Development

There's no question Madeline's mind is getting very active these days. That's not to say it wasn't before -- who knows what was going on in her little baby brain -- but now the activity is much more transparent.

One cylinder that's supposed to be firing in particular is music appreciation. So today -- our last official baby-daddy day of my leave -- seemed a fitting time to dust off the keyboard and introduce it to Madeline.

She found the experience a bit overwhelming. I did, too, remembering only a few things: the C scale and its major and minor triads, the I-IV-V blues chord progression, and the very similar chord progressions of a couple Man Man songs, all of which I played for her tentatively. Though I encouraged her to bang along, she mostly gaped.

There aren't too many pictures from the day because another side effect of Madeline's current development is an adamant desire to engage actively with the world. Always. Given her limited mobility and self-sufficiency, active engagement necessarily involves a caregiver -- today, me. So excluding 2.5 short naps (the .5 being an extra-short nap where she seemed asleep but shouted every so often), and including one long one, we were tied together. I tried to introduce her more properly to the world.

She stared wide-eyed as I told her the green things were plants and that wooden thing is a chair and the thing in the middle of your face is a nose, and so on. She fussed if I tried to put her down. So I tried wearing her. We ended up abandoning the wrap and its outward-facing hold because she got so excited that she worked the horizontal stabilizing band down over just her feet. Not very stabilizing. But she, the Ergo, and I worked well together for the first time.

Until she got tired of being worn, and we went outside to sit in the wicker chair on the front porch. She watched swaying leaves and hopping robins and neighbors walking dogs until Summer came home.

Summer hoisted her up to provide a better view.

At Summer's arrival something fun happened, too. We've been thinking that Madeline's been developing a "hi" or "hey" -- not totally consistent, but consistent enough to be noticeable. Today when Summer said "hi," Madeline responded in like fashion, prompting a back-and-forth "hi"-fest that lasted a minute or so. Summer's eyes just about bulged out when Madeline responded -- our little baby is developing for sure!

We also checked out the garden. Madeline and I had snuck out earlier so I could snack on some snap peas, mmm. This time, Summer showed Madeline a daylilly (I think?), which Madeline found captivating.

And, back inside, Madeline continued exploring everything in reach by getting better acquainted with her feet.

Later this evening, Madeline stared with her trademark wide eyes at everything in the grocery store -- tomorrow the Greene grandparents are coming to check out their ever-changing granddaughter, and Madeline once again gets to bask in some extra love and attention.

New sounds

Madeline has had a difficult time sleeping the past two nights. She seems to have trouble staying asleep and falling back asleep. Needless to say, no one has been getting too much rest in these parts. This morning Madeline started babbling at 5 am (but this was an improvement over the fussing that seemed to occur every hour prior to that). Despite the fact that she must have been sleep deprived, she was a happy girl this morning.

I'm reading the book the Wonder Weeks about infant development, which talks about how increased fussiness and decreased sleep are often associated with new developmental milestones (there are 10 specific milestones discussed in the book; one occurs around week 19, and she's right around there now). This definitely seems to be the case for Madeline. I feel like she was a whole new model of baby today!

For instance, she is suddenly much more interested in her reflection (before, she looked at the "other" baby somewhat sheepishly; now she tries to touch her). She also seems much more interested in Petey and Nory (our cats) and will follow their movements with her eyes and head. She enjoys petting them when she gets a chance.

She was really into holding her feet again today. But the biggest development has been her increasing repertoire of sounds. She was babbling and chatting up a storm today! And she used many sounds that I hadn't heard before (especially variations in pitch). I'll have to try to catalog them. Max tried to take some movies, but she seems to clam up when the video camera is out (I think she's trying to figure out what we're doing). Here's a short clip of some of her sounds:

In general, she seems more observant and aware of the world. I often see her staring at things--just trying to figure them out. She also tries to interact with everything she can get her hands on (this is especially apparent at dinner). I am so fascinated by all her new skills!

I hope the sleep "regression" is over for this milestone. She seems to be sleeping more soundly now than she did the beginning of the last two nights.

Progress

This morning we dropped Madeline off at daycare and took off for two whole hours, time for breakfast at Seven Stars and a grocery store run. The feeling -- sad but productive -- that went along with this time was new and odd. We were significantly cheered at pickup time to find a happy Madeline who'd bounced, eaten, napped, rocked, and been changed in our absence.

But we were more cheered to be able to have some time with her at home. Summer hoisted Madeline onto her shoulders, and Madeline decided to treat Summer's hair like a bowl of spaghetti.

Madeline enjoyed some tummy time, which she spent scheming about how to crawl.

Her scheming is bringing about some results, though she's not quite there yet.

In all, we had a happy afternoon ...

... made happier by some of Madeline's favorite toys ...

... but then lots of fussing through late afternoon and evening. Now she's asleep in bed between us, and we're each too terrified to move her (Summer made the mistake earlier of covering her feet with a blanket, causing an epic sadness explosion).

Scratch that -- Summer moved her and all's well. Good night!

Fun times with baby again

Madeline had a pretty fun day today.

She played with her toys (including her new ones). She wasn't as into tummy time today as she has been lately; perhaps this was due to her legs being sore from her shots.

She likes to bite Bo, her stuffed cheetah, when he gives her kisses.

We took a walk to the bank and the Edge and stopped in the backyard afterward.

Happy baby in her sun hat.

Cowgirl baby.

More Color Kittens!

Sitting baby--notice the bandaids. Doesn't she look big/old here?

Figuring things out.

Max called this one "smile explosion."

Ahhh, seal attack! (Watch out, seal...)

Yay, Daddy's home!