Maddie Grace: 15 Months

At her doctor’s appointment the doctor asked me if she was a toddler now. I wanted to answer with “isn’t that obvious?” but instead just said “oh yes.” She’s been a full-fledged toddler though. Talking, running, singing… it’s really amazing. She’s awesome at communicating what she wants now, talks up a storm (about 5% of which we understand), will respond to just about any command (if she wants to), and is even picking up on singing different tonal patterns when prompted which is really exciting.

Maddie Grace now weighs 21.5 pounds (I told someone the other day I thought she weighed close to 30 – oops, way off) and is just about 30 inches. Girlfriend could eat all day and all night, although she’s definitely getting pickier with her foods which worries me. Right now she’s addicted to cheese puffs, hot dogs, and fruit snacks. She loves a chocolate milk and juice to go along with her meals.

Maddie Grace has always loved the outdoors and nothing has changed about that, although it’s really hard for me right now to stomach the heat (it’s a weird pregnancy thing).  Her two favorite activities are probably music class and going to the pool. She also thrives in social situations. We have friends with a 2 and 4 year old and there is something about them that she absolutely loves – like she catches a glimpse of them and lights up with glee.

For the most part she is a great sleeper but we’ve had a few rough nights lately. I mean a few nights were she is awake and screaming from 2-5 am. Here’s the thing though… every single time this happens she only wants daddy. Like gets upset if I’m even close to her and screams “NO.” This would break my heart, except I just go right back to sleep and in the morning she is back to being a mama’s girl. Thankfully my husband is the sweetest and most patient man ever and says he has no problem being the one to get up with her, and I think he’s secretly happy since all the other times she gets upset she only wants mama. 

One thing Tom and I have been talking a lot about lately is setting a good example for her since she already emulates all of our behavior. This also includes talk about having people and relationships that are healthy and good examples in her life. It can be a kind of hard topic sometimes but ultimately we want to do, and are going to do, what is best for her (and our other future children). It also means that we ourselves try to be positive, honest, helpful, encouraging, hard-working, supportive, nice, and everything else that we want her to be one day. I think taking her to church every Sunday is a start, but if we aren’t living it out what we are trying to teach her in our own lives, then there is a problem. I posted this quote on an Instagram picture that I stumbled across in Jen Hattmaker’s Out of the Spin Cycle, a devotional book I would highly recommend for any Christian mother out there, which said “What they will remember is how we prayed with them and listened to their little dreams and fears. They’ll never forget how we cared for the broken members of our community, teaching them the mission of Jesus. So vividly will they remember how slow we were to judge, and how quick we were to laugh. Our kids will recall how wildly we loved them, beyond reason and past boundaries.” So good.

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend! Tom is in a wedding this weekend and my dad will be coming to visit (and help babysit). So yes, this means good times with friends and family galore – I have a feeling it will be a good one!