Madeline

Eleven months old! Can you believe it? We certainly can't. How easy it is to forget just how fast the first year flies by! So many things have changed since I last posted about Maddie. We finally have a tooth! Its a bit lonely now, but at least two others are trying to come in. They've been "trying" to break through for awhile now with no luck though, so who knows when we will be able to say that she has teeth. Despite the fact that she must be uncomfortable from it, she has remained our happy little Maddie May.
The past few weeks, her personality has really started to come through. She is turning out to be a little stinker and getting into all sorts of trouble. Now that we put a gate at the bottom of the stairs, I no longer have to chase her away from them every five seconds, but she still is obsessed with trying to get into bathrooms, electrical outlets (she figured out how to get the plug covers out of the sockets), and crawling under and into the tiniest spaces. The other day she got herself stuck underneath her crib and couldn't get back out.
Whenever I tell her not to do something, she just heads towards it even faster, giggling all the way. Or she'll shake her head yes at me when I tell her no, no. She loves to growl. She'll crawl around the house growling at her toys, and loves to growl at her sister and parents. Its hilarious!
She adores her big sister, following her wherever she goes and trying to play with all of the big girl toys. As much as it drives her crazy sometimes, Kailey is really good about entertaining Maddie and loves to sit her on her lap and read to her. It always melts my heart to see them interact.
We don't have a walking 11 month old, which surprises me a little because Maddie has done everything else so early. She took a few steps a couple days ago, but I think she has realized that crawling is faster at this point, and she is always in such a hurry to get where she is going, she doesn't want to take the time to slowly walk there.
Finally, she loves to snuggle and give kisses. She usually doesn't snuggle for long, but whenever we ask her for a kiss, she is willing to give us a big sloppy baby kiss. Nothing gets better than that!
I know she has a runny nose in this picture due to her teething, but you can see her first tooth!

Kailey

Kailey is getting so big. I am finally coming to terms with the fact that my baby is going to be going to kindergarten in the fall, and every day I am amazed by how smart she is.
She is very ambitious. She has a dream to be a paleontologist when she grows up. A few months ago she was going to be a "working mom" and be a mommy and a paleontologist, but recently that changed. We were walking to the park the other day when she informed me that she is never going to be a mommy. Of course I asked her why and this was her response: "Because children are naughty." It was hilarious.
She also went on the Tower of Terror at California Adventure a few weeks back, and it has fast become her favorite ride. Now we get to ride that almost every time we go, and she tells everyone she meets that she went on it. What a little daredevil she is.
Kailey has a very big imagination. Every day she pretends to be someone/something new. The other day she was a puppy, and we were driving in the car and she told me that she couldn't wait to go home and have a bone for lunch. Today we were being mice. Every time I talked to her, she made me talk in a high pitched voice, and would correct me if I forgot.
She is really into drawing at her new desk, coloring and writing me notes. She loves to leave little letters and notes to us around the house, or make cards for us and hang them on our door. The other day she was being naughty and had to go to her room and a little while later she walked in, handed me a piece of paper, then walked out again without speaking to me. On the paper she had written "I am mad." I just had to laugh at that.
We just love our little girl so much and we are so lucky to have her in our lives! She is absolutely adored by her baby sister, and brings so many blessings into our home with her vivacious personality.