Week Thirty-Five

• She started taking just one nap a day.  Her naps were getting so short (20 minutes), so we decided to just go along with the new schedule since she will have to eventually go that direction anyway.  I am usually a book follower when it comes to Maddie and I know that every sleep book I've read says that babies need 2 naps until 18 months, but with daycare we don't have a choice.  She actually did pretty well with her one nap this week and was happy just about every day when she came home.  
• Started clapping! She gets a big smile on her face, claps her hands together, and bounces up and down!
• Pulls up on everything and can now get her knees underneath her to sit up.  
• Is teething again...  I can't feel any teeth on the top yet, but she has been cranky and lets out her "Oh my gosh this hurts like heck" scream.
• Celebrated Philip's birthday with good friends on Saturday.  With everyone going back to work, we haven't seen our friends in awhile.  Maddie got a chance to play with her friend, Brayden while Shawn and I got a chance to see all of our friends!
• Tried lentils, but wasn't a huge fan.  If you fed them to her then she was okay eating them, but when given the choice she passed. 
• Got a much needed care package from Granny!  She grown out of all of her 6-9 month clothes and now is in all 9 month clothes (despite the fact that she is only 8 months old!).  I didn't realize that our hand me down have pretty much ended, so when I went through her clothes she had about 5 outfits that fit her.  One day she went through 3 outfits in one day at school, so you can see our problem!!  Granny came to the rescue and now Maddie has clothes to wear!! :)

Daddy and Maddie

Trying to pull up

Week Thirty-Four

• I went back to teaching my big kiddos!  I saw my 125 returning students and met my 80 new 6th graders.  Year two is going to be much better than year one at my new school.  On the first day of school I taught the fire evacuation procedures 6 times and only mispronounced one name!!  
• Maddie went back for her second week at school.  In true form, she went back with a stuffy nose after one week in daycare....luckily, she felt fine and played fine all week.  Our little girl is going to have one heck of an immune system by kindergarten!  
• Continued to take her two naps at daycare (except they started getting shorter and shorter) and even took a few on her little cot.
• Played outside on the playground with the Grasshopper kids and went to story time in their room almost every day!
• Loved her puffs at snack time.  
• Started trying table food during dinner time.  She has been eating some cheerios and peas along with her pureed food and loves them.  After she tried table food she started trying to chew her pureed food and always wanted to grab at her food, so we decided that maybe it's time to introduce more big girl food! 
• Crawls everywhere!!!  She has become so fast at her army crawling and is everywhere at home and at school.  The teachers tell me she can be found in many of the toy cubbies (just like her daddy)!
• Beats her highchair tray like a drum.  She loves to yell and bang on her tray like she's playing in the band!  I love my little musician! 
• Has provided Noah with a new role in the household.  Noah is now our resident floor cleaner!  Maddie drops food on the floor and Noah comes to the rescue...I have such a new respect for our little furry child! 

Maddie's new big girl food!

Enjoying her dinner!!

Yum-O

All gone!

Reading a book in her new chair!

Week Thirty-Three

• Had visits from both Grandmothers.  My mom (Grandma) came on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday evening and Shawn's mom (Granny) came on Wednesday night and stayed until Saturday.  They both came to help us out and take care of Maddie.  Monday-Wednesday I was working on things for school and trying to get things ready to head back to work.  On Thursday and Friday I was gone to Lakeland for a project I'm working on for the Dept. of Education.  Maddie loved spending time with her Grandmas and Shawn and I are so grateful to both of them for helping us out!!  
• Went to breakfast on Saturday with Granny.  Maddie sat in the highchair and ate her food like a big girl!  She smiled at everyone there and got so many comments on what a great baby she is.  By the end of breakfast she was a little fussy, so we had to hurry out...no leisurely breakfast time anymore!
• Got some new kicks!  In preparation for Maddie's new adventure at daycare (The Grasshopper room) she needed to have sneakers.  I went a few different places trying to find cute little girl sneakers and with waiting to the last minute ended up paying $30!!!  That's right, I paid $30 for shoes for my 7 1/2 month old daughter who doesn't walk!!  According to daycare it is a requirement for all children in the grasshopper room to have sneakers everyday...ugh!  I am now on the lookout for sneakers on sale in the next 50 shoes sizes....that's what I get for waiting until the last minute!  Oh...and I found out that she is a size 2!  
• Went back to school!  On Monday, Maddie went back to school at Ladybird Academy and mom went back to work for pre-planning week.  Maddie is going to transition between the infant room and the Grasshopper room for a few months until she gets use to the new schedule, new food, and new nap routine.
• Did not do well only napping once a day.  With the transition to the older infant room, Maddie is only getting one nap in the afternoon.  She was only napping about an hour each day, which meant that her afternoons were spent falling asleep on something and getting very cranky.  Shawn and I were going to work everyday and then coming home to a cranky child...no fun!  On the third day back at daycare we made the request that she stay in the infant room and take two naps per day...this turned out MUCH better!  
• Is wearing size 3 diapers now.  I don't know how much she weighs, but it must be between 16-18lbs. according to the diaper sizes.

First day of school as a Grasshopper!

After her first day of school

Showing off her teeth!

Grocery shopping with mom and dad!

Week Thirty-Two

• Maddie got her two bottom teeth.  They are out of the gums and growing bigger and bigger each day and sharper!
• Is army crawling all over the place.  She still doesn't get her tummy off the floor, but she moves pretty quick crawling her way.  Our house is officially semi-baby proofed.  All of the outlets are covered and things are pulled off the bottom shelves.  As she gets bigger, we'll baby-proof even more.
• Is trying to pull up on just about everything.  She loves to crawl over your legs if you're sitting on the floor.  They are almost like speed bumps!
• LOVES Noah!  She crawls to the sliding glass doors and bangs on them when he's outside, "duh, duh, duh"!  She also loves to grab his tail, grab his ears, and tries to crawl over him too.  Noah is learning to be a good sport!
• Maddie brought home lots of new toys from Granny's house, so she is now enjoying all of her new toys.  We have turned our front formal living room into a semi-playroom for now until we get furniture, so all of her toys are in there. 
• Smiles and laughs all the time!
• Is starting to eat puffs.  I got her some puffs, so she could practice her pincher grasp in preparation for eating table food.  At first she wasn't so sure, but after seeing Shawn and I eat a bunch she figured it out.  
• Got a visit from Grandma on Sunday.  Grandma came to stay and help take care of Maddie until Wednesday, so I could go back and begin to get things in order for work next week.
• Loves bath time and her ducky bath tub.  Every time we're in there she smiles, yells, and bounces up and down!  She has a little duck and pig that she plays with during bath time and always has a HUGE smile on her face when she sees them.  One day she crawled from the living room to the bathroom, so she could go and get the ducky!
• Loves her books!  She is getting better at turning the pages and focusing on different things on each page.  She still likes to eat them, so we are only reading board books for now!

Shopping at IKEA with mom and dad

Week Thirty-One

• Spent most of the week still in Niceville.
• Went for a shopping trip to the Destin outlets, so mom could get some new work clothes...yes, that day is looming!
• Went to the park and played on a lot of big kid toys.  Maddie is still a little young for most parks since she doesn't crawl the traditional way and she doesn't climb on things.  She seemed to enjoy everything for about 3 minutes.
• Spent some quality time with her Grandpa Hart at his house.  He just happened to be home one day, so we stopped on by and spent the afternoon with him.  Maddie and Grandpa had lots to talk about.
• Is scooting a little faster on her tummy.  She rocks back and forth on her knees, but usually falls back down and does the scoot.  
• Loves to go after Noah and say, "duh"!
• Is a great eater!  She is eating pureed Zucchini, Squash, Avocado, Banana, Apples, Pear, Green Peas, and Sweet Potato.
• Got super fussy for the last 45 minutes of our trip back home.  Our trips have become much longer now that we have to stop and feed her actual food, so I'm sure she was tired too.
• Broke her first two teeth when we got home from Niceville!  On Monday, July 30th a little tiny piece of tooth broke through her gums!!  This made Monday-Wednesday a bit more difficult.  She was very clingy during the day and very fussy.  She woke up a few nights about an hour after going down, so we gave her some Tylenol and luckily she was good until morning.

It's hard growing teeth...

Play date with Jacob

Hi Guys!

Giggle girl!

Week Thirty

• went to the pool/splash park with Jacob from next door.  Maddie enjoys sitting in the water and watching all of the other kids, but just a little bit of sun and water and that girl gets tired.  We ended up taking a little siesta while Jacob continued playing.
• went to Olive Garden with mommy and my college friend, Candace.  She sat in the restaurant high chair for the first time and was great!  It's a little more challenging to eat a nice dinner and feed Maddie plus keep her occupied, but it's also nice to get out once in awhile and teach Maddie how to eat out.
• is learning how to wave.  She watches our hands as we wave to her and tries to make the same motion we do.  She is getting much better at it and has started to wave at herself and others when we are out.
• is babbling now.  She was always a big talker, but just made little baby sounds.  Now she is saying: da, duh, da-da, and sometimes do.
• looks at Noah and says, "duh".  We have been teaching her to say dog and I think she is starting to put it together when she sees Noah. 
• is really getting good at her army crawling.  She pulls herself along the floor pretty quickly...especially when she wants a toy or Noah.
• can get up on all fours and rock, but she hasn't become brave enough to move her hands and legs yet. 
• traveled up to Niceville for our week of vacation. She did very well in the car, but now with having to eat solids at breakfast and lunch our 6 hour drive became an 8 hour drive.  We stopped to eat breakfast and lunch with her on the way up.
• swam in Boggy Buyou where her daddy learned to knee board.  She enjoyed standing in the water with daddy!
• went to the beach on her 30 week birthday! This was Maddie's first trip to the beach and she seemed to enjoy herself.  We stayed less than an hour and kept her under the umbrella, but she did get a chance to play in the waves and play in the wet sand (which of course she tried to eat).
• went out to lunch with mommy and daddy after the beach.  We took her to a casual beach type place on the water and ate outside in our bathing suits.  Maddie did so well in the high chair and enjoyed watching all of the boats at the harbour.  We practiced waving to them as they went by.

Week 30 Adventures...

Daddy: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear...."

Noah likes to be a part of bedtime

Maddie's 'new' toychest.  This was my toychest that my dad made me 25 years ago, so I put a little TLC into it for Maddie.

Maddie decided she wanted to drive to Granny's house

First time at the beach!

While we were gone Jacob came over by himself to visit Maddie!

Week Twenty-Nine

• Rode on an airplane for the first time.  She did pretty well for her first trip...there was a little screaming, some laughing, blowing raspberries all over the other passengers, knocking over a cup of ice on another passenger, smiling, and some sleeping.  Overall, not too bad.
• Stayed up past her bedtime every single night, but still managed to sleep until between 7-7:30am every morning....love that girl!!
• Said, "I love you".  Teta Nancy was telling Maddie how much she loved her and Maddie took her finger out of her mouth and said it too (in Maddie language of course)
• Went to her first big fat Greek picnic thanks to cousin Valarie.  Maddie was passed around to just about everyone all night and loved every minute of it!
• Spent time with her great aunts and uncles, papou, and lots of cousins.  
• Met her great grandmother who is 95 years old!  Maddie's due date was on Mya's 95th birthday, but we missed it by 6 days (gotta love our little tax deduction). :)  
• Was so good through the entire trip.  She adjusted to all the new places and new faces so well and acted like she had been there 100 times!  Everyone just loved her so much and said what a great baby she is...we just love our Maddie!
• Was happy to see daddy when he picked us up at the airport.  I know that daddy missed us too ...luckily Mrs. Catherine next door brought daddy some food one night, so we know he was taken care of without his girls! :)

Hangin' in the swing

Maddie was using her cousin's swing for the weekend...wind up dial and all!

Breakfast time at Teta Nancy's....thanks to cousin Val for the awesome highchair and pack n' play.

Uncle John and Maddie

feet in the water...

Maddie's clothes hanging out to dry on the clothesline!

Bath time at Teta Nancy's house

Falling asleep while the grown ups eat dinner

Yes, my crazy uncle mows the lawn in his flip flops and yes his lawn is crazy green!

Maddie waiting to board our flight back to O-town

I can't wait to see my daddy!

Maddie and her papou