Today our baby girl turned 2! (Okay, it was actually last Thursday. I started writing her post on her birthday but didn't finish it.) Where has the time gone? When Carter turned two I was just three short (or very long to a very pregnant women depending on your perspective) weeks away from having Madelynn. It almost seems strange that baby number three isn't on their way. But we have really enjoyed taking time with our two amazing kids and really enjoying them. Madelynn has been a true joy and I am so thankful for her. She is such a blessing to our family. It's amazing how each child is just the perfect fit for your family. She really is just the perfect little lady for our family and I am beyond grateful to be a mama to this beautiful little girl who lights up our life every day.
In her second year of life she went from a baby to a toddler and began to walk. She is talking a little more than when she was a baby ;) but is still a quiet little thing. She loves to whisper and usually whispers when responding to someone she doesn't know super well. She really does have a quiet soul. She is pretty calm and doesn't have a lot of words in her vocabulary. She is starting to talk much more lately though and is beginning to repeat us frequently. Some of the words she has mastered are mama, daddy, Max, more, Rory, light, nose, ears, eye, mouth, hair, Paw Patrol (sounds more like Pa Pa), Wally (for Wallykazam), Grandpa (pa pa), Minnie, go, no, mine, hot, baby, doll, boy, eat, duck, bu buy, and many animal sounds. When she finally decides to say a word she says it very clearly. I think she waits to say a word until she feels like she has it down perfectly. She might be my little perfectionist. That can be a great thing and not so good :) She is careful and precise in everything she does. I always think of her as dainty. She is still little. Not tiny anymore but on the small side for a two year old. We think she is about 21-22 pounds but she doesn't have her two year old check up until April so we won't know for a few more weeks. She was 20 pounds at her 18 month appointment. We just moved her car seat to front facing last week for the first time. She loves it! We waited a lot longer for her because she was so small. Pretty sure Carter was 21 pounds at his first birthday :)
She HATES baths and has basically hated them her entire year of being one. However, the last three baths have gone much better and she is actually playing a little. She refuses to sit down but she will bend down and splash in the water and likes to play with the water coming out of the faucet. They still don't last very long but she has started to tolerate them a little better than the scream fest that it was for the last year. She is a great little eater and eats most of what we offer her. Much different than Carter. Carter has always been a little pickier than her. She loves her blankies still just as much as she did a year ago. She has her big one and a little one and must have both on and off throughout the day. She still sleeps so well! Goes to bed about 7 each night and sleeps until 8 or 8:30 most mornings. Often she even sleeps later! If she stays up later because we have plans during the evening she will often sleep until 9 or 9:30. She is pretty fantastic! She is obsessed with her big brother and could be around him every waking moment of the day. She loves to follow him and do whatever he is doing. Even if he isn't very nice to her she still loves him so much and shows him so much adoration.
She loves to play with her babies and put them down for naps, cover them up and tell us to shhhhh. She is a great little mama. She holds her babies in the cradle position and pats their bottoms. She also loves to play with trucks. Pretty sure if she were a first born that would be different but because she has a big brother who could live on trucks and trucks alone, she also loves trucks. She loves animals and loves to make all the animal sounds she knows. She doesn't say the name of the animal very often but just loves their sounds. She is in love with Minnie Mouse which is why did a Minnie party this year. She just got a kitchen for her birthday and loves it! Her and Carter love to play together at the kitchen. She is a girly girl with a great rough side to her. She loves to be thrown in the air, pushed crazy fast in her little car, swing high on swings and run and chase her brother or daddy.
She is obsessed with her daddy and lights up when he walks in the door from work. However, she loves her mama just as much and will typically choose mama when she is hurt, sad or tired. She is not a great shopper and doesn't last long. She always wants to be held which I don't appreciate when I am trying to shop at the same time. I much prefer to shop alone these days! She loves to be silly and will laugh at almost anything Carter does that is meant to be silly. Even if he isn't being silly at all. He has a great audience of one! She thinks everything he does is funny and fabulous. I don't think he understands the HUGE responsibility he has on his shoulders. I pray every day that he would grow to be a godly example of a man for his little sister to admire and expect for herself someday in her future husband! A little more sass has begun in the last few weeks. She is quiet most of the time and then will express her opinion in a loud "NO" or high pitch squeal when something doesn't go her way. This is fairly new to us. Sadly, I tend to want to smile or laugh because it's so stinkin' cute and unexpected from her! There have been a few moments that I realized after the fact that she was really being kind of naughty and let her get away with it because it isn't normal and it's kind of cute coming from this quiet little lady. I am going to have to really watch myself with her! She will be a holy terror if I don't discipline when needed :)
We are madly in love with our sweet Madelynn Grace! Happy Birthday baby girl!
(Sorry for another post with no pictures. I cannot upload pictures to my blog right now. If anyone knows anything about blogs please tell me if something is going on with blogger in general or if it's something I'm doing wrong! It's driving me crazy! I really want to keep up on my blog and can't when I can't get pictures on here. I still need to go all the way back to Christmas.)
