What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!

I.  I'm beyond unprepared for Christmas.  We haven't bought a tree, put up a single decoration, or made/purchased any gifts.  But I have been jamming our local easy listening station all day every day for Christmas tunes, so don't buy me a humbug t-shirt just yet.

II.  At some point this week, I'll get to go shopping!  We got a $75 Old Navy gift card from United Healthcare just for filling out their online health assessment. 

III.  I had a TERRIBLE nightmare last night about Madison.  I haven't had one this bad since she was just a few days old.  I'm not even going to describe it...I'm hoping I will have forgotten the details by tonight.

IV.  She had such a good day in church yesterday that I think I will actually leave her in the nursery next Sunday.  I spent most of the Sunday School hour yesterday in the nursery sitting behind her, and she had a blast.  As I lurked, I observed our nursery workers, and came to this conclusion:  they love babies.  I know she'll be in good hands.

V.  Madison proved me right yesterday.  I've been thinking for a while that she still remembers how to roll over, but just doesn't feel like it.  Well, lying on her back at church, a book she wanted was a little out of her reach.  So she flopped over and grabbed it, like it was no biggie.  Phew!  I can check that irrational worry off my list.

VI.  Texans.

VII.  I'm excited about tomorrow's post.  It starts with a "K" and rhymes with "witchin' floor reveal". 

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

The "I Was Right" Song

We think Madison is teething again (the prime suspects are her upper middle teeth), and she has woken up a few times over the last couple of nights.  We had kind of gotten spoiled by her sleeping10 1/2 hours at a time norm, so this hit us on our blindside.  Last night, after Tylenol and holding/rocking didn't even begin to soothe her (about nine hours into her night), Pat convinced me that I needed to bend the rules and nurse her earlier than usual. 

So I did, reluctantly.  I figured that if pain was the problem, nursing would only calm her down temporarily.  Well, as I write this three hours and forty-five minutes later, I guess I should admit I was wrong.  Yeah, yeah.  You were right and I was wrong, now you can sing the you were right song. 

As painful as that last paragraph was to admit, Madison more than made up for it.  As I laid her back in her crib, I swear she said "Thank you".  Okay, not audibly, but she looked deep into my eyes and smiled sooo gently before turning on her side and going to sleep.

That turned my "bad night" right around.

Happy Friday!
-Kelli

It Happens So Quickly!

No, not the floors.  Those are at a standstill until Saturday.

  Madison is growing up so quickly!  I know it's cliche, and I know we were warned a thousand times not to blink, but we just weren't prepared for this.  After she wore herself out yesterday, she plopped back in Patrick's arms and stayed there for probably ten minutes while he carried her around.  I told her she was so sweet, and she was letting Daddy hold her "like a baby".  That's when I realized that, although she is still by definition a baby, there's a little girl emerging.

Yesterday's photo shoot helped to reinforce that line of thought.  Check her out at one week:

 And twenty-three weeks:

Are you kidding me?  I can't even fit all of her into the frame any more! 

She also blew me away yesterday with a big first; she fed herself.  I mean, I guess it wasn't a true first, because she has grabbed the spoon and jammed it in her own mouth countless times.  But never a solid food!  Here she is gnawing chewing (I still can't believe she has teeth) on her rice rusk:

Oh, and please ignore her "outfit".  We're having a bit of a laundry crisis right now...I just can't keep up with this girl's spit up!

She loves to pull up from sitting to standing now.  Usually we do the work by pulling her hands up, but here lately she has taken the initiative a few times.  I love watching her little bottom wobbling in circles while she stands.  It almost looks like she's hula hooping.

The one and only thing that she still refuses to do is to roll over either way.  Back at two months, she rolled over from tummy to back for about a week.  Then she forgot how.  Other than the other morning, when she woke up on her tummy (which is obviously not how we put her down), she hasn't rolled over on her own since.  I really believes that she thinks that would just encourage me with tummy time, which she has always hated.

Well, I'm off to enjoy my baby girl.  Have a great day!
-Kelli