Proficient Walker

Maude has really mastered the walking in the past week.  Up until then, she was walking, but mostly just between Mike and I or between pieces of furniture.  A week or so ago, she just took off and now walks everywhere.  I'm not sure I've seen her crawl at all in at least a week. 

We had her regular check up this week and her weight has dropped into the 25th percentile (she's been hanging at 50% since birth).  Her doc wasn't at all worried and said it's most likely due to her walking.  She eats like a horse, so I know she's not slowing her gains due to not eating!! 

He was also pretty impressed with her vocabulary which of course made us proud. Mike and Maude had their last ECFE class yesterday and Teacher Lynne who stays with the kids while the parents have their session said that Maude really had a "word explosion" this week and was saying a lot of words she wouldn't really expect a 15/16 month old to know.  One of her favorite words is "George" - she loves her some Curious George books and exclaims "George!" everytime she sees him.  (Shhh!  Don't tell Maude but we're taking her to a breakfast with Curious George in a few weeks!)

We're headed to Seattle this Saturday for a combination work trip/vacation.  We're definitely taking advantage of the kid flies free under 2 thing.  We realized that we were in Seattle during this exact same time a year ago.  We took Maude's 4 months pictures there last year and next week while we're there, she'll be 16 months. 

She and Mike are on the campus of a local college this morning, checking out the wildlife.  We saved some bread to give to the ducks, but according to Mike, she's been hogging most of it for herself.

Enjoy the video.

Monday Happiness

Sweet video to brighten this already beautiful Monday!

15 Month Photo Post

This will be a super short post.  More to come later, just wanted to share a little bit and post pictures of our 15 month old.

Maude is very into saying "HI" to everyone and everything right now and then saying "BYE" to everyone and everything as they leave or go away.  She even says "BYE" to the toilet water when I flush it.  When she's in her carseat sleeping and then wakes up and hears Mike and I talking in the front seat, she peeps out a sweet little "hi" to let us know she's awake.  It's the cutest thing I've ever heard.

Enjoy the photos. I particularly love the very last one. She's so over the photo session. =)

WALKING!

Our little girl walks!  She surprised us last Tuesday night by taking steps all on her own.  Mike and I were both on the floor and she was walking between us, but holding onto our fingers as she cruised back and forth.  And then she let go and walked all on her own!  She's getting better and better every day and we're having so much fun watching her master this new skill.

Since we now officially have a walker, we decided she should get a decent pair of shoes.  I'd heard lots of advice to go to Nordstrom's and get her measured.  We went this afternoon and I gotta say, those people do it right!  They gave us great advice on the type of shoes to buy for an early walker, measured her feet and went and found all of the shoes they had in her size.  We picked out our favorite pair and they made a really big deal of them being her very first shoes.  They gave her a little stuffed animal called "Nordi" and took a picture of her with her new shoes on!  So fun.  We could tell for the rest of the day how much she loved her new shoes.  She kept looking at them and touching them.



New shoes!  Mike took this pic on his iPhone - she hadn't gotten "Nordi" the stuffed animal yet. 

 We're headed to LA on Saturday for a little vacation.  We're so excited to see all of our friends there and have them meet Maude as a 14/15 month old.  We moved the day after she turned 6 months.  She's a different gal than she was 9 months ago!  I'm hoping this older baby handles flights as well as she did then.  I'm slightly worried about how it will go.  We've been saving up new books to bring out on the flight, hoping she'll be so enthralled with them, she'll be a happy gal from here to LA.

Two videos - the first was taken the night Maude walked for the first time.  The second is of Maude playing on her new slide we found on Craigslist.  It's the perfect size for her and small enough we can bring it inside on a rainy day.

Addition on Monday, April 23 - Mike sent me a few good photos of Maude with her new kicks.  

Apparently the checkout lady at the grocery store couldn't get enough of Maude's shoes.  Who knew our small investment in good footwear would result in so much additional attention and admiration or our sweet girl?!

Hanging with her pal Stella.  I think she was telling her she should check out Nordstrom's - you get lots of attention there! 

CHEESE!  I smiled really big and silly-like to Maude last week while she took a bath and said "Cheese!"  She immediately imitated me and now loves to give big grins and say "CHEESE!"

14 Months and First Haircut!

Maude is now 14 months old.  The big event of the day was her first hair cut.  Her hair isn't super long and I want it to get longer, but it was looking pretty scraggly.  I debated on whether we should cut it and finally just did it.  I'm so glad I did.  Even though it's not a big change or anything, it looks so much better!!  She wasn't quite sure what to think of the the whole experience, but she did well and seemed pretty pleased with herself once it was all over.

She continues to talk up a storm.  This morning she was laying in bed with Mike and I and she started doing the hand motions for the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (one of her favorite songs) and as she did the down (down came the rain) motion, she said "down."  We've been keeping track of how many words she knows and she's well over 20 at this point.

Maude still isn't a walker, but she is now comfortable holding on to just one hand when she walks with us.  I think we're at least a few weeks off from her walking on her own, but who knows...  She's been walking holding on to our hands for over two months now.  I certainly thought she'd be over that and on to walking on her own by now.  Maybe she'll walk holding on to just one hand for another two months. 

We went to her buddy Joseph's birthday party yesterday.  There were lots of other kids there and Maude had fun watching them all, helping Joseph open presents, and checking out all of his new books.  I think I've mentioned it before, but Maude is ridiculously obsessed with books.  She can sit and read for hours.  It's our bribe for getting her to do something she doesn't want to do - like coming in from playing outside.  All we have to say is "we'll read some books" and she high-tails it in the house and right to her room to her books. 

Joseph is Maude's buddy from ECFE.  Joseph's dad is one of three guys in the class.  He, Mike, and the third dad have been getting together once a week for play dates with the kids.  On Friday, Mike and the other two dads made homemade pizzas together for lunch.  I'm guessing the other moms in ECFE don't get together to do such fun stuff together!  I'm so glad there are other dads in the class they take and especially that Mike really likes them and looks forward to get togethers!!

Some photos from the past few weeks:

High kick!

Checking out her 14 month sticker and showing off her hair clip.

Before Hair

Getting a hair cut!

Not quite sure about this...

Blow dry!

Messy face.

She loves to swing!

I think she looks like such a big girl here.

Helping open presents at Joseph's party!

13 Months, Going on 14

Yes, I'm just now getting to update this blog about our 13 month old just a week before she'll be 14 months.  I was thinking the other day about the future of this blog and I'm going to try and at least post some pictures with captions but not feel the need to write a lengthy post each time.  Hopefully I will be better at updating a little more frequently.

What our 13 month old is up to these days:
- Being outdoors
- Talking!
- Stella
- Peek A Boo
- Not walking

The sudden warm weather has been the best thing that ever happened to Maude.  She adores being outside!  A few weekends ago when the weather felt more like summer than late winter/early spring, we spent from sun up to sun down outside.  We had one very tired little lady.  We would wake up in the morning and Maude would immediately demand to head outside.  She would hardly even tolerate the time it would take to get clothes on for the day.  We spent hours in the backyard, walked to the local coffee shop and sipped on our coffees all morning on their outdoor patio while Stella made friends with the other doggies and Maude charmed the other patrons, walked to several local parks where Maude mastered the slides and tried making friends with the older kids.

Starting a few weeks before Maude's birthday, she started walking while holding on to our fingers.  It was a true pain in the back, but we figured it was her final step before first steps.  That was two months ago.  We're still walking around, bent over, while Maude grasps onto our fingers and walks or runs around the house.  And there's no sign of her giving up those fingers anytime soon. 

What the little lady lacks in walking skills, she's making up for in talking skills.  Who knew my kid would like to talk?!  Ha!  We tried tonight to count of all the words she knows and she says 12 words.  She's been picking up a word or two a day and it's been so much fun to watch her and hear the new words each day!  She's currently working on peek-a-boo and she's mastered the "peek" part and is working on the "a-boo."  A few weeks ago she started pointing at our eyes and saying "eye" and then with me, she points at a mole on my forehead and says "mole."  Seriously never thought one of my daughter's first words would be "mole" but it makes me laugh!  She loves to say "hi!"  When we're at the park and other kids go running by her, she pipes up with a "hi," trying to make friends or get someone to stop and play with her.  It's so sweet but also a little sad to watch her try so hard and none of those little kids are interested in playing with the baby who doesn't yet walk. 

Maude will be 14 months old next week.  I can't wait to see what the next month brings.  Many more words to be sure and maybe some first steps.  I'll keep you posted! =)

We liked our 1-12 month stickers so much, we got some 13-24 month stickers as well.

Children's Museum.  Practicing her shopping skills.

Children's Museum.  Checking out what it's like to ride the bus like Mommy does.

We took a trip down to Ames to watch Iowa State v Baylor.  Future Cyclone!

Como Zoo.  I think Maude and the giraffe have the same hairstyle.

This photo was taken at least a month ago. Loving her new wagon and on a walk with the last bit of snow on the ground.

Found this photo on our camera.  Taken on Maude's first birthday before Mike and I headed out to a work event we had to attend.

Our Toddler

Our baby girl isn't so much a baby anymore.  She caught me by surprise well before her first birthday, with her emerging personality, definite opinions, independence, and charm.  Maude has been a year old for two weeks now and I swear she's changed so much in this short time.  This girl is fun.  F.U.N.  I laugh my darn head off every single night from the moment I walk in the door until moments before I put her in her crib for bed. I'm sure I make Mike crazy with my repeated exclamation of "how did we get so lucky to end up with this little person?"  She's hysterical - loves to make us laugh.  She'll do anything for a laugh.  Um, as though we didn't already know she was just like her daddy, this part of her personality has sealed the deal. 

We went to Maude's one year doctor's appointment today.  The not so fun part was a few shots and a finger prick to take blood.  The lab tech taking her blood commented on how crazy strong Maude is.  She was having a heck of a time keeping her hand and getting the blood. I had to hold Maude's elbow which added insult to injury for our little fighter.  She looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes and then looked up to the ceiling and wailed.  If she could talk in full sentences, she would have been crying "Why?  Why?  Why did you bring me here and not only let these women stab me and torture me, but you're helping them?  Can someone please come to my aid?  PLEASE???"  It was awful.  I hated as much or more than she did.  

The fun part is getting her new stats and chatting with the doctor as he asks lots of questions regarding Maude's development.  The stats:  Maude weighs 20 lbs (30th percentile), is 29 1/4 inches tall (55th percentile) and her noggin is 18 inches (75th percentile).  He also declared her a genius.  Ok, maybe not, but I know he was thinking it.  =)

One of my favorite things about having Mike and Maude together all day is the pictures and videos he sends me throughout the week.  Let me just say that an iPhone is an amazing invention.  Mike gets what I think are some pretty dang adorable videos.  I've attached a few recent ones here.  The first is of Maude climbing our stairs and eating an apple at the same time.  It makes me laugh.  Hope it does you too.  The second if of she and Mike singing and was from a few weeks ago - I posted it to facebook so those of you reading this that are on there you may have already seen it. 

And now some photos. 

We got Maude a wagon for her birthday.  This picture was taken on her actual birthday which was her first spin in her new ride.  I can't express enough how much she love this wagon.  She squeals, laughs, and babbles the entire time we're on a walk. Her face here says "Have you seen my new wheels?  They rock!  And how good do I look in this thing?  Pretty awesome, right?"

12 Months!  I discovered the day before her birthday that I can get little pigtails in her hair.  This new hairdo alone makes Maude look like a little girl and no longer a baby. 

Big girl.  So happy.

Reflective.