We've got a talker!

Since I got very much off schedule and failed to update this blog on a monthly basis, I've lost track of what week we're at.  I think we're at week 43 or so.  Anyway, I felt the need to update the blog this week because Maude seems to have grown and by leaps and bounds and impressed the heck out of us with what she's learning.

The most exciting development is that Maude said her first word beyond "mamma" and "dadda"!  She learned how to say "dog" and loves to exclaim it whenever she sees or hears a dog.  Our neighbor's dogs tend to bark a lot and she yells out DOG every time she hears them.  It delights us more than you can imagine!  In addition to saying "dog" she is also working on making the dog noise.  She says "woof" but it's not quite as clear as "dog."

She's learned a few more animal noises, too.  She can imitate a cow, an elephant, and she's working on a chicken.  Now that we know she can do it, we're constantly in her face, making animal noises.  I'm sure she's quite tired of our antics!

I mentioned in my last post that we've been doing sign language with her for the past 6+ months.  Since mid last week, she's started signing egg (which I mentioned was her favorite food).  As she's eating eggs, she'll clap and then sign egg.  It seems it's her way to tell us how much she loves those eggs!! 

I didn't mention in the last update Maude's habit of shoving food into her mouth and not chewing or swallowing it in a timely manner and therefore storing it for quite some time. It appears as though we've moved past that - thank goodness!  I was getting tired of digging food out of that little mouth of hers. 

Lastly, the past few nights as I've read to Maude, she's done the sweetest thing.  In one of the books we read, there is a picture of a puppy giving a little boy a kiss and the page talks about a puppy dog's kiss.  As soon as she sees the page, she brings the book right up to her face and gives that boy and puppy a kiss!!  Awww!  I love it so much that when we finish the book, I flip back to that page, just to see her do it again.

I can't wait to wake up each day and come home each night to see what else Miss Maude has learned. This age is amazing - I feel like she's picking something up every single day.  I've been keeping a journal, trying to document all of these fun developments.  I just hope that between that and this blog, I can remember it all!

We didn't take many photos this week, so I thought I'd share some of our Christmas card photo outtakes!

Mommy, Maude, and Stella taking some practice shots before we set up for the family photo. 

Not quite there yet...

Not yet...

This isn't quite it either..

There we go!

We got ourselves a new winter hat!  Our first hat was misplaced, but I think I'm kinda glad because we got to buy this one!

10 Months Old!

I guess I should just face it - this has become a once a month blog. I apologize to those of you that check back often.  I sure wish I could get to updating weekly or even twice a month, but this seems to be all I can get to.  Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy it anyway. 

As the title states - Maude is now 10 months old!  I can actually see her first birthday from here and it's coming up fast!  I have no idea what happened to the month of November and I'm positive the next two months will go by just as quickly.  And in between now and her first birthday comes Maude's first Christmas.  I'm fully aware she'll not have much of a clue what an event it is, but I'm still looking forward to it!  We've had a ball decorating the house, knowing this is her first time experiencing it all.  The first time Mike plugged the lights in for the tree, Maude started clapping.  Seriously, doesn't it just melt your heart? 

Our baby girl is indeed growing up.  Her general babbling of mamma and dadda are now definitely words she knows and uses when she wants us or is excited to see us.  We've also used sign language with her for a good 5+ months and I think she's starting to use some of them.  She's not terribly precise with the gestures but I can tell she's definitely trying to sign different things to us. 

In addition to the advances in communication have come some pretty clear frustration in not being able to tell us exactly what she wants (or rather doesn't want).  She can get pretty ticked off!  It's been a bit trying although I'm sure it's all even more frustrating for her.  I'm constantly trying to wade my way through the murky waters of what's normal behavior and what we should be trying to nip in the bud.  How did we go from simply growing a small human to raising a small human in such a short period of time?

For every difficult moment comes 100 amazing moments.  Maude learned about giving kisses and is pretty liberal in the smooch department.  She loves giving them out and comes out you all open mouthed and slobbery.  I adore it.  We play a little game where Mike and I kiss and then she wants in on it so she immediately puckers up to me, then Mike.  She gets within centimeters of Mike before she starts zerberting in anticipation of his scratchy beard!  We get such a kick out of it.  In addition to the kissing, she also started hugging.  I just noticed it this weekend.  I was busy trying to get some things done around the house and she clearly wanted me to slow it down and just hang with her.  She crawled to my feet and wanted me to pick her up.  As soon as I did, she put her little head in the nook of my neck and spread her arms and hands onto my shoulders and gave a squeeze.  Since then I can ask her for a hug and she does the same thing.  Awww. 

We headed to Iowa for Thanksgiving.  The trip was great, minus the actual travel.  The way there was rougher than the way back.  At one point, I got desperate and handed Maude my (locked) blackberry.  A few minutes later it was ringing.  I answered it and it was the Mason City, IA police.  Our little smarty pants unlocked the phone and was able to call 911.  Nice.  On Thanksgiving, Maude ate all the favorite holiday fare.  She loved the turkey and of course the mashed potatoes.  She also got to meet her great grandma Nancy.  I think they both enjoyed each other immensely!

We continue to try more foods.  I think eggs are Maude's current favorite food.  She also really loves pears and seems to be pretty into peas.  Feeding her real food has certainly made Mike and I more conscious of our eating habits.  It's pretty clear she's watching everything we do and as I'm shoving some chips into my mouth, I realize that's probably not how I want her to eat.  We also try to feed her whatever we're having for dinner so it makes for some more mindful meal planning.

We hope you all are having a very merry Christmas season.  We're enjoying our first with our baby girl.  Thank you for caring enough for her to follow this little blog. 

Bundling up for our first trip into the snow!

Snow!

Stella has surprised us by really loving the snow.  She's eager to get out and romp in it.

Four generations!  I'm loving the oldest and youngest, both enjoying their pointer fingers.

Mike's caption of this photo when he posted it to facebook was "Hello.  I'm here to audition for the role of a young Shirley McClaine."

 

 

 

10 months old.  Super cute face.