My kids are growing up so quickly!

Well, Madison is officially potty trained. Since last Wednesday night, she has not looked back. Every time she has to go she announces it and runs off to the bathroom. The only issue we face is that she does not want to go (before bed, before we go some place, or if she hasn't went in a long time) if she doesn't have to go. This has caused a few meltdowns, and I am learning to not force her to try. Speaking of meltdowns, Madison has been acting out lately. From talking with friends with three year olds, I am finding that this is normal behavior around this age. She is "testing the boundaries" to see if I will give in to what she wants. On a happier note... On Monday, Madison started "big girl" gymnastics. The first thing she said to me after class was "Momma, I need to go home and practice." She really enjoys being challenged. In this class, all the little girls have leotards, so we went to go pick some out for her. I wanted to cry when she tried them on, because she looked like a such a big girl. She is definitely not my baby girl anymore!

Noah has gained another tooth since last week. We try to give him table food as much as possible, because he loves it! This morning I was amazed as I watched him try to crawl/scoot himself over to the push around buggy in the basement, because he wanted to go for a ride. I was amazed again as he pulled himself to standing using Madison's train table. He still can only take one to two crawls forward, but he is much more interested in trying to walk. If we set him standing next to something, he cruises around whatever it is. I can't believe he turned eight months old yesterday. It feels like he has been part of our family forever, yet the last eight months has flown by.

My favorite part of my children is how bonded they are. If Noah gets up before Madison, he seems "lost" until she gets up. When we go in her room, he squeals because he is so happy to see her, and she responds with lots of hugs and kisses for him. No matter how upset he gets, Madison can always bring a smile to his face. She can get him to give us some great belly laughs with whatever she crazy thing she is doing. She is already encouraging and teaching him. She tries to show him how to crawl and how to play with toys. Madison is very concerned when Noah is not happy, and Noah is very concerned when Madison is not happy. I know there will come a time in the near future when Madison doesn't like Noah getting into her stuff and Noah doesn't like Madison bossing him around, but I hope the wonderful bond that these two share continues as they grown older.