Love and Laughter

I feel like Madison is doing something new all the time now! We're amazed by how much she's changing.

She's rolling a lot more. She now rolls from her belly to her back, too! At daycare, they say she just rolls and rolls all the way across the mat there.

In the last week or so, she's also been playing with her feet a lot. She loves pulling off her socks. The night before last, she mastered getting her feet in her mouth. haha! She couldn't decide which one she wanted to chew on though, so she kept switching back and forth!

And last night...SHE LAUGHED!!! It was the best sound in the whole world. She laughed about 15 different times and it never sounded the same. She was laughing at Daddy, of course! He was acting like a gorilla, pounding himself in the chest and all. haha! And she just thought it was the most funny thing! The first couple of times that she laughed, she had a really surprised look on her face. We were both really surprised too! Matt just looked at me and said, "She's laughing!!" And I said, "I know!!!" Tears were just streaming down my face. At first, I was crying because it was just sooo adorable. And then I was crying because I couldn't stop laughing either.

Madison Maxine

There are so many names we've given you:

1. Munchkin
2. George
3. Sugar Baby
4. Pretty Girl
5. Slobber Face
6. Knucklehead
7. Bright Eyes
8. Frog Gut
9. Sugar Bear
10. Pumpkin

But of all the names we've given you, your real name is our very favorite!

*Update*

Madison had a RAST test Tuesday afternoon. Matt took her after he picked her up from daycare. They weren't able to collect a lot of blood because they were having a lot of trouble getting her to bleed. Her blood vessel in her left arm collapsed while they were taking her blood. Poor baby had blood all over her arm! And now she has a big bruise.



I spoke with somone at the dotor's office on Thursday. They said the lab couldn't complete the test for grass or dust mites because they didn't have enough of a blood sample. All of the other testing (including the pet dander) came back negative! So it looks like Madi isn't allergic to June and Adele! We are so relieved. Also, she's been doing a lot better. Her nose is still a little runny or stuffy at times. I really do think it's probably just due to teething.

On Wednesday (the 16th), Madison rolled over from her back to her belly for the first time! It's so cute to watch! We are just so proud of her!

Torn

I feel as if my heart is torn in a million pieces. We've pretty much come to the conclusion that Madison is probably allergic to animal dander (even though I don't think Matt is completely ready to admit it). She's had cold symptoms for over a month now. And after she spent a long weekend at the lake with no animals, we noticed she started doing a lot better...only to come home again and have the cold symptoms return.

For some people, this probably doesn't seem like a huge issue. "Get her tested, and if the results come back positive, just get rid of your pets". Those people have never had a pet who is a huge part of your family. Matt and I love our kitties. They've been a huge part of our lives. I've had Adele since my Sophomore year of college. June was a Christmas present to Matt in 2005, the year before we were married.

I had a really hard time getting Adele to eat for weeks after I brought her home...turns out she was taken from the care of her Mommy too early. I still believe this is the reason for her extreme attachment to me. When she was a baby kitty, she would cry and cry and cry if she couldn't see me. She has been with me through tough times. We have made a home together in 4 different places. She has cuddled with me at night, provided me with so much joy and laughter, given me a few scares (like the time she caught herself on fire). She has even licked tears from my cheek. Adele has been a constant companion.

June was the baby in our home before we had a baby. Adele wasn't too sure about her at first, but after awhile, even she seemed quite protective of little June (who turned out to be not so little at all). June is our friendly girl, our curious but timid girl, our Daddy's girl (just like Madi). Though June likes people much more than Adele, she shows such preference to Matt. She follows him around and cries after him until he gives her attention. June loves Matt, and Matt loves June. She was there for him when his dad passed away. I'm sure I pushed and pushed and pushed him to talk to me...even when he didn't feel like talking. The silence scared me. June, however, gave Matt space when he needed it and love when he needed it. What a bond they have!

Our cats have mirrored our personalities. Adele is prissy, silly, loyal, territorial, protective, and hates going to the doctor! June is easygoing, nosey, quiet (unless she has something important to say), patient, and a good listener! They are such an important part of our lives.

Yet, our daughter is our first priority in this world. How can we make her live in a home where she can't even breathe well? How can we continue to expose her to allergens that could cause her to develop asthma? I'm struggling...and I'm so heartbroken. I cry every time I think about giving June and Adele away...and I cry every time I think about Madison not feeling well because of something we expose her to.

I'm trying to take this one step at a time. I ordered some special shampoo for June and Adele. The reviews swear it works. I'm hoping that if we bathe them once a week, it might help. I've read that air purifiers may also help a great deal. If the shampoo doesn't help, I'm going to try to get Madison an appointment with an allergist to confirm what my mommy instincts are telling me. And where we'll go from there, I just don't know...

Recent Pictures

Madison loves the red puppy on her exersaucer!
She concentrates on him so much that her eyes cross! haha

And she loves kisses from Pooh Bear!

They make her smile soooo big!

Pretty girl!

Sitting with More Gramma and Great Aunt Patty

My very first swim - August 22

Happy Girl!

Wiped out after the birthday party!

Sitting in her high chair for the first time

About to eat some rice cereal

She sleeps in the most funny positions!

I come home from work many evenings and find them like this! So cute!

Cheering on the 'Eers...or maybe just playing with her link-ems.

So cute in her WVU Cheerleading Uniform (slobber and all) ;-)

What is this!?

mmm, I love sweet potatoes!

5 Months

Dear Madison,

The date is 9/9/09 and you are 5 months old today. I am still amazed by how quickly the time is passing. I feel like I blinked and you are already 5 months old.

On August 26th, we gave you rice cereal for the first time. You're not so wild about it. We've been consistently trying to give it to you, but you just don't seem to like the taste (or maybe lack thereof). On September 5th, we gave you baby food - sweet potatoes! You loved them! It was so funny to watch you kicking your feet and moving your mouth. You'd get so excited. Last night, we tried squash. You seemed to like it pretty well, too (although it didn't get quite the reaction that your sweet potatoes do!).

You are also really funny now with your bottle. You definitely know what seeing your bottle means now - feeding time! As soon as we start preparing your bottle, you never take your eyes off of it. I got so tickled when we were at the lake this past weekend. Grandma was shaking your bottle and held it up over her head so that she could see if the formula had completely dissolved. I was holding you on my lap and I noticed that your eyes were staring upward. I wondered what in the world you were looking at so intently. It was your bottle! You're such a silly girl!

You like to "help" us feed you from your bottle, also. When we give you a 4 ounce bottle, you love to hold on to the end of it. When we feed you from an 8 ounce bottle, you either hold onto our fingers or hold onto the bottle just below the nipple. You love to pull the bottle out of your mouth and try to put it back in.

Everything goes in your mouth! You are using your hands really well now, which makes it much easier for you to get any object you can get your hands on into your mouth. Mommy and Daddy are convinced, though, that nothing tastes as good as our fingers because you try and try to get them in your mouth any chance you get. Last night, Daddy was changing your diaper and you picked up a baby wipe (a clean one) and tried to put it in your mouth. Daddy caught you just in time!

You are making new noises almost every day. Sometimes it sounds as if you are singing. I love to just sit and listen to you. Your very favorite noise is your squeal/scream...you do it so often! You are just such a happy girl! Daddy swears you said "da" tonight, but we tried to get you to make the sound again and you wouldn't...although it really did sound like it the first time!

You're starting to enjoy being on your tummy more and more. You can hold your head and shoulders up really well now. Over the weekend, you even put your knees up under your body and scooted yourself forward. I was so proud of you!

You have 2 "games" that are your absolute favorites. You love getting kisses from your little Pooh Bear. It's so cute that we can tell how much you love him! Your eyes light up when you see him. You also love playing with the baby in the mirror. She's not quite as cute as you, but she does resemble you quite a bit. Her mommy even looks a lot like yours. ;-) You love smiling and squealing at her!

You, sweet girl, are so very loved! Happy 5 months to you!