Our little explorer

I don't have a picture of this one (yet) mainly because I do not want to encourage such behavior, but Madelyn has always loved to stick her finger up her nose poking and prodding to see what is up there. Lately she has resorted to putting food up her nose. I caught her doing it for the first time the other day with puffed rice cereal. She stuck one up one nostril and then shoved another one in right behind it. I pulled out the second one then looked for the first one. . . out of sight. I freaked! How was I supposed to pull this rice puff out if I couldn't even see it. I called my mom for advice and right as I finished explaining the situation, nature's way proved successful. She sneezed & it came into sight. I grabbed it with my fingernails & pulled it safely out of her nose. Whew! Madelyn, though delightful, you are a handful!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Madelyn turned one year old today. I was so overwhelmed yesterday as I watched Madelyn throughout the day. She didn't look like a baby to me anymore. She is a person who thinks and acts on her own. As she greeted me with her great big smile, I fell more & more in love with her. I love this age because I can see the learning that is taking place. She understands so much about the world already. I love to watch her put a phone to her ear and begin babbling or play peek-a-boo or even defend herself when her big sister steals one of her toys. She knows what she wants and works to get it. Yesterday was cute because she was sitting on the ground with a little toy bowl and spoon. I watched her dip her spoon into her bowl and then put the spoon into Kylie's mouth who was sitting across from her while saying "ahh." She repeated this over and over. It was so cute to see the little one feeding the big one. I look forward to more years of falling head over heels in love with my little Madelyn.

A Problem Solver

Madelyn LOVES to climb. She'll attempt to climb anything and everything, but she especially loves to climb onto Kylie's bed. I've removed the cute stool that Mike made for Kylie's room because that was all Madelyn needed to climb triumphantly atop her big sister's bed. This morning I watched Madelyn walk out of the bathroom carrying the stool Kylie uses to get up to the toilet. She carried it over to Kylie's bed, set it down, and climbed on top of it in order to get on the bed. She then saw me and began to squeal & clap. She was SO proud of herself! I was so impressed that as an almost one-year old she knew what she wanted and found a way to get it. I hope she will always dream big and work persistently to make those dreams a reality for herself. I've seen the seeds of persistence & resourcefulness in her. Go get 'em Madelyn!

Mmwua! Kisses!

Madelyn loves to blow kisses! She has done it off & on over the past couple weeks, but last night I think it kind of clicked! As we said goodnight to grandma & grandpa and walked down the stairs, she kept blowing kisses. Of course seeing her grandparents beaming faces only encouraged the adorable behavior. As I changed her diaper to get her ready for bed, she continued blowing kisses along with the cutest mmwua sound. What a sweetheart she is.

She continues to blow kisses today. I love this age!