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Happy 3rd Birthday, Maddie!

My baby burrito!

The first time we met.

My smart, hilarious, energetic, snuggly little lady turned three today; happy birthday Madeleine Jane! She has brought her family, friends and every single stranger she encounters such an unbelievable amount of joy and I feel so lucky to have a front row seat to her life. In true Maddie fashion she woke us up at the crack of dawn (like, before 4am) wanting to party, just like she did in those sleepless nights of her first couple of years. Sometimes, you just gotta stretch this birthday girl situation out as long as possible, am I right? 
In honor of three years of Maddie, here is a little post on all things Maddie Hammers like I did last year!

Favorite activities: She has become more of a homebody lately and prefers to play with her trains, making huge tracks on the living room floor (with a little help from Daddy) and doing her new favorite thing: "artcrafts". She loves to paint, cut paper into animal shapes (or at least supervise her nanny doing so) and glue all the things together. She also loves puzzles and is ridiculously good at them already. I cannot wait to do huge ones together over hot cocoa this winter!

Favorite foods: She is a toddler in every sense of the word with food and is not nearly as adventurous as she was as a baby. Her diet pretty much consists of pasta, fruit, yogurt, and pancakes (homemade every single morning by Daddy). I recently implemented a food chart (which I will blog about soon) in which she can earn a sticker for trying a new food, and that actually did boost some new things into her diet which I hope we can continue!

Favorite people: Not much has changed since last year except she is more mobile and with a larger vocabulary so everyone is subject to being her best friend. We call her "the mayor" for the way she works a room, whether waiting for a table at a restaurant or at her weekly gymnastics class. I absolutely love that trait in her and hope that it continues with her as she grows. When she isn't recruiting fans she is all about her peeps - Jane, Gramma, her wonderful nanny, Godmamas Amy and Kendra, Uncle V, Kate and her extended family and friends. This year she also has friends that she asks to see by name and will all be joining us for her birthday party on Saturday!

Her personality: Maddie continues to show a lot of empathy (concern when anyone is crying, even babies and cracking up whenever she hears anyone else laughing); she is pretty kindhearted most of the time, except when she is not, which is when we spend a lot of time talking about how it feels to be treated kindly. She is funny, smart (has her alphabet and numbers down pretty pat) and so, so inquisitive about the world around her. She definitely has a HUGE personality and a lot of energy but at least now she sleeps it off at the end of the day!

Maddie Jane, you are an amazing person and watching you grow, discover and understand the world around you is one of my favorite parts of life. Thank you for making me and your Daddy so filled with love and happiness; happy birthday, kiddo!

Our pre-bedtime routine of pjs, Thomas and snuggling. 

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