Birthday Update: Six Months!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
4 month Deets: 14lbs 2oz, 24.8 inches
Height: 26.5 inches
Weight: 16lbs 7oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, Bay, babydoll, Little Wee, Silly Wee, Mads
Exciting Events: This month was really busy!  Besides marking half a year on this earth, Miss M was baptized, took a trip to Michigan and celebrated her very first Christmas!   While in Michigan, she met quite a few relatives for the first time – including great grandma and grandpa K!  She celebrated Christmas and loved opening presents.  Well… she really loved the wrapping paper that she tried to chew on.  She was blessed with way too many toys and more clothes than she can ever possibly wear in the upcoming months – but she will for sure try! It was a whirlwind week long trip and she left with her very first cold… that part wasn’t quite so fun or exciting.  I will say that Nosefrida The Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator was a complete and total lifesaver! Yes, there is a gross out factor involved but really, those little bulb suckers did nothing to help and this allowed her to breathe.  Maddie also took her first bites of real food this month… she’s not too keen on that quite yet though.  So far she’s tried avocadoes, bananas, and homemade applesauce.  Applesauce is her favorite by far!  She usually has 3-5 spoons and is done so her diet really hasn’t expanded past breastmilk all that much but we will be trying out more foods in the coming weeks!
What She Does: Miss M is an experienced sitter now!  She loves to sit and play on the floor and only occasionally topples to one side or the other while reaching for an object. She also loves to stand and will lean against items like footstools or the back of the couch and stand on her own for small stretches of time. She will even take steps across the room while we hold her arms!  Her toes are an endless source of entertainment and more often than not end up in her mouth – totally gross – and socks never last more than a few minutes at a time.  Yes, you can follow us around the grocery store by following the trail of baby socks!  Maddie loves music, and we have found that the piano and drum apps on our tablets are a fun distraction once in a while.  She still has no teeth but she acts like she's teething… oh joy!  She loves chewing on a sippy cup when her teeth really start to bother her.  So far she hasn’t really learned how to drink from the sippy cups but she does get some baby water out on her shirt!

To My Daughter on Her Half Birthday

To my dear sweet daughter....

Today is your six month birthday. I can't believe how much you've grown in such a short amount of time!

Six months ago you were a tiny ball of sleepy jello. You struggled to peep your eyes open at me and could do little more than cry and flail your arms about. I was amazed by your tiny little everything.

But today... Today we played on the floor. You were sitting up and reaching for toys all on your own. You were laughing and smiling and babbling at me.  You hammed it up for my camera and tried to take your own "selfies". You reacted to squeaks and rattles and got excited when we read Peek-a-boo Forest. You stood and walked toward me while hanging on to my fingers.

I'm in awe of the things you've learned in such a short time. Of the strength you have in your tiny little limbs. And most of all, of your ever growing personality. 

I am so lucky to be your mom. I am privileged to watch you grow and learn. I am excited to know that I get to help you discover this world.

You amaze me each and every day and I am so thankful for you, my perfect, precious gift from above.

Happy 6 month birthday my sweet Maddie-me. Mommy loves you so very much!
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Birthday Update: Five Months!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
4 month Deets: 14lbs 2oz, 24.8 inches
Height: ? (next appt 6mo)
Weight: ? (next appt 6mo)
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, Bay, babydoll, Little Wee
Exciting Events: The very first Thanksgiving!! Little Miss attended a small gathering with her mom and dad at grandpa and grandma’s house because a snow and ice storm made the roads getting down from the mountain a bit too treacherous!   Santa came a little early to her house and left her an exersaucer '>(this one!).  She loves it!  Good thing Santa came early because this little contraption is a lifesaver when mommy needs to get things done! We also celebrated daddy’s 40th birthday with a cake we made. 
What She Does: She’s taken to waking up once during the night, generally around 3-4am since mommy started back to work.  That allows us 5-6 hours solid sleep and then a short 1-2hr nap before we wake up… guess that’s not too shabby?  We are waiting until 6months to start solids so for now, mommy will settle with waking just once a night. We hear that many EBF babies continue waking every 2hours and I definitely couldn’t do it! 

We are also still waiting for that first tooth to finally pop.  Poor thing has a chapped chin from all the drooling.  Its seemed to have stepped up a notch in the past few days so we are hopeful the tiny white monster will show soon.  And for those thinking EBF and teeth don’t mix… well she’s already bit because of the teething… not fun!  Miss Maddie is now able to sit unassisted for quite a few seconds!  She generally assumes a tripod like position when she does this but is getting better at balancing every day.  She grabs at most anything and attempts to put it in her mouth even if that thing is twice the size of her head.  Her current favorite toys are an octopus that grandma made out of a ping pong ball and some cotton yarn and an elephant that has 2 different fabrics, a bell inside and crinkly ears. She loves to nap with her '>angel dear owl blankie.  She laughs and squeals and says “mom” and “momma” quite frequently and although she hasn’t picked up on “dada” yet she did say “ohh bah mah” the other day!  Did I give birth to a tiny Dem? I guess only time will tell!

Birthday Update: Four Months!

Ok so this is a few days after Miss M’s birthday but I wanted to wait until after our doctor appointment today!  See? I didn’t forget you all!  So what has little miss been up to?

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
2month Deets: 11lbs 13oz, 23.5 inches
Height: 24.8 inches
Weight: 14lbs 2oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, Bay, babydoll
Exciting Events: Miss M had her very first Halloween!  She went dressed as a zebra one day and a ballerina the next and came home with a very impressive haul for mommy and daddy! Lots of suckers in that haul but hey, we aren’t complaining!  She also went on a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN and ate at Joe’s Crab Shack… well mommy and daddy did.  And probably the biggest thing that happened is… mommy went back to work and little miss is playing with her Grandparents 3 days a week.  More on that…
What She Does: She’s still no longer sleeping through the night and mommy is sleep deprived some nights are a bit rough. Ok, we’ve had it easy up until now and have stocked up on solid 6+ hour stretches of sleep since she was about 6 weeks old but they aren’t kidding when they talk about the Four Month Wakeful Period! She is back to waking up 2-3 times a night for the past couple weeks.  She still prefers standing over sitting, however, she is now able to sit up unassisted for perhaps 5-10 seconds before her noggin topples her over.  We shall soon have a sitter on our hands folks! She always has her hands in her mouth and the drooling is positively disgusting.  Yes, we think she’s working on those little teefers in there!  She will still talk your ear off and this month we have had the joy of hearing her laughing.  It is perhaps the best of her sounds so far.  We hear it most often when she is being tickled or when we are dancing and singing the “no pants dance” or “all the single babies”… songs mommy made up for Maddie’s silly pleasure. She also now cries for me by name… “mama…waaaaahhh….mama…waaaahhhh…mama….” oh joy! 

Birthday Update: Three Months!

Birth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
Prior Month Deets: 11lbs 13oz, 23.5 inches
Height: ? No doctor’s appointment this month!
Weight: ? No doctor’s appointment this month!
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, kiddo widdo, babydoll
Exciting Events: Let’s see… Miss M met her great grandpa S!  He came down with Grammy and Grampy K specifically to meet Miss Madeline.  If you remember a while back he was quite sick and had been in the hospital most of this year.  It was so great to see him looking so well!  

Also?  Mommy and daddy celebrated their FIRST wedding anniversary! To celebrate we took a trip to Maddie’s very first zoo – in Knoxville - and she spent the night in her very first hotel room! She also saw a bit of Knoxville and ate some PF Changs!
What She Does: She’s still sleeping through the night and we couldn’t be happier with that!  She still prefers standing over sitting and is getting less wobbly at it every day. She holds her upper body up when you carry her but can only sit up by herself for about a second before tipping under the weight of her noggin.  She’s also starting to notice her hands and feet and just the other day tried grabbing her toes with a puzzled look on her face. She’s been talking (cooing) up a storm and has recently started shrieking like a velociraptor.  I swear I’ve heard her say “mama” a few times but never with a witness… until TODAY!  Today she said “MOM” very clearly while I was on the phone with the hubs! He even paused and said “Did she just say mom?!” Yup! My daughter is clearly an intelligence of genius proportions as well as a dollface. 

Happy birthday baby girl… Mommy and Daddy feel so blessed to have you with us!