First of Many

Well, Miss Madeline has her first official tooth!! She's been having all the symptoms of teething since she was about 3 months old, and now a little snag has finally broken the surface on the bottom. Being the inexperienced Mama that I am, I had no idea that one day Madeline would wake up, and there it is!

This past Monday was a HORRIFIC day in Mama-Land here at the Stewart household. I even went to the doctor on Monday afternoon to make sure she didn't have an ear infection or anything like that. (I'm sure the doctor was wondering what in the world I was thinking as her little gums were throbbing, but she never cries like that.) So once all other things were ruled out, I knew that the tooth was about to break the surface. Poor Madeline, she was not a happy camper regardless of what I did to console her. Absolutely nothing helped (but now I know all about Motrin, my new best friend!). She wore her little self out by 6:30 PM and slept like a rock until Tuesday morning. At least she has a little chicklet to show for her miserable day on Monday.

***I have yet to be able to capture this momentous event on camera as she covers it with her tongue every time I go near it, so a picture to share is hopefully on the way...

Slack...

Yep, that's me. I've let my blogging slip a little bit. I had Madeline's updates started and mostly completed on March 17th, but I've just gotten around to putting the final touches on them so they would be "post worthy".

What's been going on with us over the last few weeks?

• Madeline has been sick with a cold on and off --- runny nose (I thought it was teething at first, but it turned a lovely shade of green.) & a horrible cough, so needless to say, we've had some sleepless nights over the last couple of weeks.
• We've been doing lots of spring chores around the house --- raking leaves (although you wouldn't know it to look at our yard as the leaves seem to be neverending), cleaning out closets, lowering the baby girl's crib one notch, washing cars, and other random yard chores.
• On St. Patrick's Day weekend, Eric and I braved the chill and rain to go to 5 Points downtown to enjoy the Irish festivities and visit with many of our friends. Oh, how times have changed when we stand around with friends enjoying a couple of adult beverages discussing babysitters, diapers, naptimes, and how annoyingly loud the music is. Madeline stayed with my mom and dad for the weekend, so Eric and I had an entire baby-free weekend. It was wonderful, and of course, I had the best intentions of snapping some date night pictures on Friday night & St. Patty's Day pictures, but my camera never made it out of my purse the entire weekend! Boo hiss....
• While at my mom's house, Madeline enjoyed some quality time with her cousin Drew. (My brother and his wife also took my parents up on the offer to keep the grandkids for the whole weekend.) He's almost 6 years old, and he can really entertain Madeline! No one gets her belly laughing like her cousin Drew. It's so cute!
• Eric has been working A LOT, and he's had quite a few dinner programs to attend in the evenings. So we have been in survival mode so to speak the last couple of weeks.
• We are going to have a visit from Nana and Papa (Eric's parents) this upcoming weekend, so Eric and I can go to the Camden Cup (horse races). Hopefully, the weather will cooperate, and we can enjoy a nice spring day outside with friends and horses while Nana and Papa get some quality time with Madeline!
• I've been trying some new recipes to change up our dinners. Some have been great while many have been not-so-great...one dish elicited this comment from Eric, "It looks like school cafeteria beef-a-roni." Hmm, I'm not sure that is a compliment, but it gave me a good chuckle. Let's just say I've put more "X" marks by recipes in the book rather than stars.

So after re-reading this post, maybe I haven't been slack just BORING with nothing terribly noteworthy happening.

Madeline's 7 Month Photo Shoot Gone Wild!

First picture--so far so good!

I had to make a separate post regarding Madeline's 7 month photo shoot because it was just so funny. It really shows how much she has changed. Before, she would just sit there and pose throwing out the occasional smile while I snapped away. This month, however, was a little different. The sign was entirely too irresistible and her patience with my prompting her to smile wore thin very quickly. I did get some cute shots as you saw on her update post, but here is the progression of our photo session in order from beginning to end. (Keep your eyes on the sign, by the way. By the end of the session, the sign is quite mangled and slobbery!)

"OHHH, this sign looks fun!"

"Maybe I could hold it just for a second!"

"OOPS, I leaned over just a little too far. Now, I'm stuck! Let me see if I can just reach my arm out to get the sign anyways."

(Notice her little hand reached out to get the sign.)
Lots of grunting noises coming from the small person...
"Ah-ha! I got it!"

Still lots of grunting and breathing heavy...It's hard work to ruin a piece of paper.

"Mommy tried to move the sign and me elsewhere...But, I wasn't interested in doing this anymore. If I don't look at the camera, maybe she'll stop!"

Madeline finally indulged Mommy with a few smiles.

"Phew! Mom, seriously, I'm tired of this already!" (Notice her belly hanging out!)

It looks like she is rolling her eyes at me in the above picture.

"Yawn! I'm so over this!"

"If I start to fuss, this torture may end."

And, this Mommy got wise and decided to call it a day!

"YAY!!! I'm done!!!"

Madeline is 7 Months Old & Her Hair is Wild!

Our sweet little girl is more than half way to a year old! Unbelievable! Her "verbalness" seems to have really exploded over the last month...a stream of constant babbling and talking is always coming from her no matter where we are. She really turns it on when she thinks no one is paying her any attention. She loves to be tickled, and she can really start giggling when her tickle spots get overstimulated. Madeline's little personality is just so happy-go-lucky and fun. Rarely, does she cry or fuss...if she is crying or fussing, then something is wrong. Otherwise, she's talking, smiling, giggling, & squealing in delight.

Madeline's schedule has finally gotten worked out, and it's great. She wakes up about 6:30-7:00 AM and plays in her crib until someone comes to get her for breakfast. She eats quite the hearty bowl of rice cereal and a few ounces of milk to wash it all down. About 8:30-9:00 AM, she starts to fuss a little, so I usually make a small bottle to settle her down. She may or may not want it, but she has her bunny lovey that she will snuggle with. Her morning nap varies from a 15 minute power nap to a full blown two hour nap. I never know, and I just go with it. During the week, we go to the gym after her morning nap, and she begins to kick her legs wildly when I put her into the carseat. She knows we are headed out to see her friends! She eats her lunch around 12:30-1:00, and she LOVES lunch! She will eat a full jar of veggie and a full jar of fruit and most times wash it down with a few ounces of milk. Around 1:30-2:00 the eye rubs and fussiness start to kick-in, and I simply put her in her crib with her paci and bunny lovey. She may cry for a few minutes, but most of the time, she goes to sleep. Her afternoon nap varies in length as well, but I usually don't get her out until about 4 PM. Late afternoon is when we read books, sit on the back deck if the weather permits, play of the floor, or have exersaucer time. Madeline eats a very hearty dinner at 5-5:30. Again, she eats a full jar of fruit and a full jar of veggie, some rice cereal, and some bottle. We never miss the opportunity to have bathtime around 6 PM because this little lady LOVES bathtime. She kicks, splashes, giggles, and squeals with delight, and she certainly doesn't mind having water poured over her head to rinse. About 6:30 or 7 PM, we take her back to her room to have her last bottle, and she typically goes to sleep quickly and easily. Our routine is easy, comfortable, and works for all of us!


Madeline LOVES: bathtime, to eat, to play in her exersaucer, to jump in her jumpy doorframe thingy, to snuggle, her feet, to give BIG kisses, her pink baby and bunny lovey, to sit up like a big girl and grab for whatever is in her reach, to gnaw on Baby Mum Mums (it's like a rice cake in stick form), to suck on whatever she can get her paws on (current favorites are remote controls, koozies, & crinkly wrappers), attention from her Daddy, to clap her hands together, going to the gym, to sit on the deck and look all around her, "Aunt Jen" (a very good friend of ours & the feeling is very mutual), and to play by herself.

Madeline is NOT A FAN when it comes to: being on her belly, so she doesn't roll over EVER even though she can, putting clothes on and off, having things taken from her when she's decided that's what she wants to play with, being held and entertained all the time, and making an effort to get toys out of her reach. [Madeline is very content to play with whatever is in her immediate radius, and she will not fuss for something out of her reach. She simply finds something else to play with. She's a little bit lazy. :) ]

Madeline can be very serious at times especially when she is in a new place. She will just study whatever is around her and take it all in. However, once she gets comfortable in this place, she will begin to squeal and talk to let everyone know she's in the area. When we are out and about, the most common remarks that strangers make about Madeline are: "She is so happy and good!" (for example, I was at the hair dresser for over 2 hours, and she happily played in her car seat NEVER fussing). And, the very most common remark make about her is, "Look at that hair! Can I touch it? Do you style it that way?" (OK, people, seriously, I am into clothes and hair, but I don't style my 7 month old's hair every morning!)

Madeline continues to be the light of our lives, and she has certainly captured our hearts. I say this every month, but I am still in awe that we have been blessed with such a sweet little girl.

Spring has Sprung -- for now!

Again, the Stewart family has nothing terribly exciting to report as of late. However, this past weekend, we threw up the shades, opened the windows, and got outside! This past weekend, Madeline, Eric and I got outside to enjoy the GORGEOUS weather. While we were enjoying the weather, we were also being productive. Yes, the being productive part was my idea, but I was right there with him with my own rake and picking up my share of the piles! We got into all of our natural areas and flower beds to rake out all of the leaves and old pine straw to prepare for the new pine straw. Eric made good use of my most recent "yard present" from my mom -- electric trimmers! All of our shrubs and bushes needed their springtime haircut, so while I was raking and cleaning out, Eric was trimming. I was more than excited to see little green buds on all my hydrangea bushes! Oh, how I love springtime, and this weekend just made me ready for spring more than ever! Madeline observed our handy work from her exersaucer on the deck in the shade.

Lunch break! And, yes, our little sweetie is completely content for one of us to hold her bottle. She is a little bit of a lazy eater!

On a side note, Madeline has really surprised me lately with her naps. As we all know, I tried so hard to create an afternoon naptime ritual that was just NOT WORKING, and as a matter of fact, I think it was just making things worse. (Hindsight is 20/20! I guess every new mom lives and learns the hard way.) Lately, she's been napping on her own in the morning in our spare bedroom. When she begins to get a little fussy and the eye rubbing starts, I just put her in there for some quiet time with her plush toys, and she just falls fast asleep on her own for up to an hour. (This morning nap is still a power nap.) However, the afternoon nap has been going really well....she does one of two things consistently: Madeline falls asleep on the way home from the gym and has a late lunch at 2 or 2:30, OR she eats lunch when we get home from the gym, plays a bit, and gets fussy/eye rubs. I put Madeline into the crib with her bunny lovey, and she talks to her mobile. Finally she falls fast asleep on her with little to no crying for a couple of hours!! How great is that?! I snapped a few naptime pictures just for fun.

She can almost reach it! Time to lower the crib one level!