10 Months... A walker?

A few days before Maddie turned 10 months, her daycare teacher told me that she had been pushing things around in order to practice her walking. Now, the daycare teacher is super nice, but sometimes I wonder if she stretches the truth on how smart Maddie is :). I know my baby is smart, but the teacher continues to claim that Maddie is doing things that quite honestly a wonder baby would do.... and I have yet to see some of these actions at home. So.. when the teacher told me this, I nicely replied, "oh really?!" but somewhat dismissed it.

 

Despite disbelieving her, it did remind me that Maddie may be ready to practice her walking and have her walker converted (it was still a walker that you sit in like Fred Flintstone). So as soon as we got home I took it apart and made it into a walker. We have hardwood floors so I carefully put Maddie's hands on the walker and stood her at the end of the hall while I went to the front end of the walker to provide some resistance so she wouldn't fall. We started very slow, but Maddie was getting frustrated with the walker not going as fast as she wanted. I figured that I would let her try and she would probably take a few steps and sit down, which would teach her how to use the walker on her own.

 

I let go and stepped to the side. I'm sure you have already guessed it, Maddie took off with a mission. I had no idea this child already knew how to do this! Away she went, understanding how to move the walker in order to not hit an object... it was incredible!

It's so amazing at this age, she is mimicking everything I do. We have a pink bouncy ball that she loves and she used to just pick it up and try to eat it. Last night I sat down with her and was able to teach her to throw the ball. So cute!

 

She is also such a dare devil and has so much energy! There is a very calm and quiet little baby at daycare and we say that Maddie is literally the complete opposite. Maddie hates being restrained in her car seat or stroller. The last time I took Maddie to the mall I decided to pack her favorite stroller, the one where she sits straight up and down and has a tray in front of her to put toys on, etc. She likes this one the best because it is less restraining and she can see better, since it sits so far upright. While I am used to buckling Maddie in if I am jogging or walking fast outside, I did not buckle her in because I was walking slowly down the aisles of stores and taking her in and out of the stroller to see things so she would be entertained. At one time people were looking at me very strange and I was a little confused, looking down at my outfit, etc. After realizing there wasn't anything wrong with me, I looked over the shade of the stroller and saw Maddie hang-gliding from the tray!!! I didn't even realize she could do this! This seat is so upright, this child had to wiggle and fight her way down to hang like this!! She is such a crazy 10 month old!!

 

On another note, we are getting ready for Maddie's 1 year birthday party. Her outfit is just perfect and I am so excited. I can't wait to see everyone and share this special time with family and friends.

 

At 10 months:

- Maddie still has 2 front teeth at the bottom, but Dr. says the top should break any day now

- She is LOVING daycare and it was one of the best decisions we have made

- She can easily eat her puffs, baby mums, and other crunchy food.

- Push objects around the house, like a walker, etc.

- Bear crawls.... crawls on her feet and hands, no knees

9 months going on 21....

9 Months going on 21.....

 

 

My baby is turning 10 months old tomorrow. I still find myself telling people I just had a baby. Then they ask me when and I realize as I am answering that I actually didn't just have a baby. But really, I swear it was yesterday!

 

Maddie is beyond adorable, there are no words to describe this little lady. She truly has a little personality on her and there is no doubt she will be the little girl that waits for a crowd to form so she can dance in the middle and create a show. When it's getting hard to get ready in the morning, what do we do? Put Maddie in a mirror and she'll entertain herself for hours. Doesn't sound like anyone I know does it? ;) 

 

To top it off, she is a little dare devil. Maddie will stand up and let go of everything. Her body will balance for about 3 seconds and then she comes plummeting down! It's a matter of time before she takes off!

 

But really... the absolutely funniest part of Maddie's developments. She tells you no for pretty much everything. You ask her or try to give her something and she will shake her head profusely in the "no" direction. The only problem is, she thinks she is supposed to do this when you ask her anything. We joke with her and we'll say... "Maddie, do you want to live in San Francisco?" We'll pause and she will start shaking her head no. I have no idea where she got this from!

 

 

Maddie Loves:

- Chicken Soup (at daycare)

- Crawling as fast as she can

- Standing up

- Looking at herself in the mirror

- Music - real people music, not lullabies

 

 

Maddie can:

- High five

- Wave bye bye

- Repeat some words (sounds like she has said hi and dog)

- Shake her head no

- GIVE KISSES!!! My favorite!!! Sweet girl :)

 

 



Smart and Goofy Girl!

Madison had her 9 month doctors appointment yesterday, in which she had to get a flu shot. In the past these shots have been nothing short of a painful experience, where mom has to hold down baby and doctor gives shots in baby's leg.... then baby screams and is fussy all night. I expected nothing less. To add to the mix, I had to wake Maddie up from a nap to get this shot!

At this appointment, Madison weighed slightly over 18 pounds and was just short of 27 inches. This puts her in the 25th percentile for height and around the 25-30th for weight. The only exception is her head.... which is in the 50th percentile. This girl is either super duper smart, or she has a big head..... I'm going with the first one! Nevertheless, we have a little petite cutie who seems to grow at the same pace each visit, which is good!

This time when Madison got the shot she was sitting up. Now that she is very mobile, she hates when you constrict her or make her lie on her back. The doctor gave the shot. Madison's face went down as if she were about to cry.... but very quickly..... mama started dancing. And what did Maddie do? Not a peep came out of the child's mouth. Instead, she started dancing, bouncing up and down! Total diva I tell you. Everyone was so surprised that she didn't cry at all. She is such a big girl, but more so, loves to draw attention to herself! My mom would say she gets this from me, but I know better.... her dad is just like that too! Ok - maybe this baby doesn't stand a chance. WATCH OUT WORLD.... A new actress is in town!

That evening, wanted to test out Maddie's big head, so I tried to see if she could learn to high five. Turns out - easy as pie for Madison... she looks at me like.... "and what else would you like for me to do."

Last but not least, a huge milestone happened this week. Madison can hold her own bottle! I handed her the bottle in the car because she was upset and I thought she would just play with it. Then I looked back in the rear view mirror and she had propped it up to her mouth and was chugging it. How long has she known how to do this is what I want to know :)

MAMA

So she said it! It only took two months of babbling "mamamama" to her during her every waking moment, but she said it! It's such a great feeling hearing those words come out of my little girls mouth.

This past weekend Madison also had the opportunity to have her first train ride and bouncy bounce experience. We took her to a Goblin festival for little kids at the Discovery Museum in Saulsilito. She dressed up as a bumble bee. I'm not sure how excited she was when she first put on her costume, but once we got there and she saw that she was the cutest kid there, she was a happy camper! She was such a good girl. She liked the train, but truly her favorite was sitting with the kids in the bouncy bounce watching them jump up and down. She kept laughing and screaming. She just LOVES other kids.

Another thing Maddie loves is animals. There is no doubt that growing up with two 60 pound boxers has contributed to this. Maddie just loves her doggies, and so she thinks every animal she sees is a doggy.. even a goat. There was a small petting zoo at the festival and I took Maddie inside. I bent down so that she could nicely pet the goat. I slowly leaned in and Maddie had her hand out. She slowly began to touch the goat.... and then she grabbed a hand full of hair! The goat jumped up and so did I! I then realized that every animal was her doggy.

Last but not least, things came to a head with the sleeping arrangements. Madison had been waking up two times a night and it became obvious that we had to do something. She wasn't hungry, did not need a diaper change, and would fall right back asleep as soon as we picked her up. BUT.... the moment we left the room she would start back up again. Mike and I decided that we would give the sleep training thing a whirl. We still had no clue whether it would work or not, I'm a softy and I hate hearing my little one cry. However, even Madison was miserable during the day from lack of sleep, so we had to do something. The first night we put her down, kissed her, and then walked away. She immediately started crying and standing up in her crib. Mike watched the monitor and I tried to occupy my mind. She only cried for 10 minutes and then she laid down and put herself to sleep. Mike and I both looked at each other in amazement.... was this literally all it would take? Why didn't we do this sooner, this little girl was obviously begging for someone to teach her to sleep!

 

 

9 Month Diva

So, Madison recently decided that she no longer wanted to be with just a nanny during the day. She wanted to be at a daycare where she had lots of other kids to play and laugh with. Well, she didn't necessarily tell us this, but I gathered it from her actions. Madison not only attends the kids club at the gym, but also plays in the middle of the circle at baby boot camp with all the other babies. She always has the best time and when I pick her up to take her home, she throws a fit (until I'm strolling her along the coast in her stroller of course) - what a DIVA!

So, based on our observations, we felt like our social butterfly was ready to be in a group setting. We found a little infant daycare close to our house and on the way to work. We went one afternoon to check it out and allowed Maddie to play on the floor with the other little girls. The moment Maddie was on the floor my heart melted. The little girls were acting as her big sister, teaching her how to ride in a fire truck and ring the bell, etc. It was the cutest thing! Then when Maddie left, they wanted to kiss her goodbye. I just knew it was the perfect place for her.

It was really hard saying goodbye to our current nanny Edis, and our amazing nanny share partners. They all saved us from a horrible nanny experience the first time, and Edis had been an amazing caregiver to our little girl. We truly will miss Edis, but felt this was the best thing for Maddie.

On Maddie's first day, she was the happiest that afternoon that she had ever been, she is thriving so far!

Also at 9 months, we got to take our first mommy and daddy trip. We had the best time together and it was great to get some alone time. Of course I had my moments where I freaked out, but I also had an amazing time with my hubby and we got to share a beautiful place together, Honolulu, Hawaii. My mom came to watch Maddie for us and from the sounds of it, they had a blast as well. We are so thankful that she is so good with Maddie. During their trip, my mom took Maddie to the zoo and rented her a wagon. Maddie loved it. My mom said everyone was commenting on how good she was sitting up in the wagon and just watching everything - I swear that girl already thinks she is 16! Seriously, such a diva! Towards the tail end of my moms trip, Aunt Tonia came to visit too... and after hearing the wagon story.... bought Maddie a wagon without taking no for an answer. This little lady is so blessed with amazing friends and family. So..... at 9 months.... Maddie officially has her first radio flyer wagon (of course my budget friendly husband made me get a unisex colored one - I totally wanted pink)!!

Last but not least, I am currently planning Maddie's first birthday party, Winter ONEderland. It's such a special time for Maddie and I hope she gets to make some new friends down in Texas :). I cannot believe it is almost here!

What Happens in a Month When you Blink

I closed my eyes for a second...... and it was October! My baby girl has grown so much... we can barely keep up with her!

At the very tail end of 7 months, all this little lady wanted to say was dadadadadadadadada. It would have melted Mike's heart, except for Maddie thinks that every object in sight is her dadadadada. :). However, you can't deny the fact that Mike still wanted to pretend she really knew what she was saying. AND.... you can't deny that I secretly said mamamamama nonstop every time I was alone with her.

Also at the tail end of 7 months-beginning of 8 months, Maddie took off crawling forward. This lady acts like she is racing someone... she is so fast! There is no sitting in our house anymore. By the time I go to bed, I feel like I went running when I was at home the entire time!

Towards the end of 8 months, Madison learned to pull herself up to standing position using different objects.... and not just a normal pull up.... one handed! I honestly think she is showing off (go figure when you have two babies of the family get married and have a baby!).

Swim lessons are still going great, we just love our little talented peanut!

P.S..... Still no mamma. I swear I have heard MA on numerous occasions, but nothing consistent!

My 7 month old!!

I cannot believe my big girl is 7 months! She is so beautiful and I am in awe of her everyday! Going to work has become much harder and not being around family where Maddie can enjoy her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles is just as hard. We have started to begin the discussions about when we could possibly move closer. In the meantime, Maddie is really thinking about wanting to take off forward. She is a backward crawler expert and can get anywhere she wants backwards! She can also sit herself up and find something to play with. Crazy!!

Balancing life with a 7 month old is not easy! Mike and I are both working full time and Mike is finishing up his masters degree at night. Madison has a wonderful nanny that we share with another couple, who have a little boy named Mateo. Mateo is a couple months older than Maddie and they are so cute together! They actually interact and Maddie has had her first kiss (of course mom and dad were not there)!!!

Maddie's new favorite thing to do at the park...... the swings! She just LOVES them. Giggles, laughs.... you name it!!!

Madison also started swim lessons! When I first heard about swim lessons for a 7 month old I thought… this will be so cute, twirling her around in her swimsuit in the water, making friends, splashing a little. To my surprise, this was much more hardcore than I could have imagined! They actually teach the little babies to go underwater! I was all for it…. Making sure that Maddie is a good swimmer is very important to me. I wouldn’t say that it was absolutely Maddie’s favorite thing… but she didn’t cry either!!! Good girl!

They teach the babies to swim under water, push off the side with their legs, jump off the side into the water, wear goggles, swim under a tube, go down a water slide, etc.

Maddie now has her own set of strawberry smelling pink infant goggles and a few swimsuits to go with J.

 

Oh and last but not least... Madison's 6-7 month Photo won a contest!!! What a beautiful and sweet little girl she is!

 

6 Months!

When people ask me how old Madison is... I find myself stumbling over what to say. I know she is 6 months, but how can this be? I feel like I just had her yesterday! She continues to amaze me and is turning in to quite a little lady (sassy pants!). Here are some of her milestones at 6 months:

- 6 months shots
- Can officially eat solid foods (Favorites: Peas and Sweet Potatoes/Is not a fan of: Chicken/Turkey)
- Can officially sit up completely on her own
- Starting to get mobile, began to crawl backwards towards the 7 month birthday
- Notices the dogs, likes to pull their ears, tail, etc. (Also likes to try and kiss them with her mouth open.... yuck)!
- Likes to swim (has not started lessons yet but has been in a floaty)
- Is starting to throw small fits and get fussy when you take something away from her
- Cut her first 2 teeth and kept us up all night the whole time they were coming in!

Seattle

Maddie loves to travel... but maybe a little too much. She doesn't like to travel like a baby, she is a big girl. Maddie's reasons for loving travel include sleeping in a hotel bed and going out for a night on the town! Maddie took a trip with her parents to Seattle at the end of June. She was able to dine the Needle and see the entire city! She also attended a baseball game with her daddy while mommy was at a work event. What a lucky girl!

The Carousel

We live by a huge park in San Francisco... the Golden Gate Park. It happens to include a real carousel that kids can enjoy for a small cost. This is one of Maddie's favorite things to do. She is so smart. She knows how to hold onto the pole in front of her and ride like a big girl! She love to laugh and scream out at all the passengers as she passes by. I have to admit, it makes mommy a little sick, but it doesn't stop me from taking our girl!

Mike's First Father's Day

The first time Madison painted.... was just a wee shy of 6 months. Mommy and Madison had been planning something very special for daddy for fathers day. There was a place down the road where you could paint any creation you wanted and then they would shine it. Madison decided she wanted to get her dad a frame that she painted herself. She picked out the frame and sat in her car seat while mommy prepared most of it. When it was time for the final touch, Maddie dipped her hand in some paint and made the final product. Everyone in the store was impressed, they said usually babies cry at that age but Madison did not cry at all. She wanted somehting very special for her daddy. She also took her daddy to all you can eat Sushi! What a sweet girl!

 

 

Maddie Supports the Relay

Maddie was featured on my company's internal portal. Here is the blog that was featured.

On May 5, 2012, Madison Perkins embarked on her very first Slalom experience. Her mom (Tosha Perkins) was representing Slalom’s teams as a volunteer for The Relay. What is The Relay you ask? It is a 194 mile - 12 member team run, promoting Organs R Us. Slalom entered two teams this year, BOOM and Trailblazers. In order to participate, the teams needed volunteers and Maddie’s mom had volunteered for a shift.

At 4.5 months, Madison is a diva, but no doubt a hard worker. She made her debut on New Year’s Eve… 4 days early… to make a statement none the less. A typical birthday just wasn’t enough for her… she needed her own holiday to celebrate her life. When Maddie heard that her mom was volunteering for the event, she just had to go. The Perkins family packed up and headed to San Rafael where they would stay the night in order for Tosha to complete her overnight shift.

Maddie enjoyed a day at the pool and some nice naps in the warm breeze of the North Bay. Then it was time to get into her Slalom attire and volunteer.  Although Maddie cannot speak yet, her facial expressions were clear. Maddie was ready to go to the event and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Once Maddie arrived at the site, she realized that it was quite different than the city life she was used to. The volunteer site was in Nicasio, CA, right in the middle of a dead cell phone area, cows, no lights, and porta potties. Maddie quickly decided that this was not for her (plus mom was nagging her that it was waaaaaay past her bedtime).  She went back to the hotel with her daddy.

After mom’s shift, which ended at 2 am, Maddie decided that she wanted to show her true feelings about not having her mommy with her. She had been sleeping through the night since 3 months of age… but that’s because she knew her mommy was in the next room. This time Maddie knew her mom was gone and she wanted to show just how unhappy she was about that. Maddie woke her daddy up at 2 am, then her mommy up at 5 am, and then everyone up at 7 am. Maddie was ready to go back to the city.

Although Maddie didn’t last the entire shift out in Nicasio, CA…… she did want to say that she thinks all of the runners did an amazing job and she was happy to represent Slalom. Lastly, she wanted to make one thing clear….. this better help her in her Slalom interview in 30 years!

 

CINCO DE MAYO

There is no doubt that our family loves Mexico, Mexican food, and the celebrations that come with it. There is no reason not to start a girl early right? For Cinco de Mayo, Maddie got a little festive and wanted to dress up in her Mexican gear for lunch. By the way, this girl is going to be bilingual. Her nanny speaks to her only in Spanish! Hola Chica :).