Maddie Grace: 21 Months

Well it’s official, Maddie Grace has become the best big sister in the world. But she also became a big 21 month old that same day she became a sister.

Maddie Grace meeting her brother was easily one of the best moments of my life. She loved him from first sight climbing into bed with me to get close to him and trying to hold him saying “MY baby” and “aww baby cute”. MG is a great helper with her little brother. She always wants to help change his diaper and hand him his pacifier. She gives him hugs and kisses and asks to hold him constantly. Well mostly this is the case. She also has moments where she gets really jealous, and for sone reason says “ew baby stinks” all the time. He does poop a lot so she’s usually right, but still. She thinks a lot of the thing he does are really funny – hiccups are especially hilarious. I love how she loves the baby, but she has started acting out in other ways for attention. Yesterday she purposefully knocked over my cup of water, slapped me in the face, and pushed a friend for no reason. She will all over a sudden want to be held when I’m holding the baby and start screaming and clinging to my leg. I know she is wanting attention and that this change is incredibly hard for her, so I’m trying to be very patient, but I also don’t want her to think this behavior is acceptable so I’m struggling to find a balance between patience and discipline.

But now on to the happier moments. Maddie Grace loves to ask everyone repeatedly if they’re okay. “You okay mama? You okay?” is something I hear throughout the day. She also just started shouting “LOVE YOU!” to people when they leave, usually after saying “bye bye see you soon!” She can now repeat just about anything she hears so we have to be very careful about using any bad words around here.

Maddie Grace does the funniest things. We gave her a bubble bath and after her initial response of “BUBBLES! BUBBLES!” she said ‘ bye bye bubbles see you soon’ as the water drained. The other day she was taking a nap in our bed while baby Tripp slept on Tom and I opened a bag of candy and somehow she heard me, woke up and asked for one, ate the one I gave her, and put her head down and fell right back asleep. She also loves to tickle people and makes the cutest faces and noises when she is trying to tickle.

We’ve been really struggling with MG’s sleeping habits. She’s only been falling asleep while in our bed with us and if we try to move her screams buddy murder. Saturday night she saw Tom holding a sweet sleeping baby Tripp and climbed up on me to be held and passed out and it was really sweet, even though our goal is to get her back in her own bed soon. Well one day. If sleeping in bed with us makes this transition easier for her we will let her as long as she needs.

I can’t describe my feelings the last week and a half. When I saw her after having Tripp I just kept thinking how huge she was – she must have grown a foot the two days we were in the hospital. I also instantly started feeling like I missed out on a lot of her the last 6 months. Where did the time go? Holding baby Tripp brings back all the feelings of holding baby Maddie Grace and it seems like just yesterday she was sleeping on my chest the way he is now. In just 3 short months, well even less than that now, our sweet baby girl is turning 2. It blows my mind. I look forward to seeing her grow as a big sister this next month and seeing what she learns and experiences this month, although I hope it goes a little slower.

I adore this jacket and glove set Maddie Grace is wearing from Liam and Isla. Not only is the jacket just adorable and a great red color (perfect for Valentine’s Day) but these gloves snap onto the jacket, perfect for any toddler who has a tendency to throw off their gloves the second you put them on. And her little boots from Cienta are warm and cozy, perfect for the cold days we’ve been having. Plus they are scented to actually smell nice. They are easy to get on and off of Maddie Grace and she loves running around in them.