6 months old and sleeping issues

2 days ago, on Tuesday, Madi turned 6 months old!  Can you believe it?!?!  I can't!  It seems just like yesterday she was born!  Okay, maybe not yesterday but I would say only a couple of months ago.

These are some of the things I can say that she is doing these days.......

Eating solids......really LOVES her veggies.  Starting to tolerate the fruits.

Sitting in a big girl highchair!  This just happened today, actually.  She really hasn't been able to sit in a highchair with a straight back, it's always needed to be able to lean back a little bit.  Not anymore!!!!

Pivoting on the floor!  This is a very new skill......consistently as of a few days ago!  She can pivot on her belly to get a toy on the floor 360*.  (Sometimes both directions but mostly to her right side)

Her prop sitting is getting better and better.  She can sit with her hands on her legs for more than 5 minutes before she topples over.

She is the queen at quadruped position!

She can kneel at the couch with her butt touching her feet for several minutes.  We are working on getting her to push her tush up so her lower and upper legs are at a 90* angle (this might take a while).

We are working on teaching her how to transition from belly to sitting and vice versa.  I can tell this will be a LONG process with these ones.  We are also trying to build up her core strength as much as possible, too.

I am just so proud of her!!!

I haven't taken her in for her 6 month checkup and shots, yet, so I don't know how much she weighs.  But, I will let you know when we do.  I think I have been kind of dreading  this appointment because I know that we will have to go and have her blood drawn to check her thyroid levels.  I have heard horror stories of how hard it is to draw a vial of blood on a baby.  UGH!!!!

We have had a little bit of a sleeping issue the last couple of days with her......basically, since we got home from camping.  While we were camping, it was too hot for her to sleep in the tent during the day so she had quite a few naps with someone holding her or being in the swing.  Well, she now has the mind set that she is not going to sleep unless I am holding her.  Obviously, that is not working for me so well!

I am one of those "crib-people".  I am a "Baby-Wise", scheduled type of moms.  It just works for me and my personality.  Sometimes I wish I was more laid back about it, but it's not my nature.  So, here I am, struggling with a baby that wants to sleep in my arms all day.  I will have to say, though, she still is doing her thing at night without any struggles.  So, really, what am I complaining about, right?!?!

Camping

This last weekend we took our first camping trip of the summer!  Went for 4 days into the mountains west of Colorado Springs.  I had mixed emotions about going because Madi is just 6 months old but she did absolutely wonderful!  I couldn't have asked her to do any better.

We started out the trip with packing everything but the kitchen sink!

The girls were completely surrounded with "stuff"!  And that didn't include the box top on the car that was stuffed too!  But, hey, you can't be too prepared when you are camping with a 2 1/2 year old and 6 month old.

We were hoping that Taylor would sleep on the entire car ride there, as this was going to be the only chance to nap that day.  But, she had better plans......she sang songs and talked about everything she saw right up until we were 15 minutes away.  So, needless to say, we had a little bit of a crabby girl later on that evening.

Aahhhh........the food........what is it about camping that makes the food just so much better?  Is it the extra oil you use when cooking over the fire?  Or is it the smoke from the fire that adds a little bit more flavor?  Is it because you are just that much more hungry from the days activities.......no, it's not that, because I think all we did was eat non-stop!   I don't know, but the food just tastes absolutely wonderful when you are camping.  We made good ole' fried chicken over the fire the first night.......all I can say is YUM YUM!!!

Grandpa and Mark taught Taylor how to fish for the first time!

They never did catch anything.....mainly because all Taylor wanted to do was throw it out and then immediately reel it back it.  She did this over and over but that's okay, she got her first experience of fishing.

Madi hung out with Gigi and I........

Taylor was obsessed with the chipmunks the whole time.

She discovered the joys of feeding them chips and crackers on the first day.

And she had to look for them first thing in the morning too.......with her kitty and giraffe too!

The funniest thing of the entire trip, though, was Taylor becoming a "Superman".  This is something new......at first we didn't know what she was talking about.

It would begin with her stripping down to her undies.......

And then throwing dirt on herself and rubbing it in......

She then began a series of "poses" and karate-style moves.......

Added a little more dirt.......and this is what you get....."Superman"!!!!

Seriously, we don't know where that came from.  And you would think it would have been a one-time event.......oh no.......she wanted to do it each day!  Crazy girl!!!

Here's a couple more random shots!

Overall, I think a good time was had by all! 

Success is shown in.......the dirt in the fingernails.....

.......dirt on faces and toes......

........and little girlies too tired to sleep anywhere but momma's lap or on the ground......

Can't wait for our next trip!!!!

Sweet and Sassy!

There is this new store in our mall that has the absolute cutest kid's clothes!  Actually, it's not really even a store, it's one of those "island's" down the middle that sells the clothes.  It's called Twisted Baby.

As you can see, it has kind of a rockerish type look to the clothes.  I love the sassy but sweet look......the crazy skull bone shirt paired with a frilly girly tutu dress.  

This shirt is just crazy!  If you get looking at it, it is a skull but with roses and flowers in the eyes and a bow on top of the head.  Love it!

And there is not a better girl to wear this outfit but Taylor.  She is definitely sweet but with scoop of sass thrown in there.

She has been such a stinker butt these days.  I have heard that the "terrible twos" are nothing, it's the "three's".  Well, Taylor is approaching that 3 mark and she is proving it to be right.

She's just been very manipulative and whiney.  I know I just have to stand my ground but sometimes it can be very hard.  Especially if Mark has been out of town for several days, my will can get broken down pretty easy, just because I am tired of listening to the whining.  And I KNOW that she has figured this out.

It's crazy how kids go through these stages.  Last summer, Taylor was in this stage too but then it ended. And we had some peaceful times for awhile......well, that is until Madi came along and Taylor was no longer the center of the universe.  But, with that, I can understand that.  And it was pretty short-lived.  But, now we are back at it.

I think part of it , too, is that she is in a preschool class with some older kids ( 4 year olds) and she has picked up some of their bad habits.  Her favorite thing these days is telling you she doesn't like you anymore when you don't let her have her way with something.  I know she picked that up from a certain kid at school.

But, the other thing that amazes me about this is the fact that kids are talking like that already at 4 years old.  I don't know......times have changed.  I KNOW I didn't say things like that then.  You wouldn't expect to hear things like that out of kids until they get started in grade school.

Okay.....now I just seem to rambling........and I am using this as an excuse to take a break from packing for our camping trip.  Yes, we are going camping!!!!  It will be Madi's first time.  I don't know if we are crazy or what bringing a 5 1/2 month old camping but we are going to give it a try!  Actually, I think she will do just fine.  I hope.......

Ponytails and Party planning

Ponytails

I was able to put Madi's hair in her first ponytail yesterday!  She looked so stinkin' cute!

I'm not sure how long I will be able to do it, though.  The long hair is her "birth hair" that just hasn't fallen out yet.  The rest of her head has and the new growth is a completely different color.  Her "birth hair" is a brown with a reddish tint in the sun.  But, her new hair is white.  And when I say white....I mean white like a sheet of paper white.  It's crazy!  But, her daddy was a white head when he was little too.  (Okay, I just reread that.....he was a "white head".  No, he was not a zit!)

Party Planning


It is that time of year again for Taylor's birthday!  She is turning 3 this year!

And mom is going a little overboard this year!!!!  (That's an understatement!)

We are planning a western theme (I got the theme and ideas from the wonderful Kelle Hampton)  We are having a petting zoo, pony rides, panning for "gold", a craft table and a general store.

Yes....I know.....it sounds like a lot for a 3 year old's birthday party.  But, I say, what the heck!  You are only little once.  I know I am only going to be able to do these parties for so long before all she wants to do is have a sleepover with friends.  And then, she will turn 16 and not want anyone to know of my existence.  She came from a stork......she doesn't have a mother.

So......overboard I go!!  And I am super stoked about it!  My mom and I have been scouring the internet for ideas and ways to decorate.  Let me tell ya, if you are planning a themed party, there is so much on the internet for ideas.  I have been amazed!  It already makes me excited to start to plan Madi's 1st birthday party!  I'm thinking........maybe a Lady Bug theme!?!?!

Wordless Wednesday

Loving those feet!

Peek a boo!