway! Off to do another load of laundry - number 7 from today...I'm playing catchup!

Happy Thanksgiving - a day or two late...

Whew - it's been a little bit crazy here lately! We had a terrific Thanksgiving at Aunt Lori & Uncle Kevin's house - it was so fun to just relax with the family. Melanie was all dressed up in her party dress - picked out especially for Zac - and stayed in it all day,which I didn't think she'd do. I thought she'd end up changing clothes, but she was good. She even laid down for a bit, even though she didn't sleep. It worked out ok that way though, because then we were able to put her to bed pretty early Thursday night. She even slept in curlers the night before so that she could have "curly hairs" - and they stayed in pretty much all day. I think I've finally learned the special combo of stuff that she needs to let the curl stay in her hair without being all heavy and yucky. Live and learn!





Friday, she had a very special day. She and Doctor Miller went on a date for his birthday. He took her to see Happy Feet, and out to dinner at Macaroni Grill - her favorite! Man, she LOVED that! I was a little anxious about the entire thing - no one has ever come to pick her up and take her away before - but she didn't have a qualm at all. She was ever so patient trying to instruct him how to fasten the carseat, and all the other little details. They even did the bathroom thing ok - they worked out a system. It was adorable to see them together. Connie (Dr. Miller's wife) was so sweet to her as well. They're wonderful, and Melanie just thinks they rock :).

Today we have a somewhat relaxing day. I had a class this morning, but the rest of our evening should be restful. I also have a rehearsal this evening for the youth band, but that will be after Melanie goes to sleep. She'll be home chillin with daddy.

You Are My Sunshine

Here's a little preview of our daily lives. She is a rising star :)

We have had an interesting few days here. She has let her personality out or something...I'm not sure what is going on. She is curious, and very outspoken. And FUNNY!

We went to a Chinese restaurant the other day. I'm not sure if we haven't done that before, or if she is just more aware of her surroundings now. We walked in, and she asked, "Are we in China?!" Even after we had explained that we were not in China, she was asking about everything.

Well, when I went to the buffet to get her food for her, she and Brian stayed at the table. The waitress - who was obviously Chinese - came to the table to ask for drink orders. Melanie looked up at the girl, and asked in this hushed voice...."Are YOU Chinese?!"

I'm so glad I wasn't there....

The lady answered, "Yes, I am Chinese! Are YOU Chinese?"

Melanie looks at Brian and says..."I have no idea!"

Oh, brother. When Brian tried to explain to her that she is American, she thought that he told her that her name was Meredith. No matter how we explained it, it never really made a click there.

Faltimores & Such

We finally had a family day! Whoohooo! Brian has been working so many extra hours lately, which is good, but it's hard on our quality time. Sunday, I actually had a morning off, so we took a trip to Baltimore (aka - Faltimores - no matter how many times you tried to correct that). There is an awesome children's museum there called Port Discovery. They have a Clifford exibit right now, and I knew that she would dig that, as she adores Clifford and Emily Elizabeth. So off we went. Here she is with Clifford and Emily Elizabeth - that dog was HUGE! One of the pictures above is of her and Brian - and Brian is standing straight up to reach her up to Clifford's nose. She had a blast. They had the entire neighborhood there - all Clifford's friends' homes, and the stores, and the postoffice, etc. She got to deliver mail, and plant flowers, and sail a boat, and do a music show, and build sandcastles, and....well....needless to say - she did a LOT!

That took over 4 hours of our time. And we could have spent longer there! That is definetely a place that we'll go back to.

One of Melanie's current passions is Hide & Seek. We take turns hiding and counting, but unfortunetely, she always hides in the same place. Lying on the couch, with her head under the blanket. No matter how many times we hide, no matter where in the house we start from.

I think she thinks that if she can't see us, then we can't see her. I'll play along for a little while :)

Gymanstics today was really fun. Here are a few from today - we started the rings. (I say "we" like i had something to do with it - thank goodness, the mom's are not required to perform!!)

That's Melanie in the black. She's practicing how to start a cartwheel.



Here she is with her teacher trying the rings for the first time. She's strong. She'll do great.

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

Not our best day...

This picture pretty much says it all. She has been all attitude, sass and just plain ornery. We have had more trouble with disobedience today than in the past 4 weeks combined. It's really not a great day to blog happy thoughts.

I would like to say though, that even at her most disobedient, she is creative. And darn it if she's not still cute!

Sigh.

A Melanie list...

Today, I thought I'd share two things with you. One, a new song that Melanie wrote. And secondly, a list of questions that I've been hearling lately. One can never have enough wisdom.

First, the lyrics of the song, which was sung in my backseat on the way home from church last night.

Why Do I Have To?

by Melanie

Why do I have to be kind to my friends?

Why do I have to wipe my nose when it runs?

Why do I have to use a tissue when I pick my nose?

Why do I have to wipe the front hole and the back?

Why do I have to obey with a happy heart?

Why do I have to go to bed before the grownups?

Why do I have to be three?

I was trying so hard not to laugh. She was singing in this really high, little girl voice, and the "why do I have to" parts were always the same notes - it was like a real song, but no rhyming. Too funny.

Here are some of the questions I've been hearing in the past few days, just so you know what I am dealing with.

• Why doesn't all the "stuff" come out of one hole when I go potty?
• How do eyebrows know where to grow on your forehead?
• How come girls can't stand up to go potty? We are much more busy and in a hurry than the boys are, that just doesn't make sense!
• Why do we have to have 6 different "memotes" (remotes) to work just 1 tv?
• Why do the fingernails have to be cut? Why don't they just stay the same like real nails?
• Why can't we SEE the trees and grass growing when it rains?
• How does a body know where to grow the hair, and where not to grow the hair? What if it grows in a wrong place? Can it suck back in?
• Why does the mailman carry a purse?
• Why can't letters just make one sound instead of like fifty-two-hundred-nine?

There's a glimpse into the day in the life. I'd appreciate your prayers :)

Gotcha Day

Happy Gotcha Day! And what a full day it has been...lots of fun stuff to make memories with!

You know the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words?" This picture says it all.

We started the day by waking up at 5:45. Mom was not happy about this. At all. And little miss never did go back to sleep, even though she was sent back to bed. It was not the ideal setting for a warming family moment :)







We then went to gymnastics, and today was Bring a Friend Day. FUN STUFF! We took Kollin with us, and spoke on the way there about how Kollin was "counting on Melanie" to be his friend and show him around today. Both kids did so well. Here they are in their glory.

You can tell by looking at the picture - Kollin was so into this. Melanie was so NOT. Not gymnastics, specifically, but into the entire photo-with-her-cousin thing. She actually almost got into trouble, because she got really sassy. But finally, we got this one, where at least you can tell who they are. The other photos on the camera were poor at best, so we'll take this one without too many complaints.






Today, we really wanted to do something special for Melanie. We wanted to give her something commemorate this day, but didn't want it to be something too expensive, and we also wanted it to be symbolic and special. We researched and thought and talked and prayed, and finally decided to get her her first bible. We chose "My First Bible" - it has the entire scripture in it, as well as some "story book" sections, where they have pictures and a story-type reading. It also has some scripture memory parts, and lots of other things that we really liked.

Her comment when she opened the bible up was, "Wow!" I told her that a bible was God's special words to us, and that we must take very special care of it, and try to read it often so that we can learn about God. She said, "You have a special bible, right mom?" yup. "Dad has a special bible, right mom?" yup. "Now I have a special bible too! I'm really part of this fambily!" I had to do a lot of blinking on that one! I dont' think you ever really know what will get them. She did love getting that bible though. I thought she might be dissapointed because it wasn't a toy or something, but we never heard that at all, nor did she ask for anything else. I think God blessed that choice!

We also went to Chuck E. Cheese tonight, and celebrated with some of the families that prayed for us while we were picking Melanie up. I'm telling you, I think Chuck has some kid drugs or hypnotic music or something. She LOVES Chuck. She wanted to follow him (or she dressed as he) all night long. It was pretty funny, actually! We had a great time with our friends, and they prayed for and with us for Melanie tonight too.

I still can't believe it's been a year.

With a wink & a smile...

Well, here's the smile part. She is eating dinner, and told us that she had finally learned how to wink. Now, this is a big deal. She gets very upset at us for winking at her, because she can't do it. Do you think she's competitive? Anyway, here is the shot of the wink.






The wink is really more of a turn-the-head-to-the-side and close-both-eyes, but since you can only SEE one eye closed, it counts. And you have to do your mouth like this, she says. That's what makes it a winky face.

I learn so much from my daughter! I didn't know you had to hold your mouth like that for the winky face. I need to remember that!




Tomorrow is "Gotcha Day!" I can't believe that it's been a year already. Some days it feels like weeks, and other days I can't remember what it feels like before she came home. We're going to celebrate tomorrow, and I'll let you know how the party goes :)

I leave you with our local pirant, complete with spyglass. I really should scout the dollar stores and get a pirant costume for the dress up trunk. That way I don't have to save all these toilet paper tubes, or keep going trash diving in my own house.

Melanie the Swift

Well, I'm not sure what she's been drinking, even though she has to ask for everything that goes into her mouth. But today, she decided that she was Melanie the Swift. I asked her what "swift" means, and she said "weely, weely fast, Mom!"

At least she knows her vocab.

I'm pretty sure that the Melanie the Swift thing comes from The Backyardigans. One of the new episodes is "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters" - and Pablo is Pablo the Swift. She also was telling us stories - but they were all "The Legend of" such and such. She knows what she's talking about.

At gymnastics, they are learning how to do sit ups and push ups. To teach them muscle control, discipline, etc. Melanie is supposed to practice these at home. So, here are pictures of Daddy and Melanie "working out."














She loves it. We had to make her stop to get ready for bed. She is stronger than a 3 year old should be. Brian is really sore now, which is a little bit funny, I have to admit. He told Melanie that he'll have to start doing his pushups and situps so he can catch up with her.

I'll just take pictures!

Bathtime tonight was a hoot, too. She had a haircut, and we removed fingernail polish and trimmed her nails. She calls it "grooming" when you do all those things together. So now she has shorter everything. And she's "shiny" clean - but not sparkling, because I won't let her have the soap with the glitter. It's a weekly battle.

She told us when we got her into bed that her mouth was "waggly". We can not find a webster definition of waggly. Not sure exactly what that means, but we told her that waggly mouth or not, she is going to sleep.

An hour and a half later, she is still upstairs with her waggly mouth. And still not asleep.

Life with a 3 year old is not all fun and games.

But she sure is cute!!

Ahoy, Mighty! I'm a Pirant!

That's right. A Pirant. And no matter how many times we try to get her to call us "matey", we get "mighty" each and every time. She has been carrying around the same toilet paper tube for about 5 days now as her "spyglass".

Sometimes I wonder why I buy toys. She doesn't need them. We just need to sort thru the trash can every so often. There are tons of "buried treasures" in there.

Today we ate lunch at Panera Bread. (Tasty stuff there, by the way...but I can never decide what I want, so I always end up getting their "You Choose Two" option - works out better for me!) Anyway....I digress! We got our food, and Brian said, "Melanie - will you pray for us?" Normally at home, this means a nice quiet singing of "God Our Father" (sung to the tune of "Are You Sleeping"), and then on we go to the eating of the food. Not so today. Today, my little angel folded her hands, closed her eyes, and belted out the song at the top of her not-so-little lungs. And I mean it was LOUD! You could have heard a pin drop in that restaurant...everyone got all quiet. And this isn't a little hole in the wall place - this is a nice, big, crowded restaurant. Brian and I sat there with our eyes wide open looking at each other - not sure whether to shush her, or to just go with the flow. We floated. What else can you do? But boy, it was hard not to laugh!!

We had pasta the other night, and I asked her if she wanted some parmesan. Her response:

"Who's a John?"

I almost spit drink out of my nose.

She's turning into quite the little card. She knows she's funny. She also knows she's sassy, although she's starting to show sincere remorse for things. Those moments are few and far between still. Age three is not as easy as I thought that it would be.

But she sure does look pretty cute in the hats, doesn't she?

We're only 4 days shy of having her for an entire year now. It doesn't seem possible. I can't really remember what life was like before she came home. It seems like she has always been ours. I guess she always has been, we just didn't know it yet...