Our favorite little sidekick

Each day that Maddie gets older, the more in love Steve and I fall in love with her. She has so many qualities that make us appreciate the small and simple things of life so much more than we did before. Before I forget them, and she turns 10, I thought I'd just share a couple:

1. She is a great little swimmer- With the help of her little floatation swimsuit, she can swim for about 1 hour and 30 minutes without me helping her get around. She jumps into the pool, she climbs up the steps, she kicks her little feet around, she ducks her head in the water... it is a lot of fun to watch her.

2. She helps us around the house- Aside from the fact that she is a little overly obsessed with soap and cleaning her hands, she is starting to help me carry things from the car to the house, clean the floors, put away her toys, attempting to sweep... it is really cute.

3. She loves facial cream? I have no idea why, but I think she is going to be a real girly girl in her love of lotion. Her love of putting creams on her skin and face has blossomed into a full time ritual, which we laugh at every morning and night.

4. She is so happy- I think she has been blessed with Steve's optimism and happiness- she hums in the mornings when she walks around, she laughs with Steve for 15 minutes without stopping... she is generally a really happy person. I hope this continues with her as she grows up.

YAY for Maddie.