father
Dad Battles Baby’s Sickness, Baby Takes on Trash Can
Just as Maddie was starting to feel better, her Dad got a real taste of exactly what was troubling the baby. Suffice it to say that Mom had to take over sole caretaking responsibilities while dad battled the nasty stomach bug.
While Mom set her sights on Maddie, the baby had a new adversary to tackle.
For weeks now, we have not been able to stop Maddie from digging into the kitchen trash and removing items of interest. It was a game at first, but once it became a contest of wills, there was no stopping Maddie from dumpster diving.
That’s when Maddie’s parents decided to flip the script on the baby.
We tracked down a taller trashcan that’s equipped with a butterfly lid. This lids opens up and out. At first, Maddie was determined to crack the code. She tried to coax the can open. When that didn’t work, it was time for more drastic measures.
Maddie started placing items on top of can and knocking them off. But no matter how much abuse she heaped upon the new can, she couldn’t get inside. It only took about a half an hour for Maddie to lose all interest in the new trashcan.
When you have an opponent like the Mad Madster, you have to celebrate the small victories!
Maddie Taking Her Credentials Very Seriously
Years ago when Maddie’s dad worked at the U.S. Open Tennis tournament, he had to wear his credentials at all times. Once the tournament ended, the credentials were retired to some dark corner of a bookcase until Maddie uncovered them during one of her many investigations.
Since the discovery, Maddie has taken to sporting her credentials all around the house. The funny thing is that she treats the credentials a little differently than her other items. What’s odd is that Maddie takes great pleasure in sharing toys, magazines and food with her relatives – but she never shares her credentials.
Maddie takes them on and off, but likes to keep them to herself. Maddie will show them to you, but only to visually inspect them, not handle them. She also likes to lie on the floor and examine them very closely herself.
She flips through them, looks at dad’s picture and examines the information printed on each card. We don’t know what Maddie’s attachment is to these credentials, we just know that she really likes them.
Maddie Dials Up the Charm for 1st Day of School
So Mom and Dad dropped off Maddie for her first day of school. It all happened far too fast as we left the building already stressing about what Maddie might be up to. The teachers kept their word and called us with an update about 45 minutes later.
They said Maddie cried for about 2 minutes and then started running around with the other kids. She was digging into her little lunch when they called and I was chomping at the bit to pick her up.
I held myself in check and picked up the baby right on schedule. They told me that when the other children were sitting down, Maddie made sure to give them each a kiss on the top of the head. Once again proving that she is the sweetest girl anyone could have ever wished for.
Maddie Not Sold on the “Pebbles Look”
Maddie starts a mini-version of nursery school tomorrow. So today she was auditioning several looks for her school debut. I don’t think the “Fruity Pebbles” look won the contest – but Maddie was brave enough to give it a try.
Now that we are occasionally able to keep shoes on Maddie, we have been taking a series of short walks outside. Tomorrow we will be walking Maddie to her new school where she will spend a couple hours playing and interacting with other kids two days a week.
It’s going to be pretty tough on her dad – he already feels like he’s sending her off to college. But he realizes that spending dad after day with her Dad might not be the best tool to help her socialize with other children.
The only question now is will Dad be able to leave Maddie there when she starts crying. Tune into tomorrow for updates from Maddie’s first day of school.
Dad Starts Cashing in on Kisses
For months now, Mommy has been the lucky recipient of the vast majority of Maddie’s kisses. I am absolutely delighted to see all that affection heaped upon Mom. However, I have to admit that I would like to share one once in a while myself. But kisses are one of those things that you hope for instead of ask for.
I have always showered Maddie with kisses and she has rewarded me with a long successful stint on the hug list. But this week, something changed. Without knowing how or why, I got promoted to Maddie’s priority kiss list. The kisses just come out of nowhere. We can be walking up the stairs or getting out of the car and all of the sudden my little angel is kissing me on the cheek.
For those of you who don’t have children but plan to, you are in for a real treat. There is something terribly overwhelming about being kissed by your little one. No matter what you are doing, it stops you dead in your tracks. You have a little celebration and thank the baby for taking time out to show some love.
As with anything else, I know it’s possible that the baby kisses could dry up tomorrow. So I’m stocking up now and saving them for the next dry spell. You never know when dad might land himself in the doghouse.
Stay Home PaPa 