Madi at 23 Months

Well we are officially counting down to the big second birthday for our Madison Marie. It is hard to believe that our baby will be two in a few short weeks.

Madi is a very active little girl. She is running everywhere and climbing everything. She loves to play and is very good at playing with her cousin and sister. She is learning how to share, usually this entails bringing her sister or cousin another toy to replace the one they are playing with. She loves to read and do puzzles, play with her doll house, cars, and golf clubs.

This is one of Madi's favorite toys. Aiden and Madison got these cars from Santa for Christmas, and they are definitely the toy of choice for all three kids. They have so much fun climbing in an out, honking the horn (which plays songs) and putting things in the "trunk". They do a pretty good job of sharing even though Madi is usually playing in the green car while Aiden gets the pink one.

Madison loves to go places. She is always pointing to her shoes, hat or coat and waving "bye-bye". She loves to go visit the horses, Grammy and Grandpa Hitt, or go into town. I have a feeling that once warmer weather hits, it will be hard to keep this little one indoors.

Madison is still not talking very much. We have heard her say dozens of words....once. Then we never hear them again. We have been working on getting her to use more words and we are seeing slow progress. We have a running joke that Emma will be talking before Madi does. We took her to a developmental screening, and she was at or above age level for every thing else other than expressive language.

Madison is growing into such a big helper. She wants to help me to do my chores around the house. She steals my broom, dust cloth, etc and "helps" me clean. She is really getting good at picking up her toys (when she is in the right mood of course) and helps me put dirty clothes in the laundry room and trash in the kitchen. She is always trying to take care of her sister and cousin. She brings them cups, bottles, snacks, and toys. I love my little helper.

I just love the picture above. It really looks like I have a little girl instead of a baby...I guess it is time to admit that I do...haha

We are busy getting ready for Madison's birthday party. Brandon and I received a birthday party planning catalog in the mail and each picked out a theme for Madison. I choose this cute barnyard theme, with cows and horses and chickens...it was adorable with phrases like "Cock-a-doodle-two". Brandon chose a pink John Deere theme, which I do have to admit is cute, but I am not nearly as into John Deere as Brandon is. So we let Madison decide...I asked here three separate times which one she liked better...and every time she picked the John Deere theme. So I guess I got outvoted, and John Deere it is...Daddy and Grandpa Hitt are quite pleased with their girl.

Madison has already had her first haircut. She has beautiful curls in the back, but the top layer isn't quite as curly. So I got brave one afternoon and decided to give her some layers to help her hair curl. I didn't do to bad of a job, and I love the way her curls...I am almost jealous as I have always loved curly hair.

Madi is working on becoming a big girl now that she is almost two. She has given up (not by choice) her binki during the day and only gets her pacifier at bed time and nap time. She is starting to show interest in the potty, and loves playing with the potty she got for Christmas from Uncle Brad and Aunty Amber. She hasn't quite figured out the timing, but knows how to take her pants and diaper off, sit on the toilet and wipe....which she would do for hours if we let her...sit down, stand up, wipe, repeat.

Coloring is quickly becoming another one of Madison's favorite activities. She has crayons and markers (the wonderful color wonder ones that only write on the special paper) and several coloring books. She asks to color nearly every afternoon when we get home from Grammy Cone's. We are pretty sure that we have a left handed girl...her great-grandma Hitt would have been proud to have another lefty in the family.

Madison's favorite people in the world are her grandparents. She loves getting to see them everyday, and usually asks to see YaYa (Brandon's grandmother) first thing when she wakes up. She gets to spend so much of her time with her grandparents, and I am so excited for the close relationships she has with them. She spends all day during the week with Brandon's parents and grandma, and then on the weekend she usually gets to spend a night with my parents. We are so grateful to have all of the help we have and know that we are very lucky to have these 5 grandparents in town. Thank you to all of you for your help!

I sure hope that I will be better about posting now that our camera is fixed. Brandon also ordered a new lens for the camera since that is what I asked for this year for my birthday. So please check back for more pictures.

Emma at 10 Months

Well, Brandon fixed our camera this weekend, so I can finally get some quality photos loaded of my babies. I know it has been a while since I have posted so I will try and give a quality update on my Emma Lea and the happenings of the Cone household over the past couple of months.

Emma is now 10 months old, and is quickly becoming more and more mobile. She is crawling everywhere, and boy is she fast! She pulls her self up on everything, and will walk along the couch, coffee table, behind toys, and with one hand. It won't be too long before she is joining the toddlers in our house.

Bath time is still a favorite time around our house. The three kids take baths together most nights and love to splash around and play in the tub. It is a busy time every night but we enjoy the quality time we get with the girls each night.

Emma is starting to say a few words. We have heard mama, hello, papa, and hi. She is starting to learn rules and has even had her first time out. Not sure she understands it all yet, but we are trying to get to her follow the same rules as the older three.

Emma is our persistent one...if she wants something, she will do anything she can to get it...she will even try and jump out of your arms if you aren't careful. Emma Lea's favorite sound is a scream, and boy does she let you know when she is not happy.

I imagine that Em will be our most detail oriented child. She spots any and every little thing on the floor and makes a bee-line for it, and of course, it goes straight to her mouth. I can vacuum and not 2 minutes later, she can find something to put in her mouth. Of any of the three kids in our house, Emma is the only one who has ever paid that much attention to the little things.

Emma likes to read too. She is really interested in learning how to turn the pages and to look at the pictures. I often will sit on the floor and one of the kids will bring me a book, and I will read to the three babies. They will listen in shifts in between playing with other toys. I really am proud to see these kids loving to read already. I sure hope that it continues throughout their lives.

Emma currently has four teeth, but there are nice little bumps for another four just under the surface. Emma's 9 month appointment came a little late due to the doctor rescheduling, but on Monday, Emma weighed 17lbs 10 ounces and was in the 13th percentile for her weight and was 28 inches long, the 30th percentile. The doctor wasn't too worried about her change in percentile for her weight, so hopefully she will hit a growth spurt before her one year appointment in April.

Madi and Emma are great buddies. They always want to know where the other one is, and Madi sure makes sure that Emma has toys to play with. Madison loves to give Emma hugs and kisses. Emma loves following her sister around and trying to participate in the big girl activities. I pray that this relationship will always be a close one, and that they get along more than fight.

Emma's favorite toy at the moment is a toy picnic basket that Aunty Amber and Uncle Brad bought for her. It has plates, forks (big plastic ones), different shaped food, cups, and a picnic blanket. Emma loves taking the items out of the basket, and then putting them back in again. She practices this skill a lot.

On an exciting note, Brad proposed to Amber last weekend. Since Amber is expecting baby #2 (or 4 depending on how you count it) I think they are planning on getting married in August of 2012. Congrats you two!

Emma is still the most ticklish of the three kids. She squeals and giggles when you tickle her under her chin or on her rib cage. I love her laugh, and I will be sad when the baby laugh turns into a big girl laugh.

I can't believe that Emma will be one before we know it. It will be busy around here in the next 6 weeks as we plan two birthday parties. I can't believe how fast my babies are growing up. It is so much fun around here with these kids. There is never a dull moment, that is for sure!

Emma is our worst napper out of the three. We are lucky if we get one good nap out of her in a day. Some days all we get is 30 minutes here and there. She is just too busy to slow down and nap. For as good a sleeper as she was when she was itty bitty, she is now not as good. Hopefully this is just a phase, and she will grow out of it soon.

I finally got my minivan on my birthday. Brandon finally ended up driving the tahoe down to Colorado Springs and picked up the van for me. It was such a nightmare waiting for the dealership to deliver it, but it is over now and I love my new van...it makes life so much easier!!

Well I suppose that I should wrap this up so I can help deal with the kids. I hope now that the camera is fixed I will no longer have an excuse to procrastinate posting. I know that a lot of people follow our lives through this blog so I will try and be better about sharing.