Madeline's Monthly Message: Month 10

Dear Madeline, Baby, you made it to the double digits! Woo Hoo!! You are now a 10-month-old. Life with a 9-month-old has been an adventure to say the very least. In the past month you have grown physically and mentally in such a rapid way I feel like Captain Jean Luke Picard in warp speed. Only what I'd like to do, as Captain, is tell Jordy Laforge and Commander Data to please take a little longer fixing the hyperdrive next time it breaks.

You also have this perfect little personality with your own ideas, your own likes, and your very loud and obvious dislikes.

I think your schedule changes every month now. You were taking a nap every day at 11:30 am and then again later around 3:00 pm, but now to go to bed later and sleep in a little bit so your nap is later. This means lunch is later, so you aren't always hungry when your Dad and I eat dinner, which is okay. I have to admit, I love nap time. I love the fact that you are so extremely tired yet you don't want to stop playing so you fight it. I set you in your crib each day around the same time, and you cry and look at me like I am the most thoughtless person in existence, and then like 2 minutes later you roll over and are out for at least an hour. I am so entertained by this.

You crawl. I mean REALLY crawl now. No two scoot and then plop on the bum, you go long distances and you can get at whatever you want to get at now. You also love to walk, with assistance - but not for long I bet (the assistance part). In fact, all you really ever want to do is walk. You love it.

Your Dada (and anyone else you can get to do it) takes you walking all the time... all over the house, all over the airport, all over your grandma's house... he has some pretty bad back pain because of it and no matter how many times I tell him it's okay to sit down or do something else with you, he keeps on walking. I think he feels like he is obligated to do it. He's a really good Dad.

You can also pull yourself up on anything. I find you standing in some strange places all of the sudden and wonder how in the world you got that way. You are a speed demon in that walker of yours and poor kitty is learning that she can no longer wait to move like she used to be able to.

The other day I left you in your room in your super playard XT and Kitty decided to jump in with you to sit and just be. All the sudden I hear this big boom and kitty comes running out of the room. I freaked, went running into your room and you were sitting there in the crawl position with this big grin on your face, all la-dee-da like, and kitty was limping toward me... past me.... and ploppled onto the tile. I think you got her. I checked her out and she was fine, but MAN I think she learned a lesson.

I made a mistake and let you walk in your walker on the tile with no shoes on. The tile is a little uneven in some places... I've tripped many times, I don't know what I was thinking. I suddenly noticed a few streaks of blood all over the tile... it was like horror film - maybe not that bad, but that's how I felt. When I realized it was your little big toe and that it had been skinned on the top a little bit, I wanted to hurl myself against the wall for being such an idiot. First aid on the little big toe was rough... you do NOT like to be restrained in any way so it was hard. Your dad had to hold you down while I cleaned it and held pressure to stop the bleeding and then apply baby neosporin and a bandaid.

Pain. There is pain all over the place. You, kitty, Daddy, me - just cause I am a klutz and can't seem to avoid running into things - Lots of bruises and bumps from learning to move. I try so hard to prevent these things from happening but it seems like no matter what I do it STILL happens. I hate it!!

You clap your hands now a lot. It's the cutest thing ever. Everything about you is cute. And it's not just me who thinks so. Everyone thinks it. Me, your Dad, your Grandma's, your cousins, Aunts, Uncles, friends, even strangers. You also wave your hands in the air like a rapper who "puts his hands in the air, and waves 'em like he just don't care". You do it when I play rap or hip hop on the radio. We listen to the radio sometimes in the morning when we are eating breakfast.

I try to keep you entertained and busy. Sometimes, when all hope is lost for you to sit quietly for a minute, we pop in your favorite movie - Elmo's sing-a-long songs Top Ten Countdown. You are mezmerized by this movie. You love the songs they sing and the puppet Sesame Street characters, and it buys us a minute or two to accomplish something. It's not like I let you watch TV all day. That's like the only show you watch.

Yesterday me and Brooke's momma thought it would be fun if you and Brooke tried out fingerpainting. I laid out a sheet on the carpet in your room and an old surgical gown I had upstairs (they're waterproof and sometimes if things are opened but not used we can take them home and use them because they would have just been thrown away anyway - they're good for painting) and then I filled a couple bowls with water and we laid out some fingerpainting paper. You and Brooke were dressed in painting attire - you just a diaper, Brooke and old onsie - and you went at it. You both had absolutely NO interest in painting. You wanted to splash in the water, dump it out, crinkle and eat the paper... it was a disaster really and probably only lasted about 5 minutes before you were in the tub and we were cleaning up. Maybe we'll try that again when you are a little bit older.

You are eating well. You finally like chicken, sometimes. You get a lovely array of fruits, veggies, yogurt, cheese, cheerioes, oatmeal, rice, bread... you love to feed yourself finger foods. You still have no interest in using utensils or dishes. They usually end up on the floor. You still nurse. You've stopped biting me -Yay for the nips!

Speaking of biting, you have TWO new teeth. They appeared to be pressing on the gums for a couple weeks and then on July 1st, 2009 we woke up to two HUGE teeth in the center of your top gums. They are SO unbelievably adorable I can hardly see straight. What makes them even more adorable, if it were even possible, is this cheezy grin you do. It is the cutest most... wait... I can't breathe, you are just too cute Madeline. You grind your teeth sometimes though, which is something we are trying to get over. I know they're new and different and exciting. I can only imagine what you must be thinking when you feel your bottom tooth clicking against your top teeth, "What in the world is that? It makes such a fun noise grind grind grind".

You like to share your food with me sometimes. I think you like the fact that sometimes we are eating the same food now. Unfortunately, I caved a couple times this month and gave you... JUNK food. You had two fries, part of a cookie, a tiny bite of icecream... the cookie was not anyone's fault. Your Dad was holding you while he was eating a cookie your Aunt Kristine made, and your little hand grabbed that cookie and shoved it in your mouth so fast... we were all really surprised and had to laugh. When you see something you want there is nothing that can get in your way, nothing I tell you!

If it were even possible, your relationship with your Dad has grown even more powerful. You LOVE him so much. When your Dada get's home from work, when you hear the beep of the door as he enters and I say, "Oh! Who is that? Is it Dada? Dada's home Madeline, Dada's home!!!", your entire little body stiffens. You frantically flap and wave ONLY your hands up and down and all around and you get this look on your face... your eyes get huge, you smile, you squeak, you look like your little tiny body cannot contain the immense excitement within and you are about to begin convulsing and then may explode if your Dad doesn't pick you up immediately.

This past week, June 29th - July 6th, you and me and your dad flew to Utah, where I grew up, to spend some time with my side of the family for the Fourth of July holiday.

They haven't seen you since you were 2 months old and you and me flew home for my Grandma Vivi's funeral, so they were in for a real treat. We had so much fun seeing everyone. You had a bit of stranger anxiety and it hurt me a little to see that you didn't know the people I have known and loved my whole life. I want you to know and love my family... especially my mother. She is such an amazing angel of a woman with so much knowledge and love to share. I know that when you are older you will understand and know her as best you can, but it reminded me of the one reason being so far from home ISN'T the best thing. I hope and pray and beg you don't move away from me when you are older. I know that's too much to ask, and that you will live your life and go where your path takes you... but a momma can hope.

It was a great trip. You had a great time with all your cousins. You were very busy every day. You got a ton of attention and loved every minute of it. Travelling has it's ups and downs and we had our ups and downs... you were teething, airports suck, your schedule was WAY off, your diet was WAY off, the stupid airport security lady took your Cetaphil lotion because it, being 4 ounces, exceeded the 3.4 ounces limit on liquid items... but you were surrounded by people who wanted to hold you and kiss you and hug you and make you laugh and smile constantly, you got to see fireworks and taste barebeque chicken, stay up late, and play, play, play with new toys and cousins and walk, walk, walk. I think you had fun.

It was on the first flight toward Utah that we discovered something new that makes you laugh. You were being fussy on the plane and your dad coughed. You laughed. So, he coughed again. You laughed again... this amazingly cute chortle. He did a fake sneeze, a fake cough... for the last 20 minutes of the flight you laughed your heart out as your dad fake coughed and sneezed. People from all over the plane were turning and leaning toward us and laughing and smiling along with you... I couldn't stop laughing myself, it was hilarious!! You can fake cough too! So now, if you are sad, we fake cough. It always cheers you up. And if Dada or Momma cough or sneeze for real? That's pretty funny too.

You still love to be read to. Your favorites books are "A Fly Went By" By Mike McClintock (a Dr. Suess), "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", "Love You Forever", and this nursery rhyme book we got you a while ago. Me and your Dad could probably quote those first two books word for word. In fact, there are times we do quote them. I could say something like, "Babe, will you get me a dish out of the cupboard?" And your Dad would come back with something like, "If you wish to wish a wish, then make a wish on my ish wish dish."

You are such a happy baby Madeline. Your main goal each day is to be happy. Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, cuddle, play, walk, talk... these things make you happy. You have made our lives so much happier.

In two months you will be one. In two months, I, Edith Ann, will have a one-year-old. It has gone by so fast. You are growing up so fast. Please know, I will try my best to make sure that as you grow, you are as happy as possible. I want you to look back on your childhood with memories of nothing but real, joyful, genuine times with your family and friends that you will always cherrish. You deserve that. Every child deserves that, but especially you.

Love,
Momma