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Finally time to Update

So sorry to all those Grandpas and Grandmas who keep checking' the blog to see if I have updated....!! We have been so busy since the 4th of July. I finally had a chance to sit down for a second and update. I'll try to remember all the fun things we've done in the last couple of weeks. Maddox now has 2 teeth. Last week or so she started getting' very needy again like she was while she was getting the first tooth...and low and behold I saw the second one coming in. They are right next to each other. There is one picture I posted where you can just see them a bit. Neither one of them is up all the way.....but they're there, both on the bottom. Luckily she just got a little needy but kept on sleeping well.(unlike the first tooth experience). She's still doing the 7PM to 6 or 7AM schedule....thank you Maddox!! She is really eating well right now. We have tried to progress her to more of a breakfast, lunch, dinner schedule. I feed her from me in the AM, when she wakes up. Then she has breakfast a short while later which consists of cereal and 2 to 3 other kids of baby food. Her favorites continue to be peas and prunes. Then she has a good morning nap about 2 hours.When she wakes up she has a small bottle of breast milk, 5oz or so. Then it is time for lunch, the same again, cereal and baby food. Then she sleeps again, another 2 hours or so then when she wakes up I feed her from me ( this is usually about the time that I pick her up from Kim's too which works out well). Then it's bath time, her favorite! Then supper consisting of the same ol' cereal and baby food. Then one last big bottle, usually 6 oz, that Dad gives her. So when I read that to myself, it doesn't sound much like breakfast, lunch, and dinner.....still sounds like a lot of eating. But, in reality it is with a couple of little breast milk snacks. We went to Dr. Anderson on Friday for her wellness check up. She is up to 17lbs 5 ounces and is 28 1/4 inches long. She is still in the 25th percentile for both weight and height but Dr. Anderson isn't worried and says she is still just going to be petite and he is quite alright with that. He said we could start her on yogurt and cottage cheese ( whole milk variety) because I told him my milk supply was starting to dwindle and I didn't think we'd have enough stored up in the freezer to make it until her first birthday. So he said to go ahead and see how she does with the yogurt and cottage cheese and if she doesn't have any issues with the whole milk then if I run out of breast milk ( from me AND the freezer) before she is one year to just go ahead and switch her to the whole milk from the bottle, instead of trying to transition to forumla for a short time and then to whole milk after she is 1. So far we have just added a little yogurt to her meals. The whole milk baby variety of yogurt is very tangy!! But, she seems to like it. We didn't get any shots this time around at the Dr but at her yearly appointment look out Maddox, I think we get maybe 3 or 4. She is crawlin' like crazy. I try to sort of trap her in the living room, as you can seem from the pictures, when I want to try to get something done in the kitchen. But, she figures out how to wriggle her way through tight spaces.....! You can see I tried to use the ottoman one day to trap her in, but she figured a way out after a bit of fussin'. Cousin Hannah came over to visit yesterday. She hasn't seen Maddox since Great Grandma Berg's 90th birthday party in October! Boy, has she changed. Maddox loved a new person to play with. Grammy Marti, Hannah, Maddox, and I went out for lunch to Panera. Maddox had a few small bits of the bread from my sandwhich. She is getting MUCH better tolerating different textures and using her tongue to maneuver food in her mouth. So anything that is sort of soft and dissolvable, within reason, we let her try. She loves the puffs now...and shovels them into her mouth double handed. She has really taken' a likin' to books. She'll sit in the corner by that bookshelf in the AM for almost 25 minutes just lookin' at the pictures, turnin' the pages and talkin' to the characters. She loves to turn the pages...and YES....that is a picture of Dad and Maddox watchin' 'THE WHEEL'. She loves Wheel of Fortune. I know....we're terrible parents lettin' her watch TV....but I figure it is somewhat educational and it is really hilarious watchin' her watch it. She loves the colors and especially the sounds. She can be in the kitchen and if Eric turns it on she hears that little.....chime to start the round and she takes off for the living room. We had a baby shower here for one of my running friends a couple of weekends ago. She discovered the balloons that I used for decorating and really went to town playin' with them. We really need to get her a ball....balloons are not the safest thing for her to play with, but she really has a ball holdin' onto the end of it and wavin' it in the air, bouncin' it into things. WOW....this is getting long...sorry! So much to say. I have to stay on the band wagon and keep you all updated every week or I get behind. Enjoy the pictures and the video. Maddox and Dad are flyin' solo this weekend. I'm headed to North Carolina to have a girls weekend with my college friends. I got a feelin' Maddox is going to be one spoiled baby when I get back.

Celebrating the 4th in Keokuk

Maddox, Eric and I spent the 4th of July down in Keokuk with Eric's family. As you can see from the pictures Maddox had a blast of a time. We were down
not only for the 4th, but to celebrate our nephew Brandon's graduation from Cornell College. Way to go Brandon and best of luck with med school. Maddox was great. She slept on the way down, ate well and slept well again in the hotel. I even got to watch the Keokuk fireworks out the hotel window....Maddox didn't make a peep through all the booms and the bangs. She loved hanging out with her cousins, who entertained her all Sunday morning...or well maybe she entertained them. You can see from her red knees she has definitely been on the move. Even just today Eric and I commented on how much faster she is getting. She follows us around the house now and is quick to get into anything you leave down on the ground....for example she was quick to 'attack' the cup of coffee I left on the floor last week. Luckily I use a lot of cream so it sort of blended right into the carpet. Sure it won't be the first thing to dirty the carpet in the coming future. Totally slipped my mind that she would be able to TRAVEL to the intriguing cup that I left there. She isn't as lightening fast as that boy at story time last week...but it won't be long. She is getting more and more coordinated by the minute. Still no more teeth, but the one that she does have is comin' up through a bit more, but slowly. Hope everyone had a nice fourth....!! Thanks Kies family for a great holiday weekend. It was nice to see everyone.

Maddox.....the Wine Enthusiast!

I had to post these pictures!! Most of you know Eric and I are wine drinkers....!! I found/caught Maddox getting into the ONE stack of books/magazines that I hadn't put out of reach since she started crawling. It looks like she is in a little cave...and she sort of is. She had managed to crawl into the small little space in between our couch and the end table. I never IMAGINED she would find her way in there....but she did....and immediately started pulling the books off of the shelf. She was most interested in this one.... Maybe she can tell us the best red and white after she gums this magazine down. She is really getting good at crawling...although I have to say still somewhat cautious. We went to our first story time at the Bettendorf Library this AM...and BOY were there some movers there. One little boy was seriously lightening' fast on his knees. I'm glad Maddox isn't quite that fast yet. She is still hesitant and slightly uncoordinated yet, but in no time I'm sure SHE is going to be lightening fast too. Story time was really fun. It is just a short little 25 minute sort of playtime. The leader is really great and actually was able to capture Maddox's attention for short periods of time, singing and dancing in front of her. So we sing a lot, clap our hands, read a couple of books....in a sort of fast fashion......and then play. It is all ages...I think like babies till maybe 5 year olds? We met another friend of mine who has a daughter just a few weeks older than Maddox. Her name is Sydney...and she had PIGTAILS in her hair which Maddox thought were toys...and kept pulling at them. Luckily Sydney didn't seem to mind! It seems Maddox might be getting another tooth, or maybe the one that she sort of has is finally going to sprout through. She has been really drooling again and somewhat fussy although has still been sleeping ok. This coming weekend we'll travel to Keokuk to visit Grandma Kies and the rest of the Kies family. We're looking forward to the trip and hope to fit in some fireworks here and there! Happy 4th of July everyone!

Maddox Crawls AND Gets A Tooth

Wow, we have had an exciting 72 hours. Maddox officially started crawling on Friday. She was only able to go about 3 feet on Friday, but she's up to about 5 or 6 feet at a time now before she gets tired or changes her mind about where she is going. I went for a run yesterday morning and when I got back the gates were up and all of our bookshelves had been cleaned out by Eric. Apparently she went on a crawling kick while I was gone and Eric had to baby proof quickly!! She gets very determined to get over to whatever it is that she wants....she even sticks her tongue out while she's crawling....like she's really working hard. And I suppose she is right now. But, soon it will be old hat. Last night when we were getting her ready for bed I discovered a tooth poking through her bottom gums. I think I scared her I shouted out so loud in excitement. You can't really see it well yet, but you can definitely feel it. So between the major milestones of crawling AND getting teeth we are hoping the middle of the night wake up calls will end soon. She has slept until at least 5AM the last couple of days so it seems we are makin' headway back to her old self of sleeping so well through the night. So Eric had a lot to celebrate about yesterday for Father's Day. Teeth, crawling...and gates!! The three of us went to the Radisson hotel, downtown Davenport, for a celebration brunch. The food was mediocre but Maddox was hilarious. They had a live jazz band playing and she was seriously mesmerized by both the jazz band AND the huge waterfall in the lobby. She was entertainment for all the people eating. She even sucked a little apple juice and water from my straw....a new activity. I have been trying a sippy cup with her lately but she hasn't figured it out yet, so I thought I'd try the plain ol' straw and she got it! Then we rode up to the 6th floor in the glass elevator. She thought that was pretty cool. So we've definitely entered into another level of parenting....that is with the crawling. She is getting so old....can't believe she'll be a year old in just 2.5 months.

Lazy Sunday 6.13.10

Here are a few more pictures from our visit with Grandpa Jim, Grandma Jean and Great Grandma Reta. We sure did have a good time. She is so close to crawling ( although I feel like I have been saying that for quite some time). She gets herself up on all fours and a lot of time presses up into downward dog, the YOGA pose. I can't even do that Maddox! But, then she falls back down again. She does a lot of movement on all fours but mainly just in a circle. Not much in the forward direction. Soon though. No teeth yet, although she has really been on a weird sleeping kick lately. She's been wakin' up at sometimes 2.30, sometimes 3.30, sometimes 4.30,....all hours of the "night" /morning. Luckily I just feed her and then she goes back to sleep until like 6 or 7am. Thought she was teething, but no teeth yet. Some say she might be on the verge of doin' something special...such as crawling...so maybe that's it. She's eating food well....lots of baby food and cereal now usually 3 times per day and she loves puffs too. She's had the insides of a tator tot and the very soft part of real green beans. Doesn't seem to mind either, although not a huge reaction! She can get some food in her mouth herself every now and then but most of the time I just give it to her. She isn't quite coordinated yet. She's still nursing although it seems with the hot weather she has been sort of finicky with the milk being too hot...she seems to like cold bottles now. No real words yet, but lots of chattering. She is so fun....and such a good disposition. She really only fusses when she gets tired, not even when she's hungry really. Luckily, she is still taking good naps since she is taking a 'break' from sleeping through the night. We did put the bumper pad back on her bed to keep her from getting her feet stuck out through the rungs...but I just literally got her up from her nap 10 minutes ago and she had kicked the bumper pad out of the way to get her feet out the rungs!! Hmmmmm?? She doesn't like to have her feet in the crib apparently.

A Whirlwind tour of the Grandma/pas and Greats!

Maddox, Eric and I have been traveling around the mid west the last couple of weeks visiting all the grandmas and grandpas and great grandmas. We have only missed Grandma Kies down in Keokuk...but luckily we'll see her the weekend of the 4Th of July. You can see from the pictures we've had a good time. Maddox and I traveled solo up to see Great Grandma Berg, Grammy Marti and Grandpa Dick in Aurora. She's gettin' pretty good at entertaining herself in the backseat while I am driving. Maddox was very excited to see Grammy Marti, she about jumped out of the car seat when she came around to get her out. It was hilarious. Grandpa Dick and Great Grandma Berg couldn't believe how much she had changed. They hadn't seen Maddox since mid April.....!! She's such a big girl now! Then Eric, and I took Maddox over to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean's house in Washington. This was the first time we had been over there so Maddox got to meet their LARGE black lab, Deuce. Deuce was more excited about all of Maddox's toys ( potential chew toys for him!!) than he was really of Maddox. But, they became good buddies. Deuce is like the largest lap dog there is on the earth, so gentle! He would just sit beside Maddox tryin' to figure her out. Grandpa Jim gave Maddox a taste of his 'un'sweetened tea. I think she was ready to call it quits on the milk after tasting the yummy tea. Never mind the caffeine Grandpa Jim. Great Grandma Reta was also surprised by how much she has changed. The last time she saw her she wasn't even sitting up. Look out Great Grandma Reta, we are almost ready to crawl!!