New Tricks (and Treats)

Unbelievably, my time at home is already up.  I go back to the office full-time starting on Monday.  I'm really going to miss Maddy while she's at school.  A lot has happened in the last few weeks and I'm thankful that I was able to witness it before going back to work.

One thing I wish I hadn't experienced was when she got her first set of shots -- five injections that took Maddy from relaxed baby mode to TERROR LEVEL TEN in a split second; it broke my heart.  I'm not exactly looking forward to round two in December.

We kept hearing that things would get easier with time.  A good friend told us that when her daughter was around 12 weeks old, things got almost immediately easier - like someone flipped a switch.  And even though Maddy was already a good-natured, happy, low-to-medium maintenance baby (not that I have any point of comparison) who wasn't unreasonable with the crying, she made some major progress at almost exactly 12 weeks.  At 11 weeks, she became a "supported sitter" and can sit in a propped up position for short periods of time.  She also likes to face forward when being carried, so she doesn't miss anything.

Another major feat: she's starting to sleep longer!  On Sunday, she slept for almost nine hours straight!  On Tuesday night, she slept more than six hours in one stretch; on Wednesday night, she slept for almost eight hours!  Let's hope she keeps this trend going!

The most impressive accomplishment, though, is what happened on Monday (her 12 week birthday)...she rolled over!  I saw her roll onto her side, which she had been doing occasionally for a couple of weeks.  When I looked back again, she was on her tummy looking very surprised at how she got there!

Way to go, Maddy!  She's been attempting to roll over again ever since Monday. Click here to see a video of one of her flip attempts.

The town we live in has a festive pumpkin display that is lit for about a week before Halloween.  There are even more pumpkins than the ones shown here (this is more of the auxiliary display).

Even though she's too little to go trick or treating (and, let's face it, it would be pretty obvious that I'd only be taking her around so I could get all that candy for myself), Maddy still dressed up.

This year, she went as a lobster and managed to keep her costume on for two hours!  We had a pot we were going to carry her around in, but it didn't end up working out.  She didn't necessarily love being in her costume the whole time, but gave it her all.

In other news, we also took another trip to Indianapolis to visit family. As usual, Maddy was a great sport about the car ride.  She had a bit of a rough weekend, most likely because she was still recovering from her immunizations.

My mom finished the exquisite wedding quilt she made for me and Rob; it is as warm as it is beautiful!

We also scheduled a photo shoot of Maddy while we were there.  She screamed and screamed and screamed some more when the photographers first arrived, but quieted down and was perfectly calm for the entire shoot. I can't wait to see the results!