Madi's dedication

Father's Day was Madi's dedication. I was so hoping to have a glowing review of the dedication which is in part why it's taken so long to post this. Other than <insert baby's name> it was pretty impersonal. We had to supply the church with Madi's bible verse and her story plus tell it again during our pre-dedication meeting yet there was no mention of any of it during the service. I had hoped for the opportunity to thank the Stephen's Ministers and the church for their prayers and support. Before the service both pastors commented on the unusually large show of family and both Dan and I mentioned Madi's prematurity and time in the hospital but there were no follow-up questions or mention from the pulpit. I've been telling myself that it's a personal decision to raise Madi in a Christian home and dedication is public announcement of that intention. We did stand before the church and acknowledge we'd raise Madi according to the Bible to the best of our abilities so I should just get over it. Which is why I'm going to wrap up this post, publish it and move on. I was just hoping it could've been more...

You, Lord, brought me safely through birth and you protected me when I was a baby at my mother's breast. From the day I was born, I have been in your care, and from the time of birth, you have been my God.

Psalm 22:9-10

I don't doubt that Madi has laid in the palm of His hands, felt the warmth of His embrace and heard His voice. There were days I swore the two spent the night discussing how to surprise us next. Remember the day Madi went off the ventilator and never had to go back on? Remember when they said Madi might need her incubator again? Remember when the doctors said she was too young to nurse but she did it anyway? I could come up with so many more "remembers." Madilyn the Mighty turned into Miracle Madi because God was guiding every minute of the journey. Praise!!

More family pics on the 2011 Pictures page.

bed head

I think I've mentioned before how Madi moves in her sleep. Well, her hair is getting long enough on top that she's starting to have bed head when she wakes up. The other morning it was a semi comb-over and sticking up on one side. I tried to snatch a picture with my phone but this was the best I could do.

Can we say upgrade?

Madi really enjoys her hot wheels walker but the other day she asked for an upgrade. What do you think?

table manners

I'll gladly teach your son or daughter about table manners, just let me know. Sometimes getting Madi to pay attention and eat is a challenge. She'll whine because she's hungry but there's so much to look at from the high chair that she gets distracted. This afternoon's snack was a struggle. When I did get her attention she wanted to "help" by holding the spoon. I do let her but that usually ends up with more food on the bib and her body than in her tummy. And then the whining starts, "yo Mom, I'm hungry. " If she would just let me hold the spoon I could hit the target and her tummy would stop rumbling. But hey, it's a learning experience right? One of these days she'll have learned enough to feed herself. Well, I'm not too sure what Madi learned today. If anyone objects, we were working on drinking from a cup. Yeah, that's it.

I call it a win - Madi finished the jar of fruit. We can perfect the table manners later.

words are coming

Madi has been miss chatty-cathy all day and I can start to hear real words in there. I swear she said yellow when playing with her Leap Frog toy. I can't wait for real words, the first word specifically. What's it going to be??

Then again maybe I can wait a bit as right now she's getting angry I'm not focusing on her and it's only been about 2 minutes. "Mahhhm, play with me!" At least that's what I think she'd say...if she could.

We went out shopping this morning for a nicer-than-what-we-have dress. Madi was her typical self - flirting and chatting with the sales ladies. She makes friends wherever we go! I was looking for something nice for Madi's dedication this weekend. Why do designers make every baby girl's dress into a bell? All the ones I found flared so far out Madi would need a hoop skirt. A little exaggeration, but not much. They're little girls, the self-consciousness about having rolly thighs to hide doesn't come until middle school. I don't need to put her in a tent. I hope to find something tomorrow but I've downloaded instructions on how to sew a pillowcase dress just in case the disappointment continues. If only I'd started earlier I could order a cute one off etsy.com. Darn procrastination.

Today's new trick

So today's new trick is Madi holding her own bottle. We're still working on the mechanics but she fed herself about half of this bottle.

water baby

Madi's had some serious water time this week. Saturday we went down to the ski club for a test run. There was a ski event on Sunday and we needed to know if Madi could handle being outside with all that activity or not. Sure enough, she did great. Saturday was a scorcher so we pulled her out of the stroller and sat with her between our legs on the dock. The dock was in the shade and we also had an umbrella. Sunday wasn't near as warm so we were able to leave some supplies at home, still had a full car though. Amazing how much you need for such a little person. We took off after her morning nap and drove to Fairland for the Spring Fling. It's held every year and is a kick-off to the ski season. It was good to get re-acquainted with our ski family; some we hadn't seen since the weekend before Madi came. Madi got her first introduction to open water. We stood at the edge of the lake and let her dig her feet in the sand and feel the waves. Madi loved it.

We were there over nap time so we made up a bed with beach towels on top of a picnic table kinda out of the way. Madi had the noise of the nearby highway to listen to and got about a 45 min nap. Not great but not horrible. Talk sweet to her when she wakes up and she is all smiles. Right after nap time:

Madi's third water adventure was going to be swimming but our friend's pool was a little chilly. I sat on the top step with Madi on my lap and she splashed but did not appreciate being more than knee deep in the water. The life jacket I brought was a little big and kept riding up around her nose so we played with their dogs and headed home for nap time. We went back after dinner with a new game plan. I ran to Babies R'Us and bought a little floaty ring instead of the life jacket. The one I wanted to buy had a sun shade over the top but they were out of those, have to find one someplace else. Instead of the pool, we put Madi in the hot tub. She wasn't too sure about it when we first put her in but before it was over she was kicking her legs, pushing them up on the mesh and moving herself around in the sling. She'd lay back all reclined and then lean forward to reach out for the water. One time she ducked her head and came up with a face full of water, didn't scare her though. It was pretty funny to turn on the jets and watch her get pushed around by the water. It was like her own little lazy river.

not too sure what's going on

about two minutes later - pretty relaxed

I hear their pool cover is fixed and the heater's on. I think we may go back tomorrow and see if the pool is warm enough for Madi to do some swimming/floating in the big pool. If not, we know she likes the hot tub! Thanks Karen!

9 months

We went for Madi's 9-month check up the other day. When I scheduled the appointment I was very happy to hear there would be no shots, just a finger stick. I can handle a finger stick. Madi's gotten better at crying since her last RSV shot and I wasn't too sure I was up for a deep-breath-type crying session. We got there and our regular nurse didn't have Madi but she came in to say "hi" and couldn't believe how different she looked. It was amusing because before she walked in Dan and I were talking about how Madi's changed. She's grown longer so it's not really chub anymore, just a little baby fat. Her face isn't as round and pudgy. She has hair! Granted it's only on top but she's got it. Our nurse for the day came in and we did the typical stats - head, weight, length. When Madi sat in the chair to be weighed she filled it out way more than she used to, once upon a time she looked like a mouse in the Green Giant's rocking chair. Madi kept reaching for the scale slides and shifting the chair...that's our girl, always in motion!

Doc McManus came in and was pleased with Madi's progress. She's a great sitter these days. Madi was jibber-jabbering and flirting. Doc encouraged us to not use the walker as it can teach bad habits for walking - you don't lean into taking a step or throw your hips the direction you want to move. But Madi loves it so much! We were instructed to work on a bedtime routine and stick with it. Soon Madi's going to experience separation anxiety and without a bedtime routine where she puts herself to sleep we're going to have a screaming baby when she wakes up in the middle of the night, scared because she can't see us. If she knows how to self-soothe going into that phase we'll survive much better. (duly noted) We were told to get a copy of Good Night, Sleep Tight (which I haven't done yet) to help with a sleep routine. Without the wisdom of the book Madi is giving us 6-8 hours of sleep after she goes to bed. Of course we have good nights and bad nights but I hope the every three hour routine is over.

We also got the impression that we're behind on feeding as there were a lot of suggestions in that area:
1. start giving Madi baby puffs to increase hand-eye coordination for self-feeding
2. incorporate a solid food lunch
3. work up to feeding her from our plate in a month or so
4. start a sippy cup
See what I mean? I didn't know we were falling behind in that area of development. On a side note, got an email about solid foods for your baby and they recommended 6T of cereal soon. Yeah right. We struggle to get 3T down now. Doc did mention that we don't need to buy turkey and gravy baby food. "Would you want turkey from a jar?" Good point. She said to start with fish or chicken and make sure they're small pieces. Mashed potatoes or extra done pasta is fine too. She did mention that Madi will gag as she's learning to handle bigger pieces so be aware it's coming. Wonderful. That'll get the adrenaline flowing.

Overall, another stellar check up. Here are the stats:
weight:  17lbs      19th percentile     12% increase from 2 months ago
length:  27in         32nd percentile     22% increase
head:  17.7in        79th percentile     43% increase
Madi's got a big noggin. Doc said she wasn't concerned about her head increase yet. Didn't think to ask what the "yet" meant. I'm sure the rest of her body will catch up.

Of course we had a photo shoot to go along with turning 9-months old:

after Madi rolled off the "studio"

Oh, did I do that?   look at those dimples

teething...still.

Madi loves to scratch the rocking chair, the sound and texture fascinate her.

still have those long, curly eye lashes

Tonight Madi went swimming/floating for the first time so I'll get that narration and pictures up soon. It's good night for now!

1st TN vacation

Way late but here are some shots from our vacation to Norris Lake in TN. Madi got cereal for the first time on that trip. We picked the type of cereal based completely on the type of box; came with a screw on lid. There's no way a little pull out flap was going to survive in the suitcase on the way home; would've had little cereal flakes on everything. Has anyone ever noticed how baby cereal looks like fish food flakes? Smells better than fish food.

First solid foods - oatmeal:
As you can see Madi wanted to help Daddy. "Give me that bowl, I can do this!"

First boat ride:

We had to bundle up because it wasn't as warm as we'd hoped but obviously not too cold for a ride. Madi had a seat right next to the heater and stayed plenty warm. Since she falls asleep on car rides we figured she'd nap on the boat too. Nope, stayed awake the whole time. We stopped on the water for a bit and she got a kick out of looking around, so many new sights to see. She was a great boater!