Madi's Big Day

Madi's birthday was a good one! It was nice not having a "friend party" this year (especially since we got back from Ontario the night before). The whole day was devoted to doing what Madi wanted to do (since I can still do this- having only 2 kids and all:). The girls were both up bright and early so we hit up the store at 7am for Madi to pick out her cake, frosting, and ice cream. It was a fun outing- Madi insisted on wearing her birthday crown which even got her some birthday wishes! Madi then later insisted on helping make her cake- cause she's such a big girl now!

She really was on cloud nine the entire day- continually reminding us that she's now three! We played outside, swam in the hot tub, went to the indoor pool, and then had a little family party.

After the candles were blown, I turned for a second, and before I could grab a plate and spoon, Madi had pulled the cake in and was going for her first bite (she must still have some memories from sharing her very first birthday cake with Gram)!

I quickly explained that this was a cake she had to share- and then we cut her a piece. Again, she didn't wait for the spoon but dove right in!
I eventually got her a spoon that she did use, but after a couple minutes she'd pushed her piece aside and was grabbing for the whole cake! Crazy little girl!

After cake we did presents. Madi had opened a few presents a week or so earlier at her combined birthday party for Gram- like "Gram Baby", with a diaper bag full of newborn clothes and accessories:

And a pink and purple trike from Gram Rox (not sure why this line won't erase):

Then while in Ontario, Grandma took Madi shopping where Madi picked out a little dog which (with some coaching) she named "Rowdy":

Luckily we did make sure to save a few other presents for her actual birthday. . .

It was definitely one Happy Birthday!

Madi's "FREE"!

Madi's finally three and I don't think she could be anymore excited about it! She woke up this morning practically bursting with the news, "I'm FREE!" She's been counting down the months, weeks, and days for awhile now. She knows her birthday is "June 28" and has been requesting her gift to be, "a pink cake with pink frosting". What a girl! At least she's super easy to please!

Madilyn's quite the big girl now! It's amazing how much changes in just 6 months. As I looked back at her 2 1/2 year old post I realized that Madi's grown up quite a bit. It was right after her half birthday that I noticed Madi becoming a lot more independent. She went from always whining and complaining: "I can't do it."

to: "I can do it mom." "Look mom, I did it- all by myself."

And my least favorite: "I don't need you anymore." (talk about break a mom's heart)

Aside from the tantrums, I loved having a two year old. It was especially fun to see all the things that Madi accomplished at only two years old! Her incredible memory still amazes me. Not only has she memorized 5 of the 13 Articles of Faith (kinda lost momentum on this when life got busy- but I'm confident she'll memorize the other 8 this next year), but she also knows (and can sing per request) at least 1/3 of the Primary Children's hymnbook along with a couple dozen nursery rhymes and several patrotic songs.

Madi also knows all her upper case letters and most of her lower case (struggles with 7 of them). She knows all the sounds of the letters and when she first mastered them, she'd walk around the house making the letter sound before saying the word. For ex: "p p p pillow" "w w w water" We'd take turns looking around the room, saying the sound, and then the word. Madi thought she was so super smart for inventing this game. She also made up a cute song -"I know my letters, I know their sounds." (sung to the tune of Love One Another).

She can write all her upper case letters except: G, K, and R, but we're still working on being able to put the letters together to make words. We haven't worked on the lower case letters as much.

Other accomplishments we celebrated this past year:

-moving up to and staying in her big girl bed

-giving up the binky

-being potty trained in basically a day (never wore pull-ups, never had an accident at nap or bedtime, and total accidents from start to finish can be counted on one hand)! She now goes completely on her own (requesting the door shut behind her), but- being the controlling OCD parent I am- still try to supervise the wiping.

-dressing herself (panties, pants, and shoes). She still struggles with shirts- but it's hilarious listening to Madi walk me through the process: "Ok, so first I find the front of the panties. Then I put one foot in..." "Mom, remember- the tag needs to be in the back!"

Madi keeps us very entertained and we have absolutely loved watching her learn and grow. There are some days I'm confident there's no other toddler sweeter than our Madi, but then other days I'm positive there's no other child more dramatic than Madi!! She's definitely quite the drama queen! She doesn't adjust very easily, is not very adaptable, and canNOT be forced to do something. I've now gotten into the habit of warning Madi before changes and transitions.

She's pretty sensitive- especially when tired. My favorite saying of hers that always cracks me up (even when I know it shouldn't) is: "Don't talk to me like that mom. That hurts my feelings."

Madi really has such a good heart. She so badly wants to do what is right. When we tell her she made a bad choice or that it wouldn't make Heavenly Father happy, she gets super sad and quickly fixes her action. Every book we read, movie we watch, or experience we have where someone is sad or people aren't being nice, Madi will tell me, "I'll be their friend. I can make them happy!"

She loves making new friends. She may come off as shy, but on almost every park trip Madi will insist on joining another little girl on the swings. She's getting pretty good about saying, "Hi, I'm Madi." Then she'll make random comments to me like, "Look Mom, she's got sandals like I do." or "Look mom, we're both wearing white shirts." When leaving the park Madi will wave and say "bye friend!" like they've known each other for ages.

Madi's got pretty amazing self control. Her favorite thing at the park is the swings, but if her favorite swings are being used, Madi will stand there and wait... and wait.... and wait. I've been pretty impressed with how long she can actually wait for a simple little swing.

I've been able to use her self control to my advantage- especially in church and at times when I need her to be quite and sit still. Fruit snacks are the key, and I only give her one at a time. If we're in church, I'll hand her a fruit snack and tell her she can eat it when the speaker says "amen". Works like a charm. Madi will hold onto that fruit snack and wait until her hears that amen, but even then she'll turn to me and ask, "Can I eat it now Mom?"

Madilyn still loves her babies and is quite the little mommy- always making sure her babies have been fed, diapers changed, and layed down for naps. Her other interests have pretty much stayed the same: building (her towers have gotten pretty impressive), cars (she'll usually treat her cars like her babies- build a garage for them, park them inside, and tell me I have to be quiet cause they're sleeping), reading, drawing, coloring, and playing with her sister.

She got her first bike for her birthday (from Gram Rox- thanks Roxy!)! With a new bike to ride, and a backyard to play in, Madi actually would probably prefer to spend the majority of her day outside. She's developed a new love for swimming and always wants to get into my parents' hot tub to "practice". I've been taking Madi to the pool at the gym (we joined for the summer) at least once a week and I think she's finally over her swimming fears. We'll see next summer when we give her actual swim lessons though!

I really can't blame Madi for all her weird quirks- she truly is her mother's daughter. I've lost count with all the ways that Madi's just like me. She gets grossed out super easy- mostly about

detached hair, boogers, and being dirty, sticky, smelly, and sweaty. And it's no surprise that she loves to help me clean. Anytime I'm cleaning Madi has to come join in- but then doesn't stop! She's always asking for a "wipe" (baby wipe) to clean things like: at Spencer's graduation when Madi insisted on cleaning the backs of the all chairs, at the airport when she stood in line cleaning the Southwest kiosk, and any other time I'm moping floors and cleaning the bathroom. It's a little funny and kinda strange, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't love having a "mini me". I'm already looking forward to Madi being old enough to leave in charge so that Spencer and I can reinstitute a regular date night!

Because of Madi's cautious personality she listens and takes my warnings very seriously. She'll remind me, "I need to hold your hand cause I don't want those scary guys to get me." I know where she got the "hold my hands" warning from, but I have no clue where she picked up on the part about the "scary guys"! She'll also warn me about the "fast cars" that will get her if she goes into the street. I've actually been trying to monitor my "warnings" though. Madi's been having bad dreams on quite the reoccurring basis these days and anything remotely scary will most likely turn into a bad dream in the next few days. Seriously, it's crazy. If I shout, "Hurry in the house, the flies are coming in!" she'll freak out about flies getting her. My mom told Madi about "Mr. Decay" eating her teeth if she doesn't brush really good every night. Madi's now the best brusher ever but I'm now just waiting for a dream about Mr. Decay eating up all her teeth!

I really could go on and on about my Madi girl. She's always doing and/ or saying something that totally cracks us up. I feel like I want to record everything- so that I don't forget anything. I'm just glad for a little girl who still loves and adores me and always wants to be with me. Sometimes I'll get annoyed with Madi's requests to hold her hand on car trips, to lay with her before going to bed, and always yelling, ""Excuse me Mom, excuse me, I need to tell you somethin." But how sad to know that these times are so short and before I know it, Madi won't be needing me like she does now. She won't be with me all day to tell me all the things that she loves and all the things that scare her. As crazy and stressful as these younger years are, I'll always treasure these little moments that I get to share with my girls every single day! I love you so much Madi! Happy 3rd birthday!

Father's Day

As I sat through Relief Society on Father's Day Sunday, I couldn't help but think of two things:

1) How lucky I am to have such an awesome, involved dad, who's always made time for me, and would drop everything if I was in need.

2) How grateful I am that I married Spencer (not that it was a real tough choice:). I couldn't have given my girls a better gift. As I listened to women share stories about their dads and how they've been there for them, loved them, taught them, inspired them- I thought about my girls and what they'll remember about Spencer (and me), the influence and impact that we've had and will have in their lives, and what memories they'll want to share in future Relief Society meetings.

The rest of the day I just thought about how incredibly blessed I am to have a husband who's so involved in the lives of his daughters. Who takes breaks during the day just to play with them, eat lunch with them, read stories to them, help with bedtime, and even to discipline. He's pretty dang amazing if you ask me!

This Father's Day was special in that we got to spend it together (the girls and I were originally going to be gone), but I have to throw a shout out to Spencer for making dinner, doing all the dishes afterwards, and then cleaning up the downstairs so that I could finish my family reunion post and get packed for our trip to Ontario. Then, after a late night, Spencer still got up at 4:15am to make lunches for the girls and I, pack the car, wake up Madi, and send us on our way! Thanks babe- you're the best!

Madi's gift to Spencer this year was made in her nursery class (love her leaders and their fabulous ideas)! Is that not just so adorable?!

Happy Father's Day Spence!

Rudd Family Reunion 2010

May 29th- June 5th

Outer Banks, NC

It was one awesome week! Every day was filled with playing on the beach, digging in the sand, splashing in the ocean, swimming in the pool, laying out in the sun, and hanging out with family! I couldn't have asked for more. Due to an overwhelmingly amount of pictures, I'll try to stick to the highlights. . .

This is the beach house we rented for the week- 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, and walking distance to the ocean!

Even though we had our own private beach area within walking distance, I'd still say the pool was a necessity- especially for those of us home in the afternoon with nappers.

The hot tub came in handy too- especially in the early mornings when the pool was still a little too chilly for our liking.

And at night when the guys needed to relax from a hard day of playing!

But the majority of fun was had on the beach! From morning runs, to surfing, kayaking, sand castle building, swimming, wave jumping, sea shell finding, and relaxing- we played hard the entire week!

Mmmmm..... who ever knew sand tasted so good!

Everyone was able to make it to the reunion expect for JoSue who was home on bed rest with triplets in her belly (you were greatly missed Jo)!

Well, she was kinda with us- via cell phone!

Clark and Roxy came up halfway through the week and helped to really get the party started!

Matching pajama party: This was taken way too late at night, but luckily we'd just had a hair straightening party!

Notice the newest addition to the Rudd family (between Karlee and I)- Bobby's fiance, Amy! She fits in pretty dang good if you ask me! She'd probably pass as a sister before I would. We had a little bridal shower/ official "welcome to the family" outing for her with all the girls! She's super sweet and did great with all our grueling questions! We love you Amy and are thrilled to have you as part of the family!

During our week in Corolla, we had some pretty cool finds including:

1) A washed up bat ray. Spencer thought it was dead, but as Madi and I looked closer we could see it's eyes open and close and gills trying to breathe. Pretty cool, but super sad to watch, so I made Spencer throw it back to sea. No pictures taken- we had to act fast!

2) This awesome sea glass ring. Unfortunately it fell off on our walk home and was never to be seen again.

3) Our very own pet frog. Spencer and Curteis caught him, and while some of the cousins wanted to keep it as a pet, I couldn't stand the cruelty, so dad and Madi set it free.

4) Foxes would come out at night. Nothing exciting to note though, expect that we saw them.

5) Dolphins. It was so fun watching the dolphins from the shore, that several people headed out on the kayaks to get a closer look. Unfortunately I wasn't one of those people, but I heard it was awesome- seeing the dolphins up close, swimming beside you, watching them jump in and out of the water.

Even though Spencer and I never got to "swim" with the dolphins, we still had a great time out on the kayaks (thanks Calhouns)! Madi even ventured out with us once. She looks real excited about it huh!?

After her initial shock of the first wave splashing up onto us, and her yelling, "I never want to do this ever again!" She got over it and had a blast! We went looking for Nemo and friends, and by the end, Madi did not want to go back!

And speaking of overcoming fears, it was just last month that we went to Virginia Beach and Madi was freaking out about having to walk in the sand. Funny how just a couple weeks later we had a completely different child. She begged to go to the beach every morning, telling me how much she loved the sand, wanted to "jump the waves", and search for seashells. Here she is sprinkling "sugar" all over her body! Every day she left the beach covered from head to toe in sand, but couldn't have been happier!

Especially when she knew a could rinse off would come when she got home!

Spencer stayed cooped up in the house most of the week studying for the California Bar exam, but always took a break in the afternoon to fit in some surfing and play time with his girls. This was Madi's favorite time of the day- building sand castles with daddy!

Playing outside in the hot sun with little kids couldn't last all day, so we made sure we had lots of fun indoor activities for the kids as well. Story time was always a favorite. Notice Spencer in the back in his designated "study area"- heads phones on and all! I don't know how he did it, but he stayed up there, hour after hour while everyone else went out and played. And he kept on studying through all the craziness while everyone was in the house. He actually had a very productive week and stayed totally caught up with all his study schedule. Way to go Spence!

Other favorites:

1) Coloring

2) Movie and snack time

3) And lots of play time with cousins!

This was taken before church on Sunday. Thanks Gram for the matching Sunday dresses! Oh, and I have never in my life seen a church building so incredibly packed before!

And of course, a Rudd Reunion isn't complete without a talent show! Clark won the award for best talent (in my opinion) with his amazing magic act!

Bobby and Amy were a hit with the kids- singing the ABC's forward and then backwards!! Talk about talent!

Madi did a pretty good job too. I didn't get a picture, but the video is pretty good. She preformed America the Beautiful (but of course insisted on singing I am a Child of God first). Afterwards she sang her "Miss Madi had a Dolly" song. The actions were non-existent though. We packed her doctor kit in the move and it kinda put a damper on the whole song!

And of course, a week on the beach makes for lots of fun photo ops!

Group pictures:

The guys

The gals (we miss you Jo!)

Papa and Gram with their 9 grandkids (and 3 more on the way)!

And the whole group- walking home from the beach.

What a fabulous week! Thanks everyone for the great time and all the memories!