Maddy Update: 14 months (almost)

Stats: 18-24 month size pants, 12-24 month onesies, and can still wear her 6-12 month sweatshirts. She's a long girl! She plays with the 2 year olds in our Bible study like its no big deal, and even pushed on of them for going for her toy. I've got to keep my eye on this sassy little one.

Milestones/random facts:
-Climbs down the stairs without incident (so far).
-She is a climber, just in general. She climbs on top of her activity table to play on it. She climbs on her rocking chair with her Curious George and rocks with him
-Separation Anxiety! She was never a clingy baby, but she is a clingy toddler. It makes me feel loved, though :)
-She loves animals
-She loves to dance to music. ANY music. Even if music plays on a commercial or computer for 10 seconds, you will find her rocking out; bobbing her head and swinging her arms.
-She knows what "no" means. She has learned not to throw the food she doesn't want on the floor, but to hand it to me. She really wants to please her mom and dad, and she gets upset when we discipline her (which at this point is a firm "no" and a finger flick on the back of the hand for repeated offense). As her parent, I know that I have to be careful about her punishments. My personality has always been the people pleaser, and I have always gotten really down on myself for making any mistakes- too much. I can see that Maddy is a pleaser, and that if she does something wrong, she honestly feels bad about it. But obviously she needs some direction. This parenting requires such delicate balance!

I know there are definitely challenging times ahead, but so far this is my favorite age. I was such a clueless parent of a newborn, and it was so hard to figure her out. She is so smart and sweet now that it is easier to parent her and spend time with her. She just bursts with personality, and is so sweet with other people. She has her moments where she gets shy, but for the most part she brings a smile to anyone's face who is within a 10 foot radius of her. I never thought being a mom could ever be this rewarding!