Craziest things happening lately...all about birds....

Last Friday morning, my husband was sitting in our basement working on the computer. He heard a noise and found out that there was something in our wood stove. At first, he thought maybe it was a bat or a bird. He told me about it, and I told him to leave it in there if it was a bat. He said that it sounded more like a bird, and I agreed that we couldn't leave it in there. So, he got the fishing net and carefully (and quickly) opened the door on the stove. He was pretty nervous to open it, because he didn't know what was going to come out at him. After looking in there a minute, he realized that a DUCK was in there! Crazy!!! How in the world did a duck get in our wood stove? How did it get through the small hole through the vent? We were much surprised. He put the net into the stove, got the duck in there, and pulled it out. Well, the duck flew out of the net and headed to the nearest window (which was closed). She was flapping her wings and hitting against the window. Finally, after a few tries, my husband got the duck back in the net and ran for the sliding doors (which we had open). He set the net down, and the duck waddled out and flew away. I am glad that my husband heard her in our stove and got her out. She must have been terrified! We are still just flabbergasted that a duck was in our stove!! CRAZY!!

THEN, this Tuesday, Caleb and Madelyn were outside near the front steps. We had just got home from the Chiropractor, and I ran in the house to start a pot of water to boil. I had the front door open, because the kids were right out front. I got the water on the stove and I went out to check on the kids. Madelyn was standing very still and said, "Momma, look." I looked over at her and saw this:

I can't believe that a bird was on her head! Crazy, Crazy!! Madelyn was a bit nervous, and she laughed a little, then she asked if I could take it off. I picked up a stick and tried to put the stick near the feet so that it would walk onto the stick.
However, that little bird just clung on to her hair even tighter. The little yellow bird had found a new friend. So, I asked Madelyn to wait just a second so I could grab my camera. I knew I had to take advantage of this amazing photo opportunity! I missed taking a picture of the duck in our stove, I wasn't going to miss this!
The little bird held on her hair for quite sometime. I took a few pictures, and got the little bird to get onto the stick.

After the bird was on the stick, it held on to that for awhile, too. Cole, my little guy was sitting in his high chair inside the house, and he wanted to come out, so I put the stick on the step. I asked Caleb to hold on the stick so it didn't roll away. When I came out with Cole, Caleb was holding the stick up. I wish I had a picture of that. because it was so neat! I had to take a video of the bird so I had proof that this was an actual live bird!
I don't know if the bird was a baby, or it was just a little stunned from maybe running into something. I do know that it wasn't afraid of me or the kids at all. It was just the craziest thing. It is such a cute bird.

I love this last photo. I was able to snap the photo quick before Cole grabbed it. I didn't want him to hurt the bird. This was the last few moments with the bird before it decided that it was time to move on. How amazing this was. I still wonder what ever made that little yellow bird decide to take perch on my daughter's head. :)

Speaking of...

Caleb was cracking me up today, and good thing because when he wasn't saying something funny, he was getting himself into T.R.O.U.B.L.E with a capitol "T."

This morning while we were eating breakfast, Nathaniel made a comment about the very un-nutritious cereal they were eating.

Nathaniel: "They say that cereal has Vitamin D and Vitamin C in it, but if you eat too much you get a stomach ache." I told him it was misguided information and not correct. The company likes to put that on the box so it can look good to the consumer.

Then Caleb says, "Hey Mom, speaking of vitamin C, could I have a vitamin, please?"

Later on this morning, we were down stairs and Caleb said he was a candy eater. (I am not sure how that came up). Anyway, he pipes up, "Speaking of candy, can I have some candy, please?"

Then, we went over to Candace's house to babysit Claudia, and we were playing with the kid kitchen "play food." Madelyn handed me a cloth "pretend" piece of cheese. I said, "This is cheese. Can you do the sign for cheese?"

Caleb says, "Speaking of cheese, I think it is time to have some supper."

It was so funny! I am not sure where he got it from, but I am loving it! I told Terry about it when he got home, and he said that Caleb did that one other time, too, and it was pretty funny.

OH, Speaking of funny (ha ha), well...kind of weird. Yesterday, we had a flying visitor in our three season porch yesterday. Caleb and Maddie called me into the living room to see what was in there. We had a bird in our porch. Our screen door is currently broken (kind of). So, with it being cracked open slightly, and the wind blowing....the bird rose to the occasion to pay us a visit. It was pretty freaked out. I finally got it to go over to the door to make bail, but the poor little thing probably had mild heart attacks.

Here are some fun new things.... and some fun facts of my darling children!

Madelyn loves playing dress-up, and this is one of her favorite costumes. Thanks goes out to my dear friend, Anna, for the clothes she gave us!
I have the Tupperwear ball with all the shapes (love this toy!!) and Madelyn is really enjoying the challenges right now. I am impressed with her skills at putting the shapes into the correct spot. She even knows when the shape isn't quite in the correct angle, she needs to move it one way or the other to make it fit. I think that is impressive for being just "newly" two years old. She also likes to line up her crayons in a row, nicely and organized. I am not sure what the "experts" would classify this as, but I think it is adorable that she likes to line up the crayons.
Caleb makes a great head, body, legs and arms when drawing a person. He even draws the eyes, nose and mouth. I scheduled him for his pre-school screening in a few weeks, and I know that a person is something that they need to try drawing. So, when we had his birthday party (which I still need to blog, ahem....) I was drawing a person on the sidewalk in chalk. So, I called Caleb over and just showed him what a person needs. He was all excited and started drawing people. Now, when we are coloring or drawing, he is making people. He made a great looking person today over at Candace's house. He wanted Candace to have it, so it had to stay there. Caleb loves climbing trees so much, too! He also loves to "pee" outside on the trees, too. There is something about going outside that is so much fun!
Cole tries to sit up now. He will sit for a few minutes before he starts leaning over to one side. He loves to laugh at his brother, Caleb, who thoroughly loves getting him to giggle. It is so precious. Cole is drooling like crazy, and has been more spit-upy (I know it isn't a word, but it works). So, I am thinking he may be working on teeth. I could be totally wrong, though, because I think that with every kid, and I am usually calling that one too early. Cole loves his Jumperoo from Fisher-Price (totally the best jumper) and his exersauser ~which he can walk around in circles (another totally cool baby item). I had Cole in for his 4 month check up a couple of weeks ago, now. (told you I am behind a bit with blogging). He was 4 months and two weeks for his visit. He was just over #13 pounds and ranking the 88% percentile for his height. I don't have all the calculations here at my desk, but I was impressed with his growth and where he fit in the national percentiles....not that I weigh too much on the stats. He is a happy and healthy (big) boy.

Nathaniel came back from visiting his dad this weekend, and he creatively made a bow and arrow~ BY HAND! He carved a stick, removing all the bark, and formed it into a bow. Then, he shaved another stick down into an arrow. He said he had a fun time working on it. His Dad helped with the arrow, he said. It is pretty impressive, and of coarse, I had to take pictures of him with it. I think he was pretty proud of it, and he should be. I think home school has been a great start to his educational road to learning. :)
Isn't he handsome? He is getting so tall and growing so much! I can tell he is nearing the puberty stages. They already watched "THE MOVIE," as he calls it. It is a movie where they talk about the changes boys/girls go through when they reach puberty. I know they show this because many don't get the information from their parents, but I do think that parents should be the source of teaching these life lessons. So, we had some talks about all that.
Nathaniel only has 2 more days of school for the end of the school year for 4th grade. He has a field trip tomorrow (all day) and an all-school picnic with games, relays and food on Friday. He is really looking forward to summer vacation. I am really proud of him with his grades! He has done a great job bringing up his grades this year. He is challenged with spelling and essay writing, but we will work on that more in home school. I am thinking we will be homeschooling him next year. (more prayers....please pray for our direction on this). Nathaniel has scored phenomenally on his NCWA testing and MCA testing. He is in the high 90's for percentiles in Math and Reading. I am really proud of his scores, and what he has learned. I firmly believe that his 3 years of home school have greatly impacted his education and learning.

So, that is some updates. I promise to write up the blog post on Caleb's birthday (SOOOO....belated). But, I really want it to be a great post. I will also put up a contest or two tomorrow, too! Stay tuned!

Precious Planet from Fisher Price~

Fisher Price always amazes me with the quality products that they come out with! I am so happy that Fisher Price is a name I can feel confident in! Fisher-Price recently came out with a new line~ Precious Planet, and it is so adorable!
The Precious Planet displays such a cute design~ lions, monkeys, giraffes and more...precious animals of the planet! The colors are bright and vibrant, and kids are excited to see the characters! The new Precious Planet Collection collection includes a wide selection of baby gear that parents need and use including a play gym, cradle swing, high chair, baby bouncer, potty, mobile, tub, bedding and more. The Precious Planet Collection retails for $12.99 - $129.99 and is appropriate for newborns and up. One of the Precious Planet products that I have is the Jumperoo! It is such a fun seat to promote activity for babies (and up) to do! It is a great workout, to jump around and work those legs! What great entertainment for them, and they can see everything from sitting in the Jumperoo! I had the Johnny Jump Up with my oldest son, and I always ran into the downfall of not having a door frame to hook it up to. It was a challenge to get the Jump up to hook onto the frame sometimes, too. It made me a bit nervous having my baby hanging from a door frame, because I worried that he would fall.
Fisher-Price's Precious Planet Jumperoo is made with quality, and there is no need to hang it from a door frame. One great feature of the Jumperoo is that the seat rotates. This is great because your little one can look all around, and it promotes more leg movement to get them in the direction they want to see. The Jumperoo requires 3 AA batteries to enjoy the lights, music and animal sounds, but as you can see in the pictures, my kids enjoy it without batteries, too!
The Jumperoo can hold up to 25 pounds, so my daughter (age 2) is thrilled to be able to use it, too. I think there is apart of her that wants to stay the baby. Good thing she is little yet!
There are a lot of toys attached to the Fisher Price Jumperoo so baby can work on the hand-eye coordination. Plus, baby can feel the benefit of making things work with their movements and actions. I just love that Fisher-Price has made a great product for our little ones to jump safely (without a doorway) and it is entertaining. I was impressed with how the Jumperoo comes apart so easy to store it. This is a big plus with us trying to get our home more organized lately. I highly recommend the Fisher-Price Jumperoo for your little one. Suggested retail price is $90.00, and you can find them in local retail stores or online.
Maggie Gyllenhaal , actress, has teamed up with Fisher-Price Inc. to unveil the company’s new Precious Planet Collection of baby gear and newborn toys and to announce the company’s $250,000 donation benefiting the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) this January. “We are very pleased to unveil our new Precious Planet collection and present our donation to the Wildlife Conservation Society,” says Brenda Andolina, Director, Public Relations and Brand Marketing, Fisher-Price. “One of our most popular and enduring toy design themes revolves around the lovable and curious world of animals. We’re very appreciative to organizations like the WCS that are passionate about preserving the animals and habitats we love to bring to life in our toys.”

Madelyn is TWO!!!

I can't believe that my sweet, darling daughter, Madelyn (my princess) is two years old today! The time sure has flown! I want to share my birth story with you.
I had an appointment on Madelyn's due date (March 8th, 2007). I had an ultra-sound, which the clinic routinely does on due dates. They found out that the amniotic fluid was pretty much gone, so I was told that I needed to be scheduled for an induction. I was told that I should check into the hospital that evening around 7 PM. Terry was working that day, so I called him from my parents and told him what the plan was. He was going to stop by home after work and pick up my bag, car seat, etc. My mother-in-law was so sweet to meet me at my parent's house to pick up Nathaniel and Caleb. When Terry and I headed up to the hospital, we stopped at Subway and picked up 2 foot longs. I actually ate 1/2 on the way, and the other half in the hospital bed while I was answering the million questions they ask about history/medications/etc. I think that is a funny part about the "labor day" that I ate a foot long sub before giving birth.....
Anyway~ the IV fluids were started and I was going to have a cytotec pill inserted to help "rippen" the cervix. I didn't know the side effects of this pill, otherwise I would not have allowed this method for induction. (see Cole's story) That is a whole other story. I didn't like the nurse that was doing the registration part, and the one that was going to be helping us. She was the nurse that discharged us with Caleb. Let's just say she isn't very personal and caring. Bland would be a good word to describe her. She had difficulty getting the pill inserted (dry glove)~ yeah, can I get an OWIE!! I was a puddle of tears, and after 3 times trying, she got another nurse. I LOVE the nurse that came in to help. She was our delivery nurse we had with Caleb. Right then I should have asked if she could just help us the rest of the time. She calmed me down, told me what I could do to help....and just like that it was in.
My dear friends, Lisa and Jody, came up to see me and offer support. It was a great joy to see them and share a few laughs. One of the laughs was over glitter. I will have to tell you that one another time (or ask them).
The pill worked right away, and I was in full blown labor! Can you believe, through crying and moaning, the nurse told me I really wasn't in labor? I could have smacked her one. (F.Y.I. she had 3 scheduled C-Sections....no idea what labor is).
I had an epidural, and it helped minimize the pain. I did still feel quite a bit of pains, though. I did need oxygen, and Maddie's heart rate decreased. But, my labor lasted about 5 hours, and I pushed for about 10-15 minutes. She was born a little after 1 AM. I thought she was going to be huge, from the way my belly was out there. Everyone else thought my baby was going to be big, too. Out came this tiny, little peanut at 6 pounds 6 1/2 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long. She is still little today at 2 years old. I have her well child check next week. Did I know what I was having? Nope, but I was very emotional during pregnancy, and even cried over spilled milk. We knew we were having a girl. Here are some pictures of our little princess:

My parents with Madelyn. In this picture, she is under 9 hours old.
I think she is about 3 months old in this picture. I did have more of her birth pictures, but our hard drive crashed with them on it. I am desperately hoping we can restore those!
She is such a silly girl! She is feisty, even when she was smaller.
Madelyn is a very happy girl!
Here she was starting to walk around while holding onto objects.
She is a girl in every aspect of the word. She walks like a girl, talks like a girl, and is moody like a girl. We love our little girl, and are so happy she was given to us from God!

She was drinking "pop" on our trip to Chicago last summer. That is what she called her bug juice.
She loves to "copy" mom and babywear her babies. My friend, Candace, gave Maddie this child sling for her Christmas gift.
Blowing out her candle for her Birthday! After we all sang Happy Birthday to her, she clapped and said, "Yeah! Good job everybody!"

MMMMmmmm......Barbie Chocolate Cupcakes!
So careful with her cupcake...not really liking getting her fingers dirty.
Madelyn got mostly clothes for her birthday. She LOVED it! Seriously, she had to try on everything she got! She got underwear, 2 dresses, 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, 3 pair of jeans, and a summer outfit!
Big brother Caleb loved to help Maddie with her gifts. He wanted a gift, too, but I told him he only needs to wait 2 months to his birthday.
She has the cheesiest smile lately. She loves to show off her teeth. She is finally getting the last couple teeth on her bottom gum next to the front two.
We love you Madelyn! Happy Birthday to our precious girl! You are very dear to us, and we pray God will bless your life and you will bring honor to Him in all you do. Thank you, Lord, for our little girl!

One "stylin'" little mama!

Madelyn is definitely a "girly girl" and loves to be a little mommy! She is just under 2 years old, and she is already role playing, loving her "babies" and playing "house." My friend, Candace, gave Madelyn a children's sling for Christmas. She said Madelyn is going to want to be like her Mom when the baby comes, so that is why she got her the pouch sling! I can say that I think it was a great gift, and I know Madelyn will use it a lot! She is already loving baby wearing her little babies!
She had such a fun time today walking around carrying her little baby. She kept holding her little dolly and kissing it. Then she would say, "Cute," and give me the sweetest little smile.
Her big brother Caleb's sun glasses were by her, so she decided that she needed to wear them!
She is one styling little girly mama!
One of her favorite sayings right now is, "Look at me!" She loves to show us what she accomplishes!
I love my little princess. It is so much fun having a little girl!

We had a busy weekend...

Friday night, I went to the monthly Ladies Night out at our church. This month we did a Christmas-y themed get-together. It was a cookie exchange (which I didn't do, because it wasn't until last minute that we decided I could go...so no time to bake). Plus, it was a $10 white elephant gift exchange. I brought 2 books that I have reviewed previously, to give as gifts. It was such a fun night, and we even had new visitors. Lisa, Jody, and our friend Anna did the planning, organizing and preparations. You ladies did a fantastic job, and I want to say THANK YOU for all your work to make it a great night!
They did a fantastic job! They decorated the ceiling with Christmas bulbs hanging, table clothes on the tables, and we each had name tags. The name tags were fun because they all related to Christmas or winter. I picked the name Vixen because I thought it was fitting to me. ~lol. We each wore a pin with balls hanging on it to play a game. We had to use our "nick names" when we addressed each other, and if you "caught" someone using the person's real name, you could take their balls away. The winner with the most collected balls was given a prize at the end. That was a fun game!
To get our white elephant gift, we played the game where you roll dice to get double numbers to get a prize. Then, once we all had a gift, we opened them, and then did another 10 minutes of rolling dice where we could "exchange" our gift with someone else. I had originally opened up a butter container. It was an OK gift, but my eyes were on the Mikasa martini glasses (set of 4). I did end up getting them, and I was so thankful! Not only do I LOVE Mikasa, Terry and I do enjoy martinis and entertaining. Of coarse, I haven't had a martini in a long time, and they are saved for special occasions, but they are tasty. These beautiful glasses can be used to put dips and desserts in them, too. I was so happy that I got it. The lady I had switched with ended up really needing the butter container, too...so it was a win win.
After the gift exchange, we played games. Lisa had 3 new games that we needed to help her try out. She got the games to review, and it was fun new games to try. The night ended about 1:30'ish this time. I wasn't planning on staying after 1:00 AM, because we were leaving early in the morning, BUT it was Ladies Night Out, and that just happens once a month. I really hope to make it next month. It is right around the time when my baby is due...so we will see.
Saturday morning, we finished up packing, loaded the car and headed on our way to my husband's side family Christmas. On the way, we stopped at a train show. Terry and the boys went to the train show, and Madelyn and I went to the mall for girl time and shopping. We had a few items to pick up, and a few Christmas gifts to purchase. It was fun to have some one on one time with Madelyn, and Terry had a great time with the boys. After that, we stopped for lunch, and went up North. There were a lot of people in Grandma's house! We snacked, opened gifts, and had supper. Then, Terry, our family, his brother and his family, and Terry's Mom went downstairs and did our family Christmas. It was fun to have that time together. Madelyn got a little cell phone with a purse, dress up shoes, and a necklace...then, when it was all on...she wiggled her little booty and said, "Oooo, Look at Me! Look at me!" It was so funny!
Sunday, we went to church, and then watched the kid's Christmas program. It was snowing and blowing like crazy, so we knew we needed to head for home right after church. We did stop at Terry's Grandma & Mom's house to grab a bite to eat and pack up the van. Then, we made our way through the snow and ice. We did get together, part way home, at my friend's house. We had planned on getting together to celebrate our friend's birthday. It was a fun time to get together, eat some great food, and just touch base again. I miss the days that we just went up to Perkins and talked for hours and hours. Now, with marriage and kids, our lives have become so busy. I was thankful for our time together, though.
It was a great weekend, and now it is good to be home. We got snow and ice over the weekend, and I think more snow is in the forecast. I do love snow, just the -40 below wind chills are a bit much.

Maddie is growing up...

Last week, Madelyn became the proud owner of two more teeth. She now has a total of 6 teeth. Yes, she is a late bloomer with getting teeth~ being she is now 19 months old! She is 19 months old, and 19 pounds. She is not small developmentally, though, rather she is advanced. I can say that because the Dr. confirms it, PLUS I am the Mom! :) She did her first, amazing, and perfect somersault on Thursday night! She has been trying for a few months now. She would bend over, touch her head to the floor and either (a) wait for a pull of gravity, or (b) roll over to the side. So, on Thursday night, she did the prep of bending over and putting her head to the floor. I was sitting behind her on the couch, and I reached my toes for her bum to encourage her to roll forward. She was ahead of the game though, because in a split second she had perfectly nailed a beautiful somersault! I was so excited that I screamed, laughed, and clapped all at once. Nathaniel came running in the room and asked what was wrong. I told him it was excited because Madelyn did her first somersault! Then, Madelyn started showing off (Grandma was here) ~ she was playing around all over the floor, and running. I asked her to do another somersault, and she sat down, fell backwards, and tried to roll backwards. I told her she isn't quite ready for that yet.

My Little Princess~

Madelyn is growing up so much! She is talking into 3 word sentences, and repeats anything you tell her. She amazes us with things she says. This morning, I was sitting on Caleb's bed fixing her hair. Caleb's window has a Spiderman covering over it, and Madelyn was looking at it. She piped up the theme song for Spiderman..."LOOK OUT, HERE COMES THE SPIDERMAN!" The only thing you can totally understand is the "Look Out!" Then, she mumbles through the rest of the song line. It was so cute. She kept singing it over and over...even all the way to church for my morning Bible study.
Tonight, Madelyn was holding on to her dolly. (one of them) She loves kissing and hugging her dollies. I was going to take her dolly and put it down when I was taking her to bed. She told me no, then said, "AHH Dolly!" I asked her if she wanted to take her dolly to bed, and she said, "YES!" ~By the way, she says "yes" clear as a bell...it is super cute! So, she got to sleep with her precious dolly tonight.

~Babies~ appointments, Dr.'s and a funny....

I have my Doctor's appointment in the morning to see how baby is doing. I can't believe that I am 24+ weeks along already! Wow~ this pregnancy is zooming by! I guess things are just so busy with an elementary child, a (pre)pre-schooler, and a toddler! Now we will be getting into the holiday season, and time will really fly! Before I realize it, my arms will be filled with a brand new baby! WOW~

I am really excited to start our new insurance coming the beginning of November. Once that happens, I will be going to my main OB/GYN. I really miss him. About a month ago, I was practically in tears after my last appointment. I didn't get the welcoming factor from the current OB/GYN I am seeing. This Dr. is all new to me. I didn't get the warm welcome hello...no, "How are you doing, Sarah? How is the pregnancy going? How is Terry doing? What are the kids up to these days..." Just, the statements like, "Do you have any questions or concerns? Let's listen to the heartbeat." Blah, Blah. I am so missing my Dr. (even though he is more of a drive) To me, it is worth the extra miles and gas to feel loved and appreciated. I have had my other Dr. since High School ~over 15 years ago. So, I am glad I get to go back to him...even for just the last 2 1/2 months. Since I am more than likely needing to schedule an induction at the end of my pregnancy, there is a high probability that he will be the one delivering our baby. Caleb is the only one that he delivered. Actually, Terry delivered Caleb, with our Dr. just assisting him, and telling him what he needed to do. What an amazing Dr. he is!! He is so caring, and he just knows people.

Anyway...funny story from something that happened this evening. Maddie and Caleb love talking to the baby. Caleb (almost daily) says, "Hi Baby!" to my tummy. So, Maddie has picked up on this and does it, too! She also likes to pat and rub my belly when she can, too. *Sometimes she mistakes "the baby" for being up higher than my belly*~lol, so I just tell her, no...the baby is here~ with pointing to my belly. Anyway~ tonight, Terry was sitting at the computer on the chair, and Maddie toddles over to him and says sweetly, "Hi baby!" while looking at his belly. Opps! Terry said, "Is that her polite way of telling me I need to lose some weight?" Ha ha ha ~~

Finger Paint, or Food?

Maddie was needing a snack while I was preparing supper. She has been eating very well with a spoon and fork lately. She disregarded the whole spoon concept tonight and went in to enjoy her applesauce and yogurt finger-style.

I bet the coolness of the cold yogurt felt fun on her little hands. This is a great "finger paint" for toddlers! ~~Edible, too!

Look at her cute little face! Do you think she was having a fun time?

Using the spoon to scrape what little bit that was left in the container.

I love the look of determination on her face! I am glad she had a fun time!

Wordless Wednesday: Super Baby?

Little Miss T.R.O.U.B.L.E

I was giving Madelyn and Caleb a duo bath tonight after we came indoors. All was well, until Madelyn started to splash me. She did this the last time I gave them a bath (usually Terry is the bath giver). Last time she stopped when I told her to stop. Not tonight, I told her to stop, and you know what she did? She got this little twinkle in her eye, smiled with her one dimple showing, and did it again even bigger. So, I thought I would get even. (I know, that is the best example to give our kids). I splashed her back, in the face. This was obviously a failing attempt to get her to stop, because she just giggled, and as she was smiling she did it again. This game lasted the entire bath time. My little darling is just a little trouble maker, and loves every minute of it. Isn't that third child syndrome traits?