November 09

Hi Darling. We are now living in a new home that you've completely settled into. Our daily routine is simple, and you miss Daddy all day during the week. You still snuggle up and sleep with us all night in our big bed and honestly, I love it. You love it. Daddy is OK with it but sometimes he complains that you snore.
And talk in your sleep, just like he does. You love, love your books and we love that you love them. I must say you have a great vocabulary and it's probably because you always have a book in hand. Lately you've been tearing your board books up though, and I suspect this is because you've read them so many times the spine broke on them. And of course you decided they needed to be further inspected...
You love music and at naptimes when we are climbing the stairs you will try to distract me from the moments ahead...and say "po-po-po PACE!" because you're trying to sing "Poker Face" and that' what you think she's saying.
This week, our two big girl nieces/ your cousins are coming to stay for a few days and I am thrilled. I can't wait, I love them to bits except when little C's sugar gets high or low. That stresses me out, even though it has never really gotten high or low. I'm just afraid of messing up of course.
Lately I have been making your toys, all sorts of things I never knew I could do. You love them, and usually cannot wait for me to finish a doll before you spirit it away and give it kisses, loudly proclaiming it as BABY. Your Daddy had you the other morning while I was in Goodwill, the only moments he gets you to himself really, and he came to me beaming, saying "SHE said AIRPLANE!"
which is really pretty indicative of the language spurt you've been having. You say Turtle, mmm, juice, shoes, hey there, what's that, wowwwww! baby, mamma, dadda, dog, oreo, uh-oh, ouch, "burrrd," beep-beeep for car..etc. You're a smart pickle. And lately you've decided that you want to tackle the alphabet and so you pick up your cards and say B! G! A! randomly and we just smile and say "that's right! "good job!"
Last night we were in the kitchen and I asked pappa to change your diaper. He took off your diaper but we didn't put one on you because we were headed right upstairs to give you your bath. It didn't occur to me that you would do anything but pee...but when we turned around you had decisively pooped in the floor. (Doh-UHhh!)


Don't do it again, mmmkay?

big girl

Wow, baby. You are a big girl now. You are sleeping so much better, and you are growing so, so fast. I looked at your leg this morning as you snuggled up with me and realized it's about as long as you were a year ago. Right now you are standing up in your crib banging your necklace on the rails and saying "upcheease!" "UPCHEASE!!"
Speaking of saying, you have so many words! You like to try to sing one of Daddy's favorite songs: Poker face...and it goes like this- pupupupupupace!
you also say shoes, baby, my, mamma, dadda, juice, bite-bite,go, wowwww! and dog, oreo, uh-oh!
You understand much more than that though, and will go for the stairs if I tell you it is naptime.
I love you, little berry.

January

In January, things got busy again, but they were so much easier to do because you were 5 months old! And finally you started enjoying us as much as we enjoyed you!

Not only were you sitting up without support but you could also sit yourself up all alone, and you started taking that "babababababa" you'd been saying and turning it into "mamamamama" and "oooooeeeeeeee" and "d-d-d-d-daaadadada"!


One day it snowed a lot, and you thought it looked crazy! You just kept staring at the window and watching it go by.



Here you are with that amazing blanket Miss Jessy made for you. That blanket was truly the only thing you saw that day and as soon as I pulled it out of the box you burrowed your entire body into it and slept for three hours as if to say hello, this is wonderful! Why have you been denying me such pleasure?


But the bigger you get, the more of a mess you turn out to be!

December

The mountains are a LONG way from Chapel Hill, especially when you hate that carseat as much as Maddie Ann. Mamma spent 8 hours chasing frowns away while Pappa drove furiously:






We made a Christmas Card and this is what you wore:


And we bought you your first baby doll, whom you just adore.


December marked the end of Mamma and Pappa's first semester of their last year of college-
Little Berry still had Thrush and most of where we went, we went with a purple baby face from gentian violet. Noticeably absent is that damn pacifier which we took away at the beginning of November. We are glad to be rid of you!




But the smiles she gave us are worth mentioning too,


And we hung out with a whole big family!



There was even tea!

She got to meet Lynette and Mikey again, the newlyweds of my circle,


Finally we visited Jessy and her family, who was expecting a sweet baby to join their family too. (Welcome Kadince!! You are beautiful!!)




These folks are just so special to us.

Sunshine

These days are filled with smiles and snuggles. Mamma and Pappa don't get along as well as they used to but somehow everything is still just beautiful. Your pediatrician, and really everyone who meets you my sweetie, is captivated with your sweet face. You're the most free-smiling, happy little darling in this house. You're so, so smart, already laughing and holding yourself up to sit on your own, reaching for and grabbing things, and you have already fallen in love with Oreo.



November was cold. And winter was fierce. Beverly Perdue became the new Governor for NC and Mamma and Pappa took sweet, sleepy Maddie to the big celebration, which was noisy, noisy, noisy! Pappa enjoyed the crowd and Mamma crunched you up in the sling and covered your ears TIGHT because this crowd was a very loud and happy one.










And golly, you are just precious my darling~

Like a weed-

In that first photo she looks so sleepy!



But wait- it gets even sweeter....





and then...

she's out.



That next week, we made hats-





and gave tons of kisses:




She also got to meet Uncle Abe-


Then we went to the mountains in October,



and she got lots more love there-









because she is just so dagum CUTE.

And she grew quickly!

This is Maddie at three weeks, right after I'd returned to school. So sweet.

Around this time, Auntie Sharla and cousin Skylar came to visit:



And secretly, we hiped ourselves up on caffeine so we wouldn't look the least bit tired-


When you were a month old, Kristin and Frank had baby Zaydin. You guys had your first playdate soon after- Kristin looked so happy and beautiful and Zaydin definitely beat you in having more hair-

The nursery was ready and has never been that clean again-

I just can't tell you how fast those first few days went by! Before we knew it, you'd lost your umbilical cord and were nursing like a pro!




















After Maddie was born, Aunt Nichole and Cousin Courtney and Granny came for a visit- it was the best week ever!





Gulp! You were so TEENSY!!