18 Months going on 3 Years Old

 Last weekend the four of us went walking through the neighborhood looking at Halloween decorations and I mentioned to Jake how it is crazy to think that just last Halloween Madden was barely even sitting up, and now he is running up and down the sidewalk chasing after his sister.  Our little baby has definitely entered the toddler phase and with him turning 18 months this week and I figured I give a small update on what he has been up too.      

Madden recently had his 18 month check up and we have a growing boy.  Since his 12 month check up he grew 2 more inches putting him in the 90th percentile.  With the big growth spurt he ended up not gaining any weight, weighing in at a slim 24 pounds (40th percentile). 

Madden's little personality is absolutely shining.  He is such a lover boy.  He loves giving hugs to everyone and is always blowing kisses.  Skylar will often asks for a big hug and a kiss from Madden and he doesn't even hesitate.  He doesn't like it when Skylar is getting hugs from Mom or if she wants to lay on my lap.  He gets very upset and tries to push her away as he wants to be the only one getting all the love.  Whenever a car drives past our house Madden is always giving a big wave to whoever is driving by.  

Without a doubt he thinks he is 3 years old.  He wants to do everything his sister does.  If she does a somersault, he does a somersault.  She jumps on the couch, he jumps on the couch.  She is playing with her baby, he wants to play with a baby.  She is coloring a picture, he wants to color a picture.  She is sneaking food out of the pantry, he is sneaking food out of the pantry.  She is jumping into the pool, he is jumping into the pool.  She is brushing her teeth, he wants to brush his teeth.  Sometimes it can be a hassle because he really can't do half the stuff, but watching him mirror his big sister is so endearing.  He loves taking Skylar to school.  He waits by the fence like all the preschoolers and when the fence opens he runs on the playground and than right up to Skylar's classroom.  He likes to try and put "his" name on the name board like sister does and then he goes and sits at the play-doh table with her.   He has a pretty bad habit of pulling hair when he wants attention from Skylar.  We are working on trying to stop that before Skylar goes bald. 

Food habits for Madden are still pretty good.  He has his days where he doesn't want to eat a fruit or vegetable, but a couple days later he will eat the entire bowl of strawberries, or take a few bits of a carrot.  He favorite thing to do is walk into the pantry, take a box of cereal out, sit in his chair and watch a cartoon while eating all the dry cereal out of the box.  You know when he is really enjoying whatever he is eating because he does this "YUMMMMMMM" sound during the whole meal.  His favorite snack are bananas.  If we don't have bananas in the fruit bowl it can be bad.  Some days he will eat 2 or 3 a day.  

Right now Madden is in music and swim class.  It took about 2 months for him to warm up to music class, but Toni said now he loves it.  He runs around with all the kids and plays with all the instruments they have.  I get to take him to swim class and I love seeing the joy on his face when he is in the water.  He has already been moved up to the intermediate level and I feel like he has progressed quicker than Skylar did.  He also likes to try and be apart of Skylar's gymnastics class.

 I felt like it took forever, but just recently we got Madden down to one nap a day...HOORAY!  Words are coming a bit slow for him.  He isn't speaking many words and I'm trying to not let it worry me.  He just recently, kind of said "ball", but it still needs some work.  "No" has been coming out pretty clear, but "Mama" is his clearest word for sure.  He loves to say "Mama", but Mama doesn't mean "Me" his Mom.  It's his word when he wants your attention.  Jake is "Mama", Toni is "Mama" everyone is "Mama" when he wants something.  If he wants you to watch him do a dance or pull a toy out he is yelling "Mama, Mama, Mama."  I'm hoping by his 2 year old update I'm telling you that I can't get him to stop talking. Puzzles and books are a big hit with him right now.  There are always several puzzle pieces on my living room floor and he loves picking out his bedtime books every night.  When it comes to tractors, trucks, airplanes he is your typical boy that he loves to point them out and gets super excited whenever they drives by.  I think seeing the garbage truck is the highlight of his week.  

Madden brighten ups my day every morning!  When I go into his room to get him out of  bed he is always jumping up and down.  He will point at all his windows and make his little grunt noises (which is his way of asking Mama to open them up), a then the biggest smile appears on face when the light starts shining through.

I just love my Bubbas!