Happy Hanukkah!

Sunday, December 21st was the first night of Hanukkah. My parents came over to celebrate and to give Maddie her presents. Here are some pictures from the last night of Hanukkah (with all the candles lit) and some pictures from the first night, with Maddie opening her presents. Enjoy!

Posting old videos

I have finally figured out a way to condense the videos that we have been taking to file sizes that are easier to upload onto Blogger. So for the next several posts you will see some of the videos we have been taking but had trouble uploading. Sorry for the delay loyal readers, but better late than never.

Will

First Video of Maddie

This is a video we took at the hospital two days after Maddie was born. We were trying to leave the hospital and had loaded up the car when horrible weather hit. So we had to stay at the hospital for several hours until the weather passed over.

First feeding

Here is a video of the first time we feed Madeleine solid foods. The date of the video isn't October 1st (as the beginning credits state), but it is close.

Santa

As many of you know, Will and I were raised with different religions. As a result, I've started having Christmas trees in my house every year, which is new for me. Below are pictures of Maddie decorating the tree. There's also a picture of Maddie with Santa. My firm has an adults and then a separate kids party every year. This was the first year we went to the children's party. There's even a Santa with free pictures. Much better than having to wait in line at the mall. As we were approaching Santa, and it was getting towards Maddie's naptime, I thought she was going to either smile or break down into tears when I put her on Santa's lap. Lucky for us and everyone around us, she loved it. As soon as I put her down, she cracked a huge smile.

Thanksgiving

Here are some pictures from Maddie's first Thanksgiving. On turkey day, Maddie enjoyed carrots and squash (baby food versions). She enjoyed being at the table with us. Maddie also went on her first Black Friday shopping excursion with Grandma and Mommy. She really enjoyed watching all of the people and going out for lunch.

Six Month Appointment

Maddie had her six month appointment at her pediatrician today. She weighs a whopping 19 lbs 6 oz (96th percentile). Her head circumference is 17 1/2 inches (93rd percentile). Her height is 28.5 inches (off the charts)! Yes, our daughter is off the charts in height. For those of you not familiar with measurements for babies, the 50th percentile one year old girl is 29 inches. Clothes for 6-9 month olds (and some clothes that are sized 6-12 months) go up to 29 inches. Maddie is about to outgrow all of these clothes. Most kids slow down some when they hit about four months and don't grow as fast as they do in the first few months. Our little Maddie has continued to grow as fast as she ever did (about 2.5 inches every two months). I keep buying larger clothes thinking they'll last a while and she keeps outgrowing them. Perhaps her growth will peak early. We'll have to wait and see.

Half Birthday

What a difference six months can make. Yesterday was Madeleine's six month birthday. It's hard to believe that it's been six months since she was born. Here are some pictures from the day she was born, when she was one week old, when she was five months old, and yesterday, when she was six months old.

Sweet Potato

This past Sunday, Maddie had her first taste of non-cereal baby food: sweet potatoes. She seems to like them a lot. She's really starting to enjoy eating solid foods, often licking and sucking on the spoon like it's a lollipop. Maddie also got her high chair this weekend. Here are pictures of her enjoying the sweet potatoes and testing out her new chair.

Halloween

For Maddie's first Halloween, she was a bumble bee. This is the same bumble bee outfit that was worn by Maddie's cousin, Baikal, and her other cousin, Ella. We thought it made for a nice family tradition. I was afraid that Maddie would find her outfit annoying, but she actually was quite happy in it. Here she is at a Halloween party at the Downing's house on Saturday.

A Week of Firsts

This past week, Maddie did several things for the first time. Saturday in particular was a busy day. She went to her first pumpkin patch. She also had her first taste of oatmeal, which she seems to like more than rice cereal, although I still don't think she actually swallows much of it. She also rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time. It was great because Will and I actually got to witness this together. On Wednesday morning, when I looked at Maddie in her video monitor in the morning, things looked different. Maddie had turned herself 180 degrees in her crib. She was perfectly centered, but facing the opposite direction. A few weeks ago she started scooting to the end of the crib. She would be in the exact same position, perfectly centered in the crib, just 6-10 inches further down the crib than she was when we put her to bed. Now she figured out how to rotate exactly 180 degrees. It's quite fascinating that she's so exact in her movements. I wonder if this is a glimpse into her personality. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post right now, but I'm at work. I did want to document this great week, though. I'll post some pictures soon.

Maddie's Foray Into Solid Foods

At Maddie's four month check-up, we got the okay to start her on solid foods. So, this past Saturday, Will and I started feeding Maddie rice cereal. It's more like mush, but it is her first "solid" food. The first time we tried giving it to her, I don't think she knew what to do. I don't think any of the food actually made it down her throat. In the past few days, though, I think she's swallowed some of it. Most of the time, she just looks at us and smiles. She's such a happy baby, so we don't know if she's smiling because she likes the food or just smiling at us, which she does all the time even when we're not feeding her.

First Video...I Hope

We have been pretty slack at trying to figure out how to post video, but I finally had some time to try to figure it out. So hopefully below you will see the first (of hopefully many) videos of Maddie.

Oldies but Goodies

These are some older pictures that I came across that I thought I would post. The first one shows Maddie trying to eat the nose of her favorite monkey friend. The bottom two are pictures that Will took of Maddie and me one morning before going to work. Maddie was having trouble sleeping so we just snoozed for a few minutes in bed. It was a rare occasion because Maddie never slept with us, not even for naps, except for a few minutes on this and one other morning. I can't believe how our baby girl has grown!

Four Months

Maddie was four months old yesterday. I don't know where the time has gone. She had her four month appointment this morning. She's huge! She now weighs 16 lbs even. This puts her in the 93rd percentile. She's 26 inches long (96th percentile) and her head circumference is now 16 1/4 inches (55th percentile). The pediatrician thought she looked great and said that she's doing everything that she should be doing. We're happy that she's doing so well. Here are some photos from the past month. The first two are from when we were at the beach at the beginning of September. The last two are more recent. Maddie loves her Bumbo chair because it allows her to sit up and look around at everything, including us. Although the pictures don't show it, Maddie loves to smile. Sometimes, though, as soon as I pick up the camera, she becomes fascinated with it and focuses on the camera instead of smiling. That's okay, though. I still love taking her picture.

Pride

Here are some pictures I took of Maddie in August. I think that she looks proud of herself in the first one.

More Beach Pictures

First dip in the ocean. Maddie doesn't seem to mind.

After one or two seconds, she realizes that it's a little cold and isn't too pleased.

Why'd you do this to me????????