Oh the ABCs....

Ryan is back and we are so thankful he is home, especially me because our little Maddie O. is putting us to the test but more on that in a minute. Ryan and his fellow co-workers arrived back home this past Friday. He was thankful to be home after a long ten days but he was also very greatful for the opportunity he had.



He saw many sights that he had never seen before. Unfortunately for us, he isn't quite the shutterbug that I am. In the entire time he was gone, the whole ten days, he took thirty three pictures with our camera. Thirty three! I take thirty three pictures in three minutes. So, I being the one that wanted more, am left with only a few pictures to share with you. Here is a street in New Orleans:



And here is a real dude:



Yep, that's all I've got. So, now back to our little angel, and I'm using that word losely, Madison. She is a very sweet girl, very loving, eager to please, polite and typically very happy. We've never had any issues with her and I don't want to imply that we are really having any issues now but it's just that she is beginning to test her limits. This week she has pushed us and pushed us. She is getting into things she's never even touched before and then has a complete meltdown, throw herself on the floor, screaming fit when she's told no.

Last night Ryan came into the living room after putting Madison to bed. He was gently rubbing his forehead and said "Maddie headbutted me. Twice. And I think it was on purpose." Of course all I could do was laugh but I did feel sorry for him because after the last few days I don't doubt his guess that it was on purpose.

I realize that Madison isn't quite two yet and everyday can't be filled with daisies, roses and petunias. Sometimes we're going to prick our finger on those thorns and we'll bleed. It's how we care for our wounds that's going to matter. So, for now Madison has spent a lot of time in timeout while Ryan and I look at each other wondering what to do while muffling our laughter because we can hear Madison calling out from her timeout seat. Gosh, parenthood really is a lot of fun.

On the brighter side of things, Madison has been working on her 1,2,3's and A,B,C's. Her counting goes like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9! We keep trying to get her to squeeze that 5 in there before we move on to 8 and eventuly 10 and the others but she's not having it. She's got the right tune down for the ABC song and a few of the letters. Last night I was lucky enough to capture us singing on video. Please disregard my singing and me forgetting the end of the song for a moment and focus on our sweet little Maddie O. It really is moments like these that make all of the tough times escape from my memory.