Happy 3 Months, Baby!

Fall Color

Since it's been so warm this year, the leaves have stayed green until just this week -- and then literally in one week, they've gone through all the color stages and some are already brown!

(Looking out our front window)

13 Weeks

Playtime...

She's holding more and more things - lately her toes.

The coordination is coming slowly, but I did witness her take her pacifier out of her mouth (which she's been doing) AND put it back in.

I don't want to sleep anymore, Mama! Pray for this poor child that she'll sleep more than 30 minutes during her naps! She's back to her old ways and she's been so ornery this week. (The cat, on the other hand, is sleeping quite contentedly in the backround)

Jen's Baby Slings

I just found out our friend Jen is selling baby slings. I'd wanted to get one when Madison was born but when I found out they cost like $80-100, I said forget it. (To the idea of making one myself, I also said forget it!) Jen apparently was finding the same thing as far as pricing, so she's started her own business making them. Hers sell for around $40-50 -- MUCH more reasonable. We're going to order one from her as soon as we can figure out what color/design will be manly enough for Matt to wear, too!

www.jensslingythingys.com

3 Month Professionals

Niecey, you're amazing...

Madison's 3 month professional pics

12 Weeks

How is it she seems older and bigger than she was just yesterday...






I mentioned before that she could hold her own body weight when leaning forward, but without support behind her, she'd fall to the side. Well now she's holding her weight & staying steady all by herself. It doesn't look like a very comfortable position... but she seems to like it anyway. She's just a can-do girl.




Also she's doing the 'swimming' thing when she's on her stomach. She's going to be crawling away in no time!

More 12 week photos here.

What's In A Name

I was taking a break from cleaning - checking email - and somehow I followed some links that took me to websites with baby names and meanings. Now, Madison had been a favorite name of both Matt & mine for a long time, so we knew what our first daughter would be named. But because we already had the name picked out, I never stopped to look up what it meant. So just for fun, here's all of us...

Madison - Good; son of Maud or son of Matthew(!); son of a mighty warrior. [in our case, daughter!]
Christa - Follower of Christ.
Matthew - Gift of God.
Winston (our cat) - Joy stone or battle stone. [since he likes to grab my feet as I walk by him, definitely the battle part!]

Today's Photo Albums

I'm so weird. I like to get online a couple times a day & look at my own blog. I guess it would be like looking through your own family photo album years ago - but our photo album exists on our computer. Still, I feel silly - I smile at the pictures of Madison as if I'd never seen them before. Oh well. I guess that's part of being a mom.

T.O.

The 'god' of Nebraska takes his throne... So he gets to be governor after all - sort of. Go figure.

A Girl and Her Doll

With the demise of American Girl -- going from teaching young girls history & values and encouraging them to be little girls, to becoming the trendy, hip, you-can-be-cool type of fad we often hope to avoid, I've been thinking about the future of doll collecting for Madison. I know, I know, it's a little early. She's not even 3 months yet. Maybe it's just the girl in me that wants to get her started already. Since I started collecting Pleasant Company/American Girl dolls at 9 years old, I always dreamed of passing on my collection and my love of historical dolls to my girls someday. I've been so saddened to see what Mattel has done to my favorite hobby. "Follow your inner star"?? What kind of hocus pocus baloney is that??

I'm thinking we may go the way of the Life of Faith dolls. They're a newer creation since American Girl, but they provide not only the beautiful dolls and lots of clothes & accessories, they stay true to passing values on to little girls. They're not hip, trendy or sensual; they're lacy, frilly, sweet & pretty. They promote femininity instead of feminism.

So, it may be a little ways off still, but until Madison can start dreaming of doll collecting, I'll do it for her.

More of 11 Weeks

I am amazed how difficult it is to get a baby to smile at the camera. She smiles all the time now & is very expressive - but do you think she'll let me capture it on film or in pictures?? Nooo. I did manage to get one smile in snapping over a 2 dozen shots this morning.

Also you can kind of see how she holds her weight when leaning forward. She still needs the support for her back & sides though or she'll fall over. She kind of looks like she's going to fall over in these pictures but she's actually leaning.

For the rest of the 2 dozen pictures (which you'll probably only care about if you're really bored or you're Madison's Nonna or Grammy!), click here.

11 Weeks

Madison has been showing quite a bit of strength sitting up lately, either when propped on the couch or on our laps. She's not able to sit on her own yet but can hold her upper body quite well especially leaning forward. We decided to get her a Bumbo seat so she could sit upright and look around better. She seems to like it.



More 11 week photos here...

Random Bits

My latest favorite food to make: Egg McMuffin
My latest gadget one should never be without: Pumice sponge

Half Way

Believe it or not, Madison is already rolling over half way. She can roll from her front to her back. On her back, she can roll to her side -- then she kind of gets stuck there with her arm pinned underneath her. I think she's able (strong enough) to roll over from back to front, she just needs that added element of coordination with what to do with her arm underneath her. My reaction was "Wow! Look at you! Aren't you clever to be able to do this so soon!", followed immediately by, "Oh shoot... Now I have to start watching you more closely!"



Click here for more 10 1/2 week photos...

Helping Daddy Study

Pacified

Sunken Garden

More garden photos on Picasa

More 10 Weeks

Daddy getting Madison hooked on video games early...

More tummy time... She's started this drooling/foaming at the mouth thing this week.

Cat Napping

Tummy Time on the Playmat - 10 Weeks

We're going to try to re-post this so the image is clearer. Bear with us - still figuring out the video posting!

10 Weeks

It is SO hard to believe she's 10 weeks old already. We love our little live doll.

Just like Daddy!

Longing for the Homeland

FREEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!

Casualty of War

Turns out our Civil War battle over the weekend wasn't without casualties. Matt usually comes home with red irritated eyes from all the smoke & black powder. Monday his left eye was really bothering him, and when it continued on Tuesday, he went to the doctor.

Turns out he had a tiny piece of metal in his eye, right on the edge of his iris. We presume this happened on the battle field, probably someone using the incorrect caps which have little metal prongs that can go flying. Our doctor removed the piece and gave Matt an antibiotic and a tetanus shot after he also found it left a rust ring.

Thursday Matt went back to the doctor to be sure the metal was all out. The doctor found there was still rust in Matt's eye, so he sent him to an opthalmologist to have his eye sanded! Sure enough, the eye doctor used an intrument that looked like a mini grinder to get the rust off his eyeball. (This would be the time to cringe & say EWWWW!!)

The pictures make it look worse than it is. The eye is healing now -- irritated but only a little pink. His main complaint now is the Tylenol with Codeine seems to be making him nauseous.

So yeah, the Civil War might be over but we seem to have a casualty after every battle. This time, the eye. Last time, a flat tire. The time before that, a cracked windshield. But we fight on!

Pawnee City 2007

Many more civil war photos on Picasa

9 Weeks

I know I'm biased so my opinion doesn't count... but isn't she CUTE?!

Tummy Time

Going...

Going...

Gone!