It is Monday afternoon here, 2:20 pm... so some of you may be just starting your day while most are probably still in bed! I am sitting at our kitchen table with a cup of tea while Méabh sits in her high chair playing with a lemon, a pack of garlic and my headband... poor kid. We need to get her some real toys!
We'll see how long she lasts while I type! She's over 7 months now and still a very mellow baby... though less likely to sit still for long periods of time. She also gets very jealous (?) when we are eating-- she'll start making grunting noises and become very unpleasant! While we're on the subject, let's see... what is new with our wee Méabh?!
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| big girl! :) |
-She got a highchair and has been loving not being in her bouncy chair all the time... IKEA for the win!
-She's getting good at eating solids. She does NOT like fruit or veggie purees on their own... I have to mix it with rice cereal... she likes the bland stuff! I nurse her 4 or 5 times during the day but she can go longer stretches now that she has food too.
-Not crawling but trying-- oh dear. Things are going to get interesting...
-She slept through the night last night!!!! So I am feeling like a million bucks this morning :) I have stopped feeding her in the night-- it was rough at first but then she got the hang of it. Now she wakes up but I stick her pacifier in and she goes back down. Progress!
-She still loves being out and about. As long as she's fed, she's happy in the pram when we're running errands or just out and about... she tends to only get moody at home when she's stuck in one place too long-- just like her mama :)
-She's a good napper, usually takes a long one in the morning or afternoon then will catnap at other random times... I've been the worst at getting her on a 'schedule'. She dozes off whenever she wants.
-Remember the screaming and crying before bed?! No more... I feel bad thinking about it now-- I guess I always heard babies should go to bed at 7 so that's what I tried with her. Now she stays up later... usually I take her upstairs at 8:30, feed her, and she conks out no problem! Maybe the 7 pm bedtime was just too early?
Ok-- she is practically crying in her highchair so I'll finish this later...
Continuing on:
Anyway, now we are relaxing in the sitting room after dinner. It's been almost exactly one month since I returned to Belfast. Adjusting back to life here has been different this time-- normally I am back to work & the usual routine. It's a different pace with a baby but I couldn't ask for a better companion. She makes me laugh and I love her company! Sure, there are moments when I wish I could have an hour to myself, but hopefully in the next year when I meet more moms we can do the trade off thing! A girl in our homegroup is due in November so I already told her we are going to babysit for each other. :)
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| more from our kitchen photo shoot :) |
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| She's been doing this thing lately where she tilts her head to one side... such a charmer |
Ok, enough of those!
Last week Niall was in Sweden all week for work. I went down to Naas and spent time with the Maddens which was so lovely. Mum completely spoiled me with amazing meals and babysitting service while Dad fired up Nespressos for me about 3 times a day. ;) Needless to say, it was really relaxing and always reminds me how blessed I am to have my Madden family just a couple of hours away.
One day we went to Maynooth, a small town about 25 minutes away. Avril is starting a Master's program here next month so we walked around her soon to be stomping grounds and had lunch in town. It was a nice day, we were happy to sit outside in the sunshine! The next few photos are of the campus which was so beautiful.
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| Back at 3 Dun na Riogh |
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| Steak on a rock! Dinner at Lawlor's |
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| "Ah yes, mashed potatoes and gravy please" |
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| Snuggling with auntie Avril after her bath |
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| Mum bought this windmill for Méabh and stuck it in the yard. She is obsessed with it! She will stare for so long. |
It was good to be reunited with Niall on Friday! Speaking of the boss, many have been asking about his arm. It is definitely still on the mend. He isn't driving yet and simple tasks can be hard, especially ones that require lots of wrist movement (i.e. writing! :/ ). He handles it pretty well but it can be frustrating... though we are still so thankful it was his arm and not his head! He has an appointment to get an MRI on his left wrist at the end of this month because it's not feeling any better. :( Prayers appreciated... he did get an extension on his thesis so that is now due mid October instead of this week.
I'm going to end this with some photos of Enda's wedding which we went to the weekend before we left for CA a couple of months ago. It was in Wicklow and it was a gorgeous day. Niall was the best man!
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| the wedding car! |
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| laughs and tears... he did great :) |
Actually, I'm going to end with this one because it's too cute:
That's all folks!
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| My flying buddy on our way home to Belfast :) |
That's all folks!
