Our Little Singer

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Andi

Alternate titles considered:

  • “Videos to Embarrass Your Child Later In Life”
  • “Videos to Hold on to In Case She’s Famous One Day”
  • “If Only She Could Stay This Small & Sweet Forever”
  • “I Think We Need to Get Her Some Private Lessons”

Maddie is really into singing and making up songs/words right now. This morning she grabbed a stool, found her guitar and started singing at the top of her lungs in front of the fireplace to the cartoons on tv. Dannie was sitting in front of her dancing to the little show her sister was putting on. If she were singing on the street with a hat for money, she would have made a million bucks. It was the cutest thing ever.

Thankfully, I was smart enough to grab my phone and get a couple videos of her singing. My heart just melts at how sweet and silly and innocent she is!

Here is Maddie Making up a couple of her own songs.

And finally, my favorite. I got her to sing “Oh My Darling” and “Amazing Grace”. Her facial expressions during “Amazing Grace” crack me up!

Gotta love her!

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Recent Videos

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Andi

I have been taking videos of the girls, but I never do anything with them. So I recently uploaded some and thought I would share.

For Christmas, my mom gave Maddie a vanity. She intended to get fake makeup, but got her real stuff by accident. So I was on the hunt for some fake stuff. I found a great place online, Mini-Play Makeup. Maddie loved it and here’s a video of her putting it on. Smile

One night at dinner I was trying to get a video of Dannie. But in true Maddie form, she needed to be the center of attention. So this is really just a video of Maddie getting in the way.

My brother and his wife gave Dannie this silly little lamb toy. One day I was sitting on the couch and stomped on it to make it sing and wiggle. So now she tries to step on it. Such a goofy girl.

The other night, Maddie was playing in a bucket. She would get some toys and cover herself up. My favorite is when she sticks her hand out to pull something inside. It’s not a very interesting video because she’s just sitting under a bucket, but I still thought it was funny. And she really likes to watch herself when you replay the video.

One day earlier this week, we needed a change of scenery while we were home all day. So we played n the playroom upstairs. This meant the girls found the trampoline. And since Dannie has no idea how to take turns, this is what happened.

Dannie is the silliest little girl. I taught her to make silly noises, because there’s nothing funnier than silly noises from a silly baby. I just want to kiss her to pieces!

There you have it. A smorgasbord of videos. Smile

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Reading Rut

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Andi

I’ve been in a reading rut. I have about 6 books (maybe more) started on my Kindle right now. I keep starting them hoping I’ll be able to finish one. It appears that I get about 40% into a book and just stop. I don’t know if it’s boredom in reading, poor book choices or any list of other reasons.

No matter what it is, I am in a reading rut. Part of it stems from the fact that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I have a list a mile long of things I want/need to get done. While some of them are being completed, reading gets pushed to the back burner. When I do read, it is right before bed. Which means I turn on the Kindle, pick one of my various started books, start reading, try to remember what the heck the book was about since I have been reading it for so long, read a page, then promptly fall asleep.

Do you have any suggestions for when you are in a reading rut? Do you read something you have already read? Start something new? Muster through and finish what you already have started?

I’m hoping to get some of these books finished and get some more reviews up/ Hope your reading has been more successful than mine!

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My Little Baker

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Andi

Maddie loves to bake. Muffins, cookies, heck, she just likes to help out in the kitchen. She gets giddy to set or clear the table for meals.

Maddie loves making muffins. And since I am lazy, I buy muffins that I need to add only water to. She likes to stir, put the batter into the tray, eat the batter and then devour the muffins.

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At Christmas, she did a great job cutting out cookies and decorating them.

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And one night when Maddie was sick, Chuck made Ninja bread Men with her. She didn’t have a voice, but she was sweet as could be! And there’s something about dads doing activities with their daughters that just melt my heart!

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I was dubbed the icer and Maddie was the sprinkler. She took her job very seriously!

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So if there’s something to bake, stir, mix, pour, or decorate….Maddie is your girl!

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Final Christmas Celebration

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Andi

We had our final Christmas celebration last week while Chuck’s mom was back in town from Florida. We had a great time…

Our niece, Amira, was handing out presents.

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Maddie sat with all her presents and had a blast opening them!

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Amira got a bunch of art stuff.

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Her face cracks me up in this picture!

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Maddie and Dannie playing with one of Dannie’s presents.

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Awe…family photo.

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Dannie was throwing a tantrum while Chuck was trying to help Maddie with a present.

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A view of the card table houses that Linda made Maddie and Amira.

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The house has been a huge hit around here. The girls play in it all the time and Linda’s crafting abilities always amaze me!

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Paige having some fun with Dannie. Being upside down is one of Dannie’s favorite things.

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Paige and Linda are so crafty. They always made the most amazing presents.

Here is a color matching board using paint chips, a canvas and clothespins.

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A memory game using note cards and a bunch of family photos.

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Little dolls for matching colors. And yes, Linda hand painted these! (There’s a pink one, too, but Maddie has claimed that one for herself.)

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Paige made a “Guess Who” game for Dannie with family photos.

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Linda made some baby baskets for the girls. She has a couple of them at her house for the girls to play with when they come over. They come with a matching pillow and blanket!

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Paige made a wipes container and a doll diaper. So stinking cute…no pun intended. Smile

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Linda also made Paige and I picnic blankets and made Brian and Chuck frames pictures using all of our names with scrabble pieces. Genius! (Of course I forgot to take pictures of these two things.)

We also had a tasty lunch. Chuck made some veggie lasagna with half of it the regular (meaty) way. Paige brought bread and fruit and Linda made pumpkin and apple pies. The food was so good!

We had a fabulous Christmas this year. I hope yours was wonderful, too!

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Favorite Books For Kids

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Andi

We do a lot of reading around here and there’s a good chance when you ask Maddie what she wants to do, her answer will be “go to the library”. And since I write about the books I read, I figured I should write about some I read to the girls, too.

A while back, I did a post about a series of books I love…Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants. Maddie (ok…really it’s me) has some new favorites.

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Won’t You Be My Kissaroo? is such a cute book. I was so excited when I found this next one.

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Won’t You Be My Hugaroo? I just love reading these to Dannie right now and she loves to turn the pages and look at the pictures.

The next two we just got at the library and they were adorable.

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If Animals Kissed Good Night is my current favorite book. It just makes me giggle.

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And Maddie did pick out a Halloween book, Goodnight Goon, but I loved it. I will have to remember this one and get it again next year during Halloween.

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I read The Going To Bed Book to Dannie every night before bed. I picked it up at a consignment store when Maddie was a baby and it is still one of my very favorites. I love everything by Sandra Boynton, though!

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We have gotten The Napping House from the library before, but Maddie got it for her birthday. We read it most nights at bedtime. Maddie is really good at reading along with me.

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We have 4 of these Cheerios books. My mom picked them up for Maddie. When you open the pages, there are spots to put cheerios. Sometimes it’s noses or hats or buttons, but both the girls love these books and what could be more fun than reading and eating?? No, seriously? Smile

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I adore all of the Llama Llama books, but Llama Llama Mad At Mama is my current favorite. The girls have this exact same scowl and I love the story. Maddie tells me all the time that she’s mad at me (toddlers are so full of emotion) and this one is a good book for her right now. Smile

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All of the Fancy Nancy books are great. They are such cute stories and I love the pictures and the creative words she uses. I love that she helps teach kids new words and expand their vocabulary. Plus it doesn’t hurt that Maddie is adorable when she says “Fancy Nancy.”

I am sure there are many other books for kids that I love, but these are the few that stick out in my head right now. I have given the Cheerios book and the Monkeypants series as gifts before. I know any of these would make a great gift for a baby shower or even a birthday. Or maybe you just have some new ideas of books to read to your kids.

What are some of your favorite books for kids? Favorites from your childhood? Favorites that you read to your kids?

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Uncharted

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Andi

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This book was by the author of On The Island which I read for Book Club. I was excited when I remembered this book was out and quickly downloaded it. I couldn’t put it down. It was a fun story and it was nice to see the characters of the first book in their new lives. Here’s a little about the book.

When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn’t part of Owen’s plans. The beautiful British girl—on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James—made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn’t know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.’s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.

If you read the first book, you should definitely read this. If not, pick up the first one this summer (it’s a great “beachy” read) and then read this one. I think you’ll like the story, the likable characters and it’s just plain hard to put down!

Happy reading!

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Cheesy

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Andi

One night at dinner we were laughing at Dannie. She was sitting there with loads of cheese hanging out of her mouth.

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Maddie thought it was funny, too and tried to make cheese hang out of her mouth.

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She wasn’t very successful, but she was really cute trying.

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Cupcake

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Andi

A new Cupcake store opened and MOMS Club went there one morning so we could check it out and eat cupcakes. The girls picked out cupcakes to eat. They were very pretty and very yummy!

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Some friends and I also went there for dinner one night. They have a restaurant attached called “The Mason Jar”. The food was really good and I can’t wait to go back for more food and more cupcakes! If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking it out.

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Snow Fun

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Andi

Last year, Maddie was not a fan of the snow. She would cry when we set her even near snow. This year is very different and she even asks to go out with Chuck when he snow blows the driveway and sidewalk. This is her snow blowing outfit.

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I bought Maddie a shovel and sled at Target earlier this winter and then put her to work on shoveling the steps for me. Smile 

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And since she enjoyed shoveling so much, Chuck had her shovel the deck, too.

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This girl loves her shovel!

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Saying “hi” to her sister.

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Then Maddie thought it would be funny to start a snowball fight with dad.

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Dad won.

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Next it was time to try out the new sled.

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Hey guys….this hat keeps falling over my eyes.

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“Oh, dats no pobwem.” I’m still cute!

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And because Chuck is the best dad, he took her to the park to play on the playground in the snow.

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The even went sledding at the small hill at the park. Maddie thought it was lots of fun. Apparently on the way home, she wanted to shovel the whole sidewalk. The walk home from the park took a while.

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Snow is definitely a hit with this girl. She even asks me to bring some inside for her to play with. Which I am happy to do because it makes her smile this cute little smile!

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