Madeleine goes to the dr

Madeleine had her 1-year checkup today, and all in all she's doing well. In fact, she decided to work on some of her emerging skills while at the doctor's office, beginning with her newfound realization that she doesn't trust people she doesn't know. The poor medical assistant tried every trick in the book to get Madeleine to crack a smile, but she responded by staring warily at the woman, followed by a wail of indignation that this strange lady would dare to try and play peek-a-boo with her. Following the exit of the medical assistant, Madeleine decided to hone her pronunciation of "uh-oh" by evolving from "uh" to a full out "uh-oh." What helped her practice this word repeatedly was to drop everything I handed her, from the toys in her diaper bag to her sippy cup full of milk, onto the (probably germy) examining room floor, declaring "Uh-oh!" with each new item that clattered down to the ground. She does get major props, however, for her completely stoic reaction to getting her finger pricked to test her hemoglobin. The medical assistant even said she's never had a baby who didn't cry after the finger prick. So Madeleine has set a record for bravery.

Since returning home and the apprehension about the scary stranger medical assistant lady, Madeleine has been calling for me every second that I'm further than a few inches from her. "Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!" I am thrilled that she has really learned to say my "name," but also somewhat jealous of the fact that Ethan gets the delighted "DADA!"s and I get all the desperate, needy "Mama! Mama!"s.

Finally, Madeleine decided to show off her eating skills - and her ability to save herself from choking - by shoving her face full of pretzel goldfish, gagging on them, and spitting them out. How many did she spit out? 6. 6 goldfish shoved into her mouth at once. I'm not quite sure why she doesn't finish chewing one before stuffing another into her mouth, but apparently I can only give her one at a time from now on.