We spent this past weekend at home. Hard to believe, huh? It was a very nice weekend though. Dylan was back home after being out of state for work the whole week and we didn't have anything planned but to relax. That is just what we did. Yara got to come over and "swim" with Madison for an hour or so while Roxanne and Jason worked at their little boy's school carnival. Madison usually loves the pool, but I think she was getting sleepy and/or hungry, so didn't enjoy it as much as she usually does. Yara on the other hand, loved it and at one point, crawled back in herself after I had taken them out! :)
Dylan painted the last wall in the living room (for those of you who have seen our living room, now only the wall with the fireplace is burnt orange, the rest of the walls are the khaki color we have in other rooms throughout the house - the orange was beginning to overwhelm us). While Dylan painted, Madison and I did some art work. I have been meaning to paint something for our living room, but hadn't gotten around to it. I got on a roll this weekend though and ended up doing more than I had anticipated.
Well, now that we are already about 2 weeks away from the 10 month mark, I've got some time to post about Madison's 9 month well exam and all the new things she is doing!
She is doing great. Nothing major to report from her 9 month appt. except that she was slightly anemic due to the fact that breast milk doesn't provide enough iron, so she now gets vitamins once a day and is also drinking mostly formula these days, so should be where she needs to be in no time.
She weighed 18 lbs exactly, was 27 1/2 inches long, and her head circumference is 17". She is in the 50th percentile for height, 46th for weight and 25th for head circumference. I was a little worried about the head circumference at first, but found that it is growing (was 16" at 6 months) so that is all that matters. She's just a little bit with a little head. I have a small head too. :)
According to her height and weight figures, she didn't grow much in the last 3 months, but I think we just missed the growth spurt by a week or so because we're pretty sure she is going through one right now!
She has begun pointing her finger at everything. It is so cute! She also tries to stick her finger in mine or Dylan's mouth. I think this is because I will do the same to her to see if she has gotten any teeth yet. That kind of got her into some trouble last week though. :( She apparently tried it out on another baby and that baby decided to bite that finger. :( When I found out what happened, I felt so bad for her and then started feeling very protective of Madison. I had to reason with myself because it was just a baby that did it!!! I called Dylan in AL to tell him all about it and he helped bring me back to reality. :)
Anyway, you couldn't even tell she got bit. It didn't break the skin, it wasn't red or anything. I wouldn't have known if they hadn't told me.
I expect that we may be on the other side of this type of thing one day...if Madison bites another kid. I sure hope not though!
On a lighter note, Madison can stand alone!!! For a few seconds... She also tries to take a step while standing and that is usually when she topples over. She has been practicing with a walker at school and now at home too and loves it! She thinks it is funny when we stand her up and then let her go. It is like she is surprised every time that she is able to balance herself.
The weekend after our Nebraska trip, Dylan, Madison and I headed to Fredericksburg, Texas to Krissy and Stewart's wedding. We had never been to Fredericksburg, but I have always wanted to go. I had heard nothing but great things about Fredericksburg, and it met every expectation I had.
Dylan was in the wedding, so we left around 11 a.m. on Friday, to make it there for rehearsal and rehearsal dinner that evening. Rehearsal dinner was wonderful - it was at the nicest restaurant in Fredericksburg, the food was wonderful, and we had such a great time catching up with friends.
On Saturday, we had the first part of the day to wander around Fredericksburg, so we were up and out of the room early. Our hotel was right on the main street, so we put Madison in the stroller and headed down towards the shops, without having to even get in the car. As I said, we were up early! Many of the stores weren't open yet and our summer clothes were not warm enough either - the wind was vicious!! Luckily, we had Madison's blanket with us, so she was nice and cozy in the stroller. I, on the other hand, had on a tank top, a skirt, and goosebumps.
I warmed up with some coffee and it wasn't long before it started warming up outside. By the end of our walk, we were toasty.
Anyway, we had lunch in one of the little cafe's and found a light fixture for our house that we had been looking all over Houston for, so were super excited!
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Everything about it. The location...the decor... And Krissy looked gorgeous!!! We really had such a great weekend. Madison was such a trooper. She loved all the excitement and I'm pretty sure she captured a couple of hearts. One of our friends, whose name I won't say (goes by Koshkin ;o)) and then a little blonde cutie who just walked right over to her while she was laying in her carseat and started petting her head and face!! It was adorable!
Here are some pictures from the weekend. I wish we had more from the wedding, as these really don't do it justice.
My mom has been saying for weeks that we needed to cut Madison's hair, but Dylan was adamant about not touching it. Part of me was a little hesitant to cut off her baby hair too, but at the same time, it was beginning to look pretty funny!
While in Nebraska, Madison's Nana suggested that we get it cut. Though I was pretty sure Dylan was just playing devil's advocate, I was still concerned about his feelings and didn't want to go behind his back and do something he didn't agree to. Sherry didn't think he would really mind and promised to protect me if he did ;o), so we did it!!!
Dylan went hunting with his grandpa and dad, and Sherry, Karen and I took Madison to Lollipops Cuts for her first haircut.
Afterwards, Sherry and I bet on whether or not Dylan would notice. I said he would notice right away and Sherry thought he wouldn't at all.
When they got home, Dylan walked in, looked at Madison, and said (in a playful tone), "Did you get a haircut???" I couldn't keep a straight face, so I didn't look in his direction!
Dylan didn't mind a bit. He was just fine with it. He agreed it was becoming more of a playful battle between the two of us than anything else and he thought she looked cute. I think she looks so much more grown up! I have a picture at home of us at Lollipops that I will scan and post later, but until then, here are a couple of pictures I took of her with her new haircut, in a new outfit ready for her first day back at school after our trip.
I forgot to mention another great thing about our trip to Nebraska.
I'm sure you know how it is to have a favorite restaurant (or several, in my case) that you have to move away from and how deeply saddened you are by that. So, I made a list of the restaurants we had to eat at while in Lincoln.
Old Chicago - where I waited tables in college - YUM!
Famous Dave's - the BEST cajun chicken sandwich you will ever eat!!! Why they don't have a Famous Dave's in Houston, I'll never know.
Valentino's Pizza - super YUM! You have never had pizza like Valentino's, I promise.
I am happy to announce that we were successful at visiting each place ...and probably at gaining a few pounds too.
Two weekends ago, Madison, Dylan, Sherry and I flew to Nebraska to see Grandpa and Grandma Hogue, Aunt Karen, Uncle Kurt, Ethan and Logan, and Mindy. Ron had flown in a couple of days before us, so was already there. It had been over 2 years since we saw some of them and longer for others and was the first time they all got to meet Madison, so we were really excited! She had a ball with everyone. She was thoroughly entertained the entire time, as were the rest of us - she was often playing in the middle of the floor while everyone sat around her and just watched to see what she would do next. :)
The guys did a lot of hunting, so Sherry, Madison and I got to do a lot of relaxing! It was a very laid back trip, which I really needed.
I absolutely loved having several days in a row home with Madison without a ton of things to do. I got to just sit around and play with her and not feel like the house needed to be cleaned or errands needed to be run, etc. A wonderful but almost sad thing to think about is that I almost felt like I got to know Madison even more than I did before the trip. I hate to think that is even possible, but it seemed like she just did so many things over the weekend that I had not seen her do before. I want to say that it is probably because she is doing something new every single day and in fact, that what I was seeing for the first time really was new...I hope that is the case.
Anyway, I went through Madi withdrawals when I had to go back to work after our trip. It took me a bit to get back into the swing of things. I was definitely getting used to that time with her.
We can't thank Grandpa and Grandma enough for having us. It was so great to spend that time with you all.
Madison and I went swimming with Melissa and her kiddos the last weekend Dylan was out of town. (That last part was a bummer). She really enjoyed being in the water and I was SO happy to get some sun. Overall, it was a success though I may have gotten a little carried away with the sunscreen. I put sunscreen on Madison 30 minutes before we left and then at least 4 times while we were out there (about an hour total time, I think). I'm pretty sure Melissa was ready to call the looney bin on me when I put a big glob of sunscreen in my hands and rubbed it in Madison's hair, trying to get it on her scalp. She wouldn't wear her hat though and I didn't want her scalp to burn!!! Her hair was a little greasy the next day even after washing it good. oops. ;o)
She fell asleep on the way to the pool and she really needed a nap, so we attempted to create an umbrella with a float.
Just woke up and not sure what she thinks about all the roucus in the pool.
Right before Madison pulled off her hat (again) and I decided to fix the problem with sunscreen.
