51 Weeks

Some random facts about Madeline:  Her favorite food is cheese.  She has a cowlick.  Her eyes are still a grey-ish, brown-ish, green-ish color.  Her favorite toys are Ugly Baby and her plastic rings.  She will not eat any kind of meat.  She has six teeth with more on the way.  She is the most ticklish under her chin.  She loves looking out the windows of the house.  She loves to be cuddled.  She hates having her diaper changed.

She's also become a very picky eater in spite of the fact that she'd eat just about anything as a little baby.  When she doesn't want something we give her to eat, she throws it on the floor.  Piece by piece, one at a time until it's all on the floor.

This is not just limited to foods she dislikes, however.  Oh no.  She could be happily munching away on some peas, (She LOVES peas!) and for some reason, one pea won't meet her standards.  On to the floor it goes.  Then she'll inspect the next one, alternating between peas fit to enter her mouth and peas destined for the kitchen floor.  I don't know why some foods make the cut and other don't.  It's a mystery.

It can be frustrating watching her do this.  I worked hard making you that grilled cheese sandwich, Maddie Bear.  EAT IT!  Besides, I want her to get a well-balanced meal.

But, oh, is it funny. I usually have to choke back a giggle when I see her sorting through her corn.  It's hard to keep a straight face when she's being so cute.  My little weirdo!

Another Maddie Bear slice of hilarity is that she's learned to nod yes.  Any time you ask her a question, she nods in response.  Sometimes, it seems like she really knows what you are saying.  "Do you want to play with your toys?"  *nod, nod*  "Do you love Mumma best?"  *nod, nod*

But really, as long as our voices rise at the end of the sentence as if we're asking a question, she'll nod in response.  Totally cute.  Especially since she hasn't learned to shake her head no yet.  I have a feeling that may not be quite as cute.  

Madeline is getting very close to walking.  She holds our hands and walks along with us now.  She can push a box, or a carriage, or a coffee table across the room on her feet.

This afternoon she was standing in the middle of the living room floor crying, (Poor baby is teething again.) and I reached out for her.  She almost took a step forward to me.  I saw her jerk toward me, and then hesitate.  I saw the wheels turning in her head as she calculated if she could take a step without holding on to something for support.  She wasn't quite ready.  But she's close.

When she's at daycare with the other babies, she likes to pet their heads and sweetly coo "Ohhhh" the same way she cuddles Ugly Baby and us.

Madeline is filled to the brim with love.

Also about Madeline?  She'll be a one-year-old in a week.