July 2011

So i know i'm getting a little ahead of myself here seeing how it is only July 23rd so there is still one more week left in July BUT... i'm hoping to start weekly posts here instead of just Monthly or bi-monthly posts!! It has been extremely hard trying to keep up with this blog especially since Madison is officially a walking girl!! Yup... i said WALKING!! She started taking steps around 9&1/2 months but started actually walking at 10 months exactly!! She still stumbles here and there but is getting pretty fast! She was always barefoot (despite the 20+ pairs of shoes she owned) so once she was walking better we had to start putting shoes on her and she basically had to re-learn walking in those. Only took a day or 2 though!

This month we celebrated Madison's first 4th of July! My best friend also reminded me this was Madison's last 1st holiday! That made me sad!! lol! But we had a great time! Grandma and Grandpa Shine came down and we did some swimming and fireworks. Madison was NOT a fan of fireworks! haha! Maybe next year?

I cannot believe how big my "little baby" has gotten! She now eats 3 normal (adult) meals a day(in addition to her 5 bottles)! By that, i mean she eats REGULAR food. During a typical day she will consume foods like pancakes, waffles, eggs, turkey, cheese, yogurt, fruits, veggies, pastas, chicken... you name it..she LOVES it all! :)

She is also saying "mom-mom" and "da-da" very often! She uses them and actually knows what they mean! Mom is called upon when she is tired, hungry, or hurt and Dad is called upon for all the fun stuff or when mom is being mean! haha! She says other words like "HI" and "bye" and things that aren't quite words but she likes to say like "gaga"  "ya ya" "ba ba" :) Yesterday (July 22), her dad and i were playing catch with her and whenever she would get the ball she would say "ball"! We were freaking out!! Not sure if she really gets the concept of the word ball but she was saying it!! Then i would say, "can you give the ball to dad?" and shew ould walk it over to her dad and say "Ball?" She sort of does the same things when we see our "neighborhood ducks" in the pond.. i swear we have heard her say "duck"! haha! But who knows, maybe we're just crazy?!?!:)

Madison made her 1st trip to the aquarium this month. Auntie Lizzie and I took her to the Long Beach Aquarium. She was in awe of all the fish and sea creatures! So much fun! Wish dad could have been there but the poor guy had to work.

It's so crazy to me how independent Madison has become in the last month. She just moves all around the house playing with her toys having a good ol' time. Every now and then she looks over at me to make sure I'm still there and smiles. If she does need something she'll just point at it:) My tiny baby is turning into a toddler! :( The other day we went to Target and i let her walk up to the doors while holding my hand. While looking at our reflection in the doors, i almost cried.... what happened to that tiny baby that was so dependent upon mommy?? She is such a beautiful and smart girl though and i couldn't be more proud!!!

June 2011! 9 months old!

Madison James Shine!! Oh how big of a personality you have! haha!
Madison is so fun to play with now! She is clapping, playing "peak-a-boo", and playing "catch and throw" with mom and dad! She has also learned how to throw temper tantrums! Oh joy!! She has been doing this for a few months now but now she has mastered the art of tantrums! Holding her breath, kicking legs and swinging arms... fun fun fun! lol!

This month, Madison also welcomed a new cousin into the family. Callen Robert Shine was born Sunday June 12, 2011. Madison is no longer the "baby of the family"! I'm positive that she will be an excellent Big cousin! :)

Madison has already attempted to: climb on the coffee table and JUMP off, dive head down on the stairs, and climb in her old bouncer only to shoot off backwards! Ummm does my daughter think she's Evel Knievel or something?! LoL

We also celebrated James's 1st Father's day! Madison and i made him a poster ("Why daughters need a dad"), a nice card, a personalized coffee mug and bought him a book :) He loved his gifts and had a great day!

Madison is a lil smarty pants! She loves her baby Einstein flashcards and now whenever I put up a card with something edible on it she chomps down like she's eating! Especially the peas! She LOVES peas but has only had them pureed so it's funny to me:) I showed dad today and he was so proud;)

June 24th Madison took 2 steps for mom! I was so excited!! Then the following day, while grandma was visiting, she took 4 steps for grandma and dad!!  By the end of the month she was taking a few steps at a time! So close to walking!!

Towards the end of June we took Madison to the Santa Ana Zoo. It is a small zoo but perfect for her 1st trip to the zoo! She LOVED it! Now we need to take her to a bigger zoo! She especially loved the monkeys:)

We had Madison's 9 month checkup a little late (around 9&1/2 months). No shots Thank GOD! :) Appointment went well! 20.8lbs and 29" (75-90th%) She just had to get a lil' finger poke to check for anemia but she didn't even notice they did it(and it was negative).

The bottom right picture (above) is 9.5 months.... just goes to show how much she keeps growing since the 1st day we brought her home!

PICTURE TIME!!! My favorite! haha!

Once again, I've fallen behind! WOW! being a mom keeps you busy! ;)

MAY 2011

So for some reason, i find it impossible to come on here and update Madison's blog! : / Since facebook has a mobile app it is easier to access that and post there A LOT more! So i'm just gonna copy/paste some updates(since i'm always posting about Miss Madison!) lol

*May 10: Madison is finally starting to come to us when we call her name! :)

*May 11: Ohhhh that girl! LoL! Madison doesn't usually wake up til after 7am but I'm watching her on the video monitor and for the last 10 minutes she's been trying to climb out!! She's almost got it too!! And the crib mattress is as low as it goes! My lil troublemaker already!! Haha

*May 14: Where has the time gone?! 8 months ago I finally realized the purpose of my life!! To be Madison's mommy! Happy 8 month birthday lil miss Madison!

*May 16: Madison is walking along furniture!! Ahhhhh I'm NOT ready for a walker yet!!!

*May 20: Maybe I should stop listening to music and always dancing all over the house! Madison is a dancing machine!! I'm not exactly the best person to learn from!? LoL

*May 21: Just went on a fun walk and Madison got to see & feel so many different flowers! Then we met up with Madison's friend Natasha!!:)

*May 22: James just left and Madison crawled to the door crying then stood up while banging on the door saying "DA-DA!!" oh I'm jealous!!!! Haha! She's been saying that forever but I don't think she knew what it meant until now! I wanna hear MA-MA!!!!!! :)

SO after Madison started crawling in March she immediately started pulling up on furniture to standing position but this month she really started cruising along furniture. It is so crazy how much she has developed into a pre-toddler in such a short time! She loves saying da-da all the time and Dad sure does enjoy it!(even though she doesn't quite understand what it means yet! lol)

Towards the end of May (Memorial day weekend), Madison took a trip to grandma's house for the weekend and mom & dad had a kid-free "stay-cation" at home. We had some friends come to town from Santa Barbara and had a fun weekend filled with bike rides, friends, and beaches! Madison had the time of her life because grandma and grandpa took her to Pismo Beach to visit the Wilson's. They went to the strawberry festival and the beach. At the beach she got to see sea lions! She loved them!! They also took her to see horses! She is such an animal lover! The Wilson's family dog had her laughing the whole time. As soon as we get a backyard we're going to be forced to get a dog! lol!

Well, here are a few pictures from May 2011: