Summertime Fun

Maddie continues to blossom and we are having so much fun with her. Last weekend, her cousin Mandy graciously lent her yard toys to us for the summer. Hopefully by next summer, Mandy will have a sibling who will be playing on those toys. Maddie absolutely LOVES playing on these toys. If the rain stays away long enough, we can get back out and play with them again this weekend!
Maddie loves to swing. Of course, for supreme comfort, her foot and leg have to be up and out. Otherwise, things would be just too easy on Mommy! This week Maddie discovered how to twist her little body around and up in her high chair. So, she now has to be harnessed in or she stands up. She's quite the contortionist.

Maddie was a little tentative about the slide at first, but once she caught on she giggled and giggled when going down the slide - especially when going down backward!

The boat is her favorite... or maybe it's just my favorite because it requires zero energy on my part!!

Hey Judy - she does the "S thing" with her boat! LOL

I think she learned how to drive from her cousin Cassidy! If she didn't, it certainly isn't for Cassidy's lack of driving lectures. Cassidy babysat for Maddie yesterday. So, when we took Cassidy home last night, she honed her back seat driver skills.

During part of this video, you can see Maddie doing her beatboxing routine. She beatboxes all the time in her carseat. It's adorable.

It was so nice to have Cassidy here yesterday. She is so good with Maddie and Maddie LOVES her Cassidy! While I was making supper, there was a whole lot of giggling going on in the living room... the best sound in the world - laughter from my two girls.

While I was at work yesterday, Maddie "exploded" and Cassidy had quite a mess to clean up. She said she never guessed that Maddie could be so much work! Maddie is teething again so she was just a touch fussy and getting her to eat or take her bottle requires a lot of patience.

Maddie was my little helper this morning while I was vacuuming.

OK, so "helping" is overrated. We can't exactly blame the dog for this mess! This week Maddie discovered that one of her favorite pastimes is opening drawers and making big messes with the contents. Time for the next phase of baby-proofing!

Maddie says more and more words every day. In this video she is saying, "bootsa, bootsa, bootsa..." She learned that at the babysitter's. It's PA Dutch for "cleaning, cleaning, cleaning." Most of the time she is one happy little girl. She loves to giggle and laugh.

She's also quite the cuddle-bug. She is now sleeping in her own bed in her own room. However, she still won't sleep through the night - she's usually up between 2 and 4 AM and wants a bottle. So, we put her in our bed. When she is in our bed, she loves to snuggle and cuddle. Doug and I cherish those moments - even if they're at 2 AM. We know that they're fleeting so we embrace them. When she scoots her little body right up next to me and lays her head on my arm, my insides turn to mush and nothing else in the whole world matters. It's so worth being a little tired in the morning - nothing that an extra shot of espresso can't fix!

This week, Maddie started walking behind her doll stroller. Doug was the one that discovered that she could do this. That is very special because he was so afraid that he would be gone when she took her first steps. It has been wonderful that he is here for these "firsts". It won't be long and she will be walking on her own. This video was taken two days ago and now she has started standing with one hand and occasionally no hands for balance. We are simply amazed at how quickly she is progressing over the past two weeks.

Much Love,

Beth, Doug, & Maddie