17 months, and almost 18 months!

Every time I think about updating this blog, I don't have my camera anywhere near me! I'll have to make another post of mostly pictures when I do. We also need to get our family pictures done for this year, so I'll have to post some as soon as we take the time to get outside and dress nicely. That takes effort.... :)

So.... I am trying to think about things that are new. One thing is, we are trying to get Madilyn to say "thank-you", and she finally did! YAY! New word, and we are on our way to her attempting to be polite. She'll say "please", but not without prompting... yet... so we are working on it! She says "Elmo", ALL THE TIME. I swear, I think she'd watch Elmo all of the hours that she is awake if we allowed it. She also would only eat fruit and popsicles. Although, I discovered that she likes frozen peas... lol! They spilled the other day, and she started eating them.... and they soften so quickly and they are so small, I don't mind.. and she's getting her veggies, so it's all good! She's gotten quite finicky about her eating lately too, so I take what I can get.

We have had so much trouble with Madilyn's skin, it's crazy! I finally had to just bring her to a dermatologist (which I mentioned before)... but now we are having trouble w/her skin in the diaper area... so as per the suggestion of her pediatrician, we are going to give potty training a go! :) We'll see how it goes. I have tried just about everything else from cloth diapers to creams and "naked time" to get rid of her "boo boos" on her bottom, and it didn't work, so here goes! We tried last night just the "introduction phase" of the potties, and she's definitely curious, but skeptical and a little bit cautious of those plastic seats with holes in them... ha! She did let her stuffed animals "go potty" on them, and she got an m&m for sitting on the potty w/out a diaper for a few minutes, and even got to read a book while sitting on her potty, ABOUT going potty. I even found an Elmo (her favorite topic of discussion) movie about potty training, so we watched that yesterday. I am going to take a reward approach, and then get serious about it when we have a weekend at home when we can really buckle down and spend a whole weekend with her on it. I am furiously reading any book I can on early potty training in the mean time. Pray for me and John... and to think of it, Madilyn! :) I am stressed out about it, and I need to cut it out, because it shouldn't be a stressful thing, but a bonding time for mommy and Madi. That's how I am going to look at it from now on.... with a bit of prayer intermixed! :)

I am seeing a bit more of "first born" tendencies coming out in Madilyn. It's so sweet, and I can't wait to learn more about her. I am a middle child, so I will have to work to understand her, but I definitely don't mind. She is so opinionated. She likes what she likes, and you can't persuade her any other way. If I try to distract her from something she wants (and she is not supposed to have) it just doesn't work. She knows what she wants, and that's it! So... she usually goes with nothing, and I have to give her a time-out to let her know that flailing about and tantrums won't be tolerated... I thought this happened around age 2... not 17 months. HAHA! I guess she wanted to show mommy what she was all about a little early. She's definitely starting to test me too, she wants to know her limits, and she's definitely learning them! I am reading about how to direct her persistent personality so that she will thrive. I know that she will use it for great things one day. She is very independent and energetic and so very very persistent. I can see her being something great one day, she will succeed in whatever she chooses to do.

Well, I had to update the blog a bit so I didn't get so behind, but her 18 month post will be coming soon, and I will do my best to get pictures with that one, she's growing up so much, and her hair is getting so long... where did my tiny baby go? Although, she is 17 months and just now fitting into a size 4 shoe, so she is still "little", but you know what I mean. :)