Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Maddie's so Funny!

Maddie's newest "game" is to reach up for me, say "please" and then when I go to pick her up she quickly pulls her arms down and shakes her head "no". Then she starts laughing! What a little stinker I have :)

Maddie also loves to see airplanes. As soon as she hears one flying over head (and they fly over A LOT) she looks up to the sky. You can tell when she spots it because she starts waving then looks at me and smiles. I wonder if she understands the connection between what she sees in the sky and when I tell her we went on the airplane...probably not at this age, but it'll be exciting when she gets it :)

Maddie's newest favorite activity is swimming! We really got her hooked when I was in Baltimore and now it seems that's the only things she wants to do. Here are some of the things she likes to do in the pool: She started "picking up" the water in the pool and dropping it on the patio. She actually puts her hand in the water, acts like she's picking up a piece of food or something, then pulls her hand out of the water and watches the drop fall on the concrete. It's so cute to watch her. She LOVES to kick her feet to make splashes and also splashes with her hands. It's funny when she accidentally splashes too hard and gets her face wet. She looks at me like she doesn't know what just happened and then continues splashing :) One of Maddie's favorite things is when Murphy comes to get a drink from the pool. Maddie starts sticking out her tongue and crawls over to Murphy and tries to grab her tongue. She just giggles so hard and Murphy drinking the water. I'm glad she enjoys the water so much, but it really makes me want to get a "real" pool in the backyard!!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Home, Sweet Home

Maddie and I arrived home safely last night after a perfectly turbulence-free flight. Thank God for that! Today's been a pretty hectic day, trying to get back in to our "home" routine. Maddie ate breakfast and lunch in her highchair (I had been holding her or sitting her on the countertop to eat while we were away) but then when it came to snack time she needed to be held. I tried to be a tough mom and make her sit in her highchair...but then she attempted to climb out of it. I figured it was better to hold her and feed her for her snack rather than have her fall 3 feet to the tile floor below! Another issue we're having is that she won't let me out of her sight. For 11 straight days she was surrounded by people, carried everywhere, held A LOT and was only alone for nap time and a few nights. Now that we're home she has to be able to see me. I guess this big house is just too lonely without momma...I did manage to sneak out of the playroom to get some chicken out of the freezer but when she heard the garage door close (that's where our freezer is) she freaked out that I was leaving her. Sheesh...so I put her down for a nap :) She's been really tired and had an interrupted nap today so I thought she needed a third one. It took her a while to fall asleep but she eventually did. Now I'm wondering if she thinks she's in bed for the night! Her dinner's been on the plate for an hour. Looks like I'll have to put it in the fridge then reheat it if/when she wakes up.

I made a good attempt at getting myself back into my routine. Last night I made my menu for the week, made my grocery list off of that and made my to-do list for today. That way when I got up this morning all I had to do was go get the groceries and get started on the to-do list. I was so motivated when I went to bed last night, but I could barely wake up this morning! So that motivated me to get the coffee started...I got the grocery shopping done, picked up Murphy, took the cat to the vet, watered the plants and made one more stop at the grocery store (I forgot lunch meat) all by 11:30 this morning. But now that evening is here, I'm feeling pretty lazy, sitting here typing on the computer and looking around at the kitchen. The groceries aren't all put away yet, lunch dishes are on the counter (I still need to take the clean dishes out that I put in before our trip to Baltimore) and 10 days worth of mail is on the other counter. I'm SO not motivated to clean it all up! Maybe I started the day off too strong and didn't leave any energy for the remainder of the day. I really should learn to pace myself! I'm going to try REALLY hard to get it all done...I hate putting things off until tomorrow because then it all just piles up. And with this clingy baby I have, I really can't afford to let things go because I certainly don't have spare time to do more!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a chance to update on our trip to Baltimore and put up some pictures :)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

What a Week!

Maddie and I are preparing for our second trip back "home" together :) It's been a really stressful week trying to get everything prepared. One of my friends from Maddie's playgroup offered to keep Murphy for us so she won't have to go through losing her voice at the kennel again! So we took Murphy over there yesterday so the dogs could meet each other and make sure everything would be ok...I guess it was mostly for me so I would know that Murphy would be happy playing with Parker. Everything went well, I think Murphy annoyed Parker a little, but Parker wasn't afraid to put her in her place! I know Murphy will be well taken care of so that took a HUGE load off!

The next thing on our agenda was to prepare for playgroup at our house today. We hosted so we had some food prep to do (when I say "we", I mean "I") and some last minute cleaning...a quick dust mop on the tile floors and vacuum the carpets so the babies don't get covered in animal hair! It wouldn't matter if I had just vacuumed yesterday, it would still need to be done this morning. We had a nice little group for playgroup today and Maddie actually had a good time. She usually doesn't know how to act when there are other people in her playroom. But she played nicely and she even let me leave the room! It was amazing :) She's really growing and learning to be more social.

So for tomorrow we'll (I'll) be packing, getting Murphy ready to go to Parker's and doing last minute cleaning so the house will be spic and span for when we get home. I have a list of things to pack already so I basically just have to do one more load of laundry to make sure we have all the clean clothes we need and then pack the stuff in the suitcase. It shouldn't be too bad. The bad part for tomorrow is going to be the cleaning and bathing Murphy! But we'll make it through the day and hopefully sleep well tomorrow night in preparation for traveling on Thursday. Please pray for us as we travel! Also please pray for my sanity :) Flying hasn't been easy for me to do lately, not just because I'm trying to hold a toddler still in my lap, but because I've been having more and more anxiety about flying in general. I'm sure we'll be safe, but I still worry...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Maddie and her Bodily Functions

My child is so funny! One day I burped so I said "excuse me" and kind of patted at my chest. Well, she picked up on the patting the chest bit and does it every time she hears a burp or fart. She even does her "excuse me" sign if Murphy has a big yawn and makes a strange sound. Oh, and one night Maddie's tummy was gurgling and she patted her chest. I guess any noises that come from your body need to be "excused".

Well, tonight I had changed her diaper to get her ready for bed and she kind of shivered. It was a little chilly in the room because I had the fan on so I didn't think anything of it. Then she patted her chest. I told her she didn't burp or toot so she didn't have to say excuse me. Then she grabbed at her diaper. I asked her if she peed and I felt the diaper...sure enough, it was warm :) So then she started saying "pee"! Wow! It's amazing that she's so aware of her bodily functions! I'm just glad she's learning to be polite about them :) Also, I hope this is a good sign that potty training won't be too difficult!!! (Although we're still going to wait til she's around 2 to start working on that).

My Big Girl

Well, Maddie had her 1 year well baby check up today. She continues to grow and maintain her 50th percentile. She weighs 21lbs 1oz, is 28 3/4 inches long and her head circumference is 17 3/4 inches. She right at 50% for her weight, a hair under 50% for her height, and her head is right at 50%. I knew she was perfect :)
So, let me start off with the bad parts of the appointment...people had to touch Maddie. Yeah, she still doesn't like that! She had a fit when she was being weighed and measured, screamed at the doctor trying to listen to her heart and actually tried to climb up and over me while the dr. was doing that! It was nice of the dr to let me hold Maddie while she was examining her at least, I guess that helped a little. Then, of course, she had to get 3 shots today. This girl is a FIGHTER! The nurse had to pin Maddie's legs down with her own legs (since her hands were busy getting the shots ready) and I had to hold her hands so she wouldn't knock the needles out of the nurse's hands! It was quite a crazy experience. She REALLY does not like the doctor's office anymore!
Now onto the good stuff...the doctor said Maddie is operating at an 18 month level vocally! That even impressed me! I told her some of the words she's able to say (cracker, balloon, ball, bird, dog, daddy, plane, thank you, bib) and that she knows lots of animals sounds (monkey, dog, cat, cow, sheep, duck, fish-we made up our own on that one, bear, lion) and that she knows some of her body parts (ear, head, toes, tongue) and that she does quite a bit of sign language (hat, play, eat, milk, more, cookie, help, and even some made up ones...). The doctor was impressed and I was happy to show Maddie off :). As far as physically, Maddie is right on track where she should be at 12 months. She's pulling up, cruising around, kind of letting go of furniture to balance on her own (but not much) and on two different occasions, she's taken one step. She'll eventually walk and I'm certainly not going to rush things! She's enough of a handful to keep up with while crawling...I'm not in a hurry to chase her while she walks and runs away.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Tragedy

I just learned of a family whose baby girl just passed away. I don't know this family well, but they live in Knoxville across the street from Eric's family. This precious baby girl was just 1 month and 1 day old when her parents found her cold and lifeless in her crib. She was born healthy and seemed to be growing well, no one would have ever expected it to happen.

My heart is just really breaking for this family. I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through. As I sit here typing, tears are streaming down my face as I try to put myself in their shoes. It's every parent's worst nightmare. We've all gone in to check on our newborns while they're sleeping, putting our cheek to their face to feel their sweet, soft breath and watched for the rise and fall of their chest. How blessed most of us are that it's just silly, new mom fears and that our babies are just fine and will grow up to live long, healthy, happy lives. It really makes me appreciate my blessings so much more when I hear of tragedies like this.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

My Sweet Baby Girl is One!

I can't believe Maddie celebrated her first birthday yesterday. It's amazing just how fast they really do grow up. It's one of those things you hear from the day they're born and you kind of think it's just something people say...old people mostly :) I thought, "well, I'm going to enjoy every minute, and I'm going to savor every minute, and I'm not going to let her grow up too fast, she's MY BABY!". Well, it happened...she's grown up overnight it seems! It's hard to believe all the changes our lives have gone through in just one short year (and this was the shortest year of my entire life!). Just 365 days ago we were holding our newborn, trying to figure out how to hold her, how to change a diaper, sterilizing a bottle (which took three pots of boiling water til we had every part to the bottle sterilized...including boiling a nipple that didn't have a hole!!!), learning how to adjust to less sleep, and waiting for our little one to develop a personality of her very own. At just one day shy of a month old our sweet baby girl gave us her first smile. Daddy called her "Mrs. Potatohead" and apparently that was funny! It all went in a fast whirlwind from there! I can't recall exact dates of her "milestones" anymore like I could for the first six months. But, unlike a lot of moms, I have actually kept up with her baby book so at least we know where to look if we forget exactly how much she weighed at her 4 month check up :) When I see my little "goofball" pulling up and cruising around, laughing at seeing a kid walk by outside, trying to pull Murphy's wiskers off (and kissing her ON THE NOSE!!), I just can't believe this is the same baby who was so fragile a few months ago...where did the time go?

To my beautiful sweet baby girl: You have made my life so amazing, you've given me a purpose that I never felt I had before. Watching you learn and grow has made me so proud!!! You have the most amazing sense of humor, even at just 12 months old, you make me laugh even when I'm having a grumpy kind of day. There is never a morning that I don't want to get out of bed, just because I know you're going to greet me with a big smile and a giggle when I come in your room to get you (followed by a cry when I put you on the changing table...but we'll focus on the positive) :) I hope that I can be the best mommy for you. I hope I never disappoint you or let you down. I hope I can raise you to have good morals and values, to respect others and to love God and always have faith in Him, even when it's hard to do so. I pray every day that I'm doing the best job to mold you into a good person. I always want you to appreciate what you have and to understand the value of family. Thank you for being the sunshine on the rainiest, cloudiest days! Thank you for making me laugh when I feel like crying. And most of all, thank you for just being YOU! Always be confident to be yourself and don't worry about what other people think of you. Mommy and Daddy will love you forever and will be here for you whenever you need ANYTHING. We love you more than we can express with words. You're the best daughter we could've hoped for! Happy Birthday beautiful princess!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

What's with the Attitude???

My goodness! It seems now that Maddie had her "Super Sweet" 1st birthday party she acts like a little diva. She all of a sudden doesn't want to go to bed. Up until this point she's been happy to be put down because she was tired and wanted to sleep. Now she screams at the top of her lungs when we put her in the crib and immediately stands up. When she finally lays down she's calm for about a minute, then stands back up, screams like we've been the most horrible parents EVER and that lasts for about 30 seconds or so, then she gets back down again. She continues getting more and more tired, wearing herself out, and then doesn't get up, but still screams for a second. Then she eventually drifts off to sleep without realizing it. Last night she was up twice through the night, standing and screaming for about 2 minutes each time. She's NEVER done this before! Oh, and this is happening at nap time too, just not to that extreme.

Then today we were going for a short drive out to Kingwood to pick up some pictures and Maddie was SO MAD to be in her carseat. She kept doing this frustrated grunt/cry like she was trying to get out of her carseat. We kept telling her "no Ma'am" and "that's enough" and "you're ok", etc. but she just wouldn't stop. It was really annoying! I guess I've just been spoiled for the past 12 months since she's been a very well behaved baby. Now she's just going through some major attitude changes and is getting easily frustrated. I need to do some research on how to handle this new stage...it's all come so easily up until now.

In more positive news...we sat Maddie in her highchair today with a sheet of paper and her new baby crayons. I was all prepared for her to color her first "masterpieces" for her grandmas and aunts. Well, she had no interest in trying to color! She thought the crayons were fun to play with and was trying to see what they tasted like (I guess it would be confusing since the only thing she's ever done in the highchair is eat). Of course we didn't let her taste the crayons. Instead I did a little coloring :) Maybe she'll be ready for the coloring in a few months...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Maddie's First Birthday Party

Maddie celebrated her first birthday this past Saturday. It was a bumble bee theme party and turned out pretty cute. Maddie had a little bumble bee outfit that she wore, I made some bumble bee cookies and a cute cake that got a bumble bee cookie on it for decoration, we had black and yellow balloons (which I'm sure people who drove by probably thought we were having a Stanley Cup party and rooting for the Penguins!) and overall just had a really nice time visiting with friends. We even made her a t-shirt and made bumble bees out of her footprints to decorate the front (to protect the cute outfit underneath) and the back says "Maddie's BEE-autiful 1st birthday party. May 30, 2009". Here are some pictures from the party...