BIG news!!!

Sorry for the lack of post (again) this week. It has been quite an eventful week in our household. The biggest news - our condo is under contract!!!!! And, we are almost under contract on a home!!!!! (insert squeal here)

We put our condo back on the market two weeks ago and had a few showings last weekend while we were out of town. Last Wednesday we received and accepted an offer very close to our asking price. We had the inspection this weekend and everything seems to be moving forward, so we went out with our agent to look at houses (22 to be exact). We had a few that we were interested in, but absolutely fell in love with one and decided to make an offer this morning. We have been going back and forth most of the day, but it looks like we are almost official under contract and should be by tomorrow morning. I will update some pictures of the place then, but it is so perfect for us! We are so excited to move into a larger place and for Madeline to have her own room. There is also an awesome backyard that we can not wait to have a swing set in.

We are still in a little bit of shock over how fast this is all happening after we have wanted it for so long. We know that there are still many things that could go wrong, but we are very hopeful that everything will work out and we will be on our new home in a little over a month! (squeal again)

In other news, Madeline turned 4 months old last week and seems to be learning new things everyday. She has recently discovered her feet as you will see in the pictures below, so her new favorite game is pulling her socks off. Needless to say, this is not mommy and daddy's new favorite game. She is also really into faces right now and is always reaching out to grab hold of your face. She has yet to laugh out loud, but the doctor said some babies are just silent laughers for a few months, which stinks because we can not wait to hear her laughing. She is starting to make a few squeals, but not that often or very loud. We have also entered the stage were everything goes into her mouth (she has even tried to get Pepper's leg in there). Speaking of Pepper, Madeline LOVES her fur sister!! She watches her move around everywhere and reaches out to grab her every time she is within reach. We can't wait until she is walking and can run around with Pepper in our own yard.

Here are a few pictures I took two weeks ago:










When looking at the pictures from last month it looks like she has just gotten a lot longer this month. We also have been trying cereal and some baby foods which has been interesting - I'll try to upload some pictures or a video later this week.

We are meeting with our real estate agent tomorrow morning and we will keep y'all updated!!

Weekend recap

For those of you that haven't heard, Alex and I had a very interesting weekend! Everything started off great, with only a few tears (from me of course) as we parted with Madeline. Our flight to Atlanta was on time and although a little bumpy not too bad. That's where out good luck ran out.

Because of storms in Atlanta our 2:30pm flight was delayed for a few hours. At first it was no problem, but by around 6pm we knew we were going to miss Gordan and Anna's rehearsal and possibly the rehearsal dinner. Around this time the gate attendant announced that our plane was at the gate and as soon as the could they were going to get us on get us to Memphis. Cheers erupted from all the waiting passengers. Then, about 30 minutes later we were told that although our plane was available, there was no pilot to fly it. Apparently Airtran doesn't have any pilots on call in Atlanta (huh?) and were waiting on pilots to be flown in from Chattanooga. Finally, around 9:30pm we were told that there was no guarantee that our pilots would make it that evening and the flight could end up being cancelled. And of course, all the flights on Saturday were booked so we would have been on standby if that happened. So, reluctantly, Alex and I rented a car and drove five and half hours to Memphis!!! the only saving grace we had was we were sooo thankful that Maddie was not with us. All the drama actually distracted me from how much I missed my little peanut.

Once we got to Memphis, we had a fantastic time at the wedding! Anna was a gorgeous bride and we had so much fun with everyone at the reception. On top of trying to catch up on sleep, Alex and I have both been really busy at work the last two days so I have not had the time to upload any new pictures yet. I will try to get that done tomorrow, until then, enjoy this one:







Yes, we have quickly become "those parents" who let their daughter watch TV to entertain herself in the morning while we get ready. She loves Team Umizoomi!

Sunny Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon it was a beautiful, sunny 60 degrees in Chicago so we took the stroller and Pepper out for a nice long walk. Madeline got to try out her new shades for the first time:







Surprisingly, she didn't mind them!

We (mom & dad) will be heading to Memphis this weekend for a friend's wedding and it will be the first night away from our little angel. She will be staying with Grandma and Papa and I know they and lots of aunts will take great care of her, but it will still be tough for me. We are very excited to celebrate Gordon and Anna's wedding, but I know I will be constantly thinking of her. I will post details of the trip on Monday - have a great weekend everyone!

New Stats . . .

So Madeline had her four month appointment on Monday - where has the time gone!!?? Her current stats are as follows:

weight - 13 lbs, 2 ozs
length - 25 1/4 inches (up 3 1/4 inches in two months!)
head circumference - 40 cm

She is still in the 25% percentile for her head and 50% for weight, but her length this month jumped to the 75% percentile. So maybe she doesn't have solely Smith genes! For those of you that don't know my family, I, at a whopping 5'5" am one of the tallest!

The doctor said Maddie is right on track for everything and even approved us to start trying solid foods. We are allowed to try some rice cereal and fruits and veggies, but just for fun now to see if she is interested in them. If not, no biggie, she doesn't have to start on them until she is 6 months.

Unfortunately she had to get shots at this visit so this is how our visit ended:





Grandma and PaPa gave her some extra cuddling today to help her recover!

I'm going to Aunt Lindsays tomorrow

So I cannot wait to go to Aunt Lindsays tomorrow. I have jotted down a couple of notes for her benefit. Here they are:

* I like to be wrapped in my blanket and snuggled if I am tired or fussy.
* I love my snuggie and my sophie (it's my giraffe, but Mom likes to call it Sophie for some reason)
* I really like my pacifier, but when I'm really upset sometimes I don't realize it's in my mouth. Try pulling it out of my mouth and putting it back in.
* I like to eat about every three hours, make sure dad tells you when the last time I ate was. Many times he is a little too spacey.
* When warming my bottle, just put it in a glass of really warm water for a couple of minutes...... mmmmm yummy.
* I love to talk just like daddy, so please talk to me and I will be more then happy to tell you about my day.
* One of my favorite games to play daddy is peeing while my diaper is off, so you might want to change me on the changing pad. It will be in the diaper bag if I know mommy.
* Mom will not be too busy, so if you have any more questions feel free to call

I love you

Maddie

Oh and sorry I will not have my favorite pillow, Pepper there

Hello again!

We have had a pretty interesting week here in the Beck household. First, Madeline impressed us with her skills and rolled over for the first time!!! We have been able to get her to do it a few more times but haven't been able to get in on video yet.

She is now blowing bubbles and also has started talking (babbling)so much more in the past week. She will wake up in the middle of the night and just talk to herself and entertain herself for a while - one night for a full hour! So mommy and daddy are not getting much sleep, but it's worth it when we wake up ever morning to this:

No photos please

This is how I found her sleeping a few nights ago!