Rice cereal - Day 2

By popular demand...video of Madelyn eating rice cereal.

Her first venture into solid foods was on Sunday -- Father's Day. Lucky for us, Father's Day fell right in line with our schedule so that we could commemorate Griff's first Father's Day accordingly.

My new favorite picture

Thank you, tummy time.

Splish-Splash Friday

Fridays at daycare during the Summer are Splish-Splash Fridays. We had to make sure Madelyn's swimsuit fit her so she could participate today. It's a little big but works just right for the splishing and splashing of little hands and feet in cookie sheets filled with water.

We were told she was a good little participant. (That's no surprise.) She happily kicked her feet in the tray and splashed the water all around. Next up -- butterfly.

Big-girl chair

We caved last weekend and bought Madelyn a high chair.

After realizing that sitting in her bouncy chair near the table during dinner was no longer sufficient -- she wanted to be up at table level with us -- we got the old Anderson chair down from the garage. To a little girl without good sitting muscles, the wooden chair wasn't very comfortable.

Her very own high chair is a hit. Even though she looks tiny in it, she sits nicely during dinner. More importantly, she'll be all set to start solid foods in a few more weeks! And, the Anderson chair will go back to Grammy's house so Madelyn has a seat at the table for dinners at Grammy's.

33-ounces!

That's how much Madelyn ate yesterday.

Poppie thinks our quart-a-day gal has a hollow leg. Honey and her teachers at daycare think she's having a growth spurt. I think she's determined to double her birthweight by her six-month birthday which is still a month away. As of Tuesday, she weighed 14-lb 1-oz so she's got another pound-and-a-half to go to reach that milestone.

Based on my estimate of the milk bricks we've accumulated in our freezer, at 32-oz a day, our milk would last another 12.19 days. If you've seen our freezer lately, your estimate may be higher or lower than mine but I'm guessing conservatively.

Either way, she's definitely growing and continues to be the happiest, most giggly, and talkative little girl around. For those of you out-of-towners that we'll see this weekend, we're happy you're coming/here and we'll see you soon. For the rest, we'll post pictures as soon as possible.

Ahh...

Post-bath lounging feels good.

Welcome, New Cousin Camden!

Camden Michael Kerkhove arrived at 0917 on May 20 at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California.

We're so happy you're here! We've been talking about you and anticipating your arrival for so long. Madelyn, Uncle Griff, and Aunt Mollie can't wait to give you a big hug and kiss. Welcome to the world!

Memories of Memorial Day weekend

Two of my favorite memories of our Memorial Day weekend trip to Grand Lake. Other notable memories include:

• Madelyn playing tirelessly with her crinkle-book in the backseat on the way to Grand Lake
• Pulling into a parking lot to turn around because we were lost only to realize the parking lot we were in was that of our destination
• Accidentally deflating 2 of 3 stroller tires but then triumphantly filling them up at the gas station in town after summoning the owner lady for help
• Enjoying grizzly-burgers at The Bear Den
• Watching with Madelyn as the horses from Sombrero Stables walk up the road past our house
• Griff and my nice afternoon walk being cut short by a torrential downpour of rain and small hail
• Spending the weekend in a rental house with Madelyn's Grammy and Grandad and half of her aunts and uncles

I made this for you.

Madelyn's class made flowers for the mothers yesterday. The teacher put paint on each baby's hands and gave them a paper coffee filter to crinkle (and color). When I picked her up yesterday, Ann handed me Madelyn's flower and said, "We made this for you for Mother's Day."

My flower is definitely going in the keepsake box once I'm done enjoying it.

Tummy time

Little Miss Muffet is no fan of tummy time. Fortunately, and unfortunately, one of her day care instructors, Ann, is a strong believer in tummy time and doesn't take no, or Madelyn's protests, for an answer. Our daily discussions involve tummy time.

On Tuesday, when I arrived to pick her up, I was told she was mad at Ann for all the tummy time. To be fair, I don't honestly envision her being forced to lay screaming on her stomach all day long. I know they stop when she's truly had enough. But, I do know that when we used to practice at home, she would only last 5-10 seconds. However, that was when she was younger and not as strong as she is now. (Now she can stand, bearing some weight on her legs if we hold her!)

At any rate. each day they tell us how she's doing so much better at tummy time. We even practice at home now, too, and she is getting better. The expression on her face while she lays there with her head up, looking around, is just the cutest. I'm told she'll be rolling over in no time...just hopefully not off the changing pad so Mom and Dad won't have to learn that one the hard way!