Madeline is One!

Our sweet baby girl is one!

We can hardly believe that it's been a year since the doctors had to coax Madeline into joining us during Daddy's R&R. Nor can we believe that the tiny, dark-haired baby who arrived in the middle of the night is now our walking, climbing, signing, laughing little girl!

We've had so much fun this past year, getting to know little Madeline, watching her personality emerge. She and Kathleen have become playmates and co-conspirators (of course, they're still occasional enemies) and the mixture of their laughter is the best music I know.

Madeline has shown herself to be an adventurous spirit. She'll climb just about anything. I can't count the number of times I've turned to find her teetering in some precarious position, atop the rocking horse, a table, a box, or some other "obstacle." I frequently tell people that she believes she's two and half -- that's how she plays. Her misadventures have already cost her a chipped front tooth; we're lucky she's escaped with only that! She loves to play peek-a-boo and to be chased. She laughs mischievously as she runs away, carrying something you'd rather she not have.

Madeline's using a few signs and a few almost-words. She signs fish, milk, bed/sleep, eat, plane, fan, light, more, and dog. She makes a barking noise for dog, too, and a funny chirp/quack for bird. She calls her grandfather "Ga," her father, "Da," and her mother "Mama." Oddly, Kathleen doesn't seem to have a name yet, although Madeline is quick to respond to Kathleen's voice or her name. She loves to go to get Kathleen in the morning, toddling down the hall to her door when we say, "Let's go get Kathleen!"

Madeline is (and always has been) extremely ticklish. She laughs just anticipating the tickles! And now she'll run up to us and wiggle her fingers, saying something that sounds rather like, "Tck, tcka, tcka." She tickles us! And Madeline snuggles. A lot. She'll frequently stop playing to come and hug a leg, or asked to be picked up so that she can lean into a hug against someone's chest. She'll run across the room, hands thrown into the air, eager to be held. It's so sweet.

Happy Birthday, little one. We love you more than you'll ever know.