Six months ago Madi turned 2 and up to that point in her life I honestly thought I had been blessed with an incredibly easy child. Well, now- 6 months later I've experienced enough drama and tantrums to fill the 2 year absence of it. Even though these past 6 months have been the most exhausting of Madi's entire life, they've also been the most fun, entertaining, and amusing.
She's still our sweet, thoughtful, loving daughter who expresses unconditional (and unprompted) love and gratitude on a daily basis. However, she's also become a full-on persuasive negotiator. Some days it takes every ounce of patience I possess to get through the day. Madi is quite the independent little girl and a very determined one too. She knows what she wants and is gonna do whatever it takes to get it. While I'm glad for a strong spirited child, it makes for a very tired mom at the end of the day. Trying to get Madi dressed, fed, napped, and bathed is seriously a full time job. She seems to have an excuse for everything. At nap time it's: "I'm not tired" or "I wanna read more stories" or "I need this and that." When she doesn't want to help me with something it's: "Mom, I'm really busy. Ya.... I am. Really busy."
Luckily Spencer's especially good at reasoning with Madi and getting her to see our side of things. But even with all the reasoning, when Madi doesn't want to do something , she's gonna make our attempts to get her to do it very miserable! For example, Madilyn hates wearing tights. Not sure why except that maybe because they're tight! Well, I've gone through all the logical reasons of why she needs to wear tights but she continues to insist that they're the worst thing ever! Well, one day I went ahead and held her down, pulling the tights onto her struggling body. I was hoping she'd eventually calm down and realize that they're not so bad. Ya right! Madi can scream much longer (and louder) than I'm willing to deal with. I decided tights are not a battle I care about fighting.
As crazy and naughty as Madi can be, when she's in a good mood, she's simply irresistable, tons of fun to be with, and without fail- always melts my heart! It's those days and moments that make all the craziness worth it!
At two and a half, Madilyn's favorites are:
Taking care of her babies, singing, drawing, playing with her cars, and building with daddy.
A few other things to note from the past 6 months:
*Madi still loves her books, but after moving her into the office to sleep, Spencer and I noticed a decrease in Madi's interest of reading. We're both pretty bummed about it. I'm planning on moving a self or basket into her new room that we can fill with books. When the books are there she'll usually pull them into her bed and read until she falls asleep and read when she wakes up in the morning.
Yes, my daughter still sleeps with her binky- much to my chagrin. We've got a plan in the works to get rid of the thing- hopefully soon!
*Madilyn continues to be a fabulous sleeper. Daily naps last anywhere from 2- 3 hours and then she's in bed anywhere between 7 and 8pm (doesn't always fall asleep immediately, but thankfully never gets out of bed anymore), and is up at 7am. She still waits in her bed after naps and in the morning for us to come get her.
*She's more into imaginary play now- specifically playing "house" and cooking in her kitchen. It's quite entertaining to watch (and listen) as she makes trays of food for people, whipping up meals, and setting them out on the kitchen table.
*"Finding Nemo" has been the favorite movie and "I am a Child of God" the continued song of choice.
* Favorite foods: Chicken, broccoli casserole (one of the only dinners she's happily eat), toast, yogurt, "crunchies" (dry cereal to put into her yogurt), any cereal, pancakes, waffles, fruit (depending on her mood), fruit snacks (counts as dessert they're loved so much), and of course- PB&J (eaten almost daily)!
*She's got many fears, namely: detached hair, bugs, dirt, and floaties in the tub. She gets scared very easily and we have to watch what we say and do so that she doesn't freak out about it later. It's these fears that have caused one too many screaming nightmares (resulting in cranky and very tired parents)!!
*Madi's very vocal about all the things she likes and doesn't like. She's quick to state, "I don't like that," or "I don't like him (or her)" even before giving someone or something a chance.
*She also has her own language. When she's being silly and/or doesn't want to answer a question, Madilyn comes up with her own weird phases and words nobody understands. Spencer's now started talking back to her in Spanish. That taught her!
My experience with Madilyn has proven the "terrible two's" to be correct. However, while two has definitely been an exhausting age, the good moments have never been better. Almost every morning before driving away, it's her little voice from the back seat that reminds us, "We should say a prayer." It's her voice I hear after getting out of the shower, "Mom, are you done yet? Come play with me!" It's her voice who I hear exclaim (several times a day- and for such basic things), "Ohhh, thanks mom!" Our conversations have never been more rewarding and enjoyable. What an incredible blessing Madilyn has been in our lives. We love you Madi Moo!
