Last Week...

Last week seemed like such a long week! I thought the weekend would never come. It did and it has already passed. Madi and I are looking forward to Thursday when Derrick will be with us instead of at work. :D

Madi has started saying so many more things in the last little while. Her favorite word is

DADA

and she says it when she first wakes up, when someone is at the door, when she hears a car, when we go anywhere and pretty much if she hears ANY noise at all. She will look around for him as she chatters it over and over. I think he is her favorite person in the whole world! And why wouldn't he be, he's AMAZING!

Her second favorite is RUFF RUFF. She says that almost as much as she does dada. To her, it is what EVERY animal says. She does know it is what a dog says though. Whenever we go to the store she will start doing it until we bring her to the toy aisle where she ruffs back and forth with the Fur Real Go Go Walking Pup. I am super excited to see her Christmas morning.

Other than those two she will copy us but not really use the words often except for KISS, JESUS and E-I-E-I-O.

She is starting to learn sign language and it has been SOOO nice! She will now ask for more instead of screaming and pointing. (Although she does revert back to that on occasion.)

She is getting so big and likes to do things herself, except when it comes to walking. She has been walking around holding onto things for EIGHT MONTHS! That is half of her life, but she just won't let go. I know that everyone tells me I should enjoy the fact that she is not running all over the place but I really do need her to walk soon so I can have my arms free to carry our new little one. (Hopefully sooner than later! :D)

Madi HATES to have socks and shoes on. I put them on her each morning and they are usually off after ten minutes or so. I put them on to go somewhere and by the time we get there she has them off. Yesterday I put tights on her for church and before we even left she had her shoes off and was tugging at her tights. Silly girl!!!
We had some weather in the 50's this week so we went to the park. Madi was thrilled to be there but it is just too cold for her. She went on the slide once and then swung for about three minutes before I told the kids it was too cold for Madi and we went home. Madi still loves to be outside and points at the doors all day. If one of us goes outside or cracks the door she slides down the stairs as quick as she can, hoping to make it there before we shut it. We got her some snow stuff but still need to find some better gloves. All we have found in that small of a size are fleece and knit types. Where's the REAL gloves?

Madi LOVES to swing and giggles the entire time. She likes to go high too. The higher you push, the more she giggles!

When Madi was younger she would always stick her tongue out. After while she stopped, but this last week or two she has started it up again.

Bath time remains one of Madi's favorite activities. If she hears the water start running she will head straight for the tub. You have to let her in too or she will stand at the tub sobbing the entire time you shower and keep opening the curtain trying to get in. If it's ever TOO quiet I can usually find her sitting in the bath tub, fully clothed, playing with her squirt toys.

I got her some bubble bath and it has been fun to watch her play in it. She wasn't sure what to think at first but really liked it after a minute or two.

Madi is always so happy. She is great kid when it comes to going to bed. She will usually let us know when she is ready. We read scriptures, have prayer and read a few stories. When she is ready, she points to her bed. She lays right down and is out! Wish nap time was that easy. :D

All clean and ready for bed!

We put out our Christmas decorations this weekend, minus the village. We will wait a few years before bringing that out. After five minutes of "No touching Madi" (yeah right) we came up with a one finger rule. She can touch with one finger but that is all. She does really well with it as long as we keep reminding her. She is so proud of herself when she remembers and I tell her how good she is for using one finger. :D

I love this time of year! I am looking forward to making new memories with our little family and love that Madi will actually get excited this year since she is older. I love having Derrick home on the holiday and spending more time with him. I love the songs, the food and the smells and the friends and family we get to see. I love the shopping (of course I would love it a whole lot more if I had money to spend :D). I love the decorations and that people are kinder and more considerate and looking at the ads and seeing everyone's Christmas cards and reading their letters. It is just such a wonderful time of year.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving and remembers all that they have been blessed with. We certainly are grateful for the many blessings and miracles we have in our family. We love you all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!