Fun weekend

We had a pretty fun weekend this past weekend despite it being very cold and snowy!

We had put out the small pumpkin we got from Boo-Palooza on our front porch for Halloween. We noticed a small hole had been gnawed on the pumpkin and thought it might be a squirrel. On Friday afternoon, Joseph opened the front door to see a squirrel had bit through the side and was making a mess eating the pumpkin seeds! We opened the front door so Maddie could see the squirrel up close (she loves seeing squirrels and knows what sound they make - she smacks her lips).

Here is a .gif I made of Maddie hugging her pink bear. She has come to l-o-v-e this pink bear.

On Saturday we endured the cold and snow for a couple of blocks to enjoy an Indian buffet for lunch. There was plenty for Maddie to munch on and she enjoyed trying all the new foods!  We learned she really does like tomatoes! They had tomato slices which she gladly ate, she liked them more than the potatoes!  She especially loved the dessert! Here is a video of her talking before taking a bite of dessert (and signing "more" and "please"). You can see how snowy it was in the background.

On Sunday we headed out bright and early to take our Christmas card photos at Target.  Here is a quick preview of Santa's little helper!

After taking photos at Target, we came home, ate breakfast, and put Maddie down for her nap. After her nap we headed to Navy Pier for the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. We have gone in years past and were able to purchase some good games.  It was a pretty fun time, but everything was a bit too old for Maddie. She did great though and really liked people watching and were lots of new things to see. The three of us even shared some Dippin Dots ice cream!

Afterwards we walked through Navy Pier a little bit, and Maddie's favorite part of the day was standing in front of the funny mirrors!  She loves mirrors in general, but especially loved seeing her head distorted and smiling and sticking her tongue out.

Maddie Signing

Maddie has picked up new signs so quickly!

Here is a video of her signing:
All Done
More
Please
Thank You

Please and Thank You are the two most recent signs she has learned.

During every meal we ask her if she is All Done when she slows down or loses interest in eating. Sometimes she signs "all done" because she knows it means "all done," but she's actually not all done, she wants more!

Smile!

Here are some blurry (but cute!) pictures of Maddie (she's always on the move!).

When I asked her to "Smile!" she stuck her tongue out! She did this a few times. All the photos you see with her tongue out are when I asked her to "smile!"

You like tomato and I like tomahto

Maddie likes tomatoes! We had cut up small pieces of tomato and put them on her tray but they were a bit slippery. She especially liked eating the tomato whole!

Lots of Walking Videos - Walking, Turning, with objects in her hands

I think it is safe to say, Maddie is officially walking!  Her first instinct now is to walk, rather than get on all fours and crawl. She is pretty cautious and walks slowly and deliberately. If she falls, she falls with a good amount of control. She will even catch herself and stop if she starts to lose her balance.


Here is a slow motion video of her walking a few steps and falling

This is a really cute slow motion video of her walking straight to Joseph

In this video you can see her turn around 180 degrees between the magnetic board (which she loves!) and the swivel chair. She had walked back and forth a few times before I took this video (so of course this video doesn't show her doing it that well, but does show her walking back and forth, turning, and balancing with objects in her hand!)

Also in this video you can see her walk from point to point with objects in her hand. Look at her go!!

Mid November Pictures and Videos

Here are just a few cute pictures of Maddie and a couple of videos. It is hard to take cute pictures of her since she is always on the move!

This is a video taken in the morning shortly after she woke up. I turned the video camera towards her so she could see herself.  

Here she is hugging and kissing a birthday gift, it is Katerina Kitty from the PBS show Daniel Tiger. She talks and sings when you push her paw. She has a little of the same coloring as Voldemort Cat.

Here she is handing me books from the book shelf.  She would take down every single book if we let her!

Videos - Lots of Laughs

Here are some super cute videos of Maddie laughing with Mama and Dada!

JC Penney Photo Shoot (1 Year Pictures)

Here's a link to her official 1 Year pictures from JC Penney.  All family members will be getting some on thanksgiving, so don't worry about ordering anything.

Click Here for JC Penney Photos


In case you cannot view them, here are a few pictures:

Madeleine's Birthday (Non party stuff)

Maddie's first birthday was on Monday, November 9th. I took the day off so we could spend her first birthday together. We scheduled her 12 month doctor's appointment for 9:00am. As mentioned in a her 12 month photo post, Maddie had 4 shots and a finger prick.  After the doctor's appointment we came home, played a tiny bit and put Maddie down for a much needed nap. We had planned to take her to play group but she slept from 10:40am-1:00pm (it ends at 12:45)!

Other than the doctor's appointment, the day was pretty relaxed and uneventful. We played and opened up a few gifts, and also took Maddie's 12 month picture!

Here are some pictures and videos from Maddie's birthday today.

Good morning birthday girl!

I took this video in the morning, Maddie is watching herself on the screen. She has started to dance more when she hears music or when we say "dance!"  She even kisses herself on the screen. When we watched this video afterwards, she started to dance when she saw herself dancing (or because she heard the music on the video).

Maddie's great grandmother knit her this scarf, and Grand-Aunt Pooi knit the hat!

Looking at her finger bandage. She had 4 tweety bird bandages on her thighs.

Outtake from the photo shoot

She did NOT want to be on the chair!

Madeleine's First Birthday Party!

We had Madeleine's First Birthday party at our home on Sunday November 8th (her actual birthday is on Monday the 9th).  We had about 20 adults and 9 kids at the house!  The kids ranged from 3 months to 4.5 years old.  It was a lovely day full of local family and friends.  Maddie had tons of fun playing with her friends and eating nonstop!

We had a small smash cake for her and she loved the cake! Everyone else's cake was delicious as well.  We had a lovely afternoon celebrating with everyone!  We look forward to opening up her gifts! Thank you so much to everyone who came and celebrated.

Here are lots of photos and videos from her birthday party.

The delicious cakes! White cake with banana cream filling, and whipped topping!

Playing with cousin Emilie (2 years old)

Playing with Lillian (2 years old)

Family picture

Selfie with Mama

Click below for many more pictures and videos, including some gorgeous pictures our friend David took with his camera.

Monthly Photo (12 months / 1 year old!)

Wow, Madeleine is 12 months old today!!!  We celebrated yesterday with local friends and family, and we celebrated today with a trip to the doctor and 4 shots of immunizations!

Official Stats:
Weight: 22.2 pounds - 80th percentile
Height: 31.25 inches - 99th percentile!
Head circumference: 46 centimeters - 80th percentile

Maddie is the height of an average 16 month old!  The doctor was very impressed with her and said she is right on track or even advanced for her age, which of course we knew, but is nice to get professional confirmation.

At the end of the doctors visit Maddie got four shots, 2 in each leg (MMR, Chicken Pox, PCV, and the flu shot) and a finger prick to get her blood count and test for lead. Her counts are fine and negative for lead :)

In the waiting room at the doctor's office

Down to her diaper, ready for her appointment. She loved the poster on the wall, it is of children from around the world and the word for "hello" from their countries.

Birthday Weekend - Bulls Game

We took Maddie to the Bulls game on Saturday night. It was a 5:00pm game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. We made it just in time to see the Bulls' starting line up announced!

Maddie did pretty well during the game. She seemed interested during a few of the time out segments on the big screen. We mainly kept her occupied by feeding her. She had popcorn, had a baby food pouch, and also some soft serve ice cream!! We left at the beginning of the 4th quarter and I am secretly glad we did, as the game went into overtime and the Bulls lost.