If you're a fan of Dane Cook then this will sound familiar -
ahhh...monkey? you here?
...ahhhh...
where are you?...
im in your closet!...
And that my friends, describes Zoey. The animal that we thought was a cat. Not long after we moved into the apartment we momentarily panicked, not able to locate her anywhere. Then we hear a thudd and magically a Zoey appeared on our bed seemingly from the closet...
That can't be. How did she get up there? A while later we saw the monkey in action. She literally jumps halfway up the closet drawers and makes her way the rest of the way up as though she were climbing a ladder.
She loves sleeping in the clothes baskets that we have had stored up there before the packers moved everything earlier today. I was disappointed that I wasn't going to catch her in action before we moved (the new house doesn't have the same closet setup), but I was lucky and got it on video this afternoon (after bribing her with a treat)!
After an eventful last week, it was refreshing to have things slow down... at least for one week because we are moving on Friday! I can't believe it's here already and that next Sunday I'll be writing this post in our new space.
On Monday we met the new landlord and realtor at the house to discuss furniture and a few other odds and ends. The landlord seems really nice and easy-going (a much-needed change from our current landlord...) We were able to get the packing/moving scheduled for this Thursday and Friday and then guess who's spending the weekend burrowed away in unpacking, organizing, and decorating?! This girl. Love me some organizing! Lots of before/after pics to come once we get settled. :-)
Madi's hand is still healing well. The doctor changed out her bandages a couple more times this week and said we should be able to take them off tomorrow night and Madi can have her hand back! Because as you can see it's definitely slowing her down... Thanks for the continued prayers for healing for her!
On Thursday Miss Madi turned 8 months old! You can catch some highlights from her eighth month on the post here. She is getting to be more and more fun everyday!
Along with entertainment from Madi, we got quite a bit of entertainment from the less-mentioned Stingerie family members - Zoey and CeCe. They sat people watching together -
And then we may have put Zoey in the washer...
And this is how she felt about it...
But actually she was yawning and purring when this picture was taken. She's just awkward like that. :-)
Friday we had lunch with Daddy and our friend Ingrid at Baker and of course forgot to take pictures. :-/ Afterwards I ran to the grocery store and successfully transferred a sleepy duck from car-stroller-car with continued sleep. That's a first. And possibly a last since she wouldn't go back down after church today...
Friday night we had some new friends over for dinner. Brian and Liz just moved here with their daughter Adeline, who's just a month and a half younger than Madi. Liz messaged me on Facebook a couple months ago and we've been messaging back and forth since then. I felt like I already knew her and meeting her in person was fabulous! Madi and Adeline had a fun time together too! Such cutie pies!
Saturday we ran a couple errands and took Madi to Capella Play, an indoor play area for kids. Sally, her nanny, takes her there every week and we can see why! Madi loves it!! She can roll and fall on the soft play mats, watch and talk to other babies, and crawl around until her heart's content. We had a blast watching her play.
Sunday we headed over to our friend's Niko and Claudia to have a delicious traditional German meal with them and their baby girl Elisa. She's a few months younger than Madi and a joy to be around! She has a great smile and we loved listening to her and Madi talk to each other.
Okay, so looking back maybe it wasn't that quiet of a week... But that's typical for the Stingerie's right?! ;-)
I know I say this every month, but I still cannot believe you are growing up so fast!! You've been non-stop as usual so this month's post has a lot more videos since capturing non-blurry stills of you is a challenge these days. :-)
- You have gotten quite upset when you crawl under a chair, table, etc. and attempt to stand up, only to be thwarted by a "ceiling" or a parental unit pulling you back. Excuse us missy, but you don't fit under there!
- You are trying to climb everything. But your favorite thing to climb is Mommy and Daddy. And the edge of the sofa.
- You have switched from loving to look at the mirror to loving to look at pictures. It's like you all of a sudden realized that you and Mommy and Daddy are in those pictures and you love them. :-)
- You are still a very active baby girl! You "walk" or crawl between toys, move up and then down again (almost like you are doing squats), and like to play with everything. We got you doing some laps on this video, sorry it's kind of long. The noise making you smiling is Mommy making kissing lips. Gets you to smile so big every time!!
- You are still a rockstar sleeper! You typically go from 7 pm - 7 am ish. Quite a few days though, when Mommy and Daddy start get ready in the morning though you tend to wake up and start babbling to yourself. By the time we come get you, you have woken up, crawled to the corner of the crib by the door, and are standing there excited and ready for us! It's precious.
- You still absolutely adore the kittens!! They don't have reciprocal feelings. You smile really big at them whenever you see them and have started saying "Ee ee" because you are so excited. You are also crawling towards them and pulling up on the rocker chair where Zoey likes to sleep. This makes her run away.
- Speaking of chasing kittens, you went after one last week lounging in front of the heater and tried to stand up on it, burning your hand. It was quite the scary phone call Mommy and Daddy received from Miss Sally! You had your bandages changed for the third time yesterday and the said it's still healing well and you should be able to take the glove and bandages off this Sunday or Monday.
The "boxing glove" you've been wearing hasn't slowed you down one bit though. You have continued to crawl, climb, stand, and do everything as usual, albeit somewhat slippery with the glove on. ;-)
- Peek-a-boo has become your favorite game! Whether it's behind a blanket, around a corner, or with our backs turned. You smile so big every time and we love playing it with you!
- You've started to understand that Mommy and Daddy leave in the morning. You whine a little bit, are typically okay once we are out the door. And when you look up and see us when we come home in the afternoon you are So. Excited. You start squealing and flapping your arms to be held by us. We cherish it. :-)
- You began doing this cough-type thing back in December. It was kind of cute, but also kind of weird (just being honest here). Fortunately, you've opted for actual words and have stopped doing it, but we were able to capture it on video before you retired the sound.
- We are getting a little worried that you might try to start walking next month. For awhile now you've let go of a standing toy and continued standing for a second or two. Two days ago however, you let go of Daddy and stood by yourself for a good five or six seconds and began to attempt a step towards him before falling down. Too soon missy. Too soon. :-/
- We took you to feed the ducks for the first time last weekend. The sun came out to play and we needed to get out of the house for a bit. We weren't sure how you would like it, but you absolutely loved it! You smiled so big as I held you and Daddy threw pieces of bread. You started talking to the ducks and watching the seagulls swoop in overhead.
- Words. You decided that "Da Da" should be the first thing to say. Both Mommy and Daddy have tried saying "Ma Ma" to you and you retort back "Da Da" almost every time. You've also gotten your "B" sounds with "Ba" and "E" sounds with "E". You can catch the video of Madi speaking for the first time here.
- Your top two teeth came in this month! You were a bit fussy for a couple of days, but still slept wonderfully at night. I guess from this point on it's continual teething because you've still been drooling and chewing like crazy!
- You are getting better at diaper changes. Mostly because we began giving you raspberries on your tummy! They make you laugh. You made Mommy and Daddy laugh when all of a sudden you gave the sofa a raspberry! Since then you've given Mommy's arm and Daddy's arm raspberries. ;-)
- You most definitely had a growth spurt last week! You were quite unpleasant for half a day and when we sat down to read a book, you grabbed the empty bottle next to it and began crying. Silly Mommy and Daddy didn't get your message. We gave you extra food then and for the next few days as you insisted and were a much happier baby. Go figure. :-)
- You've decided that outdoors is a better place to nap than your crib. Miss Sally has gotten some good naps when you're in the stroller chilling on the patio or on a walk. Good thing we live in Norway where it's acceptable for babies to be sleeping outside regardless of the temperature. ;-)
Madi girl -
I wish I could freeze you at this stage right now and hold onto you forever! It's definitely been the most fun seeing you begin to grasp new talents like perfecting your standing skills and beginning to talk. You are getting so big, but I love that you are still my little baby. It hurt Mommy so much to see you suffering when you hurt your hand and I was more than happy to oblige to your desire to be snuggled the rest of the weekend. There are few things better than your Madi snuggles! :-) You are such a joy to be around and so happy! Your smile just lights up my day when we walk in the door after work. You smile really big and start squealing until we're holding you in our arms. We thank the Lord every day for the wonderful blessing of being your parents and we love you so much baby girl.
This week had some definite highs and lows! For starters, the big high this week was Miss Madi saying her first word - Da Da!! So adorable! She's been saying it all week along with some "b" sounds, but definitely no Ma Ma on the horizon... yet. :-)
I had Monday off and got to spend it with this cutie pie -
And she decided that Daddy was the perfect climbing obstacle. And the sofa. But we didn't let her do a full flip over the side despite her attempts!
The rest of the week I had Offshore Safety Training. I was literally putting out fires at work. ;-)
The course also included first aid and emergency preparation. Which I did not expect to need or use so quickly... On Thursday, I got one of those phone calls (or rather three since my phone was on vibrate and I didn't realize it at lunch...) Madi had an accident. She was crawling and put her hand on the wall heaters in the apartment, which get very hot. I was able to remain calm and tell Sally to take Madi to the emergency room - Jason and I would meet them there.
I still don't know how I didn't burst into tears on the way there, in the doctor's office where I saw my sweet baby girl crying as Jason held her hand in a bucket of cold water, or as the doctor gently wrapped it up careful not to burst any of the blisters that covered her palm and fingers. I did, however, breakdown that afternoon when I was alone and Madi went down for a nap.
As you can see, Madi did not let a bum hand hold her back. She spent the afternoon acting her usual happy as a lark little self.
On Friday, we took our little Valentine to the doctor's office for them to evaluate the burns. She got second degree burning and they had to pop the blisters and re-bandage her hand. Daddy and I had a talk with Madi about going for first place next time and not second - nobody like second place. But at least she knew better than to get third place. :-) We have to go back tomorrow morning as well for them to change her bandages and put more cream on.
Madi was the perfect little Valentine and I was thankful to get to spend some extra time with her despite the unfortunate circumstances. She's definitely the cutest little Valentine!! Although she has a wicked right hook with that boxing glove on. She's gotten both Mommy and Daddy in the face the past few days. But I think it's been unintentional. ;-)
We had a quite Valentine's evening at home. Jason bought me flowers (which Zoey proceeded to eat during the night) and I made cupcakes for Jason.
Saturday night our good friend Kemi and her family came over to watch Madi so Jason and I could go out. It was our first date night since my mom watched Madi! We went bowling and to dinner afterwards and had a wonderful time.
Unfortunately, Madi had a bit of a rough night. She didn't want to go to sleep and after we got home around 10:00 pm she woke up and just wanted to be held. The poor thing had a fever yesterday and because we were concerned about infection in her hand we took her to the doctor. Fortunately, her hand is healing fine and the burns are looking good, but she does have some sort of viral infection in her throat and nose causing her some congestion and discomfort. She just can't catch a break! :-(
So we took her to bed with us and had some Madi snuggles for part of the night. She woke up around 2:00 am she kept squirming and laying there with her eyes open, looking somewhat resigned, until I put her back in the crib and she slept fine the rest of the night. Little cutie just wanted her own bed back! :-)
Please keep Madi in your prayers for a full and quick recovery, from both the viral infection and her hand. We hope you had a wonderful week and a Happy Valentine's!!
Oh and Madi promises to cut back on the pain killers - We think she went a little overboard on her dosage and spiked her milk. ;-)
I thought we had some time before this conversation would arise. I mean, don't most kids get their first cars when they are 16? At the earliest 15? Of course they do. Unless your husband is an avid-car lover who discovers remote-controlled, ride-on cars. Yes, that right - a car that Jason can strap Madi in and drive her around until she gets a little older (probably 1.5 years ;-) ) and can drive herself.
Here are the top contenders for said-ridiculousness (which I am, admittedly, incredibly excited about myself) -
1. Range Rover Evoque 6V. We'd purchase this one in red though. And Jason already has dreams of making it four-wheel drive, if possible.
All cars would be upgraded from plastic to rubber tires, with added suspension, and whatever else my dear husband dreams up in his new "project" car. ;-)
So, which car do you think we should get Madi for her 1 year birthday present?!
Since blogging has taken an unfortunate backseat what with working, playing with Madi, and everything else we have going on, I thought I'd try something new - a Weekly Wrap-up!
I created my first ever "button" in Photoshop and I'm making a goal to blog at least once a week, most likely on Sundays, to share what's been going on with the Stingerie's (read: mostly pictures of Madi! :-) )
Last weekend our friend Xindi brought beaver protection back from the UK for us. We were so grateful to get them and appreciate her generosity in carrying them over for us. Installed and tested under an attack!
Zoey somehow has a bent whisker... weird cat.
Weekdays are typically pretty quiet for us since this little one goes to bed around 7-7:30. We had fun watching her scramble back and forth across the sofa though. She's getting fast! :-)
I realized that Madi was about to outgrow the onesie we used in our maternity pictures so I made sure to capture a couple shots of her in it. She's so good at smiling and like this 85% of the time. ;-) I just can't believe how big she is getting!!
On Friday we had a playdate with Miss Jennifer and Graham! It's so much fun seeing little ones playing together.
So many toys! How's a girl to choose?!
Saturday morning we met three of Madi's friends (and their parents) for breakfast at Ikea and did some shopping for the new house. We also saw our apartment listed on Finn.no... I guess that means that our landlord decided to release us from our contract early like we asked?! We are so excited to move (apparently before March 15 according to the listing ;-) ).
Saturday evening I joined a group of ladies for Bunco and left Jason to babysit Madi and finish booking our Easter trip... we're going on a cruise!! We are so excited and can't wait!
Sunday was apparently a very serious day. This little one just stared at everyone, including us!
We attempted (please note the word attempted) to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 at the PWC family movie. Madi enjoyed playing on the chair and visiting with Miss Delisa and her daughter Jordan before the movie started, but about 2/3 of the way through she was tired and just not having it. So we snuck out early and headed home so she could take a proper nap. :-)
And last, but not least, it's Mother's Day here in Norway... so I was spoiled to my husband making breakfast this morning and the sweetest homemade card ever that brought me to tears. So blessed!
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