life of charmings

love, family, happiness

in happiness· m's firsts· maddalena· our little fam

jump!!

…just a little documentation of maddalena’s first and very successful bouncy castle experience from over the weekend! and a super high five to our next door neighbors for both fitting that thing in their back yard and also throwing the most adorable and perfect 1st birthday party for their little girl!
it’s funny when you’re so little and things like this require mustering up so much confidence! at first sight of that bouncy castle, maddalena knew she wanted the whole experience. but no way in heck was she getting in there without mom, and no waaaay would she bounce alongside other children. but! we worked on it the entire evening and by the end, she was jumping and romping and flopping with the best of ’em. we were so proud of her!
watching maddalena in social situations these days, i’m often thrown right back to my earlier inner brittany… i’ve always been the type to kind of stand on the outside of a group that i didn’t feel like i was “in,” never so much being one to just jump right in super confidently without an invitation, like hey, i’m here guys! i’m gonna be in your group now, okay! awesome! let’s hang out! i mean, i’ve always been an extrovert, craving and thriving on social scenarios… just a bit more held back, maybe waiting first to see if other people liked me, and if not, hey, that’s cool! i’ll just be moving right along, then! though i’d actually be walking away with hurt feelings of secretly wishing to be wanted and included.

but oh, then there were the group games and activities… gosh, i didn’t like them! the worst of them being the dreaded red rover at our church’s VBS in the summer, among kids i did not eeeven go to school with. heaven forbid they call my name to come over and try to break through that absolutely ridiculous arm link wall! like i wanted to make such a fool of myself as to run and hurl my body weight at people i hardly knew, only to bounce right off of them because hellooo, little girl here! and so, there it is. that is my tendency. but! from the ending of high school into college, i made a real effort to let go of some of my reservations and started to consider myself a bolder, more jump-on-in kind of person [although, i still hate red rover and anything equaling in ridiculousness!], because you really just have to just jump in when you get to college, i think, and i was pretty up for it! also, the libations don’t hurt. well, sometimes they do. go easy on the libations, kids!

anyway, when it comes to sweet mia, she wants to be social, she loves other children, and she adores her little friends! she’s also totally already an analyzer, a thinker, and very emotionally in touch. she stands back and watches a situation for a while, and i think she’ll likely always feel most outgoing among her closest friends and family members… all totally wonderful qualities, if you ask me! 😉 but i do hope that we can teach her to just be confident in herself. to walk into a room or a party and not first wonder if people are going to think she’s weird or less pretty than the friend she came with or if she’s doing maybe something wrong or missed the memo on something everyone else seems to know. still, not the oblivious type. and not the over-confident type. just confident enough to jump into a situation without too much worry, and to like and love herself, regardless of anyone else’s potential opinion. because, you know, girls can be so hard on themselves! and of course, iiiii know how amazing and wonderful and beautiful she is, but who actually listens to their mother when  she says things like that? 😉

we’re proud of you always, maddalena! you just keep on jumpin, baby girl!

[you’re never too old!]

Comments

  4. Cassie {Home and Sass} says

    ohhh, i totally think/wonder/worry about these things as i watch my little girly on the playground….. i have to just remind myself to leave it up to god and all is going to be well…. these little ones sure are something… teaching us all kinds of lessons and things 🙂 🙂 xo

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  5. Laurie Olsen says

    We have a bounce house and it's the best way to blow off some steam! It always seems to brighten their day. I love how you speak of Maddo like she is an actual human. I mean I know she IS but you do a wonderful job of describing her actions and thoughts that I can just picture the little lady doing those things. It's like she's a teenager in a two year olds body or something. And please please please if you figure out the whole confidence thing let us all in on it okay?

    Reply

  6. LifeofCharmings says

    y'all HAVE a bounce house?! best parents ever!! and madd is such a tiny grownup in a little bitty body 🙂 i love IDing her qualities, haha. and yes, i will keep trying to figure out the confidence thing, but i'm not getting my hopes up! haha!

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in him our hearts rejoice, for we trust his holy name. psalm 33:21