Bricktown

road trip

This morning, Mom, Madelyn and I loaded up the car and hit the road for OKC. Immediately upon our arrival Aunt Rach and MK got their play on!

She took a break from playing with Rachel a few times to visit with Aunt Sharon, Grandma and MeeMaw Fee!

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun!!

a daddy's hand

I hope there's never a day that you think you're too old to hold your daddy's hand.

Miss Independent

After 30 minutes of working hard to get them on the right feet, the right way, on her very own...she did it! Madelyn has become so independent lately. She refuses help and desires to do everything on her own. It's her way or tantrum central. As we spent half an hour outside the other day while she wrestled her shoes, I waited patiently at a distance. We didn't have anywhere in particular to go so it didn't bother me to wait one bit. In those moments though, I wondered how many times God has watched and waited as I wrestled to do something my way (or no way!), ignoring his offers for help or loving guidance towards a better way. On a daily basis He uses simple moments like this with my sweet girl to remind me of Him. His ways. His care and concern for me. The visuals that my interactions with my own child give me, make scripture come to life. Thank you God for simple reminders that have such a profound impact.

afternoons on the porch

I have a friend I took some classes with in college that calls occasionally just to catch up. When she calls it's usually mid afternoon and she asks what we are up to. My response is usually one of the following: 1. We are at the park. 2. We are playing outside. 3. Madelyn's napping. She always laughs and says, "Must be nice to do nothing all day". As much as that makes me laugh (because anyone who has ever been around a toddler knows that they don't let you "do nothing"), I'm sure that when MK looks back at all these pictures she is going to think, "I sure did spend a lot of time on the front porch!".

19 months

My Sweet Madelyn Kate,

You are 19 months old. You are officially closer to two than you are to one. You've been in our lives for what seems like the blink of an eye, yet I cannot remember my days before you were in them. Your laughter, smiles, playful ways and the words that come out of your mouth fill the moments of each day so naturally. Our family of three fits together so perfectly. I was made to be your mom.

You are learning and growing each day. New words leave your mouth more often than I can even remember. You've started to put many sentences together and each one that you utter meets me with an element of surprise. I'm not sure why, but I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that you make so many sentences.

When you "sing", we recognize the tunes. When you count, we can recognize the numbers up to 10. Your ability to take in all that you hear is fascinating. It is also challenging, because you repeat everything. Recently we were out in public and a stranger said an ugly word. You started to repeat it, so I distracted you. About 20 minutes later you said it again. Your brain is a sponge that is soaking everything in. Thankfully we haven't heard that word from your sweet little mouth again.

This month you and Daddy have started a new routine. You tuck Stripes (your red and white monkey) in to your toddler bed each night. You still sleep with us of course but each morning you enthusiastically wake Stripes up! It's a sweet routine that your Daddy taught you. Little moments like that are evidence of how much he enjoys being your Daddy. He loves you dearly. Adores your every move. It's a marvelous thing to watch as his wife and your mommy. 

You have several little play mates, but your favorites are your cousins. Constantly throughout the day you talk about Alli (or "Ow-wee" as you say) and Emmy. You point to them in pictures, kiss them and are beyond ecstatic when we mention plans to spend time with them. You can also say every immediate family member's name. The easiest for you is Rachel. The hardest is Michael. When you say Kenda, it sounds like Wenda. When you say Jarrod, it sound like Jord. Each is precious though.

This month you still wear 18-24 months clothes. Some 2T. The funny thing about little girls clothes though? The dress you have on in these pictures is a size 3months and you wore it last year at 7 months for your baby dedication. There are clothes in your closet that fit in a wide variety of sizes but we mainly stick to 18-24 months when buying them new. You also wear a size 4 diaper, a size 5 shoe (although you have size 6's in your sandals because I wanted them to last!), and a bow in your hair every single day (by your request).

On a daily basis you request to color, play outside, read books, watch TV, go in the car, brush your teeth, eat snacks, wear a bow, put on shoes, drink milk, drink water, get up, get down, take a nap, go night-night and many more. You can say SO many things and really know what you want, when you want it. You say please, thank you, your welcome and yes/no ma'am/sir about 60% of the time without being prompted and 40% of the time with a friendly little reminder.

There are so many fun things about this age. The most delightful part? I get to spend each moment with you! Some days when Daddy gets home I may be ready for a trip to the store alone, but I wouldn't trade my days with you for anything. You have a sweet spirit that is recognized by everyone you come in contact with. Even when you are being assertive or saying no to us when you know you shouldn't, you have a sweet little innocence about you.

I love you, MK. Always. No matter what!

Love,
Mommy

the family hunt

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Marlo, Uncle Jarrod, Emily, Allison, PawPaw Pete, Nana Rhonda, you, Daddy and myself gathered this afternoon for a late lunch and egg hunt. We missed Aunt Rachel but made sure to keep her in the loop with lots of pictures, videos and phone calls!

Grandma had egg cakes for you and your cousins to decorate. You all loved that! Alli (AKA Buzz Lightyear) just loved licking the icing and you caught on to that rather quickly.

I'm not sure anyone was brave enough to try your concoctions, but you sure did have a lot of fun making them.

While you girls were inside decorating the cakes, Uncle Jarrod and Daddy were outside hiding eggs. Most of them were just laying in plain sight, but there were a few that required a little work.

You had no idea what was going on outside but you wanted to come anyway!

After the egg hiding and cake decorating was done, everyone made their way outside. Grandma and Grandpa filled some of the eggs with quarters and six with dollar bills. They used to do that when we were little and I always remember getting to go hunt them first because I was the youngest.

Emily's face was priceless when she discovered the eggs had quarters in them!!

You didn't care one bit about the quarters. You were straight for the jelly beans!!

I am confident you ate at least 20 jelly beans while you sat there! You were so serious and fun to watch.

You summoned the help of whoever was close by in order to get your eggs open!

All three of you girls had a great time! Allison definitely collected the most eggs. I know Emily would have but she was so sweet and helped you out along the way. Allison had so many eggs that they kept falling out of her basket!

Of course after the hunt everyone came back inside to dump everything out and check out their loot.

It was a fantastic afternoon with family and we were all wiped out when it was over!