In the past year, you've changed a lot! You started out just 6lbs 7oz and now you're almost 19 lbs! You've grown so much taller and stronger. Now you can sit and stand and roll around and even climb! You can get wherever you want either by scooting on your bum or crawling on your hands and knees (if it's soft enough for your knees, you crawl...otherwise you let your bum and legs do all the work). Your hair has grown a little bit since you were born but not a whole lot! You never did lose much of your hair and it has stayed fairly dark, though it is lightening up a little bit from the sun this summer. Your eyes have always been dark and now are completely brown. Big, beautiful brown eyes!
You love to talk now. You're not very talkative but you do have your words that you like to say. Some of the words you've been saying this month are "UP!" "mum-mum-mum" "naaa"(night-night game) and "uh-oh." Your laugh is so contagious! Levi and Kayden are the best at making you laugh. They play games with you until you're laughing so so hard. Daddy and I can also get you to laugh but tickling you is what works for us.
Your favourite toys right now are your stuffies. You have a special lamb named "Lambie" who you love to snuggle with and "pat" (you pat it's back while it's snuggled up to your cheek). You understand the words "Lambie" "hug" and "pat." You love all stuffies in the house but Lambie seems to be your favourite. You especially enjoy going to sleep with him. When you have him snuggled up to your cheek at night, you just reach for your bed so you can go to sleep.
Speaking of sleep, this month has been a dream! This month you finally started sleeping through the night! I decided to just let you cry so you could learn that you don't need me to feed you to go back to sleep. The first night was tough. You cried for two hours. It was really hard to listen to you cry but after that you slept until morning. The next night you cried for an hour and a half but you didn't cry as hard and after that you slept until morning. The third night you didn't cry during the night at all! And since then, you have slept through the night every night! Mama is so happy that we're both getting more rest. You take one nap every day and it's usually 1.5-2.5 hours long. You have become such a wonderful sleeper!
You are also a wonderful eater! You started drinking cow's milk this month and liked it right from the first taste. You also love to drink out of your water cup. You were weaned just two nights ago and are doing really well with that too! You eat whatever food we are eating at the table during meals and also enjoy morning and afternoon snacks, and yogurt for bedtime snack. You do not like beans, those come right back out. You really enjoy fruit like strawberries (you shove the whole berry in your mouth!), blueberries, grapes and saskatoons. You also get really excited when you see me get out the raisin container.
When you get excited about things, you can hardly contain yourself. You almost jump out of our arms and make a very excited "ooh!" noise. I just can't help but smile and laugh when I see your excitement over things like the microwave, the raisin container, shoes, animals, light switches, and your bedroom window! You're fairly apprehensive in new situations and especially with new people. You cling pretty tightly to Daddy or me when you're unsure. It's good that you know where you're safe. That's not a bad thing.
It has also been fun to watch you start to figure out the world around you. You know that socks and shoes go on feet, that hats go on heads, that glasses go on heads/faces. You try to put lids on containers and smaller objects into larger ones. You clean up toys when you see someone else cleaning up...and then you take each thing out again one at a time. All these things sound so simple but I've been watching you since you couldn't even hold up your own head so these things are a big deal right now! We're celebrating how you're learning and growing and changing every day!
You had the flu for the first time this month. It made you a little less happy than usual, but after a couple days you were right back to your regular, easy-going self. I think you are also working on your fifth and sixth teeth so that must not feel great either!
You are such a joy to have around, Maddie. We all love you so much. Your brother and sister thank Jesus for you every night and still fight to be the one to play with you first. Your curiosity makes us smile and, while it can feel like a bit much sometimes, I thank God that you're healthy enough to be curious!
You had the flu for the first time this month. It made you a little less happy than usual, but after a couple days you were right back to your regular, easy-going self. I think you are also working on your fifth and sixth teeth so that must not feel great either!
You are such a joy to have around, Maddie. We all love you so much. Your brother and sister thank Jesus for you every night and still fight to be the one to play with you first. Your curiosity makes us smile and, while it can feel like a bit much sometimes, I thank God that you're healthy enough to be curious!
