Warning...piercing ears hurts!

Friday was a BIG day for us! Madelyn had her 9mo check up, and this time Nanna came along as Daddy had appointments at work. Thank goodness Nanna was there...Mommy needed her support as we all three went through the trauma of getting Madelyn's ears pierced - OUCH! I was hoping this experience would be similar to getting a shot...hmmm....not exactly. Madelyn doesn't really like people to hold her in place or mess with her head/ears anyway - we've learned that before. So, just the part where the doctor was trying his best to mark the piercing locations was hard. Then, add to that the actual sound and pinching pain of piercing and we had one poor little girl in pain and in tears. AND we still had to pierce the other ear!!! Don't worry, we didn't leave her with only one piercing, but it was all together a rough time. Later Nanna read some lady's blog that said her two month old slept through the piercing - I'd love to know how that happened! It's done now, and I can honestly say I believe the worst is behind us. Madelyn has hardly reacted to the cleaning and turning of the earrings (for you males out there, you have to clean and turn the earrings on a regular basis - it's part of the basic care). Best of all, she's not messing with them with her own hands, and sleeping does not seem to be a problem at all (she sleeps on her side).

On to the good stuff...Madelyn weighed in at 20lbs 8oz and is 27 1/4 inches long! She's in the 80 percentile for weight and 45th for height. Madelyn is developing right on track. She's definitely crawling all over the place now, and she'll stand up when supported by mom, dad, or the sofa! She's clapping, eating finger foods, and mimicking mom and dad's funny noises and faces. She says Mommy, Daddy, and Hey...although it's not completely purposeful or clear. She loves her Blue Bear, being outside, and her new personalized CD from Nina and Grampa! Really, that CD was a life saver! It sings songs that has her name inserted. On our way home from getting the ears pierced, Madelyn started crying again. We tried every toy and every trick we knew and couldn't get Madelyn calmed down...then Mommy played THE CD...it was like magic! Madelyn heard it and immediately calmed down and stayed that way the rest of the way home! Thanks Nina and Grampa!!!

On another note, Mommy and Baby #2 had a check up a little over a week ago. Things are progressing just fine...we heard the heartbeat (186bpm this time) and we'll go back in another month!

Here are a couple of pics from our beach trip...stay tuned for pics of the pierced ears!

This one is Aunt Steph and Madelyn - although Madelyn's not smiling, she is clapping!!

Here's one with Gramps!!

Our family on the beach!