June

This month has really flown by for us, between the camping trip, getting the house up for sale and all the other little things that fill up our days. Here are some recent pictures of Madeline (who's major developments lately have included two-syllable words and even two-word sentences!).

Here she is reading a book to daddy.

And here she's having a laugh.

And here she's eating her first corn on the cob, which she devoured.
Walking in some big shoes.

Walking around Maymont park today in her new sandals.

Fifteen-month check-in

Today we took Madeline for her 15-month check-in with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 23 pounds and is 31.75 inches tall. She's grown more than two inches since her last check-in, which was three months ago. She's hardly put on any weight in that time - only a few ounces.

We also got a pretty good idea of how Madeline is progressing developmentally - the doctor ran down a checklist of things to look for at 15 months:

Walking (Can she walk yet?) Check. She's been walking for five months now. She can run at a good clip and ascend stairs without using her knees. She's even started to climb things. And she's coordinated enough to walk around wearing adult-sized shoes that she digs out of our closets.

Stacking (Can she stack two blocks?) Check.

Commands (Can she follow simple commands?) Check that, too. She's good at retrieving and delivering objects, such as shoes and toys, and performing actions, like surprising mommy with a kiss after I quietly give her the order in another room.

Words (She should have four to six words that she uses regularly.) Uh, yeah. The doctor did a double-take when we told her that Madeline has about 45 words in her vocabulary. These are words that she can say unprompted, and doesn't include the animal noises that she mimics whenever she sees a particular specimen. The doc's next question was if we read to her, and of course the answer was yes - every day, several times a day. Madeline loves books, and they seem to be paying off.

We discussed some other issues with the pediatrician (such as discipline, which is something we think about more and more as Madeline tests her boundaries - as she should be doing), but overall Madeline is doing great, and is even ahead of the curve in many aspects.

Camping

This week we took Madeline on her first camping trip - to the mountains of southwest Virginia. We weren't sure what to expect from Madeline, who's routine would be severely interrupted on a trip like this.

Mostly she did pretty well - she was happiest when she was riding in her hiking backpack on daddy's back (we hiked about 17 miles in two days, including to the top of Mount Rogers - the state's highest point). She took most of her naps in the backpack, too.

She had a little more difficulty settling down for bed at night, likely because she was in such a strange environment, and in a big tent instead of her crib. We camped for three days and two nights, and Madeline had fun running around the campsite, even though the uneven terrain provided some challenging footing for her little legs. Between the rocks and sticks and dirt and bugs, there was plenty of stuff to occupy her interest.

Madeline captured many firsts this weekend - first camping trip, first miles on the Appalachian Trail, first mountain summit. We also saw wild ponies near the top of Mount Rogers.

As with any trip, it was fun but tiring, and we were happy to return home Thursday night. It might be a while before we plan another extended camping trip, but this was a good experience to have under our belt.

See more pictures from our trip here.

Moving on

A couple weeks ago Lacey and I finally decided to start looking for a new home. Part of the process, of course, is selling the home we already have, and that is what has been consuming our lives of late.

This afternoon during some down-time we were playing in the garage when it started to sprinkle. Madeline enjoyed being outside and getting wet, holding her hands aloft and looking around in wonderment at the water falling from the sky.

Little gardener

For Mother's Day, Madeline and I bought Lacey a selection of herbs and flowers and we spent the afternoon planting them in pots in the backyard. Madeline enjoys putting on her gardening hat and playing in the dirt with her very own hoe and spade.

She also makes quite a mess as she digs her fingers through the soil and slings it about. She got so dirty that we took her to the front yard and turned on the sprinkler - she got soaked but she loved it (and it was much easier than trying to rinse her arms and hands in the sink inside).

Rainy days

There hasn't been much to do outdoors recently, since it's been raining almost constantly for many days. Madeline has enjoyed watching the rain and mimicking the thunder from the dry confines of the front porch. She also likes putting her hand under the streams of water running off the roof above.

14 months

The time between posts here is getting longer and longer as the rest of our lives grow increasingly busy. But I thought I'd post a few recent pictures today, on Madeline's 14-month birthday. Madeline understands and enjoys silliness now - when stuff happens that doesn't make sense. Pants on the head, for instance.

Ready for the water

Last weekend we bought Madeline's swimsuit for the season. (She had one last year and only wore it a couple times during the week we were at the beach). Lacey hopes to take Madeline to the pool or the river near her family's home often this summer, hopefully to acclimate Madeline to being in and around the water.

She seems to like it so far. Below is a picture from a couple weeks ago that shows Madeline playing on the beach near the Englands' house. Also, yesterday I took Madeline to the Pony Pasture area of the James River in Richmond, and she had a great time. The water was very high as a result of the recent rains, and Madeline was a little upset that she couldn't splash around, but then she found a fun pile of dirt and rocks that kept her occupied.

Anything goes!

Yes, she's wearing her socks on her hands. See what happens when daddy and daughter are left unsupervised for too long?

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Actually, we've had a great week so far. Madeline has been pretty much perfect these last few days - eating all her vegetables, going to bed on time and without a fuss, and generally being pretty happy despite the cold, rainy weather that has kept us mostly indoors. I've enjoyed these few days of being a stay-at-home dad, but I hope next time we get some nicer weather.

Mommy's gone

Imagine Madeline's surprise when we told her that mommy would be gone for four days this week on a business trip to North Carolina. Well, it looked a little like the picture above.

Actually, Madeline has been on her best behavior since Lacey left yesterday afternoon. I took some days off work, so this week is daddy-daughter time. We're having fun so far, and I am a little shocked (happily so) that she's been so good. She has yet to raise her voice, just going with the flow as daddy fumbled through last night's dinner and bath time. She's hit all her nap times and has otherwise been perfect.

I am writing this because I am comfortable with the fact that it will not last. She has to erupt at some point, right? In any case, we're planning to have lots more fun until mommy gets home Thursday night, when we'll clean up all the cookie crumbs and make sure Madeline is in bed at a reasonable hour.

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(And the picture above shows Madeline's reaction to an unexpected noise that came from the farm animals puzzle she was playing with a few days ago. She knows it makes noises but always seems to be surprised when it actually happens. I think she just likes startling herself.)