Payson Canyon

Yesterday evening, Covey and I met up with his siblings and their families for a little trip up Payson Canyon.  Covey told me that they used to go up there every summer to camp out when he was younger but he hadn't been back for probably 15 years, so he was excited to go up.  

Thankfully, Makadie slept most of the way up so she was good for a couple of hours once we got there.  When we got there, she was very interested in looking around, but I could tell she was a little wary of her new surroundings because she kept a very tight hold on my finger as we walked around.  She got comfortable after about 10 minutes though.  Slowly, our family made it up and we started getting the food prepared.  There is nothing like dutch oven cooking!  Yum, yum. :)

Unfortunately, since every one else was running a bit behind, we weren't able to stay up there with everyone for as long as we would have liked.  Covey wanted to stay the night, but I figured it would be best to take Makadie home and let her sleep in her bed and not keep everyone up all night. Plus, I like my own bed a lot better than sleeping on the ground.  ;)

Makadie likes to suck on apples after I take a bite.

Makadie and I are both looking at Covey like, "huh?"

My nephew, Cooper, with his "snake stick".  He kept finding imaginary snakes and poking them, however, I'm pretty sure if he saw an actual snake that would not be his response.

My niece, Lexi, and her dad, Grayson

Covey's brother, Shaun, getting some charcoal going for the dutch oven

Next year, I think we might consider going camping overnight with Makadie because she will be about 18 months by then.  But I think this was a good first exposure for her.  We had fun and hope to do it again!

Month Seven

Makadie is 7 months old!  Covey and I were looking at some pictures last night of when she was one and two months and we were just thinking, 'She was so little!'  She's still pretty petite as it is but it's amazing how much smaller she was.  Here is Makadie's progress:

• She has started laughing at things we do and faces we make.  It is pretty cute to see that is starting to recognize things that are funny.

• She started to grunt and growl when she get frustrated or she sees something she wants.

• We inherited an exer-saucer from some friends of ours (Thanks Kayla!).  Makadie didn't like it at first but the more she plays in it, the more she likes it.  It's fun to watch her spin around and play with all the different toys.

• She rakes things towards her if she wants them and she is always reaching for something to play with.  We have to be a lot more careful when how close we let her get to pretty much everything. 

• Makadie loves food!  She is definitely my daughter. :)  She is still a little wary of vegetables, but she will eat fruit like it's going out of style and she really likes her wheat cereal too.

• She had her first exposure to swimming.  The first time we went to Seven Peaks and she really didn't like it.  But when we went to the Spanish Fork Pool, she was a lot happier and enjoyed it a lot more.  And she looked so stinkin' cute in that little swimsuit!

• She started to take little steps when she was in a standing position.  I kind of hope I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that it's totally possible that she will skip crawling and go straight to walking.  Eek!

• Since we got our lawn in, Makadie loves being outside.  We go outside at least once a day and sometimes we'll go for walks in the evening when it's a little cooler.

• Makadie will get mad if she doesn't get fed fast enough for her liking.  As soon as she's done swallowing, she'll open her mouth for another bite.  It kind of reminds me of a baby bird.  :)

• She is almost sitting up by herself.  When she is on the grass, she has some cushioning so she can sit up pretty well.  On the floor in the house, she's not quite there with the balance. 

• Makadie really likes music.  We watch Sesame Street videos a couple times a day and her favorite is "Elmo's Ducks", followed by will.i.am's "What I Am" and Bruno Mars "Don't Give Up".  She squeals and smiles and laughs and reaches for the computer--so cute!  Covey also does some beat boxing which she thinks is fun and she gets a big smile on her face!  Her favorite song we sing to her is "Popcorn Popping".

• In connection with her attempt at walking, she likes to climb up me--literally.  She'll step up from the ground onto my legs and then onto my stomach.  It's fun. :)

• Makadie's little personality is starting to really come through.  She sure knows what she wants and she will get mad if she doesn't get it or it gets taken away.

• She is a busy body!  She always wants to be doing something.  This can get really tiring day in and day out, but it's fun to watch her learn and grow.

• As I've mentioned before, Makadie has had some struggles with sleeping.  She is doing a lot better overall.  We are still at one feeding during the night, but there has been more than one occasion where she has slept 8 hours straight before waking up to eat, then sleeping for another 2-3 hours, which has been really nice for me. 

• She is becoming very vocal.  She makes and imitates all sorts of noises.

• She loves playing hide and seek.

• She puts everything in her mouth.

Here are some pictures from the last month:

We celebrated my youngest sister's 21st birthday with a lunch at Zupas.

 Happy girl!

 Makadie and her crazy hair right after waking up from a nap

Why, Daddy, what big eyes you have!

 My dad came over for dinner one night and to see his little grandbaby

When Makadie falls asleep in her carseat, she often holds onto the rings hanging from the handle

Makadie and her little cow blanket she always sleeps with

And...here are some more pictures that I took with my nice camera.  (I kind of went with an antique/60's look on a lot of these, which I think turned out cute):

My personal fav!

Covey's fav

Seven Peaks and the Spanish Fork Pool

Two Saturdays ago, Covey and I took Makadie to Seven Peaks for her first exposure to swimming.  She didn't like it.  At all.  Every time we tried to put her in the water, she'd get a big frown on her face and start crying.  When we took her out, she'd stop.  It was kind of funny.  I mean, what else could we do besides laugh?  I think her dislike of the water had to do with the temperature of the water and getting splashed in the face.  Even though she didn't like being in the pool, we still enjoying being out in the sun and we got some cute pictures. :)

Yesterday, our ward did a party at the Spanish Fork pool so we decided to try the pool again.  Makadie actually liked it a ton better!  She frowned a bit at first and cried a little but the more she was in it, the more she liked it.  We also met my sister-in-law, her husband and their little girl there for some fun in the sun.

Month Six

My baby has been alive for half a year!  It's not possible...Some days I swear she literally changes overnight, it's crazy!  She is learning and growing all the time and it is so much fun to watch her little mind process everything. :)  This is what happened during her sixth month:

• She slept 10 hours straight!  (Of course, that same week she decided to completely abandon her sleep schedule, but at least we know she can do it.)  We're working towards transitioning to not waking up at all for a feeding at night very soon (which will be lovely for me so I can sleep all the way through the night for the first time since she has been born).

• Makadie had her first taste of baby food other than oatmeal cereal.  So far she's tried applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears (her favorite), peaches, green beans and turkey with turkey broth (least favorite by far).

• She went to her 6 month doctor appointment about a week before her 6 month mark.  He said that she is healthy but would like to see her gain a little more weight.  She is 25 inches long and 13lb 3oz in weight.  She also had more shots this time around but she doesn't have to have anymore until her one year appointment.

• We celebrated the 4th of July and Makadie got to meet some family she hadn't before.

• We got grass in our yard!  Makadie loves to be outside and to squish her toes in the grass, but she doesn't like when the grass touches her neck.

• One of Makadie's favorite things to play with is a silicone baster.  It's pretty funny to watch her with it, as she practically paints her face with slobber. :)

 

 

• Makadie's hair is too long to do the mohawk. :(  It was a sad day when I realized that she wasn't my little mohawk baby anymore.  Now we just part her hair on the side or pull it into a little pigtail on top of her head and she looks so much older.  But still just as cute. :)

• She still loves to stand up all the time.  She might be one of those babies who just skips crawling, but I hope not cause I think crawling is cute.  She is funny too, because she doesn't necessarily like to be held up around the waist.  She will grab onto my fingers and hold herself up instead.

• She is getting better at sitting by herself but she's not there yet.

• Makadie has started to babble to herself when she's in her crib before she goes to sleep and when she wakes up.

• We gave Makadie a soft little blanket to snuggle with when she goes down for naps and at bedtime.  It is really cute because the second we lay her down, she is reaching for it.

• She has started to understand the concept of peek-a-boo.  I will put a little blanket over her face and say "Where's Makadie?" and she'll flail her arms around a little then grab onto the blanket and pull it off her face with a big smile as I say "There she is!"  So fun. :)

Here are a few other highlights:

 
Here's a few pictures of her taken with my new camera:

Look at those cute little pucker up lips! :)