Happy July 4th! 22 months for Maddy-o

I'll make this quick!

Maddy started to potty train and even pulled down her diaper and peed in her little potty once last week. Sadly, during my cheers and hurrahs, she picked up the bucket and proudly poured all that pee into the floor. No big deal, right? I was prepared for messes. What I WASN'T prepared for, was Maddy slipping and falling on the freshly mopped floor in front of the potty and then deciding that the potty was evil. NOOOOOO!!!!! Oh well. I heard that this happens; kids being kind of coy/fickle during the whole process. Hopefully she will get back on track, because I LOVE the idea of not having to wash, dry, and stuff diapers for a little while!

I cannot even tell you all of Maddy's words, because she has just become a little parrot and will repeat everything you say. Some meaningful phrases/words she has learned are:

"I sorry"

"I wuv you"

"ank-you" (Thank you)

She also counts to eleven, except for the number "8". We are getting her to say "eight" sometimes, though. She has learned many letters of the alphabet, and can usually identify them on a shirt or poster.

In other news- Ross is enjoying his new/old job and I was able to cut back down to 3 days/week a couple weeks ago. I have some changes taking place at work and will help open a new clinic in Oregon City and am excited about that. We are really happy with our set-up.

We had a very fun/full 4th of July weekend with family and friends: My mom was in town earlier in the weekend, we had a B-day brunch for my sister Pam, went to a BBQ saturday night, and then had a BBQ tonight. We had a blast lighting some kid- friendly fireworks and watching the kids delight and squeal over pop-its and snakes. Maddy kept trying to put the pop-its in her mouth, but she eventually figured out how they worked.

Today, Ross and I put Maddy in the bike trailer and rode from 92nd/Flavel to a park in Sellwood and back. I couldn't figure out why my bum hurt so bad, and then Ross admitted to me that I was using a GUYS seat. I wanted to strangle him, because I could totally see him getting the bike and thinking, "Meh, she won't notice and I don't want to buy another seat".

Okay that's it for now! We have been so busy and I'm deliriously tired so my writing has gone to poop. To those that read- good night!