3 months old!

I cannot believe that my little girl will be three months tomorrow!! Every day gets better and better. Madelyn is sleeping fairly well during the night, smiling on cue, talking (cooing), and even grasping her little toys. Though her nighttime sleep is good, we are still working on a nap schedule...she can get pretty cranky if she doesn't get her naps in.

An exciting update about Maddie's hip! We visited the doctor last week for a follow-up ultrasound on her hip and everything looks good. Madelyn doesn't have to wear the harness anymore. I think she is much happier and I am loving playing dress-up with all of her cute clothes now that she can wear them more easily.

Trying to get a seven, five, and three month old to look at the camera isn't too easy...

Chillin' with one of her favorite toys...a stuffed lion that is just about as big as her!

This picture just cracks me up!

Madelyn is so happy in the mornings!

Acting silly with Grif...

I am definitely in love!! :)

Cousin meet Cousin

This past weekend, my brother Andrew, sister-in-law Liz, and 18-month old nephew Benjamin, came in to town to visit and Meet Madelyn for the first time. The weather was great and we had a really fun time just visiting with each other and exploring some of the city highlights.

Ben seemed a little a more interested in Madelyn's toys than with the little infant inside. He did show a special interest in Griffie as well, our little Yorkie. Ben would run around the house, calling Maddie and Griffie "Buh Buh"- aka-Baby or Barney(his big yellow dog at home). He is at an adorable age. It's hard to believe that Madelyn will be at that stage before we know it! Yikes.

Maddie is really starting to love her bathtime and Aunt Liz snapped a few shots one morning.

We had fun around town, eating Chowder, visiting the market, and playing at the playground.

On Sunday we went to church; Maddie and Ben looked so cute all dressed-up:)

Liz and I had a fun time dressing up the little ones in matching outfits that Liz found before coming out to Seattle, unfortunately, the photo shoot didn't exactly go as planned!!

Alaskan Roots

Kurt was born and raised in Anchorage, AK, and though we don't live there, we love to visit. We were very excited to be able to bring Madelyn up there this past week to meet her great grandmother, her uncles, aunt, and cousins. The weather was great and we had a really fun time visiting and bringing Maddie up to her Alaskan roots!

Kurt's brother, Kyle and his wife Susanna have two adorable girls, Jasmine (almost 4), Sierra (almost 2). They both loved meeting their little cousin and loved being able to hold her!

We love relaxing at the house, having big family dinners, and just plain laughing with each other. If you know Kurt's sense of humor...being with the entire Biederman family is quite entertaining!
We had a great time hanging out with Kurt's brother Kevin and his girlfriend Colleen.

On the way up to the Biederman's cabin, we stopped at the Alaska State Fair. I realize I didn't get pictures of the huge vegetables, but then the only thing we really did was EAT!! It was really neat to go to the state fair, I don't even know if NJ has a state fair...and even if it does, I've never been!

Here's the fam, recuperating after eating corn on the cob, hot dogs, ice cream, funnel cake, cheese cake wrapped in dough, strawberry shortcake, and cream puffs. Yikes, a little embarrassing to write that all down! And yes, we all did feel a bit ill that evening.

Grandma, Maddie, Susanna, and Sierra soaking up the sun on the dock (yes it does get warm in Alaska!!)

I just couldn't resist! **look at those lips :)

While in Alaska, Mimi(Kurt's Mom) was very helpful by taking Maddie for a couple of hours in the morning, letting Kurt and I catch a little more sleep :)

Here's Maddie enjoying bathtime with Mimi.

All Smiles!!

The last two weeks have been the best and the worst weeks of Maddie's life thus far! When Madelyn was born, the pediatrician that looked at her was concerned about her hips forming correctly. Because of Madelyn being in a breech position in my stomach, there was a little concern when she was born, which apparently is very common with breech babies. At first, it seemed like Maddie's hips were forming well on their own after her first two weeks. Last week, we revisited the Children's Hospital in Seattle for a follow-up ultrasound to see if her hips were continuing to form correctly. The ultrasound found a very slight case of hip dysplasia. The doctor decided to have Madelyn wear a soft harness that would hold her hips at a 90 degree angle to help form the sockets the way that they need to be. This, of course, was hard for me to hear, but I know it's the right thing and it is very minor so Madelyn won't have to wear the harness but a month or two.

So, needless to say, it took some getting used to, for all of us. Long nights of crying, rocking, feeding...basically whatever it took to calm her down. It was a very tiring week for Kurt and I and quite frankly, a very frustrating week.

This week has been a complete change from last week. Maddie is getting used to her harness and things are settling into what seems to be a good schedule. I realize that things always change when you have a baby and I can't be guaranteed a good night EVERY night...but we are very thankful that this week has been so good. Maddie is allowed 2-3 hours out of her harness every day, and you can tell from the following pictures that she really loves her playtime on the floor.

Madelyn is really starting to look around and Kurt and I will do just about anything to see that adorable smile of hers :)

Maddie is really interacting with me more these days, which is so awesome!

Of course she is still a newborn...so when Madelyn is tired, nothing will wake her up!

Busy B's...

The last two weeks have been quite busy for the little B and I. My students often called me Mrs. B and they got to calling Madelyn, while in my stomach, 'little B'...and boy have we been busy. Starting two weeks ago, dear friends, Aunt Audrey and Katelyn flew in for a visit. We had a wonderful time, starting Maddie into a schedule, showing Katelyn around Seattle for the first time, and of course just watching Madelyn! It was a great time.

After the Brown's left, Kurt was gearing up to take the Washington State Bar exam. He certainly didn't need Madelyn and I around to distract him during the test, so we headed up to Bellingham, WA with my good friend Lindsey and her 5-month old daughter, Mia.

Lindsey's parents live up on a lake. With two little ones, it was difficult to get out on the water, but sitting by the water was nearly just as good.

At the end of July, my Dad and Cheri came back to visit us since Madelyn was one month older than when they'd seen her last. Maggie also came to town to meet Maddie; we had a great time showing Maggie around Seattle for the first time. Recently, we started Madelyn taking one bottle a day. She took to the bottle great and that allowed Kurt and I to go on our first date while my Dad, Cheri, and Maggie watched Madelyn for a night.

Maddie is really growing! This little outfit was so big on her at the hospital...

Certainly a newborn with all the sleeping that Maddie still does.

(I just love this little pacifier!!)

Settling in...

Well, it's been just over two weeks that we have been home with our little girl. Certainly an adjustment having a little one around all the time! We have been blessed to have Kurt's mom staying and helping, I don't know what we'll do this next week when it's just us!

Madelyn seems to be a fairly good-natured baby. She doesn't seem to be overly fussy unless she is really hungry! Which she is quite frequently :) Maddie may have started out tiny, but she loves to eat and is nearly 8 lbs now...a very healthy weight gain the doctor says!!

My recovery has gone exceptionally well and we've been out and about quite a bit these last two weeks. Maddie celebrated her first holiday, The 4th of July, (she completely slept through all the fireworks) she's had a couple of play dates, and we've been on many walks, and in between all of that...she sleeps...a ton!

Here she is, enjoying her carseat and stroller. She loves the carseat, whether it's attached to the stroller or in the car!

Here Maddie is being introduced to her two little friends. Two of my closest friends here in Seattle are new moms as well. Kylia is over two months old and Mia is over four months old. I don't know if the girls are that thrilled to be seeing each other, but us moms are so excited to be having little girls all at the same time!!

And here she is, enjoying her favorite pastime...at least for now...sleeping!

Lastly, we had to include a picture of Madelyn with our other little family member...our beloved dog, Griffie. For those of you who know his crazy demeanor, he is actually taking Maddie's presence in the house very well!