Daddy's Girl

Remember how I've been telling people that Madeline isn't much of an oral baby - that is, she doesn't put many things in her mouth? Well, she must have heard me and decided to prove me wrong, because now EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. I guess it was just a matter of time! It has provided for some funny situations, though - like when she was playing with her feet (she loves to do that) and bit down on her toes, then howled in pain! It didn't occur to her that she has teeth... I think it hurt her emotionally just as much as physically.
Madeline is certainly a chatty girl, there's no doubt about that. For the last several months she has often been heard saying "dadadadada..." Caleb used to swear to me that she was saying "Daddy," that it was her first word, but I wasn't convinced. It sounded to me like she was making a fun sound, and not that she was attaching it to him as his name. Well, it's irrefutable now - if you ask her to say "Daddy," she says "dada!" She'll often say it when she first sees him each day, too. Here's a quick video to demonstrate:

I know I already mentioned that I took her outside last month for her first time in the grass, but I've uploaded the video of it now for your viewing pleasure. It's long (3 minutes I think), and very unsteady because Baby R was trying to climb me the whole time, but if you'd like to watch it anyway, here it is!

These days, I've been busy with sewing projects. We have several friends who are pregnant right now, so I've been making tag blankets (since Madeline LOVES hers!!!).

I'm also trying to make more fabric toys for Madeline, specifically because they're QUIET. I made a toy corn-on-the-cobb, which she LOVES. I used pony beads, sewn on individually, for the "kernels." One of her favorite parts of it is the strings at the top (most corn on the cobb has some hairs still on, right?). However, I made the whole thing out of felt, which she has discovered can shed fuzz. Now that's all she does with it - pull off the fuzz. Back to the drawing board on that one! I'll have to find some green fabric to redo the leaves.

Since we're traveling to Austin next week (yay!), and I'm getting increasingly nervous about having a squirmy ten-month-old on my lap for three hours (eek!), I'm especially eager for QUIET things to occupy Madeline. I'm in the process of making another fabric book, since she absolutely loves her Lamaze Discovery Farm book. The tough thing is that it's not the pictures that she enjoys - it's the mini "activities" provided on the pages. For example, the tractor is actually a flap that can be "opened" and "closed," and has a crinkle to it. Thus, I've found the pattern for a Winnie the Pooh book and I'm adding fun embellishments to it. I'll try to get a picture when it's all done. In the meantime, though, it's totally eating up all of my time!

One last quick story: My brother, David, has come to visit us for a little bit. The first morning he was here, she saw him and just grinned and cooed (she especially does this for men - we're in trouble!). A few minutes later, he came out into the living room and she saw him again, only this time he was wearing a baseball hat. She took one look at him and FREAKED OUT! She started sobbing and screaming! We quickly figured that she's never really seen a baseball hat before, and once he took it off she was fine. Caleb has been giving her a hat to play with now - hopefully no more tears!