5 months...

Dear Maddie Grace,
Quit growing! Ok, don't...that would mean there is something not right...but really...you could slow down a little. Knowing that I forget just as quickly as you won't remember this time either, makes me savor it even more.
Last week marked you as 5 months old. I was off work last week too. One of my co-workers here is taking a month off and so I hurried to take some time off with you before then.
You are addictive. Coming back after last week was worse than coming back off of maternity leave. Then you were just a beautiful little lump. Now you've grown into this adorable, interactive, smiling, playful, cuddly, gorgeous toy. I told you of grand intentions I had to take to to visit people and places, but we ended up just sleeping the days away at home.
A week before you turned 5months old, you got your first tooth. Quickly followed the day after the 5month mark, by your second tooth. I call you Toofy Tooferson. Teething is terrible on you. It's terrible on your Granny-Nanny too. She's willingly enduring the daily pain tantrums you throw because of those sharpies busting through. It's reminicent of colic. Not fun.
You love being tossed up and down...something that makes your Dad nervous, but just makes me and you laugh. You love to jump around in your Jumperoo (seriously one of the BEST baby gadgets we have). We set up your high chair, and you like that too. Now instead of fussing while we eat dinner, you sit there with us playing with your toys while we eat. That's when you aren't watching us and whining for bites. Where you aren't eating a steady stream of "real food" yet...I've started giving you more tastes. Last week you had mashed potatoes, and mashed sweet potatoes. You loved both of them!
We started lately that Granny-Nanny watches you for part of the day then Grandma gets you for part of the day. That way everybody gets their daily fix. Although I openly admit to selfishly hogging you on the weekends.
You love to grab, and you are at the stage where you also love to put things in your mouth. Thankfully you aren't mobile yet. So right now it's more of a 'grab the cat and then try to put the handful of hair in your mouth' that we have to watch out for. I think all of the 4 housecats have taken their turns at having their chunks of fur ripped out, and amazingly enough they all are gracious about it. Especially Tapioca (which is strange beyond belief), I take the posistion that since she's my cat, she can sense how much I love you, and by default she knows she does as well. Treadwell (your cat) knows he is your cat. We have to keep a close eye on him because he loves to curl up and nap with you, and he loves to be near you. It's sweet, and I hope it's a relationship that continues to grow as the two of you do, together.
I think you are getting fairly close to sleeping through the night as well. A change you are making much easier than I am. I'm the one that it still waking up at 3am, and then I end up just staring at your angel face for a while before I go back to sleep.
Your Daddy and I constantly ask one another: "Do you think other parents love their little girl as much as we do?" We know the answer is yes, but we pretend it's not. You are our world. And we fear aloud on a daily basis when you make us laugh with your silly little smiles that we'll never be able to tell you 'no' or discipline you in the least.
Another song that has taken on a whole new meaning since you came along, is one from one of your current favorite movies.

So this is love
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine.
I'm all aglow
and now I know
the key to all heaven is mine.
My heart has wings
and I can fly
I'll touch every star in the sky
So this is the miracle
that I've been dreaming of...
so this is love
so this is love
so this is love.

I love you baby,
Love,
Mama

(plethora of pictures follows...)


Goofy pic, but you can see toof #1
Happy girl in the Jump-Jump-Jumperoo!
Jumperoo part 2
Mm...McDonald's french fry salt!

Teething biscuit..nom nom!
the terrifying terrorist (Jeff Dunham anyone?)
A clean face biscuit shot
Beautiful baby in butterfly wings