Pint-sized Picasso

Isn't there an ancient Chinese proverb that says, "Beware the child wielding soap crayons?" Well, if not then there should be. Being as Margie Grace serves as our first foray into parenthood, Neil and I have no prior experience with soap crayons. These particular crayons came with a bath toy given to MG by her Uncle Tim (see previous post). They looked like fun and seemed harmless, but I'm sensing Uncle Tim knew more than we did when picking out this toy and now the joke's on us. You see, a white-tiled tub/shower with white grout plus three vibrant colored soap crayons in the hands of a creative-minded toddler (who told us while she was creating the masterpiece that she was writing her "name on the shower") equals hours of scrubbing for mom and dad. Yeah, they're made of soap but still quite tricky to get clean. When we first offered the crayons to her in the bathtub, Margie Grace thought they were the greatest things ever and she's left her mark on every square inch of that tub! For the most part, the hall bathtub is now accented with bright blue, green and orange -- we call it an "MG original." We're going to let her keep them because, thank goodness, soap melts eventually! And then maybe we'll take a break from the tub crayons . . . either that or I need a year's supply of Scubbing Bubbles, stat!

Crisis Averted

So this is the scene after your 23-month-old stealthily grabs a pack of gum from the deep recesses of your purse and you discover it only moments after she has stuffed two pieces -- wrapper and all -- into her tiny little mouth. You remove said gum just in time and confiscate the rogue pack, which is placed high atop the kitchen counter, well out of the toddler's reach. This particular action sends the toddler into a mad fit and what happens next is not pretty: crying, kicking, screaming, throwing of oneself onto the floor (it ain't always rainbows and roses, people). However, after about 20 seconds, once the toddler rage has subsided, peace talks begin. Thankfully, on this occasion, mass destruction was averted when the principle negotiator offered the toddler a nice piece of string cheese . . . and all was right with the world!

A Day at the Park

Recently one afternoon Neil and I took Margie Grace to Hickory Dickory Park. She had such a great time! Many of the play structures there are geared toward older kids and are too big for her to enjoy. But there is a special section just for toddlers and little ones. While Margie Grace showed a little trepidation about the slides, she absolutely loved the swings. She loves to swing and really enjoys the one we have in our backyard so I knew she'd like the ones at Hickory Dickory. Here she is hanging out and enjoying a day at the park. We are hoping as the weather begins to turn cooler, we can go to the park more often!

(By the way, aren't the leg holes in that toddler swing huge? I'd like to see the giant toddler baby that needs holes that big! The whole time I was just a tad afraid that MG was going to slip through one of those holes . . . thank goodness she didn't!)

Raidin' the Refrigerator

At nearly two years old, Margie Grace is acquiring new skills and words every day. It is fascinating to see all the new things she is learning. However, some of these new things can pose problems for her mom and dad . . . like her recently acquired ability to open the refrigerator. It is not uncommon to find a scene like the one above at our house these days -- Margie Grace standing in front of the refrigerator, its door slung wide open, and her pondering what exactly it is she wants inside. She has come to learn that goodness comes from within the frig's chilly depths. To her, this large, white box is the source of her yogurt, cheese, milk and grapes, among other goodies. And if she wants it, like any toddler, she's going to do her best to get it. On this particular day she made two consecutive trips to survey what snacks were awaiting her in the frig. She scored a piece of string cheese and a juice box -- a pretty nice take in her opinion (notice the smile of satisfaction!). At least with this new-found ability, she's able to get herself a snack. And with a little training, she can probably grab a snack for mom and dad too!

A Family Divided

When it comes to college football -- or college anything for that matter -- us Wilders are Auburn through and through. However, among extended family the allegiances are not that straightforward. Neil's brother graduated from Mississippi State and Neil attended one year of school there before transferring to Auburn (he claims to only bleed orange and blue, though). So the AU vs. MSU football game each fall brings about a nice opportunity for a little family rivalry. This past Saturday we ventured over to Starkville, Miss., for the game and met Tim, Sue and Neil's dad [who was sporting a MSU shirt and an Auburn ballcap -- he told me his heart belonged to Auburn but I could swear I heard him say the same thing to Sue about MSU:) ]. Neil, Margie Grace and I were dressed head to toe in Auburn orange and blue. Tim and Sue proudly wore their maroon and white. Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Wilder wore both. Here are a couple of pictures illustrating our divided family. Although Tim successfully got Margie Grace to utter the words "Go Dogs" a couple of times Saturday night, Neil and I spent the entire ride home practicing "War Eagle" with her! The game was pathetic but we still had fun.

Mustang Margie

Move over Mustang Sally -- Margie Grace is behind the wheel! MG has a new obsession. She loves her Cozy Coupe car. Every evening when we get home from picking her up at Mrs. Elaine's, Margie Grace says "Momma, beep, beep, car, driving! Daddy, beep, beep, car, driving!" She is so excited to get to the backyard and drive her car. She loves it and drives it all over the yard. Some of the time she pushes it; some of the time she requests that I push her; most of the time she drives it herself while giving rides to her baby. She has demanded that I sit in the passenger seat a couple of times and I'm still trying to convince her that I don't quite fit. She's even attempted to wrangle Max into the car but he's a little too fast for her. Here are a few pictures from MG's latest stroll. And don't worry -- we've still got 14 years until she's street legal.

A Blog is Born

Back in May I had high intentions of starting a blog to keep folks posted on the Wilder family. I enthusiasically signed up for a blog at blogger.com to establish an account. However, I was unimpressed with the templates that were available through this program. I wanted to spiff up my blog a bit -- make it more personal and give it more of a look and feel that reflects our family instead of a canned template. After asking around, I thought the best option was going to be to pay someone to design a customized header and background for me. I looked into hiring a woman who has started designing cutomized blogs for a living (thanks Julie C. for giving me that info.!), but I soon learned that she is in such high demand, she wasn't taking on new clients for a while. We got busy as the summer progressed and, frankly, I forgot about the blog. That is until I learned from my friend Lacy that I could customize the blog myself. Thanks to an informative e-mail from her, I spent Friday night doing some preliminary design work on this here blog. I think it is looking pretty good if I do say so myself. I still need to do some work on the header and have lots of ideas for that. So stay tuned as this is definitely a work in progress. In the meantime, welcome to "A Walk on the Wilder Side"; I hope you enjoy reading about our family and experiencing life with us!