Sitting...Standing...Sassing

Miss Madeline went from hardly assisted sitter to independent sitter in the course of a week.  She can sit for about 20-30 mins without toppling over if she chooses.  Sometimes, she just likes to fall over so she can lie on her tummy.  Ah, tummy time!  I remember the days when she wouldn't be on her tummy for 30 seconds without screaming, and now...well you get the point.

I tried her out on furniture standing.  She loves to stand on our laps and with us holding her, so I thought, 'I wonder if she can stand holding on to furniture?'  And guess what, she can!  She even took one sideways step before becoming over-confident and letting go a bit too soon!  

Ok so here was how my day started today.  My kid made her first joke at my expense...the first of many I assume.  But I don't mind, I laughed my head off.  She woke up at 6:15am, which if you know anything about me, I do not approve of a minute before 7am, but I digress.  She said "mama" for the first time in her crib, over and over and over.  I am such a sucker (and it was just so cute to hear her say my name for the first time) so I entered her room, bottle in hand at 6:30am.  I burst through the door and said, "did someone call for Mama?".  She looks up at me, huge smile and says, "Dada!" and then proceeds to laugh and laugh.  I was so hysterical I scared Alex in the bathroom to tell him about it!

I love her!

What Madeline's Up To...

Here are some new things Madeline has been up to...

1.  Madeline is sitting unassisted for a few minutes.  After that, she usually ends up falling down and making a face like she is shocked she just fell.

2.  Madeline is not crawling, but she can get up on all fours and scootch backwards and forwards.  She can also roll over both directions and is getting a bit more active.

3.  Her new passion is her jumpster.  She has been getting some great air time.  

4.  Madeline remains pretty disinterested in baby food.  She has a few that she likes well enough, but short of those, she doesn't eat much.

5.  Madeline has tried some table foods as well.  She tried bread, but didn't really swallow it.  She LOVES clementine oranges.  I held on to a piece and let her suck the juice and she cried when it was gone.  I didn't want to give her too much because of her acid reflux.  

6.  Madeline is really interested in kids right now.  She finds them hilarious.  In fact, at this stage, she thinks everything is hilarious.

7.  Madeline has two teeth, both on the bottom.  She drools constantly, so I expect she will get the top ones soon.

8.  One of Madeline's favorite activities is looking out our picture window and identifying cars.

Madeline's Talking

Madeline began speaking at 7 months.  Her first words, "all done" came out crystal clear.  It started in relation to food, but now extends to anything she is finished with including sleep, songs, books, activities, etc.  It has been my goal for the last few days to get her talking on tape.  She has a tendency to stop speaking when I show her the camera.  Something about our camera just looks so tasty to her that she starts trying to eat it instead of talking.  She also never talks on demand.  When Madeline speaks, it is serious business, and I never seem to have the camera ready.  So here it is:  Madeline saying "all done." 

Madeline can also say "night night", but it is much less clear--it sounds more like "na na", but she is consistent about only using it when she is actually tired.  If you lay her down when she says it, she goes right to sleep.  It took me a few days to figure out what it meant, but ever since, it has been helpful in knowing when to put her down for naps.  You can see this video by clicking on the link to the flickr page.

Other words we have heard her repeat, but not say spontaniously are cat, meow, attic, blue, I did, and moo.

Madeline's Has Friends Over

Today we had a great time playing with a bunch of Madeline's friends.  Kelly came over with Rylie, Nicole brought Pax, Denise drove out with Delaney and Makenna, and Laila was here for the morning.  The six kids played beautifully together and had lots of fun.  It was fun to catch up with my friends, too!  Besides the expected temper tantrum from almost all of the kids, there were no major issues, which is amazing for so many little ones together.   My favorite picture is the one where we attempted to get six children under 3 to sit together and smile for the camera.  Classic!

The other picture is of Madeline's first Passover seder.  She is eating three spoons to stay quiet!