Bittersweet

Thanks to Martin Luther King Day, I got a whole day to spend at home with Madeline. She decided to take this opportunity to start walking! I was sitting on the floor, talking to a friend, watching her play. The next thing I know she's walking across the room towards me! As soon as she got in front of me, she proceeded to projectile vomit all over me! I don't know if it was all the excitement or what, but it appears she has avoided the deathly illness that Brad and I had this past week. I'm pretty much out of sick time at work, so praying for health.....

Today I spent some time planning Madeline's birthday parties (one in Wooster, one in Fishers). How is that even possible??????????

Good, bad or otherwise, her toddler personality is starting to emerge. For the most part, she is happy and curious and stays busy playing and exploring. But if she doesn't want to do something (ie: diaper changes, putting on shoes, getting strapped into the car), WATCH OUT! She can already throw quite the temper tantrum. I honestly don't know where she gets all this strong willed stuff from :) I don't have exact measurements, but I feel pretty confident that she has gotten quite a bit taller and is really starting to thin out. We're at 4 teeth currently, but I see a couple ready to bust through at any moment. She has an absolutely voracious appetite and eats everything put in front of her. I really feel her communication has stepped it up quite a bit in the last few weeks. She can say ball and dog and seems to understand a lot more of what we're saying. She is now standing all by herself and can take a few steps at a time unassisted. She'll probably be running circles around us by the time her birthday gets here. Thankfully all of us have been pretty healthy lately. Praying it stays that way!

Holidays

We were very blessed to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with both sides of the family at the same table! Madeline is a huge fan of Grandpa Webb's holiday cooking and she probably ate as much or more than I did. I am glad she got to spend a lot of time with the various aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents., as well as many other family members we haven't seen all year. As Uncle Matt said, now that she's not so breakable, she's pretty fun!

As part of our holiday festivities we got to have breakfast with Santa. While Maddie was very interested in Santa, she was not a fan of actually sitting with him. And for the record, if you have issues with Santa, please keep them to yourself. I promise Maddie won't be in therapy or not believe in Jesus just because she sat on Santa's lap.

We also got to take her to the Christmas Eve service at Ripley. She was enthralled with the music, but otherwise quite squirmy and talkative. Everyone keeps asking what she got for Christmas. The short answer is EVERYTHING! Spoiled rotten doesn't even begin to describe it. The good news is that we will have lots of fun backyard stuff to do this summer. Here is a picture of Madeline with her new baby stroller.

Bottom line: we had a wonderful time celebrating our Saviour's birth with our loved ones!

New Year's Resolution

To be a better blogger!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, which is really sad because a lot has happened! The holiday season was crazy busy and a lot of fun, but with all the travel and house guests, it's been hard to get in front of the computer. I will post Madeline updates and pictures as soon as possible. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and New Year's!

9 Month Check Up

Madeline is now 27.5 inches long and 16.5 pounds. This puts her in the 50th percentile for length and 13th percentile for weight. Still a peanut. This week she got her first top tooth! On top of the teething fun (sarcasm), she managed to get parvovirus, roseola, and two nasty ear infections, all within this week. Yay for daycare in winter! Other than that, she was pronounced healthy, happy, and developmentally sound. We also pronounced her adorable.

A Busy Little Girl

Malachi and Madeline on neighborhood watch.

I know, I know, yet another long stretch with no updates! We're a very busy family, especially now that the tornado named Madeline is sweeping through our house on a daily basis. She is in to EVERYTHING. She is cruising around the furniture and trying so hard to stand on her own. She is mastering the art of walking behind her scooter as well. She definitely needs some more leg stability before she'll be on her own (which is ok by me!).

Right at 8 months her two bottom teeth popped out, which is pretty darn cute. Her top two are busting through as we speak. She is eating meals off of our plates and drinking from her own cup. She'd be so grown up if she weren't so tiny! If you meet Madeline in the near future, don't be offended if she starts bawling upon making eye contact. She has developed a charming case of stranger anxiety that applies to friends, neighbors, and grandparents. Hey when your parents are this cool, why would you want to hang out with anyone else?

Halloween

Madeline had a blast with Halloween this year. We participated in our church's Trunk or Treat last weekend. As you can see from the pictures, we decided to forgo the run of the mill costumes and trying something a little more unique. Madeline actually sat in that pot for over an hour and let Brad carry her around in it! She would crouch down so that the only part you could see where her claws. Then she'd pop up and giggle. On Halloween we just passed out candy at our house and let her check out the trick or treaters (Note to self: teach her more manners than the rest of those kids...) Next year should be so fun when she can actually trick or treat herself!