8-9 month Holiday Magic

Oh Maddie!

So sorry I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving. As you will quickly learn, the holidays are a very busy time of the year; and I'm finding that it is even busier when you work full time and play mom full time! Even though I should be wrapping gifts or cleaning toilets right now, I'm putting that aside for a bit. (Side note, this post was started a week ago and never finished til now, grrr...) Enough with the excuses and on to some updates!

I know I've missed several "Pic of the Weeks", so I will try to make up for that with this post. Really I've been meaning to write and do my monthly updates (which has not been so monthly)...really, I promise.

So 8 months came and went...and now you are 9 months old!

As you can tell, it is getting more and more difficult to get you to try and hold still to take these pics. Here's a brief depiction of what we went through to get what we did.

 

Obviously you are very interested in being on the ground and having the freedom to move around now. You are now starting to pull yourself up on things; you easily make it to your knees, but usually need assistance getting to your feet. When it comes to crawling, your preference is definitely still rolling, but we have made some real progress (even more so since this video). That started on Thanksgiving actually!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, here are some pictures from our first Thanksgiving together. On Thanksgiving Day we went to your Great Aunt Lorrie's house to celebrate with Daddy's family.

Then on Saturday we went and celebrated at Grannie and Papa's house!

Another celebration we had in the month of November, was Daddy's birthday. You had a blast helping him open his present, which makes me really excited for Christmas next week!

Sticking with the whole holiday theme we seem to have going, last week we took you to meet Santa for the first time. You did so good...no scared faces, no tears...we even got a smile!

Rather than doing the usual mall thing, we went to Breakfast with Santa. It was at Grotto Restaurant and it was delicious!

You are definitely loving this whole holiday thing...

The Lights

The Tree

The Ornaments

I don't know who's been more attracted to the tree, you or Belle! Regardless, I'm always pulling one of you out from under there.

 Amongst other things, here's a video of one of your new favorite "tricks" to show off:

You're also loving to play games like Peek-A-Boo and Sooo Big! You're talking nonstop, and we FINALLY are getting some "Mama"s out of you (Yay!)!!! It just makes my heart melt every time I hear it. As does this super sweet smile...

Oh 9 months, how have you gone so fast?!

Loving you always!!

Mommy

Lucky 7!

Dear Madeline,

You are well through being 7 months old now...can you believe it?!

You are a happy, healthy, growing girl! At our last dermatology appointment you weighed 17.5 lbs; and while on that note we got a great report. Doctor is very happy with the progress of your hemangiomas and we don't have to go back until Christmas time. We kept your dosage of medication the same, which because you are gaining weight, is actually the first step to starting to wean you off of it (yay!).

Not so sure about these puff things yet

We are still trying to make progress in the food department, although lately you are making that rather difficult. The last couple weeks you have definitely lost an interest in eating, which I'll openly admit - is totally frustrating. I try so hard to be patient and not worry about it, but I can't help but worry that you aren't getting enough of what you should be. Thankfully you still love to nurse so I know you are getting your nutrients. Besides I can't force you to eat, you are quite stubborn (keeping your mouth shut, pushing our hand away, etc). I keep thinking that you are getting your first tooth, but at the same time I feel we've been saying that for over a month. For a couple weeks you've had a tiny white spot on your gums and today you were snotty and drooling like crazy...so stay tuned! Whatever it is though, you don't let it bring you down - you're almost always flashing that adorable little grin! :)

Smiling with your eyes

Although mealtimes don't seem to be your favorite part of the day, bathtime does! And Daddy sure seems to love to capture pictures of you in the tub. (No worries, we are fully aware that in 15 years you are going to be mad that we posted these for all to see, but you're too cute not to show off)

Rub-a-dub-dub

Baby in the tub!

We are still working on the whole crawling concept, and today was the closest I think I've seen you get. But you don't need to crawl, because you are having a blast being able to sit up and play and roll around the room (and of course I have the pics to prove it). Some of your new favorite things to do now are dance (which by the way I think I fixed last weeks video clips), clap, wave, "talk", and mimic. 

Playtime with Belle

Babbling away

Just kickin' back reading a book

So serious

Cheeeeese

Rollin' around

Playing with your favorite toy

YAY!!! Clapping at Baby Einstein

Stay tuned for next weeks Halloween Pic of the Week!

Loving you always...

Mommy & Daddy

Daddy Love

Bernard Girls

Half A Year Ago & A Thousand Pictures Later

My Sweet Madeline,

Half a year ago, you made your memorable entrance into this world! It's hard to believe that we are already at this mid-point milestone. It seems as if the last two months have just flown by (hence the slack of an update last month). So here we go...we'll cover the last two months as quickly as possible ;-)

     5 Months

                                           6 Months









Since our last update, you are growing like crazy! At our last pediatrician check up you weighed 15 pounds 5.5 ounces and measured 26.5 inches long. The doctor was so impressed with how well you are doing and how great you look. He said that he predicts your hemangiomas may be gone or mostly gone by your first birthday! :) Speaking of which, thankfully we have had no more problems since our little overnight in the hospital. We did have the abnormal chest x-ray which we had to follow up with a CT scan. That was done and you were such a trooper through the whole experience. Although you had to be sedated and were not your happy self afterwards, that goofy grin was back by the time we got to go home.

Heading home from the hospital

By the way, the results of the CT scan came back that the spot on your lung is a hemangioma. Which, believe it or not, is a good thing. We'd rather that than it be ANYTHING else! There are no concerns about it as it will eventually shrink and disappear just like the ones on the outside. Yay!

So my little lady...what else have you been up to these past couple months?! Food! - we are definitely making advances in this department. You are still nursing and things are going great. My goal is definitely to continue for a full year - let's just hope teeth do not create an issue. We have now added in a variety of baby foods and you seem to like most of them, especially the more you taste them.

Sweet Potatoes!! Definitely a favorite

Peas are definitely the exception though; just like your Daddy, you hated them! To the point that eating them was making you gag! The latest thing in the food department, is the addition of water and a sippy cup this week. Something you picked up immediately, just like a pro!

Sippy Time

Another thing that you have mastered just this past week is sitting up on your own. You have definitely been trying for some time and this week it finally clicked!

Sitting pretty

Next on our list is crawling - but honestly Mommy can wait for that. Our little girl is growing up too fast!! To get around now you are rolling all over the place and you love it.

Now that you are more alert and interested in doing things, we have started to have more playdates! Although lately it takes you a while to get comfortable, once you are, you love playing with all the other babies!

Home Playmate

The zoo with Liam

Cousins!

Birthday Buddies!

One final thing to note this month is that it is the start of Fall, which means football season and that means Da Bears! As you will come to find out, you are part of a huge sports family and you will see that in the pics to follow)

Go Sox!

Go Cubbies!

Da Bears!

Hawks!

And now, to make up for the missed "Pics of the Week" -

Goodnight Sweet Angel!

Mommy & Daddy Love You <3

Sleeping Beauty