Madeleine at 11 Months

(I don't have any current pictures, so these are from October when he had our family pictures done. You want family pictures? tiffanyannphotography@live.com)
I think the cutest thing in the world might just be watching Madeleine walk down the hall to me. After a full month of being able to walk, she has gotten so fast, but she still is not very steady or graceful. I love, love, love it. Of course when she gets to me, and I don't pick her up and she bites me on the upper thigh to remind me she is the center of the universe. . .not so cute.Maddy is definitely in a moving phase. She especially loves to escape our bench at church, and bear crawl--necessitated by her dress--up to the steps leading to the stand. Or this week, she kept going about 10 benches back to hold on to the Palmers' baby seat, in hopes of seeing the baby, I imagine. Her favorite escape though, is to the backyard. There is nothing like the beckoning call of mud, a wet sandbox, dried leaves, garden dirt, the trampoline and her swing. So, her knees, bum and feet are pretty much always filthy. (This might be a good time to mention that stains on clothes have never really bothered me.) Often I find her outside, alone, on the back porch, standing next to the riding lawnmower, or just sitting, playing with some random-ness that has found it's way to our porch. I don't think that ever happened with my first 2 children. She also loves to play in the front yard, where she usually can be found tangled up in a stroller--we only have about 3 sitting on the front porch, in addition to several more in the car, laundry room and backyard.Still an eating, pooping machine. Still breastfeeding. Still taking 2 naps, but only a very short morning one. Still loves baths. Still getting ear infections. Still [sigh] teething. She is getting good at mimicking sounds back that I ask her to say, and using signs when she really wants something. Sometimes she joins us as we sing, and that is really cute.
Madeleine is also into climbing. As mentioned, she tries to get in the stroller, but she also can often be found stranded on the step stool in the bathroom. She can get up, but not down. She also climbs into the frog potty a lot.
I love the feeling of holding Madeleine--like captured energy, but still so soft. She fits so nicely snuggled against my shoulder. She sleeps all night in her crib, but every morning, about 6:15, joins me in bed to eat, and I love to be snuggled up next to her warm little body. She adores her siblings, and whatever parent has most recently walked in the door.
I love you Maddie!

Ouch

$350. That is how much a root canal, laughing gas and metal crown are going to cost to replace the cavity filling that fell out of Warren's tooth, causing a huge mess and lots of pain. I don't know what feels worse: his tooth or my savings account. Add to that the $58 office visit that lasted all of 8 minutes, and I am cringing in pain.

The dumb thing is, I have the money, safely tucked away in my Health Savings Account. Money in this account doesn't even figure into our bottom line, so when I spend it, it's not like I even have to see it come off that figure. Still, I cannot keep my mind from looking around and translating that $408 into other, more desirable outcomes, like, a couch without rips, money toward a bathroom remodel, an entire month of groceries (usually not even that much!!!)...This is not a healthy way to spend my mental energy.
I did try to think what else I was getting for my $408, and realized that I got to spend a lot of time with Warren, since he had 2 dentist appointments today. We didn't have any monumental conversations, but we were together. We talked. If the whole mess didn't involve dental issues, I probably would've even bought us ice cream to add to the special-ness of the day. But that would be like rubbing salt on an open wound. I got an opportunity to practice being a big girl at Relief Society tonight by not whining to anyone about it--I'm saving that for here. I got to practice my bravery, calling back the dentist to ask several questions I'd been too embarrassed or too sticker-shocked to ask when I was in office. And I now have an iron-firm resolve to floss my kids teeth every night, and teach better brushing skills. We are good with the quantity, but maybe not so much the quality. No more!
Just think, for $408 I bought: motivation to brush and floss my kids teeth without slacking, a lesson in people skills, a lesson in accepting defeat gracefully and a day with my son. What a deal. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Wishing You a Happy New Year

This is why: bekahjennings.etsy.com

Avery's wish. My wish? If only I would have found my camera 2 minutes earlier, before I hosed off the blue acrylic paint all over her hands. You might still be able to see the pink heart she stamped on her lips, though. Avery is loving "Hi Ho Cherry-o" and new dress-up clothes. And any time she can bake with me. Yesterday we made sugar cookies, just because she wanted to make cookies and I was out of chocolate chips. It was fun.

Warren started soccer. He really likes it. He had one practice, and then a game, and they exceeded my expectations. He was the kid who had his jacket with the faux sheep fur collar underneath his jersey for the first 3 quarters. Warren is a fast runner, and wants to commemorate every "first" practice, "first" game etc. with a Blizzard from DQ.

My family brought back snow from Flagstaff a few weeks ago, so naturally, we built a snowman, maybe a snow midget. Abigail had a carrot nose for it, too, but it wouldn't stay in. Lately, I've been putting curlers in her hair after her twice-weekly baths (I know, I'm hygeine challenged.) It makes her hair look so much better and is so easy and lasts for a few days. Yeah for simple solutions!

Madeleine at 10 Months

On Christmas Eve, one day before the official 10 month mark, Madeleine took her first steps while we were at my parents' home. She is so little to be walking, which makes it extra cute when she does. And only in 1-2 step spurts. When she gets bored of this, she likes to just flop right into the waiting receiver's arms. Either way, she loves the applause. She also loves to applaud others, especially if she sees other people applauding. And she often will "lead"music. Really. It is so cute.

Madeleine still has 4 teeth--I thought for sure there would be 5 by now, since you can see another bottom row tooth just beneath the surface, and she seemed to have a lot of pain associated with it.

Madeleine is a pooping machine. For example, today she had 4 such diapers. And that is totally normal for her. Considering how much she can eat, I suppose it makes sense, since I think she often eats at least as much as Avery or Abigail, plus breast milk.

Madeleine loves to bite me. Not so much when she is eating, but when she wants to tell me she loves me, or she is feeling neglected, or wants to be set down. Those 2 daggers on top and 2 on bottom make the most perfectly painful pinch on my thigh, my upper arm, the top of my foot, my chin...Sometimes I wear a jean jacket just because she can't bite me through it.
A few months ago, Andy gave a Family Night lesson about being a good example, what that means and how people learn by watching. As an experiment, he told the kids that if every family prayer we all folded our arms, Mattie would too, and it would be so cute. Well, that day arrived this month and it was SO cute. You can watch the short video below.
It's been a big month for her arms, as she also waves now. Tonight, she just kept waving at Andy across the room while he read to the kids. Very sweet.

Madeleine is very adept at mimicking words and intonation. Once it was "clever", another time it was "fold your arms." She also has done "Madeleine", "Papo", and "Sarah". Her pitch/intonation imitation is very accurate and funny, and when she tried to say the mouthful "Madeleine" I laughed out loud.
She loves to be outside, and can get there very quickly. She loves to swing. She likes cups and trying to drink from them. She even likes other people more than last month; 2 weeks ago she crawled over to my friend Becky and sat on her lap during church. I was stunned.
Madeleine is delightful and an extremely determined child. She is loved by all her siblings, as evidenced that each time she awakes from a nap, Abigail sings, "Hail to our princess!" repeatedly.
We love you Mattie!

Nutcracker

I love the pleasure and concentration evident in these photos. It was Christmas Eve Day and I needed pecans cracked and shelled for candied yams. I called out, "Who wants to make 50 cents cracking nuts?" thinking Warren or Abigail would respond. But it was sweet Avery who called out, "I do!" and walked right into the kitchen. I had my doubts, but I showed her how the nutcracker worked and she set herself to the task and stayed at it quite a while. She is such a doll lately, so sweet. On a related note, whenever I am mixing something for baking, Avery always helps, and she loves to surreptitiously "sample" whatever we are eating. Always one finger sneaking into the bowl.