the blur

maddie has a new super hero name - "the blur". i have been having the most difficult time getting a picture of her lately! even with the action setting on the camera with rapid shutter speed a hand or something is a blur in the picture. not to mention the very sight of the camera sends her racing towards me to grab it. this was the best shot out of like 20 and even here the comb is blurry. please notice her new hairdo. i figured that it was appropriate for her overalls.

she has discovered that she can stand on her own. she has been testing this ability off and on for the past day or two. it sort of surprises her at first and then she gets excited and sits down to come get me. she will take a step here and there, from the coffee table to the couch, from the coffee table to me, etc. but no major walking yet. i think that she will be there within the next month, but we'll see.

she also took her climbing to the next level today - literally! she used her entertainment/activity table to climb herself up onto the ottoman. she was so proud of herself and kept clapping and squealing. she was even able to back herself off feet first without falling!

as promised here is some video of her intentionally shaking the water out of her sippy cup. if i give her the sign for "drink" she will stop and drink it instead - or if not, the cup goes away.



we take matt to the airport tomorrow morning so it will just be us girls until saturday night when matt gets home. and then nana (matt's mom) is getting here on sunday. so while i will be busy over the next few days, my nights will be free so i shouldn't miss many posts. thanks to all of you who read about maddie's day-to-day activites. love.

quick tricks

i only have a few minutes tonight because i need to continue preparing for my work week. matt was nice enough to help me out by watching maddie for a few hours this afternoon so that i could spend some time in my office - alone.

madelyn has taught herself two new tricks today. first, she has learned how to lay herself down slowly on her back. its like a really slow reverse sit up. and then she just lays on her back for a minute as if enjoying a job well done. its the only time in a long time that i have seen her lay so still while on her back without being asleep (and even then she never really stayed on her back for very long).

next, she has learned how to make it 'rain' in her highchair. we don't use spill-proof cups while at home, just the old school snap on sippy lids. well maddie has learned that if she lifts her cup towards her head quickly she can make the water splash out and fall like rain. what's even funnier is that she tilts her head down and closes her eyes when she does it so that it doesn't get in her eyes. at least it is only water...

okay. i have to run now. i am trying to come up with some more interesting topics/themes for my entries this week since i feel that my writing has lost its enthusiasm over the past couple of weeks. until tomorrow. love.

so how's this thing work any way?

one of the things i enjoy most about madelyn is that she is so inquisitive. it is just part of her active nature - she wants to see and do everything. if she can reach it she wants to touch it, hold it, taste it, climb over it, climb on it, etc.

although, it does have it's downsides too. for instance she was standing near my printer and like a ninja reached out and pulled a cord loose inside it so that it doesn't work any more! i think i have come up with a way to fix it, but still. she definitely keeps me on my toes!

sometimes she is so serious when we are out and about because she is concentrating so hard on everything going on around her. she is so happy and excited while playing, but when out and about (and strapped down) she isn't always as free with her smiles.

not to say that she doesn't smile and carry-on, believe me she giggles and screams just not always on demand. love.

shape sorter fun

i was telling matt about how i built a tower out of maddie's shape sorter blocks today and she thought that it was really funny. i don't know why she thought that it was funny, but she did. she would giggle while i was stacking the blocks but then had no reaction when the fell (which is when most kids laugh). matt and i tried stacking the blocks to make her laugh after dinner tonight. that didn't work. so matt was just playing with the round ones getting them to pop up in the air and one hit maddie. well that was hysterical! she liked it when they hit her. here is a little video towards the end of our fun so she was starting to loose steam from laughing so long. love.

higher and higher

madelyn continues her training for mount everest by finding new ways to climb higher and higher. (matt is just off camera so don't worry about her falling. by the way she didn't fall, she got herself down safe and sound.) she tried to climb even higher after the picture, but couldn't get her foot to the window.

she has also realized that she can reach the water/ice dispenser part of the refrigerator. luckily she isn't quite tall enough to reach the controls - yet.

since she has learned that she can't open the fireplace doors, she looks for other ways that she can interact with the fireplace. today she tried scratching, climbing (pulling up on), and biting the stones. i think that she really loves the texture and cool feeling of the fireplace stones. i did add a blanket to cover the corners so that we don't have any more bloodshed. although, really, with madelyn i have the feeling there will be more in my future!

speaking of bloodshed... as you can see, even with her busted lip, madelyn is still a "pretty girl". she had a great night's sleep and a really great day! i was able to get a lot of work done because she is learning not to touch the things in my office that she shouldn't. plus, she played nicely in her crib while i had a video conference this afternoon. i was actually surprised that she did so well. this was the longest that she played in her crib without crying about being alone (and contained).

what can i say? madelyn was so good to me today! love.

fat lip

just as i was about to complete my post today, madelyn did a nose dive (or rather a mouth dive) trying to climb over a container in the basement office. opps! that lead to some tears, blood, and one swollen upper lip.

all is well now, but she was not a happy girl...

i have to run to an hoa meeting now. i am very late! love.

new skills

madelyn has a few new skills since my last post. the first is captured in this video.

yes, she can open the fireplace doors now. luckily she hadn't gotten into the ash (until today that is). if i tell her "no" when she grabs a handle she will slowly let go and move on to something else.

Here is a list of her other new skills:

1. turning in a circle - she figured out how to turn herself in a circle over and over as a way to move across the room on sunday. she really thought that it was funny. and kept doing it again and again. she would basically sit, turn to crawl, and sit again - or something like that.

2. climbing over and under the same object - her climbing is getting a little out of control. she will not crawl under one side of a chair and then over the other side. or she got stuck with her hands and feet off the ground trying to climb over a shelf, under a little table. but she was able to get herself unstuck without getting too upset about it.

3. palming a volleyball - okay so the ball is about a third the size of a real ball, but still. she has taken a real interest in rolling balls lately. it started when we went to the "lotsa fun room" on friday with the ball pit and an oversized exercise ball they had. the video doesn't really show how well she can palm her volleyball because it doesn't usually take her so many tries. (she is also holding one of the newest items in her box of kitchen wares - the wisk. again, she likes to watch it roll and the rubber handle is a gum pleaser.




4. holding things in both hands - she really takes more of an interest in what she is holding and will hold something while she is crawling (instead of just carrying it in her mouth). she also likes to bang both objects together for extra noise and fun.

she is definitely a handful! and a new napping pattern has immerged. she now takes one nap from 10 - 1 and maybe a small half-hour nap at 3. this has made for a cranky girl at the end of the day and an earlier bedtime. she has been so ready for bed that she just folds over in my lap and starts sucking her thumb, no books and no nursing. i have to remind her to eat before going to sleep for the night! i guess it is just the nap transition.

one last note. i always jokingly call her "giant baby" but when i went to the doctor on monday he asked how old she was. when i said 8 months he did a double take and asked how tall her dad is because he was going to guess that she was 15 months! love.