Elmo!

It was a chilly day here in Houston. In between errands and home improvement projects we decided to venture over to the Baby Expo at the convention center today. Madeline got to meet Elmo and was quite taken by his fuzzy red hair....she kept running her fingers over the fur on his hands and even managed to give him a smile.

Baby SUV

We finally got around to putting Madeline's jogging stroller together. We got in a quick walk last night...cool weather and rain are predicted for the weekend, so we probably won't be able to use it this weekend.



We're looking forward to some long spring walks in various parks. Both Brian and I commented on how much more comfortable it is to push compared to the other stroller.

Mmmm....sweet potatoes

Food #2: Sweet potatoes...


...success in the morning with Grandma!



....and still yummy in the evening with daddy!



She is doing great with the introduction of solids. I sure hope we have an adventurous eater!

Grandma's Visit

Grandma Handl was in town over the weekend and just left today. We had so much fun playing, shopping, hanging out and Grandma got to be here for Madeline's first solid food experiences. Here are a few pictures from her visit.











Thanks for visiting, Grandma!


On a side note, she is so incredibly close to crawling! This evening she kept getting up on all fours and rocking and she actually pulled her knee up on one occasion and was starting to move her hands.


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Avocado

Madeline finally got her taste of real food today! We started her on solids and chose avocado as her first food. Grandma Handl called it Yuppy Avocado, but I think Madeline referred to it as Yummy Avocado. She did really well, and I think she even managed to get a little in her mouth. Prepare to be disgusted with some messy gooey green photos!

Baby guacamole...all ready to go!


Yay! I'm so excited that I get to try real food.


Hurry, hurry!


Mmmmm, first tastes...






So much fun!


Oh, so messy...




You can play with it, too!



Contemplating this newest milestone.


Time for a washcloth!


Avocado served for dinner! Notice Cooper eagerly awaiting (I think he will like her even more now that she's eating solids and wants to know when she starts Cheerios and hot dogs!)

6 Months Old

Wow, where has the time gone! It's so hard to believe that little Madeline is 6 months old today.

Here I am at 6 months old:




Here are her accomplishments and new 'firsts' for this month:

I'm now sitting up all by myself!



I had my first Christmas.....

...and I was thoroughly spoiled:





I survived my first 2 rounds of a runny nose and my first fever!


I got to meet all of my cousins, aunts and uncles on daddy's side


I really like my Jumperoo and can make it bounce. I can reach the ground when I stand on my tippy-toes.


I still love to smile


....a lot


...and stick my tongue out


...and I still have this habit of sucking on my bottom lip.


I sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time--it lasted for about 5 minutes before I got bored with it. This is the best picture dad could capture.


I accomplished my lifelong task of trying to fit my entire fist into my mouth. I have actually gagged myself on more than on occasion.


I am quite mobile now and can pretty much find a way to get to whatever I want with a combination of rolling and doing my 'army man crawl'


--I went to the Children's Museum for the first time

--I added Arizona and California to the states I've visited
--I went on my 4th plane ride (at this rate, I'll hit elite status by my 1st birthday!)
--I still fit into some of my 0-3 month clothes. Some of my 3-6 month clothes now fit but some of them are still too big.
--I am still wearing size 1 diapers.

6 Month Check-up

We took Madeline in today for her 6 month check-up. Here are her stats:

weight: 12 lb 15 oz
height: 26 in
FOC: 16.25

We visited a bit about her weight. They want babies to double their birth weight by the 6 month mark and Madeline made it by 1oz! She still seems to be tracking alright and the Dr. didn't seem too concerned as she appears healthy. We also discussed solids and I think we will be starting those next week after I return from my business trip. In preparation for solids, and since she did so well at the Dr, Madeline earned a trip to Target and got to pick out her high chair...actually she slept through the Target trip, but I'm sure she'll love her high chair!

Under the weather

We've survived our first fever! I picked Madeline up from daycare on Friday afternoon and they reported her as having a runny nose, which she had all week while I was gone. I got her home and put her down for a nap and when she woke up she was really hot. I took her temp and she had a fever of 101 and I could tell she didn't really feel all that well. We scrapped our plans to go out for dinner and sent Brian to CVS instead. She was under the weather all day on Saturday--she just wanted to snuggle but luckily took a very long nap. She woke up on Sunday pretty much back to normal. I certainly wasn't looking forward to her first sickness, but glad it now seems behind us.