5 Months

This week Madeleine turned 5 months. She is growing up so fast.  We didn't go to the doctor this month so I don't have weight or height stats, but she definitely gets bigger everyday.

This month she has learned to:
-stick out her tongue
-blow spit bubbles
-pick things up and put them in her mouth
-chews on everything
-almost sit up on her own
-bounce herself in her bouncer
-to explore her exersaucer

She is still a very happy baby.  People ask me if she ever cries.  Well she does, but not too often. She is a very social baby and loves attention.  She is definitely at her best when she is around other people.  She is still not the best sleeper and continues to regress, then get better and then regress again.  (I could go on for days about that) but I am very grateful that she is so happy and healthy and growing as she should.  I'll take a bad sleeper, because she is so perfect in every other way.

Spring Break in...

Cabo or I mean Utah.  Growing up in Pennsylvania, where our spring break was always forfeited to snow make up days, and then attending BYU for my undergrad and grad program, where they don't want you to go party in places like Cabo during spring break, I have never had the opportunity to enjoy a spring break! So now that Brody is in school in Michigan, we finally get one of those things called a spring break.  Even though it technically isn't mine, I lived vicariously through him.  And I got a trip to sunny Utah out of it. 

Utah was beautiful and sunny and pretty warm.  It was an awesome break from freezing cold Michigan.  It was so hard to come back to the winter wonderland, where old man winter will not give up his vice grip on A squared (that is what the cool kids call Ann Arbor).  Today is in the 20s with a windchill in the teens.  Burrr I am so tired of this place.  but back to our trip. 

Madeleine had her first plane trip.  She did so well. Her parents on the other hand...well, let me just say holding a baby in a claustrophobic, hot plane for 3.5 hours is less than ideal.  I love traveling, but going anywhere on a plane with a baby might deter me from going many places for the next 10 years (or for however long we have small children). 


At the airport

We had so much fun in Utah.  We got to go to:
-the movies (alone!)
-go out with friends almost every night (mostly without baby)


Madeleine and Maya (Eric and Jillian's baby) They were so cute together. We loved hanging out with them and seeing Josh and Sharsti and Jackson, too.

-I got to work out at crossfit and almost died 3 different times
-shopped, a lot

She has her own store in Bountiful.

-visit family
-lunch with coworkers and friends
-trap shoot (my first time, and I hit one pigeon!) Brody is actually really good at this, maybe he will have to join a team someday
-Brody got to ski, I had to stay home with the baby
-go on walks 
-soak up vitamin D  
-have tons of babysitting and help with all things baby

Grandma and Grandpa M bought this for her. She LOVED it. so much so that we had to get one for home!

-eat out and have treats all week long
-bless Madeleine

It was pretty hard to come back to regular life.  The only downside to our vacation was that M slept horribly at night so I was basically a walking zombie the whole time. She is sleeping better at home, but no where as good as she was before we left. Now I'm working on retraining her.  Oh the woes of motherhood! We miss our family and friends so much already!!

A Name and a Blessing

We planned to bless M when all my sisters came to visit for Thanksgiving, but if you know my family, you will understand how hard it is to accomplish anything when they are around.  We were so crazy busy making dinner, carousing a ton of children and traveling to and from my apartment, the church and the hotel all weekend, that we just never got around to blessing the baby. I'm partly to blame that I wasn't more proactive in planning, but I was still extremely sleep deprived and crazied from constant breast feeding at that time (she ate constantly at that age, sometimes every hour)

Anyway, when Brody and I decided to go to Utah for spring break, we planned to just bless her there, when all of his family could be in attendance.  This also gave my mom time to make M a beautiful dress.  All of Brody's family came, including cousins and aunts and uncles.  We had a small luncheon and his Dad's house afterwards.  The blessing was heartfelt and beautiful.  We have so many hopes and dreams for our special baby.  That day reminded me of how lucky we are to be sealed to one another.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives and we have so much love for her!

Here are pictures of the special day...

Getting ready

 Her dress and blanket

Our little family

Baby Model

Madeleine Nadia

 

Back at the end of January, Madeleine had her first photoshoot.  These are my favorites.  I know I am biased, but I sure think she is beautiful! She could be a baby model, couldn't she?

The Little Things...

Life for us hasn't been the easiest as of late in the job/internship searching department.  We have felt pretty cursed when it comes to employment since we moved to Michigan.  We had literally countless jobs fall through or not work out for Brody in the past months.  We have said millions of prayers and have tried to stay as positive as possible.  I have tried to be supportive as well while Brody has flown to about nine final-round investment banking interviews all over the country. All this traveling and stress takes a toll on us sometimes. Somedays I am better at being a supportive wife than others...I guess one day I did pretty well because Brody surprised me with this little present.  Somedays he just makes me happy.  Oh the simple things in life...

Mustache Bash

Our neighbors and friends are welcoming a boy in early April so I, along with some other ward members, threw her a mustache bash! I was so excited to make decorations centered around this theme.  It was a lot of work, but always a lot of fun to party plan!! I actually got pictures of an event for once so I have to post them... Unfortunately I don't have a picture with the guest of honor, Bree.  It must have something to do with pregnant women hating pictures. 

 

 

 

Four Months

My sweet baby turned four months on Feb. 21.  I am slow updating my blog because the past few weeks have been very busy.  I was in charge of a Relief Society breakfast for about 60 women on the 22nd, so that kind of took over my life.  I made 8 quiches and over 100 crepes.  I also served fruit and of course, all of the traditional crepe toppings.  Everyone loved the food, so I figured it was a success.  (then I had a few days to work on decorations for a friend's baby shower and pack for our trip to Utah)

Anyway back to M.  She is now 15 pounds and 25 inches. She is in the 85th percentile for height so she is a tall baby! She is learning and growing so much each day.  

Her new tricks are:

-Laughing! so cute when we finally got a good laugh out of her

-squealing- she is so loud and loves the attention her squeals get

-eating her hands constantly!

-drooling everywhere

-learning to put things in her mouth

-sleeping 6-7 hours at night and sometimes even longer! 

We sure love our sweet baby!