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.

Count-Down to Crawling

Although Maddie can sit up like a rockstar, she hasn't been all that interested in crawling until about a week or so ago. Now, she seems to be getting closer and closer to crawling every day. Eric and I are excited about this milestone but nervous too. Having a baby who will sit in one place on her playmat for long stretches - those days are numbered.

Here's Maddie doing some pre-crawling tonight after dinner:

School is Cool

Time has gotten the best of me lately and I've neglected the blog a bit. To make up for it, I thought I'd put some recent pictures of Maddie having fun at school. School really is COOL. :-)

Playing with one of her friends:


Water Play:

7 Months Old

Today, our little Maddie turns 7 months old. She is an absolute ball of joy, curiosity, silliness and beauty. Mommy and Daddy love you lots and lots, Maddie!

A few new changes:

• She likes to squeak and babble a lot more now.
• Still isn't interested in crawling or scooting much but likes to stand ALL the time (with assistance of course).
• Cannot leave the house (or even her room) without a bib on. She's juicy!
• Likes watching kids shows on TV.
• She's always been a people person but is even more so now. She's most happy/smiley when other people or babies are close by.
• She loves to play peek-a-boo.
• She only let us dress her if she's sitting or standing up. If we lie her on her back and start to dress her, she gets very mad at us. :-)