Madi's Favorite Things!

Madi’s birthday party is this weekend! I know that all of the texts and emails will begin to flood in saying, “What does Madi like?!” and “What should I get her?” Well, I hope that this post will help me answer those questions because I find myself telling everyone the same couple of things anyway. Maybe this post will allow for some ideas to brew about what to get her that she would enjoy. Also, I realize that a lot of my readers will not be attending her party since they don’t live nearby (IG aunts and cousins!) so my hope for this post is to also celebrate her and how her personality and interests are constantly changing. I think that this would be a good list to compile at every birthday, so that when she’s 17, she can look back and say, “I liked Elmo THAT much when I was 2?” and so on. So here goes nothing … :)

If you know Madi at all, you know that there would not be anything other than babydolls in the top spot. This list is not in order but when I think of her and picture her in my head, the mental image would not be complete without a baby doll or stuffed animal in her hand. She plays with them nonstop, putting them to sleep, patting their back, even pretending to change their diaper by lifting their legs in the air and saying “wipe booooty!” She’s also interested in real babies. She adores her little cousin Brody and points to babies in stores while we’re out. (though a “baby” to her is anyone younger than about 15, lol)

She’s also a big outdoors person. We spend the majority of our free time at parks and exploring outside. She plays with the puppies and swings, collects fallen leaves, follow trails and identify different things that we find, etc etc etc. She never gets bored outside. We throw balls back and forth and name sounds that we hear. She is without a doubt happiest when she is outside playing.

Madi is an organizer. She takes her shoes that are on the shelf and puts them in rows, exactly where she wants them, then organizes them in a different way, repeat repeat repeat. When we go out, she organizes the magazines on the doctor’s office waiting room tables. She organizes her babies on the bed. (She most definitely got that from me and not her Daddy) I’m not sure how that would translate in terms of helping with an idea of what to get for her, but it’s a cute characteristic that I definitely think is worth noting.

One trait of hers that I’m pretty proud of is her love of books. She’s interested in them all. She has a shelf of books that she takes out at the beginning of the day that we read through some time during the day and they don’t get put up until it’s bed time, mostly because she won't let me. She loves to look through them whenever she can. Some of her favorites are Corduroy's Birthday, Where's Spot?, and this cheap $1 Sesame Street book that tells you to do different things like wiggle your fingers, stick your tongue out, count your eyes, etc. She giggles the entire time. (money well spent!) We are having some difficulty with “lift the flap” books and NOT tearing the flaps off, but we’re working on it ;) I mean, why would there be a part of the page hanging off and hiding a main part of the story? I get it baby, it just doesn’t make sense.

She loves to play in her play kitchen that is a hand-me-down from my niece who is now 8. It has an oven, microwave, sink, cabinets, pantry, etc. It’s so cute, but she doesn’t have many toys to play with it. Things like fake food, fruits, veggies, dishes, utensils, etc. She has a few but I know that she would enjoy having more.

That pretty much sums up her favorite activities. I know that that was extremely long but let me wrap this up with saying that a girl can NEVER have too many clothes and shoes ;) (2T/3T clothes, size 7 & 8 shoes)