5 months old! This has been the fastest month yet. I really have no idea how we went from 4 months to 5 months so quickly. I love watching Maude get bigger and start to be able to do more, but I also desperately want it all to slow down so I can enjoy it all. This has been one crazy and hectic summer and I get sad when I think about how it's going by too quickly.
Life now with being back to work is busier than I imagined and we have a little something more going on. We're moving. We're leaving California in a little less than a month and moving to Minnesota. I was promoted within my department which means I'll be working again from our home office in St. Paul. Taking on a new job, a newborn and a move halfway across the country is a lot. The past few months have been a blur. I'm thankful to at least have this blog where I've documented what's going on in Maude's life. Without it, I think these early months of her life might have been forgotten in the stress that creeps up on us every day. We have a lot we want to do before we leave LA and friends we want to see - I'm having a much harder time leaving here than I thought I would. We're in the home stretch, though and I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Soon our lives will be our new normal and I am looking forward to that.
Mike is leaving his job at NBC. I want to take this opportunity to brag about him a bit. He received a pretty impressive promotion just a few weeks ago. The people at NBC recognized what an important member of their team he is and what an amazing job he does. He's a much bigger big shot than I will be for some time, maybe even ever. We know, though, that in the end, this move is what's best for our family. When we move, Mike is planning to stay home with Maude and Stella and work on building his own business. He's had the opportunity to film friends' weddings and create some pretty impressive wedding videos for them. Through that, he's realized it's something he really enjoys doing so is going to start his own business doing wedding videography and other video work in Minnesota. This will hopefully allow him to spend weekdays taking care of Maude and do work on the weekends. He's excited for the change and Maude and Stella are pretty stoked to have their dad at home with them every day.
In Maude news this week, she turned 5 months old! The day before the special occasion, she sat up unassisted for the first time! Just 5 days later, and she's an old pro at that. She still rolls from her back to her front as soon as you lay her down, but she hasn't again rolled from front to back. I'm sure she'll master that very soon. I've also noticed that when she's on her tummy, she is getting herself pretty high with her arms. I'm sure soon, she'll be able to also get up on her knees... and then comes crawling... Yikes! I'm not ready for all of this. She continues to be a jabbermouth and is incredibly interested in everything we're doing.
Our day care situation this summer has been a bit of a hodge podge. Mike's company has a great back up day care system. They provide 20 days each year of care at an incredible day care center. With all of our travels since I've been back to work, we've been able to stretch that 20 days out and our time there had to end on Friday. It was a sad day for me. As much as I was anxious about taking Maude to day care at first, I quickly saw how much she loved it there and how much the teachers there loved her. She was frequently the only baby they'd have each day and got lots and lots of love and attention. There were some tears shed by me and her teachers on Friday but we promised to come back and visit. A few of the teachers are even going to come to our house for the rest of this month to watch Maude. We needed some additional help and since they all adore her, a few agreed to help us out for the next few weeks.
Maude is going on her third trip this week. I have a business trip to Seattle so my friend Amy is flying in from Austin to meet us and help out with Maude while I'm at meetings. I haven't' seen Amy in 3-4 years (she and I were trying to remember how long it's been - way too long!!) and I'm beyond excited to see her again and introduce her to Maude. We're gone Tuesday through Thursday, then fly out again Saturday morning to go to Iowa. I have a meeting in Iowa on Tuesday of next week so Maude and I will be going to my hometown to see family and friends for a few days before my meeting. Maybe Mike will take the reins of the blog next week.
Enjoy the many 5 month photos we took. We have these super clever month stickers we put on the front of a onesie each month when it's Maude's birthday. She now will only hang out on her tummy so getting a shot of the sticker on her front side is a bit difficult. We compromised and just propped the sticker up next to her while she played on her tummy. Once she tired out, we did get a few shots of her lying on her back with the sticker on.
Her daycare also sent home a CD of all the pictures they took of her during her time there. I posted a few of our favorites.
Lastly, there is a video of Maude and her "scream" I mentioned in last week's post. I love her little voice!!
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| Such an adorable expression. |
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| Loving being the center of attention. |
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| Subdued. |
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| Showing love for her future home. And showing off her new sitting up skills. |
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| Painting with Teacher Zuzi. |
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| Fun at daycare |
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| A daycare friend. |
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| Cuddling with a little bear at daycare. |
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| Maude and Teacher Irma on Maude's last day at daycare. |
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| She's gonna be a reader! |
