A Day with Maddie

Madelyn is nearly 14 months old now, and Kurt and I are just amazed at all of the new information her little brain is soaking up--and all of the little nuances of her personality that are emerging! It seems that she learns something new every day, and while it often seems that one day just kind of drifts into another, they are far from boring! Here is a taste:

1. "Chase" is Maddie's game of choice. We have one of those old-school popper push toys (i.e. LOUD), and at least three times a day, she brings it over to me and then smiles and runs away expecting me to chase her with it all over the house. Those of you with children know that there is a very fine line between "scared" and "exhilarated," and this tenuous place is Madelyn's favorite place to be lately!

2. Madelyn loves animals (this is nothing new). But she is getting really good at animal sounds. She can roar like a lion, meow like a kitty, moo like a cow, "ooo ooo ooo" like a monkey, snort like a pig, and most recently, hiss like a snake. If she is asked about an animal sound that she doesn't know, she just scrunches up her nose and blows air out of it. Go figure.

3. I may have permanently messed up my daughter's spiritual life. We have an illustrated Bible story book that we have read before every nap and bedtime for months. She loves this book and always sits perfectly still on our laps in her rocker to listen to the stories. A week or so ago, I decided to bring out some new picture books--non-cardboard ones that we don't let her handle on her own. Now, if we even show her the Bible story book, she signs "all done" and commences squirming until we bring out one of the other picture books. Her favorite? Where the Wild Things Are...a story about a naughtly little boy who gets sent to bed without dinner and sails off to a land with wild monsters whom he bosses around. Great, Mommy. Good one.

4. Madelyn LOVES to dance. If she hears even a measure or two of a song, she starts to dance, and her dance repretoire is growing fast. Check it out:


5. Kurt and I are realizing that we are raising a v-e-r-y sensitive and dramatic child (I know...you all are SHOCKED that my gene pool would produce a sensitive and dramatic child...). If we even look at her sideways or, God forbid, tell her to stay away from the hot oven, she literally collapses in tears and heaving sobs. It's the saddest little sight (and also a bit funny, if we're being honest).

6. Madelyn is a very affectionate little girl. She blows kisses to her parents, her family, her friends, perfect strangers, doggies in the park, leaves on the ground, lampposts, etc. When we go to story time at the library on Thursdays and Fridays, she kisses at least three other kiddos before I can even get her coat off :)