Miss Madi

I thought I would start out my blog with a little info about my family-namely my kids. They are my world, and the reason I am writing this blog. Please allow me to introduce my princesses, starting with my firstborn.
Madison Elizabeth aka Madi, Mads, Boog, Madaloo, Sweets, Goose etc, etc, etc:
Madi's "thing" seems to be thunderstorms. On the day she was born it thundered. On the day of her "rebirth", her heart transplant, thunder. On her fourth birthday? You get the point. In any case it seems to be her special signification that everything's going to be ok one way or another. She was born wide-eyed and very alert, and continues to be very observant with a memory like nobody's business. Madi is my cuddlebug. She loves to give hugs and kisses or sit in your lap for a snuggle. Want to be her best friend? Scratch her back and she's yours forever. Madi has always been pretty stubborn and quite dramatic. Some days it's very trying but I think God gave her these traits to help her through the trials she has had to endure. It just wouldn't be right if it wasn't done in "Madi steps."
Madi is very different in her own little ways, and in others she is your typical four-year-old. She is learning to speak her mind, much to my chagrin, as lately that consists of telling me "no" to every thing I ask of her. I do consider myself lucky that she has not yet gotten into the phase where everything is "mine!" In this house we are thankful for the small things! Our biggest struggle with Madi is her eating. She is not a very good eater and is very very picky. Some of this, of course, is due to her age. Some is from her heart condition-her body relates to eating as a chore and doesn't realize that it no longer is unpleasant to eat. Also the many medications she is on have many side effects that rear their ugly heads from time to time. She has come a long way from when she was in the hospital-we barely managed to escape without a feeding tube. But here's where things get REALLY weird. My picky-as-can-be child hates pizza and hot dogs, but will dig into a braunschweiger sandwich (liverwurst for those of you who don't know) any day. Huh? Yeah, that's my Madi for you.
Madi loves her family and friends, and her cat Sheena. She is the only 4 year old diehard Jason Kubel fan (MN Twins) that I know, and she also likes the show Deadliest Catch. I have taught her well. Hee hee. She is very imaginative, loves to be outside, and will sit and "read" books for hours. She has seen the movie Finding Nemo about a gagillion times and will still watch it start to finish without so much as a peep.
Madi has recently come so far! She can count to 14, identify the letters of the alphabet, make simple matches, and has finally mastered her colors. Mostly. Yes, I am bragging, but like I said, we are thankful for the smallest of victories around here.
I could go on and on and on about Madi. She is so special to everyone, and touches the hearts of all that she meets. It's time for her nightly medication routine, though, so I will leave it at that.
Next installment: Sydney! Stay tuned!