9 Months Old!

OOPS! I wrote this blog on the 16th, but forgot to post it!

Sorry, I know I just blogged twice already. Madison is taking her second nap of the day right now and I've just had a minute to reflect on the fact that she's over 9 months old. That's right, she is now 9 months and 5 days old! Can you believe it? I definitely can't. So...to commemorate my late blog on Maddie turning 9 months old, here are some facts that everyone should know about my beautiful daughter!

1. She looks like her daddy, only pretty! Seriously, red hair and all!


2. She has her mommy's eyes.


3. She loves to smile at grandpa!


4. She started crawling before she was 6 months old.


5. When she was exactly 7 months old, she stood on her own, no holding on!


6. Whenever she hears a repetitive loud-ish noise (like this little toy she has where you push a button on top and balls go popping), she goes bonkers. She drops whatever she's doing and gets to me as fast as she can, and then holds on for dear life. She has always been that way. She used to be afraid of it. Now she likes it!


7. She is a smiler, but not much of a laugher; unless you catch her when she's tired.


8. She's doesn't cry often. There are times when she falls or conks her head and I think it must've hurt and she's going to cry...nope, she just gets right back to playing! Mike says it's because she's a Smith.


9. She loves to be upside down. Grab her by her legs and hold on! She could hang like that forever!


10. She kisses herself in the mirror, her little baby, and her glow worm, but forget about trying to get her to kiss you. She won't kiss anything with a pulse!


11. She weighs 17 pounds, 11 ounces and is 70 cm, aka 27.6 inches long.
    
12. She generally isn't afraid of people. (I say generally because when she's extremely tired she is scared of men, just ask Brad Dennis :-D)
    
13. She just took 5 steps on her own! It's only a matter of time before I've got a rugrat running around.

Those are just a few of the things that make Madison who she is. And because I can't get my pictures off my camera and onto my computer right now, here are some pictures of her when she was 10 days old (taken by the wonderful Karlyn, andaphotography.blogspot.com)!

I Need Your Help!!

On the 4th of July, Mike and I are planning on camping at Lake Roosevelt with Kendra and Ryan. Here's where you come in. We've got two problems.

1. To take Maddie or not to take Maddie!
   - It would be so much fun to take her for her first camping trip, but at the same time it would be so much fun to have a vacation (especially since I've never had a night away from her).
   - It's also not a place to find shade...so hot and baby don't always mix!
   - If we don't take her, who gets the privelege of watching her :-)
2. We have a boat...we have a pick-up...the last time we used the little S-10 pick-up to haul the boat to Roosevelt was a little sketchy. Add a year or two to the pick-up and a possible baby to the mix and you see my dilemma. Does anyone have a hauling type vehicle they'd be willing to let us borrow?

I need your opinions! Help!! :-D

I'm Back

I guess I kind of fell off the face of the blogging earth, so since I've been gone so long here's a quick rundown of what has gone on...

On May 15th, we drove to Seatac (we being Mom, Dad, Mike, Madison and I) to pick up Stacey, Tyson, Micah, and Hallie. Of course, their flight couldn't come in on time...so we got there early and waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever. Their plane finally landed and we greated a tired family!

The next day, minus the Thomson family and plus the Wood family (Kendra's soon to be in-laws) we went to watch the Mariner's play the Red Socks. Much to our dismay and Ryan's delight, we ended up going to the only game that series that the Mariners lost.

Stacey and family hung out in Prosser for about 10 days. It was a whirlwind to say the least! It definitely was cute to see Madison trying to play with the kiddos. She wanted to play with her cousins all day, and by play I mean climb all over them and steal their toys.

Kendra and Ryan had a tool themed couples shower in Spokane. It was good to go meet some of Ryan's family and friends. And, because of a registry problem, Kendra and Ryan were able to return a bunch of multiple gifts and get camping stuff for our upcoming 4th of July trip!

The next weekend, Mom, Madison and I went to Seattle to hang out with family. We lazed around the hotel for a couple of days, swimming, eating, and playing games (normal DeVries family stuff). Unfortunately Maddie got a really high fever, so our trip was cut a few hours short.

What's Madison up to these days? She has four teeth; two bottoms and just because she likes to be different, two top incisors (no front teeth yet). She's almost walking. In the last week she has gone from squating to standing without holding onto anything twice, she has taken one step without holding onto anything on two separate occasions! I can't believe my barely 9 month old is on the verge of walking. Watch out world, here comes Madison!