Solid Food

Madeline has started giving out the signs that she is interested in a meal that includes more than milk. Knowing her mother, this means steak and potatoes are in the not-too-distant future, but for now she'll have to settle for rice cereal. Which, as you can see, is nowhere near as enticing as a steak.

Keep on rollin'

Although Madeline has been rolling over back and forth for some time, she has now learned to turn this into a form of mobility. Here you can see her "great leap forward" -- or maybe sideways?

Christmas Fun

Even though Madeline's still a bit too young to fully understand what Christmas is all about, she knows it's something very special and had lots of fun getting into the holiday spirit. My favorite part was seeing how she was a little hesitant to touch the tree for a few days, but got more courageous and touched it on her own after a while. By next year, she'll be all over it...

Madeline had fun playing with some new toys from Grandma Torres.

She loves her new mirror and laughs at her reflection.

Here she is going for 2 with her new basketball hoop. Dave's already practicing with her for the Spurs kids' dunk contest in 2013.

And she likes her oballs... easy to grab and hold onto.

Here Madeline helps Grandma open a present... she had no problems tearing paper open then putting it directly in her mouth (which is where pretty much everything goes these days!)

Christmas Lights

Madeline joined us outside for a twilight inspection of the Christmas lights last Friday...

Just as the mid-Atlantic region was bracing for 2 feet of snow (ouch!) it was warm enough here to take in the Christmas lights in t-shirts and onesies...

I'm sad this one came out blurry, but I had to include it because I love to see how Madeline is looking back at Dave to check his reaction.

She also enjoyed showing Grandma all the scenery.

Feet in Mouth

Here's a shot of Madeline's feet in her mouth. She's clearly pretty flexible, and seems to really enjoy it. Maybe she thinks of them as little built-in teethers... they're cold, wiggly, and always there.

Week of Firsts

Last week (between 25 and 26 weeks old) was a big one for Madeline, and we saw lots of firsts. She said "Dada" for the first time on Saturday (12/19), which was extra special because Dave was home to hear it (she's been saying "Mama" for months, and we've been waiting for that "D" sound to come in!) She also got her first cold, which is a yucky little number that has her with a runny nose and cough. She sat on her own without any support. Finally, she got her first tooth on Tuesday (12/15) followed by her second tooth the next day. They're both on the bottom front, and both right next to each other, so if all Madeline wanted for Christmas was her 2 front teeth, Christmas came a little early. This picture was taken Sunday (12/20, her 6-month birthday).

Picking out a Christmas tree

Madeline picked out her first Christmas tree last weekend at our favorite nursery, Rainbow Gardens, and did a great job.

Army/Navy

Madeline joined Dave last weekend for the Army/Navy game. It's kind of a big deal in this household, and Madeline got decked out in gold and gray to root on the Black Knights. Sadly, the Army team fell short this year, but gladly, Madeline's naptime limited Dave's shouting tremendously.

Miss Chelsea

Madeline is so lucky to have Miss Chelsea, who comes a few times a week to keep an eye on her and play while Rachel gets some work done and runs errands. We're so glad to know her, and Madeline is thrilled and has all kinds of fun every time she comes by.

Also, Madeline is learning how to hug, and getting a little neck hug from her is the greatest. Here she is giving Miss Chelsea a hug last week. Just adorable.

New High Chair

Because Madeline is ready to sit at the big table, we got a new high chair, which she loves. Rachel loves it too becuase it's like a barber chair (it goes up and down very easily), looks really easy to clean, has wheels which easily move, and most importantly, Madeline can join us to see what's going on at the kitchen counter as well as kitchen table. Plus, she looks really good in it.

Almost ready to eat

Madeline's been giving us some signals lately that she's ready to start eating... she's paying lots more attention to us when we eat, and really really wants to try drinking out of cups like we do. As you can see, she's ready to go and wants her seat at the big girl table. Here she is with Dave last weekend (at 24 wks). Lots of personality in this one!

Feet

Madeline has been really into her feet lately. She loves to pick them up when she's laying on her back to stretch her arms out to grab them. She also loves to put them in her mouth, as her toes evidently can be as satisfying as her fingers are in there (we hope to capture a picture of that soon). What's really fun is when she wears pajamas that have characters on the feet, as in these photos.

Wearing (and loving) her new bunny feet pajamas from the Zurchers.

It even works when she's in her little bouncer... though it's got to be tougher to maneuver from this angle, she still manages.

Finally, with her ladybug pajamas in the crib at the hotel.

Madeline with both parents

Madeline likes to get her picture taken with both of us... and she makes the best faces. We got some great expressions with her on our trip last week.

With Mom

With Dad

New lovie

Madeline only sucks her thumb when she's telling us it's time to go to sleep, which is a skill we're very glad she's developed (and we can read). Here she is snuggling up for comfort before bed with a very special knitted lovie from Rose Dahill who completed it with Baird's help.

Thanksgiving Ellis Visit

Next, we stopped in DC to say hi to the growing Ellis clan. Here Madeline is delighted to meet Lumi.

All in all, we have to say we're very proud of our little traveling social butterfly. She napped very well (that part is KEY!) and adapted to all kinds of different situations along the way. It's too bad this visit to the DC area was so brief - she's got lots of other people to meet soon!

Thanksgiving Nolan-Cassimatis Visit

We were also lucky enough to be able to see Sudie and Dimitri in MD during our visit and meet sweet little Lilo! Here they are checking each other out.

Madeline loved meeting Lilo, who's about 4 months older, and I think she really liked seeing somebody about her own size. It was also nice to get a sneak preview of what we'll have to look forward to in a few months.

This picture is great because Madeline and her dad are making almost the same exact expression for Lilo.

Lilo was nice enough to share her little play mat, and Madeline was clearly tickled about meeting a new friend.

The 4 ladies.

Here they are again checking each other out from across the play mat...

Thanksgiving Zurcher Visit

No trip to NOVA (that's Northern Virginia for those not familiar) would have been complete without a stop to see ZMa and ZPa and the rest of the Zurcher clan! (She ate and had a nap at the very beginning of this visit, which put her in a great mood for the rest of it - what a champ!)

Here's Madeline with her Godmother Aunt Laura and ZMa.

All smiles with Laura!

Madeline loved snuggling up with ZMa as well as checking out Rebecca and Katie (just out of frame, but that's who she's looking at here)

And of course ZPa got some smiles too.

Thanksgiving Bell Visit

The next day, Madeline spent some more time visiting with Uncle Steve and Aunt Kelly... She got to break out her new hooded fleece jacket to bundle up for the chilly VA weather.

Uncle Steve had her looking like one cool baby with his hat on backwards...

And she also enjoyed some down time with Grampa...

Check out her shirt - it says "I'm nuts about Grandpa" Get it? Nuts? Get it? (Dave's responsible for this one - can you tell?)

We brought her special play quilt that Granny Baird made for her.

Thanksgiving Day

Madeline, veteran traveler that she is, gave Rachel no problems on their San Antonio-BWI flight Thanksgiving morning. Where to stay on her DC metro-area adventure? Why, the Ritz, of course!

After a quick stop to freshen up, Madeline was ready to head out to Uncle Steve and Aunt Kelly's house in Chantilly where we would meet up with Grampa and Great Uncle John. Look how ladylike Madeline is!

Madeline was so excited to see Grampa again! She recognized him from our Skype sessions.

I think that Grampa was happy to see her, too!

Dinner was delicious, with two different turkeys, sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin and apple pies, and an eggnog gelato. Madeline had some milk instead and took a nap, rejoining Grampa and John for the post-dinner discussion.

All in all, Madeline's first Bell Family Thanksgiving was great fun! Here she is sporting her special Thanksgiving bib from Grandma Torres: