My, How Our Goblin Has Grown!

A friend of the family emailed some pictures that were taken at a BBQ when Little Monster was about eight weeks old, if Mommy remembers correctly. It's amazing to see how much she's changed and filled out. (Check out the photo at left.) That was also the only day that Madeleine has ever taken a pacifier on her own and for more than five minutes. Now she just chews on them, probably because we suspect she is heavily teething.

Dinner Thursday night went fairly well. Madeleine took a long afternoon nap, so Mom was able to completely prepare lasagna and most of the fruit cobbler, as well as attempt to toddler-proof the house before she even woke up. It was nice to visit with Fred and Rachel, and we always get such a kick out of two year old Spencer, who is such a character. Miss Fuss was a little out of sorts, so Mom had to hold her the whole time, but that's nothing new.

Friday Mommy had to get a pedicure for yesterday's wedding, and all the nail girls just fawned all over Little Goblin. Then we took a trip to IKEA, and hung around the house for the rest of the day. We went to watch the debates at a restaurant with some friends, which kept Little Monster up past her bedtime, but she just dozed most of the time anyways.

Yesterday was a bit difficult. Daddy had to be out at the wedding site at 10 a.m. so Mommy was on her own with the wee one. Fuss Goblin didn't want to nap all day, so by the time we got to the wedding at 5 p.m., Little Monster was way out of sorts, and Mommy was quite frustrated. Despite a cranky disposition, Miss Madeleine looked adorable and was definitely the cutest goblin of them all. Unfortunately, by the time we got around to a family picture, Miss Fuss was completely fed up with the whole thing, so this is the best shot we got. Oh well, there's always next time.

Where Does the Week Go?

Goodness. The week is almost over and we haven't posted since Sunday! Mom doesn't even have a good excuse, just preoccupied with Miss Fuss, which I'm sure you all can understand.

We proclaim sleeping in the crib at night a success! Little Monster has adjusted well to her new bedtime routine, which is bath at seven, then lotion and jammies, with bed at eight. We turn on the nightlight, humidifier for white noise, and mobile, then put Madeleine in her crib. Crying has lessened to only about five minutes, then Goblin drifts off to sleep until a five a.m. feeding. Day napping is still a little iffy. Mom decided yesterday that we need a routine, which she hasn't enforced up until now. Currently, Little Monster is screaming her head off in her crib for her morning nap. We'll see how the afternoon nap goes.

Yesterday Miss Fuss accompanied Mom to the mall to get her sapphire jewelry cleaned for Saturday's wedding. After a stroller ride through the mall and a stop to look at the tall fountain we went to the grocery store and then home for the day. Dad made a delicious prosciutto and basil pizza before heading off to trivia, and Mom bathed the Slobber Goblin and put her in bed. Today we will clean house a little bit and make dinner for Fred, Rachel, and Spencer. Vegetarian lasagna and salad is on the menu, which allows for Mom to take breaks throughout the day to tend to Little Monster. Hopefully the new nap time routine won't make her out of sorts for the evening visit.

Important Madeleine Update!

WE LIKE GRAPES.

Four Month Checkup = MONSTER GOBLIN!

It's official. Wee Goblin has graduated to Monster Goblin. At her four month checkup on Friday, Little Monster was 25 inches long (75th percentile) and weighed 15 lbs, 4 oz (80th percentile). Dad had guessed 16 lbs, 3 oz, and Mom said closer to 17 lbs, because Miss Fuss sure feels like she weighs a ton when Mommy's been carrying and bouncing her all day! Well, we overestimated, but are glad we have a healthy little house goblin. She also got two shots, one in each leg, and one oral vaccine. Poor baby. Dr. Koenig said she looks great, and it's just fine if we're not ready to start solids yet, as Wee Goblin is obviously thriving on nursing alone.

As you can see, Miss Fuss enjoys her jumper seat very much. She hasn't quite figured out the bouncing part, but likes to rotate in the doorway and act surprised every time Mom comes back into view. She also loves the Exersaucer more every day, and Daddy is amused to see her "doing something," like grabbing for the toys, instead of just lounging in the Boppy seat like the spoiled little Buddha we know she is. It's amazing how much Little Monster has changed in her short four months, from a little larva that was constantly sleeping and swaddled, to the happy, curious baby we have today. And there's still more to come!

This morning and early afternoon was spent with Daddy because Mom had a baby shower to attend. Then the whole family took an afternoon nap before dinner with Uncle Eric, Aunt Nicole, and Auntie Joddie. Little Monster was still quite tired from her antics with Dad though, so it was straight home for bath and bed after dinner. Dr. Koenig has ordered Mommy to stop rocking Wee Goblin to sleep, so as soon as she was sleepy, Mom put her in the crib to watch her new mobile and drift off to sleep. Hopefully the "crying it out" won't send Mommy and Daddy to the madhouse. Tomorrow, we will try to get up a new Madeleine movie.

Milestones

Little Monster is growing by leaps and bounds. We have had several more milestones this week already, and we haven't even been to the four month checkup! Madeleine is still a little sick, very congested and a little bit sneezy and coughy. Despite the troubles, she slept in her "big girl" crib for the first time last night! Bedtime came around 8:30, and Mom allowed Little Monster to sleep on her (Mom's) chest for a half an hour to make sure she was really asleep. Mommy put her in the crib around 9:30 and she slept until a 5:30 feeding. Wee Goblin was fully awake, even wanting to play, but Mommy persisted with rocking and bouncing until the early-rising Monster was back to sleep, at about 7:30. She then slept until 10:00, allowing Mommy to get in a shower before Madeleine was even up! We ran errands all day, going to see Auntie Joddie, to the grocery store, and to Babies R Us to buy gifts for impending baby showers. We also checked on Little Monster's changing table, which Mommy doesn't want to talk about, for fear of rising blood pressure. MJ is now dozing in her Boppy seat.

Wee Goblin has also been playing in her Exersaucer for short periods of time. She holds her head just fine, but a blanket must be padded around her to prevent vigorous wobbling in the too-big seat. Little Monster likes watching t.v. from this vantage point, but she especially likes the rocking motion her movements create. In other news, Miss Madeleine has outgrown her bathtub, so we experimented in the kitchen sink last night, which was too small. Tomorrow night's bath will be conducted in the bathtub, with the reclining mat to assist, since Wee Goblin can't quite sit on her own yet. Mommy is sure that is just around the corner. Still no new developments in the rolling front. It seems that Little Monster just contorts herself until she sees something new and distracting, and therefore is no longer interested in rolling over. Mommy's not worried. Little Monster is growing fast enough as is.

Back In the Saddle

Oh, good heavens. It's been a while. We've been really busy this week, with Dad late at work and Mom managing the home front. Little Monster has been sick this week, as well, suffering through a bit of a cold. She's getting baths every night of the week, since by day she works herself up into a sweaty little streak of slobbers. Mom and Dad put her to bed like that once and by morning she was covered with flies and discarded newspapers. It was gross.

Little Monster went to work with Mom this week. She planned to ride the train and visit the office, but sneezes and storms prevented another MARTA ride. Some minor fusses ensued, and once she cried herself into a nap, but for the most part she's still the happy baby many have met.

For Halloween, Little Monster is going to be a lobster. Mom and Dad found a great costume, so we'll be buying that in hopes of the wee goblin taking home first prize at Dad's office Halloween party. Mom doesn't know what she's going to be. Dad's going to be Drew Bledsoe, walking around without bending his knees and sharing from a bag of hamburgers. He thinks that's funny but no one else does. Important Update: Mom has decided she's going to be a fisherman, proudly displaying her lobster catch. Follow-Up Important Update: CORNY.

Tummy time is making progress. We almost had a full rotation today, but Little Monster stopped when she had achieved a good vantage point from which to see the Patriots-Jets game. We'll see if we cross the threshold tomorrow when the Cowboys administer a stomping to the Eagles.

Also today, we went to Waffle House for breakfast, which seems disconcertingly to be becoming a weekly ritual. Then we went to the grocery store, where Little Monster, as always, mesmerized the shoppers. Then Dad had to go to an afternoon meeting at the bar where he works, so Little Monster and Mom hung around, read about Frog Legs, and took a nap. Mom and Little Monster also went for a walk this morning before Dad got up, which was funny because when Dad got home from the bar at four this morning, Mom and Little Monster were up because the wee goblin didn't want to sleep. Obviously, she's already calling the shots around here, even though she can't even speak.

As if that weren't enough, Little Monster learned a new skill this week. With wet, slobbery lips, she taught herself how to make a raspberry sound. She does it with her own sense of appropriate timing, so every now and then Mom and Dad will hear a sloppy, wet "BRAAAAAP" and know that their little darling is on her way to charm school.

Rainy Monday

Hello out there all Maddie Jo fans. Are you ready for some football??? We sure are. Sunday was opening day for the Cowboys, and after a long spring and summer of football withdrawal, Mommy and Daddy watched football all day. Daddy slept in late while Mommy and MJ had breakfast with Nona and PoppaDen at their hotel. We then took a trip to Target where Nona splurged on the already spoiled wee Goblin and bought her a bunch of cute winter clothes. It was back to the house for the rest of the day, for football and a pizza dinner. Little Monster took an almost three hour nap on her play mat in the afternoon, then woke up for dinner and bed at eight. Such a good baby. Today we had breakfast at the hotel again, then said goodbye to Nona and PoppaDen until Christmas. We've had a quiet day at home, cooing at Mommy from the Boppy seat and playing with yellow lion on the playmat.

It's official, our thumb is our new best friend. Madeleine hasn't quite figured out that when she's upset the thumb can soothe her, but if her hands are near her mouth, odds are that her thumb is in there, and sometimes there's even a forefinger up the nose for good measure. Too cute. Tonight is leftover pizza and probably more football. Woo hoo!

PoppaDen and Nona's Visit

Since Mommy has been chastised about not posting an update, here you go, Madeleine fans. In Mommy's defense, she's kind of got her hands full.

Thursday was spent with wee Goblin napping and Mommy cleaning. Friday was much of the same, until PoppaDen and Nona arrived in the evening. The whole family went to Fox Brothers for barbeque and to Mom's favorite, Cafe Intermezzo for dessert. Today was breakfast at Crescent Moon in downtown Decatur, then the Georgia Aquarium. Little Monster was quite the good girl, with minimal fussiness and sweet smiles and coos all around. There wasn't much napping to be had during such an eventful day however, so it was 7:30 bath and 8:00 bedtime for her, and Mommy is on her way to bed after this post.

There have been several big changes lately. The baby burrito, of which we were all so fond of, has officially been retired. "Little" Monster has grown out of the one we have, and instead of buying the next size, Mommy and Daddy decided to give it a go without. There has been no issue (still sleeping straight through for about eleven hours!) so we think it's not too big of a loss. Also, the pediatrician had told us to start rice cereal at four months, but the worldwide standard is six months, and Madeleine is doing so well on nursing alone that Mommy thinks we're going to wait until then. Our thumb is making regular appearances in our mouth, which means increased coordination. We are also almost out of the 0-3 months clothes, and have started in on 3-6 months right on schedule. Mommy and Daddy are taking bets on how much wee Goblin will weigh at her four month appointment, which is on September 19th. Madeleine was 12.2 lbs at her two month appointment, so Mom says at least 16 lbs. We shall see!

Return To Normalcy

We didn't realize how much harder the blog would be to maintain once Daddy wasn't here to do it for us! Mom has had to finally break down and learn to use the more complicated processes of the Mac that Dad has; according to him, Mom's PC is not allowed in the house.

Daddy returned to work Tuesday, which meant Mom's on her own again with wee Goblin! It seems that her sleep schedule has pretty much worked itself out, with bedtime around 8:00pm and sleeping through until around 7:00am. Believe me, Mommy and Daddy know how blessed they are to have such great, uninterrupted evenings. Mommy thinks that Little Monster is having a growth spurt, because all she does lately is eat and sleep during the day. She is currently laying on her play mat next to the crib hooting and honking at Mommy, but more than likely she'll be down for a morning nap within the next hour.

The last two days have been mostly uneventful. Tuesday was spent hanging around the house. Wednesday we originally planned to go to the Aquarium again, but it was so nice outside that we decided to go to Atlantic Station instead to walk around the outdoor shops. Little Monster also went to see Aunt Joddie and bring her a belated birthday gift. Today is cleaning for Grandpa Den and Grannish's arrival tomorrow.

Busy Weekend

Miss Madeleine had her first experience with public transportation Saturday and, boy, was she fascinated. Mom and MJ met friends Fred and Rachel and their two year old, Spencer, at the train station near our apartment to ride into downtown to see the DragonCon parade. Although Little Monster was tired from waking up at 7:15 for the day, she was bright eyed for the whole train ride. She promptly fell asleep as soon as we got to the parade so Mom enjoyed the pirates, Storm Troopers, Halo Master Chiefs and vampires on her own. We stayed for lunch, then headed back home for the day.

Sunday was a bit of an adventure. Mom went shopping for a dress with Rachel, so the wee goblin was left with Fred and a napping Spencer. Apparently Spencer was not at all prepared to find his dad's time monopolized by a crying baby, and acted out accordingly. Mom found a bargain of a dress and picked up Little Monster just in time for her afternoon meal. She was such a cheerful baby in the evening that we had a milestone - her first laugh! We picked up Dad from the airport at 11 p.m. and as that is three hours after Miss Fuss's bedtime, her schedule was thoroughly disrupted. Poor thing didn't get back to sleep until 2 a.m. and slept straight through until 9. Daddy brought a present for Little Monster - a plush Totoro that she isn't too sure about for now, but we're sure she'll grow to love him.

Today has been lazy. We've only left the house for a walk in the courtyard and to go to the grocery store. Little Monster is still residually cranky, so it's probably early bath and bed tonight. Tomorrow Dad returns to work (boo!) and Mom will have to get back into her daily routine with Miss Fuss. We'll see how that goes.