36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon

Dear Madeline,

We have definitely found a new favorite activity of yours. Once you discovered one of the only two unlocked cabinets in the kitchen there was no going back. I purposing left the baking cabinet (and the tupperware cabinet) open for your access and I'm glad I did, because a lot of the time it's the only way of getting something done in there. Other times though, I just love to sit on the floor and bang with you :) Who needs tons and tons of toys when you're clearly just as happy doing this!

Love you baby girl!

Mommy <3

#63 Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too

Dear Maddie,

If I had to pick your favorite activity, toy, and word right at this moment, they would all be related to the same thing - the phone! You LOVE the phone!! Everytime you hear a phone ring (including the nowaday non-traditional rings) you almost instantly put your arm to your ear and say "Hello." You have multiple toys that are phones and one of them is with you almost at all times. And when one of them isn't with you, you will find something similar to use (i.e. remote control, your arm, shoes).

Today you were actually "talking" to Daddy on the phone and we swear you picked up the phone and said "Hi Da!"

Chatting with Daddy

You're Daddy and I are hoping that this new interest of yours is no indication of a future problem we may encounter in your teenage years.

Putting Daddy on hold while you pose

Loves,

Mommy :)

#14 Go to the park

Dear Mads,

Well we have had some record setting temps for March these last 10 days. It was just a perfect two weeks for me to take a stay-cation with you. Since the weather was so beautiful, we definitely took advantage. So we got a start on our list! We found a park walking distance to the house and we frequently visited it last week. Here is a pic from our first trip to the park. You just loved laughing while you were in the swing! I see us spending a lot of time here in the future!

Love you!

Mommy XOXO

Maddie's New Year...Mommy's New Blog

Dear Maddie,

We made it through your first year, first birthday, and first birthday party! The party was a huge success and I think you had more fun than we could have imagined. As the people continued to come in to our home to celebrate with you, I once again realized just how truly lucky we are to have so many people care about and love you! I know I'm you're Mommy, but you are truly one very blessed and special girl!



One Year Young!

Now, as I briefly mentioned in your last letter, you have most definitely been keeping me busy. So it is getting rather difficult for me to keep up with all your letters, but I most definitely want to continue to brag about you and show off how adorable you are! So I've decided to give our little blog a make over; and I figured what a better time to do it than at the start of another year for you.

So, it has obviously started with redesigning the look (in case you haven't figured it out, I'm trying really hard to make purple your favorite color!). I will continue to write in letter form to you, because I hope that this can be something you can look back at one day and read as if I was talking to you. Because, despite the fact I let everyone read this, I really am writing to and for you!

The first year was all about you and all about all the new things you were doing and discovering for the first time. It was a year of bragging about you and updating everyone on your life. Now as you are becoming more and more curious and adventurious I've decided to switch gears and make this a year about US! As I have this newfound borderline addiction with a website called "Pinterest", I stumbled upon my inspiriation for this next year of your life.

Below you will find a list of 101 things that you and I are going to attempt to do over the next year. As we do these things and cross off our list, I am going to capture the moments with pictures and then use that as the topic for my letter. So when all is said and done, we should have 101 new letters by next year (and to think I'm already talking about how "busy" we are). Anyways, I thought the list was fun and many of the things you will be doing for the first time which is even more exciting for me. So stay tuned, as Maddie and Mommy being their new adventure...make that adventures!

Love you Baby Girl!!
Mommy

1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
61. Play games with frozen juice lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
101. TAKE A NAP!

Happy Birthday to You!!

Our Dearest Maddie,

Today is a very special day...your first birthday!!! Exactly one year ago today, you entered our lives and changed it in the most amazing way possible. Although you were born at 8:16am, it wasn't until at almost this exact moment a year ago that we were able to finally spend some quality time with you.

We've had an amazing year with you. Although it had a bit of a surprising start to it and there have definitely been some twists and turns along the way - your life has started out as an incredible journey. It's hard to believe that this year has went so fast, yet it's hard to remember a time when you weren't a part of our life. We have loved watching how fast you have grown and how much you have learned in such a short time. It only makes me look forward to what is to come in your future even more!

Since I have been bad with updating your letters lately, here's a quick update on you...

- you're a busy body (which explains the lack of updates lately)
- you are crawling all over
- you love standing and gliding along things
- you have the most stunning, beautiful, blue eyes
- one of your favorite games to play lately is "chase" or as we call it "get you"
- your favorite words to say are "good girl" and "go go" (both phrases we think you picked up on from us praising the dog and then telling the dog to go away)
- you have two teeth
- you love to take things out of baskets and then put them back in
- you are still quite the picky eater but you love noodles and cheese
- you are almost always happy
- you have the most precious giggle/laugh, usually followed by your infectious smile

I'm sure I could go on forever, but we've got a party to get ready for in this house!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!! You're Daddy and I love you so so much and look forward to the next year on your journey of life!

Love you always,

Mommy <3


PS: A note to all our blog/letter readers. Life as a full time working night shift mommy is crazy! And sadly it is hard for me to keep up with frequent updates and letters. However, I am not ready to say goodbye to our blog and sharing Maddie's life with everyone. So I've decided to take a different approach for this next year of her life. Stay tuned for a post next week on what exactly the plan is...

Pic of the Week "Memorable Eve"

Dear Maddie,

There are tons and tons of pictures that I want to share from your very first Christmas; and I do plan to post them as part of your 10 month update. Which by the way there is SO much to update for 10 months (crawling, standing, feeding)!! But back to the task at hand...

Our first stop on our Christmas journey, was to meet your Great GREAT Grandma Jordan! I truly do apologize to you and all your grandmas that it has taken us this long to get you there to meet here. But this trip truly made for a memorable way for our family to start the holiday...

Christmas Eve visitng Grandma J

Love you!!

Mama

8-9 month Holiday Magic

Oh Maddie!

So sorry I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving. As you will quickly learn, the holidays are a very busy time of the year; and I'm finding that it is even busier when you work full time and play mom full time! Even though I should be wrapping gifts or cleaning toilets right now, I'm putting that aside for a bit. (Side note, this post was started a week ago and never finished til now, grrr...) Enough with the excuses and on to some updates!

I know I've missed several "Pic of the Weeks", so I will try to make up for that with this post. Really I've been meaning to write and do my monthly updates (which has not been so monthly)...really, I promise.

So 8 months came and went...and now you are 9 months old!

As you can tell, it is getting more and more difficult to get you to try and hold still to take these pics. Here's a brief depiction of what we went through to get what we did.

 

Obviously you are very interested in being on the ground and having the freedom to move around now. You are now starting to pull yourself up on things; you easily make it to your knees, but usually need assistance getting to your feet. When it comes to crawling, your preference is definitely still rolling, but we have made some real progress (even more so since this video). That started on Thanksgiving actually!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, here are some pictures from our first Thanksgiving together. On Thanksgiving Day we went to your Great Aunt Lorrie's house to celebrate with Daddy's family.

Then on Saturday we went and celebrated at Grannie and Papa's house!

Another celebration we had in the month of November, was Daddy's birthday. You had a blast helping him open his present, which makes me really excited for Christmas next week!

Sticking with the whole holiday theme we seem to have going, last week we took you to meet Santa for the first time. You did so good...no scared faces, no tears...we even got a smile!

Rather than doing the usual mall thing, we went to Breakfast with Santa. It was at Grotto Restaurant and it was delicious!

You are definitely loving this whole holiday thing...

The Lights

The Tree

The Ornaments

I don't know who's been more attracted to the tree, you or Belle! Regardless, I'm always pulling one of you out from under there.

 Amongst other things, here's a video of one of your new favorite "tricks" to show off:

You're also loving to play games like Peek-A-Boo and Sooo Big! You're talking nonstop, and we FINALLY are getting some "Mama"s out of you (Yay!)!!! It just makes my heart melt every time I hear it. As does this super sweet smile...

Oh 9 months, how have you gone so fast?!

Loving you always!!

Mommy