TGIF!

Have a fun weekend everyone! I'll just be busy playing with my toys as usual!

Pears.

I had lunch with a dear friend from St. Ben's today. She and her husband are having their first child in April. We met for salads at the Nordstrom's Cafe, which was actually quite delicious. Madeline was on her best behavior, which made the trip very enjoyable for us. After we walked for a while, as we talked we realized that many of our friends are already on their 2nd child and here we were just on #1. An ongoing discussion in the Maslow household..1 or 2? John and I are both only children and that seems like a great number to me. I know that around Madie's 1st or 2nd birthday I might "miss" that infancy stage and have the urge to do it again. Time will tell, but for now, 1 is a perfect number.

In other news today Madeline had her first experience with Pears....she ate the entire container and, for the first time during a feeding, she actually opened her mouth and reached out for the spoon waiting for me to give her more.
I think we'll be incorporating more pears into her diet moving forward. I was so excited, perhaps even overjoyed, to see her anxious about the next spoonful!

And she is becoming less camera shy...with the amount of time I have it in her face, she's starting to understand "smile"! Enjoy the photos.

I'm 5 months old!

Here I am today....

...having some carrots...

....so messy!

All clean! I liked that snack!

Mommy bought me this new toy today for my 5 month birthday....

....and I can't pick it up, it's too heavy for my little arms.

Madeline is working on sitting up - but usually ends up with her head in her feet most of the time. With a little support for her parents, she does great! Also, Madeline has grown to enjoy the following:

• Loves to look at books and tear pages out of them.


• Loves to watch her Baby Einstein videos in the morning.


• Smiles constantly. Cries constantly. Giggles constantly.


• Drools and sucks both thumbs constantly (bottom tooth is slowly making a break for it!)


• Tries so hard to roll from her back to her tummy.


• Has moments when she gets a little "strange" when mom and dad are not in sight


• Loves "naked baby time" (aka: bathtime) and it seems to soothe her if she is having a cranky night. She's in the tub all by herself now. There's no baby whale tub anymore!


• Started on solid food - rice cereal and fruits and veggies. She doesn't care for the rice cereal at all, loves applesauce and carrots
  
• Mom and dad are so proud. Nothing warms our hearts more than seeing her smile every morning.

Arts and Crafts

Today in Mommy and Me class we made a toy. How clever....a small, empty, plastic water bottle filled half way with Karo's Corn Syrup- then add various beads and confetti! Voila! You have a lava lamp type toy for baby! Madeline spent the first 30 minutes of class cooing and grabbing at her new friends; Tyler, Madelyn, Gavin, and Bryn and the last 45 minutes sleeping. All that interaction really wore her out! She then slept for the next 3 HOURS! Momma was happy. I like this class already.

Today.

It's been a few days since our last post. Here's an update for you.

Last week we took Madeline to the pediatrician...at 8:30 PM. She just wasn't herself. Everytime I would lay her down, whether to change a diaper or to play, she would cry cry cry. She was extremely clingly and no matter what I did, she just wasn't happy. Usually I put her in the bathtub when she's fussy and that's the cure- this time, nothing worked. Finally I decided to call her doctor and was encouraged to bring her in as it sounded like she may have an ear infection. Well, she didn't have an ear infection, but a small virus- the doc said it's most likely a cold (I forgot to mention she's been coughing a lot). Here we are, nearly a week later and she hasn't made much improvement. Add lots of gas to this mix and you've got yourself a real crabby Madeline....and an extremely exhausted mom and dad. I hope she starts to feel better soon, poor thing.
In other news, mom and Madeline started Baby n' Me classes through our local Community Education program. We had an introduction yesterday (Monday) and the session begins tomorrow! (Wednesday) Madeline met two new friends in class, Jackson and another Madeline, but she spells her name Madelyn. I was told there are about 8 more mom's and baby's registered but due to the weather yesterday they probably opted to stay home. I am really looking forward to meeting other new mom's and to hear and learn from them. Madeline, considering her temperment lately, did really well! She already has mastered Peek-a-Boo so she showed up those other kids. She also was much more talkative than the other two, but, that might change next time. The "teachers" were very impressed with our little blueberry muffin (yes, that's what I called her).
Currently we're on the couch, sharing a blanket and trying to stay nice and warm. It's about -15 degrees this morning. No field trips today. And....let the waterworks begin. Gotta go!

Lots of this...helps me through the day.

Looking a little sick, but still is interested in a few toys.

Thanks Uncle Mark!

Thanks, Uncle Mark, for visiting me last weekend and for the super cute outfits! You're the best! (Next time, don't wear that hat....I scared of the hat!)

Have you read your Itsy Bitsy Spider book lately?

I miss you Daddy!

Daddy...mommy and I miss you today. We hope you feel better and we can't wait to give you all our hugs when you come home. XOXO.

Playing Dress Up.

Because it's Friday and too cold to go shopping, we decided to clean up Madeline's closet this morning. Hard to believe she's only 4 months old and already we have two rubbermaid's full of her clothes! As we were working, we (mom) decided to play dress up and snap a few photos to share with all of you.

This outfit was a gift from our friend's Jim and Francine in Florida! So cute on!...and yes, that is a purse in her hand. (and her diaper pail in the background, sorry!)

It's hard to tell, but here she's wearing her "Snow Cute" penguin onesie and her pink penguin socks...and her pink Nike's. The onesie is compliements of our friends Domenick and Roseanne, the socks from her Godmother Jen and the shoes from our friend Meredith.

Her knit hat from Gymborie...a gift from Jack and Barb. Her head is growing so quick that she's outgrown her 3-6 month hat and is now in her 12 month hat!

Her Oshgosh jacket and Gap jeans....so stylish!