Stunt Baby, Soft Baby, and Several Other Things

There have been several small things happen over the last few days that I've wanted to "blog" about, but I'm just now getting the chance. So, instead of several short entries, you're getting a long one with all of the pictures and stories.
First of all, let me explain at least part of the title. When I was younger, we had some neighbors that had a baby. The dad used to put the baby on a beanbag at our house and spin her around, toss her up in the air, and do other crazy things that would make her laugh/squeal. As he did it, he yelled "Stunt Baby". Several times throughout Madigan's life we've used that phrase to describe some of the daredevil things she's tried. Which brings us to the story and pictures: Last Friday night two of Madigan's best friends got to come over for a little while. They were all having fun playing with the toys in the living room when Madigan decided that things were just a little too boring and she wanted to liven it up some. So, she started doing "Stunt Baby" tricks on her scooter.

No fear!!!

Look, Mom. No hands!!Move over, Evil Knievel - Here comes Madigan and Joanna!We're just waiting for her to learn how to pop a wheely on the scooter...

However, when Madigan's not practicing for ESPN's Winter X-Games XXV, she does have a softer side. She's really developed an interest in babies lately, so I decided it was time to introduce her to Soft Baby. For those of you who don't know, Soft Baby was my mom's favorite baby as a child. She then passed it onto me when I was little and Soft Baby and I were inseparable. Unfortunately, all of this love has taken it's toll on Soft Baby physically - she's lost all of her hair (the result of me carrying her around by her hair), her skin has yellowed a bit, and the stuffing inside her has packed down so she's pretty flimsy now. However, none of that has mattered to Madigan. She loves the baby and whenever we go in the living room, the first thing I hear is "baby, baby, baby". We dug out some of Madigan's newborn clothes to put on her and she's wearing the hat Madigan wore in the hospital (because her head was cold from the lack of hair...). Anyway, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about this doll, but it's been really special for me to see Madigan playing with her.

Going for a ride

Still working on the "gentle" hold

Sweet kisses

All of this playing with babies has even rubbed off on Daddy. (Not really, but I couldn't resist posting this picture :) )Let's see... now for some other things that I've meant to blog about:

1) Yesterday I was filling Madigan's sippy cup up with milk and she started fussing and trying to tell me something. I couldn't figure out what she wanted, so I closed the refrigerator and tried to get her to "use her words". We weren't getting very far (since we're still working with a limited vocabulary) and the melt-down was coming on fast. I moved her into the living room, but that only made her madder. Finally, she ran back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. She then started emphatically saying "PEETS PEEZ, PEETS PEEZ, PEETS PEEZ"...
Pizza please. Yes, my 17 month old recognized a Little Caesar's box on the bottom shelf and knew that it held pizza. How she knew that, I don't know. However, after getting a small piece of the crust for her, she was in a wonderful mood!

2)There's really not much a story to this, but I wanted to share these pictures. I was making a veggie tray on Saturday night and Madigan wanted some. So, I gave her a carrot and her own bowl of dip and well, this is the result...

3)Madigan has really started mimicking whatever she sees these days. Her latest is talking on the phone like Mommy and Daddy. Our friend Laura took this picture when Madigan was staying with her one day and attached it in an email entitled"Our friendly operators are standing by". (Make sure you note the multi-tasking!!)Then last night, we caught this on video. She was having quite a conversation with someone! I think she was telling on us for something (when she says "mommy" and "daddy") - probably ratting us out to the grandparents. The funniest part of it to me is that when she finished the call, she tried to put it in her back pocket like I do with my cell phone!
Hope you got a laugh out of that - we sure did!