The Many Faces of Madd

So, another week has gone by, and I keep wondering where the time is going. My sweet little child is smiling like crazy at everything: pictures on the wall, stuffed frogs, lights, the tv, her swing, random lint in the air, blankets, and her crazy dad. When I think of Maddie, I think of this complex being--a huge entity in my mind, but yet she's still so tiny! She's growing such a cute little personality. She gets overly excited when she knows she's about to eat. She has a very distinct whine when she wants to take a nap--in her swing, of course--that'll be a fun habit to break. She tells us when it's bedtime. She lets us know when it's time to wake up. She doesn't cry in the morning. I'm always waiting for her to start yelling "hey, Mom, I'm in this cage here, I'm bored, I'm hungry, and I just want some attention", but no, she calmly talks to her lady bugs as if she's saying to them "if I talk adorably to you guys long enough, my mom will finally hear me and come in to feed and play with me" She follows her dad around the room with her eyes, and she seems to perk up when he gets home each day. A few weeks ago, we got tired of rocking her for 2 hours waiting for her to fall asleep at night, so one night, Craig set her in her crib, turned her ladybug mobile on and walked out of the room. We expected her to cry, but we heard nothing. We waited 5 mintues, still nothing. We went in there a little panicked, but our sweet Maddie was simply looking around, content. This little routine has continued, thank goodness, Craig and I can finally get to bed at a decent time. I guess I should say something profound now, but I can't think of anything. We have a pretty cool kid

A few faces of Madd.


"Mom, I'm full--may I sleep now?"

"Why are you taking a picture?! Feed me!!!"

"The square root of the most common multiple of the highest prime number is....."

"What the deuce?!"

"What is this thing, and why must you laugh at me?"

"I'll give you a lil' smile right now, and as soon as you put the camera away--I'm going to start giggling and smile big just to play with you"

Chillin' Maddie bug style

Oh, please don't let her be a nose-picker

Mommyhood

We're home! Utah was great, but it's always nice to be back in our own home. Yes, eventhough it is -7 degrees with a windchill of -20 outside, Omaha feels like home. It's a good feeling. Our little Maddie is growing up before our eyes. It's awesome (in it's actual meaning) to see little growths in her every day. She officially started smiling last Thursday. My sister gave me a set of my dad's paintings that were photographed and put into a cool frame for Christmas. From the day we hung them up, Maddie has taken a liking to them. Yesterday she started smiling at them, and today, she started cooing at them. She officially talks and smiles at the paintings more than she talks and smiles at her dad and me. She also talks to the ladybugs on her mobile when she's supposed to be taking naps. Gotta love it--the stinker bug!

Craig's started up school again. He had his best semester yet, grade-wise, last semester--baby and all! Go figure. Maybe we should have babies every semester the rest of law school. Uh, I don't think so. He thinks he'll have a few more options for his summer internship. He was hired by Salt Lake County's attorney's office for the summer! Congrats Craig! He's still checking out options here in Omaha as well as in Portland.

As for me, who knew being a mom could be a full-time job? I love how I don't get anything done during the day, but I still feel like I've had a full day by the time Craig gets home. I really admire all of those amazing women out there who have and are raising little ones. I guess I've always pictured mommyhood as making sure my babies get enough to eat, changing diapers, putting them down for naps, and making sure they don't cry too much, but I've discovered that it's more than that--even in my short 7 weeks on the job. Us mommy's are personally responsible for our sweet ones' growth-- social, spiritual, and physical (I can't go on one of my crash diets and marathon runs to lose this extra chub of packed on--bug!--I gotta feed my sweet baby). I guess I'm not quite sure how to put into words completely, but I know you moms out there know exactly what I'm talking about. I guess the idea that I'm actually helping a human being grow up hit me today when I was exchanging a mobile that stopped singing. As I mentioned before, I noticed Maddie talking and smiling at her ladybug mobile today, so obviously--she must like the thing. When I went to exchange it, I was told how much I could get back for it in store credit(Babies R' Us--that's all I need to say about how much it cost)--I was so tempted to take the money and perhaps buy diapers or even a new little outfit for Maddie (or for my enjoyment, I guess), but then I looked at Maddie and remembered her cooing at that thing, and I decided to just trade the broken one for another that actually worked. Hey, I guess that's what it's about. I know my mom and my dad made many sacrifices for my happiness. I love them, and I'm just beginning to realize the magnitude of my love for them as I begin to care for my own sweet child. Anyway, enough of the mush, here are some pics of Maddie!!!