Happy Birthday Maddie!

Today Maddie turns 3! It's hard to imagine she's so grown up. But it does seem like it has been ages since she was born. I can't believe how much she's changed and how much she adds to our lives. And since this blog sometimes doubles as a journal, I'm going to take a minute to write about Maddie today. If you're not up for a lot of reading, scroll to the bottom for some pictures of today's festivities.


Maddie is such a sweetie. She is so good at always saying thank you and at helping out whenever she's asked. For the most part she is kind to Parks and likes to share with him. She loves to do things with dad. Dad is so patient with her and loves her very much. I don't think it's a stretch to say she's a daddy's girl.

She is such a big girl now. She is 100 percent potty-trained, she sleeps in a big girl bed and likes to think she can do everything herself. She doesn't like anyone to help her unless she's tried it herself first and can't do it. She talks very well and she can actually carry out a pretty decent conversation. There are some words she hasn't quite grasped and we get a kick out of hearing them (pee-nan-ee-o for piano, and chaco-mu-cho for muchacho).

She loves her babies and stuffed animals and blankets, which she still calls gee-kees, even though she can pronounce 'blanket' perfectly fine. Lately she has taken a liking to a Nemo PEZ dispenser which she must have in order to fall asleep at night (thankyouverymuch, Grandma). She also likes to look at real babies and wants to cuddle them and play with them just as she does her toys.

She is starting to learn some of her letters and knows all her shapes and colors. She tolerates coloring, although she'd much rather be running around, or dancing or jumping off of things. She is a strong little girl and I'm amazed by all she can do with that little body of hers. She runs, flips, bounces, and skips everywhere. She is an expert at climbing and pulling herself up into places I never imagined she could. She can and will hang off of anything. She's perfecting her forward roll and has a beautiful "finish position".

Maddie likes to sing. Her favorites lately are Primary songs and Barney songs (heaven help us!) I've heard more renditions of "I love you, you love me" and "Icey-creamy ice cream" than I care to. She loves to make up songs and I can often hear her talking and singing to her babies as she falls asleep.

She loves to go to Nursery and loves her Nursery leaders. Although she seems to be a bit of an enforcer when it comes to Nursery rules. She's constantly telling the other children what they can and can't do. She can be a bit of a boss at times but at least she's cute while she's doing it.

I'm sure Maddie will accomplish anything she puts her mind to. She does not like to be told "no" and is more strong-willed than I can deal with some days. She can hold her own very well and will not be pushed around or told what to do. It's even hard for me to get the upper hand sometimes. I love that she has that strong streak though.

Maddie is a pretty good eater. Her favorites lately are noodles (mac and cheese), applesauce, and yogurt. She really likes fruit, especially kiwi, but would rather pass on the veggies. She's also a girl after my own heart when it comes to sugar. She'll eat anything (anything) with sugar. She loves cold cereal which used to be my only source of sustenance in college. My stomach can no longer stomach milk, and Parks can't stand cereal, so it does my heart good to see Maddie downing multiple bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats. It's like she's carrying on some sort of very important legacy.

Maddie is not a wimp. She'll fall down and get scraped up and banged around, but she always pops right back up and says, "It's OK, mom. I'm OK." And usually she is. The only time she cries is if she doesn't get her way, or if someone is mad at her. Well, OK, that's not necessarily true. She cries if you put something away in the wrong place, or if you tell her to put her clothes away, or if she doesn't want to eat her dinner, or if she can't go in Parks' room, or if her sleeves aren't pulled down right. So she really does cry a lot...just not when she gets hurt. She is still a girl, after all, and her emotions are also very girlish.

I love Maddie. I'm so glad she's a part of our family, and I'm glad I have a girl on my side. She is a sweetie and I love her spunk and enthusiasm and silliness. We are all so blessed to know her and to share our lives with her. I love you Maddie, Happy Birthday!


Today Uncle Dustin and Aunt Monica came up to give me a breather and to help us celebrate Maddie's birthday since Aaron was in Europe this week. We had a grand old time. I think I heard, "Watch this, Dustin!" or "Watch this, Monica!" at least a hundred times. Maddie and Parks relished the time they got to spend with different faces today. After a week of nothing but mom, I think we all were grateful for a change of pace. So here's a little part of our birthday celebration today: the infamous birthday song and Maddie blowing out her candles:



The whole gang


Maddie enjoying her cake. She only ate the disgusting glob of blue balloon frosting, but loved every minute of it.


The "kids" playing with the presents:

Minus the traveling dad, I'd say it was a pretty perfect birthday!