September

September was a whirlwind for us, as we packed up our old home and moved to a new one. Madeline stayed with Lacey's parents for several days while we were moving, and we were distressed when she came down with a fever on the morning we were set to drop her off. We still went through with the plan, and Madeline was OK aside from cold-like symptoms (runny nose, slight fever, lethargy).

The sickness and the break from her normal routine took their toll, and she was, um, a handful for a couple days when she returned to us (and the new house), but it didn't take long for her to accept the new place as her own. Now when we return from walks she even says, "home!"

This month Madeline's skills continued to impress us:

Counting - She can now count to three. She will sometimes count objects as she picks them up and puts them down in a different place. "Unn, too, tree. . ."

Reading - Madeline has started reading books to herself. And not just baby talk, which she's done for months. Now she picks up familiar books and flips through them, page by page, using real words to describe what's happening on each page. She also picks up inflections that we use when we read those same books to her.

Vocabulary - Taking a walk with Madeline is to experience a vocal accounting for every animal, object and event within view. She'll see an animal, make its noise and describe what it's doing - such as running, hopping, barking, etc. She even anticipates what might happen - at the beginning of a recent walk I said, "Madeline, I wonder what we'll see today." She responded, "animals?" and I said, "what kinds of animals?" She then listed a few of the common animals that we see on our walks - squirrels, birds, doggies. . .

Here's what else we've been up to this month:

Madeline checked out the scene on the back porch while daddy was cooking on the grill one fine late-summer evening.
























Madeline and Pink Bunny helped out as mommy packed one of the 6,387 boxes we filled for our move to a new home across the neighborhood.

Madeline said bye-bye to the only home she's ever known before heading off to spend a few days with Grandma while mommy and daddy (and some other kind helpers) moved all those boxes.

Then she took a tour of the loop to say bye-bye to the neighbors (and their mailboxes, and cars, and trees, and squirrels, and. . .)

Madeline (holding White Bunny and Blue Bunny) even said goodbye to the familiar bump in our driveway.

At the new house, Madeline didn't waste any time offering her own organizational suggestions for the spice drawer mommy had recently finished stocking.

After the move, we spent a couple days getting away from it all in Urbanna, were Madeline met this friendly calf.

Madeline took a minute from happily running around an "old truck" (her phrase) to check for precipitation.

Madeline cajoled daddy to sit with her behind the wheel of the tractor in Papa's workshop.

Standing atop the "big wagon" outside Papa's shop, Madeline makes sure mommy knows how she really feels.