"it's okay"

Madi reassures me often, telling me "It's okay" in her cute enthusiastic, high pitched girly voice. She is so cute, and even though she is so innocent and sweet and fragile - she is my backbone.

Time is flying by and I so desperately don't want to forget all of these precious moments as she grows. She is growing up so fast. There is always something new going on in her world. She is learning so much day in and day out. I am so proud to be her Mom!

She caught on really quick with potty training. The beginning of September 2010 she would wake with a dry diaper. So I decided to introduce the potty. Success! there have been some accidents here and there - which is to be expected, but so far it has been easier than I anticipated. I don't even dread public, it is great :) my two and a half year old is pretty much potty ready! I love it. We kissed diapers goodbye :)

her first official obsession, and when I say obsession that is EXACTLY what I mean... Princess!! She loves anything and everything princess. As far as being a girly girl, she has got it down pat. I love it! She even loves to rock my heels that are getting dusty because mommy doesn't wear them too often. I love it because, in her girly-ness I see myself all over again as a little girl. I cannot wait for her to start dance, she already loves it and she has yet to begin a class.

She digs movies, especially princess movies! She loves to color, and is actually quite good at it for a two year old. Purses, dress up, shoes and clothes - she loves it all. She loves her kitchen and enjoys pretend cooking and eating.

Melody is still her best friend, and she prefers her original bear - she won't take a new one to bed at night, she likes the worn out tags on the bottom. she nixed the music box though and just uses melody for a good cuddle every once in awhile, especially if she is worked up emotionally - it brings her security.

She still babbles a lot, but it is cute. I work with her on proper annunciation but she doesn't care to respond correctly - so I am not pushing her, that is what school will do for her at 5. She talks a ton, and is a little chatter box. She has the politeness down (finally) and I love it :)

Madi has such a youthful, particular, carefree personality - and is very headstrong. No one will ever stand in her way, that's for sure! She is independant but does great with her friends. She loves to give and get kisses and hugs, she is sweet in that way. But when she wants to be left alone she will be sure to let you know! she is a feisty one.

We began swimming lessons this fall. So far so good :) she loves the water. Her favorite is jumping in. Kicking a swimming seem to come naturally to her.

As for the terrible two fits she was throwing during summer - they have calmed and gotten much better, and now when she has them they are much more manageable. Some have forewarned me for the terrible-three's... hopefully they won't be as bad, but I am prepared.

She has my hair for sure - color and all. Dans coloring and his eyes. Her mouth is just like mine, but she has the beautiful Rosario (Puerto Rican) lips. she is a beauty, I can only imagine what the teenage years will bring. I need to get some more practice on the shotgun, the boys will be chasing after her.

Motherhood is a fun roller coaster of unknown twists and turns. The excitement is never ending, it only intensifies as time goes by. I never knew I could love something so much. Madi has truly been a gift, that has opened my eyes up to the beauty of true, unconditional love - the love of a mother for her child.

"I want Princess!!"

said with a squeal!

My little love bug isn't getting any smaller...
Time is flying by and so are the precious moments with my {no longer a} baby. She is a big girl now, and into big girl things!

We went on a trip to California for GRandpa's wedding in July, it was fun, but a ton of work for Mommy. Madilynn was at the peak of what I refer to as her "Rage fits," which defines EXACTLY what they were. yeah... no bueno, for everyone involved. Some nanny 911 tricks seemed to help and she is much better now. Instead of screaming, yelling, hitting and kicking she goes into another room and puts her head in her hands sobbing quietly, cute and sad all at the same time - but I am not going to lie, it is much better than the fits.

Two years has been a blast and a such a challenge all at the same time. I am learning more and more everyday about how to be a better Mom.

Princess, barbies, girly things... that is all she likes right now. I am loving it!

talking. running. whining.

"Watcha doin Mama? Watcha doin?"When those words came out of Madi's mouth I was in shock and I had a great admiration for my beautiful growing daughter. Just three months ago she could only say a handful of words and wouldn't attempt saying anything that she didn't know how to correctly pronounce. She must have gained confidence after turning two, either that or she fully believes me when I tell her that she is a big girl and she can do it. 'walk at one, talk at two' is the rule, and it was so true. Right after she turned two she would finally attempt all words.
I will say, "Madi can you say _____________?" and she will repeat it; sometimes butchering the word, but I love it nonetheless! My baby is growing up. She can talk and communicate now.

Madi has a beautiful, determined spirit, with a bit of impatience. She is beautifully head strong, and a risk taker, who seems to have no fear. It is only when she is presented to people that she is not that familiar with, that her shyness is revealed; she clings to my leg, I love it-it reminds me of when I was a little girl clinging to my Mom. She is demanding and at times not so kind. I am constantly reminding her to "be nice." She repeats it after me while showing me a nice touch, caressing her arm back and forth. She gets it, and I love it! Finally, we have moved past the phase of no communication.

Madi is a Big girl now. When she cries, I remind her, "You are a big girl Madi, you can talk now, tell Mommy with your words. I cannot understand screams like I understand words." It has been helpful, I think she knows what I mean. But it is the whining that has taken effect that I have a harder time with-she has started to whine more when she talks. Hopefully it is another phase...

She is two now. Since her outdoor birthday, which was a ton of fun, we have changed two big things; 1)she is no longer in a crib, she has a big girl bed now, and 2) No more pacifier!!! yayy!
It was a hard transition-the pacifier, I mean. The first night she cried herself to sleep. Emotionally it was very tough on me. I question ever using a pacifier again... I felt like a horrible mommy, taking her paci away. She demanded it til the moment her eyes closed that first night (following almost an hour of cries). The second night went better, and she only requested it a few times. I reminded her that she is a big girl. I had a talk with her about giving them to her baby cousins, because she has grown up and they are still babies. So Madi and I packaged them up, and I had her hand them over to abby, her baby cousin. I reminded her of that the second night, and then she demanded that we get them back. I had a little chuckle inside, because I knew that when I watched her hand them over, she probably didn't fully understand the implication of handing over the pacifiers to abby. Now when she sees them she doesn't even attempt to put them into her mouth, it is great living paci free :) As for the bed, it is great, the transition was simple and she does very well, staying in bed all throughout the night.
Melody and Madi are still a pair, she loves that bear. I don't foresee her ever sleeping without it!

We have started some potty training, but it might be a bit early - I don't want it to backfire, so I am letting her take the lead. She will tell me when she is ready. She loves the potty, and I don't want to ruin that. She will also go all night without going potty in her diaper, so I anticipate it not being too tough.
She is extremely independent, and a leader for sure. She is sharp and doesn't look past the details, she notices everything, even going to the extent of pointing out the little spot on the carpet. She is meticulous about things, putting them in their proper place-or atleast where she sees fit. Madilynn is determined, once she sets out to do something, even if there are roadblocks in her way, she will push through toward her goal. She is a fighter for sure, which has already posed many challenges to my authority. But her heart is kind and soft, I can tell she cares. If she knows she is wrong, she feels remorse and a will give the most genuine hugs and touches showing her sorrow. I love when she embraces me and pats my back with her hands. She has my sensitivity, which is a blessing and a curse-believe me, I know-she will cry with the lips curled down if I say no to her with the wrong tone. I love her. Every day I am in awe at my baby girl who is growing into a girl of her own. Madi is definitely her own person, and I love it.

She likes to be on the go constantly, demanding me even. "Outside Mommy!" she loves to go... to get out. One night she woke at 1am and I went into her room, she grabbed my hand and began to tug at me, "Bye-bye mommy! go bye-bye!" she demanded. She wasn't to happy when I told her it was night-night time.
She is active for sure. She can run circles around me. I am convinced that if we ran a 5k together she could outrun me today. Sean and I went to the park last month, to go for a walk. I let Madi out of her stroller, and she began to run.When she was about 30 feet away, down the walking path, I began to commence her back. But she didn't listen. I continued to call to her, but before I knew it she was about 60 feet away. So I continued to call to her while beginning to jog toward her. But she was determined to run, and like I said-nothing can stop my driven child from her goal. She ran, and she ran, and ran. I began to laugh as I picked up my pace. She is like me, someone who is driven toward what they want, even if others attempt to stop us. She warms my heart.

She works well with others, and yet is totally fine playing and being alone. She loves to be very active, taking walks and playing at the park are her favorite things to do. She loves puzzles, and always demands to color, especially with pens, rather than crayon (of course). Again, like I have said all along, I think she might be a singer-she loves music. In the car she bops her head and tries to sing along, like mommy does. It is so stinking cute!

She has such great enthusiasm, it comes out all the time, but is the cutest when she is excited about something. Her pitch elevates, and she gets louder with excitement, usually screaming too. Her voice is adorable, everyone comments on it, she has brought smiles to so many faces.

Madi is a chatty kathy most of the time-unless she is in a shy or tired mood. She still has parts that are her own dialogue, I know that she wishes she could babble on like I do, and so she does-in her language atleast. She is putting few word sentences together, and knows to say please and thank-you.

She loves animals, and definitely shows enthusiasm every time she sees one! The cutest is how she responds to bugs, squealing and jumping around, she will even picking them up.

She loves being a girl: sunglasses, shoes, purses, babies, and loving everything colorful, frilly and pink. But with that said, she has no issue getting dirty or being rough and tough for that matter...

She is growing pickier about the food that she eats, preferring anything sweet over everything else. It is hard to get her to eat a lot. She likes milk, and loves water. Candy is her favorite, and the enthusiasm shows it face again when candy is in the picture.

She is very adaptable, although she may be shy in the beginning she will usually always open up to something new.

I see myself in her, and I am surprised at how much I love it. She has grown to be someone that gives me such a great meaning to life. When my day is hard, all I need is a kiss or hug from her and it can turn right around. If only she knew the power that she had over my heart, I don't know what I would do without her. I cherish her more than anything I have ever loved. I never knew that I could love something or someone so passionately, intensely, and unconditionally. I am still amazed day in and day out. I am so blessed to be her Mommy!

Cheese!!

It is her very Favorite, Cheese that is. I am pretty sure that if that was the only food we ate she would be content! She also loves to say "CHEEEESE!" for the camera, it is pretty cute! She is getting so big, growing up so fast, and intellectually - it seems like she makes leaps and bounds every day! She is talking more, and her babbles are still frequent, she is a chatterbox. I have gotten a couple videos, but I am striving to get more, I know I am going to miss these days! My most enjoyable moment yet with her has been this -- she pulls my face close to hers and whispers, "i love you" it is so precious and sweet.

Motherhood still amazes me daily, Madi has challenged me and helped me grow in so many ways. Being a Mom is the most amazingly beautiful thing that I have experienced and at the same time, it has been one of the hardest most challenging ventures I have experienced~

"I Love you" she whispers sweetly, as she pulls her face close to mine. I can feel her breath and it is so sweet! She is so passionate and loving. She cuddles, and kisses, hugs, and will even embrace your face in her hands or wrap her arms around your neck and squeeze. I love it when she blows kisses my way as she leaves to go with her Daddy. It is in these moments that I am reminded of how awesome it is, and what a privlege it is to be her Mommy. Times get tough and she throws many challenges my way, screaming to get her way, or demanding and yelling at me. We are learning how to work with eachother more and more everyday, it is a learning process for both of us. Neither of us are perfect, but we are perfect for each other - Her as my daughter, and me being her Mom. I know that I am here to help her to choose the right path for her life, being Madilynn's Mom is awesome!

She has been talking more and more everyday, it is great! I am so proud of her, she has been trying really hard! We do flashcards once in a while and I even work with her on learning different words like up, down, hot, cold and so on. I love her dialect, she still babbles, and it is adorable! Her new favorite word is fritty, meaning pretty - other than the words "No! Mine!' when she gets frustrated. She can say peoples names now, or even pick up on random words that I say, now it is becoming imperative that I watch what I say. She will attempt to say things now when I prompt her - sometimes she has her moments where she will completely ignore me though. As Alyshia said, sometimes we feel disrespected when they completely ignore us, but that is the beauty of the 2 year old! I know that sooner or later she is going to be talking my ear off, so I try and remind myself not to rush her or put too much pressure on her to advance.

I am pretty sure that she is going to be a singer someday. She loves music, and along with that she loves to Sing, scream, and yell! Her lungs are amazing, she can hold a note forever, and if she puts forth that energy in the future toward something positive, I have a feeling that she will sing beautifully.

This age has been particularly challenging due to many factors. With being almost two years old and just learning how to communicate - which isn't all the effective yet, it is usually her babbling or screaming trying to get me to understand what she is saying, through frustration. Not only that Madi is discovering that she is her own person, and she wants to make her own decisions, regardless of wether or not it is a good choice. If I step in she tends to defy me. She is strong willed (and so am I), stubborn, and opinionated. But like I said, we are both growing together learning how to work with one another. Through all of this the one thing that has been a great tool for me is timeout, it works wonders. She has atleast one timeout a day (I can say that for sure, if not many more!) typically she is forewarned that if she doesn't make a good decision that her conseqence will be timeout. I am hoping that she is starting to comprehend the concept of consequences to her behavior. Positive reinforcement has been great tool as well. Clapping, or even telling her that she did a great job and giving her a high five really gives her motive to want to make good choices! This has been especially effective when it comes to cleaning. When she plays with toys, I try to keep them to a minimum, that way she doesn't get overwhelmed with the amount that she has to clean up when she is done playing. I always help her clean as well, and when we do clean we sing the clean up song, then we clap after it is all done.

She loves baths as long as I don't wash her, in her opinion they should be strictly recreational! Speaking of the bathrom, she has been going to the potty!! She Loves the her potty chair and the toilet. When I suggest it she typically runs to the bathroom and attempts to pull her pants off, saying 'Potty!! Potty!!' the whole way there - she makes me smile. But she is not quite to the point where she will communicate when she needs to go. Usually she goes in the big girl potty about once a day now, and I figure that it is a great way to introduce it and to start the process of potty training. I don't want to be forceful, I know that when she is ready she will let me know. I like to make things that seem like they are a chore, fun for her, that way her learning to get in the habit of doing them won't be a struggle - it will be a choice that she can make and feel good about. For now she is still in diapers - boy it will be awesome to retire them!

Madi is big and healthy - growing like a weed! She is about 37 inches tall and 27.6 pounds. She has a very solid build like her Dad. I am determined that she is going to have a very athletic body type, maybe she will be a hockey player some day ;) She is so beautiful, it really amazes me. Her hair is growing, and the curls remind me of my own hair. She has perfect eyebrows, beautiful big brown eyes, and gorgeous long eyelashes that bring out her eyes. She is perfect, often I stare at her in awe! God has really blessed me with an amazing little girl.

It is really cool to watch her personality bloom. Sometimes she reminds me so much of myself. She is so sensitive, crying at any little thing. If I tell her no, or try to quiet her down when she is screaming by saying 'Shhh'- she will start to cry and look for consolation - as if I just shamed her. It makes me giggle, only because I myself am too familiar with being sensitive. I have grown out of it in so many regards, but when I was her age anything would set me off, and my feelings would be hurt, and of course the tears would start to flow - just like Madi! It is so true, that statement "You get what you give."Another thing that is pretty cute is that she loves her arms, legs, and even her belly to be rubbed, and tickled. She will pull her sleeves up and hand over her arm, asking me to rub her. I just love it, I am the same EXACT way - anyone who knows me will get a good chuckle out of this It is great having a little mini me.

She loves to hang out with her friends too. She is a social butterfly, and sometimes she will request me to take her Bye-bye. We love hanging out with Alyshia, who is a very close friend of mine from highschool, and her daughter Sophia who is almost one year older than Madi. They play great together, and it is awesome to watch them play - I don't think that either one of us thought back in the day 'our daughters are going to grow up together and be friends,' it is just really cool to have that! We also have some other really good friends from church. Our Ladies Group' as we call it, almost all of us are Mom's - it is great to have one another for suppor. It is awesome bringing our kids together to play and socialize. Madi and I have an amazing group of family and friends in our life!

As for playtime, Madi has really started to take an interest in toys that are more interactive, and geared toward toddlers and young children. Instead of playing with the usual baby toys, she is starting to gravitate toward other interests like: Barbies; puzzles; playing with dolls and treating them as though she would a real baby; her doll house; she especially likes cars that she can put her dolls in - she even makes cute noises and such mimicing noises that people would make or wha a car would make; She loves books, and will even go sit in her reading nook and look at books and pretend read to herself, it is adorable; she loves to dress up; no matter what she is doing it needs to be hands on. She loves to be active in everything that she does, so if it involves running around she is all for it - her energy astounds me, she is seriously like the energizer bunny.

She just recently has really started to take a liking to TV and movies... It is great! Not many parents would say that, but in my case I believe that TV, in moderation of course, can be a great thing!! There are some amazing shows, especialy on the sprout channel, that are great in helping develop a babies mind, and to aid them in learning some basic things like counting, ABC's, and so forth. She loves to cuddle up on the couch with me to watch a little TV, we don't do it often, because we don't watch too much, but it is fun great when we do.

As for her sleeping habits, they are great. She has been down to one daily nap for the past few months, and goes to sleep usually with no issues at all. For the most part there are no tears or crying, and she embraces nap time and sleepy time well. She wakes anywhere from 7am-8:30am, takes about a 2-3 hour nap, then goes back down around 8pm (usually, unless we have something going on). She sleeps with a paci, and Melody and is a great self soother - very seldom do I have to go and tend to her at night!

She is a risk taker just like her parents - I see it even more when she is playing with other kids, she will do things that the other kids won't do. Madi isn't scared or timid of anything it seems, other than when she is first introduced to a dog. She will jump right up and give anything a try for the most part, even if it is jumping off of a toddler chair, only to crash down on the ground leaving her with a big bump on her head. It doesn't help at all that she is definitely accident prone- which is becoming all to familiar these days, running into the wall or falling to the ground with a crash. I dread the first broken bone, or serious injury.

When she gets hurt she always wants to turn to three things for comfort - other than the comfort of me that is: Melody - her bear, her pacifier, and a sippy cup. The paci is pretty much my worst enemy, I am constantly fighting against it, and Madi is fighting for it - it is a battle that has yet been won. Hopefully soon we can get rid of them. I sometimes wish that I had never introduced them to her. Two will be the cut off for me though, so hopefully at that point I can rationalize with her that they need to go, and explain to her that she is a big girl now. We will see how that challenge goes...

Just one more month from today and my baby will be two years old! Where has the time gone? Looking back it is mind blowing to see how far she has come physically, developmentally, and mentally. It is no wonder that our minds forget the beginnings of our childhood, so much happens in such a short period - it is probably incomprehensible to a babies mind.

Leaps and Bounds

Madilynn, she is taking leaps and bounds. It almost seems like everyday she learns something new. It is amazing to watch, as a parent, seeing a beautiful little flower bloom. As I watch the beautiful colors and blossoms grow I cannot help but smile.
Madi is so animated, and excited! She loves to dig in and try everything out. She has so much energy it is really astonishing, the other night she just kept running laps around the house just for the fun of it giggling along the way.

I am pretty sure that anyone who has spent any time with her in the last few weeks will agree with me when I say that Madi has her own dialect and language. She will talk your ear off forever and you might not even understand a word of what she said, but with all of her expressions and animations you know that she really did say something with meaning behind it, it is so adorable. I actually did get it on video the other day, it is pretty darn cute when she goes off on tangents.

Madi is getting really good at puzzles; she loves baby dolls and caring for them, even pushing them in a stoller or carrying them around in a baby seat; she loves to be with me and be at my level, hence being on the counterop - one of her favorite places; As always shoes and purses are her favorite things, especially my stiletto heels and her princess dress up shoes she got for Christmas; She really understands the concept of ownership and that certain things belong to certain people, so she will do things like take away my phone from someone who might be using it and come and give it back to me; Coloring is something that she really loves to do, especially if I give her markers; She is doing really well with interaction and play dates, overall her sharing is really good, although every once in a while I will hear squeals from either her or her playdate; Books are something that she really enjoys, even on her own she will go and sit in her book corner in her room and pretend to read; she loves the childrens museum, or anything that interactive and active like the park; she loves to climb jungle gyms and go down slides; Madi is so lovey, she loves to give and get hugs, cuddles and kisses to and from everyone, it just melts hearts! I love having a happy baby.
Madi and Melody are like a team, very rarely do you see Madilynn without Melody her bear. I am completely okay with it, because it brings her security wherever she is at whether it is my house, Dan's house, her gradma's house or someplace else she can find security in it. The pacifier on the other hand became like a crutch and she began demanding it more and more. The last few weeks we have decided that we will only be giving it to her at night or nap-time, and only if she asks for it. It has been going really well.

She is coming into her own and gaining more and more independence everyday. She eats very well with a spoon and fork by herself, and drinks from a cup really well. She likes to blow her own nose, and brush her own teeth. She is picking up on a lot of things that I do and she even mimics the small things that I don't even think to notice i.e. taking my deodorant and putting it down her shirt, through the collar - just like I do every morning :)

She is really starting to understand the concept of manipulation. She is quite dramatic and will throw a fit or give out a scream or even cry if she isn't getting what she wants, the "Terrible Twos" as they call it, has really set in. It is challenging to me and Madi both, but I know that we are both growing through it.

Parenting is tough, but as they say what doesn't kill you makes you stroger, and it is true, because of Madi I am a stronger person. I think that once you have a baby something changes in a person, for the good, I understand now the love of a parent and the drive to be better for your child. I am excited to grow with Madi, this adventure called Motherhood is an amazing fun adventure.

Change is happening every moment of everyday

Madi is a busy bee, doing so much and learning so many things. Everything is happening so fast that sometimes it is hard to document it all. So I figured I would make it simple for myself and just write a list of updates:

~ Madi LOVES Purses, they are one of her favorite things.

~She has recently discovered two things: how fun it is to flush the toilet over and over and over, and how to pick her nose - she really enjoys doing the latter all throughout the day.

~She is a Pro-Present opener, so much so that she opened anything that was in front of her on Christmas day, that included my gifts and some of her cousins gifts too.

~She has become a pro at throwing tantrums too! The other day when I suggested that we leave she yelled no and proceeded to throw herself and the ground, scream, kick, and hit... Yes, it was a public place and I finally managed to get her out of the building, although it was without a jacket on... anyone who says parenting a two year old isn't challenging, I have a bone to pick with them.

~She loves baby dolls, it is adorable to watch her care for them.

~She is verbally behind, but so was I at her age. She does say a lot of cute things, although most of the times she rambles on and on, without really pronouncing anything.

~Some of the things she says often: 'What is that?', 'Here you go.', 'No, mine!', 'Wa-wa', 'Num-num', 'Up', 'Shoes' and all of the other small things like Ma-ma and Hi.

~She has discovered how to smile for the Camera, using her "Cheese Face" (picture posted, it is too cute for words)

~She has been saying some interesting words... she really likes the word Uck and everything that rhymes with it, hence we have the F word, not so appropriate, which seems to be fitting for Madi ;) nothing she seems to do is appropriate in public, quite the deviant I know.

~She seems quite obsessed with shoes lately, preferably heels of sorts, her favorite gift this Christmas was... drum roll... you got it: SHOES! Princess shoe set.

~Her hair is growing finally, and she was cursed with my fine hair that tangles really easily, she might just loves or maybe hate the curls some day... we will see.

~She has gone potty on the toilet twice now!! Hopefully her fascination with it will continue!

I am loving every moment of this thing called parenting, she sure does keep me on my toes.