Adelline is A NURTURER at 1 Year, 11 Months

Despite our efforts to try to create a somewhat gender-neutral environment for Addy, it’s absolutely amazing how much biology or society’s stereotypes and expectations seem to play a role in behavior at such a young age.  Once Addy was old enough to understand what a stuffed animal was, she immediately fell in love with her furry friends.  We started with just one or two special friends, and her collection has now grown to fill her entire toddler bed.  Of course, every animal is special and needs to be in bed with her at naptime and bedtime.  It’s astounding how she can pinpoint the one who is not in the bed, resulting in a wild goose chase as we try to track down the missing friend.  Addy is such a nurturer to all her animals, feeding, holding, rocking, and putting them to sleep.  Her two constant companions are Moose and Hooey, as they also are wrapped in two of her blankets before bedtime.  It just melts Mommy’s bleeding liberal heart to see Addy so kind and loving to something as simple as a stuffed animal; hopefully that caring nature will transfer over into her interactions with classmates, neighbors, friends, family, and those who are struggling.      

One of our favorite vendors at the farmer’s market is “Farmer John.”  We especially love his string cheese “whips,” which he touts as “guaranteed to raise good children.”  At $6.75 a bag, we hope so, but Mommy reminds Daddy that quality, local, hormone-free food should be expensive.  Addy loves FARMER JOHN’S WHIPS and often asks for them at snacktime.

We’ve continued to talk about the potty and occasionally sit Addy down to try going to the bathroom.  Of course, when we ask if her diaper is dirty or if she needs to go potty, she replies, “NO FINE,” or “NO THANK YOU.”  While we appreciate the nice manners, we are going to get serious about this after our move to Biloxi! 

One day, Mommy left the girls in Addy’s room for a minute and returned to find Addy laughing hysterically as she gave Stella a “magic carpet ride” on her blanket, whipping her around on the hardwood floors. 

In Target, the clerk asked if someone was going to be having a birthday, since we were buying some monkey plates and cups.  She followed it up with, “How old are you going to be?”  Addy replied, “TWO MINUTES.”  Her other favorite answer is, “ONE!” 

Addy loves the book, “Hush Little Digger.”  She is especially interested in the backhoe that has a bad motor.  She repeats over and over again, “CHANGE BAD MOTOR.”

When Stella was crying before her nap, Addy decided she needed to be crying as well, but she wasn’t quite sure how to fake cry.  It came out sounding like, “HUH HUH.” 

We’ve asked Addy several times over the past few weeks if she needs a timeout when she is struggling with appropriate behavior, listening, or manners.  She always responds, “YES,” which then results in a self-administered timeout where she shuts the gate on her room door and starts fake crying. 

On the way home to Colby, there is a model log home along Highway 51.  Now that Addy is front facing in her carseat, she spotted it and asked, “BRITTY’S HOUSE?”  Yes, it would be so nice if Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric lived a bit closer, but no such luck. 

At Ashley and Caleb Zahl’s wedding, Addy was horsing around with Grandpa Mark and Daddy, who took turns swinging her and allowing her to “rock climb” up them.  The result was a dislocated elbow, called nursemaid’s elbow, that required an early trip back to Madison and a visit to Urgent Care, so the doctor could pop the bone back into place.  Addy was a teary, sad little girl, as she held her elbow close to her body and cried whenever any kind of pressure was placed on it.  Thankfully, she was back to normal in a couple days, and the “no swinging by the arms” rule was instituted. 

Addy loves being a mommy to “Lily,” the dolly she received for her birthday from Great-Grandma Adelle and Great-Grandpa Lawrence.  She is intrigued by the “disappearing milk” bottle; on the night she opened the present, she could not figure out why the dolly always seemed to be finished with the bottle and then when she tried setting it down, it would fill right back up again.

During a car ride, Addy told Mommy, “I love excavators.”  Mommy asked, “What else do you love?” thinking Mommy, Daddy, or Stella might make the short list.  Addy immediately responded, “I love Colby cheese.”  Anything else?  “I love Muenster cheese.”  Point taken!

Addy is still working on pronoun use.  She often refers to herself as YOU. 

Mommy made Addy an “Itsy Spider” cake for her second birthday celebration at Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric’s house.  When it was time to blow out the candles, Addy sniffed onto the cake.  The laughter that followed encouraged her to continue blowing air through her nose at the candles.  Finally, Aunt Lyddia helped Addy with a couple big breaths.

One evening, Great Uncle Rick and Great Aunt Karen were performing at the Dean House in Monona.  We spent time with Uncle Jay and Second Cousins Joseph Roltgen and Peter Cross, as we picnicked, took part in the pie and ice cream social, and listened to lovely western music.  Addy befriended a little girl, and they had fun climbing all over a big stump in the yard.  The little girl was happy to allow Addy to lead her around by the hand, so they became best of friends.  Addy was also very intrigued by a dragonfly she found and insisted on feeding him apples from a nearby tree.  Addy found a wild mushroom growing next to the stump and asked Mommy, “EAT MUFFROOM?”    
   

Addy always wants to help with TOOKIN’ (cooking), especially with her new apron sewn by Great-Grandma Adelle.  When Mommy asks, “What do we do before we start cooking?” Addy responds, “WASH HANDS,” and, “APRON ON.”  She is able to identify the mixer, blender, colander, rubber scraper, turner, metal spatula, tongs, measuring cups, measuring spoons, grater, wooden spoon, and basic flatware.  Addy loves to whisk, measure, and stir.  She makes her family and consumer sciences Mommy so proud!

The day before the Roltgen Family Reunion, Daddy and Addy helped with set up, and everyone went to Joe’s Fox Hut in Fond du Lac for pizza dinner.  Uncle Kevin gave Addy and her cousin Tessa each a dollar to play the “claw” stuffed animal vending machine game.  Lo and behold, Addy put her dollar in, and snagged a blue stuffed donkey on her first try.  Of course, Tessa was devastated that she didn’t win anything with her dollar.  Grandpa Bob suggested naming the animal “Lamby,” and despite an effort to clarify the species and possibly change the name, Addy liked it, so “Lamby” has now joined her menagerie. 

At the Roltgen Family Reunion, Uncle Joel asked Addy what the brown marks on her face were, and Addy grinned mischievously.  Apparently, she had been carrying a log that rubbed up against her face.  When Uncle Joel teasingly asked if she was eating wood, Addy ran over and chomped into a log sitting on the trailer. 

Addy started rolling down the hill from the dome to the field at the Roltgen Family Reunion.  When she got up at the bottom, she didn’t realize how dizzy she would be and proceeded to lose her footing and wobble into the weeds. 

Aunt Betsey encouraged Addy to make Stella laugh.  Addy scrunched her face into a silly look and buried it in Stella’s chest. 

We have really been working on manners.  Addy now asks, “MAY I HAVE SOME ______ PLEASE?”  This is a huge improvement over, “I WANT SOME ______,” repeated over and over again.  Now the conundrum occurs when Addy uses her “May I” manners to ask for treats.  Unfortunately, the answer is still no most of the time.  Our top two excuses are, “Ohhh, I’m sorry, that’s for when friends come over,” and “Ohhh, I’m sorry, that’s for mommies and daddies.”  We’re wondering how long this tactic will work!    

At the Neighborhood Night Out Celebration at our house, Addy was captivated by LEMON JUICE (lemonade) and kept requesting it from anyone she could get to fill her cup.

One morning when Addy woke up, she announced that Hooey was hungry.  She asked Daddy to unzip her jammies.  She proceeded to put Hooey to the breast and feed him.  Daddy noted that Addy was very modest, as she shoved Hooey’s entire head inside her pajamas.  Addy also breastfed Hooey when Arlene Welcher was at our house for the day, so Mommy could get some packing done.  Addy loved TOOKIN’ (cooking) with MISS ARLENE! 

Aunt Katie saw Addy eating beets and cottage cheese at our house, so she decided to give it a try and discovered she really enjoyed it.  Mommy couldn’t help but laugh as she normally uses cottage cheese as a “vessel” for some of the less desirable foods like beets, kale, spinach, brewer’s yeast, flaxseed, and other vitamin-packed foods.  Mary Long was appalled by this dish, as she hates beets, and Eli was not a fan of this combination either, as he made himself throw up all over Mommy when she tried feeding it to him during daycare. 

Addy sometimes declares foods like meatballs TOO SFICY (spicy). 

Addy has picked up on two of our nicknames for Stella—STELLALUNA and FUSSLES!

Addy is able to finish the sentences of most of her bedtime prayers.  She is a big fan of dipping her hand in the holy water at church, so she can do the sign of the cross.  One Saturday evening, she took off out of the pew at church headed straight for the holy water in the middle of mass.  Apparently, she was moved by the HOLY SFIRIT (Holy Spirit)! 

Addy and Daddy like to find music videos to watch on the Ipad.  Addy’s favorites include the “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb Little Lamb Little Lamb,” “No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” and “Wheels on the Bus.”  Their favorite version of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” features a jazz band and gospel choir.

Adelline is NEGOTIATOR at 1 Year, 10 Months

It’s humorous that my child is fascinated with many things that I find rather disgusting like spiders, bugs, and snakes, as well as things I have no interest in like construction equipment and semis.  However, I am very happy that I’ve managed to avoid “projecting” any personal sentiments about these things to Addy.  I’ve done my best to be excited when we find spiders and cicada shells (ultra gross, by the way).  I do draw the line at mice and rats and will simply decline to comment on them.  EWWW!  Someday, Addy, you’ll read this and thank your mother for her tolerance for the sake of your curiosity and development.  Until then, I will paste on my best smile, and say, “Let’s go find an ITSY BITSY!”       

One day while Mommy was changing Addy’s diaper, she exclaimed, “Holy moly,” as she saw the natural disaster she was going to have to scrape out of the cloth diaper.  Addy immediately repeated the phrase and later entertained Grandma Vicky, Grandpa Mark, and Aunt Lyddia at the dinner table with a long string of extra dramatic “holy molys!” 

Addy loves the Henry Vilas Zoo, especially the monkeys, which are technically orangutans.  She has been able to feed the goats, who definitely have no manners as they jump up on the cement guardrail with their front legs and try to eat as many food pellets as possible.

Addy and Mommy went to Fired Up Pottery to pick up donated gift certificates for the Elvehjem Neighborhood Fourth of July raffle.  As Mommy tried to steer Addy toward the cheaper pottery items, Addy was intrigued by a miniature car priced at $12.  Knowing the quality of one-year-old artwork, Mommy was able to convince Addy to choose a $5 dinosaur.  After fifteen minutes of painting while propped up with a telephone book and using as many brushes as possible, Addy’s masterpiece was complete.  Stegosaurus turned out so cute in black, blue, and yellow.  It definitely had a “modern art” feel to it, and Addy is so proud of her creation. 

While Mommy and Daddy went to buy a minivan for our family, Addy spent the afternoon with neighbors Jamie, Kyle, and Andrew Meise.  She was thrilled to go swimming and play with “SOPHIE” and “TOEY” (Chloe), the “TATS” (cats).

Addy has been a little sassy lately as she says “NO NO NO” very adamantly when she does not want Mommy or Daddy making a certain noise or saying something to Stella.  We usually look at her with raised eyebrows and sometimes say, “Excuse me?”  After a couple seconds of silence, Addy responds with, “YEAH???” as if to ask, “Is that what you want me say?”

Addy loves playing with water, especially when she is able to pour it from one container to another.  She continually asks for cups filled with WA.  If Mommy and Daddy say, “Not now,” she then follows her request for WA with, “Wash hands…dirty?” in an attempt to get close to the sink where she can be sneaky and fill her cup at the same time.

Addy helped Mommy make brownies for the ENA Firecracker 5K Pre-Race Pasta Party.  She was devastated that she was not able to eat the CATE (cake) right away, but Mommy said, “We’ll have cake when friends come over,” thinking Addy would forget about it by then.  Addy asked for CATE at every meal and snack leading up to the party; when the first “friends” finally arrived, Addy yelled, “EAT CATE,” but by the time she was finished her spaghetti, salad, and watermelon, she had forgotten about cake.  Just as the last guests were about to leave, she spotted the brownies and enjoyed a delicious bedtime snack.

At our neighborhood Fourth of July Celebration, Addy was very protective of Stella.  When a neighbor started talking to Stella, Addy said loudly, “LEAVE STELLA ALONE.” 

Addy has learned that when her teeth hurt, we give her a little Tylenol.  She now enjoys self-medicating as she declares, “TEETH HURT…MEDICINE?”

Addy likes putting her stuffed animals in TUMMY TIME on the activity mat, just like her sister Stella.

Daddy suggested an adventure to a small, roadside farm on County Road Ab.  Addy loved watching the goats, miniature horses, and donkey.  We felt badly for the animals, who were having a hard time finding any grass in the desert-like field due to the drought this summer.  Addy began pulling flowering weeds to feed to the horses and goats.  Mommy said to Daddy, “Do you think it’s okay to let her feed them?” since we certainly weren’t at a sanctioned petting zoo.  Just then, Addy’s hand lingered a bit too long near the horse’s mouth, and he proceeded to chomp down on her pointer finger.  As Mommy struggled to pry open the horse’s mouth, Addy was screaming and in tears.  We’ll see how much she continues to love horses! 

Addy is into classifying everyone as “nice” and telling us what she “loves.”  For instance, she told us, “Aunt Sara…niiiice.  Tessa… niiiice.”  At dinner, she told Mommy, “I love Colby cheese.  I love Muenster cheese.  I love Swiss cheese.”  At church on Saturday night, she announced, “Mr. Greg (church music minister)…nice guy.”  The next day Addy told Daddy, “I love Aunt Betsey…nice guy!”

Addy loves to swing FASTER and HIGHER. 

Addy and Daddy went to Farm & Fleet to pick out seat covers for the minivan.  Mommy asked Daddy to avoid any camouflage or leopard prints.  Upon assessing the covers available, Addy asked Daddy, “Tiger in there?”  Apparently, there were quite a few of the animal print options available!

Addy’s painted pottery piece suffered its first injury when stegosaurus lost a piece of his tail.  Luckily, a little super glue did the trick.

Addy enjoys telling “stories” to her high school babysitter, Rachel Russell.  She recently shared with Rachel that she bought a new van.  She also likes insisting on, “ONE MORE TIME,” even when Rachel needs to leave. 

Add likes putting toys on Stella’s face and laughing hysterically.  Stella doesn’t find this very amusing.

Mommy told Addy she had a headache.  Addy suggested that Mommy, “TAKE NAP.”  Yes, wouldn’t that be nice? 

Addy loves PANES (cranes), SE-MEES (semis), DUMP TRUCKS, CEMENT MIXERS, TANKER TRUCKS, BUSES, and EXCAVATORS.  She is also enthralled with ANTS, ITSY SPIDERS, FLYS, SQUIRRELS, SNAKES, PEET PEETS (tweet tweets aka birds), and WOOF WOOFS (dogs).  When looking out the living room window, Addy spotted neighbors outside for an evening walk.  She noted in a very disappointed voice, “WALKERS…NO WOOFS…JUST PEOPLE.”

When we were home for Colby Cheese Days, Mommy attempted to take both girls to 4 p.m. church at Abbotsford.  The “golden oldies” were not ready for the Roltgen family circus that day.  Mommy was literally sweating by the end of mass, as she wrestled with Addy for 60 minutes.  It didn’t help that we sat in the “immobility pew,” so we were not even able to go up for communion for a little change of scenery.  And yes, everyone in the entire church knew that Addy wanted a SNACK and that apparently her DADDY [was] AT HOME, which was not even true, as Daddy was working a military weekend! 

Addy had a slight mishap with her toy wagon.  Daddy was giving her the usual ride down the hallway, followed by a whipped around turn at the end.  This time, Addy lost her balance and faceplanted out of the wagon onto the floor.  There were quite a few tears, and the wagon was put away for a few weeks. 

Addy is working on her negotiation skills.  Anytime Addy requests something, whether it be extra time outside or marshmallows, she asks for “TWO MINUTES PLEASE.”  One night she wanted to read “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” for “TWO MINUTES.”  Since it was getting late, Mommy said there wasn’t enough time.  Addy asked, “THREE MINUTES?”

Addy can count to ten consistently.  She knows some of the numbers between eleven and twenty.  She can identify basic colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, and white.

Adelline is ARTICULATE at 1 Year, 9 Months

It’s so fun listening to Addy try to string words together into sentences.  It feels like we are getting closer to having an actual back-and-forth conversation with our little chatterbox.  After prayers and songs each night, we talk about the day and what’s on tomorrow’s agenda.  It’s amazing to realize how much language development has taken place in such a short amount of time.  Addy’s vocabulary continues to expand, yet her tone of voice and emphasis on certain words and vowels make us laugh.  I want to hang on to these days sandwiched between early attempts at communication with signs and syllables and complete articulation where there’s no doubt that she’s telling us exactly what she thinks about our parenting, what she wants, and why she should be allowed to pierce her ears… go on a date…you get the idea! 

 

Addy’s speech has exploded.  She is starting to put sentences together—MOVE IT and TAKE SHIRT OFF HOT (Mommy blames Daddy).  She also has some cute expressions like OH NO in a very dramatic voice and OH DIS in a very excited high-pitched voice when she sees things like M & M’s (Mommy blames Daddy) and swingsets.  We laugh to ourselves when she asks for TA-TAS (tortillas). 

When Great-grandpa and Great-grandma came to our house for Stella’s Baptism, Addy began asking Great-grandpa for WOOF WOOF, the ceramic dog figurine.  Great-grandma commented that Arby’s always has a hard time understanding and spelling the name Lawrence, so she suggested Great-grandpa go by his new name—WOOF WOOF!  Addy was quite dismayed that WOOF WOOF was at home, but she is looking forward to our next visit.

Addy’s love for sauce is expanding as she enjoys dipping everything in salad dressing including fruit.

At Uncle Joel’s graduation party, Addy wanted Aunt Sara and Cousin Tessa to come home with us in the car.  Tessa knelt down at Addy’s level and explained, “Addy, tonight we are staying at a hotel, but we’ll come over to your house tomorrow after Stella gets Baptism-ed.” 

During Stella’s Baptism party at our house, Addy caught a glimpse of Grandma Vicky’s bra and pointed it out to her—BA. 

Every night, Addy asks for her “meow” jammies, which are fleece pajamas with a kitty on the front.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite understand that they are too small and the wrong material for summer sleeping.  We’ve had to resort to telling her that they are dirty and need washing.  It’s been almost a month now that she’s continued to ask for them.  It breaks Mommy’s heart to see the look of dismay on Addy’s face as she searches high and low for the “meow” jammies, but at least she didn’t have to throw away any of Addy’s treasured blankies yet.  We’ll have to tell Addy the story of Grandma Vicky throwing away Aunt Lyddia’s ratty old blankie after having convinced Lyddia that it was the right thing to do.  As the story goes, Lyddia opened the garbage can in the morning and reached in to check if blankie had gotten cold overnight.  Even Grandma Vicky almost retrieved the blankie from the trash after that tearjerker!     

At Bratfest, Addy was very excited for a BAHT.  She may have been the only almost two-year-old requesting one!

On our way home from Bratfest, Mommy asked Daddy if he had connected with Rottingers to see if they wanted to come to our house for dinner.  Addy immediately asked, “YI-YAY?”  We were shocked that she knew Lily’s last name.

On Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend, Mommy subbed for music minister Greg Burnard at church.  Addy had a hard time understanding that she could not go up by Mommy during mass.  She kept asking for MAMA and trying to direct Daddy to the front of church by the piano.  During the sign of peace, Daddy brought Stella and Addy up to say hi.  Addy wanted to say hi again, so she made her move as Daddy was bringing Stella back to the pew.  She took off running toward Mommy and the piano and almost got a few notes in before being escorted back to her seat.  After communion, as a few people started leaving early, Addy kindly said, “BYE BYE.”  Toward the end of church, she announced loudly, “ALL DONE.”  She was definitely the entertainment for the evening, and everyone was amused watching Daddy try to handle both girls, even though he had some help from Anita O’Keefe, who held Stella until the sign of peace.

Addy has mastered drinking from a TUP (cup) with only an occasional spill.

Since Daddy has been working so many military duty days, Mommy has hired babysitters or asked neighbors to come over to take Addy outside or on walks.  Now anytime anyone comes to the door, Addy runs to the closet to get her shoes and coat while yelling, “OUT-SIDE, OUT-SIDE.”

Addy is becoming more aware of bodily functions like pooping.  At dinner, she was grunting one out in her highchair.  We asked if she needed to go potty.  She struggled to say NO as she completed the job, but she was happy to loudly announce, “POOP ALL DONE.” 

In the bathtub, Addy is fascinated with cleaning her private areas.  She then uses the same washcloth to try washing the shower walls. 

In the bathtub, Mommy and Addy were discussing where food comes from.  Mommy asked what Stella drank, and Addy said, “MILT.”  When questioned where it came from, Addy said, “MAMA.”  Mommy then asked where Addy’s milk came from, thinking she might have made the connection since the cow trading cards are on her half gallons of milk.  Addy informed Mommy that it came from a TUP (cup).

Addy tries to comfort her little sister with things she likes, such as books and stuffed animals, usually by setting them on Stella’s face or reaching up to drop them, cannonball style, into the crib.

We’ve been working on the full word banana, as Addy usually shortens it to NANA.  She now says, “BA,” followed by a pause and then, “NANA.”

Addy has seen us wiping spit up from Stella’s mouth, and she doesn’t want to be left out.  She will now create BUBBLES (drool) that need to be wiped from her mouth with a BURP CLOTH.

Addy is very attached to her monkey onesie.  She will look for it when it’s in the laundry by going through her dresser asking for, “MONKEY SHIT (shirt)?”

Addy is very intrigued by bugs.  Her interactions with them include pointing, attempting to give kisses, petting, and eventually picking them up to play.  She is especially interested in flies.  When there is a fly in the big picture window, Addy tries to touch it.  Normally, when an adult attempts to kill a fly, it’s nearly impossible to do with a Kleenex.  Addy is apparently a “bug whisperer,” as she will reach out and touch the fly multiple times, much to her delight.  She also likes to have conversations with the bugs, asking them to crawl down closer to her reach so she can touch them.  “[Gibberish] FLY [gibberish] DOWN [gibberish] RIGHT HERE [gibberish] PEAS (please).”  When Addy can’t find the fly, she explains to Mommy, “FLY NAP.” 

Daddy asked Mommy one night if she thought Addy’s feet were unusually large and stinky!  Mommy had to agree. 

Addy loves beets.  Anytime we go to the farmer’s market, she is on the hunt for her favorite food.  In early June, Mommy ran to the market with Addy in the jogger.  Addy was determined to find beets, even though Mommy tried to explain that they were not quite “in season” yet.  Lo and behold, our Running Club friend Bonnie Benson was the first to spot them and pointed out the stand to Addy.  Mommy had to laugh as she paid $2 for the world’s smallest beets.  After cooking and skinning them, Addy enjoyed her microscopic morsels of what Mommy called “gourmet beets.”

When Aunt Britty was visiting, she overheard Mommy reading the book “What Do I Eat?” to Addy.  Mommy likes to add details to books, especially when she disagrees with the authors.  For example, the book claims that chickens eat “corn.”  Mommy explained to Addy that chickens really should be free to eat bugs, grass, and spiders, but due to the farm bill and corn subsidies, many farmers are giving their chickens corn to eat.  Aunt Britty thought this embellishment was ridiculous and proceeded to add her own details to the book, telling Addy that cows eat “natural organic pesticide-free grass.”     

Addy competed in her first race, the 100-Yard Kids Dash at the Dandelion Dash 5K.  After false starting, Addy would take a few steps forward before lifting her arms and saying “UP” to Mommy.  This continued for the first 50 yards.  Finally, Mommy gave in and picked Addy up, and they crossed the finish line together in last place.  However, Addy was the only one-year-old registered, so she took first in her age group!     

Addy has officially gotten out of her bear bed a couple times, but we’ve been firm about her getting back to bed right away, so she scuttles across the room as soon as we open the door and give her “the look.” 

After watching us swaddle Stella, Addy insists that we WRAP Moosey in one of her blankets before naptime and bedtime.  We often hear an OH NO immediately after swaddling Moosey, as he “accidently” falls onto the floor out of the blanket.    

At Cousin Jack’s two-year-old birthday party, the kids splashed around in a kiddie pool and ran through the sprinkler.  Aunt Betsey had invited Addy to bring her swimsuit to join in the fun.  Daddy took this open invitation as a chance to bust out his Speedo and run through the party as a masked Speedo man, jumping on the trampoline, cannonballing into the kiddie pool, and disappearing behind the house.  It was an image that will be burned on everyone’s eyes for years to come! 

After Jack’s party, we stayed overnight at the dome with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gretchen.  We enjoyed a “neature” walk through the woods in the morning.  Daddy insists that it is a “neature” rather than “nature” walk because he kept saying, “Wow, Addy, isn’t that _____________ neat?” 

Addy loves her high school babysitter, Rachel Russell.  She has figured out that she can convince Rachel to let her eat “Daddy’s cereal” aka Rice Krispies for snack, and as soon as Rachel arrives, Addy leads her to the fingerpaint and other messy art supplies.  Rachel is very kind and patient with Addy, and we really appreciate her help! 

Daddy is taking full credit for teaching Addy her colors, although he fails to mention his method—testing her by looking at M & M’s and giving her one if she says the color correctly.  Now Addy loves “BLUES” as she calls all M & M’s and can be found climbing up the kitchen table to try and sneak Rice Krispie treats that have blue M & M’s in them.  Daddy has created a monster!

Adelline is A STINKER at 1 Year, 8 Months

This has definitely been Addy’s “adjustment month” as we’ve seen some comical yet frustrating behaviors. While she’s always been gentle with Stella, her attention-seeking activities seem to peak when Mommy is breastfeeding and unable to intervene. As with so many other things, it will just take a little extra patience, as time always brings a new phase with other challenges, making us completely forget the tough times and only remember the smiles, laughs, and happy memories!

We are almost to the point where Addy will repeat any words we ask her to try. Her favorites this month are WES (neighbor Wesley), SAU (sauce aka salad dressing), BER (berries), OU-SHIDE (outside), PEAS (please), BEBE (baby with hands connected in front in a rocking baby position), UP HIGH, PUMP (breast pump), PEE-PEE (urine), POOP, ADDY BACE ROLCHIN (Adelline Grace Roltgen), and SIS-SAHS (stickers).

Addy enjoys salad as a first course at lunch and dinner. She insists on SAU (sauce aka salad dressing) for dipping vegetables, and she can often be found using her finger repeatedly to lick up any extra dressing on her plate. She has also discovered that drinking directly from the sauce bowl is even faster than using her fingers. Light balsamic vinaigrette dressing is apparently quite tasty as a beverage!

Addy went to a children’s dentist for her first official visit. She enjoyed the appointment until the dentist attempted to move closer to her by asking if he could count her fingers. Addy was on to his tricks immediately, so Daddy decide to forego the cleaning this time. Addy was very excited about the tokens she received at the end of the visit that she could use in the toy vending machines.

 Stella may be the best thing that ever happened to Addy. As Mommy’s fatigue level increases, Addy gets to try foods she has never had before including a donut after church and chips with our SUBWAY sandwiches. The second best thing that ever happened to her was Mommy writing a lesson plan on “feeding children” for NASCO. After reviewing best practice feeding recommendations, including a note about “forbidden foods,” Mommy reluctantly decided that Addy can try a few sweet treats now and then. Daddy is also very happy with this breakthrough, as he now can stop trying to sneak desserts when Addy isn’t looking.

A wind storm blew down part of our big pine tree in the backyard. Once the power company fixed the lines, they left us with a huge section of the tree, along with many branches. Addy helped Daddy load sticks into the wheelbarrow. She was very excited about her efforts and could be heard yelling, “MITE MITE MITE (Mike Mike Mike),” when she had another pile to show Daddy!

While Mommy is breastfeeding Stella, there are often shenanigans going on in the living room, hallway, and bedrooms. These include car “accidents” resembling WWF moves where the car is lifted off the ground and slammed on its side or upside down, digging through Mommy’s jewelry box to locate and then throw Mommy’s wedding ring and band around the room, pulling out all the cookbooks, and shutting the gate and slamming the door to her bedroom, followed by, “HELP HELP HELP.”

Overall, Addy has been a very good big sister, but she does not always like sharing Daddy’s attention. She will often direct him by saying, “STEL BOUNCE,” while motioning back-and-forth from Stella to the bouncy chair, meaning, “Please stop holding Stella and put her in the bouncy chair, so we can play!”

Aunt Britty, aka Supernanny, came down for a visit after Stella was born. She was hoping to teach Addy to use the potty while she was here. As it turned out, Addy can now clearly say, “NO POTTY,” in response to any sort of question regarding potty use! Aunt Britty was such an amazing helper. She was a pro at getting Stella to take naps, kept us well fed, washed and folded loads of laundry, and even found time to teach Addy how to launch eggs from her play kitchen using a hot dog bun and spoon. Now Addy keeps requesting, “EGG FLYS.” Thank you again Aunt Britty!

Addy loves monkeys. In the book “Hug Time,” there is a page halfway through the story with a chimpanzee on it. When we get to the page, it usually results in a five minute stop to make monkey sounds, give kisses, and stare affectionately at the chimp. If Mommy or Daddy tries to continue the story before Addy is ready to move on, she will promptly turn the page back to the chimp and start the routine all over again.

Addy is very attached to her three fleece blankets. She originally had only two, but Mommy purchased a third one with plans to rotate it out as we did laundry. Unfortunately, Addy now thinks she has three blankets and won’t allow the rotation to take place. When we do wash the blankets, we have to sneak them downstairs quickly, wash and dry, and then return them to her bedroom. Mommy tries hiding the blankets under her shirt, resembling a pregnant belly, when she’s sneaking them downstairs. Daddy’s tactic involves stuffing them down his pajama pants, so he looks like MC Hammer, and singing, “Can’t Touch This.” Clearly, the almost-two-year-old is in charge on this issue!

Addy was running haphazardly around the kitchen one day, as her sense of balance seemed to be out of sorts. As Mommy asked her to be careful and slow down, Addy took off running and proceeded to fall in a “banana peel slip” manner flat on her back.

Brooklyn Lust, our neighbor and Mommy’s former carpool partner from Wisconsin Heights School District, came over to pick up Addy one day when Daddy was gone for military duty. As Mommy explained Addy’s schedule, Brooke said, “Well, if she gets hungry, we’ll just have a snack, right Addy?” Addy perked up at the word “snack.” Brooke then followed it with, “Maybe a snack like a cookie, right?” Addy’s response was a bit more enthusiastic this time, as she said, “YYYYYYEAH!”

Addy loves watching Stella roll out of tummy time. She says, “MO ROLL,” and gestures in a circle with her hand as she asks Stella to do more rolls.

Addy has seen an increase in timeouts recently as she has discovered freedom from rules while Mommy is nursing Stella and Daddy is working military days. Incidents include dumping dirt out of the potted plants, throwing everything she can get her hands on, refusing to pick up toys, standing on top of her princess cruiser car, filling the toilet with paper, shoving food items from her play kitchen all the way into her mouth, and squishing tomatoes between her hands before throwing them on the floor.

It seems that Addy’s bed is still surrounded by invisible fence, as she will scream if one of her blankets or an animal falls out, but she will not leave the bed to retrieve anything. The game of throwing an animal out of the bed to avoid going to sleep has officially begun!

During a diaper change, Addy grabbed a wipe from the basket and started washing her face while repeating her new favorite word—POOP.

Addy continues to pet her little sister and say, “AWWWW STEL,” in a very high voice that sounds like a little old lady. Apparently that’s what happens when you name your children “grandma names” like Stella and Adelline!

Addy will have many stories to tell when she starts school. She recently ripped off her shirt and ran over to Mommy’s breast pump asking if she could PUMP.

Every time Stella is crying, Addy tries to locate PACI and shove it in Stella’s mouth. We’ve had several discussions about waiting to see what Stella needs before we give her the pacifier. When Addy is asked if she is a good helper with her little sister, she replies, “PACI.”

When Mommy told Addy we were planning to visit Great-grandma Adelle and Great-grandpa Lawrence at their house, she began asking for “BUS.” Apparently, she remembered playing with the Little People school bus that is now on its third generation. When we arrived, she began asking for the bus. After a bit of swinging outside, Great-grandpa joined us on the patio. He agreed to take Addy inside to get the bus, but he did not actually know what he was looking for. Addy led him in the house and began searching all the rooms. They came back outside empty-handed. Great-grandma and Mommy had a good laugh as we explained that “BUS” was the old toy from upstairs. Addy eventually found the bus and enjoyed loading it up with all the people. She insisted they enter through the door, but she would always forget to close the door before driving away, so there were quite a few accidents in the grass as the people fell out and were run over. Later, Great-grandpa became Addy’s new pal as he hid a ceramic dog figurine in his shirt pocket. She was thrilled with this game and kept saying, “WOOF WOOF!”

Adelline is A LITTLE PERSON at 1 Year, 7 Months

Oh, how life has changed for us! We are so happy to welcome beautiful Stella Alice Roltgen to our family. Her birth was absolutely amazing, and we are blessed with another healthy baby girl. Parenting is certainly about perspective, as I now realize four things:

1) The ratio of one baby to two adults is much easier than two little ones to two adults—IF we have another, we’ll need to work on our zone defense skills;
2) I have learned a lot about parenting in the short time Addy has been part of our family—hopefully she’ll forgive us for all our rookie mistakes;
3) What I’m doing as a mother day in and day out is enough—there’s no need to be stressed or worried about being a “perfect” parent;
4) My body is capable of much more than I give it credit for—I don’t want to say natural childbirth was enjoyable, but I am awed and honored by what I was able to accomplish with Daddy’s support, good thoughts from family and friends, and lots of prayer!

Addy has lots of words to share with us. Her new favorites are HO (home), WRI (write), SOC (soccer), IDDY (Aunt Lyddia), MAR (Grandpa Mark), BOB (Grandpa Bob), MIL (Camille, our neighbor’s little girl), SHA (shape sorter), YI-YAY (Lily), RI (rice), EGG, EX (excavator), DISH (dishes as in “let’s put away the dishes”), HIIII STEL (Hi Stella), BEBE (baby), MIKE (Daddy), and WOOF (dog).

Addy has yet to try to get out of her toddler bed at naptime and bedtime, but she has discovered the light switch next to her bed and enjoys flipping it off and on before and after naptime. Luckily it sometimes gets “stuck” in the halfway position, so the light becomes non-functional!

Addy loves the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song. She requests it at naptime and bedtime with the actions, which include wild waving arms and fingers to simulate “fast rain” and arms connected over her head for the “sun.” She also likes all the verses of “Kookaburra” and the “ABC Song,” which she tries so hard to fill in with the correct letters at the pause points but usually goes with “I” for most guesses! ABCDEF [pause] I? H [pause] I. JKLMN [pause] I? P. QR [pause] ESSSS. TU [pause] I? WXY and [pause] CCZZ!

Addy sings along to “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”

Addy has been using her hands to eat food that is too delicious to take the time to use a spoon such as oatmeal and tofu with cinnamon and brewer’s yeast. Then she asks over and over again for “Sara.” Translation: “Please bring me a washcloth knitted by Aunt Sara.”

Addy enjoyed the Kids Expo at the Alliant Energy Center. Her favorites included the model swingset, trampoline (until Daddy threw her on her back and she bit her lip on the way down), exotic animals, and balloons.

In the very short amount of time it took Daddy to put away his laundry (for the record, the laundry was washed, dried, and folded by Mommy) and use the bathroom, Addy created her own “tattoo” all over her arm with a blue glitter pen! She also enjoys accessorizing her shirts in the same way while Daddy is not paying attention.

Addy had a great time when Grandpa Mark, Grandma Vicky, and Aunt Lyddia came to visit the weekend of the WIAA Girls State Basketball Tournament. She was a good sport, despite being under the weather due to teeth or illness. As always, she immediately gravitated to Grandpa Mark, or MAR as she calls him. She also had lots of fun playing with Grandma Vicky and Aunt Lyddia, aka IDDY. Addy enjoyed convincing them to let her take out all her toys at one time, telling stories about the smoke alarm in the kitchen and her fall by the window with snake, and directing her breakfast oatmeal preparation, which included adding tofu. As the weekend went on, she got more and more tired and was soon laying her head to the side in her highchair and agreeing to take naps. Grandma Vicky kept marveling at how much Addy had grown up since Christmas and noting that she was “a little person” now.

Addy is starting to fill in the words to her bedtime prayers and songs.

We are seeing some very comical temper tantrums from Addy. They usually involve throwing herself flat onto the floor to express her dismay at not being able to have a chocolate Cliff bar or play with toys before bedtime. Transitions also cause this reaction, so we are trying to remember to give plenty of warnings when we are going to be leaving a fun place. Daddy noted that Addy had to stop to move several toys out of the way in order to lay flat on the floor during one of her outbursts!

Daddy and Addy had a few days of Daddy-daughter time when Mommy attended the family and consumer sciences conference. They went on many adventures including visiting Aunt Sara, Aunt Betsey, and Uncle Kevin; hanging out with Cousins Tessa and Jack; hiking at the dome; playing at various playgrounds; attending a musical performance by KG and The Ranger; and stopping at the trainyard. Details of some of their other antics—late bedtimes, macaroni and cheese lunches, and chocolate chip cookie snacks—are slowly being shared with Mommy!

Addy has started parroting Mommy’s calling for Daddy when he tries to conveniently disappear in the middle of unpleasant tasks like dishes and housework. Even Daddy cannot hide from his little girl calling, “MIKE,” as loud as she can.

Mommy was downstairs one evening after Addy had gone to bed and heard a very loud THUNK followed by ear-piercing screaming. Addy had fallen out of bed onto the hardwood floor and was trying to climb back in by the time Mommy got there. Despite blood dripping everywhere and a cut lip, Addy just wanted to go back to bed. What a trooper! We now have large pillows on the floor next to her bed.

Addy loves asking for MO (more) of everyone from snack to squirrels to ambulances driving by with sirens blaring and lights flashing. We are trying to help her understand that it’s not very nice to ask for more ambulances since it means someone might be hurt. Addy appears to listen intently to Daddy and Mommy’s explanation and then ask, “MO?”

Addy likes to say “awwwww” to babies and stuffed animals. Hopefully this will also be extended to her new sibling.

Daddy and Addy were at McFarland High School meeting with Daddy’s long-term sub when Mommy called Daddy telling him to come home right away. Daddy called Kyle and Jamie Meise, our neighbors, to take care of Addy until Uncle Jay could get to our house. Mommy and Daddy left for the hospital at 6:30 p.m., and Baby Stella Alice Roltgen was born at 9:05 p.m. that night.

Addy went to her first Easter egg hunt with Kyle, Jamie, and Andrew Meise. In lieu of a basket, she collected two eggs in her sunhat. After the initial hunt was over, Addy liked finding the additional eggs that were tossed back out for those who wanted to keep searching.

Addy visited her little sister Stella for the first time at St. Mary’s Hospital. She gave her several gentle pets accompanied by “awwwww”s.

After arriving home on Easter Sunday from the hospital, Mommy and Daddy were both amazed at how big Addy seemed compared to Stella. She literally “grew up” while we were away for a few days!

Addy has definitely been letting us know she is still here after bringing Stella home. We’ve seen quite a few flat-on-the-floor tantrums, and her new favorite response to everything is “no.” However, she has been very gentle with Stella and reluctantly brings Stella her cow stuffed animal, usually after giving it snuggles, a ride on the princess mobile, and kisses.

Addy is now into smiling for pictures, which involves scrunching her face into the most ridiculous pose while looking up at the picture taker.

Mommy is reading the book “Bringing Up Bebe” about differences in French and American parenting and has started implementing some of the French strategies. One of the suggestions is to serve meals in courses that include a wide variety of interesting cheeses. We already eat in courses, but Mommy decided that our cheeses were not adventurous enough. She sent Daddy to the store to find something out of the mainstream. She suggested goat or bleu cheese. At bedtime snack, Addy tried a piece of goat cheese, made an awful face, and then batted the cheese out of her mouth piece by piece as it slowly melted down her face, creating a huge mess. Later, when Mommy and Daddy tried a piece, they had a similar reaction! Apparently, it’s an acquired taste.