Madden is 20 months tomorrow and part of me is so sad that he's getting so big, but I'm also loving this stage he's in right now. He's got the funniest and sweetest little personality and I love watching him grow and try new things every day. The past two months he's turned into a full-on-crazy little boy, and we still can't get enough of him. Almost every night after we've put him to bed, Jeff and I lay in bed and talk about all the funny things he did that day. And usually Jeff ends up wanting to go get him and bring him into bed with us. But that rarely happens now, Madden is a monster in our bed and we usually end up regretting that decision. So now we just look at videos and pictures from the day and think about how lucky we are to be his parents. We're also gearing up for our next little boy coming in just a few months! This pregnancy is flying by, and I feel like my tummy just exploded over night. Madden loves to kiss the baby all the time, even though he really has no idea what's coming. I've been pretty relaxed since I feel like I have everything I need for this new baby. I just pulled out Madden's old newborn clothes and they still smell a little bit like his newborn heaven scent. It's hard to imagine now that Madden was ever that tiny, and I can't wait to have another perfect boy to snuggle and kiss all day long!
We've had a lot of adventures over that last two months! We've traveled to Texas and Colorado and had lots of fun with family and friends. Jeff came home from Chicago and now get him back hopefully for the rest of the fall. Madden never forgot his Daddy the whole time he was away. When Jeff would call to say hi, Madden would get so excited and grab the phone from me and walk away to have chat with his dad. He babbled and laughed and gave the phone lots of kisses. At night when he was falling asleep I would hear him in the monitor whispering "dada" most nights. It was really so sweet and sad at the same time. Madden missed Daddy almost as much as me, and now that Jeff is home, Madden won't let him out of his sight. Even when Jeff is in the bathroom, Madden lays down on the floor and sticks his fingers underneath the door and talks to him until he comes out. And when Madden hears Daddy start unlocking the door when he comes home from work, he jumps up and down and starts shouting "Dadda!!" and runs to the front door. When Jeff comes in, Mad plows into his legs and gives him the biggest hug and kiss. I don't think Jeff could ask for a better homecoming every night!
Even though Madden really loves his daddy, he is still a mama's boy. Every morning when he wakes up, Jeff gets him out of his crib, and he goes on a mom hunt. Lately I'm still been in bed when he comes in, and I wake up to his smiling little face two inches away from mine. There have been a couple times when I've gone to run errands while he's napping and if he wakes up before I get home, Jeff says that he wanders around the house looking for me and gets really frustrated that I'm not there. He loves to give me kisses still, and he's even started giving Eskimo kisses. He holds my face in his hands and rubs noses then laughs and laughs. He also blows me kisses goodnight when I put him in his crib at night. As I walk out of his room, we blow kisses to each other until the door shuts, and he loves to be the one to say "muah" the loudest.
Madden has always been a social baby, he never minded being held by anyone who wanted him and he's always had such a curious personality. And now that he's older, we're seeing that not much has changed. He loves people! He refuses to sit in any cart at stores so he walks on his own or helps me push the cart. But whenever he sees someone interesting, he walks right up to them and says hi. He usually sticks around for a while and chats away and probably tells him about everything he did that day. Most of the time people are really nice and think he's cute and funny, but there's been a couple awkward moments when Madden becomes attached to the weird freaky guy that obviously isn't' amused by a stinkin' adorable toddler. He loves other kids too. When we go to the park, his favorite thing to do is follow the older kids around. He thinks everything they do is so funny and he tries to copy them. It's kind of crazy watching him become more and more independent and seeing him venture out on his own. He always knows where I am though, and he'll run off to play but he always turns back to look at me and waves.
I think Madden is starting to realize that he's a big boy now, and he's now wanting to do big boy things. He talking more and more each day and does pretty well at trying to copy words we say. His most common words these days are "apple," "bubble," and "wow." I went to a baptism a few weeks ago and had Madden with me. I had a friend hold him on her lap while I was helping up front, and during the baptism I saw Madden staring at the font and yelling out from the back of the room, "WOW!!" "wow, mama!" "wow!!" It was so funny and cute.
We're also working on his Halloween noises, and he knows what sounds the witch and ghost make. He runs around the house saying "boo!" But his favorite word of all is, "No." He used to say it so cute, but I'm convinced something about toddlerhood teaches them to say "no" kind of bratty. Madden is strong-minded and knows just what he does and doesn't want to do, and he's not afraid to let me know. He doesn't ever say "yes" to anything. He gives a strong and snotty, "nnnnnnnoo!" if he doesn't want to do something, or if it's a yes, he runs up and gives me a kiss and says "thank you." And when he wants me to be quiet, he puts his finger to his mouth and says, "shhhh."
One more thing he always says is "um." This is my favorite because anytime someone asks him a question, it always begins with "um" before he starts rambling. I'm not sure where he learned that one, but it's so cute I can't even stand it sometimes.
Madden is all boy. On days when I actually put clothes on him, his shirt is plastered with dirt or smashed bananas within the first 20 minutes. His feet are always black from running around in the street outside and his hands are always sticky! He likes to use me as a napkin. After lunch he'll reach over and grab my shirt and wipe his hands on me! Whenever I try to do his hair, he squirms and runs away with his hands in his hair messing it up.
He loves to stick his finger in people's noses, it doesn't matter who you are. He has finally figured out how to take his diaper off by himself and loves to play chase naked. Nine out of ten times when I look over at him, he has a finger in his belly button. And it's especially become a habit when he's drinking his sippy cup. One hand is holding the cup, the other hand has a finger in the belly button.
He loves to play in the car, and climbs up into the driver's seat and pretends to drive the car. He could sit in his car seat for an hour trying to buckle the seat belt himself without getting frustrated. He is one bound and determined little boy!
His favorite food these days is bubble gum. He never tries to swallow it, he just chews it and plays with it until he's done, and then he hands it back to me. But he's kind of a litterer too. Whenever he is walking around or sitting in the stroller with a snack, he just tosses it overboard whenever he's done with it. And whenever he has food chewed up in his mouth and he decides he doesn't want it anymore, he just spits it out all over the ground. He never spits out raspberries though, he LOVES them, and he sticks them on his finger before putting them into him mouth.
He's constantly finding new and higher things to climb up and jump off of. He likes to play on the big kid playground without me following him around the whole time. And we're on our second box of Mickey Mouse band aids. We go through a lot of them, mainly because he just likes to wear them, but sometimes because he crashes and burns and scrapes himself up a bit. Anytime he falls and hurts himself, he looks at me rubbing his head and says, "owwww!"--even when he scrapes his knee.
He doesn't ever let me sing to him unless it time for bed. If I start singing something, he pushes my face away or covered my mouth and says, "no." I don't think I'm that bad!
And last of all, he is getting pretty sneaky these days. He loves to eat toothpaste, and in the morning he's on a constant quest to sneak it without me seeing him. Whenever he has something that he knows he's not supposed to, he runs into his room and hides behind the curtain where he thinks we can't find him. It scares him to death when we come and pull the curtain up and catch him in the act.
Jeff had the whole week off last week and so we decided to take Mad up to SeaWorld in Orlando. We wondered if he was too young for it, but it turned out to be the most perfect adventure for him. We got there right as the park opened and stayed until close. We were so tired by time we got home, but we all had a blast. There were so many rides Madden could go on and he loved every single one. His favorite was the pirate ship ride, it swung around in circles and rocked back and forth. The park wasn't busy at all so we just stayed on the rides and rode them over and over again. He loves watching the dolphins and touching the sting rays. And the Shamu show was a huge hit. Right when the whales came out and made their first jump, Madden got so excited and leaned forward and fell into the bleachers in front of us. He had a big goose egg right on his head, but he was so overwhelmed by the show, he kind of cried/laughed through the pain until he forgot about it. We're so glad we went! Our whole lives pretty much revolve around entertaining Madden and we wouldn't have it any other way, there's nothing better than seeing him so happy and excited!
A few weeks ago we got to go visit Honey and Big Fella in Colorado! It was a really fun trip, and I got a breath of crisp, fall, mountain air which was just what I needed. Madden had so much fun visiting with grandmas and grandpas and aunties/uncle and his cousin Bridger. It was really the first trip where Mad was big enough to keep up with Bridger. They have a lot of fun together, and minus a few bites marks on B, and them figuring out how to push each other's buttons, they actually did really well together! We played in the kiddie pool out in the backyard, we went on walks and visited the horses, we went to Tiny Town and rode the choo choo, chased the kitty, ate lots of ice cream, and took lots of bubble baths! We had so much fun!
We're excited for the next few months and for the holidays. I need to get Madden's Halloween costume ready and we're excited to take him trick-or-treating this year! Jeff finalized his residency applications this week so we are officially done!! Now it's just getting ready for interviews and praying match day goes well! I can't believe we're almost done with school, it's gone really fast and really slow all at the same time, but I'm so proud of Jeff. Last night he said how weird it feels that this coming weekend is the first one in years that he has nothing to do. Literally nothing- he's not on call and he doesn't have to think, study, or plan anything, so we're going to play hard! Life is good with my boys :)
