A day in the life of Miss Mads

Every morning, we go somewhere to play and deplete some of that crazed toddler energy so that Maddie will take a nice long afternoon nap. This morning, we went to Durant Nature Park and went on a little expedition. So, without further ado, a morning with Maddie:

First, the most important lesson learned today: How to splash in puddles!
Guess it's time to buy some rain boots, huh?

Wandering off into the woods

Running as fast as she can towards the water. This is where
those good listening skills come in to play, lol!

Uh-oh, maybe we're going the wrong way?

Definitely time to stop for a snack break

So tired, she can't even hold her cup. Maybe time to head home?

Oh wait- a squirrel! Let's see if it wants to play...

It didn't. To the car we go! So what do we have to show for our morning of adventure?
One wet and dirty bottom,

two VERY wet and dirty shoes/socks/pant legs

and one happy, tired little girl!

Double whammy

I'm pretty sure it's uncool to tweet (yup, I joined Twitter!) and update your Facebook status regarding peeing in the potty, so I will do it here! We recently got a potty for Maddie, and although I don't think she is ready for full time potty training, she is definitely starting to show some interest and I'm really proud of her b/c she's already gone twice in her potty today.

When she pees, her potty sings a song, and then she gets to wash her hands and eat 1 Reece's Pieces, which is very exciting. For her. Ok, for me too. I don't want to rush potty training b/c I know it will be harder if she isn't ready, but I would really love to have her potty trained by fall since it's so much easier to do in the summer time. I guess we'll see!

Maddie continues to be a wonderful, sweet little girl. Her vocabulary has started expanding, and her current favorite words are "uh-oh (which she says whenever she sees or hears another kid crying), " "wow" and "off." She's one of the most social little toddlers I've ever seen- she will walk right up to a group of kids and sit down in the middle and start playing. She is still a great listener and honestly, the tantrums are few and far between. Still a good eater too, which is awesome.

She LOVES to be outside, so we usually go to either a park or a playground every morning and wear ourselves out. She's finally down to one nap, but it's a GOOD nap- usually 2.5-3.5 hours in the afternoon. Being a SAHM to a toddler is physically tiring for sure, but I really adore this age. She is so funny and happy and SO sweet! I think I have it easy with her- she's pretty independent and likes to play on her own a lot (unless there are other kids around), and she's very flexible. I know the "terrible 2's" are approaching, so I'm soaking in the sweetness now!

Here are just some random pics that I've taken during playtime over the last couple of weeks!

Playing in the yard in her inflatable pool- this girl LOVES water!


Playing peek-a-boo at the playground


Taking a rest on a park bench-I know I'm biased but isn't she just the cutest kid ever??


Riding around with her BFF Jack at a playdate!

Update time!

We've been busy lately (what else is new?)! Sarah graduated from App State on May 9th, so Maddie and I drove up to the mountains to celebrate with my family. We had a GREAT time, we stayed in a fabulous house, ate at some great restaurants and had a lot of fun.

And there was a closet big enough for Mads to sleep in, so as usual she was a good little traveler. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend! Along with all of my favorite jokes- my family is so strange and funny.



Last weekend, Mike and Maddie joined me and a few of my friends in the Great Strides walk to raise money for CF. I was a little apprehensive when I found out the walk was a 5k- it's been a long time since I've walked that far, especially up and down hills in the hot sun! But with Mike pushing Maddie, we all made it to the finish line and my awesome team raised a lot of money for CF.
Here's a picture of all of us right after we finished- kind of a goofy edit, but I like it.



On Sunday we got to meet up with Laura and Daniel and their two adorable pugs, Zeus and Zoey. Maddie had a blast, as she got to play with dogs AND eat ice cream- two of her most favorite things ever.
Here's Maddie kissing Zeus, who was oh-so-patient with her zealous loving.



And here is a pic of my wonderful friend Laura, who will no doubt always be a special part of Maddie's life!



So we've had some crazy busy, but fun weekends lately! I think this weekend it might be nice just to relax and do nothing :).