Madi: Seven Months
How are you already 7 months old Madison!? It was definitely a challenge to get pictures this month as you are so active! You also had a lot of firsts and changes so let's get going on that list!
- You have mastered sitting up on your own. You have been close for awhile, but on Christmas Day everything clicked and you are a pro! You got very good at moving into a sitting position while we were still in OKC. It was super adorable - every time you would move to sitting up you would look around at anyone who was with you and smile really really big very proud of yourself. It was so much fun to see you learn a new skill and realize that you were doing it on your own!
- You have this little wave that you do (think royalty in a parade) that is so adorable! I don't think you realize you are doing it, but it's precious. And then you do things like this during our photo shoot... not so precious. ;-)
- Crawling. You are all over it. You aren't super fast yet, but you are on the move for sure. Especially now that we are home and you've noticed two new toys whose batteries never run out...aka the kittens. You smile super big whenever you see them and try to move to them. However, neither of them particularly likes you, especially Zoey. I am glad they are teaching you to crawl though! ;-) You especially prefer to crawl on your hands and feet though rather than your knees. One more sign that you are anxious to walk I think...
- Another new skill you are sharpening is pulling yourself up into a standing position!! You have always preferred standing to sitting, even at two months old, so I was always worried that as soon as something was put in front of you that you would figure out this whole pulling up thing. Well missy, I was right. We bought a sit-to-stand toy when we were in the States and sure enough, 1.5 sec later you pulled yourself up! You haven't stopped since then!! You now climb and pull up on me, Daddy, sofa, and anything else you can find. You have also started to move left and right. You are also fearless and will sometimes just let go, stand by yourself for a bit, and then fall or be caught. Let's just say there is a lot more crash and burn going on in the Stingerie household no matter how close of attention we are paying to you.
- We've gotten into a new routine with Mommy returning to work this month. We've got a nanny, Miss Sally, looking after you and you two hit it off immediately! You are having so much fun with her! I sure do miss you when I am at work, but I think things are going well for both of us.
- Heaven help us when it's time for a diaper change, clothing changes, medicine, nail clipping, stroller, high chair, carseat or anything else that requires you to be laying down on your back or be strapped! You scream as though the world is coming to an end. I won't count the ones where we are having to snot suck you (because let's be honest, that is torture), but the rest are pretty ridiculous!
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| Smile! |
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| Can I help you? |
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| I can climb this right?! |
- Speaking of snot sucking torture, you got your first bad cough and runny nose cold this month. And then you were kind enough to share it with Mommy and Daddy (thanks baby girl!). You had a couple rough nights where you woke up coughing and unable to breathe because of being so stuffy. We got to cuddle and hold you at 4 am. Don't get me wrong though - I am not complaining. This was the first time you've woken up in the middle of the night since before you were two months old... (and now everyone who is a mother of infants hates me...)
- While we are on the subject of sleeping, this month you decided that you'd had it with the dream feed. Up until the week before Christmas I was still feeding you between 10-11 pm. Then one day you decided you were done with it. I tried a few days in a row to be sure it wasn't a fluke and you just wouldn't eat and would fuss until I put you back down for bed. Since then you've been going from 7:30 pm - 7:00 am. Have we mentioned that you are the most awesome baby ever and we already know we are going to be cursed with baby number 2 some day?! :-)
- You also decided to get your first ear infection this month. The day before we left for the three flights and 20+ hours of travel back to Stavanger. And have I mentioned that you handled it like a rockstar and didn't have any jet lag?! Best. Baby. Ever.
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| Haha, you think I'm going to sit here for this? |
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| I'm done with you okapi! |
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| Let's climb! |
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| Okay let's go off the chair instead. |
- Focused. That is a very accurate word to describe you. (Although the way you acted in the photo shoot doesn't appear that way...) When something has your attention (albeit a toy, a person, a book, a cat, a movie, etc.) it is very hard to distract you or get your attention. It's definitely not a hearing problem because you turn towards a loud sound. Rather, it's a "I-am-concentrating-here-so-what-do-you-want" type of focus. I think you inherited this from Daddy rather then your slightly-ADD Mommy.
- We have a discovered a fun way to make you laugh and are taking advantage of it. We swing you back and forth and pretend like we are coming at you and you absolutely go crazy! It's become part of our evening routine when we get home from work. :-)
Madi -
You are so smart and beautiful and wonderful. We feel truly blessed to be your parents and are having more and more fun with you every day. You are very talkative and it almost sounds like you are saying "hi" sometimes which we just cherish. You are such a joy to be around and smile so big when we get home from work. I love that smile that you reserve for just Daddy and Mommy. There's nothing better than coming home to that smile after a long day in the office. We are so excited to see what this next month will bring, but we are not happy with how quickly you are trying to grow up and start moving We did not expect to have to baby proof this quickly. ;-)
Love,
Daddy and Mommy
