Let the Games Begin

I've always seen kids with a favourite toy, one that they absolutely love and bring everywhere with them. My neice Frances had a stuffed eagle, little Joshie has his rabbit and so on. I once saw a little boy at Hons with what I think must have been his favourite toy. It was the large green snake from IKEA. The reason it caught my attention was because he was dragging it all over the yucky, greasy floor. Since then I've always I hoped my kid's favourite toy will be small enough to pack around everywhere and NOT be dragged on the floor.

Now fast forward to shortly after Maddy was born. She received so many stuffed toys, some of which I thought would be a perfect size to bring everywhere. It all started with the rabbit. In hopes of getting Maddy to like it, I began sleeping with it at night. The idea is that it will smell like me and it will be soothing for her. After a while we got more and more stuffed toys and I kept thinking "Hey, this one could be great too", so in the bed they went. So far I have three of them. Then Josh decided he wanted one, so he has been sleeping with one too. We joke about which stuff toy she'll choose. I'm hoping that my odds are higher since I have three toys! It's hard to say, at this point, if she favours one over the other, but the two of us have a competition going on whose toy she will pick. Game on!!!!

Here she is with two of the toys in the running. The rabbit is one of mine and the pink doll "Pico" is Josh's. Notice how Pico is on the ground, while rabbit gets all the kisses??? :) Ha, ha, ok I admit I placed them there! The other toys in the competition are bear and giraffe. Good luck to all the competitors.

Here is Maddy with Pico. Josh insisted that I also add this picture to be fair!!! (Notice: no kisses for Pico!)

Four Months Old

Where has the time gone? Seems like just yesterday we were blogging about our new arrival and now we're already at four months. This whole journey has been amazing and I've loved every minute of it. It amazes me how much she has learned. Well, what amazes me more is how much babies need to learn. There are so many things, we do without thinking, that babies have to learn.

I'm happy to say that Maddy has recently learned to fart all by herself!! I know many of you are laughing, but really this is quite a feat for her! We no longer have to routinely pumped her legs into her tummy after she wakes up. She's learned how to hike up her own legs and let them rip! It's only on very rare occasions now that I have to help her. A task that I am more than happy to let go of.

Maddy has also learned to put her fingers in her mouth to soothe herself. Sounds simple, but I had no idea how much coordination we take for granted. It still takes a while before she figures it out, but once they are in, they're in and there's no going back. The timing of this new skill has come just in time as I think she is showing first signs of teething.

Finally, for the past two nights Maddy has been sleeping in her own room. A bittersweet milestone for me. She has made the transition relatively smoothly and has manage to keep the same hours of sleep as usual. I have to admit that it was probably harder on me than her, as I've spent the last two nights crying as soon as I get into bed :( As much as I want to run in there and bring her back with us, I know she needs to be in her own room sooner or later.

Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I can't wait until she can sit up, or hold toys to play with", but I always stop and remind myself to cherish the stage she is at. The first 4 months have come and gone so quickly that I'm making a promise to myself to savour every momment from here on out. Everyone told me, "Cherish each and every moment" or "It's a special time". I now know exactly what they mean.

Maui

Last week the three of us, along with Josh's parents Mieke and Herman, headed to Maui for a little winter getaway. It sure was nice to leave this grey, wet weather behind for a week. We rented two Volkswagon Westfalia vans and camped as we went.

I was nervous about flying with Maddy but she was great. The morning we left, she woke just at the perfect time as if she knew we were going. She was great on the plane and loved staring at the video screen on the seat back. When we arrived it was warm so I took her PJs off and just had her in a onesie. I guess it may have been the first time she's seen her toes because she was just sooooo intrigued by them. She just kept staring at her feet and smiling!

Being in the vans allowed us to tour the island and just stop for the night wherever we happened to be. Lucky thing, because travelling with a 4 month old really slows you down!! Gone are the days of "one city per day" for us. Still, we were able to see all of the island with the exception of the volcanoe crater. The road was closed due to snow. I'd go into more detail about the towns we visited but to be honest I don't know the names of them. I left the driving and destination stops all up to Josh, Mieke and Herman because each stop was basically a feeding. By the time she was done feeding, I'd quickly eat while they figured out where to head to next. One of my favourite places was on the east side of the island. It rained a lot there, but we were able to head out for a walk to see a spectacular view of a waterfall and the ocean. Another favourite of mine was walking around the town of Lahaina. Lots of shops to go into and very quaint.

Before we knew it, our week was almost over. We spent the last couple of days on the south side. We camped each night just past Wailea. It was a spot right on the water and was great because it was warm, drier and no wind. We did make it to Big Beach one day, but unfortunately it rained shortly after we got to the beach. We went back to van to feed Maddy, but Mieke did get a chance to climb the rocks and got to see some whale out in the ocean.

Our flight back was packed with many families. Maddy was a little crankier but she did well. She slept right through the bit of turbulence we hit and was konked out for the landing. One lesson I learned on that flight was that it's not enough to pack extra clothes just for Maddy. Mom and dad need extra clothes too. A little girl in the row infront threw up all over her dad! Luckily her uncle had an extra shirt for him. I'll keep that in mind for our next trip!!