Week Twenty-Two

• Got pink eye or a cold that was draining through her eyes (we don't really know because the after hours doctors charge an arm and a leg to tell us NOTHING and are of absolutely NO help!!!).  They did however give us eyedrops, which make everything all better the next morning and we didn't have any problems after that.
• Napped very well all weekend, so mom and dad could landscape the front yard!  We took out all of our mulch and many of our old plants from the front of house.  We replaced the plants, added some color, and all new mulch!!  It looks so much better and Maddie of course, loves it!
• Took her first trip to Pottery Barn and slept the whole time...mom is going to have to teach Maddie when to wake up for the good stuff!
• Continues to eat everything and always has one or two hands stuffed in her mouth.
• Continues to talk, talk, talk....
• Talked so loud in the AT&T store while we were getting new phones (yay for the iphone 4 with video!) that the salesman had to go back in his office to take care of our account because he couldn't hear on the phone....good thing we were the only ones in there!
• Loves all of her books at bedtime.  We try to read a different book every night and Maddie loves to turn the pages (usually backwards) wave her arms at the pictures, and of course...eat the book!
• I absolutely love that everyone put a sticker in their books from the shower.  I tell Maddie about the people that bought her the books when we read them!
• Is doing very well at daycare 'baby school'.  The teachers just love her and she is always so happy...she plays on the play gyms, in the jumperoo, and the exersaucer.  Of course she talks to everyone there too!  
• Is starting to grow out of most of her 3-6 month clothes.  I don't have time to go through everything until summer comes, so we are just picking through boxes every morning and evening to find clothes for now.  Summer's first project is to find clothes to fit Maddie!  We may need a small trip to the store for a few things...we absolutely love her hand-me-downs, but there are the opposite season, so now they are all cold weather things and well....it's HOT here!! :)  
• Weighs over 14lbs and that car seat is getting very HEAVY!!  I am going to have one huge arm and one tiny one before this all over! :)
• Looks like she has no meat on her....her tummy is so tiny and looks like I don't fed her.  I have no idea where the 2.5lbs of food goes!  She just keeps stretching longer and longer and keeps eating and eating!  

 The before

During...

 Part of our trash pile...

Here are the after photos (not completely done, but close enough)...

Week Twenty-One

• Slept like a rock star until Sunday and Monday night.  Every night she would sleep from about 7:15pm until around 5:30am when she would wake up to eat and then go back to sleep until about 7:45am, which is when I have to get her up for school.  On Sunday and Monday night she decided to wake up at 3:30am, which was no fun for me.  She also decided to wake up again at 6:30am...our morning routine was a little off those days!  
• Is quite the chatty cathy.  She loves to talk to everyone everywhere she goes.  We took her out shopping on Saturday and she was talking quite loudly!  On Thursday night there was a community meeting for us to prepare to take over our HOA.  Shawn was in Jacksonville for work, so I decided to take Maddie to the meeting.  She was great for the first half and after she finished eating she decided that she had a lot to say about the HOA turnover.  Maddie just started going to town talking and blowing raspberries!  I finally had to take her out and walk around in the back, so everyone around us could hear. All of the neighbors thought she was cute and just laughed! 
• Rolls everywhere!  She rolls all over the floor, around in circles, and even tries to push her legs underneath her and push forward!  My guess is that she'll be crawling in the next two months...anyone else have a guess?
• Got a new tummy time toy and loves it!  Grandma brought over a super fun snail toy (the same one that cousin Kalia has at her house).  It didn't take Maddie long to figure out that if she grabs it the toy lights up and makes noise.  It's actually the first toy that she can self start and I think she loves it!  I love it because it will entertain her while I make dinner.  The other toys I had to keep walking over and pressing the buttons, but this one she can move herself. :)
• Has started to grab at things with intent.  Before she would swat at toys and hit things, but now you can tell that she actually reaches for things, grabs them, and pulls them towards her.  Her little brain is going a mile a minute....so cute!
• Met our friend's twin boys on Sunday.  Matthew and Christian were quite smitten for Maddie and she just couldn't decide which one she liked best!  Later that afternoon Jacob stopped by with his mommy and daddy for a little playtime.  Maddie was a little overwhelmed with all of the boys that day! 
• Can sit up and tripod.  This is the term that the pediatrician used to describe sitting up while balancing on their hands.  The pediatrician told me that she should be able to do this before six months and then sitting up would come by seven.  She is doing pretty well at balancing herself and gets stronger everyday!
• Loves her daddy!  She gives Shawn the biggest smiles and you can really start to see the daddy-daughter bond...very cute. 
• Screams like a Pterodactyl.  It's super cute, but I'm not so sure everyone out in public thinks that! 

Sitting up with Grandma

Sitting up by herself!

Maddie and Courtney

Maddie and Matthew

Maddie and Christian (they were just about the same size at birth and Christian's mommy (who is my size) had two of them!!  Way to go, Girl!)

Checking out the boys...

Maddie, Christian, and Matthew ... 3 little Marching Chief babies!

Neighbors!

Maddie and Jacob

Best buddies! 

Week Twenty

This week Shawn got to be Mr. Mom!  That right, I spent Friday night in my own hotel room without a baby monitor, a husband, a dog, and with very little responsibility...it was great!  I am part of a grant funded project for the state of Florida and we had a meeting in Lakeland, so I headed over on Friday morning, went to the meeting and then enjoyed a nice dinner with drinks and great conversation with other music education colleagues.  (yes, we talked shop all night!)

• Started blowing raspberries.  I noticed it when she woke up on Thursday morning in her crib blowing bubbles and making raspberry sounds.  That morning she did it all the way to school in the backseat...I couldn't help but laugh all the way to school!
• Started taking 8oz. in her bottles!  Talk about some demand on mommy!
• Started sleeping 13 hours straight! (3 nights)  She went 14 hours without eating and 13 hours sleeping.  I fed her at 6:30pm, did bath time, bedtime at 7pm, and she woke up just before 8am and then ate at 8:30am when she got to school.  She woke up happy and was happy all the way to school!  I don't know if this is her new trend, but I like it!
• With her new sleeping schedule and eating amounts she now only eats 4 times a day....8 ounces every 3 hours.
• Decided that she didn't want to nurse one night and wanted a bottle instead.  I've been afraid this might happen and I'm really hoping that it was just a one time thing.  With her sleeping more, she is eating mostly at daycare and that has to be from a bottle.  She only has a chance to nurse once a day at night.  I know she doesn't get as much food that way, but I still want her to so my body can keep producing.  I'm not sure I can only pump and keep up with her demand. (update: this seemed to be a one time thing)  
• Feel asleep in the jumperoo at daycare.  The teacher didn't think I would believe her, so she took a picture and sure enough our little princess fell asleep standing up!  She was standing in the jumperoo playing and I guess she decided she was tired, so she put her hand in her mouth and fell asleep!!  
• Likes the jumperoo at daycare, but doesn't jump yet.  She stands up in it and plays with all the toys, but hasn't figured out how to really move.  She does the same thing when we play in the jumperoo at home...she moves side to side, but doesn't jump up and down.
• LOVES to play 'Super Maddie'.  We hold her up high above our head and say, 'Super Maddie'...she thinks it's the funniest thing!
• Had a great Friday and Saturday with dad.  I had to go to Lakeland for a workshop and was gone from 7am on Friday until 5:30pm on Saturday.  This meant that Shawn took her to daycare and picked her up.  He did bedtime, nighttime feeding, and everything on Saturday.  He did a great job and thought it was pretty easy. (I guess I should reverse our roles for baby #2 if it's so easy!)  Shawn even kept a piece of paper with everything written down for the entire day.  He wrote down every nap and every bottle feeding (time and amount).
• Went to her first birthday party!  Jacob next door turned one, so Shawn took Maddie over on Saturday afternoon for the party.  We went back later once I got home and hung out for another hour.  Jacob loves to give hugs and gave Maddie a big hug...it's was too cute!
• Celebrated our first mother's day together.  Maddie got me a very nice card and very pretty flowers.  Shawn took her out shopping on Saturday afternoon before I got home, so they were waiting for me when I got there.  On Sunday morning we got up and went to the Townhouse for breakfast (my favorite!).  Later that day I decided to take a 2 hour afternoon nap with Maddie.  Shawn decided to vacuum, fold laundry, and start dinner while I was asleep.  I'm not sure if that was a mother's day gift or he was just picking up my slack.  Either way...I enjoy the nap and the help around the house!
• Maddie helped Shawn celebrate his birthday on Saturday!  She is so smart that she sent daddy a very cute picture slideshow of herself on the internet.  She also left cards out for him to open while mommy was gone!  
• Can hold herself up by her arms and not just her elbows on tummy time.  She is such a strong girl!

Shawn and Maddie at the Townhouse during Mother's Day breakfast

Playtime

Such fun!

Jumperoo time!

Week Nineteen

• Only got up once a night to eat, but was super inconsistent with what time that was.  Some nights she would eat at midnight and then sleep all the way until 7am...other night she would get up at 4:30am???
• Loved her cousin Kalia.  Kalia showed Maddie where her nose was and Maddie thought it was the greatest thing ever and smiled so big (of course we didn't have any cameras then)!
• Got pulled and poked by Kalia, but loved every minute of it.  
• Kalia is such a smart little girl...she knows where your mouth, ears, nose, and eyes are.  She enjoyed teaching Maddie where her eyes, mouth, ears, and nose are.  
• Did well sleeping in Kalia's pack n' play.  Maddie is going to have a sleeping lesson with cousin Kalia someday soon.  ;)
• Feel asleep well on the way to Tampa, but wanted nothing to do with it on the way home.  She is getting a bit more picky about falling asleep in the car seat for naps/bedtime and I think it has to do with the fact that she sleeps on her stomach.  She settles so well on her stomach and likes to stretch out and I think the car seat is too small for her to get comfy.  She slept fine once she got in her crib when we got home, but she was screaming the last 20 minutes of the trip because she was so overtired.  We are just lucky that Maddie's magic sleep window is more like a large open door.  She gets overtired and screams if she's not in bed, but once she's in bed she'll go down no matter how far past her window we are.  
• Started to hold her own bottle!  She can balance it once it has 2-3 ounces in it.  I guess now we just need to teach her how to change her own diaper and we'll be all set!
• Went on the swings at the park for the first time!  On Saturday we went to the park near Chris and Kara's house and played for a bit.  Kalia taught Maddie how fun the swings are.  Maddie wasn't so sure at the beginning and then she decided they were okay!
• Loved Kalia's tummy time toys.  One of the toys was actually a Christmas gift to Kalia from us, but Kalia was so nice to share them with Maddie when she was there.  Maddie loved having fun stuff to look at while she was playing.

Playing with Kalia's toys

Hi Kalia!

Yay!!  Kalia loves to say "yay" and clap her hands....so cute!

Wow, mom!  Tummy time is fun with these toys!

Uncle Chris feeding Maddie her breakfast

Brothers and Cousins

Kalia: "I like Maddie, can I have her please?"

Family time!

Kalia is showing Maddie where her ear is

and this is your eye...

Cousins!

Daddy feeding Maddie before work

Holding her own bottle