Dear Maddie-Magpie,

This month really crept up on me. Up until Friday when people would ask "how old is your little girl?" I'd tell them..18 months. Then I realized that you were fast approaching the 19 month mark. I can no longer say "she's 18 months" or "she's about 18 months", since it's OVER 18 months now I guess I have to stick with 19..and that's where we're at...at least for a few more weeks.

Your vocabulary has gotten out of control. Seriously...we used to keep a list of things you could say, but now we'd be adding more and more words each day. You string short sentences together like a pro, you even try to sound some things out. You've moved on from just singing the "Heigh-Ho" portion of your favorite song to adding in humming and 'do-do-do's for the whistling part. You'll sing to your Papaws on the phone, and last night you decided that after you'd told your sibling "night-night" and given my belly a kiss, you'd sing Heigh-Ho to my belly. I'm sure the baby loved it as much as I did. And I know even though it will be a big adjustment when #2 gets here, you'll be an awesome big sister.

You are always asking/willing/insisting on "helping". You love to wipe things with a rag, load and unload the washer or dryer, fold clothes (you are getting the hang of wash cloths...sorta), and you are pretty insistant when we break out a broom or mop that you can do it. You can answer questions..correctly...and unrehearsed. (I can just see some people rolling their eyes at this, but honestly, it's not just a brag)

"How are you today Madelyn?"

and you'll say "Fine"

"Can I have a kiss?"

depending on your mood we'll either get a pucker or a "No"

"Do you want the light on or off?"

And you'll tell us..either "on" of "uff". Also if we are in a room and the light is off and you want it on we'll hear "Light, on?"

"What do you want for breakfast Madelyn?"

Generally we'll either get "eggie" or "puff" (which is cereal)

You also answer us, people, and yourself alot with "Kay" as in okay.

If you stumble or trip you usually call out "Kay" (and rarely cry)

If we tell you we're going to do something (go somewhere, eat something, watch something) we'll get "Kay"

So I guess instead of moving on to "yes" it will be "kay" for awhile. Although you can say, and sometimes do say "yeah" instead.

You've developed a taste for certain things. You love Pringles (or "ships")-but you can't stand olives (That's my girl!)-we were at a buffet over the weekend and your Dad got you to try one..you bit into it, then spit it into your palm and called for Lucy to come eat it.

You are staying ahead of the curve. When the Parents as Teacher's rep comes by, she goes off of the 24 month stuff, and you are even past some of that. You are at the 36 month level on certain vocab AND mobility things. On vocab at 36 months they want kids to be able to name 3 body parts-you are a pro at this game...in fact we kinda play it each night before bed, where you'll go back and forth between your Dad and myself and name off (and point to) -hair, head(forehead), ears, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, neck, cheeks. It's the 'face' game. But you also know other non-facial parts.

On mobility at 36 months they expect kids to be able to jump off the ground with both feet. You regularly "Hop"-I blame Baby Bop. But you easily clear the ground. We were told this last time "you know you already have a two year old..even though legally she's not yet". Yeah, *sigh* we know.

I don't think I need to/have to go into how much joy you bring to every single person in this family Maddie. I don't even think I could begin to put into words how much your Daddy and I love you. I know that seeing your face when he gets home from work is what your Dad most looks forward to. And I can't stand to think of how sad I'd be if I were still full time and didn't get to spend a few days just the two of us at home with you. I love those days. I love watching you grow and learn and even though you already know how to push my buttons (sad but true) I can't wait to wake up each morning and look at your face. We love you, that's all there is to it.