19 Months

Dear Madeline,

You are now nineteen months old, and you're looking less and less like a baby every day.

You're hair is getting thicker, but not necessarily longer.  Most days it's a red mop of a mess, but I try my best to keep it tamed.  You've been rocking pigtails a lot recently, and I must say, you look adorable in them.

Mumma and Dada have been kept on our toes because you are constantly go, go, go!  You get into everything!

This morning while I was busy cutting up some fruit in the kitchen, you managed to unload the entire cabinet of pots and pans, spread every single cookie cutter we own across the floor of the kitchen and into the porch, toss all the throw pillows onto the floor, and break a glass owl.  You make quite the mess, my girl.

You got to play with your cousin, Katie Belle, yesterday at a family get-together, and you're finally getting the  hang of playing with other kids.  You two spent a lot of time running around, giggling, and screeching.

Your teacher at school said you've been getting "feisty" recently, and that's an understatement.  You're pushing the limits to see how far we let you go.  If you stand on your chair, and we tell you to sit on your bum, you squat on your haunches instead.  If we continue to tell you to sit on your bum, you'll kneel on your knees instead.  Finally, when we get up to take your chair away, you sit on your bum.

We had our first bad experience with you at a restaurant on Friday night.  You've always been really good in public, but you squirmed and squealed and screeched in your high chair the entire time.  We sat you in the booth beside us, and that made you happy for a little while until you decided that you needed to stand up and peer over the dividers at the other patrons.  You did not like it when we told you that you had to sit down like a big girl.  In the end, Mumma and Dada shoveled a few quick bites of food in our mouths, grabbed some to-go containers, and got out of there as quickly as possible.  Luckily, you weren't the only fussy toddler there that evening, and in comparison to some of the others, you were a dream.

You LOVE going out into the yard to play.  You beg to go "outside!"  as soon as we get home from school.  In the yard, you play on your swing set, run around on the grass, wave hi to every doggy that passes by the house, and constantly try to escape.  Like I said, you're trying to test your limits.  Running away from home certainly falls under that category.

Meanwhile, "Mine!" has become a favorite expression.  Yup.  Toddler hood is no longer approaching.  We're in it.


Love You To Pieces, Maddie Bear,
Your Mumma