Madelyn at 2 1/2

Maddie is two and a half years old this month and I wanted to record a few things about her. These are some of my favorite posts to look back on because it is amazing how fast kids change (and how some things about them never do) and how quickly I am able to forget what they were like at certain ages.

• Maddie is crazy about carbs. Chips, breads, muffins, pretzels, crackers, and especially popcorn are among her favorite things to eat. If we have bread with dinner, it is ALWAYS the first thing she eats. When she asks for more, I usually respond with, "Of course, as soon as you eat your {insert vegetable or other dinner foods here}." This trick usually works. Usually.
• Speaking of eating, she has recently started hoarding food in her cheeks like a chipmunk so that she doesn't have to swallow anything she deems unpleasant. Not long ago she kept a chewed-up shrimp in her mouth for approximately 30 minutes. Now that sounds unpleasant to me.
• She is also a heavy drinker. Her beverage of choice is almost always milk (unless juice is an option). We joke that if she ever got a hold of the bottle, she'd have to go straight to rehab. The other day she downed 12 oz. of orange juice in a matter of a couple of minutes. Impressive. And if she ever gets a hold of soda, you have to pry it out of her hands, pink eyes watering from the carbonation the entire time.

• She is still obsessed with all things Dora. She loves to act out her own adventures and I think she will really like the Talking Backpack that she is getting for Christmas. 
• She still insists on doing almost everything by herself and will turn into a screaming, limp, mop-of-a-person if you try to do any of the following for her: help her into the van, buckle her seat belt, carry her anywhere she insists on walking, separate the pieces of an orange for her, or put her in her crib for bed without sufficient warning. 
• Maddie is starting to love helping me in the kitchen. She is the official bouillon cube unwrap-per of the house. She loves to open them and put them in the soup pot. With winter upon us and soup a staple in our house, she is kept pretty busy. She also thinks that sorting and unloading the clean silverware into the silverware drawer is the greatest thing ever. Let's hope that one stays a novelty for awhile.

• She has been giving more attention to her baby brother than ever before. For the first 6 months of his life, she didn't seem to pay much attention to him unless she was following Isaac's lead. Lately she loves holding his hand in the car and trying to make him laugh. Just the other day, Isaac yelled, "Davis, you are a PAIN in the BUUUUTTTT! (one of the phrases he has learned from my father)" Maddie quickly retorted with, "NO, Isaac! He is not a PAIN in the BUUUUTTT! He is our baby brother!"
• Multiple times a day she comes up to me, gives me a hug, and says, "Mama, I soooo proud of you!"
• She loves to sing but can't carry a tune in a bucket. Sorry, little one, you inherited that from me.
• She doesn't mind at all being the center of attention and is rarely if ever shy. 
• She talks nonstop, especially in the car. 
• She is Ike's almost-constant sidekick. 

• If you take a toy from her, she will come at you with a vengeance, but if you ask her for it, 9 times out of 10 she will give it right up.
• She is very cuddly and loves to give hugs and kisses, and will often tell everyone around her how much she loves them, even inanimate objects. We love our little Mads.