21 months

Here are some pictures of what Madelyn has been up to the last couple of months.


Her Cookie Monster piano is one of her favorite toys now (thank you Aunt Katie!), but she does not like to share it- even with her cousin, Luke.


Madelyn has started picking up her favorite books and looking through them. I caught her "reading" Brown Bear in her room the other day. She also still loves Pajama Time, and Five Little Monkeys.


Maddie's "silly face"... always makes me smile!



Maddie loves playing with her elephant toy- but she doesn't care about putting the balls in like she is supposed to! She just loves pushing the button to listen and dance to the fun music.


Maddie dancing with her daddy at Alexander's bowling birthday party.


Here is Maddie's cousin, Carter, pushing Maddie in the swing at the park. Her mom and dad bought her a swing set last week so she can swing anytime she wants at home now! (well, first it has to be put together!)



Maddie learned to open the cabinet doors on the TV stand and make funny faces on the glass. She is such a silly girl.



Last month, Maddie learned how to stack blocks. She stacked 3 blocks on her own one day, and we are very proud of her for learning this new skill.


Exciting news! Maddie's hair finally fits into a ponytail.



Madelyn has really improved with using a spoon and fork during meal times. She is still pretty messy but loves to feed herself like a big girl.



Here is Maddie dancing to her favorite song from Library Storytime: Bluegrass Jamboree. She gets mad when mommy turns it off.. even if she has just heard the song 10 times.

Dancing

Madelyn is almost 20 months old! She is getting so big. Maddie has always loved music, and she has become a good dancer too. Here is a video of Maddie showing off her moves.



Maddie also loves going to the park and swinging. Here is she swinging and playing at Sedgwick County Park.


Maddie knows 27 or so signs. She just learned to sign "sleep" and "brush teeth" this weekend. She still loves books and wants me to read the same ones over and over. Her favorites are Peekaboo Baby and Pajama Time. Maddie tries to play with Bella by taking dog toys and giving them to Bella or trying to throw them at her. I just know they will be best friends one day.


Maddie will be a big sister in July! I can tell she is very excited about a new baby joining our family.

Merry Christmas!

Madelyn had a great 2nd Christmas! She liked opening all her presents and spending time with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.

Madelyn playing with her cousin, Carter.

Maddie with her cousins Luke and Carter.

Opening presents at Uncle Cody and Aunt Tisha's house on Christmas Eve.

Here are some pictures of Maddie on Christmas morning! She loves her Cookie Monster toy and gives him hugs and kisses every day (and then throws him on the floor).






After opening presents, we went to church for Christmas day mass. Maddie looked so cute in her dress and bow. Right after church, we headed over to Papa and Grandma Janet's house for brunch and more presents. Then it was nap time and off to Grandma and Grandpa Laske's house for MORE presents. What a wonderful, but long day!

18 months

Maddie is 18 months old! Here are some of the new things she is learning:

She cruises in her crib and along the coffee table and has gotten a lot quicker at crawling!
She says "mmm" when I ask what a cow says or when she sees a cow,
She knows about 15 signs,
She still LOVES her Baby Signing Time DVD and will throw a fit when I turn it off,
She can turn and then slide down to get down from the couch,
She can climb 4 stairs,
She hides her face when she sees any man besides her daddy,
She loves to eat pancakes and says "mmm" when she really likes something she is eating,
She gives lots of kisses to her mommy and daddy!
She laughs when her daddy holds her upside down, and
She loves listening to music and dancing!

17 Months

So it has been awhile since my last post. We have been staying pretty busy! Madelyn is 17 months old. She is growing up so fast, and her personality is starting to show more and more. She has learned so many new things since the last update! Last month, Madelyn started crawling on all 4s. She has gotten much quicker and crawls all the time now. She also pulls to stand at the coffee table, in her crib, and her toy table on her own. She knows the signs for: more, ball, baby, dog, diaper, all done, mommy, daddy, grandma, book, milk, horse. Today I showed her a picture of a baby and asked, "What is it?" and she signed "baby"! Then she did the same for dog and ball. I am so proud of how well she is beginning to use sign language to communicate. Maddie says, "mama", "dada", "mmmmm" (for "more" and "milk"), and imitates some sounds. Maddie knows how to "put in" and "give me one", which were some of her OT goals. Now she is working on learning to stack blocks, which is still hard for her. She also works with her OT on putting pegs into holes to work on her grasp.

Here are some things that Maddie loves... One of Madelyn's favorite toys is her horse she got for her birthday. She would ride on the horse all day if she could. She has worn out the music button in the ear already from playing it so much. Maddie loves any toys with buttons and music and she LOVES to swing. She also points at things at the time and enjoys opening and closing doors. She always wants to turn off the light or shut the garage door too. She likes dancing with her mommy and daddy. Her new favorite thing to do is get under a blanket. We call it making a "tent" and she just laughs and laughs every time I put the blanket over our heads. She is becoming obsessed with her "Baby Signing Time" DVD and requests it by signing "baby" or trying to climb on the TV. She gets very mad and throws a little fit if I turn it off early. She has also done some "coloring" with a magnadoodle and with crayons, which she learned from her cousin, Dane. Richard and I are really excited about Christmas this year. It will be so fun now that Madelyn is a little older.. maybe she won't sleep through most of the festivities like she did last year!
Last month we participated in the Buddy Walk, which raises money for the Down Syndrome Society of Wichita. It was a great event and Maddie's Marchers had about 30 walkers and raised over $800. It started pouring shortly after the actual walk, so we didn't have much time to do all the fun activities. We look forward to the Buddy Walk every year, and we are so appreciative of all the support our friends and family show for people with Down syndrome. Maddie was a 50's girl for Halloween and looked so cute in her costume! She even went trick or treating to a few houses on our block. She LOVED the candy too.

13 months

Here is what Madelyn is up to lately! Madelyn..
is army crawling a few inches at a time
is walking a few steps when someone holds her hands
transitions from sitting to her tummy independently
transitions from all 4s to sitting with some support
has really improved with drinking from her straw cup
drinks a bottle in the morning, a small bottle after lunch, and one before bedtime
sleeps about 3-4 hours during the day (one or two naps) and 11 hours at night
loves books and music
does some motions to "Patty Cake" and "Baby Fishy" using mommy's hands
is really picky about what she eats but still loves grilled cheese sandwiches
loves dancing with mommy
gives kisses when asked and turns on/off the light switch when I ask
gives 'high-fives'
imitates "blah blah blah" and says "mamama" a lot
is begining to imitate the sign for "more"
is very attached to her mommy



Madelyn is seeing her Occupational Therapist at Wesley every other week and her Physical Therapist once a month. She has a Rainbows teacher who comes out twice a month to work on a variety of skills. In about a week, mommy will be going back to work, and Madelyn will go to Grandma Zoo's house 4 days a week. I know they will do so many fun things together!

Summer

We have been busy this summer! Lots of swimming, parties, playing, therapy, walks, story time at the library, and hanging out with family. Aunt Katie brought Maddie this t-shirt from Chicago! And she spilt water on it within a few minutes. Maddie loves her cousin, Dane. She is trying to give him a kiss! Playing with Talia at Grandma Debbie's house. Ready for the Fourth of July party! Maddie likes to hold Bella's leash while we are on a walk.