Oh, how we grow!

 Month 8 started officially yesterday and as Madelynne napped in my arms on our flight back from Colorado, I just cuddled her and smiled. I am so in love with this little girl! I am also completely stunned at what a little rock-star she has become. Without further ado, here we go with a recap of the past month!

Little Mover
In the past month, she has gone from being completely immobile, to almost crawling. She maneuvers herself pretty well around the living room, mostly backward and doing a "crab walk", where she gets up on her feet with her butt in the air and moves. But it has been quite a thrill to see her learn and discover the world for herself. In no time, I am pretty certain she will be crawling. She is very much ready to go. he did make a few little mini-crawls at my folks house, and my mom and I were super excited for her, but that was the extent of it. She also is strong enough to pull herself up on furniture, which she demonstrates to Brad and I by doing so on the couch, ottoman, love seat, and coffee table. She gets frustrated pretty easily, but is one, strong-willed and determined little girl.

Clap Your Hands!
 One of her favorite things to do, as of late, has been to clap her hands. She is fascinated with clapping and, at first, wasn't actually touching her hands together, but would make the movements. In a week's time, she has been able to clap her hands together and loves to applaud at anything and everything.

Discovery
She is one, very busy little lady! She has made so many discoveries this month, but the most notable one has been her shadow. She would crawl toward and touch the shadows on Grandma's floor and is constantly watching them when we walk. It is funny because it is something we, as adults, don't really think about and it is something she is obsessed with.

She is also intrigued by the animals at the house. She loves watching the dogs play outside and at Aunt Lindsey's, she went nuts watching Lindsey's frogs climb the glass walls of the aquarium. She clapped, squealed, and laughed as they moved around and hunted for crickets. It was pretty amusing.



Another funny discovery she recently made was when she tasted a lemon for the first time. Her facial expressions were priceless! She would wrinkle up her face in disgust, at first, but then want more and more of the lemon.

A little bit too sour, Mom!

Other fun discoveries were the park, where we spent some time in the swing. She loves to swing!

First time in the swing

On the slide

New People and Family Time


The highlight of the latter part of seven months was a trip to Colorado and Wyoming, where she met new people. She met new cousins and friends, and spent some quality time with family.

With Aunt Lindsey as Mommy got a pedicure

Playing with Cousin Damion

Grandma giving Hugs

Grandpa and Madelynne

With Cousin Lucy

The mini-vacation to Colorado/Wyoming was good and much needed. It was great to spend time in Laramie to see family and old college friends. Madelynne met several new kids, so she was beyond excited for that. She most definitely had a blast with her cousin, Damion, who was constantly keeping her entertained. She enjoyed her time with Grandma and Grandpa, too. Grandma even taught her to wave, which is another new discovery she has made in the past week or so. Now, it's back to routine. To end, here are some more pics of the highlights from month 7! Enjoy!

Walking with Daddy

One foot up, while I drink...

Go Rockies!

Tuckered out after Cousin Jimmy's wedding

On the plane

At Grandma and Grandpa's clinic----lol

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Little Sailor

Rockin' the Mohawk

At La Push

Walking along the beach

Entertained while mom and dad watch for whales

Jimmy's Wedding

With daddy

With mommy