Madi at 7 1/2

Little Miss Madi turned 7 1/2 at the end of December and it's about time I do a little update on life with my 2nd grader! I actually started this post months ago - this pic below was taken the day after her first field trip back in Sept. 

I know I always say it, but oh how I wish time would slow down just a little. Madi is growing up way too fast! One big change this school year has been Madi finally loosing her teeth! She lost her first one a few days before second grade and then November hit and boom, boom, boom - she lost 3 more in just one week! I realized I never posted pics of her first tooth fairy letter, so here it is:

 Let's take a closer look at that fuzzy pic I took of her first letter to the tooth fairy! :) 

Here she is after loosing her 1st tooth:

Then 2nd tooth:

After 3rd tooth (gotta love that big ol gangly tooth hanging all by itself):

Then it finally came out!

Loosing teeth is such a big deal in a kid's life, because once they loose those first baby teeth, their look will never be the same (sniff, sniff).

Her look has changed so much since the beginning of October when these pictures were taken:

 I found 2 of her tooth fairy letters in my stack of things to document:

She almost forgot to write a letter, but jumped out of bed and whipped up this baby:

The other big change this year was Madi getting glasses!! She's been talking about it for awhile, and I really just thought she wanted glasses for fun. But after a vision testing at school, we were given a referral notice to go see an optometrist, who confirmed that glasses are a necessity for Madi. She was thrilled! Spencer took Madi to her first eye appt - the Saturday after Christmas. I instructed him to take lots of pictures for me!

Madi's pupils were super dilated after the appointment and she had to wear these special eye covers for a couple of hours afterwards!

She was devastated that she didn't get to bring home glasses that very day! She had to wait 3 long days for her glasses to be ready!

And now Madi is a full time glass wearer - another thing that has completely changed her look this year!

Aside from her looks changing, Madi is still my sweet little note writer, journal keeper, talented musician. I am amazed by her talents and I love to see that she recognizes those special gifts Heavenly Father has blessed her with. She made a cute little poster in her primary class back in September:

She pretty much nailed those talents of her's! She's been playing the piano for 11 months now and has already composed her own piece! I didn't even know she was writing music until she played and sang it for me the day before her lesson. Her teacher was so impressed that she had it put onto music paper and then later gave Madi her own manuscript book to write more music in. Madi's already working on her next piece. 

Madi has such creative ideas and and I'm continually amazed at the things she whips up. She was just messing around one day (this was back in Sept or Oct) when she made this display of things that represent her interests and things she loves  - along with her initials M.K.J

I also found this sweet little note she'd written of things she's thankful for:  

"I am thankful for my family, bed, Holy Ghost, Dad that holds the priesthood, love, animals, friends, Pendleton (her lamb snuggly), Lacie (her dog purse), pink blanket, purple blanket, cousins."

Madi is really good about writing in her journal. A lot of times she writes during church. I found these pages in her church notebook (written back in June - I'm guessing around Father's day because of the subject of the paper:

"Dad's have a very special job. You want your daughters to grow-up like you! You want your son to grow up like you. I'm watching you Dad. The choices you make, I will make."

Wow! Pretty heavy stuff huh. No pressure Spence! :)

"Father's and Mother's can teach us to set a good example to our friends. Even when you are out of the house Dad is still teaching you."

Madi's also pretty sure she's going to be a scientist when she grows up. Here's one of the many journal entries I found where she talks about wanting to be a scientist:

Madi and I have a journal that we write letters back and forth to each other. This next letter was written in response to my question of: "what kind of mom do you want to be? What things do you want to do with your kids - maybe some things like dad and I do and maybe some things that we don't do." 

Sure enough - she's still set on being a scientist!

I love reading her journal entries and am always so touched at what a strong spirit she is. Last journal entry from 2014:

And check out this next one (inspired from an FHE on goals we want to set for ourselves):

I am constantly finding writing samples of Madi's that leave me inspired! I'm so grateful for her example. She's so very thoughtful and also writes regular notes to her family. Lots of times she'll write notes to Elle during school and ask to have them delivered to Elle.

She loves making projects for Spencer and I and often leaves love notes on our bed.

I always feel a little guilty when my kids compliment me by saying I'm "clean". I want my kids to remember me as a mom who was always there for them - to talk to, listen to their problems, and make life fun. I don't want to be remembered as the mom with the clean house! 

I'd rather be labeled as "organized" than "clean" especially since I find myself struggling to stay organized these days. It's nice when my kids appreciate all the structure and organization I try to provide in their lives. 

I have quite a large stack of Madi's writing I want to have documented, but I'll have to save it for another post. She always seems to have something to write down and record (like mother like daughter huh :)! This morning she worked on finishing a book she's writing, then mid morning we went on a hike to Paradise Falls and for the whole first half of the hike Madi walked with journal in hand -recording her findings!

For Grandpa Al's birthday she made him a book of big words (it's their thing - Grandpa Al gives Madi a new "big word" to learn almost every time they see each other). She made a list of big words, then illustrated each word with it's meaning. I need to make sure I take a picture of the finished product.

Madi really is one unique little girl - which sometimes worries me because she doesn't have a lot of friends and seems to be quite a loner, but I am glad that she beats to her own drum, knows who she is and what she stands for. I have a feeling she's gonna be a great leader someday. 

Sure love my sweet Madi Moo!!