Adventures with Maddox

Shortly after the kids started school, Maddox and I went on a little walk to the park. The park here is just a short distance from our house. So I whipped out my jogging stroller and off we went. He was talking away the whole time pointing to everything and telling me what it was. We were the only ones there so Maddox had free reign over everything. He is such a little jibber jabber-er I love it.

The walk back to our house was another story. Maddox did not want to be back in the jogger and was crying the whole time. The walk back is a serious uphill! Pushing a jogging stroller with a 50+ lb toddler in it, sure got my blood pumpin. I didn't want to let him out because I knew the hill would be too hard for him to walk. But I finally gave in after all his crying. So at this point we were about halfway up, instead of waiting for me to help him out, as soon as I stopped he goes toppling out and scrapes his little arm then starts screaming louder. I'm sure if there were passersby we would have put on quite a show! lol. (Motherhood----sometimes you just gotta laugh.) So I try to comfort him and get him to walk and he efuses to move, so back in the stroller he went. Screaming the rest of the way home. Yaaaa we are never doing that again. (or at least not without a nap first)

This is Maddoxs new favorite face:

I love this face! Who knows where it came from? He reminds me of a clown, ha ha. The black eye came from his cousin William, on his first day of nursery in the ward here. That's a fun story: Our first day of church up on the mountain......oh my. In all honesty I did not want to be there. We had just moved the day before so to say things were in disarray would be an understatement. I was stressed trying to find my church clothes and my curling irons, shoes, etc. Then we get there and the primary......me oh my. Suffice to say, "We are not in Canyon Country anymore toto." LOL. The nursery only had one leader at the time, a female teenager who has never had kids, doesn't have younger siblings, not really hands on at all. She basically has no clue what she's doing. Now William and Maddox don't play well together. They are both 2. 2 year olds do not want to share. So from what I was told William and Maddox were fighting over a toy and William elbowed Maddox right in the face. Hence, the black eye. Then because the teacher is doing nothing and the door is right there, Maddox leaves to go find someone who will stick up for him/comfort him. My Mom, thank heavens, is on the primary board and hears all this commotion. So she goes to find out whats happening. The nursery leader is standing outside the door of the room and plainly states, "I don't know what to do." Thank goodness for my Mom, "OK tell me what happened." "Well William and Maddox were fighting and then Maddox just took off." My Mom, now wondering where my son is, takes off looking for him, and he's halfway through the building crying. Ummm....hello?? Is anyone home? You let a toddler just walk away on his own. Well thank the lucky stars we're at church and no weirdo is lurking around ready to snatch my child!! UGH! So my Mom brings him to me, explains what happened and says, "I'm not so sure you want to put him back in there because she clearly has no control." GREAT! Now my child will never go to, or stay in nursery.

Since then things have changed. They called a new nursery leader or helper, who is an older lady and she is way on top of it! Thank you, thank you, thank you. We still have moments where Maddox does not want to be in there, but he's getting better. Going from a city primary filled with lots of kids to play with, to this mountain primary that's few and far between, has been rough for our kiddos.

Back to Maddox, he is talking so much it's incredible. He is a very smart, sweet, tough little man. He is definitely all boy through and through. LOVES to play with any kind of weapon toy. Loves to beat up Daddy and gun games (if you don't play dead he gets mad and yells your name till you die). He says prayers now and it is so stinkin cute! If there's a word he can't say he'll point to what it is or what he thinks it is. Which leads me to my next funny story.... Maddox can now say Emmitts name. He has never attempted to say either Emmitt or Alainas name till recently, and can now say Emmitt very well. It comes out more like "Memmit". So we'll drive in the car and play this name game where I point at Kurt and tell Maddox say Daddy. And he says, "Da da". Say Mama. "Mama". Say Emmitt. "Memmitt". Say Alaina. ------No response. Say Alaina.------silence. Say Lai-lai. -------he points to her, "there she is!" LOL. (see video below)

Maddox and William have been getting better at playing together but still have issues. These cute pics are from the farm, these cute boys being boys while their Dads were doing the same.