Madilyn, 5/12

A picture of Madi, once a month, for a year.

5/12   Completely loving spending her days outside in the sun, and being in the water as much as she can.   (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)

Currently.

Watching: Her forever favorites are Dora The Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She's also sort of discovered Doc McStuffins but hasn't really made up her mind whether or not she likes it. She really likes watching Fox & The Hound II and Despicable Me. She giggles for days at both of them.   Reading: We made a Barnes & Noble run a few days ago and got some new books. She loves to read and has a full shelf of books. But a girl can never have too many books, right? So we picked up Octopus Alone, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Corduroy. I can remember reading the last two as a kid, and she enjoys them both so much. Octopus Alone drew her attention just by the cover art and she loves the pictures in it. She points at the seahorses, and counts the jellyfish. I'm still not sure though if the Corduroy book we bought beats the lift-the-flap Corduroy's Birthday book she's been obsessed with for months though. Time will tell.

Loving: We went to Splashtown today with Clayton, Sherry, and Brody. I kind of thought that she would be scared of a lot of the stuff and we'd spend a couple hours there and call it a day. Boy did she surprise me. Like always. We spent very close to SIX hours there. We pretty much had to drag her out of the waterpark. She played in the kids area, the wave pool, we floated the lazy river, had snacks, then did it all over again. She was having such a good time. She's really getting the hang of the swimming thing too. We got her some good floaties and she got it down quick. Watching her dance and swim in the water was the cutest thing. I'm so glad we went. She'll definitely be talking about it for awhile. :)

Listening to: Well, we listen to a LOT of Kenny Chesney. If you know me, that doesn't come as a shock. But this little girl loves all music. We were in the wave pool today and all kinds of music was playing (Pit Bull, Jake Owen, Switchfoot, etc) and she was rocking out. When a song would end, she would say, "Make them play another one!" She's got rhythm too!

Making her happy: This is a long list... swimming, playing in the dirt outside, letting Mommy spray me with the waterhose, feeding PupPup sticks (lol), throwing rocks in the pond, picking Granny and Pawpaw flowers, babysitting Brody, going to Splashtown, hanging out with Izzy and Holly, going on dates with Mommy, eating dessert before dinner, Dora gummies, new babies from Nonna & Papaw, getting my nails painted, sharing homemade smoothies with Mommy, pet rocks, building "castles" out of blocks, singing songs before bedtime, cuddling in bed after waking up, going to the toy store, singing the "happy birthday" song, playing outside in the sun all day long.     As always, this post was inspired by the lovely Dani Hampton over at Sometimes Sweet. (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)

The Sweetest Things

 

So in the past several weeks, I started babysitting my nephew, Brody, two days a week. I keep him 2 days, and my mother-in-law keeps him the other two days. We were all a little nervous how Madi would react to the whole thing, because she isn't used to sharing me, and sharing her grandparents attention is still a little new. Even though I knew I could do it, I knew it would take some getting used to on my part too. Taking care of a toddler and a 9/10 month old by yourself is a lot.

 

I've so much enjoyed keeping him. He is the happiest little boy I have ever seen. He doesn't complain unless he's tired or hungry. Other than that, he's pretty much cool with anything. We take him anywhere, and he's just like "yeah, that sounds good." We were in and out of the car like 5 times one day and he never complained. It makes it a lot easier since Madi will ALWAYS tell you how she feels ;)

 

One thing, like I said above, I was worried about was Madi's reaction to having to share me. Instead of devoting all of my attention to her, I had to take care of him also. The first couple of days, she didn't like it so much. But once we all figured each other out, and our schedules started to mesh, things got much smoother. She now gets excited that "we have to go take care of Bowdee today." She shares her toys with him (mostly!), hugs him when he cries, and always makes sure he's not getting into something he's not supposed to. She gets a real kick out of it when I say, "I have to do something, watch him real quick while I run to the other room." She says, "Ok, Mommy!" and pretty much gives me a narrative the whole time I'm gone. "He's just playing with his toy! Crawling to another one!" I really think she would be a good big sister. Brody adores her too. When she is around, he can't do anything but look at her and smile. That adoration is seriously the sweetest thing to watch.

 

I love that I get to spend my days with them. They are the sweetest things. What's better than getting to play with a happy squishy boy that you can give back when his Daddy gets home? ;)

 

 

 

 

See how sweet?

  (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)

Words From A Toddler Mom

  On the way home today, as I was talking to Madi, I realized something. There are some things that I say to her, on a daily basis, that I probably wouldn't have thought I would ever have to say prior to becoming a parent. Some of them are hilarious, if you take yourself out of the moment and just think about it. Having a toddler is a wild ride, but usually, it's downright funny.   Here are a few things that I find myself telling Madi...   Don't take your pants off in public. You shouldn't eat things off of the ground. (!!) You have to eat REAL food before you can have a treat. I want you to water the plants, not your clothes. No, you can't have a cookie for breakfast.
Don't punch the dog in the face. Be nice. Please don't throw things at Mommy while she's driving. Quit picking your nose. YOU HAVE TO HOLD MY HAND WHEN CROSSING THE STREET! Use your spoon, not your fingers. Please keep your clothes on. Don't stick that in the Blu-Ray player. I want the bath water to stay in the bathtub. Don't spray me with the water hose! -- too late. You need to say it nicely. Please don't throw my phone. It will break. You need to watch where you're walking. You're a big girl. You can do it by yourself. Brush your teeth. Sucking on the toothbrush doesn't do the job. Don't pour your food out on the floor. Are you sure you want to watch Dora? :( How about something else? Help me clean up your room. You can't lay on top of Brody. Don't take toys from Brody. You have to be nice to Brody. Don't lick Brody! If you chug that chocolate milk, it'll  make your belly hurt. I really don't want to hold your hand after you pick your nose. Eat your food. Please, eat? Why do you try to eat the bubbles in your bath? Yuck. If you take a good nap, we'll go play afterwards. Lay down. You have to hold on when you're swinging! I can't understand you when you have your fingers in your mouth. You shouldn't throw sand. No one wants to see your naked butt. EVERYONE sleeps. I promise I'm not making you do this every night to be mean. Please stay away from the pool. Puppies don't eat sticks and rocks. No candy for breakfast! (literally say this every morning)   Sometimes these situations can be stressful and repeating these things can feel futile. But hey, I remember my Mom complaining that I was like talking to a brick wall. So, I guess it's just payback. But really, reading through this makes me laugh, even though I've said several of these just today. While working in the garden, she turned the hose toward the wind and got me soaking wet. The water was freezing so I had no breath to tell her to turn it off. Needless to say, she thought it was hilarious when the wind died down and she saw me dripping. ;) Toddlers are work, but they sure keep you on your toes!   (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)

Mother's Day Weekend

We started preparing for Mother's Day last week. We made cute little handprint flower bouquet crafts for all the Mom's. I let Madi make one for my Mom, Granny, and Grandma. Then I let Madi and Brody make one for Mimma and Mimi. They turned out so cute and they all loved them. There were a few other gifts with those, but those were definitely the highlight. The kids had so much fun making them (and slinging paint everywhere) too!  

 

 

My Mother's Day gifts included getting my hair and toes done, pictures printed and framed from the wedding of Madi and I, orchids, and Starbucks gift card! I'd call that a successful Mother's Day. I also helped Kylie with the gift for her Mom which turned out SO cute.

 

 

 

 

We spent the day with family and ate lots of good food. All the Mom's loved their gifts and *hopefully* they truly realize how much we love all of them.  

 

    (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)

She's 2, Going On 16

  Sometimes Madi says certain things to me that make me feel like if I look over at her, I'll see an adult. They literally leave me speechless because I just do NOT expect them to be coming from a 2.5 year old.   She's kind of obsessed with her boo-boo's lately. If she has one on her leg, she'll talk about it all day, and show it to everyone. It's pretty serious business. Anyway, we were eating and she says, "OH MY GOODNESS I HAVE A BOOBOO ON MY HAND!!" and responding to her tone alone, I asked to see it. She showed me her red-tinged palm and when I made an "OMG" face, she giggled and said, "It's just ketchup, Mommy." I seriously didn't even have a response. My 2 year old just pranked me... and she did it WELL.   Then today while we were driving home from school, she asked me, "Mommy, are those new 'rings?" (earrings). She said, "I LOVE your new 'rings, they're so pretty." I told her thank you and she said "welcome." She just doesn't seem like she's 2.   She's pretty manipulative though. She skinned her knees the other day while we were outside walking. By her reaction, you'd think she would have bled out. It was a BIG thing. So when we got home, she made my Dad and Mom carry her everywhere. She said, "My knees are boken, carry me!" She absolutely refused to straighten her legs out because it would pull on that skin and make it hurt. The skin that she hurt really wasn't bad at all, but she absolutely took advantage of it and got carried everywhere for 2 days. She would excitedly tell the story of how it happened with a big smile on her face, "I was HOP-HOP-HOPPING like a bunny and I fell down!" then she'd make a sad face and ask to be carried... ;)   We met Izzy and Holly for a playdate at the Lego Store today and there was a Star Wars display in the window of that little green dude with the pointy ears (I don't know his name, those shows aren't my thing...) Anyway, she picked him up and held it up to her face and started dancing. It was hilarious. Everyone was looking because it really looked like this green dude was dancing. Well, in the process of this, she knocked some stuff over. When she realized it, she dropped everything and RAN. Even though she was being a pain, and not listening to my suggestions to get out of the window display, it really was funny.   Tonight we got locked out of the house. I told her that we would have to wait a little bit until Nonna got home with the house key. She said, "Let's just drive around and listen to Kenny until she gets here." (Kenny Chesney) This doesn't surprise me, you know, because she is my child. I was just really really proud. Needless to say, we opened the sunroof and sang along with Kenny, breathing in the cold night air. Just me and my girl.   Everyday she says something that surprises me. She's hilarious and has a sense of humor even if she doesn't realize it. She's 2 going on 16, that's for sure.   (Madi and Me is now featured on TopMommyBlogs.com! If you like reading this blog, vote for us. Just click the link, or the icon on the right side bar.)