Maddie growing!

So in my excitement to share all the fun places we've been able to explore in Korea, I have totally neglected to share more about the girls and their development. So, this post is dedicated to Maddie. It is so much fun to see all the many firsts in the first year, and I'd like to share them with you (especially since we are so far away for most of you to witness it in person.)

I'll start at six months since that was first month we were in Korea. Man has she developed since then! By six months she was talking a lot (mostly "dada" and "gah").

Some six month pictures (6/20.) (Sorry, they were all so cute and different, I just couldn't decide. She's so expressive.)

"ooooo!"

"What's up homey?"

"I know I'm cute."

"Ok, mommy, I'll pose for you."

Happy girl.

She was also showing us that she was going to get mobile soon. We had anticipated this since she was starting to sit up unassisted around 4-5 months. By six months, she would roll, sit up, repeat, to get around the room. right before she turned six months, she was doing "push-ups" and getting her belly off the floor. We knew crawling wasn't far away.

I also started feeding her solid foods the day she turned 6 months. At first she was not a fan. Well, she still doesn't like plain rice cereal which is what I first gave her. The first couple of weeks were slow in getting her to eat more than the tiniest bit (partly because she would hardly open her mouth), but she got the hang of it. :)

"What are you putting in my MOUTH??"

After she turned sixth months, she did indeed start crawling. Maddie started by moving backwards, and finally had forward movement on July 5th, but it was sloppy. On July 11th, she started to really crawl. Interesting fact: I have recorded that Claire first started crawling on July 11th as well, though I'm not sure if that was sloppy or real crawling. That's just craziness! About a day after she learned to crawl, she learned to pull herself up to standing with the help of furniture. The real crawling and standing all happened during the few days that her Uncle John and Aunt Cay were visiting us. Show off. :)

July 19th - she was a pro by then and life was so much more complicated for me!

Maddie at 7 months

By seven months, Maddie was a speed crawler and loved getting into things she wasn't supposed to, like the trash and chords. I call her my "little opportunist" because the second a door is open, she crawls as fast as she can to get there.

7/20

"I'm done with my nap mommy!"

On August 7th, she started getting really good at standing up unassisted. When I set her down, she always wanted me to place her standing up. After a week or so, she was standing up for long periods of time. She also started cruising around by the furniture.

She was using the laundry basket to help herself walk around the room. She took a break to stand up for a while.

I also realized on August 11th, that Karma is real. When I was little, I was always climbing everything and drove my poor mom crazy. Well, little Maddie, at seven months old, started climbing up the back of the couch. Oh dear.

Not only is she a little mover, but she's also very social. She LOVES to find strangers to flirt with and smile at. In fact, once she was crying like crazy in the subway station. A group of school boys (maybe around 12 years old) all surrounded her thinking she was so cute. She instantly stopped crying and started smiling and flirting with them. Oh boy.

Eating was progressing well. She wasn't so sure about what she was eating here though. She's a little pickier than Claire was.

Maddie at 8 months old

Sorry for the bad lighting, but it was still a cute pic.

After she turned eight months old, she continued to say "dada" (a LOT!) and started to say "mama" a little, but only when she was upset. I don't think she knew that was me though. She also learned to click her tongue which is probably because that is the first thing Koreans do to her to get her attention. :)

She continued to add variety to her diet, but she's a little pickier than Claire. She really doesn't like any of the veggies except for the orange ones - sweet potatoes (her very favorite), squash, and carrots. She'll eat some of the fruits, but doesn't seem thrilled with them.

Little cutie just starting to learn to eat finger food. 

Maddie at 9 months old

"Hi, mommy! Oh, you wanted to take a picture? I wanted to give you a hug!"

One major thing I have failed to mention is Maddie and sleep. Let's just say, she's not a great sleeper. She started off ok and was sleeping through the night (9-12 hours) before we moved (right before she turned 4 months old.) Then we moved, visited with family for a month and a half (read: couldn't let her cry at night and wake others), and changed to a time zone that was 13 hours different. Thankfully, soon after we settled into our house, I got her on a normal nap schedule (AM and PM naps) though she sometimes only sleeps for an hour or less per nap. But at night, she was consistently waking up 2-3 times a night - like she was a newborn! I was afraid maybe she really was hungry, so I fed her, reading that it would get better by 9 months. A little after she turned nine months, I was becoming one grumpy mommy (how I longed for uninterrupted sleep!), and I realized something had to change. So, I started letting her cry it out. And after just a couple of nights, she was sleeping from about 8PM to 6AM. Wahoo! (That only lasted a few weeks. We're back to waking up a few times a night, and I often give in once, though last night was twice. Oy! I feel bad because her room is the coldest in the house and we haven't been able to get the heat to work yet. Plus, one night she cried for a good hour, which Claire somehow slept through! Ugh.) Soon, we HAVE to go back to sleeping through the night!

On October 5, Maddie's first tooth finally popped through on the bottom. 

She was so tired one night at dinner, and did this. Oh, if only she'd sleep at night!

After Maddie turned 9 months, she really got the hang of finger food. She LOVES it. While she likes puffs, cherrios, and rice cakes, she REALLY loves her dairy, especially yogurt (regular and the freeze dried yogurt drops) and cheese. She just gobbles it up!

Also during this month, Maddie started doing the really cute baby things like waving, clapping, and imitating us.

"Yea!"

 She also was able to stand herself up from sitting in the middle of the floor with no props for help. She of course still loves talking, including "mama", "dada", and when she's calling for someone, "Ada!" It's pretty darn cute.

She loves to climb in and out of this wagon and loves to be pulled around in it.

She has gotten herself totally stuck inside the coffee table too many times. Chris once took the glass top off to get her out. Crazy kid.

She LOVES bath time. It's adorable.

Playing with arcade games just her size while her big sister played at the jump jump (lots of trampolines.)

She loves to play in this corner - sometimes with the toys, sometimes banging on the window.

laughing baby

"Is this how you do it?"

"I can't quite eat this."

"I'm a sneaky baby, and am gonna get away from that mommy."

"Who, me? Yeah, I'm climbing UP this slide." :)

Playgrounds are cool!

Maddie at 10 months

Happy in her p.j.s

Big sister was reading her a story

Well, this month has been very eventful, and is only part way through. After Maddie turned 10 months, she was visited by her Aunt Cay, did lots of trick or treating in her cute giraffe costume (to be seen in a future post), climbed on TOP of the coffee table all by herself, and climbed onto the couch by herself.

One day she pulled everything out of the drawer and climbed in and out of them.

She also finally took her first step! Again, she was showing off, because she waited to do it when not only daddy happened to be home, but when Aunt Cay was here visiting! Aunt Cay was here for the crawling, standing up, and first steps. She must have a special touch. She went from taking one step, to seven in one day. Go Maddie! We have an active baby on our hands, but she is happy, loving, and full of personality. I hope these oh so many pictures help you see a bit of that.