Happy 3rd Birthday, Madelyn!

Our Madelyn Joy is 3 years old!  I feel like the years are just flying by and it's even more evident in the fact that our last baby is now 3 (and going to preschool soon)!

 

Maddy continues to be the comedian of the family.  Always making funny faces, silly dancing, her low voice or doing whatever she can to make us laugh.  She also tends to be the instigator as she knows exactly how to bug her sisters.

Maddy is (finally) potty trained (except for naps/nighttime)!  Woohoo!  I feel like she's been in this potty training stage for the past year as we frequently offered for her to try and depending on how she felt she would go (and then decide in the next instant she didn't want to).  Overall she has done great.  She had a few minor accidents the first few days, but has done so well even as we've been out and about.

 

Maddy still loves to watch TV.  I am still surprised at her attention span to sit and watch a show and sometimes I think she'd watch all day long if we let her.  She knows how to work the TV as well, which is funny sometimes.  She loves to play outside with her sisters, swim, go to the park and splash park, ride bikes and play with her babies.  It's funny as she's started to ask me each day what we are doing (ie: what our plans are).

Maddy heads to preschool this year and starts at the end of next month.  She'll be going two days a week and I think she is going to love it!  She's a little confused as she still thinks that Avery, Elli and Connor will be there as well (since they were last year).  She keeps talking about carrying a backpack and lunchbox.

 

Maddy is wearing mostly 3T clothes and size 7 and 8 shoes.  She is still in size 4 diapers for bedtime.  She is beginning to follow in big sister's (Avery's) footsteps and prefers to wear a "twirly" dress or skirt every day.  She actually wants to wear the same dress every day and she's been known to throw tantrums when I won't let her wear it straight from the dirty laundry basket.  She loves to have her fingernails and toenails painted and she requests a "bigger and bigger" (meaning high) pony tail or Anna braids every day.

She still tends to gravitate towards being a daddy's girl when Jeremy is home for extended periods of time.  There are even days when she won't let me get her out of bed if Jeremy is home.  She continues to be our snuggler and still wants to be held often.  She eats up any kind of praise and her response to us is usually "Oh, Mommy" or "Oh, Daddy".  It's hilarious!

 

She is still sleeping in a crib and we aren't quite sure how long until we move her.  It's nice that she actually stays in her bed and plays until we come get her.  Most mornings she sleeps until 8 or 8:30 am and she goes to bed around 8 am with the older girls (however, everyone has been up later this summer).  She doesn't suck her thumb much any more, just sometimes when she is falling asleep in her bed.  She still sleeps with two blankets, five baby dolls, her lamb and Minnie Mouse.  She insists on bringing most of them with her everywhere throughout the house. 

Maddy is still a pretty good eater. Her favorites include: mac & cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, berries, broccoli, corn, pasta, chips, donuts and most sweets.  She also loves milk, apple juice and "yemonade".

Happy 3rd birthday sweet, Maddy-cakes!