General Daily Life

If I had to give it a daily grade, I'd give it an A.  That being said, I would say that general daily life is both fun, rewarding and exciting, albeit....very good.  We continually as a family reflect on how much we have been blessed each and every day.
So there isn't a day that goes by that we don't now comment on how big Madeline is getting, in terms of physical growth, developmental and more importantly personality.  That little cutie has a personality of her own.  And she is NOT afraid to show it...in any means possible.....

Communication:
Gone are the days of crying each and every time she wants or needs something.  Only to be replaced with single words and most frequently four or five word sentences.  Not a day goes by where we don't hear "Hop a go in there," "Dinka Mulk," "Eat" "Go to da Park" and a favorite of ours.."Papa cool dude" (Mama taught her that:)  Not to say there aren't any challenges...although the crying has lessened....the stubbornness has picked up...you can add an occasional back arch...lumpy gumby in Target...escape artist moves in the front of a shopping cart and of course the never ending chase before bedtime shouting "SELF!" as we attempt to get her in her pajamas.  "SELF!" continues to be a common word, uttered whenever we try to get anything for her, or even sometimes buckle her into her car seat!  We have also noticed that the "testing" has started.  Maddie gives us this inquisitive face and starts to chuckle as she does something she knows she isn't supposed to do...little stinker!

Games:
So one day we busted out memory...you know..the game where there are about forty pairs of animals and you lay them face down, pick on up, put it down and then try to find the pair.  We laid them face up and let her see all the animals.  And we sort of played memory...if the rules state that you gather all the pieces together and stack them on the couch...then stack them on the picnic table, then stack them in the kitchen.........if by these rules the game goes...then she mastered it!

A new family favorite is SEEK!!! (Hide and Seek).  This one is actually very fun.  Madeline is VERY good at counting...she can count to seven consistently (skipping five) and loves to count while you hide...of course she is so nosy that she can't finish and has to come running after you.  And then the game turns into Seeking Dorie (cabbage patch kid) which Madeline hides herself..and you have to find.  One day Madeline hid herself very well...next to the washer and dryer..a favorite place of hers...in fact..she hides there also whenever we chase her to put on her pjs....ugh..:)

I spy is a classic game.  Jon remembers playing I spy with his Grandpa Boche whenever they would be at the house.  This is a great game to really find out how many words a little kid can associated with objects.  Maddie does great.  She sits on our laps and we say what we "spy" and she points to it...and laughs...it is also a good "calm down before bed" game.....so we bust it out frequently:)