Goodbye to the Gibsons - Back to Chile

After spending over a month here at home, Kevin, Julie, Emma & Audrey are headed back to Chile. I am so happy that I was able to meet baby Audrey and of course catch up with Julie! Madeleine enjoyed playing with Audrey too!

We said goodbye on Saturday while celebrating Audrey's 1st Birthday. I was sad to say goodbye but hopefully it won't be too much longer until the Gibsons are back here in Washington...or maybe I can somehow talk Jeff into vacationing in Chile!

Here's Kevin at the BBQ
My college friend Emily with Madeleine

Julie's oldest daughter Emma (Audrey was sleeping so I didn't get a picture of her)



Julie & I...Audrey asleep in her lap

The Family!

Tooth #2

Toothie #2 popped through for Madeleine this morning. No wonder she wouldn't nap yesterday! Hindsight really is 20/20!

Swim Lessons with Daddy!

Jeff jumped in the water with Madeleine today and she loved it! We could tell that she is already getting used to the water and enjoyed today's lesson a lot more than Monday's lesson. Madeleine loves to kick and kick her legs!

Here is Jeff and Madeleine having some fun before the pool:

I think this is just about the cutest picture I have taken of Jeff & Madeleine





Madeleine was really into trying to swim and get the toy

Daddy helps Madeleine feel comfortable on her back

Madeleine & Audrey taking a leap into the pool ;-)

Swim Lessons!

Madeleine started her swim lessons today! She didn't like it at first but after awhile she got used to the water and all the kids splashing. Madeleine's friend Audrey is also taking lessons so we enjoyed seeing her there as well! We sang songs and floated Madeleine on her back and tummy. Madeleine is very good at kicking her legs!

Here is Madeleine carb loading before her 1st swim lesson


Check me out in my new swimsuit!

I have to wear my cute robe to swim lessons...

Hmm...not sure about this

Madeleine says, "Where's Daddy?"




Mindee & Audrey and Madeleine & I - Audrey is a pro at being in the pool! She started swim lessons during the last session and Mindee has had her swimming all summer. Audrey floated around the pool like it was no big thing!

Let's Go Tubing

Jeff and I and 25 of our friends tubed the river in Leavenworth over the weekend. We had a blast! The weather was beautiful and we had a great group of people!

Of course we don't tube this part of the river!



Thanks to my dad, brother and sister-in-law for taking such great care of Madeleine while we were away. I honestly don't think she even noticed we were gone. She just smiled when we said goodbye on Saturday and when we arrived home she barely paid any attention to us...just kept playing with her toys and smiling. We missed her but enjoyed our time with friends!

Andrea is almost 24 weeks!

Andrea is almost 24 weeks along with her baby girl! Look at her cute little bump!

Mindy, Jenni and I met Andrea at Baby's R Us to help her register. Andrea treated us to lunch afterwards! It was so much fun to hang out together!

After a long day of shopping, Andrea sipped on two margerita's! JUST KIDDING!

Grass!

Madeleine has never sat on the grass before! She thought it was pretty neat!

Madeleine & Grandpa Schroeder

Baby Sabra & Madeleine play!

Baby Sabra lives behind our house on the alley about 200 ft away and she is only 12 days older than Madeleine! We are so excited to have a little girl so close in age to Madeleine that lives nearby! Sabra and Madeleine played in the playpen while the rest of bbq'd. The girls were so cute together and it was very interesting to see the differences between the two - Sabra who is older but much smaller, can crawl but can't quite sit yet...and Madeleine can sit forever but is not showing any interest in crawling.

My new training cup

Check out Madeleine trying to use her new tippy cup! She gets that you put it in your mouth and suck but she doesn't understand that you have to tip it up to get the water out. Soon enough!

Daddy's got fashion sense

I was so impressed yesterday when I got home and saw Madeleine in an adorable little outfit that Jeff picked out! Jeff dressed M in a pink shirt with blue specks and a jean skirt...so cute!

We're making progress

The doc and all the books say that around 6 months of age, babies need to stop going to sleep with a bottle for a various reasons...one, they need to learn to put themselves to sleep and two, having them fall asleep with the bottle will leave some milk in their mouth that may rot their teeth. Since Madeleine is now 6 months old and has popped her 1st tooth, we've decided it's time for Madeleine to go to sleep without our help. For us, that meant crying it out.

I couldn't stand to be around for the 1st round of crying it out and Jeff was brave enough to take it on. I went to the gym wishing him luck. I worried the entire time I was away and by the time I got home I was in tears thinking of Jeff all stressed out and poor little Madeleine crying her eyes out.

To my happy surprise, Jeff was relaxing downstairs and Madeleine was asleep in her crib! Jeff said it took 1 hour exactly for Madeleine to fall to sleep but for the most part, she just whined and never really "cried". Tonight is my turn but Jeff is going to be around to support me and to hold me back from running in and picking her up! Wish me luck!!!

Oh...and the most important part, she slept through the night! Now it's onto napping without the bottle.

We bought one of those mesh feeders that you put food in so the baby can suck on it. It helps her teething, ect. Here is Madeleine sucking on some watermelon. She loved it!


Here is Madeleine lounging while watching a Baby Einstein video...yes, I OCCASIONALLY let her watch those...but only when I am doing important things around the house...like blogging :-)

6 months old!

Madeleine is a little over 6 months old already! I can't believe it! We had our 6-month check-up today and M weighs 19 lbs & 12 oz (96%) and is 2' 2.75" tall (83%). Her head circumference took a big jump and she is now in the 98% for head circumference! Does that mean she has a big brain and is going to be really smart? :-) Just kidding!

What is Madeleine up to?

• She has her 1st tooth! A little tooth popped through today on the bottom.


• She completely sits on her own and plays, reaching more and more everyday for her toys. We have started to move her toys a bit out of her reach to encourage her to move from the sitting position and onto her hands and knees.


• She shows a lot of interest in food and has eaten everything from peas to peaches.


• Napping is okay...on a good day she naps for 3 hours straight but going down at night can be a struggle. Madeleine is once again sleeping through the night so I shouldn't complain but some nights she really fights going to bed!


• Madeleine already has lots of baby friends - from my baby playgroup to neighbors with baby girls the same age to highschool & college friends with babies the same age...we are having a lot of fun! And Madeleine has another baby girl to befriend when Andrea delivers in November!!


• We will start to introduce M to a tippy cup w/ water and little finger foods like cheerios in the upcoming weeks.

As for Jeff and I, we can't believe how much she has grown! Every stage seems to be more and more fun. We are going away next weekend and it will be my 1st overnight away from Madeleine. We are excited but will miss her a lot!