Madelyn is 18 months old!

Where, oh where has the last year and a half of our lives gone??? It's just so hard for me to believe that our baby girl is already 18 months old. Well, make that 19 months now, but at the time these pics were taken, she was 18 months! I decided to take her to Red Wing park in Va Beach to try to capture some pics of her at this age and I was quite pleased w/ the way several of them turned out.

Madelyn turned 18 months on Sept. 18, 2011. She's such a sweet and loving child who continues to melt hearts daily. I'm frequently stopped at stores by strangers who tell me they think she's beautiful and I couldn't agree with them more. :) She continues to be laid back, low maintenance, and easy to please. She's shy and it takes her a little while to warm up to strangers and new places. However, she's making progress in that area. It wasn't long ago that Miss Maddy would burst into tears if anyone got remotely close to her and looked at her and/or tried to talk to her. Lately instead of crying she's been smiling, waving hi and blowing kisses to strangers as they stop to look at her. She loves her big brother dearly and squeals with excitement when she sees him first thing in the morning. She insists on playing with all of brother's trains, matchbox cars, trucks, and pretty much all of his toys. Her vocabulary is expanding these days and as of now she can say: hi, bye bye, mama, dada, Nana, Joseph (sounds like Jaja), bubbles, balloon (baboon), book, light, baby, yes, uh oh, uh huh, cup, cookie (kuku), and thank you (tay tay). She knows lots of animal sounds and also responds to questions that we ask her by saying yes, or doing whatever we ask her to do. She can point to her hair, nose, eyes, ears, and mouth. She uses sign language for more, all done, please, and thank you. She goes to library class with mommy each week and with about 9 other one year olds. The teacher is WONDERFUL. During library class we sing lots of songs, enjoy finger plays w/ felt pieces that go along w/ stories, read books, shake the egg shakers to a song, and towards the end of the class the teacher blows gymboree bubbles for little ones to try to catch and chase. She also goes to dance class each week and loves that too (and I must add that she looks darling in her leotard, ballet shoes, and tutu each week). Mommy continues to dress Madelyn as girly as possible, but Miss Maddy is quite rough and tough these days. Her legs are covered with bruises from playing rough and girlfriend LOVES getting dirty and playing in the dirt. Madelyn certainly loves her daddy and when he comes home from work or from a long trip, she runs to him as fast as she can with her arms wide open and the biggest smile on her face.......and jumps into his arms.

Madelyn has brought so much joy to our lives this past year and a half. I feel so very blessed and lucky to be her mom and thankful each day for her health.