Madi at six!

I've been meaning to do an update on Madi for awhile now. These posts always take me so long to finish, so I'm just gonna have to post it and then add stuff later. So far, six has been a big age for Madi. For some reason, as soon as she turned six, she was all of a sudden brave enough to do a bunch of stuff that she used to be terrified to do before, like finally figuring out the whole biking thing. Spencer spent many a Saturday out there trying to teach Madi how to steady herself and stay balanced on two wheels, but she was a hard one to teach (believe me, I tired too). Then a month or so ago we had a nine year old neighbor over for the day and she got Madi riding within 30 minutes! Now it's as if she's been riding for years!

Another fear conquered over the summer was swimming underwater (with no flippers or nose plugged)! Now Madi's obsessed with seeing how long she can hold her breathe- she's up to 16 seconds!

Next skill to conquer - doing flips on the monkey bars. She's determined!

A few things have stayed the same for Madi, like her love of art. She's always drawing, coloring, writing, or crafting. I've got a big folder stuffed full of pictures and/or cards Madi's made that I can't bring myself to toss. Her skills WAY surpass mine! She also likes playing school with Elle and is a natural teacher (a little on the bossy side though). Madi has a couple good friends but rarely requests play dates cause she's got a built in BFF. Elle is always her favorite person to play with. I just can't figure out why they fight so much!

Her favorite color is purple - and yellow (cause it's Elle's favorite)

She's memorized up to the 9th Article of Faith (the most out of the whole junior primary - which she made a point to show me)- 4 more to go! I love how determined she's been to memorize them all on her own.

I am constantly in awe of what a strong spirit Madi has. I love hearing her share her testimony during family home evening or after a good gospel discussion. She remembers to say her own personal prayers every morning and between her and Elle, we never miss a meal prayer, family prayers in the evening, or family scripture study.

Madi continues to have amazing self control. She rarely eats treats cause she know they aren't good for her and she is afraid of eating something that might upset her tummy. She also has a lot of self control when it comes to waiting for something she wants. One day Madi and Elle's blankets, Penny, and Raffie were in the wash. So the girls headed out to the garage to watch the washer. With our front load washer and dryer, you can see how many minutes are left on each cycle. While Elle played around in the garage, Madi sat there and waited for 27 minutes - watching each minute pass by! She'll also do this when waiting for something cooking in the oven or waiting for a special visitor to arrive. We're working on the interrupting when she wants my attention that very second. That kind of stuff she has no self control with and can be quite demanding.

We're also working on her attitude. We've been getting a lot of sass, rolling of eyes, and talking back lately. For some reason, she always thinks everything is up for debate and can be very argumentative. It's exhausting!

Madi is all about improving herself though. She loves to set goals and is totally motivated when we read stories in the Friend Magazine or watch Mormon Messages about good things that people are doing for others. Her new favorite show (which they can earn one 30 min. episode of a day) is Sofia the First. Madi loves hearing about all the things that princesses do. She's not really into playing princess dress-up anymore, but she sure loves trying to act, talk, and walk like one.

Starting school has been great for Madi. She's always been one that thrives off of structure, schedules, rules, incentives, positive discipline, etc. She loves school! Her teacher is fabulous and it makes me so happy to see Madi beaming everyday at pick up. One day this past week Madi was practically bursting with news that she got to read to her whole class. Then her sweet teacher emailed me a picture, telling me how she asked Madi to read to a couple kids, but then next thing she knew, a huge group had flocked around Madi to hear the story. I love Mrs. Pidduck and am so grateful Madi got a teacher who's going to give her opportunities to shine!

Another picture her teacher text me of a project they did yesterday:

Pretty sure six is going to be a great year for Madi! Her confidence at school has gone up a ton. She plays with lots of different friends everyday and is becoming much more social. Sure love our Madi Moo!