Adelline is ALL OVER THE PLACE at 7 Months

Well, I think this is officially the month when everything changes for us! Addy is completely mobile and determined to get into absolutely everything. We are still discussing how much childproofing we are going to do v. teaching her “no.” Of course, we have all the outlets covered, major hazards put away, and a baby gate on the stairs, but we still have some work to do with plants, wine bottles, cabinets, and breakables. Every day, she seems to point out something new that we didn’t realize she’d be interested in playing with. Addy is still a very adventurous eater. She now eats tofu, avocados, mangoes, squash, potatoes, oatmeal, puffs, egg yolks, yogurt, and garlic powder. Despite some napping/sleep issues and a cold/cough this month, Addy’s been a busy, active girl who is truly all over the place!

Addy likes to imitate things now. When Mommy sticks out her tongue pretending to be a frog, Addy smiles and slowly sticks out her tongue too.

Daddy had an interesting diaper changing experience as he took off Addy’s cloth diaper and tried moving it away from her kicking legs. In the transfer, a log-like turd happened to fly out, but Daddy caught it before it hit the floor. Nice hands!

Addy’s “Sophie” giraffe, supposedly the world’s most popular teething toy, has started to mold. Unfortunately for Eli, this means that Addy’s main goal throughout the day is to try to sneak his “Squeakers” giraffe while Mommy isn’t looking. Update: The lab testing results came back, and it appears that “Sophie” has scuff marks, not mold. Hmmmm, when was “Sophie” outside on the blacktop?

Addy has started snoozing in the jogger while Mommy and Daddy are on their runs.

Addy is very good at scooting backward and sometimes gets “stuck” under couches, cribs, and dressers.

Addy is still quite wary of “strangers” coming over. She started wailing when Grandpa Bob stopped in one morning and when Uncle Jay came over for dinner one night. Once she adjusted from the safety of Mommy’s arms, she had some smiles for both of them.

Addy loves “dipping” backward. She will arch her neck when she wants to be dipped again.

Addy’s favorite game is “1-2-33333333” where Daddy lifts her high into the air.

One morning, Addy discovered that she could lift one hand off the floor when in her crawling position. After two nose dives, she started crawling forward later that day. Go Addy!

When Addy is tired now, she’ll bury her face in her blanket. During naps and bedtime, she still likes to have a blanket next to or over her face to sleep.

Addy is still a bit shy, but she’s particularly scared of Aunt Britty. She will cry and try to crawl further into Mommy or Daddy’s arms when Aunt Britty gets too close. We’re not sure why. Could it be Aunt Britty’s gorilla impressions as she lumbers toward Addy talking in a loud voice? Probably not! Great-grandma Adelle says Addy has a “get me away from Aunt Britty” cry. By the end of a weekend visit, Addy was warming up to everyone, especially Grandpa Mark, who never really gives Addy a choice!

One morning, Daddy was letting Mommy sleep in while he played with Addy. Unfortunately, Mommy woke up to a scream as Addy fell out of the front of her umbrella stroller. She had leaned a little too far forward and wasn’t buckled in because of her sleep sack. Interestingly, by the time Mommy ran out to the living room, Addy was back in the stroller, so Mommy wasn’t sure what had happened. Apparently, Daddy believes in getting right back on the horse!

Addy is all over the place now. If we’re making dinner or putting away dishes, she crawls from the living room play area into the kitchen to find us.

Addy has discovered her “singing” voice, which sounds more like a loud, continuous “ahhhhhh.” She has incorporated this into mealtimes in her highchair, naptime, diaper changes, and crying in the middle of the night.

Addy is still getting up one time per night to eat. It is usually right before we go to bed around 11 p.m. or at 3:30 a.m.

Our friend Melissa Pfohl was comparing children to the raptors from the Jurassic Park movie, noting that they slowly become cleverer over time, using “tools” to accomplish things and most likely trying to kill humans in the end. Addy was our little raptor the next morning when we walked into her room after a nap to find her STANDING in her crib, using the rails as a support (tool). Daddy quickly began lowering the mattress while Mommy whisked Addy up to change her diaper.

When we went to Colby over Daddy’s spring break, Addy earned the nickname of “little owl.” When someone other than Mommy and Daddy is holding her, Addy tries to crank her neck around to see his/her face. Grandpa Mark and Grandma Vicky quickly learned how to keep Addy facing forward at all times and “dodge” her owl peeks to prolong the amount of time she would tolerate them holding her!

Addy loves her musical instruments, especially the rhythm sticks, cymbals, tambourine, and maracas. She is getting better at attempting to play the instruments, rather than simply chew on them. Maybe Kindermusik class is paying off after all!

Addy has had a very rough couple weeks with a cold, runny nose, cough, and possible teething. She has been one tired little girl, as she has gone on nap strike during the day. She hates being on her back and will move to all fours before pulling herself up in her crib and screaming as loud as she can at any hour of the day or night!

Addy now tries to pull herself up on the couch, piano bench, bubbles container, Mommy and Daddy’s legs, chairs, and anything else she can use for leverage. Her balance is still quite shaky, but she definitely has no fear. Addy will sometimes take a “rest” when she’s trying to pull herself up to standing by sitting back on her feet with her knees of the floor. It’s so cute!

While visiting Great-grandma Adelle and Great-grandpa Lawrence, Daddy tied a little mouse rattle to Addy’s pants, so we could track where she was in the living room while we ate lunch. It worked pretty well, as we were able to finish most of our meal before she was done with “independent play time!”

One day, Mommy was getting ready to take Addy outside while Eli napped. When trying to balance Addy, the blanket, a bag of toys, the baby monitor, and an egg salad sandwich for her lunch, Mommy turned to make sure she had everything. In that moment, Addy tore off a piece of the bread and stuffed it in her mouth. Mommy turned around to find part of her sandwich missing and Addy looking like a chipmunk.

In her highchair, Addy likes to tip her head all the way to one side until you imitate her.

Addy likes playing with her basketball hoop, which usually involves trying to pull it over on top of herself, but she also is getting better at throwing the ball, although quite wildly at this point.

Adelline is ANXIOUS at 6 Months

My heart just melts when I see Addy smiling and crinkling her nose at family, friends, babies, kids, and even strangers. She is such a friendly little girl, even though we have seen some pretty strong separation anxiety this month. It shouldn’t be a big surprise, given the amount of time she spends with me on a daily and weekly basis.

Addy seems to have her daddy’s laid back personality. She will sometimes roll and bump her head, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. We try not to react when it happens, so most of the time, she doesn’t even stop playing. She has also inherited a streak of stubbornness, although I really can’t say who that might be from. When there is a toy or something she wants to play with, no amount of distraction or redirection is sufficient. Most of the time when this happens, she is trying to eat real food from our plates or bowls, play with the camera or video camera, push buttons on the baby monitor, chew on paper books, or knock everything off her changing table. Her persistence is quite impressive!

We are starting to see more instances of separation anxiety as Addy recognizes Mommy and Daddy very easily now.

Favorite non-toy items include paper, food wrappers, juice lids, boxes, and anything electronic such as cell phones and baby monitors.

Addy loves pulling her socks off her feet, especially during diaper changes. One day, Mommy was looking all around the changing table for one of Addy’s socks. She finally decided to give up the search until glancing more closely at Addy and seeing THE ENTIRE SOCK stuffed into her mouth!

Addy now “smiles” by crinkling her nose and making a goofy face. She will do this to Eli no matter if he is just waking up from a nap or crying for his bottle.

Addy has started sniffing while she laughs.

During lunch with Eli, Addy figured out how to roll up her washcloth and snap it or just wave it around wildly. She tries to do this every time we give her the washcloth to wipe her face.

Addy is able to hold onto the spoon and feed herself. Mommy has considered stripping her down for mealtime to avoid some of the mess! So far, she has loved everything we’ve given her to eat—rice cereal, carrots, green beans, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, and apples. She’s also liked the spices we’ve added including cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Mommy decided to try giving Addy a piece of toast to gum, since she read it can help with teething. Addy proceeded to go ahead and chomp off a huge bite of it before starting to gag. On second thought, let’s wait on the toast!

Addy really wants to start crawling. She will get up on her hands and knees or even all fours and sway her body forward and backward while looking back at her feet as if to say, “Come on, let’s go!” She’s also gotten to be a pro at rolling across the floor and stretching to get what she wants.

Addy continues to impress us with her yoga poses. Her latest is downward dog as she tries so hard to crawl forward with her butt in the air!

Addy’s on a bit of a hunger strike with Daddy at the moment. We’ve started doing formula before bed to preserve some of our frozen milk supply, but she only wants to drink the bottle from Mommy. No Mexico trip for us this month. We’ll try again in June.

Addy is able to hold her own bottle now. When she’s had enough, she likes playing with the nipple and trying to squirt milk out of the tip.

During meals, when Mommy asks, “More?,” Addy waves her arms, kicks her legs, opens her mouth really wide, and starts shaking in excitement!

At Ash Wednesday mass, Addy was a little ham. She kept smiling by wrinkling up her nose, trying to get people’s attention. She is fascinated by other babies and kids.

Addy tried out a Kindermusik class this month with Daddy. For the first fifteen minutes, she waved her arms wildly in the air while kicking her legs. She may have been a little bit excited to be there! This is also the reaction we see when Addy spots a puppy.

During naptime, we will hear a SNAP as Addy tries playing with the art cards we have propped between the rails and her mattress. She has also figured out how to get “Rexy,” her duck, down from the top of the crib. When we come in, she is usually on her stomach with her socks off chewing on an art card while Rexy sits nearby. It’s so hard not to laugh as she smiles mischievously!

During the Point Bock Race, Addy started squawking a little after the one-mile mark. With four miles yet to go, Daddy decided to stop the jogger and check out the situation. After attempting a failed bottle feeding, Daddy chose to cut his losses and turn back. Ironically, he ended up coming down the home stretch with the first place runners. People were cheering wildly for the guy they thought ran such an amazing time pushing a jogger! Of course, it didn’t help that Daddy was wearing shorts and a Baraboo track jersey on a 30-degree day. After finishing, Daddy informed the race officials that he had turned back early and needed to be scratched from the results. Better luck next year!

Adelline is A MONKEY at 5 Months

I was reading a survey that claimed moms of six-month-olds are very happy, and I can understand why. Addy seems to be learning new things every day, and playtime is much more interactive now. Her smiles light up her entire face. In the words of Sara from Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, “we never have children, we receive them.” It brings tears to my eyes when I stop to consider how blessed we are with a healthy, active, and curious gift from God who is already starting to develop her own spunky personality. I can also relate to Brian from Picoult’s book who notes, “I would have given anything to keep her little. They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them.”

Being a daycare provider for another little boy almost the same age as Addy has felt like going from one baby to twins! It certainly was an adjustment for everyone the first week, but now we’re rolling with it. I am excited to see Addy and Eli move from parallel to cooperative play. They definitely wear me out some days. When Mike walks in the door, I am tempted to say, “They’re all yours. See you later!”

Addy went from sitting for several seconds with support close by to sitting up all by herself. It seemed to happen overnight. She is even able to correct her positioning if she starts leaning one way or the other.

Addy is really “talking” now. She has discovered how to jabber and loves making lots of noise.

Let the naptime games begin. When we go in to check on Addy and say, “It’s napime, not laughing time,” she just giggles and kicks her legs, thinking we are playing peek-a-boo with the blanket that’s over her face. Then she squirms around in her crib trying to pull the books out of the sides and read them. After about 20 minutes, she’s usually had enough monkeying around and finally falls asleep.

Addy is very curious, especially when she’s supposed to be eating. Any kind of music, sound, or talking will result in a “head crank” to see what she’s missing. Daddy can’t even be in the same room anymore because he is way too distracting!

Several people have commented that Addy has a “good base” for sitting. Others have asked, “Oh, is she about eight months old?” No, she’s just a healthy, growing girl!

Addy has figured out how to “blow raspberries” and enjoys showing off her new skill.

When Mommy held up the phone to Addy’s ear, she heard Daddy’s voice and immediately looked at the front door. Smart girl!

Addy pretends to drink noisily from her cups.

After several instances of reverting to two middle-of-the-night feedings, Mommy decided it was time for rice cereal at supper. Addy was absolutely ecstatic about real food! She is a great “helper” with the spoon as well. Mommy keeps the whole process relatively tidy, but Daddy is only allowed to feed Addy on bath nights.

Mommy has started providing daycare for Eli Long. On Eli’s first day, Addy looked at him and started laughing. This was at 3 in the afternoon. Eli had arrived at 6:30 a.m. that morning. They are slowly starting to interact with each other!

Addy has started to scoot backwards when she’s on her tummy. She is a rolling machine on the floor during playtime.

Addy continues to be a squirmy worm on the changing table. We’ve tried offering a toy to distract her, singing, playing tummy games, telling her “no,” and repositioning her immediately. Of course, nothing has worked as her main goal is to arch her back, roll over, and proceed to knock everything she can reach off the table. It’s a competition to see if Mommy or Daddy can get through a diaper change with fewer items on the floor!

Addy is always very interested in whatever toy Eli is playing with at the moment. We’ve had a lot of talks about sharing.

Addy is really into waving her arms wildly and panting like a puppy.

Addy is a great grocery shopper. She loves riding in the front of the cart, looking around, playing with toys, and helping with (translation: eating) the shopping list.

At her six-month professional photos, Addy was too curious to crack any smiles until the shoot was almost over. We had a lot of proofs with her mouth hanging open staring at the photographers and their antics. We finally figured out that clapping was the secret, and Addy managed several cute smiles at the end.

Addy has started sleeping through the night again after a rough couple weeks. She goes to bed at 7 p.m. and usually wakes up around 4:30 or 5 a.m. to eat. We’ve been putting her back in her crib to sleep for another hour, so we don’t have to be up that early in the morning!

Addy is intrigued by the double mirrors in her bedroom, and she is slowly learning they are sliding doors. She likes to pull them across the tracks. Addy loves waving her arms wildly and hitting the mirror. She will also move her face toward the mirror very slowly until it touches, almost like a kiss!

Adelline is A GROWING GIRL at 4 Months

It’s interesting how much Addy seems to learn on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis. I’ve found myself consulting my baby book to compare milestones and reading “Lyddia Learns” to see if she was doing similar things at the same age. It’s also interesting to consider how much we have learned in the course of a few months. We’re certainly not experts, but surviving those first couple months really does give you a lot more confidence. My favorite faux pas to remember is how I was so worried about Addy hearing enough words and having enough interaction that I used to play with and read to her in the middle of the night during feedings, thus keeping her up way too long, usually at least an hour if not more! No wonder I was always so exhausted in the morning. One day, a friend said something about making those night feedings quick, not talking, and keeping the lights off, so the baby knows it’s time to go right back to sleep. Mike and I looked at each other through a sleep-deprived stupor and realized that we were complete morons! I truly wonder how much earlier Addy would have been sleeping through the night if we would have kept it dark, put away the books and toys, nursed quickly, and put her right back in the cradle. Oh the joy of being first-time parents!

Addy has officially discovered her toes. During diaper changes, she’ll lift up her butt by grabbing onto her toes. Addy also started putting her toes in her mouth. She is our little yoga star!

We have transitioned to cloth diapers, so there will probably be more funny moments in the months to come as we figure out the best way to handle poopy diapers. Right now, we are anxiously awaiting the first major blow-out to see what happens!

The news of our transition to cloth diapers has traveled. For Christmas, Great-grandma Adelle and Great-grandpa Lawrence bought Addy a package of cloth pre-folds and a set of rubber scrapers “for different sized BMs.” We’ll think of them every time we’re scraping!

At Addy’s four-month check-up, Dr. Bellissimo was so impressed with her skills. Addy can already sit unsupported for a count of three seconds, which isn’t required until the six-month check-up. She is also a tummy time superstar, so Dr. Bellissimo gave her a “star for the day” compared to all the four-month-olds she had examined. Go Addy!

Addy does not miss meals. She is in the 95th percentile for height and 85th percentile for weight.

Addy loves Grandpa Roltgen’s Donald Duck impression. She will start to giggle in anticipation of it.

During our Christmas travels, Addy was quite a trooper. She managed to adjust to new environments and sleeping arrangements and even avoided getting sick after countless rounds of “pass the baby!”

Addy had her first sleepover with Aunt Sara in Fond du Lac while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding on New Year’s Eve. She drank her bottles and slept through the night until 5 a.m. Now if she would just do that at home more reliably!

Addy loves raspberries on her tummy. Daddy can really get her laughing on the changing table.

Addy now finds tags on everything and likes moving them around between her fingers.

Addy can sit in the tripod position with feet under her and arms forward on the ground for support. She also rolled over from back to stomach for the first time. The crowd (Mommy) went wild!

Addy sleeps for about an hour in the morning, a couple hours in the afternoon, and 30 minutes around suppertime. She will sleep for ten hours at night, but she still gets up to nurse around 4:30 a.m. Thankfully, she goes back to sleep after nursing and usually wakes up around 7 a.m.

Addy has been giving her babysitters a run for their money. It started with a “hunger strike” for Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob, followed by similar behavior for Taylor Eveland, our high school babysitter, and the Ellenbeckers. Addy also graced all of them with an hour of what Great-aunt Julie calls the “I want my Mommy” cry!

Addy enjoyed swimming for the first time at Chula Vista waterpark. She sat with Daddy in the tube on the lazy river and didn’t even flinch when the waterfalls splashed around her.

Mommy and Daddy have tried to “predict” the timing of Addy’s bowel movements, so we can use a disposable diaper at that time and avoid the extra mess. It usually works out pretty well, but if Addy misses her “window of opportunity,” we’re in trouble. Then you don’t know the time or place, only that it’s going to be an explosion!

Speaking of explosions, Mommy, Aunt Britty, and Aunt Lyddia went to eat at Polito’s Pizza in Wausau. Addy was very antsy all throughout lunch and then proceeded to explode through her diaper, up the back of her outfit, all the way to her neck! After Mommy and Aunt Britty stripped her down, put on a new outfit, and brought her back out, Addy then puked all over Aunt Britty’s sweatshirt and the floor. Later, Daddy found remnants of poop in her hair. Priceless!

Addy loves playing “peek-a-boo” over and over again with her bib. She now anticipates what is coming next after pulling the bib over her face.

Addy has really dry, sore hands from sucking her thumbs so much.

Addy likes wooden spoons, mixing bowls, and making “soup” with all her toys in a bowl.

Adelline is AMUSED at 3 Months

It’s amazing how much Adelline has grown and changed over the course of four short months of life. Sadly, it’s hard to remember those early days now, and thankfully, the fatigue of those sleepless nights is also a distant memory! Addy is such a curious little girl. I love watching her play with toys. She examines every part of them and then puts them in her mouth to continue her exploration. She definitely exhausts me some days, but most of the time, we have a lot of fun when Daddy’s at work!

Mommy and Daddy can stop their “fake laughing” to try to encourage Addy to laugh more. She is a good little “giggler!”

When Grandma Vicky, Grandpa Mark, and Aunt Lyddia were down for a visit, Grandpa Mark was making funny faces and noises while dipping Addy in the air. She responded with big belly laughs. Mommy said, “I’ll have to try that technique next time.” Grandma Vicky made everyone laugh with her response, “Yeah, you’ll have to put on your nose, glasses, and moustache disguise!”

Addy has started rolling from her back to her side but seems to get stuck and very angry when she can’t make it all the way over to her tummy.

Addy loves sucking on everything, from books and toys to fingers and hands.

Thanks to Daddy’s engineering, we all climbed up on the roof for our first family Christmas picture. Aunt Britty was the photographer, as we perched on a sled at the top of the roofline to make it appear that we were “flying” through the air on a sleigh. Luckily, no one fell off the roof or the stepladder, and we even managed to get a decent picture for our Christmas card!

When Aunt Britty was here for the week, we had a hard time not laughing when we put Addy to bed. One night, Addy was grinning away at us in her crib while we were trying to say prayers. Britty was giggling as Mommy tried to keep a straight face. What a little monkey!

Addy is still working on her problem solving skills. When she drops her rattles, she will assume a yoga pose to try to suck on them in her lap, rather than use her hands to pick them up!

Addy got her first cold this month following many rounds of “pass the baby” at Thanksgiving celebrations with both sides of the family. She is a tough cookie, even when subjected to saline drops in her nose followed by the suction bulb.

Addy loves going to sleep with the blanket over her face, much to Mommy and Daddy’s dismay. We may have to take away her “blankie” and replace it with a smaller “lovie.”

Addy is very good at doing “sit-ups” with her hands around your fingers. When she gets tired, she pretends she can’t hold her head up anymore and lets it get floppy.

One night, Mommy was trying everything in her arsenal to get Addy to smile. Nothing was working. She finally decided to pull a “Ross” from “Friends” and started singing “Baby Got Back.” Well, guess who “likes big butts and I cannot lie?” Yes, that would be Addy. She thought it was hilarious!

Addy is done smiling for pictures. She assumes a deer-in-the-headlights look as soon as you get the camera out.

Addy loves her horsie lovie, bunny, maraca, rattle, mirror, stacking cups, and jingle frog. She stares longingly at the Jumperoo throughout the day, hoping Mommy will let her go back into it for more jumping!

Addy loves eating books and “helping” turn the pages.

Addy attended her first basketball game this month and enjoyed watching all the action. She wasn’t scared of the buzzers or the noisy crowd. She was a very polite fan, except for some squawking during free throws!

When Addy is hungry, she arches her back and cranks her neck around with her mouth wide open. She has also started “helping” Mommy pull her shirt up.

At times during her “growth spurts,” Addy will eat over ten ounces of milk before bedtime. Little piggy!

Addy loves her new umbrella stroller from Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob for Christmas. Mommy appreciates being able to go on indoor stroller rides during these cold winter months.

When Addy is done in her Bumbo chair or Boppy pillow, she arches her back and throws her head wildly. Mommy is not impressed by this new move.

Mommy can tell when Addy’s getting tired during the day. She starts her “whimpering cry” and can’t be distracted with a book or toy. At that point, Mommy sings a lullaby, closes the shades, and tells Addy that it’s naptime. She is usually sleeping within ten minutes.

At the huge Roltgen family Thanksgiving celebration, little Grace Roltgen asked about Adelline Grace, “Is she new?”

Adelline is ACTIVE at 2 Months

I can’t believe how fast Adelline is growing up. I want to keep her little forever! We find ourselves laughing every day at the funny things she does. Her smiles and dimples melt our hearts. We are so blessed with a beautiful, healthy, happy, and easygoing baby!

Addy loves playing with her activity gym. She kicks her legs and waves her arms, hitting the rattles hanging overhead. Her eyes get really big as she tries to focus on the rattles and mirror.

Daddy likes to “play” with Addy by doing things he enjoys. He spends hours telling her about fantasy baseball and football, looking at Salvador Dali paintings, reading math books, and listening to what Mommy calls “druggy music” (Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and Tom Petty). I overheard him reading a very racy-sounding title for one of Dali’s painting. I was waiting to hear how he was ever going to explain that piece to Addy, but he followed it with, “I don’t think this one is very appropriate.” What a Daddy!

On football Sundays, Addy is usually on the floor playing with her activity gym. Sometimes she catches us watching a big play on TV and tries to crank her head and neck around to see what we are looking at. Her eyes are rolled all the way to the top of her head as she tries to view the screen with us. This has prompted the phrase, “NO TV FOR BABIES!” She is very persistent, even when we move her to a new position or a different activity.

Addy’s bedtime routine involves taking a bath, changing into her sleeper, eating, reading “The Going to Bed Book” and “Goodnight Moon,” closing the blinds, cuddling, praying, and saying goodnight. She goes to bed around 8:30 p.m. and has been sleeping until 6 a.m. WOO HOO!

Another little girl at Addy’s library storytime is named “Adelle.” A Colby Library patron named her daughter “Adella.” Great-grandma Adelle said she saw a birth announcement for an “Adelyn Grace.” According to Social Security Administration statistics, the most popular female baby names for 2009 were (1) Isabella, (2) Emma, (3) Olivia, (4) Sophia, (5) Ava, (6) Emily, (7) Madison, (8) Abigail, (9) Chloe, and (10) Mia.

Addy’s new nickname is “Bubbles.” She is a drooling, bubbling baby!

We found Addy a “Jumperoo” on Craig’s list after she tried out a similar toy at a friend’s house and liked it. After picking it up, we soon learned that Addy simply likes to look at the little yellow plastic monkey. She just stares intently and smiles, especially when we move him around and make noises. Apparently, we could have just purchased a two-inch plastic monkey, rather than the huge “Jumperoo!”

On the way home from a trip to visit friends, Mommy and Addy stopped at a gas station to take a break, eat, and play. Soon after starting Addy’s diaper change, Mommy discovered poop soaked through diaper, clothes, and carseat. Grandma Gretchen said Daddy did the same thing when he was little. Like father, like daughter!

When Addy starts getting tired, she cries and spits at the same time. As she’s trying to fall asleep, she rubs her eyes and face while turning her head to the side and whimpering. It’s so cute! Addy also loves sucking on her hands when she’s trying to fall asleep.

Addy will lift her butt and legs during diaper changes to help you wipe her off easier.

Addy has a very dry scalp. The doctor recommended baby or olive oil. We didn’t have any baby oil in the house at the time, so now we call her our little “Olive Oil.”

For Halloween, Addy dressed up as “pumpkin pi,” thanks to Grandma Gretchen’s sewing talents. Dad was a dorky math teacher, and Mom was a chef. Math teacher + chef = pumpkin pi! We went to a “Baby Costume Party” at Matt and Lara Ida’s house.

Addy loves the “airplane” position. She lifts her head to look around as she soars through the air. If we’re lucky, we catch her drool with our socks!

Addy has learned that if you simply flail your arms and “convulse” in the “Jumperoo,” the music will start playing again.

Addy is able to self soothe for naps and bedtime most of the time. Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark can’t believe it and still want to rock her to sleep.

When we are visiting Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark, they are always trying to let Addy skip naps and stay up past her bedtime. The last time we were home, an exasperated Mommy asked, “Have you two completely forgotten how to be parents?” They just laughed and said something about “payback!”

Addy has started grabbing onto her bib and pulling it over her face. This prompts a lot of “peek-a-boo” sessions!

If you walk out of the room for a minute, you’ll sometimes come back to find Addy under her bib with no idea how to move it back down. This also happens with her blanket in the crib, so we now have to tuck her blanket into the sides of her mattress to make sure she hasn’t pulled it over her face while she’s trying to fall asleep.

Addy is really starting to “talk” this month with lots of grunts and sounds. Sometimes she “sings” by saying “eh eh eh” over and over again!

Addy continues to sleep like a baby in her carseat (2 hours+) but will only take 30- to 45-minute naps at home for Mommy!

Daddy and Mommy were both home when Addy laughed for the first time. Mommy was making silly noises and touching noses with Addy when we heard a big gulp of air followed by the cutest little “heh heh” sound!

Dr. Bellissimo said we need to keep the “folds” of Addy’s neck and (double) chin lubricated to prevent infection, so every morning and night, we get out the Vaseline. This is a story she’ll love when she’s sixteen!

Adelline is ADORABLE at 1 Month

We are definitely off and rolling this month. We are seeing many more social smiles, which makes interacting with Adelline that much more enjoyable. She is an active little girl, with lots of leg kicks and arm movements. She also loves to observe and keep her eyes on you! We just started introducing an E.A.S.Y. schedule of Eating, Activity, Sleeping, and You (Mommy time) this month. So far, it’s going really well. Out of the five types of babies (angel, textbook, spirited, touchy, and grumpy), I would say Addy seems to be a textbook baby. We are still working on sleeping through the night on a consistent basis! I am very excited for that milestone.

While Addy is sleeping, we will hear her laugh and sigh in a high pitched voice. It’s adorable!

Now when Addy’s hungry, she shakes her arms very vigorously. Unfortunately, we don’t see the woodpecker very often anymore.

Addy loves to nap on Daddy’s and Uncle Jay’s chest.

Addy is all smiles now, except when Mommy gets the camera out. We are glad to be in the digital era, since it usually takes ten shots to get a decent photo!

Addy sometimes sucks on her arm to soothe herself.

Addy was baptized this month at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Baraboo. She did a great job on such a long day! She cried a lot during the ceremony, but afterward, we were able to get some nice family pictures. Addy took a nap during her party and then slept all the way home.

We bought a nursery rhymes CD for Addy, without knowing that it was actually the hip hop/rap/funk version. Daddy and her love rocking out to “Ol' Motha Hubbard” and others.

We were able to make a video of Addy as the “sleeping sloth.” She was perched on Daddy’s arm, completely relaxed, just like a sloth in a tree!

Addy loves getting her diaper changed, taking a bath at the “baby spa,” staring at lights, practicing tummy time, being naked, swinging, playing in her Jumperoo, kicking in her bouncy seat, looking at art cards, reading stories, going on walks outside, riding in the car, and looking at everything.

One day, we had to see Dr. Smith because Dr. Bellissimo was out of the office. He was impressed with Addy’s eye contact and asked if we were feeding her cream because of her huge weight gain since her two-week-old appointment. Apparently, Addy is a growing girl! Addy also simultaneously sneezed and pooped on the exam table during this appointment.

Addy was quite the character at her first baby storytime at the public library in McFarland. She was fussing at the beginning and then proceeded to loudly fill her pants while the librarian was in the middle of a quiet story. After a diaper change, she was STARVING and needed Mommy to nurse her in the back of the room while all the others went on a “walk” to “see what they could see.” I was waiting for one of the one-year-olds to yell out, “I see a booby!”

Daddy continues to have diaper changing issues. This time, he decided to blow on Addy’s butt to dry it off. Luckily, Mommy had her arm up, thus blocking the explosion that would have hit Daddy right in the face!

Addy officially rolled over from stomach to back, and she’s starting to babble a little bit.

Addy just “discovered” her hands and tries using them to soothe herself. She sometimes misses and punches herself in the face or sticks them too far into her mouth and chokes. Poor girl!

Addy is now finding ways to move around her crib. In the morning, we sometimes find her on the opposite end or perpendicular to the sides.

Addy is also starting to play games with Mommy and Daddy. When she’s supposed to be going to sleep, she starts making funny faces and smiling. It’s so hard not to laugh! She is also very good at giving us the “pouty” bottom lip right before starting to cry.

We are still teaching Addy how to self soothe for naps and bedtime, but we did have several full nights of sleep this month!