Maddie's First Christmas -- 2009

We spent Christmas in San Angelo with the Ramirez clan, hosted by my brother Mark and his wife, Whitney, who is going to be a Mommy in the Spring. (YAY!)

As usual, we had a wonderful time, ate lots of food and just hung out. The weather turned out to be colder than expected so we got to enjoy a light snowfall on Christmas Eve.

Maddie had a permanent smile on her face the entire visit. She was giddy from all the attention, new toys and playtime with her cousin, Ava. Maddie's a pretty smart cookie because she has my family fooled into thinking that she never gets grumpy because she's so joyful with a house full of people.

Over Christmas, Maddie also started (officially) walking - i.e. more than 3-5 steps at a time. She can walk across an entire room, pick up toys and keep on walking. She's still a bit wobbly and crawls sometimes or does her funny knee hop but does walk quite a bit.

We'll definitely remember Maddie's first Christmas for years to come.

Playdate!

Everyday, I am thankful for my Mommy friends and they're sweet babies who have given Maddie lots of joy and socialization this year.

This past weekend, we had a Sunday playdate so a larger group of us could get together. As always, there was good food, great conversation and loads of baby fun.

Maddie is very thankful for her friends too.

Maddie takes a few steps

Over the last few days, Maddie has continued to practice walking with and without her toys/walkers/chairs, etc.

She's still pretty wobbly but seems to get more confidence every day. The main thing we notice about Maddie's walking is she walks more when she's in a really good mood and wants to show off. Otherwise, she prefers to crawl.

Maddie Meets Santa

Today, Maddie and one of her friends, Erica, met Santa for the first time. Santa seemed like a nice enough guy but Maddie was unimpressed and did not crack a single smile.

We managed to get a decent picture of her and Santa before she burst into tears and gave me a look which said, "MOM!!! Why are you just standing over there! Get me away from this silly man!" :-)

Still, taking Maddie to meet Santa for the first time was a sweet experience I won't forget.

Momma loves you, honey!

Snow Bunny

Besides Maddie's 11-Month B-Day on Friday, we also got a light snowfall that day. Austinites anticipated snow all week, hoping it would really happen, and it did for many in the city.

Although it didn't snow much and melted as soon as it hit the ground, it was still pretty and a fun memory to have with Maddie.

Here's a video of Maddie and I enjoying the snowfall.

11 Months Old

Today, Maddie turns 11 months old. The thought that we'll have a toddler roaming our house very soon excites and saddens me. Sometimes I want to bottle her up and keep her this age forever. She's so happy and innocent and sweet. She embodies living life to its fullest and she does so without even trying. If only life was always so pure.

A Few Things to Remember about Maddie at 11-Months Old:

• Pushes chairs/toys/riding toys around the house to practice her walking.
• "Sings" along with me or music
• Screams very loudly when she's excited about something like bananas or her sippy cup.
• She's communicating with us more and more. She points to things she wants (like water or puffs) and understands words like milk, banana, and some phrases like "Do you want to brush your teeth?"
• Enjoys being around people and other kids all the time.
• Remains a happy camper most of the day - everyday.

Maddie Pre-Walking

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Maddie spent a lot of time with her 15-month-old cousin, Ava. I think Maddie really wanted to walk like Ava so she pushed toys and chairs around to support herself. She even took 2 steps on her own. So exciting!

Here's a video of Maddie working on her walking skills. Please ignore the overzealous narrator in the background. I'm a proud Momma who needs to learn to shush.

Thanksgiving 2009

This year, Eric, Maddie and I hosted Thanksgiving for my whole (Ramirez) family. It was Maddie's first Thanksgiving and an opportunity for her to see her cousin, Ava, and get lots of love and attention. Maddie ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, greenbean casserole and a few other things. I made her skip dessert this time. :-)

We had so much yummy food, spent time in the backyard and at the park enjoying the beautiful weather and played board games/drank wine once the babies went to sleep. It was a perfect Thanksgiving.

At the Park with Friends

The week before Thanksgiving, Maddie's and my calendar were pretty booked with playdates, lunches and story time. Needless to say, I've neglected the blog a bit but will catch up soon.

One of the playdates we attended was at Zilker Park on a beautiful Fall day. There were lots of babies and Mommies who attended and enjoyed a picnic lunch together.

We're so lucky to have great friends in Austin.

Story Time

Every Tuesday at 10:30am, a locally owned bookstore, Book People, features story time for babies and young kids. I wasn't sure whether Maddie would enjoy story time or not but it was another successful activity.

Maddie was thrilled to pieces with all the other babies/kids in attendance, laughing and "talking" non-stop (including during story time. Ooops!). The actual book reading was only 15 mins or so but then the babies seemed to take over the kids section, looking at books and playing with anything they could get their hands on. Maddie even made some new friends! What a fun time!

Birthday (Party) Season Begins!

One of Maddie's best friends, Lauren, turned one year old on Nov 5th. She had an adorable 1st birthday party for all her friends, including Maddie. The adults ate yummy BBQ while the babies played and socialized. It was a sweet time and a special day for Miss Lauren.

It's hard to imagine that all the babies in Maddie's playgroup will be turning one in just a few weeks. (sniff.)

Here are a few pics from Lauren's party:

Live Music Outside

Sorry if I keep repeating this, but Fall in Austin is beautiful. Most days are sunny and slightly chilly which means Maddie and I spend a lot more time outside.

Another cool thing about Austin are the many opportunities to hear live music. Every Friday at noon, there's a free concert at an outdoor venue at City Hall. It's such a wonderful (and FREE!) activity to do with Maddie and our other Mommy & Baby friends. The babies can dance to music, have a lunch picnic under some trees and the Moms get to catch up.

Maddie and I have been twice in the last few weeks and plan to go again soon.

The two pictures below are courtesy of my friend Michelle. Her daughter Erica and Maddie had a fun time.

New Trick

On Sunday, Maddie started standing up without holding on to us or anything else. The longest she's stayed standing is about 25 seconds before she sits back down again. She can also hold her toys while she's standing, which is cute. I've started to put Maddie in a standing position everytime I put her down and she loves it. We clap and cheer together every time. I never get tired of seeing the excitement on her face.

A Happy Halloween

For the past few weeks, I've been anticipating Halloween like a giddy young girl, anxiously awaiting Maddie's first Halloween experience and dressing her as a pumpkin. Her reaction to all the festivities was awesome. She squeaked and smiled and laughed and stared at all the decorations and costumed people. She made friends with several of our neighbors, smiling happily and even held the pumpkin treat bag I got her. Our neighborhood celebrates Halloween quite a bit, complete with a small haunted house, several street parties, BBQs and lots of friendly people sitting outside and chatting.

My sister, Dee, and her husband, Adam, celebrated Halloween with us and we all had a fun night.

Maddie's first Halloween was a smashing success!

Fun at the Park

Just recently, we introduced Maddie to infant swings at the park. Luckily we have a great neighborhood park just a few blocks from our house so I take Maddie there quite often. Maddie is a swinging maniac now. On Halloween morning, Eric and I took Maddie to the park for some playground fun.

Fall Fun

For the past two weekends, Eric and I have taken Maddie to two pumpkin patches. The Fall weather in Austin has been beautiful (50s at night and 70s during the day) so we're trying to get out as much as possible and enjoy the Fall festivities.

First we visited Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls, Texas which is a large pumpkin farm with a corn maze, hay rides, horses, goats, and lots of picture oportunities. Maddie really enjoyed Sweet Berry Farms, squeaking often with happiness.

This weekend, we went to a small pumpkin patch near our house for more fun picture opportunities. Once again, Maddie loved seeing all the different pumpkins and Fall decorations.

So far, Fall has been a lot of fun for the Mahurin household.






To see more pictures, take a look at my flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17603883@N00/4045009982/in/set-72157622663392058/

Our First Family Vacation - Florida

On October 3rd, Eric, Maddie and I boarded a plane for a week-long vacation in Florida. We met Eric's parents and brother, so Maddie was able to see her Grandpa and Gram Mahurin and Uncle Andy.

Maddie handled her first plane ride beautifully. She ate and slept on each flight and played happily while she was awake. She was only cranky for about 10 mins on one flight.

Our vacation went wonderfully too. We spent lots of time with Grandpa, Gram and Uncle Andy Mahurin, swam in the ocean and in the pool, took a paddle-boat ride, saw dolphins, visited an aquarium and ate lots of yummy food. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better first family vacation.

Here's a video of Maddie having a blast in the ocean:


Family Photo:

9 Months Old

On Oct 4th, our little Maddie turned 9 months old. Eric and I fall more in love with her each day and can't resist her charm and cuteness.

I'm sure I've said this before, but Maddie is truly the light of our lives, bringing us joy every day.

9 Month Well-Check Stats:
- Weight: 20 lbs, 3 oz (75%)
- Height: 29 in (90%)
- Head: 44.7 cm (75%)

Things We Want to Remember About Maddie at 9 Months:

• She CRAWLS! Although she took her time learning to crawl, she's all over the place now, exploring her world every day.


• She stands. Every chance she gets. She pulls up on everything. Just yesterday, she used a 2-yr old friend's shirt to pull up on.


• She takes big steps with assisted walking, but stops every 2-3 steps to look up at us with her dimpled grin.


• She dances to music, toys with tunes and even my humming.


• She's become incredibly vocal within the last 2 weeks. She says "Dadda", "Momma", "Hi" and makes lots of sounds in response to people or things she likes. She's got a lot to say these days.


• She waves bye-bye.


• She loves pictures - especially of herself. Everyday, she points at several pictures around the house and makes excited noises. I say the names of everyone in the pictures and she smiles and laughs.


• She loves swimming in pools and the ocean and thoroughly enjoys bath time.


• She likes reading a lot more now and enjoys turning the pages as we read.


• She's got 5 teeth and one on the way.


• She's still a great eater and has learned to feed herself several finger foods. She's yet to dislike any solid food we've offered her.


• She has started to use a sippy cup.


• She gives Daddy and Mommy zerbits, mimicking all the zerbits Daddy's given her over the last few months.


• She growls and squeaks when she's happy or excited.
• She knows her own name.

All Mommy, All the Time

As of Sept 21st, I am a stay-at-home Mom. Wow. Writing those words make me feel so happy and blessed.

After working for the same, great company for 8 1/2 years, Eric and I decided it was time for a change - a big change. I never imagined that having Maddie would change me in so many ways. I never (ever) thought I'd want to be a stay-at-home Mom. But I do and I love it.

And now that I have experienced working plus being a Mom, I have so much respect for working Moms. It is by far the hardest, most exhausting thing I ever did. So, KUDOS to all you working Moms out there. You're amazing.

I don't quite know what the future holds regarding my career but I'm okay with that. For now, all I want to do is spend my time with Maddie.

How can I resist this face?

Maddie Crawls

This past Monday (9/21), Maddie started crawling at 8 months 3 weeks old. It was such an exciting day for me because she started crawling and because it was my first day as a stay-at-home Mom (I'll blog about that soon). And of course, Eric is thrilled to pieces too.

Since Monday, Maddie has already seemed to perfect her crawling and can get around pretty quickly. She wants to explore everything and touch everthing and pull up on everthing too.

Having a crawling baby is very different from a baby who just sits in one place. It's keeping Eric and me busy but we love every minute of it.

p.s. After I shot this video of Maddie, I realized that 9/21 is not the first day of Fall but the last day of Summer. :-)

Top Teeth

Within the last couple of weeks, Maddie has cut two new teeth bringing the total count to 4. I felt her first top tooth at about 8 1/2 months old. They're both top teeth but not center top. It's her left and right teeth on either side of what will one day be her middle teeth. Eric and I think she looks like a Jack-O-Lantern. Just in time for Halloween. :-)

Soon, we'll get pics of her new teeth.

Maddie Says "Da-da"

After dinner tonight, Maddie said "Da-da" several times. Eric and I were giddy, not only because she said Da-da but because she kept repeating it after we said it. Eric also thinks that Maddie understands that Da-da = Eric, but we're not certain.

It was just so amazing to hear her say Da-da so many times and repeat after Eric said it.

Now to get Maddie to say "Momma". :-)

More Standing, Less Crawling

This weekend, Eric got Maddie a wooden activity cube with lots of fun stuff for her to do. Not surprisingly, Maddie figured out that her activity cube is another object she can use to practice standing. It seems like standing is becoming another favorite position of hers like sitting.

Crawling on the other hand remains a source of frustration for her just like tummy time always has been.

I'm curious to see how long it takes Maddie to officially crawl or whether she'll simply remain a sitter or stander till 1 yr old and then suddenly start walking.

New Tricks

In spite of her Labor Day sickness, Maddie still managed to do some new tricks for us. In the span of 48 hrs, Maddie started sitting up in her crib after naps and then standing in her crib after naps. Although Maddie has been sitting up on her own for a while, she'd never sat up in her crib. For some reason, she always stayed on her tummy when she woke from naps.

Eric and I were definitely surprised when Maddie figured out how to stand in her crib. Thankfully, Eric had just lowered her crib mattress the day before she stood up.

I'm sure Maddie has more tricks up her sleeve. Mommy and Daddy look forward to them!

Labor Day ER Visit

Labor Day weekend turned out to be one we won't soon forget. While things started out perfectly and even included picnic plans with friends, our plans changed when Maddie woke Saturday with a fever.

She was pretty grumpy and lethargic all Saturday and her fever stuck around. Our doctor recommended we wait 24 hrs to see how she felt by Sunday. Sunday started out OK but by 5pm, her fever was almost 105 and her poor little heart was beating fast to try to cool her off. We immediately decided it was time to take her to the ER.

Spending 6 hrs in the ER was heart wrenching. Our poor, innocent little Maddie was poked and squeezed and bothered repeatedly. I cried a lot and Eric said that seeing Maddie in pain was making him feel sick.

After lots of tests, shots and meds, Maddie's fever finally started to come down and she was completely recovered by Wednesday. She didn't have the flu, or any other sickness that could be found. According to her pediatrician, she must have come in contact with a virus and her strong immune system tried really hard to fight it, which made her fever get so high.

We're glad our happy, energetic baby is back and we hope she doesn't get that sick again for a really long time.

Our poor little babe:

8 Months Old

Today, 9/4, Maddie turns 8 months old. Wow. Eric and I simply cannot believe how quickly time has gone by. Maddie is truly the center of our universe and we love her more and more each day.

Things We Want to Remember about Maddie at 8 Months Old:

• Maddie is so close to crawling. She's rocking back and forth and makes a few crawling steps each try.


• Maddie LOVES food. All foods. I bet if we gave her a piece of pizza, she'd eat it! She's up to 2 meals a day and we're starting to introduce more textured foods that she needs to "chew" in addition to pureed foods.


• Maddie "talks" more these days. She also moves her mouth as if she's mimicking us talking.


• Maddie pulls up on people and other things around the house. She tries her best to get into a standing position.


• She can go from a sitting position to a crawling position and vice versa.


• She's pretty tall at 28 inches and is quickly outgrowing all 9 month-sized clothes.


• She enjoys playing with stuffed animals more now - especially her monkey, Fred. :-)


• She likes to dangle toys from her mouth with no hands. She reminds us of a little puppy.


• She loves to laugh and it's easy to make her laugh.


• Overall, Maddie is a very happy baby. Even when she's sick, she's still loves life.