I fell down!

Never in a million years did I think I would be sitting in the ER with the sweet baby girl waiting to see if an x-ray was going to reveal the need for a cast. I thought for sure this experience would be exclusively a mommy-Lukie moment. Luke causes himself bodily damage just by the mere act of walking. Maddie is always steady on her feet and pretty coordinated for her age. I guess that is why I let my guard down.

We were in the process of getting ready for the pool. Maddie was playing in her room and I had just brought the pool bag with our towels down to the main floor. The next step was making lunches, having our mid-morning snacks, and then out to the pool. All of a sudden I heard something loud pounding down the stairs and I knew instantly that it was Maddie. She had tried to come down the stairs holding a baby and a blanket. My heart stopped but I ran to the stairs. She was laying on her stomach at the bottom of the stairs and she was screaming. At first, I thought she had hurt her leg or foot but then it became clear it was her arm.

We went to Scottish Rite's Emergency Room. I love them. They were so good with her. It takes her awhile to warm up to strangers and I was nervous she would spend our time there screaming as strangers tried to treat her. But she never even cried or uttered a whimper. All of the staff took their time as they examined her and did the x-rays. Even putting on the cast was smooth sailing. She received many stickers because she was such a good girl!!

So, she has a buckle fracture, also known as an incomplete break, which is a common injury in kiddos. Because her bones are softer, it bent in on itself and didn't break completely. Generally, it takes about three weeks to heal. You can imagine that I'm beyond relieved. Her injuries could have been really, really bad. I'm SO extremely grateful.

As for Maddie...

she is taking it in stride. Kids are crazy resilient! "I fell down." She has talked about this a few times today. We are giving her ibuprofen regularly for the pain and she just compensates for the cast as she plays. Of course, she likes to point out that the cast is pink. This seems to please her immensely.

Again, I can't even express how thankful I am. This was scary but she is going to be okay and that is all that matters. Whew!

1st Annual Mancini Family Vacation

One of the family traditions that I've been looking forward to creating the most has been the annual beach trip. After Luke and Maddie are grown and have families of their own, I would love for them to be in the rhythm of carving out time to spend a week with us on vacation. How fun!!

Now that Maddie is older and can do more things, we decided this was the year to start. We piled into the Mancini Fam Jam Van and headed to Florida. The first stop -

Disney World!!

Luke is a great age to go for the first time. He loved it. When we asked him which ride was his favorite, he said, "All of them!" As for Maddie... Well, she probably really won't remember a thing but the good news is her ticket to the park was FREE! She may not remember Disney World but she did add a new sentence to her repertoire: "I wanna ride a ride!"

Lots of "bonding" time while waiting in line for the rides.


Luke hamming it up with his Mickey ears for the camera.

This is what happens when you try to take a picture of Luke and me in the sun. We can't help but squint, hold up a hand to shield the eyes, or just look down. Light blue eyes are SO sensitive to light.

Much better!

We spent three nights (two days) in Orlando. Our original plan was to do Disney World on Monday and then one of the other parks on Tuesday. However, we decided we wanted to take our time exploring Disney World and not get all tense about getting to all the rides in one day. We also decided to leave the park and go back to the condo for lunch and Maddie's nap. This plan allowed us to have really enjoyable times with well-rested kids and we got to see the fireworks on Monday night and the Main Street Electrical Parade on Tuesday night.

Even with all of that careful planning...

we did have some tense and sour moments.
However, those were few and far between because we were after all in the Magic Kingdom!

On Wednesday, we traveled to the beach. We went to Madeira Beach which is on the gulf side by St. Petersburg. After two days of running around a theme park, it was SO awesome to settle into a slower pace. The kids loved playing in the sand and the ocean. We asked Luke if he liked Disney World or the beach better. His response, "I don't know. I like them both!" I would love to post pics of the beach but we didn't bring the camera to the beach with us. Boo!

We ended up leaving the beach a day early. The weather forecast was calling for rain all day on Friday and entertaining active children in a condo on a rainy day was not going to set anyone up for success. So, we decided to drive back in the rain and spend the sunny holiday weekend poolside in Atlanta. Woo-hoo! It has been an awesome family vacation.

There is no "I" in team

But there is an "m" and an "e".
Just saying!

P-P-Ba-Pa-Eee

When you translate "P-P-Ba-Pa-Eee" from 2 year-old to adult it means "I need to pee pee in the potty". This isn't a conversation starter but a call to action. It means I need to go potty now or I've already started to go potty. (The first one involves rushing her to the bathroom and post pee pee in the potty celebration. The second involves a clean-up on aisle 5.)

The downside is the Wee-One has started to use it as a manipulation tool. At least twice a week, after I've put her in her crib for the night, I hear through the monitor, "MOMMA, P-P-Ba-Pa-Eee". She also uses it as a way to get me to hang out with her if I'm working around the house. She knows I'll stop whatever I'm doing and go into the bathroom with her. Sly little fox!

I can't tell you how excited I am that Maddie has started to let us know when she needs to go to the bathroom. One more step towards potty independence. Woo-hoo!

Madeleine Grace is 2!!

Birth day - 2008

1st Birthday - 2009

If you ask Maddie how old she is, she will reply, "I two."
(Yes, Maddie's eyes were blue on her first birthday. They are now hazel. How crazy is that?)

We started the the birthday celebration on Thursday with cupcakes at school. That was messy!!

Then we had her family party on Saturday. The theme was flowers since it is one of the words she says very clearly.

Aunt Kate and Grandma watching the gift extravaganza.

After she opened her first gift, she went into the kitchen to play with it. She was not interested in coming back to the living room to open the rest of her gifts. She told me, "No Momma!" We had to coax her back and convince her she wanted to open more gifts.

Luke hanging with Grandpa.

Unwrapping Grandma Carol's gift. It's an American Girl Bitty Baby and a Bitty Baby Stroller. Yes, it is a HUGE hit!!

The cake! I have learned my lesson (see her first bday post) and took a photo before the party started :)

I couldn't believe that on her 2nd birthday she stuck her face in her cake.
Isn't that 1st birthday phenomena?

Of course, you do it over and over once you get a reaction from the crowd.

Welcome to the terrific twos, my love!!

Potty Training Update

It has been 16 days of potty training. Boy, time sure does fly when you are having fun! Maddie returned to school on Monday. I sent her to school each day with 2 pull-ups, 2 pairs of underwear, and three pairs of shorts. One pull-up was for naps, and the other pull-up... Well, if she went through a total of three pairs of underwear and three pairs of shorts, I decided we would put her in a pull-up and the last remaining pair of shorts and call it day. I'm sure at this point everyone (teachers, Maddie and mommy) would probably be done for the day.

The week back at school went very well. Maddie's fabulous teachers took her to the bathroom every 45 minutes and she was very compliant with them. She only had a couple of accidents the whole school week. She never came close to ending a day in a pull-up. Woo-hoo!

I also think we are starting to turn the corner when it comes to asking to go or letting us know she needs to go. On Thursday she told her teacher she had to go to the bathroom. At home, it has been more subtle. If she mentions pee or poop or potty, I've learned these words are not conversation starters, no need to ask a question because a move needs to be busted!

All-in-all, it has been going well. Oh yeah, today was an accident free day which was totally sweet!

Potty Training Boot Camp

I return to work tomorrow which means the Mancini Potty Training Boot Camp is coming to a close. It was a rough start and I thought about bagging it on Monday. After re-reading some materials and chats with some wise people, I decided to continue (after making some adjustments) and Maddie has finished strong. I'm pretty proud of the little gal. We had multiple outings today and she used public bathrooms like a champ. Woo-hoo!

Maddie hasn't learned to ask to go to the bathroom, yet. So, I have to be aware and take her to the bathroom at regular intervals. Luke did the same thing when he was potty training. So, I'm not sweating it because I know it will come over time. The hard work this week has laid a foundation that we can build upon and I'm super excited about that!!