one year!

Madeleine you are one whole year now!  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by or how much you have changed and grown.  It is truly amazing!

You are such a big helper this month and love to do anything we do!

You are talking SO much this month.  You say keys, hi (with a wave), shoes, hot, car, cheese, teeth, cat, and a lot of other words I am sure I am missing.  Sometimes you say really important things in your own language and then we piece them together to what it sounded like in English. You are getting so good at mimicking animal sounds and this is a game we play to keep you from crying in your car seat.   I remember playing this same game when I was a little girl in the car with my parents:)

This month you continue to eat anything and everything but our favorite meal had to be spaghetti.  Our favorite meal, not our favorite cleanup.  We literally have to sweep and mop every time you eat!  Manners will come later:)  You also love mac and cheese, beans, PB&J's, and cookies and crackers which you can say. You also like to drink from a straw these days.

The other day I put on my fleece and you got all excited and said 'tickle, tickle, tickle.' So I picked you up and you LOVED how soft my fleece was.  You burrowed into it over and over.  You do this now whenever we have a soft blanket or jacket around so I can't wait to cuddle with you all winter!!

Something that has tickled me and your dad lately is how you sleep with your legs crossed and butt in the air at night.  Every time we check on you before bed, you are always the same.  So sweet!!

You still love to be outside and this month you like driving the car!  Whenever we get you out of the car seat you say "CAR" really loud and reach for the front seat.  I leave you there when I put the stroller up or unload groceries.  You love turning on the wipers and blinkers and waving to us from inside.

You had your 1 year check up and got four shots:(  You weigh 23lb 4oz and are 28 1/4 inches long.  You started walking 3 days after your 1st birthday and this is the cutest thing to watch because you are SO proud of yourself.  What a big girl you have become, but your are still our little baby!  Happy birthday Madeleine, we love you!!!

ten months

This month you are on the go Madeleine. You have gotten so good at crawling and we love when you have your mind set on getting somewhere because you go super fast.  The sound of your pitter patter is the best! The baby gate is officially up because you love to climb the stairs!  You love to climb anything really, through chairs, up the couch, onto tables.  

  

Summer has been so fun with you little water baby!  We play in your splash pad, grams and pops' pool, and sometimes even the kitchen sink:)

This month we took you to the beach for the 1st time and you ate it up, literally.  You tasted the sand a few times and while you didn't like the taste so much you didn't mind it getting all over you.  You loved crawling all around and picking up things you would discover along the way.  We were there for a while before you looked up and noticed the water.  You crawled right into the waves and splashed around.  Dad took you out and you loved jumping over the white caps:)

 

Another first this month was the zoo!  We went for a morning and you loved looking at all the animals, especially the monkeys.   These days you are starting to mimic animal sounds with us and you have said moo, cock a doodle doo, and even roared.

You have really begun to communicate with us more.  You say bye bye and wave, you clap your hands, and you blow kisses. You even shake your head 'no' although sometimes this is your way of flirting:)  Your voice is the sweetest sound and I love hearing it during our talks.  I especially melt when you say mama..

You are eating pretty good and this month we gave you cheerios for the first time, such a classic baby snack.  Your two front teeth came in so you can really crunch them good.  You also like ice water, yogurt, and whatever we're eating. When you sit in your high chair you like to prop one foot up on the side which you get from your dad. He always puts one foot in another chair.  Whenever you eat in your bumbo chair you tap your feet when you are ready for more.

This month you are wearing size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes.  Your eyes are still blue and you blonde hair is getting so long you can even wear tiny barrettes now.  You are so smart, so fun, and we love you so much sweet girl.  Happy 10 months!

how do baby's have so much STUFF?

I've had a few people ask me about Madeleine's closet and how I have her things organized, so here is a little tid bit about organizing the baby and the million things they accumulate.

Her closet has a top shelf that is hard to get to so I bought two large bins and I store our back up inventory of diapers and extra blankets in them.

Her dirty clothes hamper matches the bins and sits on the floor under the 'long hang' rod since her clothes are so tiny and we have a lot of space there.  I also have a smaller hamper for her downstairs so I don't have to treck up to her room every time she soils something.  Another perk about her short, tiny clothes, is the extra space under her double rods.  I keep her pack and play and suitcase on the floor there.

I also purchased a hanging shoe organizer and four bins, all in a linen finish.  The bins hold bloomers, hats, burp cloths and extras (back up wipes, disposable changing pads, place mats, diaper genie refills, etc).  These will be great bins for her to grow into as they can easily change to hold bows, headbands, tights, and other goodies.

I registered for baby hangers and ended up hanging a lot of her clothes.  I bought these cool hanging dividers to keep her clothes sectioned off by age/size.  This has been extremely helpful because I know exactly where I can pull from for her size at the moment.

Over the door I hung a trio of hooks that hold her little tote bags and over night duffles.

There is a whole blank wall on the left side that I envision putting cool  mirrors on, and maybe a shelf or two for little nick knacks. But I will wait until she is older.  I would also love to paint the closet to match the bedroom.  I just loved how it felt to paint our pantry so I want to eventually paint all of our closets:)

nine months

What a busy month!  We celebrated our first mother's day together, you were a flower girl in Carly and James' wedding, and daddy graduated.  You have been such a trooper at all these big events; napping in the car, eating your dinner in our laps, and being held by just about anyone.  It is so fun to take you everywhere with us!!

You have been on the go ever since you started to crawl.  You love to go really fast and you follow me everywhere!  After your bath you love to crawl around naked and we chase you into all the upstairs rooms.  You have started to pull up on everything, including my legs, and you have shown a little interest in climbing the stairs.  You really like to pull up on the window sill and look outside.

Speaking of outside, you love it, mostly because you like to dig in the dirt and eat leaves and rocks.  You usually get dirt in your tiny nails and I have so much trouble getting them clean.  We have been going on weekly walks with Becky and Patrick and Leslie, Daniel and Lily which you have really enjoyed.  Whenever we walk around the neighborhood you love to see animals, especially puppies which you get really serious about and squeal at.

I think you are for sure a water baby!  We set up your baby pool in the yard and you played for hours.  You help us water the plants and like to feel the hose water with your fingers. You play in the sink when I do dishes. And you went to the pool for the first time and you loved splashing around in the cold water.  You got your first boo boo crawling around the pool and scraped your big toe.  You didn't even cry!!  I feel sad for you but your tiny bandaid is pretty precious:)

You continue to 'talk' all the time and this month you have been saying "golly, golly, golly" and clicking your tongue.  You have been going through a shy phase where you tilt your head way to the side and blush at people...it's so adorable!  This month you learned to give us kisses which I'm sure we annoy you with how many kisses we want now. Sorry I'm not sorry.

You are still eating really good and have moved on to a few table foods like mashed potatoes, chicken, turkey, green beans, bread, and black beans.  Anything we are eating you just have to have.  You are such a big girl now and feed yourself a bottle when we prop you up on a pillow.  Sometimes you are too distracted and can't stay still enough for this.

Sleeping is still going well and you have learned to lay back down after sitting up. We had to lower the crib because you can pull up now and we need to work on laying back down after standing.  The other night you were very stubborn and wouldn't lay down and literally fell asleep standing up.  It was the funniest thing!  I went in and layed you down and you didn't even stir.  In the morning, we bring you in bed with us to have your bottle while we have coffee and a lot of times you and I will go back to sleep and cuddle.  I'm guessing you will like to sleep in like me but sometimes you are a morning person with daddy.

At nine months you weigh 19 lbs 7 oz, are 26 3/4 inches, wear size 3 diapers, and size 12 month clothes.  Your eyes are blue and your hair is still blonde.  We love you sweet girl!!

Happy nine months!