our little m&m...

where do i even begin with our little madeline meredith?

it was 730 days ago...at 10:19 a.m. (to be exact) that i gave birth to my second precious daughter. just as they had when ella took her first breath, the tears flowed from my eyes. for yet a second time in my life, i could now say that i had witnessed a miracle. my heart was full...but something was different...it was like i was repeating the same dream...only this time, the ending was not the same. no doubt i loved that little 7 lb 5 oz bundle from the moment she was formed in my womb to the moment i heard her first cry...but it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning, as i was nursing her, that i really got to soak her in. it finally processed that she wasn't ella...she was our amazing maddie. her smell, her coos, her cries...all at one moment, literally took my breath away. i haven't been the same since.

madeline is exactly what we ALL needed. for starters, ella certainly needed a "princess in training"...i almost shudder to think about what their lives would be like without each other. ella said just the other day as she was kissing madeline, "you have no idea how much i love her"...tell me God doesn't know just what He is doing! i for SURE needed another baby girl...whether i knew it or not...she is like the dot to my "i" and the cross to my "t"...i'm just not complete without her...and jeffrey certainly needed another member of this family to fall madly in love with...he is a perfect daddy to little girls...and they love him endlessly.

maddie boo boo - on august 30, 2006, we found out that our second baby was going to be another precious girl...but to describe you as another may not sound fair...because you are anything but just another. you are another cheek to kiss, another hand to hold, another personality to fall in love with, another "little" to snuggle with in the middle on the night, another person to call me mommy...another person to share my infinite love with. i want you to know that your family thinks you are amazing from the top of your "not so much hair" little head to the bottom of your adorable little toes! there are so many things that make you YOU...but here are just a few of the things i NEVER want to forget...

*your absolute favorite thing to eat is "gunk" (aka junk)...which makes your dietitian mother berserk...but nonetheless, i cannot resist "your cindy lou who" eyes batting up at me...so you usually score at least a couple m&m's every day!!!
*your favorite book is "house" (aka "the napping house")...and you love to find the flea on every page!

*you love to walk like you are in the swimming pool by squatting and walking real slow with this adorable look on your face...i think you like the way it makes us laugh.

*your favorite song...well beyond the christmas season...is "holy night" (aka "silent night")...and you are quite particular about which version you will tolerate! you prefer mommy's soft nighttime version, but you will also peacefully listen to josh groban!

*you are the messiest eater i have ever met! (ok...you rival your daddy...but i still think you win 1st place!) however, your tremendous need for independence resists any help offered...so mommy just does lots of laundry...or you eat in your birthday suit!!!!!!!!!

*you suck your thumb and hold your "na" (aka lovie) in the most adorable way...nothing makes you look sweeter!

*you laugh every time i brush your top teeth!

*you love to "skip hop" instead of walk...it's sort of your trademark!!!

*ella is your favorite person in the world...besides mommy & daddy of course...and you want to do everything she does at all times...except be thrown up in the air...you'll pass on that one!

*while you have a strong propensity to choose "gunk" over health food any day of the week...you do have an affinity for hummus flavored with garlic and guacamole! who would have thunk?!?!
*you are your own person...and you are not afraid to tell someone to get "back"!!!!!!!!

i could go on & on...

i can hardly believe that you are 2 years old...my how you have managed to make a lot of people fall in love with you in such a short time. we are so blessed by you and i cannot imagine any other little girl that i would rather call my second born.

happy birthday little m&m!

i love you sweet pea...i get to be your mommy forever...and i could not ask for more.