Lately...

Wow...thank goodness it's already February.  It feels like January was a rough month, but I am sure it's mostly due to the weather.  I feel like we hibernated for most of the month, but I still managed to take quite a few pictures.  Here is what we've been up to.

  

Movie day!  Maddy just wants to be near her sisters.

First time in a big cart

Trip to Costco

Avery got into the lotion while I was putting Maddy down for a nap.  She lotion herself and the bathroom up!

The sweetest shopping buddy

Celebrating Grandpa Zurcher's 90th Birthday

Morning cartoon snuggles

Big girl!  She loves to stand in her crib (she's not pulling up yet...we have to stand her up).

Making new friends

All ready for her photo shoot...wish she would of been this happy during her pictures.

Driving us to Ohio.  No really, just stretching her legs during a pit stop.

Fun with Aunt Ashley at Elli's birthday party

The big 4 year old opening presents

These two!

Just hanging out and waiting for sisters in the preschool pick up line.

More kisses

So apparently round 1 of the antibiotic did not take care of Maddy's ear infection.  We made a trip back to the doctor last week to discover it's still hanging on.  So the girls and I were hanging out at Target waiting on Maddy's (crazy expensive!) prescription.  Of course this all happened when daddy was out of town for a few days.

Pretending we're at the beach (in heels I guess).

Sweet matching sisters

A "date" to the grocery store with my big helper

And lastly a sweet video of Maddy laughing.  Kensley can really get her going and it's so sweet to watch.

Maddy's 6 month photos...

We had Maddy's 6 month photos taken a week and a half ago and we wanted to share some of our favorites.  Maddy was, surprisingly, not herself and cried throughout the majority of the session.  I think she was tired, had a little stranger anxiety and a lingering ear infection (more on that later).  Despite all of that, we still managed to get some good shots.

 

 

* Photos by Alicia at Kevin Monahan Photography



Madelyn: 6 month stats...

Here are Maddy's 6 month stats from her well check visit today.

Height: 25 3/4 in (47%)

Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz (32%)

Head: 16 1/4 in (16%)

Overall, the doctor was pleased with Maddy's development and we discussed some of the sleeping and eating issues we've had lately.  Maddy's stranger anxiety was in full force and she cried whenever the doctor and nurses examined or held her.  She did get two shots and one oral vaccine.  There were lots of tears, but she calmed down quickly when I held her.

It turns out, Maddy has an ear infection in her right ear.  I felt horrible, but we knew that Maddy hadn't quite been herself the past few days.  We were sure it was teeth as she hasn't had a fever or any other ear infection symptoms...other than waking some during the night (which has been normal for her).  So she is now on her first antibiotic.  She already takes after her big sisters and getting her to take medicine is a CHORE!  She spits it back out at us so we are going to have to get creative to get her to take this twice a day for 10 days!

It seems like I have quite the track record for ear infections going unnoticed.  I looked back on Avery's 6 month appointment post and we discovered then she had her first ear infection (also in her right ear)!

Dentist...

Last week the (big) girls had dentist appointments...Avery's first and Kensley's second.  Both girls did great!  Kens actually liked going to the dentist last Spring so she was pretty excited about going back again.  She LOVES our hygienist (Jackie) and that's all she was talking about leading up to the appt.  She filled Avery in on what all to expect and stood right next to her, encouraging her throughout the entire appointment.  It was really sweet!

 

Both girls got good reports.  We were instructed that we need to start flossing Avery's teeth now.  The dentist was also happy to know that the paci is now gone...it was really starting to affect Avery's teeth and bite.

 

Here are a few pics from our visit.

 



Madelyn: 6 months old...

Sweet Maddycakes, is a half a year old and growing up way too fast!  I honestly cannot believe 6 months have passed!  Some days it feels like Maddy has been a part of our family forever and other days it feels like she was just born!

She is so anxious to get moving and be a part of the action.  She has been sitting up since a few days after her 5 month birthday.  She now sits without support and rarely falls over.  She seems much happier now playing on her own as she can see everything that's going.  She is also trying hard to move...lunging for toys she wants and pushing off of items with her feet.  She seems to be constantly moving and wiggling around.  It's crazy how at 6 months old, Maddy already knows the things that are off limits...she is constantly going after our phones and the tv remotes.

Maddy has regressed some in the sleep department.  I think the holidays threw her off a little as she slept in different places and her schedule was thrown off.  It depends on the night, but she usually has been waking about 1-3 times.  It's definitely exhausting as most days she is up and ready for the day by 6:30 am (regardless of how many times she was up at night).  We know we'll eventually sleep!  She has been going to bed most nights around 6:30 pm.  Her naps were much better until this week and now she has started fighting going down.

Maddy has seemed to hit a growth spurt this month and is really chubbing up.  She is definitely getting longer and I'm finding a lot of her 3-6 month pants are too short.  She is pretty consistently in 6 month and 6-9 month clothes (with a few 3-6 month shirts).  She is still in size 2 diapers, but I have a feeling we'll be sizing up here soon.

Food has been a challenge here lately.  Maddy doesn't really seem interested, but we continue to try things in hopes that she'll eventually eat.  She seems to enjoy the baby mums and we've tried some puffs, but those just get spit out.  She is still nursing well and takes the occasional bottle.  She seems to eat around 4-4.5 ounces about every 3-4 hours during the day.

Maddy has been quite the Mama's girl here lately.  I attribute it to the fact that she has rarely been away from me (with the exception of a few hours here and there).  She will usually starting whining when she sees me and wants me to hold her.

She is still so happy and so generous with smiles.  She thrives on attention.  Maddy LOVES her sisters and is always watching them play or looks for them whenever she hears them.  She likes to be a part of whatever they are doing and is already lunging after their toys, clothes and even hair.  They both can really get her laughing and it's so sweet to watch them interact.

Here are lots of pictures of our happy little girl (just a few days late).

Happy 6 month birthday, Madelyn Joy!


Snow days...

We are now on day 3 of being snowed in/stuck at home.  We got a huge snowstorm on Sunday and then record low temperatures (-15 below zero!) the past two days.  So needless to say, we have all been stuck at home and starting to get cabin fever.

 

Here are some pictures from the past few days.

 

Fun in the snow before the temperature dropped

Three ladies in a tub!

Big girl bed!  We finally pulled the trigger and moved Avery into her big girl bed.  We had hoped to keep her in her crib for as long as possible, but unfortunately it was time.  We have caught her several times trying to climb out of her crib...straddling and stuck on the railing.  Also more importantly, she has been paci FREE for two full days (2 naps and 2 nights, but who's counting?)!  That was the main motivation for moving her...the paci is not allowed in the big girl bed.  She is finally napping better, but the nights have been a little rough.

Look at this big girl!  Already up on all fours!

Playing games...sweet Maddy just wants to hang with the big girls.

Snow on our patio...the drifts were huge!

Dance party with Daddy

Waiting on cookies to bake

Tomorrow is supposed to be the first day back to school after Christmas break.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that school is not cancelled as we all need out!