The Huseby Post: Maddy is 21 months old

Maddy is growing like a weed! She has gained a pound in weight and a half inch in height since last month. She now weighs 25 lbs and is 33 inches tall. We've bought some fall/winter clothing in size 24 months so hopefully the clothes will fit her. Her feet also had a growth spirt. All of a sudden her toes and heels were hanging off her size 4 shoes. She is in size 5 1/2 to size 6 depending on the shoe style.
At the beginning of August we said goodbye to the Nuk! No small task, but we followed the byebyebinky.com method and it worked pretty well. Maddy isn't sucking her thumb either - thank goodness! However, she is chewing on everything in sight, including her fingers, because she is cutting her 2nd year molars already. The top left molar is already through the skin and we're certain the other 3 are working towards the same end. At the moment, Madeline is homebound due to contracting hand-foot-mouth disease. She has red patches on the soles of her feet and the palms of her hands. She is running a low grade temp, but doesn't have sores around or inside her mouth which is a big help. She hasn't been sleeping very well, but isn't in too much discomfort with this virus.
Maddy's vocabulary is booming. She is trying new words and says the mastered words in babble-like sentences. She puts a string of words that she knows together like she's trying to talk in sentences. Mommy, Daddy, no-no puppy, boat, Elmo, moon, blue, star, cloud, lake, toothbrush, etc. It is so hard not to laugh during these ongoing sentences. Debbie's first impulse is to tell her to take a breath! Besides becoming more vocal, Maddy is also becoming a bit more patient with certain toys. She is much better at doing puzzles and other fine motor/coordination type toys. She has a cash register and can put the coins in the slots of the register and push the colored buttons for different outcomes such as change or dropping into the cash register drawer. She uses her fork really skillfully too; a giant leap forward since last month.
We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this month by getting away to the casino for one night. Maddy stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Escherich while we were away. She did really well and actually slept from 10:00pm until 8:00am the next morning. It's encouraging to know that we can leave for a night and not have to worry.
The campground is open for 3 more weekends. We close on Sept. 19th. Then we go into winterization mode. In addition to the campground work, we still have several fall projects that we would like to complete. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!

After bath, gearing down for bed. Check out my smile.