Maddy - almost month 10!....

It's been quite awhile since our last blog post... We apologize for that and are going to work hard to get a post up at least every couple of months if not sooner. Time passes so fast! Maddy is growing and doing amazing things every day. She is crawling and pulling herself up, which of course makes our lives change a lot. No more leaving her somewhere and thinking she'll still be there when we get back! She is very strong physically and can easily climb up our sofa, our furniture, her playpen, her crib, and anything else she sets her mind to. As she reaches a standing position, she will smile and gurgle, happy at her accomplishment. She is still a very talkative girl, babbling and cooing all day. We wouldn't say she has many specific words yet, but she will sometimes copy back the sounds we make, so she's getting there. Maddy also still loves to go out on walks and see the world. She is always happiest when she is around lots of people and activity. She isn't a shy baby! She has four teeth at this point - two top ones and two bottom ones. The bottom ones came in pretty easily, but the top ones caused her more pain and some difficulty eating. We're hoping the next set are easier when they come in. Her overall health is very good. She had her nine-month doctor appointment and passed with flying colors. She did have a cold a few weeks ago which wasn't very fun for her, as she got a pretty high fever, but she's totally recovered now. We should mention her eating habits as well... So far she is not a picky eater, and seems to like trying pretty much everything we serve her. We feed her a mix of different baby cereals and lots of different types of baby food in jars and pouches. We just recently started giving her some chicken baby foods and she seems to like them. Plus of course she is still getting plenty of bottles. Since we are both back to work full time at this point, Maddy spends about 20 hours a week with our nanny Lyn. She is a wonderful nanny and we are very happy to have her taking care of Maddy. They get along great and everything is going well with them. We wish we could take care of Maddy entirely by ourselves, but we are grateful that Jeff's work hours mean that he can be with her a lot of the time during the day. On to the biggest topic - hair. Maddy's hair is gorgeous and there is a LOT of it already! It's a medium curl and very dark. We have been washing it once a week with baby soap, and moisturizing it 3-4 times a week with a product called Shea Moisture Curling Souffle. It's all-natural and has only plant oils in it (no petroleum products). We work it in to her hair and then detangle and brush it out. Some days we just leave it at that, but sometimes we put it up in 3-4 little poms. She is pretty well-behaved during her hair sessions - especially if we let her watch a few Baby Einstein videos on the computer while we are combing her out! Jeff has been doing the hair a bit more than Silvio but we are both working on our technique. We still haven't mastered getting really straight parts in the hair but I'm sure with practice we will improve. As it gets longer, we will hopefully be able to get it into two poms, which would be nice, since she has a tendency to roll around on the back poms and loosen them up during the day. We also may experiment with some twists as the hair gets longer. We have bought a bunch of different hair bands and clips and experiment with them to figure out what works best for us. Maddy is a joy to be with, and we are totally in love with her. Everyone comments on what a cute, happy baby she is. She is excited by exploring the world and we enjoy helping her discover new things!

Growing and growing!

Wow, it's been almost two months since we last posted on the blog ... and wow, has Maddy grown! She is five months old today, and we are continuously amazed and delighted by the adorable and spirited little person she's growing into.

She is really working on that hand-eye coordination, although she does occasionally smack herself in the face. She gave herself a big scratch on her forehead (which has since healed fully), and we are having to cut her nails every few days so she doesn't injure herself (or us, now that she is grabbing onto our faces).

Her little legs are very strong--she can stand on them (supported by us, of course) for long periods of time! And she is on the verge of being able to roll over from her back to her stomach--she makes it about 2/3 of the way there, then gets stuck. We know she will figure it out soon enough... and then there'll be no stopping her! (Eek!)

She continues to be a very visual, very social little girl. She looks at everything and everyone, she makes great eye contact, she smiles and laughs at people, and she makes the most adorable coos and gurgles and squeals (and just-slightly-less-adorable screeches). She has also started blowing rasberries.

She has been drooling up a storm for several weeks, and she has been gnawing on her hands (and anything else she can get into her mouth). Although we don't feel any teeth yet, we suspect she is on the verge of teething. We also recently started her on rice cereal, which she really seems to like (both the cereal itself and eating from a spoon).

We are still bathing her, and washing her hair, about once a week. Her hair is starting to get long (see the photos below), and it remains soft and curly and not very dry. We are on the verge of considering products and hairstyles for her, but for the next few weeks, at least, we are going to keep her hair as is. It's quite cute.

We had Maddy baptized on Memorial Day weekend (Pentecost Sunday). She was a real trooper with getting water sprinkled on her head, and she loved the candle!

Everyone we meet comments about what a beautiful baby she is: "doll baby" is the phrase most often used, and we couldn't agree more. Such a cutie!

More Maddy photos --- Entering her fourth month!

Maddy's second play date with our friends' daughter, Evie.

Maddy is three months old!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that it's been three months since Maddy was born. She has grown so much over the past 12 weeks: she has found her mouth with her hand, and is now contentedly sucking on her fist and fingers. She is visually tracking everything--she has been alert since birth, but now you can tell that she actually SEES the things and people around her. She continues to make all manner of vocalizations: gurgles, coos, high-pitched squeals, and even what we are sure is laughter! She is sleeping six to seven hours at a stretch at night, which everyone says is amazing for a baby her age. She has gotten so big that we are needing to move up a diaper size and switch to infant formula, and she has outgrown almost all of her 0-3 clothes. No doctor visit this month (apparently, there is a visit at two months, and then another at four months), but Maddy definitely seems longer and heavier since the end of last month. She hasn't yet rolled over or made any major movements on her own ... but we know that's just around the corner!

Maddy laughing!
(This is the outfit she wore to church on Easter Sunday; it was too cold outside for dresses, unfortunately, but we know she'll get to wear some pretty dresses once the weather warms up.)

Maddy smiling!

Smiles and coos: The many moods of Maddy!

It is so hard to believe that Maddy is almost ten weeks old! As you can see from these photos, she is smiling up a storm. What the photos don't show, though, is that she has been vocalizing a LOT over the past couple of weeks. She gurgles and coos and makes the cutest, sweetest sounds--some happy, some angry, but all of them very communicative. Obviously, it will be some time before she produces her first word, but she is already communicating clearly her thoughts and feelings. Such a smart little girl she is!

Maddy pics - month two