Rest of the Week

So, after the weekend, the week just flew by.  On Monday, it was life as normal; I don’t think we did anything super exciting.  On Tuesday, I volunteered to help with one day of the All Sports Camp the church was putting on for 1st – 4th graders.  I volunteered for volleyball – not surprising if you know me :)  It was me and three other adults with 20 3rd and 4th graders from 10-noon.  Then, from 1-3pm we had the little munchkins, 1st and 2nd graders.  The first session went tremendously well.  We worked well together as coaches, and the kids were super receptive.  It was a blast – made me remember what I liked about coaching.  The afternoon was a whole nother story (side note: apparently, “nother” is not a word, but I say it in a phrase like that… what would be a better way of saying that?)  The first graders were exhausted from their morning session of golf.  I really just think they aren’t old enough for an all day sports camp.  One little girl told me, “Are we done yet?  I am tired of being sweaty.”  Me, too, I thought, Me too.  The second graders were troopers and really wanted to learn.  We taught them passing and serving and how to rotate on the court.  I thought I saw improvement :)  Hopefully, we fostered a little love for volleyball amidst all the chaos.  While I was gone, Madison was being cared for by – her Great-Aunt Diane, Great-Aunt Lisa, and 2nd Cousins: Zach, Megan, Renee, Rebecca.  I think she was very well cared for and probably never put down (read: “spoiled”).  It was great they could all spend some time with her; it gets kinda hectic and rushed at other family functions.  I would post pictures, but I don’t have any; according to her caretakers, it was a well photographed event though! 

Jeremy has been training for his upcoming bike ride called Pan Ohio.  It is bike ride to raise money for the American Cancer Society where bikers bike 328 miles in four days from Cleveland – Wooster – Westerville – Springfield – Cincinnati.  If you would like to donate, click here.  I am very impressed with his commitment to this and his inspiration to ride for various people we know who have/had cancer. 

Wednesday, Madison and I went to the Westerville Farmers’ Market.  We bought some amazing peaches from Malabar Farms, some tomatoes, basil, and zucchini.  I made Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta from the Simply in Season cookbook.  It is good and tastes fresh and healthy.  I want to turn some of the peaches into baby food and try my new food mill out.  I will work on that tomorrow.  Madison has already sucked the life out of the peaches we put in her mesh feeder, so I am sure she will like it.  Today, our new stroller arrived.  This was a crazy, long, involved decision.  The stroller was expensive.  It is really our only splurge on a baby item though, and I walk all the time.  I took Madison on a walk in it this afternoon and am so glad we got it.  It rolls so smoothly, is a great height, glides over bumps in the sidewalk, turns on a dime, and keeps her cooler.  Plus, it folds up nice and compactly.  I am positive we made a good decision.

Tschiegg Reunion

(Side note: So, I am trying out Windows Live which is supposed to make adding pictures easier …. we’ll see!)

On Sunday, we decided to go to the Tschiegg Family Reunion even though Maynard and Gloria would not be in attendance. I realize that we are adults now and don’t need parents to be present at reunions, but somehow at those functions you revert to “the child of…” We thought it would be fun to take Madison swimming in the host’s pool, plus Jeremy’s aunt and cousins from Texas are in town and they hadn’t seen Madison yet. One thing I like about the Tschiegg Reunion is that I know quite a few people just because of the weird connections between me and Jeremy’s family before he and I ever met. So, I feel more comfortable there. Here are some of the pool pics. (Julie took more/better ones that I’ll have to get from her sometime.)

She wasn’t in the pool long because it was close to her eating time and eating wins over playing every time! (For those worried about exposed skin, I did slather on the sunscreen and it was 15 minutes max in the sun.) There was lots of passing Madison around during the reunion as well; although she somehow always managed to return to us when she was crying… huh. Here is one of her and great-grandpa; excuse his Einstein-esque hair… it was windy and he wanted pictures without his hat :)All in all, it was a good trip, and we are glad we went. On to the work week….. (for Jeremy, I still have a little bit of summer vacation left!)

Various Things

Things to share...

• Sleep has been a crazy thing for Miss Madison lately. For about 3-4 nights in a row, she would wake up screaming - as if in pain, but not. This would last - with or without our comforting presence - for about an hour. It has stopped, and we are thankful. Naptimes for the last 3 days were only an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. This is not enough time for me or for her. She would wake up cranky and needy. Finally, today we saw two 2 hour naps again. I just have to work to keep her up and playing long enough!
• One evening this week (Thursday, I think), Jeremy gave her a bottle... apparently, she was tired.
• Last night, Jeremy played softball on a co-ed team that needed a sub. It was fun for him. Madison and I went out to watch and enjoy the, surprisingly, nice evening.
• Today Jeremy and I each took time to do something "adult" sans child. Jeremy went on a 50 mile bike ride in the morning. I went to see Letters to Juliet at the theater in the afternoon. It was a glorious thing. (Going to the theater... the movie was okay.)
• During supper, we often let her "eat" foods through her little mesh food bag. She loves it. We have given her all kinds of things. I realize that you shouldn't give small kids berries, but she seems to have no problem with them. It is a messy, messy ordeal, but she is happy, we are happy, and all is well. Check out the damage---

Food and Teeth

Here is finally a picture of the two little teeth.  The one of her looking at me reveals a little bit of a snotty nose - not too bad, but I have learned she HATES to have her nose wiped.  I included this picture because I thought it might be a bit scary to just see a giant mouth!

On another note, Madison and traveled to Ashland yesterday to visit my friend Laura (and Adam, her husband).  She is one of the people responsible for getting me hooked on cloth diapers (thank you, Laura) and she wanted to get me hooked on making my own baby food as well.  (My friend, Rachel, in Goshen made her own food and was telling me about it when I was there as well.)  Laura had a very easy cookbook we used.  You make all the food in the microwave.  We made four kinds - sweet potato,apples, butternut squash, and peaches- all in about 2 hours and $9!  Here are the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor ---minus two additional containers.  It seems so easy; we'll see if I can keep it up.

6 Month Check Up

Madison is growing - if you've seen her lately, I am sure you don't doubt that!  She had her 6 month check up today.  Here are her official stats:

Starting Weight: 6 lbs, 12 oz                            Starting Length: 18 in  
Weight at one month: 8 lbs, 0 oz                      Length at one month: 20 in
Weight at two months: 9 lbs, 9 oz                    Length at two months: 22 in
Weight at four months: 12 lbs, 2-1/2 oz           Length at four months: 24 in
Weight at six months: 15 lbs, 13-1/2 oz           Length at six months: 25-1/2 in
                                         
Starting Head size: 13-1/2 in                           
Head size at one month: 15 in
Head size at two months: 15-1/2 in
Head size at four months: 16 in 
Head size at six months: 16-3/4 in 

She is now in the 50th percentile, so she is no longer "smaller than average."  Other exciting news, she is almost sitting on her own.  She can hold her position pretty well for quite awhile with just a few balance checks.  It will be a good stage when she can sit, but not move.  She, hopefully, will feel more independent, but won't be hard to keep track of!  We are still needing to work on rolling from the belly to the back.  She has woke up twice today on her belly, so I guess she is finding it more comfortable at least.  Well, that's it.  I'll try to get a picture posted soon so you can physically compare the little lady to her former, smaller self :)  Have a great Monday.

What we've been up to

Well, I have decided that contrary to people's wisdom, 6 months is not a magical age for babies.  I think I enjoyed Madison more when she was 5 months old.  She is a bear right now!  She can't sit by herself; she can't crawl; she can't stand up; she can't roll from her belly to her back.  She can't do all the things she would like to do, and I think she is utterly fed up!  What she can do is roll from her back to her belly and get stuck and cry for help.  She can also talk - a week ago it was da-da-da.  Now, it is sss-sss-sss, like a hissing snake.  She won't do both of them in the same week - one sound at a time. Madison has not learned to kick over her activity mat - consciously or unconsciously, I am not sure.  The first time it happened, this is how we found her - see left.

We went to the zoo on Friday night.  We realized that it was more for us than for her as we walked around, but it was fun.  We went to see the new polar bear exhibit.  There she is - tiny next to these giants!  The Alaskan brown bear in the same area were actually active as well.  The two in the enclosure were playing in the water.  We took Madison to the window to see, but she looked at people more than at the bears.  There is a baby gorilla there too.  He is so tiny.  As we watched him, we noticed he is missing the lower half on one of his leg.  I wonder how he will integrate with the rest of the troop as he gets older. 

We went to church today and left her in the nursery.  She screamed the whole time (pretty much).  Those nursery workers are a blessing, but I don't know if we'll do that to them again anytime soon.  I don't know if she is just tired; it is usually almost naptime.  Or if she is just unsure of the strange faces; she is getting close to close to that stranger anxiety thing.  Ugh.  Well, I need to get her fed.  Hope everyone has a great week.

Things I haven't blogged about

So, it has been pretty crazy around here.  I have a lot to post.  So, it will probably be pictures with short descriptions.  Enjoy!

Before Goshen, my brother and his family came to visit.  They came on the hottest day (at that point) - 93F and humid!  We took their two kids to this really cool park near me.  They were good sports because they love being outside.  It was fun to just hang out with them.  Two pics: swimming at the park, playing at home

My friend (former roommate) Molly stopped by with her son, Chase, on her way to her parents' house.  It shows me what I have to look forward to - moving, moving, moving.  He was a lot of fun to watch.  We realized that as much as you would like to have a normal conversation, it is no longer possible if kids are around!  It was wonderful to see her and catch up with her.  This is Chase playing with Madison.

A few days after that, Jeremy, Madison, and I piled in the car and headed to Kansas for my cousin's wedding.  We went through Louisville to visit his cousin's family.  It was good to hang out with them.  I don't know them well, and it gave me a chance to get to know them.  They loved, loved, loved the baby.  Here is his cousin, Beth, with her daughter Tori and Madison.  And Beth and her husband, Don.  (Somehow their son never made it in a picture.)

The next day we progressed to Kansas.  We pushed Madison a little too long in the car and listened to her scream for about 2 hours.  Live and learn.  It was a good few days.  We stayed in a house of my cousin's in-laws.  They were wonderful hosts - amazing hot breakfasts, easy conversations, generousity of time and resources.  Here are some shots from the weekend.   (There are only a few because we were working hard on just keeping up with Madison on a crazy schedule.)  Our family at rehearsal dinner; Madison at the petting zoo.