Jackson Robert Sink

We want to welcome little Jackson Robert to the world. He was born on Tuesday, September 23rd at 4:31am. He was 9lb 4 oz and 22 inches long.

We got to meet little Jackson this past weekend. He is so adorable. I can't even remember Madeline being that little. And he isn't even a little guy!


Cristen looked great and Kathryn seemed to be doing well with her new little brother. She is giving him lot of hugs and kisses. Congratulations to the beautiful family!

10 Months Old

Helllloooooo... where is the pause button people! 10 months! That is only 2 months away from 1 year! Well, she is definitely growing and changing.

I love how she is interacting with other kids now. She likes to follow the big kids around and try to do what they are doing. At the playground the other day, she followed all the kids up the steps, up the platforms to the slide at the top. Then I would meet her at the top and go down the slide with her. Then she would follow all the kids again. She has a lot to learn about sharing though. For now, she likes to "show" other kids her toys. She will hold them out like she is going to give them a toy and then she jerks it back away. She can pass a ball though. I will roll it to her and she will hand it back to me.



She loves the outdoors. What are we going to do when it gets too cold? I guess that is what coats, hats and gloves are for.



I have had to clean her shoes with Comet twice already because she gets them so dirty while she is playing.


Yep... she found her nose. And so it begins...

I really like how she squats. It reminds me of a little Asian baby :)

She is getting pretty good at entertaining herself. While I am working in the kitchen she will pull out my nesting collanders and carry them around or put them on her head. Sometimes she will play on the stairs. She likes to carry things up the steps or play with them on the bottom few steps. She is very good at going up and down the steps. So, I don't worry too much about her falling. She will also walk from room to room looking for things to play with and explore.

She has really started liking stuffed animals. Her favorites are this monkey, a blue fish from Dr. Suess' "One Fish, Two Fish,..." and a small lion that her aunt Katherine got her. She carries them around the house all the time. She will bring them to me to hug, then she hugs them and then I hug them both.

She still loves books. She pulls them out of her bucket all the time and then flips through the pages. She also carries them to me and sits between my legs while I read it to her.

Madeline is pretty good at walking now. It is definitely her prefered method of transportation. We don't see too much crawling these days. If she falls down, she gets right back up and keeps on walking. She loves to carry things around the house, especially things that look entirely too big for her to carry.


Madeline's eating has been changing a bit lately. She seems to prefer big people food instead of the pureed stuff. But, it seems difficult to get as much food in her when she is feeding herself. I guess that will change in time. She isn't completely done with baby food. She still loves her green beans and peas. And she also eats a lot of bananas mixed with other things like berries, pears or apples. We have tried the pureed meals and she won't eat them. So, now she is eating things like pancakes, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, pasta, bread and mixed vegetables. Last night she ate Salmon cakes and zuchini with us. Tonight she ate a slice of red pepper while I was making dinner. She also likes to take bites out of foods like apples or tangerines and anything we hold up to her mouth, like tacos. Simeon gave her a baby pumpkin and there are teeth marks all in it. One of her favorite snacks is Cheerios. She carries a SnackTrap around with her hand stuck in it a lot. She also likes graham crackers, saltine crackers and pretzels. She still needs her sign language videos to eat during a meal. But, I think she is learning a lot. She moves her hands around like she is signing stuff all the time. So far, I have seem glimses of, "airplane", "more", "all done", "fish" and "milk".

Other things:

~Whenever we take her upstairs to see the fish, she says, "fffff", "fffff". She doesn't usually make that sound at other things. So, it seems, to us at least, she is trying to say, "fish".

~She had a tooth break though the other day. So, she is up to 5 teeth.

~She likes to nod her head, "yes" now. And if she hears me say, "no no", she will nod her head, "no".

~She is still taking 2 naps on most days. One around 10am and one around 3pm. But, sometimes she only takes one when she wakes up around 8am. Then she will take a nap around 12pm. I am trying to hold on to that morning nap. I still need a time to get a shower! She has had a day with no naps and she did pretty well. As long as she can get outside, she is a happy girl. It's nice that she can be a little more flexible now.

Madeline is such a joy to us. We love just watching her do her thing. She is so cute and entertaining. We are having a blast with our little girl!

The Park

Well, it was a beautiful day here in Germantown, MD. So, Madeline and I jumped in the car and headed to a nearby park. Madeline had a blast! She was a little leary of the tunnels. But would go through them if I stood at the other side.



She went down the slide for the first time by herself. She went down on her belly, feet first. I don't think she liked it. So, I usually just went down with her.



We checked out all the cool equipment. Madeline would see a big kid do something and then she would want to do it to. She tried to climb up the slide, but she couldn't quite do it yet.

She loves bouncy things. They are kind of like the horsey at Granny B and Pawpaw's house.

Madeline also met several friends...

Beck...

and Kaitlyn.

It's pretty fun to be able to go to a park now!

All that playing really wears a little girl out. Madeline came home and went down for her nap without a single fuss.

Pawpaw's Airplane

My mom came up for a visit a few weeks ago. She flew here after one of her trips (she is a flight attendent, in case you didn't know.) So, when it was time for her to go home, my dad flew up to get her. We met him at the Frederick, MD airport. Madeline was happy to see her Pawpaw and all the airplanes. I think she tried to do the sign for airplane. (It's on one of her videos :)

Before they left, Dad showed her how to fly the airplane.


I think she was a little more interested in his badge. Oh well, maybe in a few more years Pawpaw can give her flight lessons.

Happy Fall!

Well, as of Monday, it is offically Fall. Madeline and I are enjoying the much cooler weather. We usually take a walk in the mornings. But, now that Madeline can walk, I am not getting much exercise. She would much rather be out of her stroller and walking herself. She wants to pick up the leaves, eat the leaves, touch the trees, touch the ducks, dig in cracks in the pavement, push her stroller and this morning she pulled a very nice kitty's tail. Surprisingly enough, the cat didn't seem to mind. So, I guess I need to find some other form of exercise. Because walking less than 1 mile an hour doesn't seem to be getting my heart rate up.

Little Miss Piggy

Madeline's hair is finally long enough to put in a pig tail! It's so fun being a girl!

A Walker

Well, Madeline is definitely walking now. She decided on Thursday night at Bible study that walking was better than she thought. So, now she is walking everywhere. Each day she is able to walk better and better. She can walk all the way across our living room. She can also stop and pick something up and keep on walking. It is amazing how one day she can't do something and then the next she can! So fun!