Madeleine Math

13 months
21 pounds
6 teeth showing
8 words in sign
1 banana-sized aquatic sibling
11 hours of sleep at night
2 naps
3 hearty meals
24 ounces whole milk
4 diapers
4 awesome grandparents
2 lucky parents
+ 1 neglected blog
__________________
100 reasons to be happy!

Catching up...

As I get older, I'm realizing how difficult it can be to keep up with this blog. By the time I get home from daycare, Mom and Dad get home from work, and my little brother/sister gets done doing whatever it is that keeps making Mom's tummy bigger, we're all pretty tired!

Plus, I'd rather be walking! Okay, not exactly walking, but pretty close! Give me a wall or a divan (whatever that is) or a good strong Mom or Dad hand, and I can go anywhere I want now on two legs. I've given up my army commando/iguana crawl and I move around on my hands and my knees when I'm not walking. Dad says he's a little disappointed, because when I dragged my stomach on the ground it helped polish the floor!

I meet with two really nice ladies every week. There names are Liz and Lynn.

Liz comes on Tuesday nights and teaches us sign language. She's deaf just like me and doesn't speak with her mouth at all. Gabby and LuCinda and Alyssa all have joined us for the lessons. Everyone is learning really fast! Right now we're learning Eric Carle's book Have You Seen My Cat? Next week we start with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Mom and Gabby go on walks after the class and I hang out with Dad. I like when Mom gets to see her friends and Dad isn't so bad I guess. :)

Lynn comes on Fridays and plays with me. I'm not really sure what she does but she always brings new toys! She watches what I'm doing, signs to me, asks Mom lots of questions and gives her advice about how to communicate with me.

Speaking of communication, I know sign language now! Did you know that? I've noticed Mom and Dad moving their mouths for a long time and I know they were trying to tell me something but I just couldn't figure it out. Lately, though, I've noticed that they also do funny things with their hands. Did you know when you squeeze your fists that your parents will bring you milk? Or that when you touch your fingers together in front of you that you get more of whatever you want? And if I want to stop what I'm doing all I have to do is wave my hands in the air like a magician and presto! All done! So far I can sign milk, eat, more, light, yes, all done, drink, water, and I understand a whole bunch more that my fingers can't quite do yet.

I can't imagine why people don't try to communicate with each other. I think that's why they get in fights or get mad, because they don't listen! Or are some people embarrassed about their voices? Is that the problem? Maybe everyone should learn to sign.

Mom and I go to another sign language class on Thursday nights where a nice man (who's also deaf like me!) teaches a bunch of adults that if you sign the word "hungry" wrong then you're actually saying "I'm hungry for you." Mom wouldn't explain what that means but I don't think people should eat each other! That's bad communication, too!

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to try really hard to post more soon. Thanks to everyone who's been asking about me.

#9 - Top Missed Moments from 2007

Thanksgiving! And boy, did I have lots of thanks to give!

Did you know:
That I've never had to walk anywhere in my entire life?
That I never cook, clean, or do any chores?
That I've never done any laundry?
That I don't even know what the word laundry means?
That I never bathe or dress myself? (Unless splashing water and pulling off my socks counts)
And I never change my own diapers?

A REALLY BIG THANKS to everyone who takes care of me! Especially Mom, who does much more than anyone else. She takes care of me and Dad all the time and still always smiles when she sees me! I'm so thankful for every minute I spend with her, even when she's not cleaning up after me!

Although traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, Thanksgiving is actually a harvest celebration that can happen at any time of the year. It's a time to celebrate family and friends. We had Thanksgiving dinner a little early this year, so we could celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa D before one of their trips to Philadelphia. It was like an all you can eat buffet on our dinner table! I never knew there were so many kinds of potatoes!

We also went to a really neat restaurant called White Fence Farm, where they let you pet and eat animals! Dad ate some cow and I pet a goat. It was a great day!

#10 - Top Missed Moments from 2007

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! This may be hard to believe, but I'm actually in this picture. I dressed up as a pumpkin for my first Halloween. See if you can figure out which one is me! Good luck, I'm a master of disguise!

Just like Valentine's Day, Halloween is a special holiday that used to be religious but now is mostly related to candy. On both days people dress funny--on Valentine's Day people dress up in red and try to look pretty for each other, on Halloween people dress up to scare each other. On Valentine's Day people buy flowers, on Halloween they buy pumpkins. They're practically the same day for me, because Mom and Dad won't let me near candy on any holiday.

Valentine? Sister?

Hey everybody! I learned two new words today!

First, Valentine. Valentine was a nice priest in ancient Roman times. A grouchy Emperor Claudius decided that boys made better soldiers if they weren't husbands or fathers, so he outlawed marriage. Valentine thought this wasn't right so he married people in secret anyway. He got in some trouble later (Dad wouldn't explain how) but now he's a saint so he's okay now.

Today is Valentine's Day! And just like ancient Roman times, today is a day where everything that I want is outlawed! There's this stuff called chocolate and these little candy hearts and these pretty flowers with spiky stems... I can't have any of them. Mom and Dad said maybe next year. Hopefully St. Valentine will sneak me some treats when they're not watching. :)

I also learned the word Sister today. Because I'm going to be one! Mom and Dad went to the doctor and took pictures of this little grape sized baby that's hanging out in Mom's uterus (wherever that is). The baby looks like a big ball of lint in the pictures but I guess I'll still have to be nice when they get older.

Dad says Mom's belly will swell up like this balloon in the next several months. I think that's why Mom is staring at the balloon in the picture!

By the way, if you'd like to learn the hand sign for Valentine or Sister, you can try www.ASLPro.com, a website with over 11,000 video clips of different signs in American Sign Language!

Super Bowl Sundaes?

This is so different than I expected! Dad and I went to the grocery store today and it was completely crazy! Everyone in the store looked panicked and in a hurry to get somewhere. I think it's because of the Giants that will be fighting on television later with a bunch of guys who are all named Pat.

I thought everyone would buy ice cream and Cool Whip and chocolate syrup, but apparently other people make sundaes with avocados, Velveeta and chicken wings. YUCK! Even Dad bought Rotel tomatoes and tortilla chips. There's no way I'm putting either one on my ice cream.

I hope everyone is enjoying the special commercials today while they're eating weird sundaes in super bowls. I didn't see it, but apparently a Dalmatian dog helped a big horse lose some weight. Mom cried when Hank made the team. Apparently the guys named Pat are beating the Giants right now and Dad is a little upset. He says cheaters never win, whatever that means.

Well, some guy named Tom Petty is about to break some hearts, so I better get going!

Stay tuned for lots of pictures in Madeleine's Top Ten Missed Moments of 2007!

Hear No Evil

It's been a really long time since I last wrote and so much has happened! I want to tell you all about Halloween and Christmas and my teeth and blowing raspberries and the snow--but everyone only seems interested in my ears these days. The rumors are spreading quickly, so I should probably set the record straight.

I might be deaf, or profoundly hearing impaired. I can't hear sounds, even really loud ones. Apparently people and car horns and iPods (whatever those are) all make the air vibrate. My ears are supposed to notice these vibrations and convince my brain that there's something called sound happening. My ears, however, are only cute.

My ears may never hear sounds. Dad says that's okay, because I won't have to hear all of the mean, awful, ugly sounds that exist in the world. I won't have to hear crying or gunshots or curse words or rude people burping. Mom wishes that I could hear all of the happy things like chirping birds and her lullabies and Duran Duran.

I really appreciate how concerned everyone has been since they found out the news.

I know some of you are really sad that I'm different, but I haven't changed! I think I've always been this way. The only thing that's changed is the fact that everyone finally knows. Each one of us is different in our own way; this is how I am different. That's the only thing we all have in common: we're all different! I'm still the same extraordinarily adorable girl that loves to laugh and eat bananas and smile at everyone I meet.

I've seen a few new doctors lately and they have poked around in my ears and hooked wires up to me and filled my ears with weird pink plastic stuff. They think someday I might be able to use my ears to hear sounds if I get a little help from hearings aids or this thing called a cochlear implant.

Until then, I'm learning to hear with my eyes and my fingers and my nose. My eyes are really good at hearing things and I can certainly talk with my hands! (Hopefully Mom and Dad will figure out what I've been saying to them!)

If it's possible, I wouldn't mind if my ears could pick up on those vibrations in the air. But if I can't, I know I'll still be just as happy because my family and friends love me so much!