20 Months Old

On September 4th, Maddie turned 20 months old. Just a few short months away from her 2nd b-day. Incredible.

Here, she's sitting on the window sill of her newly painted "big girl room":


Eric and I are endlessly amazed by how much Maddie is changing week to week. It's like she's hit an intellectual growth spurt. A few things she's doing and saying these days include:

• Has started calling for me from other rooms or when she needs help with something. She says "Mommy" as opposed to Mom.
• Is saying new words all the time and making connections with word meaning.
• Loves to whistle.
• Sometimes thinks she has a baby sister in her tummy too.
• Mimics songs on the radio and on Nick Jr shows.
• Gets annoyed every time I change her diaper. I think she thinks it's a waste of time.
• Likes to say "Ow" and pretend that she's hurt herself.
• LOVES stickers. They're all over the house!
• Has strong opinions about the clothes she wears each day.
• Clearly knows when she's doing something she shouldn't be doing and tries to test her boundaries (and Mommy and Daddy!)
• Knows the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Can recognize letters in a book and can say a few of them.
• Can distinguish some colors.
• Likes for us to hold her finger and count things in books and around her. She hasn't repeated any numbers yet but enjoys the act of counting things.

First Day of Pre-School

Today was Maddie's first day of pre-school. She was actually supposed to start on Tuesday but still had a lingering cough so I waited until she was 100%.

Eric and I decided to enroll her for a few hrs a week so she'd have the opportunity to play (and burn energy!) and make more friends once little sister Mahurin arrives. Plus, her time in pre-school will help me too.

As expected, Maddie did GREAT today. She didn't cry when I dropped her off, made new friends, did some arts & crafts and got to play on the playground too. Hopefully Maddie has as much fun each time she goes.

Arriving at School:

Waiting for Mommy to take her inside:

Spotted the playground!

Pigtail

On Friday, I put Maddie's hair in a little pigtail for the first time. She tolerated it all the way through a morning playdate and lunch. I took it out for naptime so she wouldn't get a headache.

My sweet little peach.

Bees go Bzzzz (and sting too!)

Yesterday afternoon while I was busy concentrating on a new dinner recipe in the kitchen, Maddie screamed out in pain. I stopped what I was doing and ran into the family room near the window where she'd been looking out. Then I saw a dead honey bee on the floor and a stinger in Maddie's right thumb. I scooped her up and immediately took out the stinger as Maddie continued to scream in pain.

Maddie's first bee sting. Not fun. Not sure how that bee even got into our house!

Thankfully, Maddie stopped crying pretty quickly once I gave her a couple of cold packs to wrap around her thumb. And I watched her closely to make sure she didn't have an allergic reaction to the sting. Thankfully she did not.

Maddie has a bit of a tomboy side to her which is OK by me but I hope she doesn't "play" with any more bees - or other bugs with stingers anytime soon.

Cousin Ava's 2nd Birthday Party

Maddie and I flew to Amarillo on Thursday for cousin Ava's 2nd birthday party. It had been a while since the girls had seen each other but they got along like best friends. It was so cute to see them play and "talk" and chase each other around all day long. Ava is talking like a champ so it was so cute to hear her say, "Where Maddie go?" several times a day.

Ava's Dora-themed party was a blast. The kids ate pizza, cake and ice cream and played outside in two swimming pools, a splash pad and slip and slide. Fun!

Although it was a bit harder to keep Maddie occupied on the plane rides by myself, she was well behaved and happy most of the time. We can't wait to see Ava (and Rae and Vinny) again very soon.

Chalk Drawing!

Two cousins and one poodle:

Yummy Cupcake:

Blowing out the Candle:

Bedtime Story:

Sunday Morning Swim

This morning, Eric and I took Maddie to our neighborhood pool. Most of Austin's pools and splash pads close for the season in just a few weeks, so we want Maddie to get as much water play as possible.

When we arrived at the pool, Maddie screamed with excitement and almost jumped into the pool by herself before stopped her. She splashed, jumped and let Eric pull her around on her back. I'm always amazed by how much she loves the water, even if it gets in her eyes or mouth.

One more detail I want to remember: During our swim, one of Maddie's favorite Taylor Swift songs started to play on the radio. Maddie screamed, "THIS!" and bobbed her head back and forth. The life-guards got a kick out of our funny little water baby and Taylor Swift fan.

More Ohio Trip Pics

One rainy morning during our Ohio trip, we took Maddie to a half-priced books store and a local mall. Maddie picked out a few books and rode on several toys at the mall. Turned out to be a fun morning - in spite of the rain.

Dancing Queen

This morning, Maddie put on the pink tutu that came with her PJs and put on a show for us. She did a few head-stands, some twirling and danced around happily.

We enjoyed her performance.

Big Girl Potty

When Maddie turned 18 months old last month, I purchased her a potty seat to fit on top of the regular toilet. We decided to forgo the little potty and see how Maddie would do with a small toilet seat instead.

We've been very casual about it and we're in no rush whatsoever. But, Maddie likes the potty and "asks" to sit on her little seat 2-3 times a day.

Today, she actually peed in the toilet for the first time. She also grabbed a few squares of toilet paper and wiped herself (sorry, TMI but I'm so proud!).

Even though this is only the beginning of potty training, I think we're off to a good start.

Trip to Ohio

We recently returned from Ohio where we visited the Mahurin side of our family. Maddie met her four cousins and got to spend time with her uncles, aunts and Grandpa and Grandma Mahurin.

Maddie was perfectly behaved on all the flights to and from Ohio, much to our relief. I packed a backpack full of activities to keep her busy and it worked like a charm (thanks for the ideas, Michelle!!).

Eric, Maddie and I certainly had a fun-filled week: We visited a water park, an aquarium had a wonderful time at uncle Steven and aunt Susan's BBQ and spent the day riding tractors, playing croquette and running around the hills of Grandpa and Grandma's farm house.

Thanks to everyone for making our trip a memorable one.






For all 200 pictures, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17603883@N00/sets/72157624487745173/