This past month Madi has become obsessed with a few things. First is ELMO! Since we don't have cable and Madi never watches Sesame Street, I was trying to figure out how this obsession started. One day she just saw Elmo, knew who he was, and started talking about him all the time. Gram got Madi her first Elmo this month and actually Lexi is letting Madi babysit her dancing Elmo while she's away for a few months. Madi's been in absolute HEAVEN (thanks Gram and Lexi)!
Second obsession is clocks. Spencer taught her about clocks at the beginning of the month and now Madi seems to find one everywhere we go. Even in sacrament meeting she has to yell out "CLOCK" letting us know that she sees the clock. When shopping we'll be walking down the aisle and she'll see some clocks and start freaking out saying, "Clocks, Clocks, Clocks!!"
Third obsession is the moon and stars. One day Madi was quietly looking at a book and I was at the computer when I hear her yell, "MOON!" Sure enough, she was reading an ABC book, opened up to the M page, and pointing to the moon. I was pretty impressed and excited about this since I'd never really talked about the moon with her. It wasn't until later that night that I find out it was something Spencer had just taught her about the night before. What a good daddy! Why do the things that HE teaches her seem to stick faster? It's not fair! Madi now associates the moon with stars, knowing that she'll usually see them together. It's funny how I'll notice the moon and stars so much more now that I know Madi is on the look out for them. Oh, the little things kids get excited about!
Another exciting thing about this past month is that Madi is now a full-time Nursery attender! YEAH! At the end of October I was given an "unofficial" calling from the primary president to be a 2nd hour nursery leader. It's GREAT!! I get to bring Madi (obviously) and then she stays for third hour when I take off for Young Women's. The first time I left she did end up crying and had to be brought to me in YW's. But with my mom here these past two weeks, she's gone to Nursery third hour to help Madi through the transition. Last Sunday Madi was not phased at all when I walked out the door. Let's just hope it lasts! I have a feeling we've still got a rocky road ahead.
It's so fun to see Madi's personality grown and develop. It's even more fun to see little quirks in her that I used to have. One of those little quirks is hiding when someone is coming. I remember doing this at a little bit of an older age, (somewhere around 4) but I remember the rushed feeling of knowing someone was coming, and feeling the need to hide! It's funny to watch Madi freak out as she hears Spencer stomping down the stairs. She'll get up and run to her little corner. In the morning or after naps I don't go into get her until I hear her call for me. Then when I go in she'll quickly sit down against the back of the crib, with her back towards me. She sits real still, hoping not to be seen. I wait at the door until I see her peak through the crib spindles. Then she jumps up and says, "What doin!"
This brings me to her favorite phrase of the month which is, " Doing" or "What doin", which translates to "What are you doing?" She says it like 20 times a day and I'm pretty sure picked it up from us always asking her what she's doing.
Other things that Madi seems to take after me are her dislike of large groups of people, and being away from home (or off schedule). This past weekend Madi seemed to be really cranky. She'd stress out with kids running around and adults coming up to her asking for hugs and kisses. It was funny to watch her disposition change once she got home and was in her own, quiet atmosphere. The only thing that helps me get through her "freak-outs" is telling myself that I was exactly like that as a kid. It gives me some added patience in dealing with all her little sensitivities.
