Adventures

Since Madi & I have the luxury of being together for the summer, I've been trying to keep her entertained throughout the summer days. I don't want her to be the child who sits in front of the TV for hours, so I've been trying to come up with different things to do with her. Now that she is older and wants constant stimulation, I have found that the days go by much easier and happier by doing so.

The splash pad at the Woodlands Waterway Square is one place she loves to go.

The fountains shoot up out of the ground and she gets so excited. Its just enough water to get wet but not too overwhelming. There are also other children there that she can interact with (without getting too far away from me, of course ;))

One place that we went to last friday that was new for both of us was the Houston Children's Museum.

We went with a friend of mine and her godson. They had such a great time once we found the "Tot Spot" which is an area specifically geared for toddlers. They played for hours together, and it was pretty fun for my friend and I also :) They had an outdoor area where there were giant water tables that Madi & Izzy loved. We had to drag them away when it was time to leave.

(proof of a successful trip! pooped youngsters!)

Overall, Madi's favorite place to be is outside! So pretty much any activity that involves the outdoors is approved by her. We swing, water the plants, play catch, etc. But the other day we went swimming with her and she had a blast! Usually, she's not much of a fan of the swimming pool but she was kicking and screaming in excitement this time around. She needs some floaties of her own to swim by herself. She kept pushing me away to try to swim by herself, lol.

On the days we are stuck inside, we spent most of the time reading her books (which she absolutely loves and will spend hours doing), and also playing with her babydolls. Today we played with blocks and built them up. Usually she likes to just tear them down but this time she built them as high as she could without them falling. Watching her do it was bittersweet. The baby that could only swat at the tower and knock it down can now build it up all by herself.

What kinds of things do you do with your toddler to keep them busy and learning? I'd love ideas of any kind :)

-Taylor





A Guide to the language of Madi

Madi is 20 months old now and it seems like she learns new words and phrases everyday. It's hard to keep up! Her mind goes 100mph and so does her little mouth. So, I've devised a guide that has words she commonly uses along with her pronounciation of them. I hope that she will think its amusing when she's older and sees that she used to say some of these things. :)

(Word- Pronounciation)

Let me drive your car- "I dibe it!"
I love you- "Ahhwah"
Yes- "no" or "nope"
Excuse me- "cue me"
Milk- "munk"
Juice- "jew-uh"
Help- "hup" or "I hup"
Hand- "hahnd"
Swing- "shing"
Hold me- "I hold" or "I hold it"
Video- "boo-wah"
Yo Gabba Gabba- "gabba!" or "gabi"
Colin- "canga"
Hilda- "Hahdah"
Belly button- "but-but"
Outside- "side"
Granny- "gangy"
Cookie- "cook"
Sippy cup- "sip-cup"
Sorry- "sobby"
Airplane- "ehpayne"
Cover up- "cub up"
Blanket- "bankie"
Where- "eh"
Winston (her stuffed turtle)- "win-win" or "winton"

She says so many other words and pronounces them correctly but there are some that I had a hard time diciphering the first time she uttered them. She also signs quite a lot if I can't understand her. I'm still adding onto this list and transferring them to her journal. I hope she'll get a kick out of them later, or that you do right now. :)

Will post again soon, but for now...

Pictures from the last couple of weeks:

-Taylor