March for Babies Progress

See this girl?

Are you blinded by her awesomeness?

Because you should be.

In just a few short days, Emily has managed to raise a significant contribution to our March for Babies team.  

Emily - 105 points
The rest of us.....zero.

She wins!

Thank you Emily and Emily's sponsors!

Please consider supporting our team by either clinking on the button in the sidebar, or by following this link:

Much Love,
Summer

Money Maker

I've been thinking that I could turn Madeline's drooling problem into a lucrative new business.

What if I could sell baby drool as an anti-aging face cream??  

Before you recoil in disgust, consider:  

People are willing to do just about anything to appear younger than they actually are. I mean, come on, people are willing to cut up their faces, inject chemicals into their faces, and transplant ass fat into their faces.  Surely, in comparison, baby drool is nothing.  

Also, because babies are quite youthful, (they are babies, after all) I think I could market their drool as containing youth-creating enzymes guaranteed to make the toughest skin as smooth as a baby's bottom.  The fountain of youth in a bottle!    

Also, because this drool skin cream is created by real babies in their natural habitats, I could market it as being environmentally friendly, which is like, soooo in right now.  I could even have a special line of drool skin cream from exclusively breast-fed babies because that drool skin cream would be organic.     

Also, because each baby only drools creates youth-enhancing skin cream for a limited amount of time, that means that I could probably jack up the prices really high.  And if something is expensive, it must be good...right?  All the real housewives of (insert real city) will be lining up around the block for this stuff!  

All I have to do is get one of those bibs with the scoop at the bottom to collect all of baby's messes. If I put it on Madeline first thing in the morning, and let the drool skin cream pool up in it throughout the afternoon, I bet I'd have at least a pint of drool skin cream by the time she goes to bed.  (I won't collect drool skin cream from her during the night....poor girl deserves a break after all.  Besides, she doesn't drool produce much youth-enhancing skin cream at night.)  Since she's now teething, I might even have a gallon.  

Guys?  I'm. Going. To. Be. RICH!  

The only thing missing is a good name. Hmmm, what's a nicer way of saying, "Slather my baby's drool on your face so I can retire early?"    

Before use of Slather My Baby's Drool on Your Face so I Can Retire Early

AND

After use of Slather My Baby's Drool on Your Face so I Can Retire Early

See, having Madeline slobber on my face has done wonders for my skin!

33 Weeks: The Tooth, The Whole Tooth, and Nothing but The Tooth

Big news in the world of Maddie Bears!  So big, in fact, that I think the President should hold a press conference.

First...............................she rolled over today!  Several times!  From her back to her tummy!  Hoo-ray!

After a series of particularly ear-piercing wails via baby monitor at 1 AM, I found Madeline lying in her crib...on her tummy!  I was so shocked to find her belly down that I scooped her up and looked under the crib to see if the Sleep Monster was up to his old tricks.  I didn't find him, so this afternoon I tested Madeline to see if she had been responsible for rolling over onto her tummy.  She didn't disappoint.  She rolled from her back to her belly three times in a row for me, and then twice for Eric when he got home from work.  I was so excited, I almost peed.  

Madeline is also getting much better at standing.  We're now able to let go of her as long as she's holding on to a table or the couch.  Standing by herself really freaks her out though.  She had giant tears rolling down her face when she did it this afternoon.  I think she gets scared and doesn't quite know how to get herself down.  She can't get herself up either for that matter. Our girl is not a climber...yet.

Because...her upper body strength is starting to improve as well. Observe:

I see some major baby proofing in our immediate futures.  It seems like everything is finally starting to click in place for Madeline, and before we know it, she'll be running around the living room.

In other news, Madeline got her first tooth!  It's right in the middle of the bottom row.

Every time she's been cranky for no reason over the past few months, we've blamed it on teething.  Yesterday, she showed us what teething really looks like.  She was a total grumpus, poor thing.  It's no wonder.  On Sunday, she didn't have a tooth.  As of last night, she has a sharp, pointy, white nibblet poking out of her gums.  She keeps using her new mini tooth to chew on my finger.  She may be part vampire.

Unfortunately, her new tooth kept waking her up last night.  I was hopping out of bed every half hour to comfort her, and Eric's sister was sleeping over, so eventually I moved her into bed with us.  She slept pretty well after that.  I did not.  For such a little baby, she takes up an awful lot of room in that bed.  

She was in a MUCH better mood today.  Hopefully that means she'll sleep well tonight.  After all of today's excitement, I'm clean tuckered out.

If any veteran moms have any advice on how to comfort a teething baby, I'd sure appreciate it!

April: Behind The Scenes

We take a lot of photos...A LOT.  Obviously, not all of them make it on to the blog because, like I said, there are A LOT of them.

Ah, to be a baby in the 21st Century.  Madeline is just seven months old and she already has a digital footprint bigger than mine.  Her entire life will be documented in about twelve different formats...photos, blogs, baby books, Ipod mixes....

You should see how much video footage I have.  There's at least an hour of Madeline playing in her Jumperoo.  I haven't posted any of that on the blog because if it's too boring for me to sit through, then it's definitely too boring for anyone else to sit through.

Today, I thought I'd share some of the behind-the-scenes photographs from April.  Enjoy.

Goodbye, April...

This would have been a really cute picture, except...what happened to her arms?

Hellooooo, May!

P.S.  In the next week I will finish life as a twenty-something, and embark on life as a thirty-something....BRING IT MAY!

March for Babies-Open Invitation

Hello My Beautiful Blog Stalkers,

Eric and I are participating in our local March for Babies this year, and we need your help!  

We march to remember our first-born daughter, Ellis, who was stillborn on September 23, 2008 after a seemingly routine 24-week pregnancy.

In the moments, days, weeks, and months after losing Ellis, one of my biggest struggles was my feeling of helplessness.  This was not something I could undo, fix, or change.  When I participated in the 2009 March for Babies it made me feel, in some small way, that I was doing something.

Last year, we didn't march because I was laid up doing this:

I'm so incredibly thankful for our beautiful, healthy daughter Madeline.  But, I don't want to forget Ellis, and I don't want to take for granted the fact that sadly not everyone goes home with a healthy baby.

Way too many babies are born too early in the United States.  The March of Dimes uses the money they raise to help prevent premature births and to fund new research.  For more information about The March of Dimes, visit their website at www.MarchforBabies.com  

March for Babies 2009

 So what's all this have to do with you???

We need walkers to join our family team.  Go Team Ellis Jane!  

As a walker, you would:  

• Walk with us on July 23. (Yes, I know, I know it's July and it will be hot outside, but three miles is nothing.  Then, we'll celebrate with food and alcoholic beverages in an air conditioned location when we've finished.)    
• Fundraise for the team by getting sponsors.  (You can pledge to raise as much or as little as you like.  If you want to raise ten dollars and then sponsor yourself....shhhhh....that's fine with me.  My attitude is that every little bit helps.)  
• You can sign up to walk for Team Ellis Jane here   

Please consider joining our team.  It will be a good opportunity to get some friends and family together for a good cause.  The more the merrier.  If we get enough people together, there may even be a t-shirt in it for you.  And who doesn't love a free t-shirt?  Am I right??  Also, the Maddie Bear will be there!

If you cannot commit to walking, there are other ways you can help.  

•  Please consider making a donation to our team.  Any amount is appreciated.  You can make a donation here  

And/ OR

• Simply spread the word about our team, or about March for Babies in general.  Send emails, post links on Facebook, hang up posters, gossip about it via text message.  

Any help of any kind would be greatly appreciated.

I'll be posting updates on team information and fundraising goals periodically as we get closer to the date of the march.

Thank you for your support!  It means a lot to us.  

Much Love,

Summer, Eric, and Madeline.

Mumma, Dadda, and Ellis Jane

32 Weeks

Anyone else getting kinda tired of bunnies??  Cause I am!  Today is the third bunny post in a row...

Madeline's curiosity knows no bounds.  She wants everything and anything she can get her hands on these days.  She's becoming quite a handful.  I'm almost glad she's not very mobile yet because once she starts moving, oh boy, my days are numbered.

I can see the gears in her head turning all the time.  When she's deep in thought, her eyes get very wide and she sucks in her bottom lip.  Sorta like this:

She watches our mouths closely so that she can try to mimic the sounds.  She'll watch us tap our hands on the table and then try to do the same.  She's soaking it all up.  

Feeding her is becoming an epic process because she gets distracted by everything around her.  Yes, Maddie, that's the brick wall; you can't eat it.  Yes, Maddie, that's Mumma's arm; you can't eat it.  Yes, Maddie, that's a tissue; you can't eat it.  Yes, Maddie, that's your high chair; you can't eat it.  Try some bananas instead!

Her favorite thing to grab is us.  It's cute, until she gets a good chunk of flesh.  She's got quite a pinch!

She's also become a bit obsessed with her own ears.  She tugs on them constantly.  I've heard this might be a teething thing, but it could also just be that she has colossally large ears and just can't help herself.  Either way, I'm glad she didn't have this skill when she had her stitches.  That would have been a disaster!

All this grabbing and curiosity means she's becoming more self sufficient.  She'll play quite happily with her toys by herself for longer periods of time now.  It's so funny watching her play and babble like a big girl.  Sometimes she even seems to sing to herself.  "Lah, la, la."  

Her eyes are still changing color.  They are still mostly blue, and I'm hoping they stay that way.  However, I've heard three different people this week say, "Oh, her eyes are so dark! They're almost brown!" and "Her eyes are still blue!" and "Oh, her eyes are so green!"  All three of these comments are correct.  Depending on the time of day, the light, and what she's wearing, her eyes look completely different.  Does that mean they're hazel?  We'll see.

Mostly, she's just so, so sweet.  She loves to cuddle.  She gives me kisses and squeals when I kiss her chubba cheeks.  She lays her head down on my shoulder and sighs while I rub her back.

Eric and I are pretty certain that we are the parents to the cutest baby on the planet.

Maddie's First...

...Easter!  

We were quite curious to see what Madeline's reaction to an adult-sized white bunny rabbit would be, but as usual, she was completely unfazed.  She grabbed his hand, pet his nose, and pulled his fur.  She was not shy or scared at all.  (It's clearly because she has the social skills of a ten-month old!)  

Maddie, Katie Belle, and my brother-in-law, Chef Martin

 On our way out for Easter brunch, I hid our Easter eggs along the sidewalk to the parking lot.  I stuck them in lamp posts, under benches, in holes in the walls, and underneath daffodil petals.  Eric pretended he didn't know me.  When we got home from breakfast, they were all gone.  Either someone found them or a possum ate them.  Hopefully no children ate them...although they were hard boiled, so I don't think they would do any serious harm...unless said children were allergic to eggs.  Hmmm....maybe not so great an idea? 

I spent the rest of the holiday watching enough of The Sound of Music, Downton Abbey and The Ten Commandments to drive Eric to heavy drinking during the Celtics games.

P.S.  The Ten Commandments (aka MOSES!) is probably one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.  I don't know why.  I think all the overacting and blue, blue eyes put me in some kind of trance.  Also, this movie and Christmas carols about the Baby Jesus account for the majority of my religious education.  Also, if I don't watch it, I worry that God may smite me with a large pillar of fire.

You may notice that my face looks extra doughy in this Easter photograph.  This is because I lived on a diet purely made up of pastries, french fries, and Peeps over vacation week.

The Easter bunny won this round, that's for sure.  He'll get his when I bite off his chocolate ears tonight during Dancing with the Stars...