Feeding the Ducks

Spencer took a break away from his studying today to join Madi and I for a walk around the Rio. We brought along some bread so that Madi could feed the ducks and geese. She didn't really understand the concept of feeding the birds though. Instead, when I'd hand her a piece of bread, she'd take it and put it into her mouth! Oh well, at least SHE enjoyed it!


Boy does that water look nice! Oh how I'd like to go for a swim right about now!

What's that you say?? I can feed the ducks? Alright!!

So I just throw the bread in? I'll see what I can do!!

Storytime

Yesterday I sat down to read stories with Madi, but got a little distracted when the phone rang. I sat Madi down on the floor with 2 books and walked out of the room. A few minutes later, after a quick phone conversation, I realized that it had gotten very quiet in Madi's room. I freaked out, thinking that she was probably crinkling or tearing pages in the books. I went to the door to peak in on her and found this....





She had pulled more books down off her chair and was quietly pointing to the pictures in one of her books and talking, like she was really reading! After looking at one book she'd grab another and continue reading!



A minute or two later, she noticed that I was in the door watching.



At first I got a nice big smile, but then she got a little embarrassed, burying her face in the book- letting me know that she wanted to get back to reading!



Today she sat on the couch reading her books while Spencer read a magazine. Instead of taking pictures I was smart and grabbed the video camera. Five full minutes of Madi reading, oblivious to my taping! Unfortunately, I have yet to learn how to post video. Hopefully I'll learn soon!

Summer Plans

If you were to have asked me last year at this time if I was excited about moving to the East coast, I would NOT have been jumping for joy. I was very nervous about the big move, being so far away from family, and everything comfortable/familiar to me. However, it's funny how after living in the DC area for less than a year, it feels like home! I have been anxiously looking forward to the warm sun and hanging out at the pool with Madi. Of course, Spencer's summer plans are the determinative factor though. He has the whole summer off and has been considering numerous options. Being in DC, he initially planned to work for one of the many government agencies in the area, like the Dept of Justice. Not only are there lots of summer externship opportunities here in DC, but not having to leave our home for the summer is a BIG plus!! However, after some research and lots of thought, the opportunities available didn't seem as appealing. On top of that, since nearly every summer job available to first year law students is non-paid, that means more debt!! While Spencer was mulling over the opportunities available here in DC, the law firm he worked at in LA made him an offer to come back and work for the summer. There are obvious pluses and minuses!

The bad first. We will be gone for almost 3 months!! I'm a home-body. I love my own space, my own things, my own bed, my elliptical etc. Who doesn't? Not having my stuff can really throw a wrench in my routine. If anyone knows me-I'm all about routine! On top of that, I love living out here and I was looking forward to enjoying the DC summer-trips to the zoo, the museums, the parks, the pool, hanging out with friends, working with the young women in our ward, etc.

Now for the pluses. The biggest one: NO MORE EXTRA DEBT (at least for the summer). Spencer will get paid and we will live at his parent's home in Camarillo. Ya, we are keeping our place here in DC which means rent, but at least we will have some income and not have to borrow more just to live for the summer! While we won't be in our own home, in the grand scheme of things, 3 months isn't so long. Plus, we're really glad that Madi will get to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Since my parents live in the Bay area, I will get to split the time between Spencer's parents' place and my parent's place. Another big plus: we get to live in Camarillo for a couple of months. Who can complain about that? Glorious weather. Minutes from the beach. And...NO humidity!! No problem with that. For Spencer, working at his old firm provides awesome legal experience (its a litigation firm and that's what Spencer wants to do) that most law students never get the summer after their first year!! Plus, he loved working there and is excited to get back into the action! On top of all these "pluses", we already had to fly out west for my high school reunion (in Boise) and the Rudd family reunion (at Bear Lake) in August. So in other words, we're just going a little bit further west and leaving a few months earlier!

So, after lots of thought and prayer, California here we come!! We found $99 tickets from DC to LA on Virgin America-this airline is the best!! We flew with them when we went to Cali for Christmas and their planes are amazing! After we officially made the decision, I'm getting more excited about going. Although those sad feelings of leaving linger, we both feel like this is the right decision. On the bright side, we will potentially have two more summers here in DC if Spencer gets a summer associate position with a DC firm. And if that's the case, we could have many DC summers to come!!

Growing up!

A couple of things are LONG overdue, and one of them is Madi finally getting a new car seat! Yes, she officially graduated from her infant carrier and now rides in a "big girl" seat!



She's been in her car seat for a week now and already had her first accident! Today has been a rough day for Madi (and mama)! After getting her regular 12 hours of sleep last night, she woke up happy and ready for the day. But within one hour of being awake, she was already starting to get tired. She went down for a morning nap and when she woke up I figured she must be hungry!! I gave her another bottle and began sharing my Cream of Wheat cereal with her, when out of nowhere she gagged and threw up all over the rug! Let's just say that was one of three times I had to clean-up throw-up today. After her third incident (which just happened to be in the car on the way home from the metro- in her NEW car seat!) we had to jump into doctor's order of feeding Madilyn only 2 teaspoons of Pedialyte every 5 minutes, for 4 hours! Poor Madi, she was so hungry!! After each pedialyte dose she would cry out for more. Notice her hand in the picture below trying to grab the dropper, savoring every drop!



We don't have any idea about what this could be, but I truly believe it's the result of Madi no longer nursing. For 9 months Madilyn's only gotten one little cold, which cleared up after a couple of days. Five days after turning 9 months, she sadly decided that she was done nursing and wanted a bottle instead. Then 2 weeks later, this happens! Oh how I wish she would have kept nursing longer. I guess it all comes with growing up!

Cherry Blossom Festival

The annual Cherry Blossom Festival has been going on for the past two weeks. Since it ends this Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to head into the city to check it out. Unfortunately, of all the days to go, we picked the one day this week that didn't have clear sunny skies in the forecast. Despite the wet, chilly weather, we all had a great time!

The whole gang- 11 kids minus the 3 moms!



Walking along the Tidal Basin pathway I had to stop and capture the beautiful cherry blossoms!



Madi's one time out of her stroller to smile (or not) for a picture in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

Conference Weekend

This past weekend, Spencer, Madi, and I drove down to North Carolina for a quick get-a-way to spend some time with my sister, her husband and kids. It was the prefect weekend to go because being general conference, we didn't have Sunday responsibilities to worry about. Madilyn had a great time hanging out with her cousins. She and Ani played really well together. They took turns sharing toys....





Ani tried teaching Madi a thing or two about crawling. Madi made sure to stretch really well before their crawling competition!



Being 2 months older, Ani made sure that she took extra good care of Madi- wiping her dirty face and all!



The girls made sure to include Adley in some of the fun!





Aside from all the cousin fun, we were able to watch General Conference at Will and Pargie's new home, in their theater room. If you've never watched General Conference on a big screen in HD, you're really missing out. The spirit is that much stronger!! :)



Unfortunately, Curteis was feeling a little under the weather. He wasn't up to doing much all weekend, forcing Spencer to spend some quality time with all the girls! He really enjoyed that! :)



Thanks Calhouns for the crazy fun weekend!! We love you!!

Blue or Red?

With summer just around corner, Madilyn and I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of our pool. We take daily walks by our club house to check on it's status. The maintenance crew were there all last week, getting it cleaned and ready. So, I figured that it was time to look into getting Madilyn a bathing suit. This past Target trip, I saw a new blue one which hadn't been there before. I LOVE blue on Madi and was wanting to find one that we liked.



While I thought the blue one looked best, Spencer liked this red one better. We decided to get both, try them on at home, and decide later. So which do you like better?



Another question- they are both size 12 months and seem to fit her great right now. Do I move up a size, or will the suits stretch out and fit through the whole summer?

9 months

Madilyn turned 9 months old last week. Yes, I am a little behind in posting this, but I wanted to wait until after her doctor's appointment so that I could include her stats. Is is just me, or does anyone else get excited for weight and measurement time? I love seeing how much she has grown. Madilyn continues to grow at a nice, steady pace. She always gains about 1 pound a month and grows 1/2 an inch per month. She weighed in 17.75 pounds (30th percentile), measured 27.75 in. (57th percentile), and her head circumference is 17.75in. (77th percentile). This doctor's appointment didn't go as well as all her others have though. Madilyn currently suffers from stranger anxiety! Yes, it is SUPER annoying! She is totally fine when I am right there with her, but when she can't see me or if someone else holds her, she looses it. I really try not to baby her, keeping her away from strangers, but I also don't want people annoyed with my baby because she's screaming hysterically. I hear it's just a phase and that with time, it will pass. We sure hope so.

A few highlights of this past month include:

1) Madi developing a rhythm! Anytime music is on, she rocks back and forth with quite exaggerated movements. It's super cute to watch. She loves listening to her "Ipod", pushing the buttons to play song after song.

2) She finally claps. We've been working on this one for awhile now. She always wanted to keep her fists closed when she'd clap, but now she gives nice, big, open-handed claps!

3) Mastering the ponytail on top of her head! Madi no longer crys when I try to put one in. She is very good to sit, and quietly play while I "fix" her hair.

4) First poop in the potty!! Well, it was really only happened because I saw "the grunt" starting, allowing me to quickly whisk her out of the tub and onto the toilet in time to do her business. Oh the things we get excited about! :)

5) Letting me know when she wants to eat, when she's done, and which foods she enjoys. It's pretty hilarious listening to Madi eat something she really likes because with each bite she makes a very loud, "ummmm" sound! It's such a great feeling knowing that Madi appreciates the meals I make for her!

6) Becoming much more mobile. Madi has finally learned that she can move and get to things farther away. She now goes from sitting, onto her knees, but then quickly down to her stomach where she uses her legs to shimmy like a snake. I keep showing her how much easier things would be if she'd use her knees. Oh well, all in due time!