A couple of weeks ago, Dylan was out of town for 3 or 4 days. He then was gone all last weekend for Stewart's bachelor party and turned right around Monday morning and flew to AL for work. He got home late last night, thank goodness!!! I got a taste of what it would be like to be a single mom and I can say with 100% certainty, I would NEVER want to be there....for so many reasons. Madison is such a good baby so I don't even know what it would be like if we had a little terror! Not only is it quite lonely, there is just stuff that has to be done to live and there isn't much time to do that if you don't have any help. We already knew what we have in Dylan but got confirmation again!
I have to mention my friend, Melissa, who is not a single parent, but whose husband works out of town close to 3 weeks out of the month, each month (his schedule differs, but you get the picture). They have 6 kids combined (5 that live with them) - the youngest is not quite 2. Having been home alone quite a bit the past couple of weeks, I am questioning how in the world she does what she does. Melissa, you deserve a cookie (or maybe a dozen). :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Whoa horsey....
...slow down!
I can't keep up with Madison anymore...she is doing so many new things all the time and before I can post something here about one thing, she's impressing us with something else!
First, I don't think it will be long before Madison is walking. She is all over the place these days and has been practicing at school with a little walker thingy that she can hold on to and push. She's really doing great! Only thing is, her little left foot that turns in a bit kind of gets in the way and almost rolls over as she walks. I am sure it will be fine once her little leg gets stronger and she has more control over it though.
Though she doesn't have any teeth YET, she is doing great and absolutely LOVING finger foods - cheerios, fruit and veggie puffs and chicken sticks (I felt a little bad about giving her one of these at first...not something I was willing to try, but she LOVES them)!!!
Funny story about the cheerios and puffs. Roxanne and Yara came over to play and watch a movie with us Saturday night when Dylan was out of town. Roxanne brought a baggy of cheerios for Yara and the girls spotted them. Before long, we had cheerios and puffs all over the kitchen floor and the girls were grabbing handfuls and shoving them in their mouths. I'm serious! HANDFULS! It was like they were trying to eat them all before the other one could get them!! This idea was confirmed when Yara started moving her hand back and forth across the floor quickly pushing the snacks out of Madison's way. It was hysterical! Madison didn't mind - she just crawled over and around Yara.
Sidenote: The girls will soon be reunited at school. Madison will be moving to Yara's classroom in about a month. We have been visiting Yara before we leave school in the afternoon and Madison gets so excited!! Yesterday, Yara's teacher brought her to the door and they were waving (well, Madison was trying to fly) and grabbing at eachother through the glass. Madison even leaned over to the glass and put her mouth on it, as if she was giving Yara a kiss. :)
Ok, back on track. We can definitely tell that Madison is forming associations and remembers things she likes and dislikes. She loves baths and the minute you start to pull open the shower curtain, she starts bouncing and smiling.
She is also becoming a bit pickier with eating (though she is still SUCH a good eater). There are a couple of things she used to take just fine, but has recently started closing her lips tightly and blowing out of her mouth to try and keep us from putting it in there. You also may get food spit on you if she decides she doesn't want anymore!
Finally, she understands when we are telling her, "No". She sits back and looks at us and though she will sometimes try it again...and again, many times she just goes on to something else.
What a smart girl! :)
I can't keep up with Madison anymore...she is doing so many new things all the time and before I can post something here about one thing, she's impressing us with something else!
First, I don't think it will be long before Madison is walking. She is all over the place these days and has been practicing at school with a little walker thingy that she can hold on to and push. She's really doing great! Only thing is, her little left foot that turns in a bit kind of gets in the way and almost rolls over as she walks. I am sure it will be fine once her little leg gets stronger and she has more control over it though.
Though she doesn't have any teeth YET, she is doing great and absolutely LOVING finger foods - cheerios, fruit and veggie puffs and chicken sticks (I felt a little bad about giving her one of these at first...not something I was willing to try, but she LOVES them)!!!
Funny story about the cheerios and puffs. Roxanne and Yara came over to play and watch a movie with us Saturday night when Dylan was out of town. Roxanne brought a baggy of cheerios for Yara and the girls spotted them. Before long, we had cheerios and puffs all over the kitchen floor and the girls were grabbing handfuls and shoving them in their mouths. I'm serious! HANDFULS! It was like they were trying to eat them all before the other one could get them!! This idea was confirmed when Yara started moving her hand back and forth across the floor quickly pushing the snacks out of Madison's way. It was hysterical! Madison didn't mind - she just crawled over and around Yara.
Sidenote: The girls will soon be reunited at school. Madison will be moving to Yara's classroom in about a month. We have been visiting Yara before we leave school in the afternoon and Madison gets so excited!! Yesterday, Yara's teacher brought her to the door and they were waving (well, Madison was trying to fly) and grabbing at eachother through the glass. Madison even leaned over to the glass and put her mouth on it, as if she was giving Yara a kiss. :)
Ok, back on track. We can definitely tell that Madison is forming associations and remembers things she likes and dislikes. She loves baths and the minute you start to pull open the shower curtain, she starts bouncing and smiling.
She is also becoming a bit pickier with eating (though she is still SUCH a good eater). There are a couple of things she used to take just fine, but has recently started closing her lips tightly and blowing out of her mouth to try and keep us from putting it in there. You also may get food spit on you if she decides she doesn't want anymore!
Finally, she understands when we are telling her, "No". She sits back and looks at us and though she will sometimes try it again...and again, many times she just goes on to something else.
What a smart girl! :)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Madison is on strike
"Bye-bye strike" - a made up term similar to "relationship vacation" - that should sound familiar to all you Hills fans (boy, I'm really sharing all my secrets today!).
Anyway, since those first few times, when trying to get her to wave, she just stares at us as if she is just watching to see how long we will desperately try to get her to imitate us. She will lift her arm and sometimes move her whole arm up and down, but it is almost as though she forgot how to open and close her hand!
Anyway, since those first few times, when trying to get her to wave, she just stares at us as if she is just watching to see how long we will desperately try to get her to imitate us. She will lift her arm and sometimes move her whole arm up and down, but it is almost as though she forgot how to open and close her hand!
Confession
I have a confession to make... I really enjoy banana baby food. I always did and apparently I still do. ...well, someone has to eat the leftovers, huh? ;)
JUST KIDDING about that last part, but I do sometimes taste the food I am going to be feeding Madison. Wouldn't you want to know what you are feeding your baby? Don't worry, I know all about the importance of not exposing Madison to the germs in big people's mouths. :)
JUST KIDDING about that last part, but I do sometimes taste the food I am going to be feeding Madison. Wouldn't you want to know what you are feeding your baby? Don't worry, I know all about the importance of not exposing Madison to the germs in big people's mouths. :)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A couple of fun stories
Earlier in the week, when I dropped Madison off at daycare, Ms. Rosie was there and Madison hadn't seen her in a couple of days. Let me just say, Madison has NEVER been so happy to leave my arms. We walked in and Madison started bouncing and then as we got close to Ms. Rosie, she almost flew out my arms and into Ms. Rosie's. It really is a great feeling to know she loves Ms. Rosie so much and that she is happy there, but I have to admit, I was blindsided by her sudden expression of independence - so it was kind of bitter sweet.... :)
And last night when I was getting Madison in her pjs, she started fussing, as she usually does during this time. She does not want to lay down to get her diaper changed or dressed. I usually sing to her or something to try and distract her, but she normally keeps fussing and tries to roll over and squirm away. This time though, she stopped whining and looked at me and started dancing (she bounces to music when sitting, but managed to make the same movements while lying down) and then started singing along with me! Her singing = the sweetest melody of soft aahs, baaahs and humms. So precious.
And last night when I was getting Madison in her pjs, she started fussing, as she usually does during this time. She does not want to lay down to get her diaper changed or dressed. I usually sing to her or something to try and distract her, but she normally keeps fussing and tries to roll over and squirm away. This time though, she stopped whining and looked at me and started dancing (she bounces to music when sitting, but managed to make the same movements while lying down) and then started singing along with me! Her singing = the sweetest melody of soft aahs, baaahs and humms. So precious.
It's Thursday....
Which means that the usually hectic beginning of the week is past us and we are almost to the weekend!! This also means that I now have a chance to catch up on the blog.
Hmmm...let's see... Madison is feeling much better. She had quite a bit of gunk to clean out of her nose this morning, but her cough is gone, she's got her appetite back, and she is a much happier, playful baby. We are so happy that she is feeling better.
We are really having to make adjustments to things these days, as Madison is learning to do so much everyday - new things amuse her, old things that maybe once did, are just that...OLD. She is also really getting around - you can look away for a split second and she is across the room, has pulled her self up on something, and is reaching for something she really shouldn't have.
She is eating some finger foods, "like such as" (that is for Dylan), cheerios and those little fruit puff thingys that melt in your mouth. It is so fun to see her figuring out what to do with them.
Oh, and she has GOT to be trying to get some teeth. We've been waking up quite a bit at night this week - many times I find her sitting in her crib chewing as hard as she can on her lambie. Poor baby. I hope those darn things come through soon!
This weekend Dylan will be hanging with the guys at Stewart's bachelor party. Madison and I will be at home being good girls. :) I'm pretty sure we are going to do a LOT of relaxing, probably some fun artsy stuff that I have been wanting to do and in my spare time, I plan to do some more babyproofing!
Hmmm...let's see... Madison is feeling much better. She had quite a bit of gunk to clean out of her nose this morning, but her cough is gone, she's got her appetite back, and she is a much happier, playful baby. We are so happy that she is feeling better.
We are really having to make adjustments to things these days, as Madison is learning to do so much everyday - new things amuse her, old things that maybe once did, are just that...OLD. She is also really getting around - you can look away for a split second and she is across the room, has pulled her self up on something, and is reaching for something she really shouldn't have.
She is eating some finger foods, "like such as" (that is for Dylan), cheerios and those little fruit puff thingys that melt in your mouth. It is so fun to see her figuring out what to do with them.
Oh, and she has GOT to be trying to get some teeth. We've been waking up quite a bit at night this week - many times I find her sitting in her crib chewing as hard as she can on her lambie. Poor baby. I hope those darn things come through soon!
This weekend Dylan will be hanging with the guys at Stewart's bachelor party. Madison and I will be at home being good girls. :) I'm pretty sure we are going to do a LOT of relaxing, probably some fun artsy stuff that I have been wanting to do and in my spare time, I plan to do some more babyproofing!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Too cool for school
Dylan's cousin, Ali, sent this "Spice Baby" bib to Madison. Ali lives in L.A. and tours with a lot of bands and other singers and does catering and other stuff for them while on tour. She got this while working the Spice Girls concert! Pretty cool, huh? Madison was definitely the coolest girl in school Monday when she wore her bib. We even made sure her pants, shoes and hair coordinated. :)
Pneumonia??
We thought the ear infection news was bad...until we learned Madison may now have pneumonia. The two aren't related, of course, but one would wonder considering our poor baby got hit with one right after the other.
On Friday afternoon, I got a call from daycare that Madison had a low grade fever. I had a feeling we needed to get it checked out right away because I had been questioning all week if she felt good - she was just not herself. Twenty minutes after I got the call, I got there to pick Madison up and her fever had spiked to 102.3. She did NOT look good at all. She was breathing fast, was very sluggish and sleepy and burning up! To make a very long, painful and sad story short, after three hours in an emergency care center, too many needle pokes and other torturous tests, they told me the radiologist saw some "pneumonia in her lungs" but couldn't tell if it was the early stages of pneumonia or a viral infection. They prescribed another antibiotic (she just finished a course a week before for her ear infection) and we went home - Madison was completely exhausted and I was drained in every way possible. I felt horrible for putting her through that torture and was just angry at the people there and the pediatrician's office for not seeing her instead (a long story that I won't go into here).
Dylan didn't know any of this was going on until after the fact because I couldn't reach him before I left work and on top of that, my cell phone was dead, so that made it even more stressful for me. I hated not having him there to help me make decisions about Madison's care.
Anyway, Madison was feeling better by Saturday - her temp stayed down all day and Saturday night and she seemed to be happy and completely back to normal (hence our short trip to the beach on Sunday!!!), so we pretty much decided that it was a crazy 24-hour virus or something.
YESTERDAY, Madison woke up congested, hoarse and by the end of the day, had developed a nasty cough! Needless to say, we're back to thinking it very well could have been pneumonia. There is definitely a lot of "junk" that she is trying to get rid of. She is such a trooper though. I just hope she starts feeing better soon. :(
On Friday afternoon, I got a call from daycare that Madison had a low grade fever. I had a feeling we needed to get it checked out right away because I had been questioning all week if she felt good - she was just not herself. Twenty minutes after I got the call, I got there to pick Madison up and her fever had spiked to 102.3. She did NOT look good at all. She was breathing fast, was very sluggish and sleepy and burning up! To make a very long, painful and sad story short, after three hours in an emergency care center, too many needle pokes and other torturous tests, they told me the radiologist saw some "pneumonia in her lungs" but couldn't tell if it was the early stages of pneumonia or a viral infection. They prescribed another antibiotic (she just finished a course a week before for her ear infection) and we went home - Madison was completely exhausted and I was drained in every way possible. I felt horrible for putting her through that torture and was just angry at the people there and the pediatrician's office for not seeing her instead (a long story that I won't go into here).
Dylan didn't know any of this was going on until after the fact because I couldn't reach him before I left work and on top of that, my cell phone was dead, so that made it even more stressful for me. I hated not having him there to help me make decisions about Madison's care.
Anyway, Madison was feeling better by Saturday - her temp stayed down all day and Saturday night and she seemed to be happy and completely back to normal (hence our short trip to the beach on Sunday!!!), so we pretty much decided that it was a crazy 24-hour virus or something.
YESTERDAY, Madison woke up congested, hoarse and by the end of the day, had developed a nasty cough! Needless to say, we're back to thinking it very well could have been pneumonia. There is definitely a lot of "junk" that she is trying to get rid of. She is such a trooper though. I just hope she starts feeing better soon. :(
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Beach bums
We introduced Madison to our beach this weekend. It was Sunday around 1:00 and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, laundry needed to be done, dishes needed to be washed, so we decided to drive to the beach. We got our suits on, packed a bag and were on our way. It was nice and warm, but windy, so we didn't end up staying long, but just getting out of the house, getting our feet wet, and getting some sun was SOOO nice. We think Madison liked it too. :)
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