Growing Leaps and Bounds

We had some down time this past weekend so we finally made an attempt at capturing one-year portraits of Maddie. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

Yes Uncle Steve, Maddie IS reading Seven Little Rabbits! And yes, the book is upside down. But Maddie does not care. It's so funny to watch her with books. She opens the covers, turns the pages, and jabbers as fast as she can. She reads! I'm not sure what language she speaks when she reads, but I'm convinced that she's reading. LOL

The girl LOVES her prunes! We are transitioning her onto cow's milk and prunes are a necessity in her diet these days.

I really wanted to get some good frame-worthy shots in her beautiful purple dress from China. But, by the time we got her changed, all posing desires had left the building!

This was a week of more firsts for Maddie. She is closer than ever to walking on her own. She pulls herself up on anything and everything, and walks around everything. She loves to push her car around the yard. She pushes our chairs all over the kitchen. She has also started climbing! Last night I was lying on the floor in front of the couch. She stepped up on my leg and climbed up on the couch. She tries to pull herself up on furniture by throwing one leg up, and then grabbing at whatever she can find to pull herself up. We have to watch her constantly!

More new things: She can no longer be in the kitchen when I'm cooking. The second she gets into the kitchen, she heads for the pet food and water bowls. She seems to be quite fond of the cat food. If she starts hacking up hairballs, we'll know why!! She also LOVES to splash water - in the tub, in the pets' water bowl, in her babysitter's swimming pool.

This afternoon, we saw Grandma Jo (my mom). Maddie had her finger buried halfway up her nose. Grandma howled and said I deserved a kid who did that! Evidently she had a difficult time breaking me of that habit.

We have been working on learning colors. Maddie tends to pick a color and then stick with it. Last week, everything was purple. This week, everything is orgy! That's how Maddie pronounces orange. She just amazes us with how quickly she learns new things.

I hesitate even bring up the crap that is going on right now. However, it's a part of our lives and life isn't always a bed of roses. So, here goes...

Doug has been suffering for over a week with intermittent migraines (every five minutes or so he gets stabbing headaches that last for 5+ seconds) and numbness and tingling in his right arm. He is also extremely weak. After a stressful visit to the hospital to rule out life-threatening stuff (heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, etc.), we came to the conclusion that his M.S. is flaring up again. M.S. is such a cruel beast (not my "B word" of choice, but I'm trying to keep this family friendly). Tomorrow Doug starts a five-day regimen of daily infusions of a steroid to halt the attack.

For the most part, Maddie is a little trooper and such a bright spot during an otherwise difficult time. However, at night when I'm rocking her to sleep, it becomes evident that she too is feeling the stress. She has reverted to scratching her forehead and pulling at her hair when she is drifting off to sleep. She also occasionally claws at my face during that time. It's nowhere nearly as severe as it was in the first two months after we brought her home. However, it's just enough to remind us that she is no dummy and she feels the full impact of what is going on.

It's gut-wrenching to see my dear husband and our sweet baby girl dealing with pain and stress. However, I also know from experience that character is born and grows during times like these. So, in essence, these experiences are a gift. Ultimately, we become stronger, more compassionate, and learn to appreciate the things in life that truly matter.

OK, enough of that... no pity parties please. However, prayers and good thoughts over the next week or two are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for checking in.

Much love,

Beth, Doug, and Sweet Maddie