Madelyn is 2 and a half

Gosh, do you remember how exciting it was to be 1/2 an age? Your mom would say you were 5, to which you'd promptly correct her by saying, "Five and a half."

Whelp, Madelyn is 2 and a half! I can't believe how much she has changed in the last six months.  She is looking more and more like a little girl instead of a toddler.  Sheesh...why does it all happen so fast?

In honor of your 2.6 month birthday, I will let you know all of the things that amaze me about you.  

 You are kind and loving.  You give hugs and share ideas.  You are a leader.

 You love to swim.  You are fearless.  You are open to trying new things.  Everything.  There is nothing about you that says, "Push over. Wall Flower. Observer."  You are a doer.

 You are a nut.  You get an idea and you go for it.  You don't like being told no or that something won't work.

 You also are in love with your purple dress.  You wear it daily and sleep in it.  I can talk you into wearing something else if we are leaving the house, but upon our return, you put your dress back on.

 You are exhausting. You negotiate.  You reason.  You say things like, "How does that sound?" after stating your case. 

You love to dance.  You are a little too good on the iPad and bring up all of your favorite YouTube videos.  

Dear Madelyn

You make me so proud.  The last two and half years of my life have been the most exciting, rewarding, challenging, and exhausting.  You are becoming such a beautiful, intelligent, happy, and loving little girl.  When you decide you are ready for something and set your mind to it, it happens.  You literally potty trained over night (much thanks to Papa).  You are only wearing pull-ups to bed and are wearing undies the rest of the time.  Your vocabulary amazes me.  You learn something new daily.  Sure we have stuff to work on:  bedtime is often a nightmare (you currently are sleeping with the blinds open and all the lights on), you battle timeouts, and you prefer to let your brother know what he can and can't play with.  Still, if I could freeze time right now, I would.  I love you at this age (and I love your brothers age too).  I can't wait to see all of your successes. They happen daily my love.

I love you!

Love,

Mommy