Madison's Monthly Highlights
Weight: We don't go in for her next well visit til next month. As of 7 months, Maddie was 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces. So definitely bigger than that now, my tired arms would say :)
Clothing: Still wearing a few 6-month tops and onesies and but mostly 9-12 months. For bottoms, on a whim, I bought a few 18 months and 2T leggings, and y'all, they FIT! We have one long baby :) Also, our cute little girl likes looking in her closet with me! She tugs at different sweaters and dresses. I like to think it's because she's already developing great taste, not just because the colors and patterns jump out to her. For shoes, she's wearing Size 4 and we are having even better success with keeping them on her feet (yay!).
Sleep: About 10 hours a night. We're still working through some of the difficulties of transitioning out of her marshmallow suit to just a sleep sack (aka wearable blanket). But overall, Maddie is still sleeping pretty well, with the occasional mid-night wake-up or skipped day nap.
And God continues to remind me, over and over and over again, that our daughter's sleeping/eating/fill-in-trait-or-behavior-here is not a reflection of me directly, nor should I be bound by fear that she "won't ever go to sleep again ever" or "this other thing may be so terribly wrong" or whatever other anxieties I allow to creep into my head. He is Sovereign and it's in Him I find my security, my identity. He is my all in all.
Parenting is so much about trusting in our Father above than I ever could have imagined. What a humbling thought - to have a little child who completely counts on you for everything? And for us to have a Heavenly Father who takes us under His wing, and in His hands, and completely takes care of all our needs.
Eating: Madison will try just about everything once so it's been fun to have her slowly but surely try new foods. This month she tried some string cheese (she gobbled that up faster than an ice cream melts in the dead of July!), rice cakes, purple carrot teething crackers (which sound yuck but she likes them a lot). She's still eating lots of avocado, bananas, apples, squash and a few other fruits and veggies. AND she has started to be able to feed herself! It is the sweetest thing. She has really gotten the hang of picking up crackers and jamming them in her mouth :)
Personality: This child learned to shake her head no! All by herself! As in, I certainly did not teach her that ... we haven't even learned yes yet :) What's funny is after spending time with her older cousin Shiloh on vacation, she starting shaking her head furiously back and forth. But the funny thing is, Shiloh says, "Yeah!" all the time, not no. So we're not sure how/where Maddie got it from but it's her new thing. And it's not connected to not wanting more food, or reading another book or actually answering a question. Just to practice moving her head side to side it seems.
During our vacation, we spent afternoons at an indoor water park. Madison was somewhat hesitant to get in the wave pool (during the non-wave time) which is kind of out of character for her. She is usually pretty eager to lean and look and see and move around in new things/places. Maybe the vastness of the water made it uneasy. Either way, she still ended up splashing around, going down a few slides with Daddy and having some fun by the end of the week.
Madison definitely has a good idea of the things she knows, what she likes and doesn't like. She is SO giggly, loves it when we dance around the living room and just adores her Daddy.
Likes: CLAPPING with a capital C. She mastered it and we spent a good week or so just clapping our hands throughout the day. So cute! Other things she likes: squeezy pouches, snuggling on her grandpa's lap, hanging with her older cousins, making new baby friends on play dates and in the nursery, flipping pages of books, looking out the window, helping me get the mail, assisting in pulling open the blinds in the morning, wiggling around on our California King bed, being worn in the Ergo, sucking her paci at nap times, trying to pull her socks off, kicking off her car seat blanket and laughing.
Oh, and DOGS. The first few times she was ever around dogs they were big and loud and she was so little. But now that is bigger, she is crazy about dogs! We visited our good friends in Tennessee and their big dog Shep was like her BFF! Although I don't think Shep quite got the memo and was like, "Who is this small person that keeps smiling and flailing her arms at me?" No hurt feeling, Shep. We understand it's a lot to take in :) She also loved seeing my parents' dogs, Emmy and Lillie, and squealed with delight when she would pet Emmy and she would try to lick her face in return.
Dislikes: Having her nose/eyes/face wiped off at all, getting ready for bed after her bath (it's like she doesn't want the play party to end), when I leave the room. And when we had to leave the dogs behind to go home :(
What I want to remember: Madison's first trip to a water park, visiting with the Fairweathers and Madison laughing hysterically for MINUTES during dinner one night, without being prompted. Y'all, it is too much!
This was also the month Madison played peekaboo back to me! As in she hid and then popped back out. Melt my heart, why don't you! Oh goodness, I could go on ... but these are the highlights :)
You may also like: Madison's 7-Month Highlights | Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram
