Stinker & Sweetie

The other day, Ben plugged in a carbon monoxide and natural gas detector in the hallway upstairs. The next evening while James & Ben were upstairs, I heard it going off. I thought maybe James had pushed a button.

Nope.

He tooted by it.

*****************************

Yesterday I signed "I Love You" with my right hand while saying it to Madelene Kate at the same time. A moment later, she lifted her right hand to her lips and blew me kisses.

*****************************

I just love being a mommy to these precious little people!

A little window

I wrote my aunt an e-mail today, giving her a peek into our world... and it seemed like the ideal blog post. So without further ado, here is a brief update on us.

We are well. Still not in our own home yet. Ben's mom has been incredibly kind to host us for so long. Ben has been working tirelessly at our new home. But he has continued to have problems breathing there. We have done everything we can think of to eliminate potential issues, but the ultimate cause has proved elusive. One friend suggested that we fill our home with living plants which have the ability to clean the air. Ben also just purchased an air purifier/ozonater - I think it will clean and add oxygen to the air (if I understand correctly).

With everything still rather upside down, Ben feels like Christmas cards are too much for this year. Hopefully we'll be able to send out something after we get into our house and settled. I had also wanted to do a picture gift again, but with our pictures spread between two computers and one of the computers at the new house, that is proving difficult, too!

I know the pictures paint a thousand words, but here is a little update on our "diddles"...

Madelene Kate took off walking the week after we returned from Massanutten (Dec 2). She loves to toddle around, carrying things - toys, papers, spoons. And interestingly, she only goes to the stairs when she is ready for a nap. She will walk around the main level for the longest time, not interested in the stairs, and then all at once she'll start climbing them. Every time when I follow her up and change her diaper, she lies back in my arms. So I put her in bed with her pacifier and stuffed dog and off she goes to dreamland! She still loves to put things in her mouth, although that seems to be diminishing a bit. I am very glad, for from between her clenched jaw, I have swept a spider and a stinkbug along with a variety of paper scraps and other small objects - mmmmhhh tasty! She is a fabulous eater, enjoying everything savory and not turning down sweets either. She doesn't care for anything bland. Last night she devoured dill salmon cakes with a side of mixed vegetables (smothered in farm-fresh butter and sea salt). And her favorite thing from Thanksgiving dinner was a tart cranberry sauce I'd made from scratch. She began feeding herself with a spoon last week, quite competent right from the start. Ben's mom & sister think it's early for her to be so skilled at that. She isn't talking yet, but she does say something ("es?") that sounds quite like, "This" - and she says it as if she's asking, "what's this?" or "may I have this?" And she has something that sounds like it might be a bark when she sees our neighbor, Jean, who has two dogs (Bonnie & Chloe) or if someone mentions the dogs' names.

James is a precious boy abounding with affection and not limited in energy. He is a very quick learner and doesn't prefer to learn the hard way. If someone tells him something is dangerous or could hurt him, he believes them and either alters course or avoids things altogether. What a wonderful gift in a 4 yr old! He loves to play outside, especially when it snows, which it has done twice in the past week. He is very thoughtful and kind to his baby sister (but doesn't hesitate to let me know quite loudly when she's about to "rip" something he's built). He will spend hours quietly coloring/drawing/cutting & pasting all on his own. He also enjoys playing with Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, creating any number of structures. He is reading now on a first-grade level, recognizing words like "mountain" and reading words aloud when I type. He can look at a list of three words and pick out the right one to complete a sentence without sounding out each one. He has very nice handwriting. And he's loving the concept of adding (who wouldn't like the thought of having two cookies and getting one more to make three?!). Yesterday I used a line of cars to introduce the concept of subtracting when one would turn off the road we were traveling. He thought that was pretty great, too!

That's the fun in our little world! What a treat to live each day with eyes newly awakened with the wonders of discovery.

Footloose

My baby is leaving babyhood behind.

She's been working at walking for a couple of months now, taking a few steps here and there, cruising along furniture, crawling to the wall to get up and walk along it, taking a few steps to a chair and walking along that until she could get to something else to hold onto (or crawling to the next crutch to climb up and cruise some more). Grammy bought a little pink walker stroller several weeks ago. She loves it. (So does James.)

But today, she fully prefers her feet to her fours.

She's walking all over.

She picks up her dog, Millie, and keeps walking.

She sits down. And stands back up again. And walks on.

Madelene Kate is a toddler.

(That happened too fast.)

Our sweet son

Just five minutes ago, as I was picking up some of James' craft supplies, we ran across the birthday card given to him by our friend "Uncle John." I read the card to James and we looked at it together for a minute. Then I went back to tidying, and James went about his business. He was writing on the back of the card - something he's been doing since signing birthday cards for my parents. So I didn't think much of it. When I tuned back in to him, I heard him say, "tr - tr- train. I need to spell train."

I looked down. Immediately tears sprang to my eyes as I read what he had written - all on his own, with no assistance from me:

Thankuforthetr...

He had written a thank-you note to Uncle John for the train car John had given him for his birthday.

(and with only the reminder that it needed a "silent I", he finished the sentence by himself!)

More than the fact that he wrote the sentence is the sweetness of seeing his grateful heart. What a gift to be this little boy's mommy!

Catching Up

It's been entirely too long since I've posted... certainly not because I don't have things to post! And if you read all the way to the end, you'll have a surprise awaiting you. :)

Where to begin...

In June, Madelene Kate got her second tooth, sat up on her own consistently, began to push herself around (backwards) and then got up on her hands and knees and began to rock back and forth. She also got to have a couple of baths with her big brother, which made him very happy. And Madelene Kate thought it was great to get to splash around while sitting up.

By June 25, when our girlie was 7 months and 1 week old, we decided it was time for her to sleep through the night. So we made a few changes in our sleeping arrangements so that she didn't smell Mommy when she stirred at night. We expected it to take a crying bout of 45 minutes the first night, 15 the second and 5 the third. That's what the books told us, and that's what James did back when we did sleep training with him.

What a pleasant surprise she had for us. The first night, she fell back to sleep after crying for just 25 minutes. The next morning, at 6 a.m. when I went in to get her, she was sitting happily with her pacifier in her mouth. She slept through the night the very next night from 10:15 p.m. to 6 a.m. Ahhh... sleep glorious sleep!

By July 1, Madelene Kate began to move forward on her belly and continued to push up onto her hands and knees. A week later, she brought each knee forward once and then both knees up and then slid onto her belly. And then she'd just fuss and fuss until I came to rescue her. Quite funny to observe... but not so funny to her, obviously!

On July 7, at 7 1/2 months old, Madelene Kate began to crawl. She was very timid at first. And when she'd get tired, which was pretty quickly, she'd sit on her hands and knees with her head on the floor and cry so pitifully! It didn't take long for her to get the hang of it, though. Although slow, she discovered that she could get into things within the week. Yikes!

July 8 thru 10, Ben's sister, Lizzie, was here with her Westie named Lily. James and Madelene Kate LOVE doggies. Madelene Kate would sit on the floor and squeal and open/close her hands, begging Lily to come over to visit her. It was very sweet.

On July 19, our girl sat up from crawling for the first time. She also waved to her daddy AFTER he left for the morning.

We went on vacation with Ben's family July 24 thru 31. Ben, James and I got to take a kayak out on the lake one morning while Madelene Kate napped in our cabin and Ben's mom stayed with her and Katie's youngest, Claire (nearly 5 months old). I think that was a highlight of James' week - he wants to talk about it still! We also returned to the Wild Center, visited another museum twice and went on a train ride.

The last night of vacation, after a week of Madelene Kate crying and demanding and lunging for food, we decided to let her try some avocado. Poor baby... she still isn't ready. Despite all of her excitement, she still can't move food from the front of her mouth to the back. So we'll wait a little longer. She's not needing food, for sure. Our girl appears to be more than adequately fed!

On Saturday night, July 31, we returned home from vacation. The next morning, Madelene Kate promptly began to pull herself up on furniture. And she hasn't looked back. She crawls right over to anything that sits off the floor and gets right up on her feet. By the following Wednesday, she had pulled herself up in her pack-n-play. And now, she doesn't need anything except the floor to push herself to her feet... thankfully, though, for now, she can't get upright... but it appears that is not too far off. When I take her fingers, she charges across the room. She started climbing the stairs on Thursday, Aug 12, so now we're either moving her away from them or following her up and then helping her come down backwards... it's a full-time job just tracking the baby!

There is more to share, but I will post this now and start another.

Here are some pictures - taken on our last day of vacation - Friday, July 30.

9 months

Madelene Kate is already nine months old. I guess I don't need to express surprise at how fast it's gone. But it doesn't seem like that much time has really passed. She is so beautiful and so sweet and a delight to everyone who engages her.

We saw our favorite doctor last Friday and have new stats on our growing girlie.

Height - 27 inches (25-50th percentile)

Weight - 18 lbs, 7 oz (50th percentile)

Head Circumference - 45 cm (75th percentile)

A post with details on all her accomplishments (and her brother's, too) is slowly being created. Check back soon!

The Fair

I am working on an update, trying to capture all the comings & goings and ups & downs of June and July. But meanwhile, we had a memorable outing today.

We went to the Fair.

I took James to the mall last week for new shoes. As we pulled in, he instantly (and loudly) announced, "Mommy! This is where we went with Dorothy to the FAIR!"

Indeed. Last year, we parked at our local mall and were shuttled in school buses to the fairgrounds. We'd met our friends there. He recalled with perfect clarity - as if it had just been yesterday - the event from a year ago.

I was delighted to inform him that in just one week, we'd be going again.

So when his day began with eager anticipation at 5:20 this morning, 9:00 seemed like an eternity away. FINALLY, after he and Daddy both had breakfast, after we'd had devotions, after he'd given Daddy hugs & kisses and taken his lunch bag out to Daddy's car, after he'd loaded up his beloved Happy, safe in a cooler bag with a blanket for company, we left the house at 9:09.

We arrived at the mall parking lot, and he began to anxiously ask where Dorothy and Miss Kelly were, and then he begged the school bus to wait for us. To his dismay, the first bus left - but before he could become too concerned, a second one pulled up. And moments later, so did our friends.

Both James and Dorothy exited their car seats and were welcomed into the comforting clasps of their monkey harnesses. Their baby sisters were safely snapped into front-pack carriers. And diaper bags and camera bags were slung over their Mommy's shoulders. Our bus driver lifted our strollers onto the bus. And we were off!

Camels at the entrance... down to Old McDonald's Barn (a variety of barnyard buddies)... then to the birthing barn where a calf had been born yesterday morning, and another was laboring intensely... We visited our neighbors' steers, popped into the poultry barn where chicks were hatching from their eggs, and then parted ways with Miss Kelly & Dorothy, not in accordance with James' preference. He and I went to visit the hog barn while Dorothy went on a pony ride. After Madelene Kate ate, we found our way to a happy reunion with our friends.

James and Dorothy ate some lunch at a covered picnic table, right beside the Little Piggy Speedway. How perfect! From our vantage point, we could see the piglets, baby goats and turkeys all make their way around the track.

Then it was off down the road to get in line for cow milking. We were the first ones there - with half an hour to spare! So Kelly stood in line with the babies while I took James & Dorothy over to climb on the tractors. James slid right down the combine slide - I was so proud of him! And he wanted to go right back and do it again. Finally I had to pull those two adventurers away so we wouldn't be late for the milking.

What a difference a year makes. Last year, James had wanted nothing to do with milking a cow. And although Dorothy had stood in line for a very long time, she had bailed before she did it. James' highlight from last year, though, was watching others milk the cow, and then suddenly "Bessie" lifted her tail, and the farmer grabbed a bucket just in time to catch her... droppings.

But this time, those two fearless friends made their way right up to the cow, put their little hands on the teats and started milking! Even I got in on the action.

After a foray into the Chilly Mall - the air conditioned building with vendors galore - we decided it was time to head home. As we made our way to the exit and another school bus ride, we hung out with the camels for a bit. And then... a freight TRAIN horn! The perfect way to end a perfectly delightful day at the fair.

3.7 : Richter Scale

When you see the words "Richter Scale" you immediately know what they mean. And of course, the higher the number, the more devastating the earthquake.

Today, I am grateful for a low number.

Just a few miles from where I live was the epicenter of a pre-dawn earthquake felt quite broadly throughout our state.

I was awake, feeding our darling girlie. The sound of thunder greeted me just minutes after I picked her up and began to feed her. But the sound didn't diminish as thunder would. And the strong shaking wouldn't accompany thunder either.

My blood ran cold. I knew that it was an earthquake.

It took what felt like an eternity to me (5 minutes actually) for anyone else in the house to stir. Ben came in and said he thought we'd had an earthquake and was headed down to check. Mom and our housemate both awakened but stirred only long enough to wonder why the water softener or washing machine was so loud... and then drifted back to sleep.

Having been awake for the entire event, my heart didn't stop racing until around noon.

I don't think I could ever live in Southern California!

California-Grown Organic Olive Oil

One of the bloggers I follow is hosting a great give-away: 6 bottles of California-grown organic olive oil. Check it out!

Latest Accomplishments

Our girlie is going mobile!

Madelene Kate can sit up for long periods of time now, picking up toys, switching hands, even getting her pacifier into her mouth all without falling over!

But when she does fall over, she often turns right over onto her belly and re-e-e-a-a-ches for whatever toy is just out of reach. She has made her way slightly forward a couple of times since Monday (Memorial Day). But mostly when she pushes up on her hands, she ends up going backwards... just like her big brother!

Ah yes... a new era has begun.

Maybe she's hungry?

Little miss Madelene Kate seems to be listening.

I've been saying that perhaps we'd have to finally give her big people food when she can sit up and has a tooth. I'd wanted to delay solids as long as I could for a variety of reasons. But with her grabbing at my food and drink, I finally conceded that once she hit these milestones, perhaps I'd have to give in.

Since James didn't get his first tooth until sometime around 8 months, I thought we had a bit of time. I mean, Madelene Kate has been drooling and gnawing on everything since she was just old enough to get her hands in her mouth. So it was anyone's guess when those things would actually mean something.

In the past few days, our girlie has been able to stay in a sitting position for increasing periods of time. She can lean forward and pull herself back up. She can pick up toys and put them in her mouth. But once she starts to lean over to one side, it's still "over she goes" (rather cute, actually!). So obviously, she's making progress on the sitting up part of the deal.

I figured I still had some time.

Even so, I have been faithfully fingering her smooth lower gums every day for several weeks. And guess what met me unexpectedly this afternoon?

A tiny rough edge.

Yes.

Madelene Kate laughed aloud as I cried in surprise, "You little stinker. You have a tooth!"

So I guess I owe her avocado sometime soon.

Because I know that

It seems these days that James is often informing me of something that I am rather sure I didn't teach him... like when we drove past a park and he told me the two guys were playing tennis. As far as I can recall, I've never discussed tennis with him.

So I've started asking him who told him something or where he learned it. Occasionally, he tells me Daddy told him or one of his cousins or some other "big friend."

But this made me grin:

As we drove past a Holiday Inn recently, James announced, "Dat's a hotel."

"Really." I responded. "How did you know that?"

"Beca-a-a-use... I know dat."

::6.3::

Madelene Kate is 6 months, 3 days old.

Already.

Today, we saw our beloved doctor for Madelene Kate's 6-month well-child visit.

James took his little stuffed dog, Happy, saying, "She needs a check up." The good doctor and the physician's-assistant-in-training both looked in Happy's eyes, listened to Happy's lungs and did an assessment of our darling boy's favorite stuffed pet. Happy is healthy (phew!) and so is our growing girlie.

Madelene Kate finds herself between the 50th and 75th percentile in head & height measurements. But she's our chunker in weight, showing up solidly on the 75th percentile line. (You should see her thighs!)

Height - 26 inches

Weight - 16 lbs 15 oz

Head Circumference - 43 cm

She rolls back and forth with absolute ease. She loves to lie on the floor, rolling back and forth, babbling. She's also fond of the exersaucer. She sucks her fingers, thumb and pacifier but definitely seems to prefer the pacifier.

Little Miss takes a bottle okay - but under rather particular circumstances. It must be relatively fresh (any frozen milk from more than a month ago seems to be rejected). It must be just the right temperature. And she must be lying flat on her back on my bed. If one tries to give her a bottle while holding her in their arms, it will be flatly refused. It's quite funny to watch her swat at the bottle trying to get it out of her face. But when she takes it, boy, does she drain it quickly!

She naps pretty well - at least one 1.5 to 2 hour nap each day and another couple 45 min to 1 hour naps. Overnight, she's still waking at least once between 1 and 2:30. But she eats and goes right back down awake to fall asleep on her own.

Unlike her brother, Madelene Kate only protests going to bed when Mommy has forgotten to change her diaper. Sadly, that happens more than one would expect. (Although I did realize the trend and have been better about changing her before naps!)

Cloth diapers have been a great blessing - not a challenge at all, in fact. I run a load of diapers (8-10) every other day. I also collect other laundry at the same time, so although I'm doing it more frequently, the loads are smaller, and that helps for following it all the way thru to folding and putting away (usually).

This past Wednesday, I put away all the 3-6 month clothes and brought out the 6 - 9 month and 6 - 12 month outfits. It's hard for me to believe that we're already there. Time is flying.

It's so fun to have our girlie interacting so much more. She loves to babble. I haven't heard any "da" or "ma" yet - we're still getting lots of "la" and even some "ga." But she loves the sound of her voice. When anyone talks to her, she gets so excited, and her volume increases. Something tells me Madelene Kate won't be shy!

She loves Peek-A-Boo, especially when it starts with a blanket over her head. She loves to be tickled. She seems to be connecting the dots of hearing the word "kiss" and opening her mouth (Mommy makes such big noises when kissing her open mouth, it would be hard to miss that, I suppose!) And she adores her big brother. Oh - to see those two side-by-side and to hear them laugh together - what a precious gift!

It's hard to believe we're already half way to our baby girl's first birthday. Each day brings more "relationship." I don't find myself missing past stages but thoroughly enjoying each new one. More times than I can count, I hear myself saying, "I'm so glad I get to be your Mommy," as I kiss her soft cheeks. She looks in my eyes and I see her happiness (even if she is just happy to see me cuz I provide her food!).

I often wonder what she will be like growing up and as an adult. I pray, most importantly, for God to save her soul while she is a young girl. I pray, too, for a God-fearing, gracious, servant-leader husband in her youth. I also pray that God will give her an enduring friendship with James. And I pray that God will fashion her into fun-loving, others-focused, joy-filled young lady who draws others to Himself - all for His glory and her joy.

And Back Again...

Madelene Kate was on her back a little bit ago, playing happily with a toy. She turned herself over. And started fussing.

Of course, I'm in the middle of making dinner with my back to her. So I began to finish my immediate task so that I could wash my hands and go turn her from her belly to her back.

But as I went to wash my hands, I looked over to see my fussing baby on her back again! (and her beloved pacifier just out of reach.) Wait... I thought she wasn't supposed to be able to turn over both ways just yet!

Now she's playing with her toes, chewing on her fist and singing a sad song.

++++++++++++++++++++

Big Brother, who was outside in this gorgeous weather, playing with the hose, came in just now, and sounding quite grown up, announced, "I'm just here to get a drink of water." He went into the powder room, had a drink, and went back outside.

++++++++++++++++++++

Have I mentioned lately what a glorious job I have?

She Did It!

Just one moment ago, Madelene Kate rolled from her back to her belly - for the very first time. She was lying on her back playing with a toy, and I looked over to see her almost over. So I moved everything out of her way and went back to helping James with his lunch and making my own. I kept looking over, and she did it! All by herself. No coaxing. No help. She rolled over.

And now she's fussing, kicking her legs and wishing she'd never done it at all!

She's officially on the move...

Spontaneous Laughter

Moments ago, Madelene Kate broke into laughter.

She was sitting in her swing, rocking back and forth when suddenly she began to laugh.

I looked up. What was bringing my girlie such delight? Her eyes were fastened on her big brother who had just stood up from drawing on the floor beside me. He wasn't doing anything funny. But her eyes were bright and her laughter contagious.

James jumped up and down. Madelene Kate laughed with glee.

James walked away. Her laughter ended and she watched him intently.

James walked back. He looked at her. She began to laugh with delight.

Oh how I wished for the video camera to capture this moment. Alas. This post must suffice.

5 Months Old

It defies my understanding how time can literally slip away. Days barely seem to begin before they are ending. Suddenly a week is gone. Then I dare to look at my neglected blog and discover a whole month has passed.

Our dear girlie is growing and developing so quickly right now. She is becoming quite proficient with her hands and arms. She can grasp her pacifier and pull it out of her mouth with confidence. But only occasionally can she get it back in the right way! And then she becomes rather distressed when the side of it keeps finding its way between her lips instead of the intended nipple. She loves to grab other objects including hair and noses, too. And she finds lengthy enjoyment in a variety of toys her brother brings to her.

Her current best friend is Millie - the Build-A-Bear doggie that James picked out for her when Grammy P took us there for an Easter treat. At naptime, before she's figured out that she's really tired, she will lie on her back and use her legs to move Millie up to her face. Then she talks to Millie while sucking on her soft ears. Soon after, Millie falls from Madelene Kate's grasp and our little one turns her head to the side and drifts off to sleep. (But sometimes she cries for her pacifier first.)

We are ever so grateful for the lovely weather we've enjoyed here lately. Little Miss and Big Brother and I have spent many mornings outside. James loves the electric 4-wheeler that Grammy has - he's quite the pro at driving and backing up! And Madelene Kate gets to bounce in her Exersaucer while I play ball with James.

Though still not interested in turning over, Madelene Kate has begun to end up almost on her side when she falls asleep. She does NOT like tummy time at all. And between Daddy, Brother and Grammy all being soft on a crying baby, she spends little time there. It doesn't seem to be hindering the rest of her development, though. She can often be seen pulling her head up, trying to draw herself up from a supine position. And two days ago, when I sat her up in a "froggy sit," she stayed up for several minutes!

She seems quite interested in big people food, eagerly watching every bite making it way into our lips. Not too long ago, she pulled my water bottle right into her hands and put it up to her mouth. I helped her tip it enough to bring a bit of water to her lips, and she was delighted! I've told Ben that although I was hoping to wait until she was close to a year before starting solids, if this keeps up, I will probably give her the joys of texture and flavor once she sits up on her own and has a couple of teeth.

On Thursday, I took James to see the pediatrician because of a tight cough, and it turned out he had croup (the real virus). Sadly, on Friday, Madelene Kate developed a yucky runny nose. Her second cold - bummer! But she is such a happy baby, other than a shiny face around her nose and mouth, you would never know she was sick.

James continues to adore his baby sister. He is very good at figuring out what she needs. He frequently runs to put in a pacifier or to let me know she's crying. He hugs and kisses her whenever he gets the opportunity. And he becomes quite distressed whenever anyone jokes about wanting to take her home with them. She in turn watches him with great interest, smiling and laughing when he engages her. I pray every day that they will enjoy an enduring friendship.

What a sweet gift these two children are to their Daddy and me... we are simply amazed by God's favor and kindness.

2 month & 4 month stats

Madelene Kate is already 4 months old. We had her well-baby check up today. I was glad to note that she is doing everything she should be by now, except rolling over.

She is a chunky monkey. She vocalizes way more than James ever did at this age. Her hands entertain her for a good long time - just holding them together in front of her, looking at them as she turns them this way & that. She holds her head up high when she's on her belly. And she's been putting weight on her legs since birth. I actually pulled out the Exersaucer for her yesterday, because I can't hold her upright long enough for her preferences!

She has done a pretty good job with sleeping - falling asleep on her own without much fuss at all. In fact, when she's tired and wants to sleep, she will fuss until I put her on her back. Then she just turns her head, closes her eyes and off she goes to dreamland! On occasion, she will need to cry for a minute or two before sleep overcomes her. But that is actually rare.

Although she falls asleep on her own pretty well, she doesn't nap super well during the day. Sometimes she only sleeps for 45 minutes at a stretch. But nighttime sleep has been pretty good for awhile now. She goes at least 6 hours between eating. And we've had a couple of nights where she's gone 7 or 9 hours!

For awhile, she would start her long sleep stretch at 6 or 6:30 p.m. and then awaken every three hours for the rest of the night. If I woke her up at 9:30 or 10 to eat, she'd still only go three hours after that. So I got in the habit of letting her sleep. But sometime in the past couple of weeks, she started stirring when I'd go to bed, so I tried feeding her. Wonder of wonders, she'd sleep 6 hours after that!

I have not been as good with giving her a bottle as I was with James. But eventually she has taken one when offered. It just seems to take time. I want to get better about giving her one a day since I could be hitting the point of no return!

She recently decided to put herself on 4-hour eating routine. And she is efficient. She usually only eats for 8 to 10 minutes now. James ate for 20 minutes total no matter what. So I couldn't figure out what was up when, after 3 hours, I'd try to feed her, and she'd start to cry after less than a minute. If I'd wait an hour, she'd eat for 3 to 4 minutes on one side then seem to be done. So I'd burp her and trade sides only to have her eat a max of 6 or 7 minutes (if that, sometimes). Finally someone suggested that she was just efficient and only needed to eat every 4 hours. Oh - right!

It hasn't hampered her growth at all... "little miss-miss" as James calls her, has gained weight just fine.

So without further ado, here are Madelene Kate's stats for 2- and 4-months:

Jan 22, 2010

weight - 11 lbs 5 oz (50-75th percentile)

height - 22 3/4 inches (50-75th percentile)

head circumference: 39 cm (50th percentile)

Mar 19, 2010

weight - 14 lbs, 5 oz (75th percentile)

height - 24 1/2 inches (50-75th percentile)

head circumference: 41 cm (50th percentile)

She is a darling little chub, if I do say so! She has a ready smile, and has begun to laugh. She's so easy going, only really crying when she needs to be changed. Otherwise, she fusses when tired, and squeals when she wants someone to talk to her.

I can hardly believe she is my girlie. What a wonderful gift from our gracious God's hand.

"He's Handsome!"

Each day last week, a different one of my friends had James over to her home so that I could get things done as we prepared to list our townhouse on Thursday evening.

Today, I received this e-mail from one of those kind friends. Her daughter is just a month older than James.

I was just talking with my daughter and I was telling her that two children were coming over, and she says to me "how about that handsome boy?" I was wondering who she was talking about and then I said James' name and she says "yeah, him he handsome!"

Play Date

One of these days I will post about what in the world is going on at our house. But for the moment, I have this link to a friend's blog. Shauna kept both James and Madelene Kate yesterday while Ben and I worked at our house, getting things finalized for the painters.

Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Look What She Found!

Madelene Kate loves to suck. She typically has a pacifier in her mouth when she's not eating. But today, while we were running errands, she lost her pacifier, and after crying for a very short time, I heard her sucking profusely. Looking in the rearview mirror, I discovered to my delight that she had found her two middle fingers and was happily engaged with them instead!

I am a slacker...

Time flies these days. I can hardly believe that our Madelene Kate is already a day past her 8 week birthday. I have thought numerous times throughout most days that I needed to post something. And sadly now I don't know what I was going to post or when.

With James, I was so good about recording every detail of his first year on a calendar. I haven't noted anything about his sister anywhere - except her birth story and that she smiled before she was four weeks old. Poor girl!

If anyone is still reading this blog, I know you're not really interested in reading anything from me - what you want are pictures. Sad to say, I don't have any available at the moment. What's worse is that I haven't taken many of Madelene Kate at all... mostly what pictures I have taken are of James in the three snows we've enjoyed so far this winter. Oh - and some at Christmas - although not many.

So I will get busy (one of these days) and post some pictures. And I'll try to do a better job of posting milestones from our children's lives... for their sakes and yours!