Before Maddie started babbling, we decided that we wouldn't consider anything a "word" until she associated it with something. And since she started making all sorts of sounds, we've been anxiously waiting to find out what her first word would be. Well, we finally have it, and it is...
It started when I would point to a picture of Mike and she could identify it as "dada". Then I'd point at Mike, and she'd say "dada". So after three days, we feel like it's confirmed--it certainly isn't a coincidence anymore.
I hope Mama will be a close second, but right now I think she thinks "mama" means "pick me up" because she only says it when she wants to be picked up.
Yesterday, Maddie and I spent some time with her little friend and did some finger painting--turns out, she loves it! And the fingers only went into her mouth once (her hair was another story).
Here's Maddie during the painting process:
And here's the product, which has earned a proud space on the wall outside of her room:
Considering that Maddie is 8 months old, I think it's time to do some updating. Today, Maddie started crawling! She's been working on it for the past few weeks, rocking back and forth on her knees and bellyflopping when she'd reach out. But she has finally gotten the hang of it!
And she is pulling herself up--at least on one of her Christmas presents (the very popular in our home Little Tikes Discovery Garden: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12571849). That came as a bit of a surprise.
And now, she's clapping and she loves it--she'll clap for anything. Here's a short video (sorry for my loud voice in the background).
Maddie had a wonderful first Christmas, although she did have an upset belly from yogurt (not a hit with her). She seemed to know just what to do on Christmas morning. I set her down in front of her presents, and she instantly grabbed a gift bag, flipped it over and started chewing on it (so maybe the last part isn't quite right, but she gets the idea).
Her favorite gift, based the enthusiasm with which she chewed it, was a pair of socks:
On Christmas Eve, Maddie's grandparents, aunt and great grandma came to visit us! She wore her new party dress and got lots of fun toys.
On Christmas Eve, we also got an awesome present from our wonderful friend Linda. It will certainly be useful when we take the dog for a walk!
We had some day-after-Christmas snow that allowed Maddie to experience it for the first time. We're not sure she knew how to react, but apparently it was tasty!
We've had some fun adventures over the past couple of months. Here's a little taste:
Maddie met Santa (and didn't seem to sure of him, but she didn't cry either!):
We painted ornaments with one of Maddie's adorable little friends....
...and I think they turned out pretty well (I didn't help her at all, other than putting paint on her hands or on the ornament for her to smear around. She did the rest!)...
...we baked cookies for Daddy's cookie jar...
...celebrated her first Thanksgiving (the pants had a turkey on the butt and "gobble" on both feet)...
...had her first trip to the park...
...helped vote....
...visited Daddy's office for Halloween...
...had her first taste of real food (cereal), followed by her first veggie (pumpkin--and for the record, her current favorite food is avocado)...
...went to her first wedding...
...visited DC...
...and got one too many kisses from Miley.
It's been quite a few months! More to come soon (I promise this time!).
