Madeline's Blog

Yesterday (the 12th) was Darla's birthday. She hasn't gotten any REAL birthday presents from me yet. But I did make her this picture:

That's not the full sized version. Her copy is an 8 x 10 print, and you can see all the little Maddie pictures.

If you'd like the big version so you can print it out, let me know.

Well, our Fourth of July might not have been as exciting as you might expect, but we did have a very pleasant time. Maddie was all decked out, both Sunday and on the Fourth, in her red, white, and blue glory. It was all lost on her, though, since she spent both days fascinated with her shoes more than anything else.

Madeline wore her Fourth of July denim dress to church the Sunday before the Fourth.

As the shirt says, she's our little firecracker!

On the Fourth, rather than brave the crowds and noise of the National Mall, we decide to first travel to Arlington Cemetary, then hit the mall which is only two metro stops from the cemetary, and then come home and watch whatever fireworks we could see from our apartment window. We ended up having a great time. At Arlington, we got to see the graves of Supreme Court justices, John F. Kennedy, and many others. The landscape was beautiful and it was interesting to see admirals buried next to privates. We also saw the Lee House, which was once owned by Robert E. Lee (hence the name ). Madeline slept through most of the excursion, but she did wake up in time to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. I really enjoyed touring the cemetary much more than I did the memorials. It think I felt that way because the individuals honored in the cemetary were not just those that died due to war; many of them were individuals that went on to lead long lives after their time in the service, and others were wives, judges, or statesmen who were not in the military at all. I say this not to diminish their contributions, but just to remark on the fact that while the memorials seem sad and a little oppressive to me, the cemetary was serene and uplifting. It is actually a very lovely place.

The eternal flame at JFK's resting place.

The Lee House

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Maddie getting her daipy changed in the visitors' center at Arlington. It just goes to show you; nowhere is safe from the Madmeister -- she can strike anywhere, anytime!

After the cemetary we ate lunch at the mall and then wandered around. We got home in time to relax a bit before Maddie went to sleep -- at 7:30! It figures she'd go to sleep early on the one night we wanted her to stay up late. So, she ended up missing any and all fireworks. Matthew and I, however, stayed up to see a rather nice display from our apartment window. It turns out that much of Alexandria was shooting off fireworks, and we could see them all along the horizon. Some were even close enough for us to hear the explosions. We also watched the fireworks from the National Mall on television. All in all we had pleasant and relaxing family Fourth!

I promised you some pictures of Father's Day, but most of the pictures we took are on real film, and we have yet to get them developed. Still, we did take a picture of Matthew and his very first Father's Day tie -- customized with a repeating picture of his little girl.

Every day after work, Matthew and Madeline spend some quality time together. It's so much fun to watch them play; Madeline really is a daddy's girl. I'm a little jealous of how she stops whatever she's doing and starts kicking as soon as she sees him, but hey, I get to spend all day playing with her, so I can't complain. Here are some pictures of Matthew and Maddie after Matthew gets home:

Maddie just looooves her daddy!

Well, it is officially summer, and we have been really enjoying doing "summer-y" things with Maddie, including giving her teeny tastes of our popsicles, feeding her a "popsicle" of her own (thanks Grandma Lea!), and GOING SWIMMING!

Maddie looks so cute with all of her fat rolls hanging out of her summer clothes, and she REALLY enjoys munching on her "popsicle" teething ring -- she even cries when you take it away (something she has begun doing ANYTHIME you take ANYTHING she wants away, or even when she can't reach a favorite toy or a novel object):

Gimme that popsicle!

This past Saturday it was the perfect day to go to the pool -- warm but still overcast -- and we took Maddie swimming. She actually seemed to like it! Or at least, she didn't mind it too much. It was a bit challenging getting two adults and one very wiggly baby into their swimsuits, slathered down with sunscreen, and out to the pool, but we managed, and we had a great time! Thanks for the swimsuit and cover-up Aunt Rene and for the swim diapers and float Grandma Lea!

Here are some pictures of Madeline as we were getting ready to go:

We took some "before" pictures at the pool just in case the venture didn't turn out too well:

Getting in the pool for the first time (she wasn't too sure about it):

Because Matthew and I are both extrememly overprotective, we bought a life-vest for Maddie to use during her first dip. As you can see, while she tolerated the jacket, she wasn't overjoyed with it:

After trying out the life-vest, we moved on to using Maddie's new float, and that was when Maddie really started liking the pool (oh yeah, and is there ANYTHING cuter than baby sunglasses?!). Matthew and I enjoyed watching her kick, playing "baby catch" with her, and nudging her around in the three-foot side of the pool:

After trying the float we got brave enough to carefully holding Maddie in the water ourselves. While she smiled for the camera, we think she liked using the float better.

We didn't want to push it, so we only spent around 20 minutes in the pool. But we had fun drying off, too, and took some pictures of our little "water baby" relaxing on a pool chair:


Ah! This is the life!

After swimming we took Maddie back home, gave her a bath, fed her, and relaxed while she took a nice nap. Matthew says that now we know how to get her to sleep when we really need to.

Happy summer all and we hope you are enjoying your own warm-weather fun!

Well, it has been an interesting month!

Maddie is just shy of five months now, so I'll try to bring you up to date on everything that's happening . . .

Maddie had her four-month check-up on June 9th, and all went well. I got terribly lost in D.C. on the way there because I was so nervous about her shots, but I called Matthew and he guided me there fast enough that I was only a few minutes late. Anyway, Maddie was 18 lbs, 1 oz, and was 27 inches long. She is right along her growth curve, and the doctor said that breastmilk alone (up until she hits six months) is the healthiest thing for Maddie. She had reached all of the milestones she was supposed to reach (keeping head in line with body when pulled to sitting, saying "Ahgoo," getting her head up off the ground while on her tummy, bearing some weight on her legs, etc.), except for rolling over, which she did only a few days after the appointment!

Maddie had her shots that day, too, and while the actual administration of the shots did not go very well (1 VERY SLOW nurse + 4 separate shots = 1 VERY unhappy baby), she didn't seem to have any reaction to them this time.

The day after the appointment, we decided to try switching Maddie to PrevAcid solutabs, which are easier to give than the Zantac. For the next four days, though, Maddie began screaming only a few minutes after I gave them to her and remained in a general funk all day. So, I stopped giving them, called the doctor and made an appointment, and since we didn't have any Zantac in the house, she didn't have meds for several days. And she did fine! Apart from a bit more spit-up, she was a MUCH happier baby! I began to think that maybe the meds (which I think I mentioned we had upped to 1.2 ccs of Zantac three times each day) were actually HURTING her stomach! So, I talked with the doctor, and since she had gained a little weight since her shots (the weight gain while not on the meds is our main concern), we took her off of any medication completely! So far it has been great! Maddie is much more comfortable and engaged, so I think maybe the reflux stuff might finally be over!

Nowadays, Maddie is an absolute ball of energy. She does NOT like to nap, and only does so in three or four little catnaps (20-30 minutes each) throughout the day. She reaches for things, pulls things, tries to eat thing she shouldn't eat, and generally makes caring for her a very busy and tiring (though enjoyable!) endeavor.

Her main pursuit the past week has been rolling over at EVERY opportunity. Anytime Maddie is on her back, she rolls over. She even tries to roll over in the stroller, in her bouncy seat, and on her little changing sled. Matthew or I will be changing her, and suddenly be left holding only an ankle connected to a leg connected to a body that is completely turned over except for said leg. It sounds painful, but somehow she never seems to mind.

Maddie also turns over in her sleep, which scares me to death. She will NOT NOT NOT sleep on her back anymore. At first I tried turning her over every time she went onto her stomach, but that resulted in me waking up 15-20 times a night to flip her and then try to get her back to sleep. I still try to flip her when I notice her on her stomach now, though not as religiously, but this morning Maddie started CRYING when I try to turn her to her back. That, of course, results in a really rough wake-up and another 45 minutes trying to get her calm enough to go to sleep. So, I've put in a call to Maddie's doctor back in Fayetteville to ask them what I should do, and until then I'm putting her down on her back and letting her turn to her stomach. After all, she has to sleep. And, for those of you who are worriers like me, we have an alarm system that will sound if she stops breathing. I'll let you all know what the doctor says.

Well, although this is such a brief update on Maddie's growth compared to all that she is doing, I'm going stop writing in order to work on the next post that includes pictures of Maddie SWIMMING! Yay!