Christmas Pictures

Here are pictures from our Christmas trip to Arizona. We first went to Las Vegas, then to Phoenix, and finally a short trip to Tucson. It was a great trip and we had lots of fun, but we're glad to be home!

Winter Weekend

Maddie is tall enough to reach on top of tables and counters now. She loves to grab my keys and tries to get outside.


Maddie is very observant and tries to open the door using my keys, as she often sees us do.


We babysat for Maddie's friend Myla and Maddie showed her a good time in the playroom.


Maddie's first snow! We made sure to bundle her up before we showed her what winter is really all about.


This is as far as she made it off of the back porch. I'm sure she'll be more excited about snow in the coming years.


Maddie has recently started stacking blocks. Her favorite part is knocking them down!


Maddie and Daddy played in the playroom.

Playroom

We've finally started pulling together Maddie's playroom in the basement and so I decided to post some pictures.
And here's Maddie and her favorite bunny...she's really gotten in to her stuffed animals lately!

Thanksgiving follow up

Here are some follow up photos from our Thanksgiving.

Cute hiking photo with Maddie and Daddy.

Pre-feast hiking with the Mapps and the Fentons.

This is Maddie "rocking out" before dinner.

Here's the Turkey Day gang - Christina, Yeniv, Ryland, Brian, Eric, and Maddie - enjoying our feast.

This is our messy kitchen after a wonderful meal.

Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

This is Maddie's first Thanksgiving that she can eat solids (last year she was still on breast milk) and she's very excited to help with all the cooking. Here she's reviewing recipes to make sure that the meal meets her very high standards! We'll keep you updated...

Table and Chairs

Recently we purchased a plastic table and chairs for Maddie. While it's typically for outdoor use, Maddie loves playing with it and on it. It's also good for snacking with friends!

Vote!

...my future depends on it!

Picking Up

Maddie has realized recently that picking up is fun. Daddy and Maddie pick up toys almost every night before bed time and she always really gets into it. She's recently started to get into some drawers in the kitchen and has found a bag of plastic silverware I bought for her. She loves to dump it out and put it all back in the bag. It's great and it gives me a chance to make dinner!

Halloween

Here are some pictures of Maddie on Halloween. We took her into downtown Ballard to trick or treat at all the shops with her baby friends. It was a great time and it was fun to see all the costumes.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Over the past few weekends, Eric, Maddie, and I have had some fun times. We walked through Discovery Park, which Maddie actually walked part of! We've also spent some quality time around the house, just hanging out, family style. All in all, it's been good times for the Howells lately!

Jubilee

Last year, my sister and niece were visiting at this time. We took Maddie to her first pumpkin patch then. Eric and I decided to make it a tradition and took her back to the pumpkin again today. She had a blast, and especially the hayride.

Vacation

We just got back from our vacation to Virginia to see Eric's family. It was quite nice and very relaxing. Maddie really took a liking to her grandparents - especially grandma!

Busy Weekend

Maddie had a very busy weekend. I took her to her first concert on Saturday! We went to see Elisabeth Mitchell, who is a popular kids artist. Maddie loved the whole experience...she sat and watched in amazement for a while, and then got up to dance. It was so cute! I can't wait to take her to more kid's concerts. On Sunday, Eric and I took her to the Puyallup fair. It's the big local fair around here. We walked around and looked at all the animals and the rides. Although Maddie is a bit too little to have gotten on any of them, she enjoyed watching the other kids. She'll get her chance next year.

Here are some pictures of her in her room on Sunday afternoon - so cute!

Fattie

Maddie got her first fat lip yesterday. We were at our friend Ben's house and she fell down on his front stoop. It's made out of stone and, of course, her face hit the ground. There were lots of tears and lots of blood, but finally our little girl calmed down. I know it's the first of many scrapes and bruises, but it's still sad.

Booty

One of Maddie's favorite snacks is Veggie Booty. It's very popular in her baby circle. She just can't get enough of it.

Walking

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted...I'll blame the move. Here's a little movie of her walking. She's quite a mover and she's really found her balance lately. Enjoy!




This is also a good shot of our living room (it's not quite set up yet, but pretty close).

Apple

I can't believe it!

Maddie's first birthday was Sunday and I still can't believe it! I remember not knowing how I'd make it the first six months, but somehow time has really flown.

Maddie had a bit of an unexpected entry into the world. She was small and the doctors were worried, so they tried to induce me. Maddie's heart rate would drop with every contraction, so we decided a c-section was the way to go. Maddie came out at 2:21 pm as perfect as could be. Sure, she was a peanut, but she was healthy and hungry. I stayed awake the entire first night of her life, holding her and marveling in amazement at our beautiful baby. Oh, and I was a bit uptight about her eating every two hours. The first two weeks with our little peanut were an exciting time and a HUGE learning curve for Eric and I, but it was blissful. Then, once Eric started going back to work a little bit and Maddie started waking up a bit more, she started screaming - all the time. For the first couple of months, she screamed and cried all the time that she was awake. I took her to the doctor, sure something was wrong with her. He told me that sometimes when babies are born small, their nerves aren't fully coated and they're just overstimulated by being alive. She couldn't calm herself at all. It was a hard time for all of us, but slowly her crying subsided. Now, Maddie is the most wonderful kid with a cheerful, curious disposition. The beginning was so hard I didn't think I'd make it sometimes, but our amazing little girl is worth every moment. She's amazing and joyful and super cuddly. She's changed our lives forever and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Maddie goes to Mt. Rainier

On Monday, we went for an overnight camping trip with the Fentons to Mt. Rainier. It was really fun and Maddie did a great job and had a wonderful time. It was Claire's birthday and we were happy to celebrate it with her. All in all we had an amazing time and we're so excited that Maddie did well sleeping in the tent. We can't wait to go camping again.

Big News

We've had some exciting times over the past week. Maddie took her first steps on Thursday! People kept telling me that she was close to walking, but I was skeptical. But on Thursday afternoon I set her down on the floor (she's been independently standing for about a week) and she took three steps towards me. She seemed stable enough that she could have kept going, but I was so stunned that I didn't get out of the way. Later that night she did it again for the childcare lady at the gym. Finally today she took a few steps towards Eric. Tonight she also took steps towards our friend Christina. That's every time she's "walked" so far. It's really exciting and so cute to see our little girl on the go. Maddie has finally made it into toddlerhood!

In other equally exciting news, Eric and I made an offer on a house this week. The owners countered, which we accepted, so now we're in the process of getting it inspected, etc., etc. that goes into buying a house. Eric and I had been looking, but didn't think we'd find a wonderful house so quickly. It was very unexpected. It's cute, relatively big, in a good neighborhood, and was at a price that couldn't be beat.

As soon as we get some pictures of all these latest developments, we'll post them.

Maddie is getting fast!

Here is a video of Maddie pushing her little cart. She's really getting fast, though she hasn't quite figured out turning yet.

Words

Maddie has become quite the talker in the past month. Her vocabulary has grown quite quickly and her ability to repeat sounds and words is really stunning. Maddie's first word was dog. Although we don't have one, Maddie is around a lot of dogs and loves them all. Maddie also regularly says the following words:

Daddy
Up
Yum
Yucky
Cheese
Yo, yo, yo (OK, it's not really a word and doesn't mean anything, but it's hilarious)

I'll try to get a video of her talking and post it.

Favorite Blog

No, this post is not about Maddie. I promise, more Maddie is coming soon...she's amazing and there are wonderful things going on for her.

But tonight, I wanted to share something different with you. It is, hands down, my favorite mommy blog. It's painfully honest, it's irreverent, and it's hilarious. It's not all about her kids, mostly relates to her kids. Anyway, I don't have the brain capacity to fully explain its awesomeness, but you should definitely check it out:

http://babyonbored.blogspot.com/

Hanging with the Howells

This past weekend, we had a celebration for our family (our wedding all of our birthdays, etc.) and it ended up being a wonderful time with lots of family and friends to celebrate. It was great to see our family and friends and share this special time with them. Thanks to everyone for making our celebration memorable!

Maddie in the Kitchen

On weekends, Eric and I always make a hearty breakfast (something better than yogurt and bagels). Lately we've been making pancakes, which Maddie seems to really love. For a few weeks, we made blueberry pancakes - who can go wrong with that? Well, this weekend we decided to mix it up a bit and instead made a raspberry compote for our pancakes. We realized that it was best to take Maddie's clothes off before breakfast and we're glad we did!


Maddie also likes to be very involved in cooking. It's actually made it quite hard to cook because she always wants me to hold her so she can see what's going on. Recently, however, I've found that if I open the tupperware shelf, it'll buy me some time. Maddie loves to dump all the tupperware on the floor and bang it together. It creates a bit of a mess, but I manage to get dinner made!

Summer Fun

Summer has finally arrived in Seattle and we were all excited to get out and enjoy the nice weather. Today was the annual summer solstice parade and it seemed to be the perfect thing to do. We decided to ride our bikes and take Maddie on the maiden voyage in her bike trailer. We were a bit concerned that she wouldn't like it, or rather, she wouldn't like wearing the helmet, but she seemed to really enjoy the ride. We mostly rode on a local trail (I'm not really comfortable taking Maddie on the road in the trailer.) and arrived just in time to watch the parade start. Eric wore Maddie in the front pack and she had a great view of the parade. She seemed to really enjoy all of the colors and sounds as the parade participants and floats went by. It was then time for Maddie's nap, so we rode home. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and we can't wait to go on many more biking adventures!

Father's Day Fun

Yesterday was Eric's first Father's Day and we all had a really good time. After a late night with some friends on Saturday, Eric slept in on Sunday, which he always enjoys. After a late breakfast, we visited with our neighbors, who just had a baby on Friday. It's very exciting and Eric and I are happy to share our experiences (and baby stuff) with them. We then headed out to the Sunday farmer's market and to cruise the neighborhood. We ended up hanging out in a local park near the library and enjoying some sun. After a nap for Maddie, Eric wanted to go sailing. We've only taken Maddie sailing one other time and we're both still a bit nervous about it...if she gets fussy, we're stuck on the water. But Eric and I will not be deterred by what might be and set out to sail anyway. As it turned out, there was great wind, beautiful sunshine, and a smiling Maddie. She was amazed at how fast the water was moving! In all, it was a great day and I'm glad Eric had a wonderful first Father's Day!

Tough and Tender

Maddie is at a really fun age right now. She's really starting to develop a personality and it's amazing to watch her grow and become her own little girl. Much like her Daddy, Maddie seems to have a very inquisitive and exploratory side. She loves to climb in to, over, on top of, and through anything she can. She sometimes seems to go out of her way to make her path more of an obstacle course. Case in point is her current favorite toy, her stroller. She LOVES it. She's mostly fascinated by the buckles. Over the weekend, however, she realized she could pull it down backwards and crawl all over it. It's really quite amazing to watch her discover the world.

Maddie is also proving to be quite sensitive. When ever another kid cries or screams, Maddie gets very, very upset and ends up crying, usually hysterically. Usually she doesn't stop crying until long after the other kid does. I'm assuming she's more scared than empathetic, but it's still so sweet. I don't know how to help her with this. Of course we pick her up and calm her down, she's always been around other babies, and she doesn't have any real stranger anxiety. It's so sweet and sad at the same time.

So, that's some insight into little Miss Maddie's personality. I'm so excited to see how her personality develops further!

Maddie's First Hike

Ahoy, Matey!

We took Maddie sailing for the first time today. Eric and I were both a little nervous to take her out. But, we waited until after her first nap, gathered our gear, and went down to the UW sailing club. Eric manned the boat while I tended to Maddie and soon we were pushing off the dock for her first sail! Maddie was very interested in everything on the boat. She wanted to play with all the ropes and tackle. She was also quite interested in the wake behind the boat. Maddie even got her first opportunity at steering the boat!

We ended up sailing and enjoying the warm sun for a bit longer than anticipated and we stayed out past Maddie's afternoon nap time. As we tried to put her life jacket back on, Maddie started to cry and, as life jackets are important, Eric and I felt it important that she kept it on. So, I tried to rock Maddie while Eric sailed. Finally she fell asleep in my arms. We made it back to the dock without further incident. All in all, we all enjoyed our first sailing trip and can't wait to go on our next one.

The Sweetest Sound

Sorry for the sideways video, but it's totally worth it. The sweetest sound we hear these days is Maddie laughing. She generally has a good temperament and getting her to laugh is easy. It melts my heart and brightens my mood every time she breaks out a big, open-mouthed grin and let's a hearty belly laugh out.

Rebelling against neatness

We have always felt lucky that Maddie has been a clean baby. She's hardly ever had blowouts and was not apt to spit up. Most days, Maddie only wore one outfit. She hasn't needed the veritable fashion show that most babies we know seem to need. Lately, however, Maddie has rebelled against neatness. She has become a very messy kid, and how!

As Maddie crawls full speed ahead, over and around everything and anything that may get in her way, her shoes, pants, and hands attract more dirt and grime than I thought possible. While out playing at a local coffee shop yesterday, Maddie's hands turned a lovely shade of dark gray from crawling around for a mere hour! It's amazing. So, I keep lots of baby wipes and purell on hand for quick clean ups. As for any dirt that collects on her pants and shoes, well, we all just have to live with that.

The real source of Maddie's messiness is eating. Maddie has always been a good eater, for which Eric and I have felt very fortunate. Lately, however, Maddie has been rejecting our attempts at feeding her. At first we were concerned she was becoming a picky eater. After a day or two of trying different tactics to get her to eat, we came to realize that Maddie wasn't rejecting the food, she was rejecting the spoon. She was still very interested in eating, and, in fact, wanted the food, but wanted to do it herself. Since discovering Maddie's move towards eating independence, we have tried to compromise between letting her feed herself and making sure she gets an adequate amount of food in her mouth. Our tactics range from giving her Cheerios and then going for a "sneak attack" when she's trying to get a Cheerio in her mouth to letting her have her own spoon and some food on her try and then trying to get some food in any way we can. Most of her meals now end up looking something like this:

Maddie on the go

Maddie started crawling a bit more than a week ago and she has gotten quite fast. It's very amazing and she's definitely been keeping us on our toes! Eric put up a baby gate on the stairs today, so I now feel safe to let her roam more freely around our house. What Eric and I have really found amazing, however, is that Maddie will not be deterred. She's already started crawling over or around any obstacle that may get in her way. She's becoming quite the determined little girl!

Amazing Baby

Things are pretty routine in Maddie's world right now. She loves crawling around and finding any cord she can get her hands on. She's also really into chewing on shoes right now, so we've got to be careful to put them away always. Of course, she's a total wiggle worm and is interested in everything. It's a good thing we've got a lot of energy to keep up with her! This is a photo of Maddie at her most recent bath. She splashed so much, we had to refill the tub because there wasn't enough water to wash her. Every day Eric and I feel amazed and excited to have such a wonderful baby. It's so exciting to watch her grow and develop.

Uh-oh

Maddie started crawling today. She's only made it about six "crawls", but I know she'll get further and faster before we know it. Eric and I have a lot of work to do to get ready for a crawler! She's already getting into trouble. In the course of five minutes, she managed to pull on the wires for the TV, pull the cord out of the computer and pull all the games out of the coffee table. Really, it was quite a mess in a very short amount of time.

Thanks for coming to visit, Grandma Karen

Eric's mom came to visit last week. We all had a very good time. We were able to take Maddie to the park and take Maddie to the zoo for the first time! Of course we also walked around town, went to the locks, and cruised the Ballard Sunday farmers' market. Karen was also happy to babysit, giving Eric and I a chance to go out without having to pay a babysitter. Even though Maddie is approaching the age of separation anxiety, she didn't miss a beat and continued to play, smile, and laugh long after Eric and I were gone. It also gave Karen the opportunity to relive the joys of dinner time, story time, and bedtime. Of course there was lots of down time when Maddie was napping and gave us all a chance to chat and catch up. Maddie unfortunately had a cold while Karen was visiting, but she still pulled out all of her big smiles for grandma! All in all, it was a good visit and it reminded us of how much we wish all of our parents could get more time with Maddie.

You and I are going to be friends...

Maddie has a baby best friend named Ramona. Ramona and Maddie were born exactly two weeks apart and have spent a lot of time together since they were born. In the past few months, Maddie and Ramona have really started to take an interest in one another. Claire took this video of Maddie and Ramona "playing". Even though Ramona is the bigger of the two, it looks like Maddie is going to be the more rough and tumble kid!

Taking a bite out of the Windy City

My family has an annual tradition of going to Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Eric and I have only been once before and were excited to take Maddie this year. My dad, sister, niece, aunt, and cousin were all there. Our first day there, we went to the Shedd Aquarium. In my opinion, it's the best aquarium! Maddie seemed to truly enjoy seeing all of the interesting sea life. We spent some time downtown watching the St. Patrick's Day festivities and took some time out to visit my grandparents old house. After spending a few days in Chicago, we drove down to Indiana to stay at my dad's. We visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum. I thought that most of the exhibits would be too old for Maddie, but they had a lot to offer her. They had a great dinosaur exhibit in which the kids got to dress up in dinosaur costumes and play with eggs. They also had a Curious George exhibit that Maddie really loved. All in all, we had a wonderful time.










Before leaving, Eric and I were both concerned about Maddie's napping. She is so interested in everything going on around her, it's hard for her to nap unless you get off all visual stimulation. But, my dad bought us a stroller and we just draped a blanket over the front and she fell asleep quickly. The only thing that made Maddie fussy was that her first two teeth came in! Honestly, teeth were one of the developmental milestones that I was not looking forward to. I thought that Maddie's teeth might not come in for a few more months because Eric and I were both relatively late teethers, but no such luck. But, for getting two teeth at the same time, Maddie handled it pretty well and seemed to be mostly back to her old self by the time we returned home.

Maddie Goes to the Park

Today we took Maddie to the park. We put her in a swing and took her down the slide. She did OK, but was more interested in all of the other kids than in any of the playground equipment. I'm sure we'll take her back - hopefully she'll be more into it next time!