Catching Up.

Madilynn is 10 months old now and it's so fun.  I realize that I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase of the 1st year and I don't want it to end. 

Some good things:

• She learned to crawl and is able to get to things she wants on her own instead of crying for me to get things for her.
• She's sleeping through the night.  This is not new at all, but still very, very nice.
• She knows how to sign for "milk", "more," and "all done."  This makes life SO easy because she's able to communicate her needs to me.  She's beginning to learn "food" and "water."  Once she's mastered those words I'd like to work on "diaper," "gentle," "yes," and "no".  It doesn't take very long fer her to learn new signs if we're consistent with her.
• She's so funny and loves to laugh.  In Madilynn's world, most things are hilarious.  Jordan and I live to make her laugh and her giggles are so precious and pure.
• She's still loving to eat!
• She's gaining weight faster.  She spent 3 months at 16 lbs. but has gained 11oz. in the past 2 weeks.  I love that she's dainty, but gaining weight (for babies) is always good.
• Her 1st word is "Mama" and I'm ecstatic about it.  She used to say "dada" and "mama" all the time to both Jordan and me.  Now she asks for me or will say "mama" when she sees me.  LOVE!

Some not-so-good things:

• Her appetite is growing so fast and I'm finding it hard to keep up with her demands of food.   I find myself running out of ideas for things to feed her.
• She's continuing to cut more teeth.  This is bad for multiple reasons.  It makes her crabby.  It wakes her up at night and she cries in pain.  My nipples have to adjust to each new tooth rubbing on them.  Sometimes she bites while nursing and it is SO painful!  She chews on everything and has chewed off little pieces of whatever and chokes.
• She gets into EVERYTHING!  She pulls things off tables.  She grabs things off shelves at the store.  She stands up but can't get back down and cries about it.

Things are good for me as well.  I've gotten back into sewing and have sewed some dresses and cloth shoes for Madilynn.  I love that I don't have to buy whatever is available at the stores.  I don't always love the colors and patterns and I like that I can pick stuff that I love.

I got to take pictures of the birth of my friend's daughter.  I was there to photograph the birth of her son and I'm so glad she allowed me to do this for her.  I can't describe the feeling of being in that room and being able to witness the miracle of birth.

Garage sale season has (kinda) started and I can't wait to get back out there this year and see what kind of treasures I can find.  Most of Madilynn's clothes are hand me downs or garage sale finds and I love the savings it brings.  She's got more clothes than I do and she's definitely a better dresser than I am.

I've started planning for Madilynn's first birthday party.  It's both exciting and scary.  We plan on having it at our house and the guest list is at about 50 people already.  I'm looking forward to celebrating her birthday with friends and family, but not looking forward to all the work that's going to come with it.

We had a little taste of summer and I'm so looking forward to the rest of the nicer seasons.  In the 2 weeks of warm weather we had picnics and went to the park.  I can't wait for more of those activities coming up.  Not to mention the festivals, farmer's markets, going downtown, and going to the zoo.

So, that's it for now.  Until we meet again...