June 25th

Dear Madison,

I've been meaning to post something on here for months. You are now 9 1/2 months old. I can't believe how close you are to turning one!

We've finally moved to Ohio. I think you are adjusted to our new home now. You didn't hesitate to REALLY start crawling the first day we got here. (The 24th of May). I guess you decided there was plenty of open space, so you got up on those knees and moved yourself around. Before that you were doing the belly crawl!

We left SC the 23rd of May after Dwight got out of school. I was so sad to leave I couldn't help but cry. Our house held so many wonderful memories. I thought about the Poker Nights we shared with our family and friends, the day I brought you home from the hospital and how my mom slept on the full-sized bed in your room. I thought about the walls we had to sand down and paint in your room and how beautifully it turned out after all. There were so many memories in that house. It's the first time I've ever lived somewhere and wished I could stay!

The first couple of nights after leaving SC you didn't sleep too well. We stopped at your Aunt Tina's in TN the first night. It was the half-way point between SC and our new home. That was when I discovered you were saying more than just Mama and Dada.

You saw Aunt Tina's cute little puppy and kept saying, Dah!

"I think she's saying dog." Tina told me.

Sure enough, that's exactly what you were saying! That's when I started paying more attention to what you were saying.

I'm sure it was strange not sleeping in the room you've been used to sleeping in for the entire 8 months of your life. You were especially clingy once we got to our new home. I felt so bad and wished I could explain to you what was all going on. We all miss our home in South Carolina!

The day after you were crawling, you started to say "no, no!" It WAS so cute and funny. You would look at your brothers, shake your fingers and say, "nah, nah!" to them. They just giggled and laughed at you. Don't worry, they very rarely take me seriously either!

Since then, you've learned how to say, "Bite,Ibuh!), Nurse, (Nuh!), all done, (sometimes it's just done, as in "duh!" but other times you say all "ah" too). You can say stop and stop it, Bubba, you try to say Donavan, you say Hannah very easily (the first time you said it I was calling her and you decided to mimick me, raising your voice and everything!). You also say Fox, (fah), up, and bye bye. You even started waving (I think last week) by shaking your hand up and down.

So needless to say, you've reached many many milestones. You're about to get your first tooth (bottom right). It's just surfacing and should break through any day now. Until then you'll continue to need mommy a lot! Oh yes, and you LOVE Graeter's icecream - Rasberry Chip. Yum!

Six Month Pics

Dear Madison,

Today your Aunt Tina, cousin, and I took you to have your six month pics taken. I can't wait for them to be uploaded to the internet so I can post them on here! The photographer was absolutely awesome and you were just perfect. You smiled for every pose.

Needless to say, I spent a LOT of money. She took over 22 shots, and I bought about 70 sheets. Thank God I had a coupon because I spent over $300.

Today you hit another milestone. You said, Da-da! Of course, the first time you said it was in bed when Daddy was talking to you and he got to hear it. He was so excited. You also started saying "blah blah blah" yesterday. I guess you decided it was time to start sharing your thoughts with us!

We started feeding you baby food at about 5 1/2 weeks and you LOVE to eat. You will eat anything and every time you take a bite you say, MmmmmMMMMmmmmmM! Tonight your cousin Alexis fed you peaches for the first time and you were so loud eating them! MMMMM! You gobbled them right up!

I can't believe you will soon be crawling, and I think you are starting to feel the first irriations of teething. You've been biting on everything and chomping on your gums. I keep dreaming that that first tooth appears but so far, nothing. Poor baby!

Anyway, I started a post on your six month birthday, but life has been crazy. We are about to move from the Carolinas to Ohio. I'm going to miss it here. So many memories, your birth being the best.

I love you, beautiful Baby.

Love,
Mom

Another Milestone Already?

Madison is about to hit a new milestone. She has been biting me when I nurse her! Thank God she doesn't have teeth because she is already hurting me with just bare gums! She started this thing where she likes to drink a couple gulps and then lean waaaaaaay back, arching her back so far back that she has the top of her head on the couch, as if she's standing on her head, and then bends her hands all the way back too. She keeps leaning back for a few seconds and then she's ready for me to pull her back into nursing position.

Since Madison got an ear infection and was prescribed antibiotics on Monday evening, she's really shown she's ready to eat. The first night she was disgusted and kept spitting out her medicine. By Wednesday, she was sucking it down and actually cried on two occasions when the medicine was "all gone!" She wanted more!

Last night as we sat as a family to eat, she wanted to eat too! She actually threw a fit because she wanted a bite of my food and reached for my plate. I mashed up a tiny bit of greenbeans and put it on her tongue and she chewed (gummed) it right up and swallowed it making a "mummm, mum, yum" sound while eating. It was so funny. Then she cried for more.

So, Daddy went to the store tonight and bought some rice cereal. We'll let her have her first bowl tomorrow. I can't believe she's already ready for baby food. It should be fun!

Almost Five Months Old!

After reading my last post, it makes more sense now. Madison broke out in a rash about a week after her shots. I think it was Roseola because for a few days she seemed to have a fever. By the time I made an appointment with the Dr. the rash started to fade (of course, the day OF the appointment it was almost completely gone so I cancelled).

Yesterday Madison got to experience her first snow. I didn't take her out in it, but I brought a handful of snow in and let her touch it. She wasn't quite sure what to think about that!

She is growing up so fast. She rolls over like a pro and wants to crawl so bad. She ends up in a kicking fury! She now likes to shake things, her key set, her rattle, her pacifier. In fact, I think she started shaking things today.

Today she also started the fake coughing. It was so funny. Her big sister was responding to it, so she just kept going in order to get her attention. She thought it was hilarious. Gosh, is she really old enough to be doing this?

My little baby is growing up so fast. It makes me sad. Seems just like yesterday she was this tiny little sleeping newborn and now she laughs, plays, interacts, fusses, and has completely outgrown her 0-3 month clothes! I'm trying so hard to enjoy every moment, but that only makes time fly by faster. I wish there was a way to slow down time. I love her so much. I'm going to miss having a baby soon enough!

Happy New Year, Madison

You are getting so good at picking things up, especially your pacifier. You even get it back in your mouth sometimes! You can roll from your tummy to your back like a pro and are sooooo close to rolling from your back to your tummy. You try so hard!

Tonight is your first New Year's Celebration. We prefer to stay at home for New Years. The idea of surrounding myself with a bunch of drunk idiots just doesn't sound like fun when I can celebrate with my children in the safety of my own home. I must be getting old! Seriously though, I just feel that when I have children to come home to, some things just aren't worth risking, and there really is no telling who might decide to drive drunk on a night like tonight. So, here we are!

I wouldn't have posted this pic if you didn't look so darn cute! No makeup for us!

I can't believe all the things you are going to be doing this coming year. You will learn to crawl, then walk and talk. You are already growing so fast before my very eyes, I wish I could make time stand still!

Your big sis didn't even come close to staying up with us, and you crashed just 30 minutes til midnight (minutes after this pic was taken)! I suppose there's still a chance you could wake up in time to celebrate the New Year with us! If not, that's okay, there's always next year!

I love you and can't wait to see all the new things you will learn to do in 2007.

She's Too Smart!

Madison is something else. Yesterday she spent much of the day insisting on sitting straight up. Not sitting with mommy or daddy, resting her back against us. Nooooooooo, it had to be straight up. Fortunately she likes to sleep through the mornings so I was able to get some stuff done, but when she woke up I was working with her on trying to get her to play so I could finish my cleaning, or working out, or whatever else I had to get done.

She actually fell asleep sitting up against me last night. It was so funny because I didn't even realize she was asleep. I placed her against me sitting up so tall and since she was content with that (that time at least) I relaxed and started to watch t.v. Next thing I knew her body went limp. She was fast asleep.

I'm thinking she may be needing her saucer pretty soon, maybe even before Christmas...for our own sanity! I can't believe she's not even three months old yet and she's already laughing, squealing, gabbing, and responding to us. She's especially talkative at bed time. I told Scott that I think that our bedroom is her comfort zone. She just lays in bed and opens up with all her talk and play. She's so much fun, so full of personality. She brings so much joy into our lives.

We Missed A First!

Madison can roll over from her chest to her back now. The girl is so strong!

Sunday night (November 19th), I placed her on her belly for some "tummy time." Scott and I were standing there watching her, and as soon as we both turned our backs on her, she flipped herself over! NOOOOOOOO! She was just waiting for us to turn away! I turned around and found her on her back. "Scott, she just rolled over." I said. He turned around and saw her proud little self smiling away at her accomplishment.

So we missed her first, but last night we were both there when she had more tummy time and pushed herself up and over onto her back. I'm so proud of my little girl!

Thoughts On Madison

Madison is such a joy. We are really enjoying getting to know our baby girl and Daddy is totally smitten. I can't explain the rush of pure bliss I am in when I see Scott interact with her, and when I see her cooing and smiling up at her daddy.

She is a good baby. She's hit a growth spurt period where she is eating more frequently, so my nights are a little more interrupted, but for a while she would sleep 6 - 6 1/2 hours before waking up to eat. WOW. She's waking up a couple times during the night right now, and she is growing like a weed. She was 7 lbs. at her first Well Baby appointment, which was the Monday after she was born. By her one month appointment, she weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz. The Dr. calculated that out to be about 23% of her body weight. How cool would it be if our Dr.'s applauded when WE gained 23% of our body weight?

Anyway, Tuesday, Madison discovered her ears. It's so funny, she grabs onto those things and hangs on to them. I'm not sure if she's figured out that they are hers or not. She also discovered her hands though, and I went out Friday night and bought her a cool little toy, so she has been really enjoying swatting at the toys hanging above her head.

She is really growing up fast. A couple of days ago, I smacked my lips together and she watched me with such intensity, and then tried to mimick me. Her efforts resulted in her tongue popping in and out of her mouth like a little lizard, and her little mouth opening and closing frantically, but it was a good try!

I am so blessed to have this little girl in my life though. She is such a joy. I find myself thanking God over and over and over and over and over again. I am just overwhelmed that He would choose to bless me with this little angel. He has been speaking so much to my heart through this little one and I'm discovering a whole other side of my Heavenly Father that I never knew. I've had such a warped image of who God is and how he works, that now I'm starting to see that maybe I've been wrong about some things - that my earthly experiences have sort of had an influence on my perspective of God's love.

And I'm determined to cherish every moment with this baby girl. I don't want to miss out on anything, or have any regrets. Sure a baby is a lot of work, but it's the best job in the world!