Madelyn turns 2...and I am so late writing about it!

What!? My little baby is 2 years old? I seriously cant believe it. And yet, Maddy has no desire to grow up slowly. She has always wanted to be part of the big kid group.

Maddy practically potty-trained herself before turning 2. She had recently seen her sister learn to use the toilet, so she wanted to try it to. After having a difficult time teaching Grace, Maddy was a dream to teach. It's crazy how different kids learn. I was anxious about putting underwear on Maddy 24/7, but she has even graduated out of pull ups at bed time and even mastered a road trip with no accidents. This girl is amazing.

Maddy is a really sweet kid. She will lean in and tell you, "I wuv you, Mommy". She even does it to her stuffed animals or to things she sees in book.  Maddy is especially fond of birds; she has always loved pointing them out as we read or as we go on walks. She likes to be outside and play in the sand, dust, water, bushes...whatever she can get her hands on, really.

But as sweet as she is, she is also aggressively independent. She will often get furious if you are doing something she feels she could do herself, like putting on her underwear or opening up the yogurt cup. And every day it seems there is some new task she feels she is now mature enough to accomplish on her own.  I love my little Miss Independent. 

In this past year Maddy has started learning how to swim, and she loves being in the water. The beach is her happy place and she asks to go there almost every day. Madelyn LOVES eating tomatoes. She will pick a tomato out of Grammy's garden and immediately start munching on it like and apple. She also is obsessed with avocados, butternut squash ravioli, and the inside cream of Oreos (but she will leave the cookie part uneaten). 

Such a fun, funny, adventurous girl. I love being her Mama.