Madelyn is 11 months old! Happy almost birthday, dear girl! She has come so much closer to being a toddler rather than a baby this month. She still looks fairly "baby" since she doesn't have much hair yet, is still small for her age and doesn't walk yet. But you can just tell that she's maturing and growing up (way too quickly)!
When I thought about taking pictures this month, I wasn't sure how I was going to get her to stay in one spot long enough to take pictures. This girl would rather move and touch and get to whatever it is that catches her eye. She bum-scoots pretty much anywhere she wants to go, the exception being Kayden's bedroom carpet, where she flops to her hands and knees and crawls. It's a thick, shaggy carpet so it's no surprise she has adjusted her way of moving on there. The crawling is new this month. She still prefers to scoot but at least she knows how to crawl now! She rolls easily both ways and can sit up from laying down (also new this month I think?). She also climbs us and makes her way into our laps when we're sitting on the floor. She can pull herself up and is doing that more every day. One day this month, I was washing Kayden's hair in the tub and my elbow bumped something and I looked and Maddie was standing at the tub beside me! I hadn't even noticed her there! She doesn't walk along walls yet but can stand for quite a while once she's up. She's not very confident getting back down but can flop to her bum if she must (ie: if she is left alone and forgotten somewhere for too long).
Maddie continues to be our shyest baby yet. She can hardly stand new people looking at her and talking to her. She usually rests her head on my shoulder when people talk to her and if they come too close, she will hide her face in my chest. Melts this mama's heart! It seems to be hardest on her when people come to our house. If she is not being held by me when new people arrive, she will usually burst into tears within minutes of their arrival. If she's with me, she's fine, but if she's just on the floor or in her high chair, it's tears every time. She seems to be a little less shy when we're away from home, but still very clingy. She knows the four of us in her family and is comfortable with any of us but pretty much anyone else is still suspect and receives a good dose of hesitation from our Madelyn.
We've discovered this month that Maddie is a jealous baby. One day recently I was holding Levi in my arms on the kitchen floor while the rest of the family was sitting on the floor around us. He'd gotten hurt so I was being a mama and making it better. As soon as Maddie noticed that someone else was in my arms, she was crying and trying to climb in between! Levi was fine by then so I sent him to Nathan and once Maddie was calmed down (which was quick once Levi was away from me), I set her back on the floor and she went back to playing happily. I quietly motioned for Levi to come back to me and I held him again. It didn't take long before she was trying to push him out of my arms again, crying! Levi went back and forth between me and Nathan a few times, and each time he came to me she had the same reaction! It happened again in church yesterday, which I just find hilarious! Silly girl. Surely she's seen me holding her siblings before now!
Maddie is really starting to make certain connections now. She tries to put the cap back on a glass bottle that we have in the cupboard. She finds socks and puts them on top of her feet. Today she dumped my bucket of clothespins so I started putting them back in. She noticed what I was doing and started helping me put the clothespins back in! It's little things like that that make me realize that my baby is growing up. She often notices what we're doing and will copy. Another time I was holding my hand in the shower door waiting for the water to warm up. I looked down and she was sitting on the floor, holding her hand in the door just like I was! She also spits out whatever is in her mouth when I put my hand under her lips and often reaches out with things in her hand to show me what she has. If I put out my hand, she will put whatever she has into my hand so I can see it, then quickly takes it back!
She is also copying us vocally, though this is a slower progression than actions for her. She will say "da! da!" (dance dance) while swaying side to side. She has just started saying "da-daaa"(night niiiight) and laying her head to one side because we play a game with her where we say "night niiiight!" and she lays her head down, usually while she's in her high chair. You can tell that's what she's trying to say, even though it's just the "da" sound because she says it just like we say it to her! I'm sure she's also connecting the "dada" sound to Nathan for Daddy which is always a special step. She also says the "mama" sound, though I'm not sure if it is still in connection to me or if it's just an especially good sound for making bubbles (do it really slowly with a lot of spit in your mouth while blowing out a little and you'll know what I mean).
New things Maddie has done this month...she has played in the dirt in the garden. She has eaten a lot of dirt in the garden. She has gone for more walks in the stroller this month than she has in her entire life so far, I think. She has played on the trampoline and swung in a swing. She loves the swing and started out loving the trampoline too (she would sit and bounce herself as soon as her bum hit the tarp) but she got bounced onto her face by her energetic brother twice in one day and now she is not a fan. First wheelbarrow ride (I think). First time at camp.
Madelyn still makes the kissy face/noise whenever she sees animals (and when she sees Nathan...maybe she associates it with calling animals AND kissing daddy?). She gets so excited whenever she sees animals but so many months of watching them through the deck door may mean that it'll take some adjustment for her to actually enjoy touching them. She was safe through the glass but isn't quite so sure about these animals crawling into her lap and licking her arms and legs. That is still a bit much for her. I do hope that she will grow to love animals the way her brother and sister do though. How can you live in the country and not at least love kittens and puppies?!
Maddie loves dolls and stuffies. Whenever she finds something soft, she will hold it up to her right cheek, lean her head into it, and pat it. Cutest.thing.ever. She loves to explore and carry things around the house, dropping them in random places. It means I always have the most strange and random things in the most strange and random places, but it's a fun reminder that I have little people living here with me who are learning and growing. What a privilege! Of course, it doesn't always feel like a privilege when I'm constantly stepping on things and cleaning up after them. BUT...it's all about constantly refocusing and seeing the light, right?
Maddie eats almost everything we eat. We just plunk whatever we're eating on her tray during mealtimes and she eats it. So she eats each meal with us plus I try to give her a morning and afternoon snack of solids. She is also still nursing about four times a day and once or twice at night. She can easily go three hours between daytime feeds, sometimes even four hours. But when it's time to eat, this girl gets cranky! It's pretty much the only time she gets really fussy. She can be tired and still be pretty happy but if she wants to eat and isn't being served, get ready for some crank.
I mentioned that Maddie still eats once or twice at night. It's usually twice a night, once around 1am and then again between 4-6. She goes to bed around 8pm, wakes for the day around 8am, and naps during the day. She has pretty much phased out her morning nap already. I am not sad to see it go. It's so much easier to do things now that it's nice outside if she doesn't have to be home and in bed for an hour and a half every morning. Church is also a lot easier now that the morning nap is gone! She goes down for her nap between 12-1 and sleeps anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. She slept through her 1am feed three times this month - all in the past week or two - so I was hopeful that maybe she would start sleeping through the night soon but the last couple nights have seen two night feeds again so I guess not. One day...
Maddie is about 19 lbs and is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes still. I've considered just mixing the girls' clothes for summer because Kayden can still fit into some of Maddie's clothes and Maddie can wear some of Kayden's (which are 24m-3t). I get so confused when I'm folding laundry because many of Maddie's summer clothes, Kayden was still wearing last summer! Maddie's eyes are definitely brown, though some days it looks like there's still some grey/green around the edges. She seems to tan well, no burning...such a relief to have three kids who tan instead of burn! Her hair is staying dark so far and is slowing starting to get a bit longer, mostly at the back. I haven't had to trim it yet! She has four teeth: two top front, two bottom front.
We are having so much fun watching you grow, learning who you are, and just spending our days with you, Madelyn! You are a very special girl and we love every day that we have with you. You are so joyful and curious. So funny and so beautiful. We love you!
