Maddie's First Teeth and Other News

Friday, March 22, 2013

Maddie and I are having a really nice day today! I should actually revise that statement to say that we are having a nice week.  Madelynn has just been a pure joy: just  a sweet, wonderful, happy baby despite the fact that she (drum roll, please!) got her first two teeth! The two bottom front teeth have emerged, the first one coming through on March 20, the first day of spring and my grandma Manley’s 83^rd birthday, and the second coming through last night.  They are small, so difficult to see, but they are definitely through the gums.

Maddie is ready for spring!

Teething….sigh….making nights very difficult.  We are having a tough time keeping Maddie asleep at night. She wakes up, we rock her back to sleep and she either reawakens upon hitting her mattress or else sleeps for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and then reawakens.  It has been difficult on Phil and me, but knowing it is because she is hurting makes it easier for me to get up to comfort her. 

Today, has been great! Maddie went down for her nap at 10:45 and slept her usual 45 minutes.  She woke and was babbling in her bed and then drifted back off to sleep on her own.  She slept for a total of 2 ½ hours, giving me time to clean, eat lunch, run my 5 miles, shower, straighten my hair, make some coffee and eat some chocolate pudding.  Then, Maddie woke up and she was beaming with happiness.  We played sitting up, standing up, laying down and did some tummy time before she got sleepy again.

When she wakes up, we’ll probably take a trip out of the house since we got our car back on Wednesday.  YAY! Can you believe that those demon squirrels cost $3,500 worth of damage?!?! But, the car is good as new and back in our possession, so Maddie and I don’t feel quite like caged animals anymore.  Plus, we got to spend a half a day with Phil on Wednesday since he took off work to drive us to pick up the car. 

Grandpa came to visit us this week and we had dinner together.  It was really nice to have the company.  We love you, Grandpa! 

Maddie is still working on her crawling skills, but is far from it.  She is sitting for really long periods of time and I think she is starting to figure out how to go from sitting to leaning forward to get into the crawling/tummy time position.  She’s babbling a lot more and I heard a distinct “mom” over the monitor one day last week. 

I'm sad it came out blurry, but this is a picture of Maddie hugging her toy, Violet.  She loves clapping along to the music she plays. 

We have started giving Maddie more foods, too.  We have discovered that she loves pureed meatballs and chicken pot pie.  We also gave her a big piece of banana yesterday for her to hold onto and eat herself.  A friend mentioned that she is doing this with her 7 month old, so I decided to give it a shot and suck up my “oh-no!-my-baby-is-going-to-choke” fears.  Maddie did great, although it was hard for her hands to keep a grip on the slippery banana.  She took bite-sized chunks right out of it and mashed it with her gums before swallowing.  She also successfully picked up some puffs and put them in her mouth! She is really advancing with those fine motor skills.  My little peanut is growing up!

Baking updates: I made pretzels and they were amazing!

Topped with cinnamon sugar, salt, cheddar and parmesan, and sesame seeds.  

Running updates: I have upped my mileage to 5 miles now at a 2% incline and 6.3 speed.  I am feeling strong and excited to get outside with the running stroller.  Hopefully next month!

Gardening updates: I planted my seeds last Thursday, March 14 and we have sprouts already! The zucchini are really big, the cucumbers are right behind them and the peppers and tomatoes are popping through the soil, too.  Still waiting on the impatiens to show themselves, but I am sure we we’ll see some green in those pods soon enough. 

My zucchini growing up strong! 

Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Peppers! 

Bible Memorization Updates: I am so thrilled to say that I am almost done with memorizing Titus 3.  I have 4 more verses left and then I will have completely memorized the whole book of Titus: all 46 verses! I am so grateful to God for carrying me through this process.  I hit a rough patch at one point and was having a difficult time getting through some of the verses. It really de-motivated me. But, with some prayer and by God’s grace, I have reemerged and am now almost done.  Next time you see me, feel free to challenge me to recite the book. 

Plumbing updates: My husband is amazing and fixed our two wobbly toilets last weekend.  He took them up from the floor and reset/installed both of them. This man has some mad skills.  Boy, do I adore him. 

I’m looking forward to this weekend.  I’ll be going out with my friends tomorrow night to celebrate my birthday and Phil and Maddie are going to have some Daddy-daughter time together.  Sunday will be an all-day family day. I’m so happy we don’t have anything planned.  Then….AH! I will be 29 on Monday.  I guess mommy is growing up, too.  ;)

Have a great weekend, everyone!