Miss Madeline – Five Months Old

When Nicholas was born, through ’till about two years old, I kept a notebook, detailing all of the little things that happened along the way.  Now, with Sweetnicks, Madeline‘s going to have her own live version right here (and Nicholas has since I started Sweetnicks, now over 3 years ago).  Like it or not, you get to come along for the ride.  ;)  Ahh, the advancement of technology.

Today Madeline is five months old.  It’s amazing how much changes in a month, just like Nicholas is a completely different child than he was last year. 

Madeline has discovered her feet and loves pulling them towards her and either yanking off her socks or sucking on her little toes.  She can actually touch her toes to her eyebrows, a feat that these days, only years of Yoga can bring us … in our dreams.

She giggles a lot and is a really happy, low-key baby.  She listens intently when you whisper something, anything, in her ear.

We all have our different ways of making her laugh, but hands down, no one makes her laugh as hard or as long as Nicholas does.  When she laughs, her eyes scrunch up and positively twinkle.

I’ve concluded that her eyes are the color of The Husband‘s … like pools of melted dark chocolate.  Nicholas, on the other hand, has my eyes.  At least I’m passing on some genes!  Still brown, but more on the hazel end of the spectrum with flecks of gold and caramel.

Every time I put her down on her activity mat, she rolls over and falls asleep.  Methinks that’s not the sort of “activity” the makers envisioned.

She has the most expressive eyebrows ever.  When you’re talking to her, the eyebrows go up and down at appropriate intervals as she listens intently to what you’re saying.

She loves to give cheek snuggles.  If you are holding her, with her head facing behind you, she will turn and press her cheek right on top of yours to snuggle.  I think there’s an ulterior motive because she also likes to pay attention to what you’re doing.

For her first bottle of the day, and the last, she will drink it lying down.  All those ones in between?  Sitting up thankyouverymuch.  Like Steve Tyler, she doesn’t want to miss a thing.

She has given up the pacifier.  Nicholas had absolutely zero interest in pacifiers.  For Madeline, up until about 3-1/2 months old, she used it once in awhile to soothe herself, and right after her last bottle at bedtime.  Then she stopped.  Cold turkey.  Found her thumb. And Fingers Three and Four.

For the most part, our two cats have stayed far away from Maddie since she was born.  They don’t care, and don’t want anything to do with her.  Recently, one of them has taken to coming near her, and close enough that she’s gotten a few pats and then a whump! as the open-fist closes and pulls a teensy bit of fur out.  That’ll teach them to get close!

Maddie loves to pull hair, and Nicholas’ new favorite game is to put his head on her belly and squeal with delight as she yanks on fistful after fistful of his hair.  True love, I tell you, true love.

And with Madeline and my niece, Sophie, exactly four months apart to the day, Sophie is a big nine months old today!  Another happy baby.  She is a boisterous, smiley girl who loves to point her toes and twirl her feet.  Perhaps a future ballerina is in our midst.  When you hold her, she sticks out her arms real stiff, forming the letter T, which I think is adorable.  If she’s not doing that, she is puffing out her chest, big and proud.  She has light, breezy strawberry blonde hair, which so reminds me of Fraggle Rock. 

It’s hard to believe the little girls started out like this and this.  So many changes in such a short amount of time, and I can’t wait to see their next chapter.

With my, ahem, cupcake obsession, it seems only fitting that Madeline wear her onesie from none other than Billy’s Bakery today, celebrating her mini milestone.

Have a wonderful weekend!