9 months today!

It's crazy to think that Madeline is already 9 months old. She continues to make myself, Will, and everyone around her smile. She definitely has some stubbornness (can we say karma?). Madeline still isn't sleeping through the night, unfortunately. She is in her crib, but she gets up between 4-6 times a night. Many people believe she should just 'cry it out.' At this point, even as sleep deprived as I am, I just can't. She is eating mostly when she wakes up which leads me to another stubbornness example...filling her belly. She hates, despises, baby food. I blame Will for this one because he's the picky eater. I'm hoping Madeline will do better because she has started eating more people food: yogurt, cheerios, grapes - under close supervision, and scrambled eggs. Hopefully, one of these days she'll sleep longer then 3 hours straight.

Some recent Madeline facts:

*She is roughly 17 1/2 pounds. I say this because when she was last weighed she was in her clothes and a wet diaper.

*She has four teeth (two on the bottom and two on top)

*She tolerates crawling, but loves standing and trying to balance by holding on with one hand or sometimes no hands. I predict that she'll be walking in a couple of weeks.

*She can wave now

Will's murder trial officially started today. It's been over a week since he's been gone and we have about two weeks left. We sure do miss him and he says he isn't missing Fairbanks as much as he had thought. On a random note, the house we rented in Fairbanks sold within a month. I think this is crazy considering how the economy is currently.

Me...I am hanging in there and am looking forward to meeting new people. Madeline and I went to our first mommy and me music class and there seems to be some potential friends there. The house is almost complete. There's still a little left to do in the bonus room. However, we are ready and open for visitors. Any takers?

Moose is doing well. He does everything to avoid Madeline. When Will returns we will be looking to find Moose a little brother, preferably sister. 

Oscar update...there is none unfortunately. I'm not sure if I shared that the Browns did respond finally to our demand letter via an attorney. There wasn't much that was said except it was a regrettable incident, but not their fault. Because of my amazing husband it is definitely their fault and we will be proceeding this fall with a lawsuit.

Ending on a good note, Will, Madeline, and I want to wish our beautiful niece, Aedin (6 yrs. old) and our handsome nephew, Robbie (3 yrs. old) a very happy birthday!

Catch Up...

Where has time gone? For a quick (if possible) update...  July 20th is when our household goods finally came. A couple of days before, Wendi, Madeline, myself drove down from VA to GA and met Will and Angela. The week was very busy with painting...lots and lots and lots of painting and of course, unpacking. Future posts will start to reveal the before and after pictures of what we've done. A week later, Madeline and I flew to Virginia Beach to meet up with family for a week of vacation. Madeline thankfully slept for the flight to Virginia, but on the way back she decided to stay awake the entire time. She didn't cry one bit and made lots of friends around us. Since then we've been unpacking and trying to make this house a home.  Friday, Will leaves for Fairbanks for two cases: the murder trial and another rape case. Since there are two cases, Madeline and I won't see him until September 1st. :( It has been a little bit of a transition for me going from working full time to full time mommy. I love it, but as I knew, I miss the interactions and intellectual stimulation from working with adults. I will, however, start actively looking for a possible part-time adjunct teaching position in September. It is very difficult to even teach online if I haven't taught a college level course in person. I will roll up my sleeves and dive into the job market come September. Fingers crossed! Will is very busy with his new job, but I know he's loving the fact he is working with people. He has started mentioning how much he is missing Fairbanks. I can understand, but it is so nice to be closer to family and a Target!  Madeline is sleeping in her crib finally, however we are still a sucker and get up to soothe her when she wakes up throughout the night. I am not emotionally ready for her to "Cry it out." I think when Will gets back he can attempt it while I go get a pedicure or something. :) Wednesday was monumental, she has officially started crawling. It is scary! I'm looking at our house through a different lens...so much to do! I think the number thing I absolutely HATE about Georgia is the earwigs. YUCK! They are disgusting and we have to battle them on a daily basis. I will be calling an exterminator sooner than later. All other updates will be through the picture captions! :)

One of the last pictures I took in Fairbanks just as the leaves were starting to come out!

Wendi loves dressing Madeline up as a princess because it nerves Will. Unfortunately, we did not purchase this feathered tiara.

We absolutely love putting hats on her and she has absolutely no choice in the matter! HA!

Poor Moose was panting here and there on our trek down to Georgia. Hilarious!

One of the awesome places we saw during our trip to GA.

No caption needed.

One of the awesome license plates we saw driving from Baltimore to Virginia Beach.

Super cute outfit, but a wee bit small. She worked it anyway! Thank you, Michelle!!

First time in the ocean!

Not too sure.

Loves this!(8 months old)

Sand!

Toys!

Sand + Toys =

My dad explaining that the sand is too harsh on her skin. Guess what? He was totally right! She had little cuts on her upper lip and skin abrasions on either side of her mouth. I thought this picture was super sweet!

Josh trying to occupy Madeline so Wendi and I could start packing up and heading home!

Before we left we spent some time with my cousin Kelly and her two daughters and her boyfriend's kids as well. :)

Yup, she mastered the art of pulling herself up before she started crawling!

Obviously taking her nap. Ha!