10 months old!

So remember how I vowed to update this more often?

Yeah, not gonna happen! lol

Especially not now, since our little Roo has become mobile.

YES, you read that right! She's a baby on the go!

It's marked on her calendar, so I can't recall off-hand the exact day she figured out how to crawl (both forwards AND backwards - for a while there, she was just able to pop 'er in reverse!), but once she realized she wasn't limited to only one direction, she just picked up like she'd been doing it forever! And now, she's even at the stage where she can pull herself up onto things! Crazy!

This is what we've been up to since my last post:

Donovan and I celebrated 3 years of wedded bliss in September (he reminds me that we've been married for 4, but I tell him that only 3 of those years have been blissful...!) HAHA! So to celebrate, we went out for dinner and a movie, and Baba and Auntie got to babysit! Madelyn had a blast playing with her cousin, but I missed her so much so that I didn't even enjoy the movie! I couldn't stop thinking about her, and we couldn't wait to go and pick her up and bring her home!

It wasn't much soon after that we took our Roo over to Baba and Didi's house again so that Donovan and I could go to the Elton John concert! It was during this time now that Madelyn started waking up around 11pm, just screaming and scaring the bejeebus outta us - and Baba and Auntie, too! We learned that she graced them with this little episode that night, but they reassured us that she quickly fell back asleep soon afterwards.

I also started taking a course on Tuesday nights, for 4 hours, from 6-10pm. This gives Daddy and Maddy a chance to have some quality father-daughter time, and I love calling on my break in class to see how they're doing, and to hear her asking for me! :)

Madelyn's first Thanksgiving was a fun-filled weekend! A visit from Grandma (and a surprise appearance by Grandpa Mike, too!) kicked-started the holidays, rounded out by dinner with my family on the holiday Monday. Just a few days later, we were off to Ottawa for a Sens vs Coyotes game! Madelyn was a handful, I won't lie. She was in the car seat on the direct flt to YOW, so that was ok - got in a nap about half an hour before landing, but just fussy otherwise. Poor thing! Good thing they stuck us in the back of the jet! lol

While at the hotel, our little girl didn't have any room to crawl around, so to make up for it, Daddy took her swimming in our hotel's wave pool - the largest of it's kind in Ontario! She LOVED it! And at the game, she did so well! She actually fell asleep in my lap! Imagine that! In a crowd of thousands who were cheering and screaming, and piercing sirens, MY LITTLE GIRL fell asleep on my lap!  Not that hockey bored her - she quite enjoys it, in fact! But I guess the time change and being stuck in a car seat for a lot of the time finally took it's toll on her. We were on a plane the next morning, and even with a 2hr layover in YYZ, where we were finally able to get her out and about, she just made us so proud with how well she did!

Since she loved the wave pool so much, I decided we should sign up for some sort of swimming classes. So, twice a week, the Roo and I go to Baby & Me Aquasize class. It's lots of fun! Plus it's a great way for her to use up all those Little Swimmers I bought her! 

Madelyn's 1st Halloween:

FUN!

She was a little duck! And looking completely edible in her costume, too! I seriously just wanted to take a bite outta her! She dressed up and we went to visit Daddy at work, and then it was off to a Halloween party with all the babies and mommies from our prenatal class. She won the award for Cutest Costume! Naturally! ;) Then it was back home to get ready for all the kiddies who were gonna come around. She was such a little ham in her outfit, with her "bucka-bucka" sounds and crawling around everywhere! 

At her last appointment in October (her 9 month check-up), she clocked in at 21 lbs on the scale! She's super tall, too - already wearing sz 18 month clothes! WOW! That's my girl! 

I'm going to get Donovan to blog about some things, too - I know I'm missing so much, but when so much time passes, it's hard to find a moment to put it all into words the emotion of the moment and such. But I just wanted to catch everyone up for now!

Here are the latest Maddy'isms:

- waves "bye-bye" and "hello" at people, herself in the mirror, and the big picture of herself in the hallway!

- loves loves LOVES ceiling fans, and points to them to have them turned on (and, with Mommy's help, has learned how to flip the switch to turn the kitchen fan on!)

- pretty much points at anything, not just ceiling fans! 

- her expanding vocabulary includes: mama, dada, baba, da (that or there), ba (bum.... or ball... or any other "b" word, I guess!), bucka-bucka, nana, doy

- her latest phase - spitting when she eats. Not spitting UP, just spitting. Like mimicking the sound of an elephant. We tell her "no", but she smiles and continues it anyways. It's so cute, but so frustrating at the same time, especially when I've just spent an hour scrubbing the macaroni and beef stains outta the kitchen floor! But she's at the tail-end of this phase, I do believe (thankfully)!

- still loves her book Bunny Kisses, and she can give the bunny kisses herself now! Always does at the end of the story, she just leans in and kisses the bunny, without being prompted! And she pushes the "kisses" button all by herself, too. Smart girl!

- learning how to ask questions, as in, raises her voice at the end of a sound. She'll point to the ceiling fan and say "da?" Like, "what's that?" or "why the heck isn't this on already for me?" lol

-  she's got 2 more teeth! Her 2 "fangs", and as of now, she's cutting her 2 front teeth, too! No wonder she's been a bit of a crank lately!

- despite the fact that she fell asleep on my lap at a live hockey game, this girl LOVES hockey! Put her in the jumperoo in front of the tv on TSN, and she just goes wild! Daddy's dream come true!

- recognizes voices over the phone. You can actually see her face light up when she hears Grandma saying "hi Maddy" to her, and she just gets so excited when Alexis calls to say hello!

- she gives kisses to the person on the other end of the line by leaning her head in with her big open mouth and "kissing" the phone!

New Maddy'isms:

- claps her hands in excitement

- pulls herself up on pretty much anything she can

- gives kissies to her friends Woodsy, Floppy, and Duckie (her bathtime friend), and to Pat the Bunny when Daddy reads that book to her 

- closes the book Pat the Bunny halfway through, when Daddy reaches the part with the 5 puppies! After he counts them, "one, two, three, four, five" - she just decides that's where the story should end and closes it up every time!

- has tried meat on Sept 8th - silly Mommy tried her on JUST chicken w/broth. She cried, screamed and gagged - then I got wise to it all, and bought chicken & rice DINNER w/peas and carrots pureed together. She LOVES that! Tried her on beef and veggies yesterday. So far, not a fan, but we'll see what Day 2 brings!

- big belly laughs, not just "Machine Gun Maddy" sounds!

- got another ZOOB on Friday, for a grand total of 2 ZOOBS!!!

So much trouble for such tiny little nubbins!!!

I meant to do this a week ago....

So many new, fun things are happening, it's hard to keep up sometimes!

I wanted to post last week, but alas, life gets in the way! 

Last Sunday, September 7th, we decided to take Madelyn to the museum for the first time! We had free passes for "the full experience", so we were gonna get some use out of them. Besides, it was a cool afternoon, too cold to do outdoors-y things. The museum was a perfect choice!

Madelyn was asleep for the first bit of the museum adventure, and when she woke up, she didn't mind just strolling along and taking it all in! Of course, Daddy didn't mind carrying her around for a bit when she appeared to be getting antsy, held up in the stroller the way she was. It took about an hour and a half to walk through the museum, and by the time we were done, we were sure we'd have no problem at the Planetarium - we had our tickets to see a Patrick Stewart-narrated show on the solar system, and since Madelyn just had a bottle and was rubbing her eyes, we were certain she'd just pass out in the darkness of the Planetarium.

But she didn't. !!!

About 10 minutes in, our poor little girl was not enjoying herself anymore, and despite Daddy's efforts to keep her calm so that we, and the other patrons, could enjoy the show, we had to leave. Which was totally ok, since we'd already had such a long day, and I had to go to the grocery store before they closed in an hour!

So after a quick jaunt around Touch the Universe, we headed out!

(Silly me - I didn't think cameras were allowed in the museum, so I didn't bring mine - I wish I did, to document Madelyn's first foray into the world of history. But as it turned out, yesterday, one week later, we went back again, with our niece Alexis in tow, and I snapped a few piccies then to make up for it!)

That night, I was doing laundry in the basement as Daddy was putting her to bed. Bottle, story, and snuggles, and down in the crib with her plug and Woodsy she went. Lights were out, her turtle star constellation night light and soft lullabies were on.... but instead of going to bed, she stood up in her crib and cried "mum mum mum"!

So I came upstairs, went into her room, picked her up, and her head just crashed down on my shoulder, and she passed out - it was the sweetest moment! It was as though she just wasn't able to sleep until she said "goodnight" to me, and once I came into to give her some nighttime snuggles, that was all she needed to finally enjoy a peaceful night! That was such a sweet memory, and also, I should mention, the first and last time she has, and will, ever go to bed without a big ol' snuggle from me first!

More to post, but standby, I'll add it separately!!!

Almost 8 months old

I am appalled with and ashamed of myself for not keeping this more up-to-date, but I'll do the best I can to bring everyone up to speed!

The last time I posted was..... NEARLY A MONTH AGO? Yikes. Not good. So much to fill you in on!

Our little Maddy Roo turned 6 months old on July 8th, and although that was the day I had designated as the start of her new meal plan (which now included solids for the first time), and although I was quite excited and anxious to begin this new chapter in her life, I was nervous and scared to begin this new chapter in her life. It was as if by NOT feeding her solids, I was satisfying the part of my brain that wants to hang on to the image of the tiny little infant I held in my arms the day she was born for as long as I can. 

6 months already.

Wow.

But the fact remains, she's growing so quickly, and time is just zipping by, that there was nothing I could do. So with both reluctance and excitement, Donovan and I got our Maddy Roo strapped in to her Rainforest high chair that Daddy assembled a couple of months earlier (Daddy dressed her in her special "iPood" onesie for the occasion!), gave her a sippie cup of water for the first time (which she took to like a pro!), and proceeded to feed our little girl rice cereal. MMMMM!

It was a tad on the messy side (Mommy made it a bit too thick - so it was a learning experience on both ends!), but all in all, Reesey Poo did a fantastic job welcoming solids into her dining repertoire! Rice cereal once a day for the first week, then twice a day for a week, then oat cereal instead of rice. Soon it was time to add another flavour to her palette, and add a veggie to the mix!

I decided instead to hold off on this milestone for just a few days longer than I initially planned because I wanted to make this an extra special memory - you see, Grandpa Mike from Utah was coming up for a visit in just a few short days from then, and we really wanted to make him a part of Madelyn's first taste of something new!

And I'm pretty sure he was happy to be there, to share in the glory of the scrunched up grimace our Roo made when she tasted peas for the first time:

Despite this face, our girl ended up enjoying the peas the next time she tried 'em (although Gpa Mike doesn't want to believe it!), but man, she had every right to make the face that she did. We all got a wiff of what I was making her eat, and I tells ya, Mother of the Year Award I was not going to receive!

The visit with Gpa Mike was fantastic, as Madelyn loved her new best friend (he came bearing gifts of Tom & Pippo and Spot books). He even found a set of colourful stacking rings for her to gum, and to this day, their still one of her favourites (a tie, perhaps, with her newest noise-making toys that light up!).

On Gpa Mike's first night here, we decided we'd drive into Dauphin the following day to surprise Grandma! 

Madelyn, Daddy, Mommy and Gpa Mike stayed at the Roadway Inn, where an awesome indoor pool provided a great opportunity to get the Roo reacquainted with splashing about in a big BIG "bath tub". (She had her first experience at a public pool the week before with

 Auntie and Alexis - pictures below!) Daddy had fun taking her swimming (or "floating") about in her new bathing suit!

August was full of playdates with friends, immunization shots (at her last app't in July, she weighed 19lbs 10oz, and was 27.5" long!), Tinkertown and teething. And as of August 29th, Madelyn Reese is now the proud owner of her own little nubbin! On the bottom right, her little zube is pokin' through! 

Picture of the little tooth to follow, so stay tuned!

On August 26th (see? I warned you there'd be so much to catch you up on!), Mommy and Madelyn went to Tinkertown with Baba, Didi, Auntie Leanne and Alexis. It was a very windy day, but that didn't stop us from having fun on Madelyn's first ride - the Merry-Go-Round! It was a long wait to get it started, and she began to get a bit fussy, but once it kicked in to high gear, she was jumping and giggling, and havin' a blast!

Also of note on this day: Mommy found 2 back-up Woodsy's (the Roo's best teddy bear friend) at the Tinkertown gift shop for cheap! I learned it's always good to have a back-up of their favourite toy... y'know, just in case.... so I cleared 'em out (of the only 2 they had in stock!). Hooray!

And on that note, that pretty much sums up the past few months. On her 8th month birthday, I'm going to start her on meat - chicken in broth - so I'll be sure to let you know how that goes!

Here are the latest Maddy'isms:

- can sit up

- can pull herself up to a standing position (especially favoured in her crib, where she can scale the rail and start to explore the inside perimeter of her bed!)

- can roll over any which way

- she can crawl! Just recently mastered the forward crawling movement - she'd been "poppin' it" in reverse for a few weeks, and then, one day last month, she just got the hang of it, and started goin' TOWARDS Daddy instead of AWAY from him! (I don't blame her, he's pretty cute!) :)

- she knows her name - turns her head to look at who's callin' it

- understands "no" - if she's opening the cupboards during one of her kitchen crawling sprees, I'll say, "Madelyn, noooooooo", and she stops dead in her tracks, looks back at me as if to say, "I'm sorry, Mommy", and then turns right back to where she was headed and proceeds to open the cupboards anyways!

- definitely knows the difference between "Dada" and "Mummah"

- has favourites - book: Pat the Bunny and his exclusive Bunny Kisses; song: still Winnie the Pooh, but also really enjoys "Mmm Mmm went the Little Green Frog One Day" (that's pretty much the song in it's entirety); toys: Woodsy, Floppy, and her stacking rings from the "Lord of the Rings" (Gpa Mike!); foods: bananas, butternut squash, Mum Mums, frozen grapes

- gets very excited about things, and shows her excitement by flailing her arms rapidly (I joke that she's gettin' ready for take-off!), and uber high-pitched squeals

- is starting to recognize things we've been signing to her since she was born (we're teaching her, and us, sign language for a variety of things, such as diaper changes, eating, etc)

- plays in her crib with her friends!!!

- she LOVES tags. Tags on blankets, tags on toys, tags on your shirt. It doesn't matter, just as long as it has a tag, it's gold.

- still sleeps through the night (occasionally she wakes up crying because her plug's popped out and she can't find it, so Daddy'll go and pop it back in!). But for the most part, she's in bed by 8 or 9, and doesn't get up until 8am! Yay! Plus her naps during the day - still has one after breakfast and then in the afternoon. 

 Here are just some random pics of our little girl - from her first time in a bathing suit for her first adventure in public pooling, to trying to chew her way out of her crib - we're just so proud of her and love her to bits! Sorry for the hiatus, but due to this long post (and a sleepy Mommy!), you can be sure we'll do our best to NOT let it slip again like this! Thanks for putting up with us! Hope you're enjoying this ride as much as we are! :)

 Not the bathing suit I had purchased for her - the one I bought was sz 6-9 months. Here she is, at almost 7 months, and it was TOO SMALL! So luckily, Auntie had one she bought for Alexis a few yrs ago, that Alexis never got the chance to wear. Phew!

I haven't forgotten!

Just a quick note to say that I recognize the fact that my last blog entry was June 20-something, and I tells ya, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't say, "Man, I really need to blog!". But, at the same time, that comment is usually followed up with a big heaping serving of lack of time.

But I will find the time in the next few days, because the Maddy'isms at this point are just out of control, and I need to document them before she learns how to drive!

It's almost 11pm and we're just about to head to bed after a VERY long day, so I'll leave you with this - a few pics from the past couple of weeks that we took with our new camera!

I promise to update this soon - LOTS to fill y'all in on!

Just because she's cute...

Madelyn's first airplane ride

On Wednesday, June 18, the whole fam packed up and went on a day trip out to YYC in hopes of meeting up with some friends, potentially visiting with Grandpa O (if he was in town), and doing some shopping at Ikea. Leaving in the morning, coming home in the evening.

We completely expected Maddy Roo to not enjoy the plane - the take-off and landing, the change in the cabin's air pressure, popping ears, etc. We were prepared for, and hesitantly anticipating, a screaming little girl, and we loaded her up with all her friends, links rings, toys, ANYTHING we were armed with, so as to distract her as best we could from the horrific experience that lay ahead.

Strapped in her carseat beside the window, Maddy Roo looked slightly confused at her surroundings, and mildly amused with our attempts to keep her playing. With one hand caressing her marshmallow cheeks and a thumb on her plug to keep it in her mouth (so she'd continuously suck and swallow, and hopefully avoid the popping eardrum syndrome), and the other hand squeezing Donovan's knee with suspense, we started barrelling down the runway, the scream of the engines right outside our window, the force of the speed pushing us against our seats.

I heard a couple of other babies on board beginning to get upset, their excruciatingly loud cries drowning out the roar of the engines. I looked at Maddy Roo, and she looked back at me, sucked on her soother, and turned to look out the window at the world rushing by outside.

No reaction.

NO REACTION??!

Yup, that's right! You'd never know my girl was on board this plane! No cries, no fussing - in fact, no peeps, except for the few minutes of gurgles and bubble-blowing she entertained us with mid-flight! A couple of quick naps, a bottle, and gazing around occupied her time, and completely confused Donovan and myself!

Surely she would be a handful once we landed - we'll pay for her good behaviour on the plane with fussiness the rest of the day.

NOT!

She was an absolute DREAM! Happy, laughing, sleeping - just a sweetheart the whole day, the flight back home included.

How on earth did we get so lucky?

Now that we know she travels well, we're hittin' up Hawaii!!!!

Here are some pics of our girl on the plane: