The Power of Positive Thinking

Well, my trip is half over and I know I will really miss Maddie when I go back home. I will miss the way that she jibber jabbers and stops in the middle to do this cute and heartfelt fake laugh. She is a mini drama queen and she's an adorable one. I've learned that she likes to be obedient and get along....unless there is something she really, really wants and then "Maddie, The Hellcat" comes out. That's her father's name for her, not mine. Being the grandmother, I haven't seen too much of that side, since I give her most of what she wants, when she wants it. It's my job.

But the sweetest thing that I have learned is that she is an eternal optimist. Today she wanted to watch "White" (as in Disney's Snow). I've mentioned my remote challenged personality. We spent 20 minutes trying to get that stupid DVD to play. I would load it into the play station, it would come up with the Disney logo blazoned over the world renowned castle only to go to a black screen. The first time I waited and waited and no movie. Maddie busied herself pulling toys out of her toy box. I would try again and again, hitting every button on the remote trying to get me to the play menu. Once I got there only to hit the wrong button and be kicked out again. During the process, at one time, I groaned under my breath--no foul words, mind you, I know I'm in the presence of an impressionable two year old--and Maddie came up to give me a hug to make me feel better. And then she went back to her toy box to distract herself while she waited. Each time I would get to the Disney logo, she would raise her hands high in the air and shout, "Yay!!!!" When it would go back to the blank screen, she would turn back to her toy box, only to have the same scene reenacted again. I believe that in that 20 minutes, we had that logo come up 45 times. I lost count about halfway through. Each time Maddie would encourage me with "Yay!" Finally, we got the DVD loaded. I still don't know what combination of buttons worked. By then she was more interested in the toy box and never really watched Snow White. I watched and the movie jumped from the point where Grumpy gets his forced bath by the other dwarfs to the end where the Prince kisses her awake. What the what?!?! Turns out the DVD is scratched and only the blue ray works all the way through.

But I love Maddie all the more for her patience and encouragement. She's going to do a great job of getting through this life.

And McKinlie is so sweet. Funny, but she has lots of hair on the sides of her head and not so much on the top. Shandie combs it up so it's spikey. Very chic.