Update on Madeline

I've been doing the monthly updates on Sophia, but I haven't had an update on Madeline in awhile. When I was taking Fia's pictures, Madeline wanted a turn. So here are her shots. hehe

- Her vocabulary has taken off and she speaks in full sentences. A funny story....Andy likes to joke and says to her all the time, "That's not appropriate." Well, she said it one day in context and Andy and I busted out laughing. It was hilarious! It still surprises me when she says something and I can actually understand every word.

- She has regressed with her potty training. :( She was all the way in underwear all day long and staying dry and now we are all the way back to pull-ups all day long. It has been so frustrating. Part of me wonders if Andy's back issues were throwing her off. She is very sensitive to things going on around her, especially when it comes to her Daddy. She is moving up to the pre-school room at daycare in January. So we are hoping this change will make her want to be a big girl and not have diapers anymore.

- She is really in touch with her emotions now and says what she is feeling. "I am very happy to see you" and "I'm sad" said with a long face.

- She loves to help with Fia. She will bring her a toy or console her when she is crying. It is so cute. She has also started hugging her a little too much. She basically tackles her. I can't leave them alone together anymore because I'm afraid of what she'll do. Like the other day when Sophia was happily laying on the floor playing and Madeline walked up and jumped over her! Yes, she leaped over her sister and didn't quite make the landing. Sophia wasn't too happy but she was okay.

- She is definitely two. The power struggles are exhausting. She will purposely not do something just because we asked her to. Like when she had been telling us she was hungry for a half hour and then when we said it was time for dinner, she refused to come to the table. After we had sat down and begun eating did she come to the table.

I didn't realize a two-year-old could get so far under your skin. She was doing something bad and I asked if she wanted to go to timeout and she said yes. OMG! My blood was boiling.

- I am reminded all the time how much her personality is like me. It's kinda scary.

- This isn't new, but she is most definitely a daddy's girl. Even her teachers comment how she acts differently with him than me.

- She has started picking out her own daily outfits, much to our dismay. The combination of clothes are sometimes quite interesting. But she insists on wearing what she picks out and I don't want to squash her independence. Yesterday she picked hot pink pants, a bright orange shirt and purple socks. I guess she wanted lots of color that day.