In two weeks, Maddie will turn one. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone. I can’t believe we’ve survived life with two kids for almost a year. Looking back over the year, a lot has happened. Good and bad. But, that’s not really what this post is about. This post is about the tiny speed demon that is Maddie. It took her a while to get to crawling, but holy hell has that girl mastered it. She’s a mover. She’s a shaker. Pretty soon, she’ll be walking, running, and leaving us in her dust. Sorta like Sophia does now.

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There have been plenty of times where I don’t realize that one of us has moved the baby gate that blocks the basement steps. Before I can turn around, I see Maddie charging hard for the steps, just ready to try to crawl and/or roll down them. Or, when we get home after work and are bringing the girls in from the car, I put Maddie down so I can put the bags down. Before I know it, she is charging for the open front door. She hasn’t tried to go out the door just yet, but again, it’s bound to happen.

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Pulling herself up to a stand using the table, couch, or the dog are pretty easy for her now. And using nothing but her own balance is coming around pretty well, too. Walking is just around the corner, I can feel it. The best part of watching Mad Dog get around is seeing her cruise the furniture or grab the wall and scoot around. The other night she decided the mirrored closet doors would be fun to grab and slide and bang on. Basically, she’s just doin’ what all the other babies do. And she laughs the whole time.

Don’t even try starting to run the water for a bath near her. She’ll scoot her pudgy little butt into the bathroom, pull herself up along the side of the tub, and squeal and laugh and reach for water to splash. I never would have thought that I’d have one kid that loves the bath, let alone two who never wanna get out.

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I’ve said this before, and I know I’ll say it a thousand more times, but watching my girls reach each and every milestone is such a joy. It makes you remember what the world was like as a kid, when things were new, every day you had a new victory–whether it was mastering the alphabet, learning to count to 10, starting to crawl, starting to walk, learning to sing, or whatever else. I know we teach our kids things all the time, but honestly, learning from them is awesome, too.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure all gates are in place so I don’t need to snatch a baby mid-roll on some stairs…