nature lover

Like I said, we pretty much live at the park! Ha! MK loves it when her friends are there too.

We tried to feed the fish some bread that was about to go bad. It was fun to watch them come up and pull the bread down. I thought it was absolutely adorable the way Madelyn sat down by the pond.

She looked like such a big girl. She is such a nature lover. Anything outdoors and she is content.

I have never been one to just "enjoy the outdoors" just for the sake of doing so. I am thankful that this sweet pea has taught me how to just sit back and enjoy it!

We honestly spend some portion of nearly every week day at the park. The hour or two (or three or four) of sunshine is perfect for Madelyn. As a family who doesn't watch much TV and only one child in the house, Madelyn needs the change of scenery! Luckily, there are LOTS of great parks in our area. Two of our favorites are close to home too!

 Yesterday the skies looked gloomy, but we took our chances and went to the ROC. Madelyn loved watching the water trickle down in the small pond.

The greatest part of our morning there was when Madelyn grabbed a dandelion in her hand and began to blow! I had never shown her that before and it reminded me of when my mom and I would grab dandelions and make wishes. Such a fun memory!

We were loving being outside so much we ran home for MK's inhaler and lunch then went back.

 Logan and Madelyn had fun playing together and exploring the outdoors. How adorable are they together??

 We were out there for about 45 minutes and made our way to the farthest part of the ROC away from where we had parked. The little ones were having fun checking out the fish in the pond when we looked up and saw rain coming towards us through the trees.

Have you ever tried running in ballet flats across uneven ground in the rain with a 23 pound wiggly kiddo on your hip??

Mariann and I laughed the whole way. We were soaked. Our shoes ($8 from Target) were ruined. The kiddos were looking at us like we were nuts. I guess that's what happens when you play outside on a day that the weatherman says there's a 70% chance of rain!

an afternoon with E

 My brother had a meeting after school today so Madelyn and I picked up Emily for him! We love to pick her up because she tells us all the latest kindergarten drama (haha). She is such a little delight and Madelyn adores her. I gave her some options for places that we could go and she picked the mall! I was excited because I knew I wanted to take her down to this jumping thing that they have had for several months.

I wasn't sure if she'd go for it, but she did and she LOVED it!

 I was so impressed at how completely fearless she was!

 Madelyn was impressed to and cheered Em on! She clapped and squealed and screamed! It was so cute.

 She really got excited when Emily started turning flips!

 After that and a quick stop by the cookie company, we headed home to meet Jarrod. Emily was so tired and completely passed out when we got there.

 Sneaky Madelyn stole her icee and tried to finish it off for her.

We love afternoons that we get to spend with Emily!

18 month check up!

 At MK's 18 month check up today we found out that she is growing! Haha. I am always surprised to hear that she's "above average" for height. I hope that continues. I pray she get's her Gigi's long legs! 

Her stats from today were 33 inches and 23 pounds!

The doctor also started MK on an inhaler today for a form of asthma that she has all the symptoms for. Praying this helps with the symptoms! When she started having these issues and a few people mentioned asthma to me, my heart sank. I threw a good two week pity party because I just didn't want her to have to deal with anything else. Now that we've talked to the doctor about it and have a treatment plan, I realized how silly it was that I acted like such a baby. Yes, I still hate that she has another breathing issue to deal with. Yes, I still wish it was me instead of her. BUT, I was holding on to it as if God did not know this was going to happen. Thanks to His gentle correction, my perspective is so much better.

mixing it up

What's a mom to do when the beautiful spring weather vanishes over night and you have a killer toothache and a toddler who doesn't care about either? This mommy mixes it up. Literally. I found these bowls in the dollar section at Target last week and was delighted when they rang up at a whopping 25 cents each. MK has enjoyed stirring up beans, water, flour and more. If it's in her reach and fits in the bowl then it's probably been stirred up by the master baker.

It's amazing how mixing it up a little can make what is on track to be a not so great day, fun!

baby love

Thank goodness for iPhones.

18 months of goodness!

My Maddie Kate,
You are one and a half years old. 18 months of pure goodness. You light up our lives and it is simply impossible to imagine what life on this earth would be like without you here. You are tender and sweet one moment and a loud, on-the-go toddler the next! The older that I get, the more I realize how little I actually know. One thing that I do know, I am immensely blessed by your presence in my life. 

I adore you. Even the you that doesn't always mind. Daddy and I are having to kick our parenting skills in to high gear lately with all the testing you have been doing.  We have learned to stand our ground and you have learned that it's much easier to comply. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh at your "grown up" outbursts. Today we had our first stand-off. You wanted milk. I wanted you to have your milk. You did not want to say please. I think in the end I was more proud of myself for not giving it to you until you asked politely than I was of you for eventually saying please! Some day you will know what I mean when you have a precious face pitifully staring up at you demanding milk.

I'm convinced that your favorite thing to do is smile. You are always grinning. You wake up smiling. You share your smiles freely with others. That is a gift, sweet girl. You have a bright, beautiful smile that radiates a joy unspeakable. When I was pregnant with you I prayed constantly that you would be a person full of joy. Constantly I begged the Lord to give you a joy that would be a reflection of Him in you. I am so thankful that He saw fit to knit you together in such a way.

Each month that I sit down to write these letters to you, I feel like I could say (and probably do) some of the very same things each time. I just want you to know how blessed we are to know you.

There are many things that I do not want to forget about this age. One of my favorites is your love for baby dolls. You are so nurturing and sweet. You love to feed your baby milk and often try to change her diaper. Just the other day you lined three babies up on the couch and went up and down the row giving them kisses. It reminded me of when I was a little girl. Your grandpa used to buy us LOTS of stuffed animals and each night before I went to bed I had to kiss them all. If I thought I had missed one, I would go back and start over so that no one felt left out. 

Lately you think that everything that is liquid is milk. Even the lakes. Even juice. Even the pool water. Yup! No matter how many times I say water, you will always respond with milk. It's quite comical really. You insist that it's milk. The funny thing is, when you actually want milk to drink you will NOT drink water. Suddenly there is a difference! Ha. Such a ham, Maddie Kate. Such a ham.

Your hair is growing like crazy and looks pretty wild most days. Every time we change your diaper or your clothes in your room you request a new bow. I'm glad because without one your hair is w.i.l.d.

Your hand is in your mouth most of the time right now with all the teeth that you have breaking through. It's slowed you down a little with your words but you are still saying new things every day. You repeat new things all the time and still jabber nonstop.

Coloring, bubbles, bath time, reading, cooking and just being outside top your list of favorite things to do. You sing and dance more than anyone I have ever known. When you do, that joy that I told you about is so infectious. I have never seen someone watch you dance or sing and not smile. We are still praying that you get Daddy's musical genes rather than mine. If you do end up with mine, I'm sorry. However, I don't think that will happen. You already tap your foot to the beat which is more than I can say.

Another highlight of the month has been your desire to go to the potty. You have successfully used the potty more times than we can count on both our hands but you only seem to be interested when someone else is already in there. We have a little potty seat on that we put on the toilet so you don't fall in and I almost passed out the first time you wanted to sit on it. You pooped! Who knew pooping could be so fun???? I am not sure that I am ready for all this potty training business but you have definitely figured out that you do not like to have a poopy diaper! We shall see what the months to come hold!

Sweet daughter of mine, you truly a delight. A precious girl with a bright future. My prayer is that you know you are loved, grow in knowledge and truth and love others well. We thank God for you daily and cherish each moment.

Love you,
Mommy