Nine Months with Madelyn James

Today my sweet girl is nine months old. I cannot believe it. This month has flown by.. In fact, the past three months have flown by. Since moving to Tennessee our lives have been a non-stop whirlwind. We moved into our house less than two months ago and it’s been a revolving door of friends and family since day one.

When we left Duluth just over three months ago, we ended up selling the majority of our furniture in order to fit everything into one 26ft moving truck. Madelyn was still in a bassinet and didn’t need much, but now that she has her own room I’m itching to finally decorate a nursery and make our home feel like home. I keep telling myself “it takes time”, especially with furniture on 3-4 month back order. So alas, I’ll embrace our tv sitting on tubs of unpacked clothes and a Christmas tree that only has half the ornaments on it this year!

Memories & Milestones

In the meantime, our little girl is growing up so fast. She has officially graduated from the army crawl and is full on hands and knees crawling. She is quick too, making me look back on the days when she wasn’t even rolling wondering how I didn’t get more done, hah! She requires full attention these days, although I am trying to give her space to explore even if that comes with a few bumps and bruises. She’s pulling up on everything and I’m already wondering how long before she’s standing (and dare I say walking) on her own.

She is still the happiest little ray of sunshine. Getting her up from her naps is still one of my favorite things, she’s usually sitting up in her crib now smiling from ear to ear. We peek through the crib rails at each other and giggle a bit. This morning when I went in she was pulling up on the rails, it won’t be long before she is standing in her crib waiting for me to get her.

We celebrated her very first Thanksgiving this month at Bebe’s house. We’ve also had a lot of parties to attend. Kyle’s grandmother turned 100, so we had a big shindig with family from all over in attendance. As well as my cousin’s 16th birthday here at our house and a friend’s 50th birthday party. It’s safe to say Madelyn is a social butterfly, she loves meeting new people, always up for a party, and loves balloons and music!

We’ve been preparing for Christmas. We purchased a few Christmas books we’ve been reading, and purchased this nativity set which she loves. We went and saw the lights at Founders park near our house, went to the Knoxville Fantasy of Trees, and went to Dollywood to see the lights. She loved it all!

About Madelyn

She loves reading books, and I love the fleeting moments of stillness when she actually will cuddle up and read a book together. Otherwise she is a busy bee, constantly on the move. She is curious about everything, and will find anything to pull up on. She still loves Sadie, she LOVES crawling and gets around everywhere, she loves playing piano, going on walks, and actually really enjoys her carseat. She loves eating, and seems to like everything she has tried.

She is curious, determined and brave. She loves to smile, smirk and giggle. She’s an excellent sleeper. This month she transitioned from 3 naps to 2 which took some time but now her naps are a bit longer and we’re liking having a bit more of a schedule.

Work

One big leap we took this month was officially starting childcare. Kyle’s sister is watching MJ two days a week and we also found a nanny that will start in January. It was so tough having Madelyn away from home but has been really good for all of us. I like having the set time to focus on work and Madelyn loves her days spent at aunt Amandas. We are still figuring out our rhythms and I find myself longing for a more set schedule but this was one step in the right direction. I love what I do and I love being a mom, figuring out how to do both well is still something I haven’t quite figured out. I am looking forward to January when things start to feel more routined.

Month Nine Summary

This month we’ve just been commenting on how much she has grown up. So many milestones this month from crawling to waving to pulling up. She is growing so fast. Her personality is blooming and we just genuinely love hanging out with her. Girl keeps us busy, always on the move. We are grateful everyday to be her parents.

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