Away We Go

To set the scene: Its 9:25 pm in the Lumsden home. Madelyn is sleeping soundly, and so is her dad who decided to take a "nap" at 8pm. At first I was a little resentful of this decision. Now I am quite pleased...as this lady really needed an hour or two of "alone time".

Its funny how I have negelected this so much. Since settling into our routine, I have become quite a busy body. Anyone who has hung out with me lately can probably confirm that if I am at home, I am likely cleaning or chasing SOMETHING. I guess you can call me a "mom on the go!" (said in cheesy commercial voice that would imply that I'm wearing a pair of khaki capris and white canvas shoes- but I swear I'm not! I'm still a mom in low rise jeans who shows her butt crack every time she bends over to pick up little Madelyn).

So tonight, I sit. The kitchen is a mess and I can smell the feta cheese on my salad plate that sits next to the sink; just waiting to be rinsed. But I will leave it. I will! I will sip on this Bud Light with fresh lime instead, and blog :) Afterall, its Fridayyyy niiight! I can hear the "Movies at the Park" happening down the street. Its loud, and we won't be attending, but it makes me HAPPY. It makes me so happy to live in a neighborhood with wonderful neighbors and a park that hosts summer time events such as this. Even though we have talked about moving to a bigger house, I am trying to convince Ross that we should stay here and just build on to this house :) More on that later...WAY later.

Obligatory Maddy Update:
She will be 10 months old in 3 days. Holy crap. 10 months? That's practically a year. When did I become a mother of an almost 1 year old? Well, now appearantly.
- She never stops. Even when I sit with her and try to play pat-a-cake with her, she just takes off crawling somewhere else. She is also happy 24/7. Everyone we meet and see say, "Is she ALWAYS this happy?" and the answer is yes. We were blessed with a very sweet and happy girl!
- She cruises and pulls up on everything with ease. She is not ready to stand or walk on her own. We got her to stand by herself for a few seconds, but she started fussing and sat down. When I try to encourage her and start letting go, she immediately bends her knees to sit. She is just not ready, and I certainly am not going to push her!
-Today when I got home from work, she just seemed...BIGGER. She is filling out and getting stronger and bigger. It is incredible.

-Feeding: Only nurses once or twice a day :(***okay this gets its own section:

Around 9 months, I stopped night time feedings. This by far was the most stressful. It kind of coincided with the sleep training (which worked magnificently by the way! Only 1 bad night- she was definetly ready). With work, my supply was *just barely* not enough to keep up with her. So we started feeding her a bottle at night. This took the stress off of me while we sleep trained, and it kind of stuck because it made life so much...easier. With being a part time working mama who cloth diapers, I was ready for something that was easy. Then she gradually lost interest in nursing during the day. I'm pretty certain this was because it takes a lot longer from her to get 6 oz from me than it does from a fast flow Avent bottle nipple! So the biting started. Okay, if you are reading this, I KNOW you just cringed, but its not so bad. Then again, my nipples have gone through a LOT in 10 months, so they are practically like rubber now. Anyway....I will go on to say that I took this opportunity to stop pumping at work (hello lunch break! How are you? Its been a while!). I liked it. Maddy likes her bottles. The family is happy.

I nurse her for her morning feeding, and then right before dinner (after her afternoon nap). I love it. I don't make very much milk anymore, but its just enough to satisfy her before breakfast and dinner. The morning feeding is AWESOME because when she wakes up at 6:30-7am every morning, I get to just lay in bed a little longer while she nurses. Its also really great bonding time; even though she crawls all over Ross and I. Its actually pretty cute, because once she gets up, the cats jump into bed and its a big family "sesh". Ross calls it the "Continuum", which would only be funny if you have seen "Away We Go".

Want to know a secret thats not so much a secret? I have baby fever. If I peed on a stick and saw a plus sign, I would be thrilled. I told Ross I want to start trying after Maddy's first birthday. I don't know if we will, but he was definetly freaked out. He seems to think we will get pregnant in 2 weeks like we did with Maddy, and I had to inform him that in the real world, it doesn't usually work that way. Maddy was a very determined little sperm, just like she is determined now. It could take months! And is it just me, or did everyone have a baby in July???

Okay...it is now 9:56, and I think I will be off to play Wii. Ross is still asleep.