The shirt

I was just reading my post from last night about Madison's pj top and wanted to make a couple more comments. I love how she is starting to express herself in these ways and showing us her little personality. She really seems to have such a love for accessories! She wants shoes on at all times and is very picky about which shoes she wears, she always wants bracelets, hats and sunglasses on too. I think that is just so cute and fun! I know it is important to let her make decisions and express herself in these ways, so I didn't make her feel like I didn't agree with her choice, just that I had another really cute one that she could wear and the one she wanted was dirty. :)

A mind of her own

Madison threw the biggest fit this morning when I tried to take her pajama top off. It is a new one that she got from Nana, and apparently she REALLY likes it. There are definitely days when she just fights anything and everything realted to getting dressed or undressed, but today was different. She wanted to wear that shirt! She kept trying to force her arms back in it as I was taking it off, etc. and even after I got her dressed for school, she was still throwing a fit about the shirt, so I put it on on top of her clothes and she immediately stopped fussing. Crazy! To finish off the outfit, she insisted on wearing her new spring bonnet that my Grandma crocheted for her, and had to have the matching purse on her arm, along with her candy necklace and bracelet. When I say she insisted these things, I mean nothing could distract her and it wasn't until I gave in that we had peace in the house again! :) When I tried to take these pictures, she went and stood up against the door with her back to me. She definitely has a mind of her own and stands firm! I probably would have just let her wear what she wanted if she hadn't spilled her breakfast on it. Luckily, I was able to convince her to take off the shirt before we went in school. How funny is this outfit?

Easter

We really celebrated Easter right this year! We started about a week early first with a crawfish boil (YUM!) and egg hunt at a friend's house. Then early last week Aunt Katie, Terry and Landon came to visit. Madison and Landon got to open Easter presents from their Grandma and then another that they got for eachother, then had an egg hunt, and then dyed eggs before hitting the sack! They had a blast and Madison is STILL talking about Landon! So sweet. We celebrated Easter weekend in Austin. Friday night at the Oasis, which was the most fun we have had in a long time! Madison danced the night away and after about an hour of jumping around on the dance floor with the other kids, she walked over to me, mid-song and said, "fier" aka "pacifier", then took her paci and blanket with her back to the dance floor. It was the cutest thing. Saturday was a lazy day since the weather was so gross, but we did have a delicious dinner in Marble Falls and got to play with a 5 week old kitty that Madison and I both wanted to put in our pockets and take home with us. Madison was so sweet with the kitty and kept talking to it like it was her baby. I would so get a kitten if someone could promise me it would stay tiny forever. Finally, after church on Sunday, we got to enjoy the most beautiful afternoon outside by Holly and Bob's pool, eating lunch, hunting eggs, having icecream sundaes, and, in Madison's case, getting more Easter goodies than one little girl should be allowed to have! On our way home we stopped and took pictures in the bluebonnets. We came to a field with more bluebonnets than I have ever seen in my life - it was beautiful! After about 5 minutes out there, however, Madison started saying, "e home" (don't ask what the "e" means - she puts it in front of a lot of words). I think she was hot and didn't appreciate the thorn that poked through her sandal, but she was a trooper for the most part.

Bluebonnets galore!

Perfect match!

My Grandma, Madison's Great-Grandma, crocheted this adorable hat and though I didn't realize it when we talked about what she was making, it matches her coat perfectly! I think she looks adorable in it!! We had another cold snap so the hat came at the perfect time too. Sweet little baby was still getting over her tummy troubles here...

We're still here!!!

I feel like I always start out posts this way, but things have been so busy, I don't know what end is up half the time! I think I must bring it on myself because it just doesn't seem right! When I am doing one thing, all I can think about is the 20 other things I am neglecting at that moment. Unfortunately, the blog keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list.

It's the blog's turn though and I have to update you on Madison! Our poor baby has had a rough few days!! This past weekend she had some kind of stomach virus - vomiting and diarrhea all weekend, but mostly in the middle of the night both Friday and Saturday night. She hardly ate anything, but was able to keep quite a bit of pediatlyte down.

Sunday during the day went well and she slept through the night Sunday night, so we decided to take her to school Monday. I got a call at about 10 a.m. from daycare though that she was having some kind of allergic reaction and had bumps on her face, wrists and feet. Are you serious?? What could this be now? Poor thing hadn't hardly eaten a thing in two days. What could she possibly be allergic to? I left work early to pick her up and since I couldn't get her in to the doctor, took her home and gave her some benedryl. After a long nap, the rash and welts were still there. To make a long story short, I ended up taking her to the doctor the next day and found out she has Fifth Disease. Why on earth they have to call it a "disease" is beyond me - that is just scary! Really all it is is another virus she must have caught and apparently the doctor has seen tons of kids in her office with the same thing. It doesn't bother her, it is not contagious at this point, but the ugly rash may stick around for 2-3 weeks. Yuck.

Here are some pictures of before all this started, others from the weekend and a couple of yucky ones that I took yesterday!

Feeling good and loving the warm weather!!

I just love this picture....

Yucky tummy....our poor baby.

Feeling better and wrestling with daddy.

Admiring her new artwork and finding a home for it on the refrigerator.

No explanation needed. Just doesn't seem fair!! :(

Valentine's Day Party

I was able to get away from work for an hour to go to Madison's Valentine's Day party at school. Unfortunately, I missed the card exchange, but got there in time for cupcakes and dancing! :) Hope everyone had a happy V-day!

P.S. - I think someone lost something (or things)...

18 months

Madison has been busy learning all kinds of new things - both good and not so good and loves showing them off! We're just trying to stay one step ahead and keep things under control! We have a monkey in our house and trying to get a monkey to do what you want them to do is not always easy!! :)

Last Friday Madison had her 18 month check-up. She weighs 23 lbs and is 32 1/2 inches. I don't have her percentages in front of me, but the doctor said she is tall for her age.

Developmentally, Madison is doing awesome! She really just talks up a storm and seems to add a couple of new words to her vocabulary daily. She also shows that she understands concepts - knows when to say "bless you", when to say "thank you", etc.

Climbs on everything!!

Tells us when she is ready for her bath.

Is getting so good at going to bed without a fuss. A couple of times she has eve said, "bye" and "I love you" to me as I walked out of her room! How cute is that?!

Can name all of her friends at school and does so often.

Yells at the dogs to go "owside"... (But whines when the dogs won't give her kisses or let her hold them). I don't know where she learned that??!! :) Oops...

Often goes straight to the couch after dinner, gets up on it, sits back and says, "TV". (In our defense, she hardly ever watches t.v. except for the occasional cartoon while we are getting ready for work. She just knows that Dylan and I are going to end up on the couch at some point in the evening, so she is joining us!)

Is really getting good at going on the potty. We still aren't consistent yet, but she often tells us when she needs to go and actually holds it until we get there. Just within the past few days though, it seems that we have had a small setback and she hasn't been talking about it, so we haven't pushed the issue either. She is still so young and we are just excited that she is showing interest this early!

I am sure that I am leaving something fun out, but here are some recent pictures...

Wearing mommy's shoes - one of her favorite things to do.

At Elijah's birthday party

Super Bowl Party - baby style

Dylan and I had a few friends over for the Super Bowl this year for a very family-friendly party. I can't tell you who won, let alone who played in the Super Bowl, as all the girls were quite busy keeping up with the munchkins. They were all too cute together - I just wish we had been able to get Madison to take a nap before it all started because she wasn't herself at all. Though I know she was excited to have friends over, she was pretty grumpy at times. I did manage to get a few pictures of the little ones playing. Poor little Hudson was outnumbered by all the girls...or maybe I should say "lucky little Hudson". :)

Lining up for a race - they LOVE to countdown for a race! Hudson had to refuel.

This lasted for less then 2 minutes.

Sweet little Marlie

The 24-hour date...well, sort of

Madison spent her first (partial) weekend away from home this past weekend. She spent the day and night with Dylan's parents (Nana and Pappa) Saturday and we got her back Sunday morning. Though Dylan and I spent the majority of the day cleaning and organizing, we had a very relaxing day and then got to spend the evening together doing two things we love to do together - out to dinner and a movie! We ended up going to a late 3-D horror movie (hence the very fashionable glasses - and yes, we do think we look cool) and though the acting was bad and the story was quite silly, it was a ton of fun! Just imagine scary things appearing to fly right towards your face! Also, they had the theatre set up where you could hear other people's screams through the speakers which was pretty neat.

I definitely felt rejuvenated and so happy to have had the time with Dylan. I must admit I was constantly reminded of Madison throughout the day as I picked up her toys, or saw others with their kiddos and it made me miss her so much! We were both super excited to see her the next day and were so happy to hear that she had such a great time with her Nana and Pappa.