Happy Birthday Madilyn!!

Madi had a birthday and we now have a 7 years old! 

June 28th was her big day which we celebrated up at Lake Arrowhead (another post to follow).

It was a surprise for the kids and such a nice family getaway. Originally Madi had come up with the idea of spending her birthday at the LA Children's hospital. She wanted to bring presents to all the sick kids. But after checking into it, I found that the Children's hospital doesn't allow visitors younger than 16, so that plan was out. That's when I came up with the idea of going away for her birthday. I thought that even just an overnight at a nearby Marriott would be a treat, but then the trip to Lake Arrowhead worked out perfectly! We had fun kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, hiking, playing games, and birthday celebrating!!

The day after we got back from Lake Arrowhead, Madi had her 7 year old check-up. At seven years old, Madi's right at the 25th percentile for height and weight - 46 1/4 inches and 45.5 pounds. She struggled with the vision test (gotta make an eye appointment soon) but other than that, she's perfectly healthy! 

I love how obsessed Madi is about her birthday month! Starting June 1st we'd get the daily count-down  as to how many days left. On a trip to the library, Madi read a book about Helen Keller. She was super excited to learn that Helen's birthday was June 27th, and that Helen died on June 1st. Madi was confident this was no coincedence, but a unique bond between her and Helen. So she came home and wrote an "essay" on Helen Keller:

 "Deaf means you cannot hear. Blind means you cannot see. Have you heard of anyone who is deaf . . . . and they are blind- at the same time? Helen! Her birthday is on June27th. What is yours? MIne is June 28. Helen died on June 1. She met Anne. Once Helen knocked out 2 of Anne's teeth. First Anne taught Helen manners."

Here's the rest of her essay . . .

I loved this one! I've been meaning to post a bunch of Madi's stories lately, but haven't gotten around to it. Truthfully, I can't keep up with all her projects and end up throwing most of them away. That sounds terrible, but the constant writing / crafting / project making is more than I can handle. I used to save a bunch of it, then I'd just take pictures of it, but now I just get so annoyed with the mess that I usually end bringing a trash bag in and taking it all to the recycling! I stopped feeling so bad when I realized that Madi would just create something new the next day. As much of an eye sore that art table of hers is, I can't bring myself to take it away. This girl needs her artistic outlet!

I do love how when Madi hears that someone is sick, not feeling feel, or just having a bad day, she immediately gets to work creating a masterpiece to cheer them up. The best word to describe Madi is creative. She comes up with the coolest creations all on her own!

She's always writing notes or letters too. This one (below) cracked me up . . . it was one Sunday afternoon when I wanted a nap and Spencer told the girls not to bother me, but they still snuck in to tell me something (which I'm sure they thought I'd really want to know). They got in trouble for not obeying and I found this card on my desk later. So sweet!

Here's another I want documented:

Madi really is such a sweet soul. She definitely needs to be reigned in here and there (when she gets hyper, it's almost impossible to get her to calm down without several stern reminders), but she has a kind heart and is always concerned when someone is hurt or upset. She's got the magic touch with Calvin. Whenever he throws a royal fit (seems to be daily these days) she sings, "Silent Night" and it calms him down every time! Then just the other day Madi was on the floor crying about something and I walked in to find Calvin sitting on the floor next to Madi, rubbing her back, and singing "Silent Night". It was one of those mom moments when everything seems right in the world.

Madi is also very health conscious. She always asking me if what she's eating is good for her. She rarely eats treats or just doesn't finish them. Just the other night at dinner she was eating chicken and brocolli, while drinking a spinach, strawberry, banana, blueberry smoothie when she looks up and asks me if all the things she was eating would help fight cancer! She was so happy to hear that she was making wise food choices. Actually now that I think of it, it's not as much health conscious as it probably is of being afraid of getting sick or having a tummy ache. Madi's terrified of throwing up and will do anything to prevent it. 

She's also paranoid about making sure she has clean teeth. She uses her pick every night before brushing to get all the plaque off her teeth.

Other things about Madi:

* Hasn't lost a tooth yet. 

* Went from an "E" reading level at the beginning of 1st grade to level "P" at the end.

* Had perfect attendance her first grade year!

* She still loves singing and performing in front of people. She's had a couple of solos this past year, and just this past week got to sing with a group of friends at Leisure Village's Patriotic Celebration!

* She got a new bike for her birthday (one with gears and handle brakes), so we've been out practicing:

* Madi's not the most adventurous type, but has gotten a lot braver as she's gotten older. At Disneyland this past week she went down Splash Mountain 3 times!

Madi also thrives off of check charts and schedules (what's new though - she always has). I made charts for the girls to keep track of their "summer study" and Madi has been so great about getting all her stuff done every day! I'm realizing that I need a chart like this for her during the regular school year too. This probably would have be helpful with keeping her on track after school, instead of getting distracted and starting art projects.

How blessed we are to have this sweet 7 year old in our family!! Happy HAPPY Birthday Madilyn! We love you!!