Starring the Stewarts

Three and a Half Plus Some

This little stinker is halfway to FOUR years old! That seems so big to me, and I'm not sure why, but four years old seems like a big milestone age. Perhaps it's because she adores going to the doctor, and I know what the four year old checkup entails. Who knows, but our little Madeline is growing up to be such a BIG girl, and we couldn't be more proud of her.

Madeline is a sweet, rule following fashionista! She is 210% girly girl. Her imaginary play is even girly -- fairies, role playing being a Mommy, taking care of her babies, cleaning house, getting haircuts and manicures, dressing up, playing in her kitchen, and dancing around. When Madeline interacts with others, especially adult females, the first thing she notices is what jewelry she might be wearing, painted nails and toenails, and her hairstyle. Promptly, Madeline will comment, usually over the top complimentary, about those items. For example, the young girl checking us out one afternoon simply had her hair pulled back into a braided ponytail, nothing super snazzy, but Madeline exclaims, "I just love your braid! I just love your ponytail." And of course, Madeline then noticed her earrings, bracelets, painted nails, etc., and proceeds to compliment the girl until we left the store. The young girl was beaming by the time we left. The cashiers at our grocery store love for us to come through the line because they know Madeline will make them feel like a million bucks with the lovely compliments. It's very charming and sweet but extremely genuine on Madeline's part.

Madeline loves to be outside! She loves her bicycle, her swingset, and sandbox. Madeline enjoys running around playing ball and chase, but she will quickly tire of that and want to "bake" cookies in her sandbox or swing on the swingset. I don't think I'll ever find her climbing trees, but being outdoors in the sunshine makes her happy.

Madeline adores school and everything about it. She loves her teachers, her friends, the "lessons" during circle time, snacktime, the playground, and being one of the helpers. Madeline has learned so much in school this year. She knows her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, her name, months, seasons, holidays, and letter sounds just to name a few. She astounded Eric and I one evening at dinner when out of the blue she said, "Buh, buh, buh. B is for bug. Mmm, mmm, mmm. M is for Madeline. M is for Mommy." and she went on and on with most of the letters. Who knew she knew letter sounds and words to match?! So lately, our conversation goes something along the lines of, "Mommy, I see ___. What does ___ start with?" She's obsessed! Preschool is AWESOME, and I really heart her teachers! Madeline continues to have a love affair with books. Fairy tales have become her most favorite books lately, and boy, some of them are long, but she will sit there, listen, for the most part comprehend, and enjoy. Be still my heart! Sidenote -- When I was a classroom teacher, I used to do a big fairy tale/fractured fairy tale unit, so I have many, many versions of fairy tales. It was one of my most favorite literature units to teach, and I absolutely love that Madeline shares my fairy tale passion right down the the movie Shrek which is one gigantic fractured fairy tale!

Madeline even writes her name:

Her drawings have come a LONG way... there are defined parts, all the essentials: head, eyes, arms, legs, hair, BELLY BUTTONS, BRACELETS, EARRINGS, NECKLACE...hee hee...love it...

Madeline is usually quite the doll baby, but she is three and a half, so life is not always rainbows and unicorns with her. She has her serious moments of temper tantrums, and boy, are those UGLY! Whew, if she threw one of those tantrums regularly, I would go crazy, but luckily for us, she only has one every so often just to keep us all in check with reality. They don't earn her a lot of attention around here, so she has a choice to go to the spare bedroom and tantrum or remain in the civilized world with us and play. She's not allowed out of the spare bedroom until the tantrum is completely over with, so she's learned rather quickly that if she gains control of herself quickly, then she can come be with us. Although sometimes, I think she just needs a screamfest, and it takes her awhile to gain control of her emotions. That's fine too, but we're not condoning that outlet for letting off steam. This system allows for us to remove her from the spotlight and let her know that tantrums are not acceptable in our household. We don't dwell on why she tantrums or the fact that she did it, but we just reinforce the fact that temper tantrums are not acceptable and you will be removed from our attention until it stops. For now it's working, and we hope this is a phase that shall pass.

A very tolerant big sister to the pesky little menace we all know as Amelia:

Madeline is a sweet natured little thing. She's mannerly, kind to her sister, and empathetic to her friends. She's a peacemaker and wants everyone to know that she loves them. I get many "I love you Mommy" throughout the day, and she's quick to offer up hugs and kisses especially when she notices that Amelia is trying my patience. Madeline loves her family unit! She gets especially excited on the weekends when Daddy "can play ALL day", and she loves when her Grandma & Grandpa come to babysit. If one is missing, she gets very upset wondering where the other one is. She absolutely loves her family and extended family. Luckily for us, everyone loves Madeline just as much. Madeline also loves our friends as our extended family. She enjoys a back porch BBQ just as much as the next guy, so she always up for a party like her Mama and Daddy! :)

Unfortunately, as part of Madeline's sweet natured personality is her willingness to be influenced by others. I know stuff happens at school or with friends in the neighborhood, and she hears & sees things, and then she decides to try them out for a test run here at the house with us. It doesn't bode well for her because we don't condone talking back, or being disrespectful to adults, or lacking manners, or interrupting, or any of those other unacceptable behaviors that she sees other children getting away with. It's frustrating, and Eric and I have tried to talk with Madeline about doing what she's been taught at home as opposed as to what she's seeing others do. We know it's a big concept at three, but Eric and I hope that eventually we can instill the value of leadership into Madeline. At this little age, I think her "follower" tendencies are our biggest concern. Her teachers sees those "following" qualities, but Madeline is quick to understand that when she follows the non-rule-following crowd, she's punished. Between school and home, I hope that we can work on this.

Madeline always looking out for Amelia's safety:

Madeline is our little bird...she eats nothing, but the girl has a sweet tooth like no other. Her "belly is full", but the girl has room for "a treat"! Her Grandma doesn't help this situation either. Anytime Grandma comes over, she has a treat for Madeline. Luckily for us, Grandma always tells Madeline it's "after you eat your dinner treat!" Mealtime is very trying, but slowly Madeline is learning the eat your dinner, then dessert rule. If Madeline could live on bagels with cream cheese, Cheez it double cheese snack mix, chips, milk, frozen Go-Gurts, carrots with ranch dip, and French fries, then her world would be perfect! Her favorite fast food is Arby's junior roast beef (no bun) and "orange french fries" (curly fries).