Week 52: January 6 - 13

This week has been amazing. Madeleine seems to have grown a whole lot, done a lot of developing. I can't believe she's almost a year old!!!! We had a long "week" this time to take us right up to the start of YEAR TWO. Oh boy. Wow. Anyway, if I continue weekly posts, they'll be starting on Fridays now. :)

Nursing
I think, maybe, just maybe, we've finally got things worked out. It's only taken us a year, right? For those who are interested, I don't know how much longer I'll be nursing Madeleine. The World Health Organization recommends two years. That sounds long, but then I thought 1 year was a long time!

Sleeping
Things seem to be calming down, getting back to normal. Two naps, early bedtime, happy baby!

Solids/Food
Eating clicked this week. She's now eating and hardly spitting anything out. It's super cool.

Foods she LOVES: biscuits, apples, cantaloupe, peaches, tomatoes, blueberries
Foods she likes: zucchini, green beans, chicken, carrots, asparagus
Foods she doesn't love: bananas, cucumber.
Potential problem foods: cheese, yogurt (dairy??)

By the book...
According to "Your Baby's First Year, Week by Week," during this week, Madeleine:
1. Displays some combination of standing, walking and cruising (YES! First steps this week!)
2. May climb out of a crib or playpen (yikes! not yet, thankfully!)
3. May put two objects in her mouth or under her arm to grasp another (she still pretty much holds only two objects)
4. Understands much of what is said to her (I think so, yes)
5. May have tantrums (oh boy! yes. for sure. but they are not bad at all)
6. Cares for doll or soft toy by hugging, cuddling, feeding (she cuddles with stuffed animals but doesn't really play with them)
7. Takes only one afternoon nap (NO. Thank goodness, not yet!)

New Things
1. WALKING! Madeleine took her first steps on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Matt and I were sitting on opposite corners of the big front room, letting Madeleine walk behind her push cart between us. I decided to video tape it (cuz it's so cool), and was filming while Matt got her ready to go. But looking at the screen, I noticed that Madeleine was kind of far from the cart. So I got to watch as she took her first tentative, excited steps toward the handlebar on the push cart!





She did this a few more times, and each time she got more confident. It's amazing to see them grow right before your eyes. On Thursday, Madeleine was standing at the chair with her back to me. I was sitting on the floor. She turned around, let go, and walked to me, all by herself, without any prompting! I think she just did it without thinking about it. Then later that day, Matt and I sat on the rug, pretty close, and helped Madeleine practice walking. We'd take turns holding her weasel ball (her favorite thing in the WORLD right now!) and calling her to us. She walked back and forth a few times. I can't believe she's about to be a TODDLER. WALKING around the house. Wow.

2. A couple of times this week, Madeleine has brought a book to me and seemed to want me to read it. Very cool. The books were "Pat the Bunny" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Matt and I both sing the song to her as we read, and she bounces in our laps (because she loves to dance). It is adorable!

3. Madeleine gave daddy a kiss on command this week! Matt saw it on last week's list of "By the Book" and tried it. And it worked, first time! She doesn't kiss mommy on command yet, and not nearly as much as daddy. But that's okay.

4. On Thursday, Matt was writing out a list for what we needed to do for Madeleine's birthday party. Madeleine saw him and reached for the pen. He let her hold it (she couldn't mark on anything), and she immediately pretended to write on his paper! He let her hold the paper, and she sat down and continued pretending. So Matt got her a couple of crayons, and she made a little drawing.

NEW WORDS!
On Thursday, Madeleine and Daddy played a game of "here." Madeleine holds something out and says "here." Daddy takes it, says "thank you," and then holds it out to baby, saying "here." Repeat until baby gets bored and throws the item away. :)

So the Weasel Ball is her favorite toy. And she knows "ball" and she knows it's called a weasel ball. She tries to say "weasel ball" but it just comes out "yee ball." It's super cute.

Word tally: Layla, Dog, Mama, Poppi (once), ball, here.

Misc
1. Madeleine understands the word "look." Matt will hold her and point to something and say "look," and she will look.

2. She cracked me up a couple of times this week by grunting when standing. She sounded like an 80-year-old man trying to stand up! Yet with a baby accent. SO FUNNY.

3. One day this week, Madeleine and daddy had little screaming matches. She'd be sitting at her high chair and she'd kind of lightly scream (best way I can describe it). But she was so happy that it got Matt riled, and he started doing it back at her. Then she'd do it again, and he'd do it, and over and over. It got hilarious.

4. As mentioned above, Madeleine's FAVORITE THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD right now is the Weasel Ball. It was given to Layla by Papa Pete and SuSu, but it was quickly claimed by the baby. She walks around with the ball in one hand, a parent's finger in the other. She'll drop it and let it roll around, walking or crawling after it to try and catch it. She says "yee ball" in her crib, once in the middle of the night!

Slideshow

Video of the week!