Happy Birthday Madelyn! (Part 1)

Madelyn turned 2 on Friday.  Happy Birthday Madelyn!  We love you so much!

As we did last year, Justin and I both took the day off of work so we could enjoy a family day just the three of us as a way to spend her birthday.  Last year we went to the Minnesota Zoo and Madelyn had such a good time that when we talked about what to do this year the forecast was ok (although we never did make it into the 60's and sunny like the weatherman said we would) so we decided to do it again.

Woo-hoo...Monkeys!

Last year when we went the shows hadn't started and there was  a lot of construction, but we really enjoyed the Northern Trail (with all the outdoor animals) and the Tropics Trail (where we could see most of the monkeys) so we figured there would be plenty to do. We were surprised to find that the shows were going (including the dolphins!) and that most of the exhibits near the entrance were now open.  So, we actually made it to a lot less of the zoo because we went to the dolphin show and the bird show and the penguin feeding.  Madelyn was completely enthralled with the dolphins, but she didn't end up being that interested in the birds or the penguins.  However, she really enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the monkeys.

Ooooh! Dolphin Show :)

We did have one small hiccup in the day.  After the dolphin show we made our way to Discovery Bay to see the tide pool and the big fish and sharks.  Madelyn was more hesitant about the tide pool this year than she was last year so to help her feel more comfortable Justin showed her how it was safe and fun to put his hands in while I stood across the pool and took pictures.  Madelyn decided to be brave and put her hands in, but she overestimated how far she could put her hands in and ended up going head first into the pool (all while I was snapping pictures).   So, we had to change all of her clothes and dry her off, but she didn't seem too traumatized by the experience.

Not so sure about this Daddy...

Maybe I'll put my hands in, this seems safe enough

Oh no!  Mommy, why are you taking pictures of this...

Singing

Madelyn has loved music since she was pretty little.  She loves to listen, to dance, to clap, and to conduct the music.  She loves to sit at the piano and play "songs" for us.  But, until tonight, she really didn't sing along with songs with a recognizable melody or words. 

She has this book of nursery songs with "The Wheels on the Bus," "Old McDonald," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and "The Hokey Pokey." I'm actually not sure how the Hokey Pokey ended up in that line up.  I did not put the book together.

Tonight, as happens many nights, her nursery songs book was one of the books she wanted to "read" at bedtime.  Usually she does the motions and laughs, occasionally makes an animal noise during Old McDonald, but that is it.  This time she sang along.  Mostly on key, and with definitely recognizable words.  Not for the full songs, but for good portions of each of them.  For her music loving parents, this was a BIG breakthrough!

More Firsts

We have been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather along with everyone else who lives in our area.  Madelyn is very excited to go to the park, and this spring has been more fun for us to bring her than it was last summer.  She is so much more independent, making choices and playing on the playground equipment without as much assistance as she needed last year.  One thing that she has been doing with Justin when he takes her to the park is counting the steps up to the top of the big slide (there are 9) and today for the first time she actually counted with Justin.  Granted, she didn't actually get all the numbers.  She skipped one and four and she's not convinced about seven, but still!

After dinner tonight we were playing with Madelyn's AquaDoodle and she wanted me to write out "Dada" for her.  She then spent several minutes saying "Dada!  D-a-d-a."  She even spelled it out for Justin when he came to see her.  I tried to convince her that she should give spelling mama a chance too, but I could only get "M - mama!"  I'll keep trying though :)

Turing a Day Around

Today was a rough day with Madelyn.  She has a cold and she is hitting her "terrible twos" with defiance everywhere.  After a bedtime that involved fighting a diaper change and putting pajamas on, throwing her toothbrush, and general uncooperativeness she ran to give us hugs before getting in her bed and for the first time said (with no prompting) "Love you!"  Suddenly, the day was not so bad.

Thrills!

This afternoon Justin, Madelyn, and I met up with some friends at Nickelodeon Universe at MOA today.  Although I did take Madelyn on a couple of rides there without Justin a few weeks ago, this was his first chance to go on some rides with her.  And, I had seriously overestimated the number of points we were going to need to go on rides when we went before, so we had plenty left on our ticket.  However, unlike going during a day on a weekday, the place was CRAZY today and the lines were long.  The girls did a great job waiting in line for their turn on the rides and had a great time.

Here are a couple snapshots from the day:

Birthday Celebration!

This past weekend Madelyn and I, along with my mom, sister, aunt, cousin, and Aubrey went up to Fosston, MN to celebrate with my Grandma for her 83rd birthday.  It was really great to be with family and have relaxed weekend spending time with Grandma, playing games, watching movies, and enjoying SNOW!

We haven't seen much snow this winter (it has been the complete opposite of last winter) and Madelyn has had very little opportunity to play in it which has been a bummer for her, although excellent for my commute to work.  There actually was snow for this weekend in Fosston, so we went out and enjoyed it.

She's already taking my keys

I got home from work tonight and after Madelyn told me hello and gave me a hug she took my keys and told me "Bye!"  I asked her where she was going and she told me "Papa" which is what she calls my dad.  I told her that she couldn't take my car to go see Grandpa, but that I would call him and see if he could talk to her.  She seemed satisfied with that and willingly gave me my car keys back.  I didn't think it would start so soon :)