Madi: 2.5 Years

I promise at some point I'll have time for more than just age updates about the littles. At least I hope so! But for now I wanted to capture some of the stuff Madi is doing at 2.5 years old. :-)

I feel like a switch has been flipped and now this girl is remembering so many things and even more so understanding so many things! She's starting to reason with us and understand cause and effect and consequences for her actions and behavior much more than she used to comprehend.

- She can almost count to 20, but usually leaves out 13 and one or two numbers after 15.
- She knows all of her basic colors and shapes.
- She doesn't recognize which letters are which, but she knows they are letters and can spell her name. We are working on her learning the rest of the letters.
- Speaking of names... she knows her name is Madi Stingerie and when she says it my heart just melts! It's so adorable!! She also knows Mommy's other name is Darcy and will sometimes call me Mommy Darcy and will also say Daddy Jason.
- She still naps once a day. It's hit or miss if she gets the nap at barnehage, but at home and over the past three weeks with me she's taken a 1.5-2 hour nap every day.
- At home she's still sleeping in a crib so it's been a bit of a change and challenge traveling to the US this visit because she's slept in a twin bed with a rail and a toddler bed. However, we've finally gotten her back to staying in bed and not getting up until Mommy or Daddy come get her. And when we get back to Norway she's totally going back into a crib!
- Her favorite question to ask us is "whatin you doing?"
- She loves dancing and has started singing her own songs


- Girlfriend brought me to tears last week during bedtime when she chimed in and started singing every praise and worship song we rotate through at bedtime. She knows King of Kings, All in All, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord, and Jesus Loves Me.
- Also since we've been traveling our book selection has decreased. She found two favorites when we were in Chicago and now we both have them memorized. Apparently when Jason put her to bed the other night she started saying all of the words while he flipped the pages!!

- She is the best big sister! She loves on Evelyn and Olivia by giving them kisses, holding their hands, and playing with them. She also loves helping give them a bottle. It's so precious to watch them interact with each other!
- She still loves playing outside! It's been fun having her walk with me to put baby sisters to sleep and play in puddles or at the park. She's gotten much better at playing on her own, but still prefers to have Mommy or Daddy playing with her.

- I'm not going to lie, it's been a challenging few weeks in the US without Daddy. I've yelled at Madi more times than I wanted and also had to keep telling her to hold on or wait a minute while I helped with the babies. I've cried a number of times and once when I was crying she just hugged me and said "It's fine Mommy". Talk about a sweetheart!
- We've had numerous people comment this trip about her manners. She consistently says "please" and "thank you" without being prompted and it's precious!

Miss Madi -

You are still such a joyful and fun girl! I love your energy and your spirit! You are kind and sweet to those around you and you love to laugh. I love dancing with you and tickling you and kissing you. I especially love it when I tickle you and after I stop you look at me and say "One more time?". Yes baby girl, I will tickle you one more time. And one more time after that. ;-) Thank you for being such a good big sister!

Love,
Mommy