Blanket of warmth and comfort

There are certain sounds that we love, hate or are simply accustomed to.

I love the sound of the ocean it brings me peace.

I love the sound of hearing a bear run through the woods it brings me youthful curiosity.

I love the sound of crickets and frogs chirping and croaking at night in the south it brings me comfort of being home.

I hate the sound of people chomping and smacking food or gum it makes me want to crawl out of my own skin.

I hate the sound of people eating their own silverware or stabbing their salad as if it needs killing it makes me squirm.

The words love and hate are strong emotional words.

There are two sounds that surpass the word love they make your soul light up and wrap you in a blanket of warmth making you more comfortable than you have ever been.

The sound of hearing your babies heartbeat in utero is one of those sounds.

The other sound is hearing your babies first cry at birth.  I remember with Madison it was that cry that reached into my soul and made my heart immediately double in size. It filled me with an emotion I never understood, because words can not describe.  My mommy friends just used to say you'll see when you have kids and they were so very right. With Deacon the sound was as powerful as it was with Madison that I immediately cried tears of joy while giggling.  I honestly don't know how my heart still fits inside my chest but I do know that my soul will always remember the blanket of comfort and warmth that my babies, only seconds old, wrapped me in.

Happy 2nd Birthday Madison

Wow!! We made it to 2!! It has been the most memorable, laughable, entertaining, lesson learning, patience building 2 years I've ever lived and I can not wait for more. At 2 years Madison keeps us rolling in laughter with her constant singing, dancing, impeccable communication, and silliness. We find that we have new favorites from her almost daily as she learns so quickly that new comes very often in our house. Madison sings the cutest songs including Hokey Pokey, Twinkle Star, Rock a bye baby, Ring around the Rosie, The alphabet song, head shoulders knees and toes, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider, 1-2 Buckle my shoe, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse intro song, Happy Birthday and I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll remember a few more. She picks up the songs so quickly and clearly it's absolutely adorable!!! In addition to being a music magnet Madison is also enrolled in Ballet/Tap and gymnastics. She loves them both! Madison repeats things with precision and has also started changing her tenses, example..."Madison woke up and Daddy wake up." She knows here vs there. She says things like "Mommy come over here or Zeus go over there." Big vs Small. Cold vs Hot vs Warm. Empty vs Full. Old vs New (with some things). Madison still attends Town and Country Farm School and loves it. This summer they did swim time twice a week and Madison got to plant things in the garden. We actually have tomatoes from her school that she was busy gardening all summer long. She has lots of friends at school and tells us all about them all the time. As a family we have done a ton of outdoor time, park time, swimming time and "busy bee" time this summer. Madison absolutely LOVES being outside and gets cabin fever very quickly. It was a terribly hot summer but we did it with a smile just to see her exploring and doing. Popsicles are the name of the game here, she loves them loves them and has only turned one down one time and that was for more broccoli. Haha!! As for "real" food, M doesn't eat a whole lot but she eats good her favorites are broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, olives, eggs, peaches, yogurt and pasta. She likes Pirates booty and I only mention this because to hear her say "Mommy can I have some booty?" is just hilarious! We have our bouts with the terrible two's but know it will pass and know its going to continue for a little while. It is what it is but our patience will reign victor in the end and we will all survive. At 2 Madison is now a big sister to her baby brother Deacon and she loves him so very much. She ran over from the kitchen on her way to school one morning, kissed his sweet head and said I love You! A sweet moment I love to replay in my head. Madison also bows her head for prayer, says Amen and I love you Jesus! The past 2 years have flown by, each day piling memory after memory into our hearts and minds, I just hope god knew what he was doing and we don't reach capacity cause it's all just too sweet and too wonderful not to hold on to forever. Happy 2nd Birthday sweetie!! Love you all the grains of sand in the world!