The Cat in Action

So it isn't scary, but it is pretty freakin' cute.

The Carving Station

It's been a while since I carved a pumpkin, a year at least (haha), but I remember it being a messy affair. I wanted Mads to be able to participate in as much of the carving process as possible, and since I couldn't hand her a knife, that meant her job would be pumpkin gutter. But how do you let a 17 month old gut a pumpkin when you have wall to wall beige carpet?

Allow me to present to you the carving station. I know I'm a genius, you really don't have to tell me.

After stripping Mads down to just a diaper, I plopped her in the kiddie pool with her pumpkin.

After Daddy ever so gently removed the top of the big pumpkin, Mads got very curious:

Curiosity quickly turned to revulsion, as she yelled "Ew! Ew! Ewww!" when Daddy plopped the first handful of pumpkin guts a little too close to Madelynn's delicate footsies:

Repulsion turned to fear:

And fear turned to screaming mess when one tiny seed landed on her foot:

After this, you couldn't have paid Mads to get back in that pool, and my plans to take a million pictures of Babe elbow deep in pumpkin innards were squashed. Jeffrey and I were clearly on our own.

Madelynn observed the rest of the pumpkin carving from a safe distance:

The end result? A pumpkin that Mads is happy to walk past and yell "Cat!" at 500 times in 20 minutes.

Just as long as she doesn't have to touch it.

A Happy B-Day from Mady O.

It's true, I'm 24 today. I can't figure out which hill it is, but I'm positive I've gone over one. While sleeping in this morning (the best birthday present a Mama could ask for), Mads got all creative and made me this card. It's absolutely beautiful.

How old do you have to be before you can start lying about your age?

I hate getting old.

Pumpkin Patch Kids

*****

Megan and I took the babies to the pumpkin patch today. First things first, I bought Mads a fresh, shiny macintosh:

She was thrilled, and she shared:

There's nothing like a healthy snack to keep a girl focused, and I needed Mads at the top of her game if we were going to navigate through the dreaded corn maze:

I had never been in a corn maze before (actually, none of us had), so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Skinny paths, crinkly corn and dead ends were what I had imagined, and I wasn't disappointed at all. However, I wasn't prepared for the surprise behind bend number two:

The spooky didn't end there, but Mads was a very brave baby. Her first obstacle was to get by The Hissing Pikachu of Death:

Victorious, she moved on past the Lazy Headed Dopey Dude of Scarecrow Crossing:

She conquered the Broken Box of Mexico (?):

And breezed past the Misplaced Butler of the Corn:

After turning down bend number 82, we were faced with the infamous Terrifying Tube of Dirty Knees. It was terrifying and definitely dirty, but Mads was brave once again:

And dirty. (Don't mind that huge splotch of apple on her shirt, it dried before we left.)

Finally, the spooky was over and we trudged through the exit. But wait! The best (and perhaps the scariest) surprise of all was just ahead:

Cross-eyed goats! (Honestly, Megan and I told the babies that they were sheep. We didn't realize how wrong we were until the "sheep" got into a battle and emitted a pissed-off, screeching sound that was nothing like "baa.")

I was a little leery of these goats (or whatever they are), they were most definitely cross-eyed and they smelled absolutely horrid. Plus, they were fairly aggressive with each other, so I wanted to make sure Mads didn't actually touch any of them...

And that's when she kissed one:

Fearless warrior.

Back at the patch, Mads found the perfect spot to sit and reflect on the horrors of the afternoon:

Finally, it was time to pick our pumpkins:

Mads ogled pumpkins for at least 32 seconds before losing interest and running away:

Her destination? A little, purple playhouse which turned out to be her most favorite attraction of all:

After Mads had finished with her playhouse, she took a quick ride on a pretty pony:

and pretended to be her most favorite thing in the whole universe:

This chick just loves cats. And pumpkin patches!

*****

Now you may remember from a past post that Megan had called my sweet baby a bully. It's true, she said it. I would like to take this opportunity to show who the real terror is in this toddler twosome:

Pushy, pushy Mason.

He even tried to run her over with a trike. Who's the bully now? :)

"AIMEE!! Stop Leaving Your SHIT Where Madelynn Can Get It!!!"

I could live in a world without electricity or running water, but a world without eyeliner is just too horrible to comprehend. I wasn't sure if my love for the black pencil would rub off on Mads or not, but I figured if it did, it wouldn't happen until the preteen years.

Not too bad for her first try, but she really needs to work on her precision.

My title? That's what Jeffrey had to say about our made-up babe. At the tender age of 26, he's really turning into a crotchety old man. :)

It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Kissed

I have two babies tonight. Jeffrey, Mads and I picked up Mason at around 4:30 this afternoon. Besides Madelynn's obsession with teasing Mason (she loves to 'pretend' to hand him something, and then yank it away as soon as Mason reaches out his little arm. I don't know where she learned that), we didn't have any issues until bath time hit. Madelynn is very affectionate. She's a hugger, and most recently, a kisser. Who doesn't enjoy a big, open-mouthed kiss from a toddler? Well...

Bath started out on the right foot, with lots of sharing and chummy head patting:

Now, Mason sports a kissy face quite often, so I can understand how Mads would get the wrong impression. Hell, I wanted to kiss the kid. How could you possibly resist that smoochy face?

So Mads kissed him. A lot. Which led to this:

Mads, sensing the distress that Mason was most obviously experiencing, tried to console him:

Which led to this:

Finally, I had to separate them. I pulled Mads to the other side of the tub and tried to ever so gently explain to her that Mason just didn't want to be kissed anymore. It got me this:

She can't be discouraged though:

Poor Mason.

Mads loves Mason, and I'm pretty sure Mason has a soft spot for her, too. He just prefers her in smaller doses and at least 400 yards away.

While shopping today, I bought that new Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath & Wash, and I just couldn't wait to try it out. So if you were wondering why that tubby is so bubbly, now you know! It's fabulous.