"ba" (read "ball")

madelyn has started saying and signing "ball" when matt reads to her at night. anytime she sees a ball in a book she gets excited saying "ba" and signing it. she has also begun to do the same with balls in real life too. she has been able to follow requests to "get the ball" for a while now, but it is really exciting to see her say/sign it. matt was excited because he would only do it for him at first because when i come in she is only interested in her last feed of the day.

speaking of her last feed of the day... she has started to cheer when i come into her room at night! i might even try to get it on video tomorrow - if i can remember. this is how it goes. matt does bath time, brushes her teeth, gets her ready for bed, and then reads to her until he or she can't take one more book. then maddie gets to signing for milk and matt calls me in to finish her bedtime routine. the past couple of nights she has been doing the cheering and practically leaps off matt's lap trying to get to me. and if i am to slow she turns around to climb down out of the chair so that she can get to me sooner. i don't think that she could be any happier to see me - ever.

and, yes, she is still nursing. i almost have her totally on whole milk during the day, but she nurses in the morning and before bed. her getting sick was actually great for helping her wean. but now that she is feeling better its as if she has just realized that she isn't nursing during the day. i guess it must be that we have had a few warmer days and i am not totally covered up from the neck down. she will be going to town on her milk cup, but then will look up at me and you can see the idea pop in her head of "hey, what's going on here?!" and she doesn't mess around drinking out of her cup either. she puts away anywhere from 5 - 14 ounces at a time! usually it is 7 - 10 ounces.

keep reading to hear about maddie's adventures in chicago, at a brewer's game, and on a return trip to the zoo. love.