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!