Madeleine - Week 22

Madeleine has battled her first cold this week. She's such a great kid - totally happy through the whole thing. Anyway, this is why Miss M is sporting PJs in this week's photo. 

Any mamas-to-be who might be reading this, take note of this handy gadget. 

Weekend in Photos

Madeleine wasn't sure what to think of her Miss Piggy and Kermit PJs.

Daddy tried his hand at convincing Miss M to eat oatmeal.

Darn good parallel parking if I do say so...
 

Traffic jam in our new 'hood...

The squash fan club has a new president.

First bath toy: pirate ducky!

There has been a lot of crafting happening.

Hot glue trails...

Foggy Sunday morning

Good brunch date.

Family stroll

Bear suit debut

Sunny and busy day on the trail

Why eat when I can suck on my fingers?

I hope you had a great weekend!

Madeleine - Week 21

We're a day late on this week's photo. Our furnace replacement took longer than expected, leaving us without heat for three days. In the middle of it, Madeleine picked up a bit of a sniffle. I just couldn't bear to change Madeleine's clothes out of her PJs yesterday.

Anyway, this photo shows a bit of Madeleine's recent work on reaching for things. She has done a wee bit of scooting backwards, and, while I'm not excited about her crawling, I do want to encourage her natural development.

Sweet girl. We're so thankful for you!

Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving! We spent the day as a family of three, eating, relaxing, and napping. I couldn't ask for anything better.

Although this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I feel compelled to tell you that I am thankful for so much:

• my amazing (and amazingly patient) husband; 
• our sweet baby Madeleine, her happy demeanor, and her good health;
• our parents' health; 
• our siblings and extended families (and the opportunity to see almost all of them in the last year); 
• our friends - old and new, near and far; 
• the babies coming into our friends' and family members' lives in the next year and the technology that allowed some of them to be possible; 
• the technology that allows us to keep in touch with our friends and family across the globe; 
• our new home and dreams of our future here; 
• the opportunity to travel; 
• having plenty of food and a closet of wine; 
• getting our groceries and much more delivered to our door;
• heat (especially after 3 days and 2 nights without it); 
• this little outlet for writing and sharing our day-to-day; 
• getting to know some of my "old" friends in a whole new light as we've entered motherhood at the same time; 
• watching George and Madeleine interact and grow their relationship; 
• the opportunity to be with Madeleine and make our house the home we desire; 
• time and space to be creative and figure out my next steps; and 
• George's employer and the care it shows for its employees. 

I hope you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and gotten the opportunity to reflect on the blessings of the last year. From me and mine to you and yours: Happy Thanksgiving! 

First Food

I've been in denial for several weeks about Madeleine's need for solids. She went from a baby who reliably slept through the night to a baby who woke up two to three times a night giving strong hunger signs. Between not wanting to deal with food poo in her cloth diapers to not wanting my little girl to grow up, I really dragged my feet on this one. Late last week, I broke. George and I decided that Sunday would be the day we'd give Madeleine her first taste of solid food.

Due to my lack of planning and preparation of food, we ended up with oatmeal as the first food. I followed this recipe for oatmeal cereal using steel cut oats. I didn't cut it with milk yesterday but I did today. We're stuck with oatmeal for four days (to make sure she doesn't have an allergic reaction) and then will move on to a vegetable. I'm not sure what it'll be, but perhaps something suitable for Thanksgiving. Her friends all seem to like sweet potatoes and squash.

In hind sight, I probably should have warmed Madeleine up to the process in advance. Instead, we plopped her in her Bumbo, attached the tray (for the first time), put a bib around her neck (for the first time), and then attempted to shove a spoon in her mouth (for the first time). She wanted to suck on the spoon and seemed confused by the texture of the food attempting to go down her throat. She liked the Bumbo tray and wondered how she was supposed to play with this new thing attached to her neck.

I know what you're thinking: enough talk - give me photos!

Well, you're in luck!

I even have photographic proof that she survived the experience unharmed:

Baby Girl loves her Jumperoo. Thank you, consignment shop.

Apparently our baby squirrel saved some breakfast in her cheeks.

Happy Monday!

Weekend in Photos

As of this weekend, we're much more settled in our house. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our housewarming party because our new roof was taking longer than expected. Then, it ended up getting finished on Friday, and we were able to have our moms' group friends over for a little gathering. Today was a productive day, spent running errands and getting ready for the week ahead. In the midst of all of this, I didn't do a great job of taking photos, so here are a few of Miss M.

Saturday night video chat with her Wellington Grandparents

Sunday morning piggies

Lil' cuddle with Daddy

Yes, one of our errands was wine tasting. :-) 

I have plans for a few extra posts this week, and I'm really hoping to make serious progress on my holiday crafting (both decorative and gifting). Oh, yeah...and we'll have Thanksgiving on Thursday! Have a good short week!

Madeleine - Week 20

It's becoming clear that our little girl isn't going to be a baby forever. She discovered her feet this week, and today I caught her doing a little creeping on our floor. It takes her a long time to go just a few inches, but any progress toward crawling is a little terrifying to me.

Anyway, here is today's photo:

Weekend in Photos

What a weekend! It started and ended with leaks in our new house. In the middle, we heard owls, saw a coyote, and finally hung a few things on our walls. I suppose you take the good with the bad in homeownership. 

Lots of photos this weekend - bear with me! 

Frosty leaves.

And again.

Frost and debris on the hydrangeas. Can you tell we're in the middle of getting a new roof?

Wee frosty hydrangea (sounds like a band name).

Daddy's helper

21st Century: M and her buddy, O (in New Zealand), are having a Google Hangout.

"What do you want, Mum? I'm reading."

My crafting space is finally taking shape. (Remember this window.)

Organizing. Labeling. You know, the essentials. 

Madeleine's not sure about her new ride...

...or about Sunday morning.

Ready for brunch.

Hot Puffs. OMG. My waist does not need to know about these.

Rearranging the room. Decorating the walls.

ROYGBIV inspired by Pinterest. I'm so late to the bandwagon that this is probably out of style, right?

Remember that window? I knew I kept my college era towels for a reason.

I know I say it every week, but we're hoping to get more settled in our new house this week. We're also hoping the roof gets finished. What's on your agenda for the week ahead?

Madeleine - Week 19

This might be my favorite photoshoot yet. The fabric was a gift from our friend, Julia, and I just love Madeleine in this totally impractical outfit (a consignment shop gem!) and her first headband.

Madeleine is at a really fun age in which she is laughing, smiling, and rolling all the time. She's also really chill, as evidenced by her ability to nap this afternoon while a new roof is being installed on our house. Amazing girl. I'm trying to soak this in before she starts crawling, and I never get to sit down again.