7 Months

Madelyn turned 7 months old on Tuesday.  It is amazing how much she grows and changes everyday.  We are so proud to be her parents!  Here is what she is up to now:

• wearing 6-9 month clothing
• wearing size 2 diapers
• She is sitting independently.  She only occassionally gets off balance and topples over when she is looking up (like if we are standing up right in front of her).
• She is crawling and getting into everything! 
• She is working on trying to pull herself up.  She can do it if she is holding onto our fingers, but she has yet to do it on her own with something else.  (Update since Tuesday:  She pulled herself up for the first time yesterday!)
• She knows how to go from crawling to sitting and back to crawling.
• Favorite toys:  picnic basket, tea pot, piano, Lulu in a Tutu, anything to chew on
• Madelyn has 1 tooth {her bottom left} that has already come in, and another tooth that is sure to make an appearance any day now {bottom right}  (Update since Tuesday:  Her bottom right tooth came in yesterday.)
• Maddie will nurse about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  She is eating two solid meals--breakfast and lunch--in addition to nursing.  So far, she has tried:  rice cereal, green beans, squash, carrots, peas, bananas and sweet potatoes.  She has also tried apple juice, which she wanted nothing to do with.  Her favorites are rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes.
• She loves water.  She has learned how to use a sippy cup, although she is not very efficient.  She prefers to drink out of a big cup with our help.  She definitely drinks more when using the cup, but more also ends up all over her. 
• She goes to sleep at night listening to waves on her Sleep Sheep and being "bopped." 
• Her sleep habits at nighttime have just recently started to get better again.  She is sleeping for much longer periods, only waking up once or twice a night, and nursing only once around 4 am - 5 am.  She usually goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. and gets up around 6:30 a.m.
• Madelyn naps about 3-4 times per day, usually lasting about 30 minutes - a little over an hour.  Her first nap is always in her swing, and lasts about 30 minutes on the dot.  The next two naps are in her crib and are usually longer.  She has done so well transitioning from the swing to her crib for her naps. 
• Her favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus," "I'm Bringing Home a Babybee Bumblebee," and "I'm a Little Teapot." 
• When we talk to Daddy on the phone while he is at work, his picture comes up on my phone.  Maddie loves to look at his picture and usually smiles and coos.  It's so sweet!
• She is becoming much more talkative.  She loves to talk when we are in the grocery store going through the aisles or in the car.  Many people comment on how talkative she is.
• She loves being outside.  She enjoys rocking in the rocking chairs on the front porch, walking around the yard and looking at plants, going for a walk in the Moby wrap, swimming, or going for a jog in the stroller.
• Maddie loves Hershey.  He can make her giggle just by walking towards her.  She'll try to crawl after him, but he is much too fast for her.
• She doesn't go back to the doctor until she is 9 months old.

Sweet baby girl

Her fingers are always in her mouth

Proving that she can crawl...don't worry, Daddy was close by!

Teeny Tears

Recently, I've been working on my biggest sewing project yet.  I'm very much a beginner sewer; I've only sewn a couple outfits for Maddie, which definitely had some mistakes.  For the past couple weeks, I've been working on making precious, teeny tiny bereavement diapers for stillborn babies and babies who pass away in the NICU.  These diapers are being made in memory of Ryan Gabriel Hepler, the son of our friends (and previous neighbors) Mark and Elizabeth Hepler.  (You can read about their story on Elizabeth's blog, Dancing in the Rain.)  The diapers are being given to local hospitals through the Teeny Tears organization.

The diapers come in two sizes.  The small ones fit babies as small as 18 weeks, and the large (although they are still very small) ones can fit babies up to 32 weeks.  These are some of the ones I've made so far:

small size

large size

blanket

Elizabeth has a goal of sending 600 diapers each year to local hospitals.  I've made a very small dent in that number having completed around 30 so far, with about 20 more cut out ready to be sewn, and additional fabric to work with.  Elizabeth held a Diaper Drive on Saturday, in which several members of the community came together to help her reach her goal.  They completed around 140 diapers!  Additional friends and family are also working at home to help her complete the goal.  Please join me in praying for this family and this project!

Swimming

We took Maddie swimming for the 1st time a few weeks ago at our neighbor's pool.  She wasn't so sure about it at first, but quickly warmed up to it.   She had a good time splashing around!  The weather has either been rainy or just a little cool for swimming, so we haven't been back yet...but I do foresee a lot of pool time in our future this summer!

Maddie and Mommy

Madelyn and Daddy

Miss Fashionista

Getting her feet wet

Ooohh!

She wasn't too sure about being in the float

Relaxing with Mommy

Blueberry Picking Time

There is a blueberry farm right beside of the strawberry farm where we went a few weeks ago.  I have been wanting to go pick blueberries for several years now, but I can never remember to actually go once they are in season!  This year, I remembered!  Cody had the day off on Memorial Day, so we went to pick blueberries as a family.  We got a little over a pound of blueberries and a carrot and cucumber for a salad for only $2.50!  I made a yummy honey-lime fruit salad with some of the blueberries, and I'll probably make a blueberry cobbler too.  They have peaches in July, so now if I can only remember to go back when the time comes!

Daddy and Maddie picking blueberries

Having fun!

Look at those blueberries, Maddie!

Mommy picking blueberries

The homemade handy-dandy blueberry bucket

Milestones and Maddie-isms

1. Maddie got her first tooth on Saturday.  It's still not all the way through, but you can see a cute little white spot and feel a sharp little tooth coming through her gum.
2. Maddie is no longer being nursed to sleep.  Once we started feeding her rice cereal (and now green beans) and taking her on a run right before bed, she's able to go to sleep without it.  It used to be that she would cry and fuss until she was nursed, but now she'll let us just rock her or bop her to sleep.  I guess she gave it up when she was ready.  What a big girl!
3. Funny, but sad, Maddie-ism:  Apparently Maddie is completely scared of me when I have a towel on my head.  I was getting ready for church on Sunday, and I picked her up right after I got out of the shower and still had the towel on my head.  She started crying and would not have anything to do with me.  I took the towel off my head, but by then she was already so worked up that she wouldn't stop crying.  Cody was on his way home from work, but I had to find a way to calm her down until he got there.  I tried everything that usually makes her smile and laugh, but she was not having it.  I ended up having to put her in her swing while I dried my hair.  She cried for a little while, but ended up calming down and falling asleep.  She cried again today seeing me with the towel on my head, but Cody was here so he held her and got her calmed down.  She still looked at me hesitantly....I guess I'm not Mommy with towel on my head!

Hershey Update

Hershey was either playing possum or has made a speedy recovery.  He is walking on his leg just fine now and doesn't act like it bothers him at all.  He still jumps up on the couch and bed without difficulty.  I tried my best to keep him from jumping, but I can't stop him all the time.  We still won't be taking him on walks or runs any time soon, but I'm glad he's doing better.  The pain medicine gave him an upset tummy, but we've stopped that now and have been feeding him chicken and rice (which he absolutely loves!), so hopefully that will be back to normal soon too. 

Complaints with Thanks

Elizabeth, a friend and previous neighbor, does something on her blog called "Complaints with Thanks."  It's a way to find the small blessings in the frustrations and heartaches of everyday life.  Today seemed appropriate for me to have a "Complaints with Thanks" post.

Hershey hurt his leg while we were outside playing with bubbles.  Maddie loves to watch Hershey chase bubbles!  I didn't notice that he hurt it while we were outside because he was too busy having fun, but when we came inside it was clearly obvious that he was in pain.  He couldn't get comfortable, was whining occasionally, and wanted to close, or on top of me, all the time.  I ended up taking him to the vet.  I am thankful that the vet has Saturday hours and that it was still open when this happened, or else we would have had to go to the emergency vet...which costs much more!

Cody is on 24 hour call today, so I had to take both kids (Maddie and Hershey) by myself to the vet as a walk-in appointment and wait for about 2 hours before being called back.  I am thankful that Cody was able to have a few moments to steal away from work to come by the vet and wait with us for a while.  We were able to spend time with Cody, it made Hershey feel better to see his daddy, and I was able to feed Maddie while he watched Hershey. 

Between traveling time, wait time, and the time when the vet was in the room, it was about a 3 hour excursion, which took away time for all the things that needed to get done today, including a lunch date with Cody.  I am thankful that Maddie did great while we were there and that Hershey got the care he needed.  Cody ended up getting paged, so he probably wouldn't have been able to do lunch anyways.  Maybe we'll see if dinner will work...

We still aren't sure exactly what is wrong with his leg, but it could be a torn or partially torn ACL (or CCL, I think, for dogs).  We are going to try lots of "bedrest" (no walks, no runs, no jumping on and off couches and beds) and pain medicine and see how he is doing on Tuesday.  If he's not doing any better, he'll probably have to be put under sedation so they can more thoroughly examine his leg without causing him pain.  Depending on what they find, surgery could be an option if continued "bedrest" doesn't work.  I am thankful that bedrest and pain medicine could be all he needs to get better. 

We weren't planning on having a vet bill.  I am thankful that we have savings that can cover things like this.  This bill is a lot less than what it would have been had we gone to the emergency vet.  If we have to end up doing sedation or surgery, I am thankful that Cody is able to moonlight to get a little extra cash if we need it.

Where can you find the blessings in your life?