Madeline's Blog

Darla's regular update will be forthcoming. However, I liked these pictures so much I wanted to post them.

Just before we left, Madeline seemed READY to go. I don't think she knew how much time she would have to sit in her carseat.

All that travelling can be exhausting.

This time, we decided to go a different way; we drove up through St. Louis, but then we drove through Kentucky instead of Pennsylvania. It turns out that that route sent us straight through Evansville. We stopped to see Mammaw, Pappaw, and Penny.

Everything's different and more difficult when you're travelling, even changing a diaper.

We did have a chance to give Madeline her first driving lesson. She did very well.

If you're old enough to drive, you're old enough to steal a little of Mamma's slushy - - but don't get caught!

Well folks, we're here! We don't have DSL hooked up yet, so we'll save the pictures of the trip and our arrival for a few days from now. Still, I wanted to give you all an update!

We left on Thursday at 8:30pm and arrived in D.C. on Saturday at around 7:00pm, so we did fairly well, all things considered (read: we did well for two people traveling with a three-month-old). Maddie did WONDERFULLY on the trip! She took her naps just like usual, though they lasted a little longer than they normally do, and inbetween sleeps she just looked out the window. She tries to sit forward in her carseat now, so she spent a lot of time with her head bent forward looking at her toes. She fell asleep like that and in other strange positions, including the dreaded left-head-tilt, and Mommy had to lean way back in the car pretty often to get her into a comfortable position. She's just so wiggly, she gets all whopperjawed in the carseat restraints (we know we have them tightened correctly -- how does she do that?). There was only one point in the whole trip where we had a little trouble with her; she was crying and tired, I think, and I hope no one was watching us pull off at EACH of FIVE successive exits to try and feed, rearrange, entertain, and otherwise soothe our little one.

Maddie still slept through the night while on the trip, from about 11pm each night (I don't really know why she fell asleep so much later than usual) until around 8am the next morning. She had no problems falling asleep in her packnplay at various hotels. On the third day of driving, she did get a bit cranky; who wouldn't after being cooped in a carseat for three days! But we arrived more or less in one piece (though during a roaring thunderstorm), and Maddie seems to be enjoying her new accomodations. She plays just like she did at home, though she's dropped a nap (she now takes an hour-long nap in the morning, a 20-minute catnap around noon, and a long nap at around 3 or so; this is better than the few days before we left, when she didn't want to nap at all! I think she knew something was up!).

Developmentally, Maddie is going gangbusters. She talks up a STORM now (just ask Grandma Lea, who had a twenty minute conversation with her via cell phone), laughs out loud so that you can really hear it (finally, though it's not terribly often), and tries all sorts of different sounds. While on her tummy she can scoot forward imperceptibly until she reaches a toy or her little stand-up baby mirror, and if you put your hands out so her feet can push against them, she can scoot forward pretty far and fast. She grabs things, well actually she grabs EVERYTHING with amazing accuracy now; it's as if something she worked so hard for just a few weeks ago is second nature now. This is good and bad for Mama; she can hold toys to entertain herself, BUT, she can get ahold of plastic bags, waterbottle lids, and other things that are not good to put in her mouth. She grabs at food while Mom or Dad is holding her at the table, as well. While at a McDonalds near St. Louis, I was holding her in my lap and she was reaching for my salad. I had pushed it away from her as far as I could while still leaving it accessible to my fork, and I thought she couldn't reach it. She made a great lunge, however, and her hand came down right on the side of the bowl. The salad tipped up and forward with amazing force, and the salad went airborne. We wish we had a picture of Maddie sitting there, eyes as big as saucers, covered in lettuce. It went everywhere -- Maddie, Mama, the table, the floor. Matthew and I couldn't help but die laughing, though. Mathey said, "It's tossed salad!" and Maddie recovered with her usual elan.

We are still breastfeeding exclusively, however, with no solids yet. It's just so much easier to continue this way, though a lot of people aren't terribly comfortable with me doing it in public. I try to take advantage of nursing areas in women's restrooms and other similar accomodations, but often there is nowhere to go and, after all, Maddie needs to be fed. I think for my part I have lost the ability to really be embarassed by it; after all, I do it eight times a day, and I can't afford to be picky and search out the perfect spot for it. And of course, Maddie doesn't care where she eats.

Maddie is not the only one who is enjoying her stay in D.C. so far; I am too! There is a four-story mall only about five minutes away (walking!), and the Metro can take Maddie and I anywhere we'd want to go (the nearest stop is also only a few minutes of walking away). She went for her first ride on it on Sunday, and did rather well. Daddy held her at first, and she was happy as could be until she heard the loud whistling through a tunnel and got scared. Her lower lip poked out, and she looked up at Matthew and just wailed. A few moments later she was happy again, though, and hasn't cried on the metro since (she ought to be used to it; the metro was where I felt her move for the first time!).

Speaking of the metro, Maddie and I might just take it to the Smithsonian sometime this week. She really enjoys just looking at stuff (it's so fun to watch her be amazed by absolutely EVERYTHING; on her first trip to Union Station she was positively all eyes), and I really enjoy the Smithsonian. I hope we can see a lot of it this summer.

Matthew is enjoying his work, though he's only been at it for one day, and I'll have him post an update on what it's like when he gets a chance. Until then, stay tuned for more posts on Maddie's progress and for pics of the trip!

This past weekend was a BIG one for us; it was Mother’s Day, and Maddie was DEDICATED! So many people were kind enough to come see it. Grandma Lea and Grandpa Darrell came to Fayetteville early Saturday afternoon, Grandma Debbie, Aunt Irene and Uncle Art arrived soon afterwards, and then came Grandma Julie and Grandpa Joey that night. Grandma Lea, Grandma Debbie and I all worked to get a big meal ready. My mom and I even went to Walmart to get food and left Maddie at home with Daddy – it was the first time I had ever really left her! It went fine except I kept turning around at stoplights to check to see if Maddie was okay in the carseat, and, of course, she wasn’t there. In the morning we all scrambled around getting ready, and I dressed Maddie in a pink and white dress with lots of layers that she kept pulling up and putting in her mouth. She did, however, manage to get through Sunday School in the nursery without pooping or barfing on it, so that was good. Maddie’s Great, Great Aunt Lois and her daughter Carolyn also came to the service, as well as Matthew’s friends Sach, Clark, and Ali, who had to sit somewhere else since our pew was already full! During the dedication (at the First Baptist Church of Fayetteville), Maddie fussed a little, but she settled down to smile at the preacher when he reached her and said her name.

After the dedication we all went back to our apartment to eat, and boy did we have a great time! The meal was ready pretty quick (everyone had to leave as soon as possible – Grandpa Joey and Grandma Julie, we’re glad you made your plane, and Aunt Irene, we hope your final went well!), and we sat down to absolutely stuff ourselves! We ate and ate and ate, and visited and visited and visited, and we all had a wonderful time. Below are the pictures of the event; the last time everyone will see Maddie before we go to D.C.!

At church:

Matthew and Madeline before the dedication.

On stage at FBC Fayetteville.

Grandma Lea and Grandpa Darrell watching the dedication.

Coming home to pose for pictures:

And so the meal begins!:

A very popular cake! Thanks Grandma Lea!

Maddie's Auntie Lois gave her a Precious Moments Bible with her name engraved on it; it is so pretty! Thank you Auntie!

And before we all went our separate ways:

Thank you all so much for coming! It meant so much to us! We'll keep you updated on Maddie's adventures in Washington, D.C.!

The weekend before last we went to Texarkana to visit Grandma and finish moving some of Matthew’s old stuff. Maddie had a great time visiting with her Grandma Debbie, meeting her Aunt Irene and Uncle Art, and stopping by to see Sandi, Devanah, and Hugh (who she smiled and smiled at!). She was in a MUCH better mood than when we last went to Texarkana (the day she had her shots), and was generally a happy baby the whole time!

Getting her Diapy changed in Texarkana;
Maddie LOVES to stick her feet in the air!

Madeline even went to visit Heath and Andrea’s new baby Ava, who is just as cute as she can be. I hope you all don't mind me posting her picture!

On Sunday we dressed Maddie in a very pretty blue dress for church. We couldn't resist taking tons of pictures of her, and I can't resist sharing them with you all!

We sent in the above picture (the one on the right) to our church to go in the bulletin for her dedication.

The above is Matthew and Madeline at Beech Street First Baptist Church, Matthew's home church.

The three Wright girls!

I love Grandma!

Check back soon for pictures of Madeline's Dedication!

It seems like Maddie doesn’t just grow in spurts, but learns in them too. This week she has begun doing so much! She squeals when she’s really happy now, and it just melts my heart every time. She is laughing a little bit more, though you still can’t really hear it, and she is reaching like crazy! She grabs toys, blankets, noses, glasses, necklaces, hair, you name it, and tries to put it in her mouth. She doesn’t suck on it, but just chews on it HARD. It almost hurts to put your finger in her mouth! She also bears her weight when you stand her up, though you have to be there to balance her, and has even sat up on her own for a few seconds (she uses her arms to hold herself up). We’re convinced that she could do all of these things better if she didn’t smile with her whole body; she’ll be doing some wonderful thing, and then Matthew and I will clap, she’ll smile, and her balance goes out the window! It’s really a vicious cycle, but it’s fun to watch all the same! She is still sleeping through the night, and has every night since she first began (about two weeks ago). It’s so nice to put her to bed at night and know you can sleep all the way until morning. I feel like we can function again! She takes fewer and shorter naps during the day, though, so I guess it’s kind of an even trade. Nursing is FINALLY getting easier for us now, as Maddie has been going two-and-a-half to three hours between feedings. This means that we only get about seven feedings in during the hours that she’s awake, less than the magic “eight” feedings everyone says you should have, but I think it’s okay. We still haven’t started cereal, and don’t plan to any time soon unless unforeseen circumstances arise. I think that even if we tried to give it to Maddie, she’d just spit it out with her tongue the same way she does her medicine. She really does NOT like to have things in her mouth. As you can see below, though, her grin is amazing!

Well, last week I decided to take Maddie for a long walk in the park after her nap. It was a beautiful day, but not pretty enough to keep Maddie awake. The stroller ride proved too much for her, and she fell sound asleep. BUT, Mama had a great time walking around and enjoying the spring flowers!

After the park I took Maddie to walk around the University, and she woke up in time to get her picture taken in front of the Law School and beside the dogwoods that will be cut down to make way for the new entrance. They were in bloom, and it's sad that they'll be cut down, but now we have the perfect way to remember them!

"Law School? I don't know . . ."