Madilyn Rose One Year Old!

My little girl turned one this weekend. O-N-E. If this little fact shocks you, since her last post was when she was merely 9 months old, well…you’re not alone. Her birthday came out of nowhere. I know they say not to compare your children, but when Julia turned a year old she really felt more toddler-like; she was walking (waddling), talking (a handful of words), and was more like a little person. Madilyn, on the other hand, is still very much a baby…and I love it!

Maddie is still this little ball of happy squish. Unless she’s hungry, has a poopy diaper, or is fighting sleep, she’s almost always smiling. I could’ve sworn she’d be walking by now—she’s been standing on her own and walking around by holding on to things for at least three months, but she realizes how quickly she can get around by crawling, so she does that instead. She’ll walk all around the house holding on to our hand, but the second we let go it’s back to all fours.

Finally, in the past week, she started “talking.” She’ll say “wa-wa” when she clearly wants water; she screams, “BELLA” (literally, yells it), for our dog, and I’m pretty certain she’s starting to say, “mamamamamama.” On the bright side, she’s been signing words (“more,” “milk,” “night night,” and “all done.”) for a couple of months. Our theory is that she’s just lazy since we have a busier lifestyle and can’t devote all the time in the world to teach her these things. She’s basically getting on-the-job training. 

Madilyn LOVES books, loves dancing, loves food, and loves her sister. She and Julia play together all the time; they play in forts, play in their little kitchen, they roll balls to each other, and play with blocks, dolls, and they love giggling and making each other laugh. Seriously, laughing is Maddie’s favorite.

She has her 12-month well baby appointment this morning, and I’m pretty sure she’s a little over 20 pounds (3 pounds more than Julia was at this age); she’s easily in 12-month clothes, and some 18-month clothes. When Julia was born it was pretty obvious that she got my husband’s genes (I joke around that if I didn’t push her out myself, I probably would’ve had a lot of questions about if she was mine), but there’s no denying that Madilyn is mine—people constantly say that she’s my little mini me, and I love it!

Unlike her sister’s birthday, we skipped the big hoopla this year. There were no pinterest crafts, no guests, and no party; it was just the four of us, two computers so the grandparents could FaceTime in, and a homemade birthday cake. It took some major stress off of me, and I know Maddie still had fun. The girls’ birthdays are a month a part from each other, so I have a feeling they may share their birthday parties in the future.

This year has been harder in many ways, but in all honesty, having two kids has been 100 times easier than I thought it would be. I’m so thankful they get along—Julia always says how much she likes Maddie, and is always saying how beautiful she is (melts my heart!); I can’t wait to see them grow up together.

I read Madilyn’s birth story the day before her birthday, and I also reread this post about bonding with my baby, and how it took a lot longer than I thought it would before I felt that connection to her. It seems silly now that I was worried I wouldn’t love her as much, and I actually still feel a little sad that I didn’t feel that immediate bond with her (because she’s so stinkin’ awesome!), but I’m so, so happy she’s mine. Maddie’s such an intricate part of our lives that it makes me so thankful for her and the joy she brings to this family.

Happy birthday to my little Maddie-Roo! I can’t wait to see how she grows this next year!