Wild Ride

Sometimes Maddie has a hard time going to sleep because she just doesn't want to miss anything.  We've tried to convince her that we're boring and we stay boring when she goes to bed, but she doesn't quite believe us.  One night, in a desperate act to both keep her from crying and wear her out, Dakota put her on his shoulders.  The giggles began almost immediately - huh huh huh, huh huh!  Huh huh huh, huh huh!  

Now she'll never believe us that we don't do anything interesting once she's in bed.

Food for Thought

Maddie's been spending a lot of time playing with her food, er, refining her palate.

So far she's sampled rice cereal (she's a fan), applesauce (not a fan), bananas (she appears to be allergic), and sweet potatoes (which may have also caused an allergic reaction, or she might have still been reacting to the bananas).  We're trying peas tomorrow (if I get my act together and go make them).  As for the allergies, Madeleine's been referred to Hopkins for allergy testing at their earliest convenience (which happens to be April of 2010). 

Baby Dedication

Maddie's baby dedication was September 5.  There was a little slideshow ofthe first 5 months of her life, and then Pastor Ann led a responsive reading about our commitment to raising Maddie.  At least, I think that's what it was about, because as ridiculous as it sounds, the silk dress Madeleine had on (totally adorable) made her REALLY slippery and I was terrified I was going to drop her.  I wish I hadn't been so preoccupied, as baby dedications generally move me to tears pretty easily, but I really shouldn't be surprised that Maddie kept me from noticing what was going on around me.  It's a common theme in our house.  As for how she did?  She LOVED being on stage.  She was grinning from ear to ear and adored being the center of attention.  She may look like Daddy, but there's definitely some Momma in her. 

Moving On

So we tried the crib. We did. It was accepted as a novelty the first night, put-up-with to some extent the second night, and completely shunned by the third night. I didn't sleep well any of those nights. So, exhausted and ready for some rest, I suggested we put our mattress on the floor and her mattress next to ours. We could return to cosleeping even though we had outgrown the cosleeping bassinett and are the lucky owners of a lumpy mattress (that MUST be replaced as there are person-sized dents in it!).

Maddie was thrilled. I kid you not. She laid in our room giggling and smiling. She was so excited she couldn't sleep at first.

But then, sleep she did....on her stomach. For the first time.

So, yeah, it was another night of little sleep for me because even though she was sleeping, I had to watch her for hours to make sure she could breathe on her tummy. For the record, she can.

Bring on the second night (our days were all a prelude to hoping for sleep at that point). Maddie slept (on her tummy) and only woke to eat twice. This, for us, was huge. Last night, she ate about midnight and slept until - you might want to sit down for this - 8:30am. That's right. I got up at 8 and felt...what's the word? Ah, yes, refreshed. It's a beautiful thing.

Of course she then proceeded to have a howling, screaming kind of day today, but that's not really the point here, now is it?

Madeleine had some other firsts, too! She sat up for a moment on her own (and I interrupted a thoroughly wonderful conversation with shouts of, "She sat up! On her own! That was the first time!"), and...drumroll here...we started solids. Many of you know that I was a bit, well, terrified of solids. We were given the go-ahead at 4 months to start, but Madeleine wasn't showing much interest and I was less than enthusiastic. But last week I was eating a Boca burger and Maddie watched wide-eyed as I lifted it to my mouth and took bites. She opened her mouth each time I did, and even tried chewing a couple of times. My little girl was telling me she was ready for solids!

Now, the word "solids" is a bit of a misnomer, as there was so much milk that it was really more like milk with a dash of rice cereal than anything that could be called a solid. But I digress.

Maddie had a lot of fun "eating" (or rather, dribbling the food down her chin, chest, stomach, diaper, Bumbo, floor) and she especially enjoyed playing with the spoon when the "meal" (ha ha!) was over.

We've been doing the rice cereal 1-2x a day, and she's really getting the hang of it now. But the best part, for me? She doesn't make those cute little happy eating sounds with the solids - that's reserved just for Mommy. That made solids go down a lot easier in this house.

And I know what you really came here for...Madeleine Hope - 5 months

Crib Bound

We used the crib for the first time last night .  Maddie was fine.  I was not.

Maddie has been thrashing about in her cosleeper...trying to roll over (but there's only enough room to get on her side), kicking her feet over the sides (eek!), pounding the walls...and waking herself up amidst all the ruckus. After a few nights of her waking up like this,I decided to try the crib and sleep in her room. To my utter surprise, it worked.  She slept all stretched out and I camped awkwardly on the floor.  This morning I was all (cramped, uncomfortable, ouchy) sad and told Dakota that she didn't even wonder where I was. He looked at me all puzzled and said, "Because you were right there! She could look out of the crib and there you were! Why would she wonder where you were?" True, true. But still. It was sad.  And I cried.

Smiles, Giggles, and Drool

Maddie just had her four month check-up, and at 16lbs,5oz and 25.5 inches, she's in the 95th percentile for both height and weight!  I'm thinking she's not gonna be a shorty like her Mom.  But, as proof that some of my genes are mixed in there, the child can flip her tongue up on its side!  Dakota can't do this, so though she may look like Daddy, she's got the tongue thing from Mom.  And that's important.  

Now, for some cuteness (which I know is why you all are here, so...):

Happy Morning Madeleine, excited to be awake!

Introspective Madeleine, taking time to smell, er, eat the flowers.

Cuddly Madeleine, enjoying a quick snuggle with Mommy.  She really like to lick the wraps...

Outfit One Baby, the way Mommy likes the dress...

...and the way Maddie likes the dress.

Sunshiney Madeleine, ready to go to the library! (Though in reality, we didn't make it that day because Maddie spit up on me three times, and after three changes of each of our clothes, we'd pretty much missed story time).

Playbaby Madeleine, drooling her way to happiness.

Sleepytime Madeleine, napping in a wrap.  Isn't she just the sweetest thing ever?

Bouncy Baby, testing out the jumparoo.  She's still not sure what to make of it.

Baking Baby, helping momma make nummy brownies.

Playtime Madeleine!  Maddie and Daddy play "Madeleine Crushes Tokyo," where Maddie gets to stomp all over...everything.  Her shirt depicts a monster trying to hitch a ride to Tokyo.  Thank you, Threadless.

Daddy's Girl, wrapped up for an evening walk!

Chillin' Baby, takin' it all in like a big girl in her Bumbo.  Pardon the rolls - she's a growing girl.  And pardon the nakedness; it's hot here.

Grumpy Evening Madeleine, soothing herself with her thumb.

All Tuckered Out Madeleine, getting ready for her evening massage.  How come I don't get a massage every night?

Rinse, lather, and repeat...and that's pretty much our life!  

And a side note, we're all about skyping now, so if anyone wants to see Maddie in action, we can book a conference call for you.  Hurry; her datebook's filling fast, because as you can see, she's one busy four-month-old.

Celebrating in Style

Maddie had so much fun on the fourth of July!  

There was a great outfit to wear...

...people to hold her...

...fireworks to watch with Daddy...

...and yummy arms to suck on...

What a great night that was!  Madeleine hopes your 4th of July was as fun as hers!

PS - Maddie would like you all to know that she loves your comments, so if you're reading, let her know how cute you think she is.  She hears it a lot, but really, one can never have too many compliments.