Getting to know Madeline

Madeline has always been a unique person, but in recent months, mainly due to her increased vocabulary, we're seeing how wonderful she really is. She likes dressing up, playing with baby dolls, coloring, reading, pretending to talk on the phone, making food on her play kitchen, having tea parties, making funny faces, playing hide-and-seek, being tickled or flubbered (and flubbering Charlotte). She LOVES milk, cheese, and oranges, and refuses any green vegetable. Her favorite animals are dogs and elephants. She likes to get on all 4s and either pant like a dog or growl like a bear, she also really likes to put her head back and howl like a wolf.

She's putting 2 or 3 words together now, mainly the basics: "Hi Dada," "Shh Night-night Baby," "Bye-bye Gracie." She doesn't use the word "no," but says "Uh-uh" instead...which we hear all day.

I don't have to worry about anyone taking advantage of her in my absence...I've seen her hold her own with 5 year-olds. When I am out of the room, I can always tell when Grace is taking something away from her, because Madeline will scream. If screaming doesn't work, she's been known to either bite or hit. But Madeline has such a soft and unselfish side. She's very giving to her sisters and I love when she gives unsolicited hugs. Even though she is very capable of getting out of her big girl bed after naps or in the morning, she still sits and calls for me. When I go to get her, she ALWAYS cheerfully says, "Hi Mama," then asks where Grace or Charlotte are.

Madeline plays ALL DAY with Grace, but now that Charlotte is getting a little older, I see the two of them connecting a lot more now.

Whenever Madeline disappears, I can usually find her playing alone in her room or putting on jewelry in her bathroom.

Silly oddities: Madeline does and says what most 22 month-olds do, like waving hi to airplanes, saying "Uh oh" when she drops something, etc., but she has a lot of quirks that seem to be all her own. After finishing drawing a picture, she holds it up and yells, "TA-DA!". She runs to help me unload the dishwasher and enjoys laundry. She is good at snapping a shirt to get the wrinkles out before attempting to fold it. She often takes her pajamas off after we put her to bed then calls for us to put them back on. While she's in her car seat, both Grace and Madeline like to pretend to be asleep, but Madeline's facial expression really cracks us up. She will squeeze her eyes shut and smile when we announce to everyone that she's sleeping.

She refuses to be misunderstood and will quickly correct us if she is. This morning I was standing at the stove and she was yelling what I thought was "HELP" (which is a VERY useful word for her right now). Without looking at her I asked what she needed help with. She grabbed my pant leg and said, "UH-uh Mama....HOP" and then I saw she was hopping.

By far, the strangest thing about her is her close attachment to Tucker. In fact, her second word after "Mama" was "Tucker." Each morning and evening when she gets her sippy cup of milk, she will find Tucker and lay with him. If she can't find him, she'll call his name around the house until she finds him or he gets down from a bed or couch and she will stand and stroke his head while she drinks. It's very odd, but Tucker likes any attention.

I deeply love my sweet Madeline.