We are still here...

It has been waaay too long. The last few days have been completely lost to us as I have been VERY ill, and Miles has been valiantly playing BOTH Mom and Dad. As it appears I am finally on the mend, let's bring you all up to date on the latest from the Maschger home...

These are in no particular order:

Build-a-Bear: Grandma and Grandpa Maschger sent Maddie and Emma gift certificates for Christmas to go to Build-a-Bear and create their very own "baby". So we made the trek to the "big" mall (that is what our girls call the mall in Columbia, MD) and let them choose all the stuff for their very own baby. What a treat! Madelynn completely got into the entire experience...if you've never done a build-a-bear, they really know how to market to their client :-) Once the bears were chosen, and stuffed, it was time to dress them. Emma quickly chose a Tinkerbell outfit apparently because it came with a "magic wand" which Emma carried for the next three days! Just the other day, as I was taking her to nap time carrying her "magic wand", I asked her what she was going to do with her wand. She replied, "Nothing, it doesn't work" :-) Now that the bears are dressed it is time to name them, and receive the official "birth certificate". Our Maddie named her bear, "Tayta"...Emma named hers "Toto" (we had watched Wizard of Oz a couple of days before...guess it made an impression!) Finally, it is time to check-out, and each bear is placed in its own "house" (a cardboard box shaped like a house) Maddie would have NO such thing, her baby Tayta was NOT going in the house...Emma had no issues, so Maddie carried her bear out, and Emma let Daddy carry her "house" out. It was a GREAT experience. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa...

A great idea: While we were at the "big" mall, Miles and I took the opportunity to do some fact finding as we are in the market for cell phones. We stopped at several kiosks, and spent time wading through the sales pitches...adding a good hour or so to our day. By the time we left the mall dinner time was quickly approaching...as we were walking to the car, I suggested to Miles perhaps we should just go eat at Cheesecake Factory...which is a joke because to feed our family there would take more money then we have in our "eat-out" budget...Emma immediately turns around, and says, "THAT is a GREAT idea Mom!" There is NO possible way she has EVER heard the term "Cheesecake Factory" much less be able to associate it with food...however, what she did hear was "go eat at"...and that means not eating at home, and Emma LOVES not eating at home!

A kid: A couple of days ago, Miles was upstairs with Maddie trying to get her to actually be quiet during our "quiet time". They were snuggled on "Mommy's bed", and as any hard-working dad would do, Miles was drifting in and out of consciousness. Suddenly Maddie sits up and blurts out, "Dad, I just thought of something. Kid!" At which point she lays back down, and the moment is over...what I wouldn't give to know what goes on in that little head! :-)

Obviously with a whole week gone by, there are more stories to tell than can possibly be told, and unfortunately I have forgotten so many I was going to remember...SIGH! We have been blessed with such awesome girls, who are loaded with personality, and are at such a great age right now, that there will always be something to write...

Maddie is experiencing one of her developmental "growth" spurts. In just the last couple of weeks, she has taken it upon herself to decide whether her clothes need to go in the laundry or not, and if they are clean, then she will FOLD them and put them away...all by herself. The last couple of days, she take her clothes into the bathroom, and dresses herself...with little to no help. Her new favorite word? "Cooperate" To Maddie this means anytime Mom and Dad give her help in any way...we are cooperating...Maddie LOVES to cooperate! :-) Without fail, she makes sure there are napkins on the table anytime we are eating, and she is VERY careful to clean up any of her spills. What a blessing is our biggest girl!

Emma is also exploding in her growth...her vocabulary can be down right disturbing! The other day, she was pouting at the kitchen table. I asked her why she was sad...Our little girls says, "Mom, I am 'frusterated' ". I replied, "Why are you frustrated?" She says, "Because I wanted to say the prayer, but you picked Maddie to say the prayer." As our experience with young children speaking has been Maddie who didn't say more than 50 words until she was over 3...a 2-yr-old who uses words like "frustrated" and "because" and correct verb tenses...is a totally new experience. Emma turns 3 February 18th, and to Miles and I we think, "Is she only turning 3? Are you sure we didn't misplace a year or two somewhere?" Now if we could just get her to use the potty :-) It always has to be something!