Transitions

It's crazy how many changes take place around the one year mark! Pretty soon our baby girl will be out of the baby room at daycare and into the 1 year old room. I remember when we visited her daycare before choosing which one she would be attending, the 1 year old room was a completely different world compared to the other classrooms. I remember them telling us on our tour that people always expect the 2 year old room to be the "wild" room. Then, they introduced us to the 1 year old room. Haha! Madison will soon be one of the ones kept on the far end of the hallway...away from the office and as far away from the babies as possible! hehe!

The plan is to move Madison up to the one year old room at the end of the month. I'm wondering if this will be her last week in the baby room.

A lot of changes have been taking place in order to get Madison ready for the 1 year old room. For the past few weeks, she's been sleeping on a cot at daycare instead of in a crib. I really couldn't believe it at first and was terrified of her falling out. Anyone who has seen this girl sleep would completely understand why I'd be afraid of this! She's done great though!

Madison is also doing MUCH better with table foods. I seriously thought for awhile that she'd be 2 and eating baby food - haha! She absolutely loves watermelon, bananas, graham crackers and yogurt. She's also doing really well with feeding herself.

We've also made the transition from bottle to sippy cup. I was totally stressed over this for a few days - especially because there's NO bottles in the 1 year old room. Today is day 5 without a bottle. We can see improvement with the cup every day. It's easier for Madison to use the toss and go cups with the hard spout and no stopper (this is what they use at daycare), but she's also doing fairly well with the soft spout cups (I'm thankful b/c these don't spill!). She looks so grown up when she drinks from her cup! We are so proud of her!

Madison had her one year checkup on April 21st - almost 2 weeks after turning one. This was our first visit with the new pediatrician. Madison weighed 19 lbs, 13 oz and was 29 inches long.

THE BIG ONE!

Dearest Madison,

One year ago, we welcomed you into our life...all 5 pounds, 10 ounces of you. You were so tiny - yet from the very beginning our love for you was so big! I remember feeling you in my arms, as light and small as holding a folded t-shirt and simultaneously feeling a weight in my heart that felt much heavier. There was an ability to love inside me that I did not recognize. I loved you simply because you were. I was bound to you in love as much as you were bound to me for your very life. You have changed our lives (and even us individually) in so many ways. You are our constant joy!

It is so hard for me when people ask what you're like or ask me to describe you - you are one complex little girl.

How can someone be so sweet and so rotten? You give the best hugs. I love when you throw your arms around my neck and say "ohhhhh". Your smile is infectious, and your eyes light up every time that gorgeous grin beams across your little face. You are such a sweetheart, but you are sneaky too. I can't help but to giggle a little when you mock my "NO"s with your "no no no". Or how you say "no no no" as you are doing something you're not supposed to be. It's as if you just acknowledging that it's not okay makes it okay.

You are falling in love with animals. Poppaw recently taught you to motion for a dog to come to you. Now, every time we see one, your reach your little arm out and make that motion with your hand. You also do it with cats, and as you make the motion, you say "cat, cat, cat". You get so excited when you actually get to pet them!

You are so incredibly friendly. This is probably my favorite thing about you! I hope you always stay this way. You just LOVE people. You are always smiling and waving and entertaining. You are such a ham! You got a Disney Princess Power Wheel for your birthday. While riding, you take your right hand off the wheel and wave and put it back and then take your left hand off the wheel and wave and put it back. You do this over and over. More Gramma says you're practicing to be a parade queen. You love "talking" on the phone. You smile so big when we let you - you've even starting participating in the conversation a little.

You are doing such a good job with communicating. You point a lot to let us know what you want. You're also signing "more". You have your own sign for "all done". You take both hands and put them out to the sides (like how I would motion "I don't know"). It's so cute! You do it every single time someone says "all done".

Your absolute favorite thing right now is books. You definitely get this love from Mommy and not Daddy. You will read (play with) with your books for the longest time. You just flip through the pages and point to the pictures and babble. We love it when you read to us! You also really love music. You love the Beatles, the Jackson 5, and the Beach Boys. You bounce and dance and sing along. You are such a happy little thing!

You aren't walking yet. You are cruising along the furniture, walls, doors, toys with ease. And you even do a pretty good job if we just hold onto you with one hand. However, you have yet to take more than just a few steps on a few occasions all by yourself. That's fine, though. Take all the time you need. You can already crawl nearly faster than I can run!

Happy 1st Birthday, my love! You are our blue-eyed, water-spashing, hello-waving, "cack cacking" (quack quacking) baby girl! As it's been said many times before, the days may be long, but the years are short. You have changed so much over the past year, and we know you will be changing even more over the next one. Can't wait to experience it all with you!

There is a passage from a book (Stepping Heavenward) that makes me think of you:

Here is a little mouth to kiss;
here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery.
Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost,
since it is abode of a kingly tenant.
I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all.
Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart,
welcome to her time, her strength, her health, to her most tender cares, to her life-long prayers! Oh how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blessed!"

I thank the Lord every day, with amazement, for giving you to us.

Happy Easter!!!

I never get to update this thing as much as I'd like to. Seems like it's always either post a blog or go to sleep - usually, sleep wins out.

Madison got over RSV, only to end up with a stomach virus. Matt and I were both pretty worried about her. It was awful seeing her throw up like that. She ended up losing some weight, and that had us really concerned. The vomiting lasted about 3 days and the diarrhea another 2. We were so thankful when she started feeling better.

Madison's appetite has really increased in the last week or so. She looks like she's gained some weight back. Couldn't be happier about that!

Last week, Madison started walking behind her little stroller. She had lots of practice last weekend at the lake, and has gotten pretty good at it. I love watching her having so much fun!

This week, we've gone back to having really rough nights. I'm not sure what's going on, but I've been up with Madison pretty much every night this week for at least a few hours. It's very odd for her not to sleep well - especially this many nights in a row. I feel so bad for her because she just cries so loud and just screams like she is in pain or is terrified. When I go in her room, she seems to still be asleep. The only way I can get her to stop crying is to wake her, then she cries because she's sleepy. I'm not sure if she's teething (so far, she hasn't had much trouble with it) or if she's having bad dreams or what. All I know is I hate it! I hate that she isn't sleeping well (and that I'm not either!).

Madison saw the Easter Bunny twice this week. He came to see her at daycare Thursday, and we went to see him at the mall Friday. She liked him both times!

Madison will be one on Friday. This just seems so unreal to me. I'm kind of struggling with it. I'm so proud of her, but it just seems crazy to me that she's technically only going to be a baby for 6 more days. Today was especially hard for me. I went to see a friend and her newborn baby boy at the hospital - the same hospital where Madison was born. Tomorrow is Easter - a year ago, we came home on Easter day. Time really does fly...

11 Month Pictures

Ready for bed
Always being silly!

I was really late posting Madison's 11 month "letter". Finally got around to it, but forgot to post the pictures.

Sick Babies Learn New Tricks

Last Tuesday night, I slept about 45 minutes. It was so strange to me that Madison didn't sleep well at all during the night. I expected to get a call Wednesday from daycare that she wasn't feeling well, but they never called. However, by Wednesday evening she had started with pretty severe cold symptoms. She didn't sleep well again Wednesday night - I was up with her just about every hour or so. By Thursday morning, I wasn't feeling well either. I decided it would be best to call in Grandma! Thank goodness my mom was able to come and take care of both of us.

I called the doctor to let her know that Madison had been exposed to RSV at daycare and that she was showing symptoms. The doctor said that it probably was RSV, and to let them know if her symptoms worsened. We went back to Man with my mom Thursday night and came home Friday evening. By Saturday, Madison's fever started to rise higher. Her breathing was more rapid and she just seemed so tired. She had taken such a small amount of liquids and just seemed so out of it that we decided it would be best to take her on to the emergency room.

Once there, we did a lot of waiting and then poor little Madison had to go through so much - a nose swab, some blood tests, a chest X-ray, a catheter, and an IV of fluids. The tests confirmed that Madison does have RSV. She also has an ear infection. We got home at about 2am. Madison seemed to perk up a bit after getting the fluids - she was beginning to get dehydrated.

The next few days, she's been on the mend. Grandma Peggy and Aunt Jennifer stayed with us Sunday night and went to Madison's follow-up appointment with us Monday. They stayed an extra night to take care of Madison on Tuesday so I could get back to work. Madison was able to go back to daycare on Wednesday. She seemed happy to be back!

Somehow, despite being sick, our baby girl learned a few new tricks. Madison is now crawling - really crawling. She had been army crawling for so long that we thought she was just more comfortable doing it that way. While at my parents' house in Man on Friday, she started crawling using her knees and elbows (with her belly off the ground). After a short time, she finally got the hang of it and pushed up to her hands. We are so proud of her! She is also pulling up on everything with little trouble. She's getting so much stronger!

11 Months

Madison,

You are 11 months old! Overall, the last month has been a great one for you!

You now have 8 teeth (four on the top and four on the bottom). We adore your smile - and you show it to us so often! You are such a smiley baby! I hope you are always as happy and smiley as you are now. Your smile is so beautiful, and we can't help but to smile every single time you do.

You stopped crawling army-style and started crawling with your belly off the ground. I was so surprised! I was beginning to think you would just crawl army-style until you were ready to walk. I love watching you crawl! I don't even mind chasing you all over the place!

You started pulling up this month. At the beginning of your 11th month, you started pulling up on your bouncy seat and on the blocks at daycare. After a short time, you were pulling up on just about everything. You've even started cruising a bit! We are so proud of you! You are pretty proud of you, too! When you started pulling up, we would yell "yay!", and you would yell back to us. You are so funny!

You are babbling so much now. You also say mama, dada, cat (you started with kitty, but traded it in for cat), no, stop, done (and, sometimes, "ah done"), bye-bye. We also think you are trying to say duck. You've been calling Daddy "Matt". I'm sure this is completely my fault. After you started repeating "Matt" when I called out to him to come help me with something, I realized I probably need to always refer to him as "Daddy" in front of you. You're still calling him "Matt", but I'm hoping it will pass quickly.

Your new favorite thing is dancing. You've always loved music, but now you bounce and tap your feet with the beat. You love it when we sing to you, and we do very often! Your new favorite song is "Barbara Ann". After we sing it a few times, you chime in with "Ba Ba Ba". We get so tickled!

Your favorite toys this month are your Elmo (the one the blows kisses), your new puppy from Aunt Patty, and your musical table. One morning, we even took Elmo along for the car ride to daycare. You just didn't even want to leave him behind. You cuddled with him in the car until you fell asleep.

This is the last month you'll be a baby. Next month, you'll officially be a toddler. We still can't believe how quickly the time passes!

10 Months

Dear Madison,

You are 10 months old! I think over the last month we've seen the greatest change in you yet. You are doing so many new things!

You have four teeth - your 2 bottom front teeth and your canines on the top. We call you our "vampire baby". You won't be our vampire baby much longer! You have 3 teeth coming in - your 2 top front teeth and another tooth on the bottom.

You are starting to actually "play" with your toys. You interact so well now. You also show preference to certain toys. Instead of just going after the toy that is the closest and easiest to get to, you now do whatever it takes to get to the toy you want. Your favorite toys this month are your "My Pretty Learning Purse" and your Bright Starts teething ring. You absolutely love that teething ring. I get so tickled because you just throw all the other toys to the side when you're going after it!

Your language skills seem to really be taking off. It actually sounds like you are trying to repeat a lot of the things we say. You also seem to understand words now, even if you aren't saying them. You are, however, trying so hard to say "kitty". It doesn't surprise us at all. We figured all along that "kitty" would be your first word. You love June and Adele (and Potter) so much. You get so excited when you see them and immediately we hear "kkkiii". Sometimes it even sounds like you're meowing. haha!

You are trying to pull up on things now, though you aren't quite strong enough. I can tell that you get frustrated because it's so hard for you. I want to just help you every single time - I hate to see you struggling...and it's much easier on my nerves (I'm so afraid you'll fall and hurt yourself). But I know that letting you try on your own is the only way you'll learn. So I just watch you, with my hands stretched out - just close enough to catch you if you fall. It's amazing to me how you are constantly teaching me what it means to be a mother. I realize that I'll always be doing this...nervously watching you with my hands stretched out, so that I can catch you when you fall.

One of your new favorite things to do is walking (running, jumping) while we hold on to your hands. You've enjoyed standing with our support for some time now, but you hadn't really made an effort to take steps. You've really taken off in the last week though! We're surprised by how quickly you're catching on!

Of all your new accomplishments, I have two favorites - you've starting playing pat-a-cake and participating when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". It amazes me that you do this, and I think it's the cutest thing ever! You don't always do the motions in the right order and sometimes you're motions are a little delayed, but you do them! I love when you put your hands together up over your head when I sing "Up Came the Sun". Sometimes I catch you doing the motions on your own, and when I start singing them to you, you get the biggest grin on your face. I love that we are starting to communicate, and I think that you love it just as much!