Happy Birthday to me!

This past Friday was my birthday & to celebrate Dan took me to Chama Gaucha, a brazilian steakhouse. It was absolutely delicious. Dan also gave me a new charm for my bracelet that has Madelyn's birthstone in it, and Madelyn gave me roses. It was a wonderful birthday! Turning 35 did not bother me as much as I know it would have if I didn't have Dan & Maddie...I am truly at a good place and happy, so 35 did not bother me as much as 30 did.

Madelyn tried peas this week for the first time and she really liked them! The first day she didn't really eat very much, but she got the hang of it and has eaten all of her peas every day since! Next we are going to try green beans & are still continuing with the rice cereal, but she doesn't seem to like the rice cereal very much. Madelyn also went in the pool for the first time yesterday at Grandma & Grandpa's house and seemed to really enjoy herself. She kept splashing the water and then looked surprised when it got in her face. Of course we had slathered her with spf 100 for babies & she was decked out with her little hat and shades.

Last weekend we took her to the zoo and she got really excited about that too...kept kicking her legs and was laughing when the hyena made his noise, it was really cute!

Solids!

On Tuesday, May 18, Madelyn had her 4 month appointment (even though she is technically 4.5 months old). Again it went great! The doctor said that Madelyn is ahead of the game as far as strength & rolling over. She does great at holding her head up and when you put her on her tummy she will lift herself up with her arms & makes the motion like she is trying to crawl. The doctor said that so far it looks like Madelyn will crawl pretty soon. We got the go ahead to start giving her rice cereal & then slowly move on to other solids. We have tried it twice so far and I think she will catch on pretty fast. It is really cute, she opens her mouth & after you put food in she makes a motion with her mouth like she is trying to chew. This time I rubbed her little thighs immediately after the shots, and as soon as we got home we gave her some infant tylenol - she got a little fussy, but seemed to do a lot better this time. Here are her stats:

05/18/10 - 13.5 lbs - 33rd percentile 23.3 inches 11th percentile
03/09/10 - 10.7 lbs 50th percentile 21.5 inches 50th percentile
01/07/10 - 6.15 lbs 18.5 inches
Our baby is growing fast!!

In other news, she started playing with the toys on her jumperoo last weekend. There is a round thing that spins & has beads and a gecko in it - she really likes to spin that. She has also started grabbing things with her hands more - last night she was in her crib and grabbed her pacifier and extended her arm all the way out still holding the pacifier. Soon I think she will be able to put it in her mouth by herself.

Since I first found out i was pregnant I joined an internet "birth group" through Babycenter.com, which is basically a bunch of women who all are going through the same things and talk about stuff. Apparently, last week a baby from the December 2009 birth group died and her death was ruled a homicide and the parents are under investigation. That little baby, Ina McElheny, was only 1 wk older than Madelyn. It makes me really sad, I cannot believe that anyone would intentionally hurt a baby...especially her parents. I have looked at their blog, and it seems like they really adored that baby, but who knows what goes on behind closed doors I guess. The parents are saying her injuries are from cpr and her rough birth & have hired their own forensic people to run tests. I am going to try to follow that case to see what the outcome is, but my prayers are with the little baby and her parents. I truly hope there is another explanation for her death. Madelyn is the light of my life, I would be truly devastated if anything happened to her.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was my first Mother's Day and it was awesome! Dan started smoking a brisket Friday afternoon and on Saturday we took it to my brother's house and had an awesome meal with them & Grandma & Grandpa Fogle. Thank you honey for all your hard work...the brisket was delicious! We all had a great time and it was a lot of fun to watch Madelyn & Caitlin interact with each other, and will be even more fun as they get older. I also got a bouquet of beautiful flowers on Friday, and Maddie made me a flower pot at school (see top pic). Then today, I got to sleep in until 9:45, which hasn't happened in MONTHS (again, thanks honey!). When I did get up I was greeted by a wonder breakfast of pancakes, eggs & bacon & later we went out for ice cream. It was a great Mother's day weekend!

In other news, Madelyn has started rolling over! Last weekend I put her in hert crib for bed and she rolled from her back to her tummy - thinking it was a fluke I picked her up & put her on her back again only to have her roll right back over. Since then she has been a rolling fool, but still has not rolled from her tummy to her back. I am so thankful that I got to see this "first". Since she started rolling she has taken to sleeping with her legs facing down on the mattress, her torso on her left side & her head on the left side and thrown back (see pic above). It looks very uncomfortable, but no matter how many times I move her she ends up back in this position. She has also found her feet & has been playing with them a lot, and has been cooing a lot. I have been trying to get a video of her doing it, but everytime I grab the camera she stops!

Next weekend it will be just the girls...Dan is going to his cousin's wedding in PA.