Letters to Madelyn

Madelyn,

I made a promise to myself and to you while I was still pregnant to not compare milestones.  I vowed to not become one of those moms that obsesses over whether or not her baby is hitting developmental points at all the right times.  I knew you would learn each of these things in your own time and didn't want the added pressure of making sure you were the "star of the class" so to speak.

That being said, here we are seven months later and I just took my first peek at "where you should be".  And baby girl - your mama is so proud of you! 

People have been telling your Dad and I from day one that you are ahead of the curve.  I tried not to read too much into it since I figured people are obviously going to compliment babies.  However, as time kept going on and it continued to happen I got a little curious.  Finally, a trip to the pediatrician was all it took to send me to the milestone charts.  We were sitting in the office and you were sitting on the table during the exam.  Your doctor was so impressed with how straight you were sitting and that you continued to sit that well for a good thirty minutes.  She guessed that by the time we go back for your nine month appointment you would be walking!  Walking!?!?  I couldn't resist any longer and I had to check out how awesome you really are.

Here's what I found for seven months:
Beginning skills - sitting without support and pulling objects to you.  You've got that under control.
Emerging skills - rocks on all fours and jabbers.  I think this video speaks for itself.

And we all know you've been a jabber jaws for quite some time now.

Finally this is where I became a believer.

Advanced skills - waves goodbye and bangs objects together.  You do both of these!!  I was a skeptic when it came to the waving but you have done it enough times at the absolute most appropriate time that I am convinced you know what you're doing.

So there you have it - you are already head of the class and you're only seven months old.  I am one proud mama!!

Love you,

Mom

Taste of Ann Arbor

As I mentioned previously, I am on a quest to try everything Ann Arbor has to offer this summer.  While I was scouring the internet looking for family friendly events, I discovered that Taste of Ann Arbor was coming up.  Yay!  Nick, Madelyn and I headed downtown around noon on Sunday afternoon.  Molly met us about an hour later and we taste tested our way down Main Street.  It was stinkin' hot so we ducked into Mongolian and Arbor Brewing Company for a beer and a cool down. 

Ben and Madelyn Conquer Ann Arbor

The last day of school is tomorrow.  That makes Monday the first day I parent both chitlins all day long all by my lonesome.  In a quest to figure out how to spend our summer days, I realized there is so much Ann Arbor has to offer that we need to discover.  After our first day of exploring, Ben and I discussed the need to try out all kinds of new activities all summer long.  I also mentally noted my need to blog all these activities all summer long.  Here's how we kicked off summer(ish):

Miss. Madelyn and Ben started swim lessons!  I was able to find simultaneous classes on Saturday mornings.  It makes life a little chaotic at the end of class since Ben has to get himself dressed while Madelyn and I get ready in the ladies locker room.  I don't want Ben waiting for us longer than necessary but bathing and dressing a mobile six month old in a timely fashion is a serious challenge.  Nick will be done with classes this Saturday (yay!) and can take care of Ben but until then we are making it work.

After swim class we decided it was time for lunch. 

I had stumbled upon Mark's Carts one night and decided we had to try it ASAP.  Ann Arbor has street meat, folks!  We did the whole food truck dining when we visited the brother-in-law in San Francisco and it went over well with Ben so I was excited to try it again with him.  The nice part is that the trucks are all set up in a patio-type area with various seating options.

Ben and I checked out the different options and decided to try Debajo del Sol.  Ben opted for Chorizo Corn Dogs and I got the Pulled Pork Paella.  The paella was decent but the corn dogs were out of this world delicious!  The best part - Madelyn was so wiped out from swimming she spent the entire time we were there  doing this:

Chorizo Corn Dogs

Pulled Pork Paella



After lunch, we decided to hit up the Farmer's Market so I could pick up our eggs and lettuce for the week.  On our way, we hit a roadblock and discovered a festival going on in full force - music, vendors, food and people.  We parked and decided to check it out.



We walked through and made it to the Farmer's Market - got our goodies and headed back.

On the way back, Ben managed to score a balloon.

All in all the day was a major success!

Some Sibling Love

When Uncles Dress Baby Girls....

....this is what happens.

Yes, she's wearing her bathing suit.  Uncle Caleb wondered why the fabric felt so stretchy.

**I am thinking about a regular installment on here titled "When the men in Madelyn's life dress her"

Happy Easter!

I'm a little behind in uploading pictures which explains the delay in my Easter post!  A bit of back story - three years ago, Nick and I claimed Easter as our holiday to host.  We are willing to travel all other holidays and given the size of my family, we definitely put on the miles but we wanted one holiday that we didn't have to go anywhere.  Easter has never been a big holiday with either of our families so we weren't disrupting major traditions by claiming it.  I also remember how much fun it was when grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would come over to OUR house when we were little and I want to give that same experience to our kids.  Through all this rambling, a tradition was born.  We host Easter.  Just a side note, the first year we hosted is actually when Rich and Linda met my mom and dad for the first time.

We open Easter up to whoever wants to join us and this year was our largest gathering yet!  We hosted 18 people!

To make the day even more special, it was Miss. Madelyn's first Easter.  It was also the first holiday I felt like she actually understood something was going on.  Obviously, she couldn't really participate but she was so tiny and Thanksgiving and Christmas she slept most of the time.

Onto the pictures!

Prep started a few days before Easter!



Nick helped me by ironing!  Thanks babe!

Ben painted some eggs - no dye this year!

And I made this beauty!  Many many layers of jello.

Before you know it, the Easter bunny had arrived!

Ben's goodies

Madelyn's goodies

Happy First Easter!

Ben and Madelyn - it's tough getting a picture of Ben with his eyes open

Then Nick made breakfast while I set up the tables.

Nick made pancakes on a stick.  He is obsessed with putting food on a stick.  I don't know why.

I opted for scattered, small tables vs. one big table.

And then we celebrated!

Yummy food!

Munchies and drinks were outside

Rocking her first pair of flip flops!

Madelyn's 6th Month

My sweet baby is 6 months old already.  I know I say this every month but it is killing me that she is growing up so fast.  This was a month of many milestones and lumping them all into one really makes me realize how time just slips away from you and before you know it, you've got a toddler on your hands.

Big Moments for Madelyn -

1. Rolling over - this girl can really get around!  We've started "baby proofing" some aspects of our house, ie: moved the fireplace tools to the basement and constantly keeping the basement door closed.  She seems to stay in the same room you start in but can definitely move around.  This as posed a challenge when it comes to combining baby drool, grabby hands and four pets with shedding coats.  I am constantly wiping her hands and face trying to keep the amount of pet hair ingested to a minimum.  Every diaper change turns into a mini wipedown before using the cloth wipe on her booty.  Madelyn is capable of rolling both directions and doesn't seem to favor one over the other.  However, once she's decided which way she's rolling on any particular jaunt across the floor, she can't seem to roll back which creates a problem once she gets to the various obstacles that are in her way.  Like I said, this seems to keep her at least contained to one room for the time being, so I am a-okay with it.

Right after her first roll - I'd show the video but true to form, Madelyn isn't wearing pants

2. Solid foods - me oh my, sweet potato pie, Madelyn loves solids!  We started about a week and a half before she hit the 6 month mark but she was exhibiting all the "signs of readiness" and I figured, why not.  We had been giving her raw carrots or peppers to chomp on in an effort to keep her entertained at the dinner table but her lack of teeth meant she wasn't ingesting any of it. 

Miss. Madelyn's first "real solid" was avocado on Cinco de Mayo.  I cut the avocado into strips which made it easier for her to grab but once she mushed it around and her hands got slippery she ended up smushing it all over her tray, face and belly.  Since then she's tried various fruits and veggies as I have made them for dinner.  I usually pull the food out of the big pot before salting and give her the unsalted portion.  Seeing as Nick and I have no food allergies and she hasn't had any issues with the fact that I haven't eliminated anything from my diet while she's breastfeeding, we aren't really following the "1 new food every week" rule.  She's not trying that many new foods at a time, and I figure if she were to have a reaction, we could reasonable figure out what caused it.

Her favorites seem to be sweet potatoes and she is pretty indifferent to bananas.

For now, we've been stripping Madelyn down to her diaper and feeding her in the bumbo because, man alive does she make a mess.  It is usually straight into the tub after eating, bumbo and all.  It's been working so far, but we may need a new strategy once she starts eating more than 1 meal a day.

3. Unassisted sitting - Madelyn managed to squeak this one in just a mere 2 day before hitting the 6 month mark.  She had decided late Saturday night that it was party time.  Nick brought the little lady into bed with us and she was sitting between us.  We figured the cushiness of the bed was cradling her slightly and allowing her to sit.  Once we woke up Sunday morning, she wasn't able to continue her skill on the floor but lo and behold, later that day she was sitting for 10 minutes or so all by herself.  Of all the milestones, this one makes me sad(ish).  It makes me realize how much she is growing, and truly separates her from "little baby" status.

Everything else around here seems to be status quo.  She's still breastfeeding and sleeping well.  Her hair is still out of control.  Madelyn still loves to share her opinions with us on a regular basis.

Overall, it's been a pretty fun month!