6 Months and Counting

Happy 1/2 Birthday Madison!

Yep, that's right she is 6 months young today. I thought I would give you a little recap on 6 of the best months of our lives...so far.

Month One: November, 2009



Madison entered the world and our lives. We spent the better part of this month trying to digest the fact that we had a girl. "I can't believe it's a girl." Is a phrase that we often recited and frankly still do to this day. We were 100% convinced that we were having a boy. The nurses at the hospital swore we were having a boy because the baby was being so stubborn and wouldn't stay on the monitor. (Turns out the monitor was broken and it took 5 different nurses and 18 hours of me being connected to it before they figured this out.) Anyway, needless to say we were totally shocked when Dr. Boyer said "It's a girl!"


Month Two: December, 2009



By now we are a few weeks in to this parent thing and we are getting the hang of it. Maddie started sleeping through the night. Which, by the way, had many mothers of much older children slightly perturbed because their children still aren't sleeping through the night. Whoops! Madison also started noticing the things and people around her. She loved it when Daddy tickled her feet with his goatee. We celebrated Christmas. We had such a busy holiday and were delighted to show off our baby girl. Yep, still trying to digest the "It's a girl" thing. Our little peanut developed what we have dubbed as "The Poop Face". Needless to say, it's no secret when Maddie has decided to do her business. It could possibly be the funniest thing we have ever witnessed. To protect Maddie's privacy I've elected to not post any pictures nor any videos (yes, we have videos) of her in the act.


Month Three: January, 2010



My maternity leave ended this month, I had to rejoin the rest of the world and leave the safety of the bubble I had built around our house. Prior to returning to work, we took our first vacation. We flew to Florida to visit Meme and Papaw and Maddie couldn't have been any better. She's a great travel companion even if she requires a ton of stuff and can't carry a single bit of it. Madison also learned how to sit up with the assistance of the bumbo. She started playing with toys and like all babies, they went straight to her mouth. The best part of all, she really started smiling. Seeing that gummy grin completely lights up my day.


Month Four: February, 2010



Madison started to notice the TV. She would watch anything even though Ryan swears that she preferred sports. She also began to "talk". She would coo and coo. When we would mimic her she would just keep going. It's as if we were having a conversation but saying nothing at all. Maddie started playing more and began to reach for the things around her. We started giving her cereal. She wasn't a big fan at first but she quickly got the hang of it.


Month Five: March, 2010



Our little munchkin's personality is starting to come through. She is such a happy baby. We love when we pick her up after work from Katie's or Nana's house, as soon as she sees one of us she lights up and we receive the biggest smile from her. She began eating fruits and vegetables which she enjoys a great deal. Carrots and bananas are the current front runners. We finally started getting some warmer weather so we began taking walks around the neighborhood and on the trails. She loves being outdoors. Maddie had her first sleepover this month and got to stay at her Nana's house. I am still trying to recover from missing her so much that night.


Month Six: April, 2010



Madison has began driving this month...driving her walker that is. She is having so much fun walking around the house. I think the best part for her is getting close to Marvin. She puts her hand out so he can lick it and she cracks up laughing. Marvin is scared of the walker so he only gets close when she stops moving. We've been spending more and more time outside and getting a lot of use out of her wagon. Maddie is rolling over and over and over like a pro now well, occasionally she'll still get stuck on her belly. She has also developed a fake cough. She coughs a couple of times and then smiles. It's quite pitiful really.


We've had some great times over the past six months. And now we are off for some more. See you later!

Wednesdays

Alright, alright. Everyone is so proud of Uncle Brent for speaking up and asking where the blog update was, yeah, yeah. Way to go Brent! At least I know that people are reading this thing. So, I've got to give the people what they want right? Actually, I've come to realize that everyday isn't going to be eventful and ultra exciting but that is real life. I can't wait for something magical to happen before I share. I've got to share about the little things that happen too.

Wednesday has become my favorite day of the week, next to Friday of course. I get giddy around 3:00 on Friday's knowing that in a couple of hours I'm going to be back with my two loves and we are going to have the evening and two whole days all to ourselves. Friday's are notoriously awesome, everyone knows that. Heck, Friday even has a restaurant (T.G.I.F.). But back to Wednesdays....I love this day because I am off. It's a whole day with my little girl, just Maddie and her Mommy. There's no sharing with Daddy, I get her all to myself.

Some days we are busy shopping, running errands, shopping, going on walks, visiting friends and family, and sometimes we even go shopping. This Wednesday I decided that we are going to stay home, do nothing in particular and just relax. We played, Maddie took naps, we went for a walk with the wagon, we ate and we did some online shopping. Yep, I can manage to find a way to shop no matter what. It's a gift.

My recent entertainment strategy is to lay a blanket on the floor and pile multiple toys around her. She loves it! She reaches for the different toys and ends up holding two or three at a time all while trying to put them in her mouth. She's got a gift too!



And about 10 minutes later.....



Yep, we are mobile! She isn't deliberately moving yet. She's got more of a scoot because she is flapping her legs and arms so much that she's moving all around. Then you throw a little roll over in there and voila we've moved! Once she rolls over all bets are off. She is stuck! We then flip her back over, place her back in the center of her toys and the cycle repeats.

Madison has also developed a habit of scratching her head. Not a cute little rub as if in deep thought. No, nail digging, blood drawing, scratches. I hate when people see her head all bald and scabby. It makes me feel like a bad parent. I just know people are thinking "Geesh, why don't you cut your kid's nails." But I do! I cut them about every other day. They can't get any shorter and now I fear that I am ruining her nail beds and she is going to have man hands when she grows up because I am trying to cut her finger nails so short to stop the digging of her scalp. Gosh, being a parent is tough. Since I can't get her nails any shorter we are trying different methods of covering up her head so she can't dig at it. Here we tried a do-rag. She is trying to be all tough and cool in this picture.



But we all know she really is a sweetheart and she does too so she cracked and gave us that gummy grin.



My favorite time of the day is when Maddie wakes up. I love peeking into her room and looking for those little dark eyes as she peers through the slats of her bed.



Then, finding how she has managed to wiggle herself out of her swaddler. She has gotten pretty good at it and usually ends up wearing it like a little toga. Here she was almost there just one more leg and she was out. I came in too soon.



I went to college to become a teacher. I graduated with a degree in elementary education. (Ryan says I majored in arts and crafts. Sometimes I don't like him.) I've never taught a day in my life however, I feel as if I am completely certified to teach my daughter you know because I have a degree and all.

Our lesson today...The Monkey Face.





Is it because I am such a great teacher or do I just have a good student? Personally, I think it's a little of both.

And here is our little girl all hopped up on baby Orajel. Kidding! I didn't give her anything but somehow I caught her mid blink and she looks as if she had celebrated her 21st birthday the night before.



By the end of the day on Wednesdays, we miss our daddy. I miss my husband. We can't wait for him to get home. So, here we sit and we wait.









Yep, didn't get any pictures of daddy coming home but he did and we are all back together again as a family.

Is it a groove or a rut?

Maddie's Uncle Brent sent a text to Ryan a couple of nights ago and it said "Why hasn't Kim updated the blog this week? I look forward to it every week." Good question Uncle Brent. I look forward to updating the blog to share our recent happenings and new discoveries our daughter has made. I enjoy reading the comments we receive and hearing how much people enjoy reading about Maddie O. and seeing her pictures. Most of all I love knowing that there are people out there that care so much to take time to check in on our little girl.

But this week I have noticed that we have fallen into a rut or is it that we have found our groove and we are just livin' our life? I feel like we have the same routine every day that carries us through every week, that there isn't anything earth shaking that has happened. On one hand this leaves me feeling as if we've already fallen into the rut of the same thing over and over, day after day. On the other hand I feel as if we've finally hit our groove and learned how to function as a family. However, I like to keep things positive whenever possible so I am officially declaring that we've hit our groove.

So, here's what we've been up to this week. Maddie and I decided to update the blog.



We then took a little break to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.



Madison needed some playtime so she decided to bounce for awhile.



We caught up on some reading.



Then we made a few phone calls to our friends and family. (She is using the speaker phone function here. Here little hands get tired after so many hours of holding the receiver.)



I'm pretty sure she was talking to her Papaw here because that is the same face I make when I talk to him.



Our little girl is loving her fruits and vegetables. She sure has come a long way since the first feeding.



After such a busy week our little girl is exhausted.



We're going to get geared up for another week now. It's going to be very similar to this week but that's alright with us because we are groovin' baby.

An EGGcellent Easter Weekend

Every Monday I go to work and it's inevitable that someone will ask "How was your weekend?" Usually, I say it was great. Didn't really do much but enjoyed the time off. Today, of all Mondays, not one single person asked "How was your weekend?" The one Monday that I had so much to say, so many things to share but not a single person asked the all important question. Lucky for me though, I have a blog to share whatever, whenever.

We had one of the best weekends ever! Ryan and I both had Good Friday off and it turned out to be a great Friday. The weather was beautiful and we took full advantage of the warm, fresh air.

While growing up I vividly recall our wagon. It was a red, metal Radio Flyer. I filled that wagon with my most important possessions...cabbage patch kids, barbies, barbie clothes, rocks that I found, you know the necessities. I would even use a jump rope and tie the wagon on to my bike to haul my stuff around the yard. Please note: Our yard was only about an acre. The whole wagon tied to the bike was not necessary but was oh so fun. There were also many times that I learned that leaving a metal wagon outside, in the rain and filled with my loot was not a good idea. Rust ruins. And what did I get when I ran crying to mom and dad? "I told you to put the wagon in the shed." No sympathy but I learned my lesson which is what parents are supposed to do...teach. After many hours of research on the Internet and scouring stores, I finally found Madison the perfect wagon. A red, Radio Flyer....plastic, not that rust prone metal. Yeah, I'm still a little bitter about the rust stains on my stuff.

And she loves it!



So does Marvin because he can get right in her face.



A few months ago I excitedly reported that Maddie rolled over. She rolled over from her tummy to her back. She has only done it twice even after all of the demonstrations I've shown her and constantly putting her on her tummy she just doesn't want to do it anymore. However, this weekend she learned that she can roll over from her back to her tummy. Changing her diaper has become quite a challenge. She rolls over with ease but once she gets on her tummy she is stuck and she is not a happy camper. So, we just flip her back over like a piece of bacon. What? She's covered in grease, the two are very similar.



Moving on....Ryan and I colored Easter eggs. I asked Ryan if he would color eggs with me and he said yes. Ryan dyed one egg. On a positive note, that left 11 for me to color!



Easter Sunday was a gorgeous day here in Indiana. A great day for church, egg hunts and golf. Madison awoke to an Easter basket filled with goodies. (Confession: I put stuff that I needed to buy for her anyway in a basket with some tulle and eggs and that was her basket. You may call it cheap....I call it resourceful.)



And actually, she was more concerned with what Marvin was doing and really didn't notice her basket anyway.



The best part of the weekend was dressing our little grease monkey in her Sunday best. She was decked out head to toe and greatly resembled a cupcake. I think she knew that she needed to act like a lady and be on her best behavior because she was a perfect angel during the church service. She even practiced her new found talent of blowing raspberries during the sermon.









Blowing raspberries....she is still perfecting the art and it is hilarious.



Now Ryan might say, you can't have a perfect weekend without a little (or a lot of) golf. Joined by Nana and Pap we headed to the course for a few holes. Madison was strapped on and loved the wind blowing in her face. Our little girl is loving the outdoors and it couldn't make me happier.



I just know we are going to have many more spectacular weekends and I can't wait.