Adelline is AMUSING at 10 Months

This has definitely been the month where Addy has started doing so many new things from day to day that it’s hard to keep up with all her antics! She is a ham around other people, especially kids, and we’re really starting to see her sparkly, determined, and high-energy personality. I think we may have our work cut out for us with this little girl!

Mommy always wondered if the day would come when letting Addy run naked would be a bad idea. Welcome to that day! While waiting to get into the bathtub, Addy proceeded to grin mischievously before going to the bathroom all over the rug. Let’s just say she’s a well-hydrated little girl.

Addy had a great time with the Roltgen family while Mommy and Daddy took their free trip to Mexico. She was able to visit with Aunt Sara, Aunt Betsey, Uncle Kevin, her cousins Tessa and Jack, Uncle Thomas, Aunt Angie, Grandma Gretchen, Grandpa Bob, Great-aunt Therese, Great-grandma Alice, and Uncle Jay. Aunt Sara and Addy were BFFs by the time the weekend was over. When Addy saw Mommy and Daddy for the first time after being gone for four days, a big smile lit up her face. The next morning, she said, MA MA and signed “more” during breakfast!

When Addy is done, the food starts flying off her tray onto the floor. Sometimes she does a fake-out by holding the “O” or piece of fruit hostage over the floor before changing her mind and moving it into her mouth.

While visiting family in Colby, Mommy and Addy went out to eat at Highview with Grandma Vicky, Grandpa Mark, Aunt Britty, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Lyddia. Toward the end of dinner, Addy was getting a little antsy, so Mommy picked her up only to discover that “pancakes” were apparently on the menu. There on the highchair seat was a perfectly shaped “sweet potato” pancake. After much laughter, Mommy did manage to recruit some helpers to clean up the mess!

Addy finally says MA MA and G-MA. We think she may have said UP and DONE.

Addy “prays” by clapping her hands together when we say, “Amen.” This sometimes leads to “patty cake,” as it is difficult to discern whether one is praying or playing patty cake, since it’s the same basic motion. “Patty cake” is followed by “roll em’ up” with hands getting caught on elbows, so then we know we are done praying.

One night, Addy was very energetic before bedtime. Daddy decided it would be a good idea to play hide-and-seek and encourage her to do hot laps around the living room rather than go to bed. One hour past Addy’s bedtime, Mommy said it was time to try settling down. Addy proceeded to start rolling around and laughing. What a silly girl! She finally did go to sleep at 8:30 p.m.

Addy likes to stand up next to the bathtub and reach into the running water. She also puts her arm up and says, “Huh,” to tell you, “I want my bath toys from up in the corner.” She then throws the toys into the tub, with or without water in it.

Addy’s latest mealtime antic is to pull the spoonful of food out of her mouth with her fingers or hit the spoon out of Mommy or Daddy’s hand if she doesn’t approve of the food being served. Luckily, Mommy and Daddy are experts at spooning in food between pieces of hot ticket items such as Mum Mums, cheese, and prunes! We also use Addy’s iron drops to entice her to eat her breakfast.

Daddy has coined the phrase “quinoa butt” in reference to the pebbly pieces of quinoa that seem to pass directly through Addy’s digestive system and get plastered to her backside. They are very difficult to clean up and usually require a butt dip in the bathtub!

Addy holds the cell phone up to her ear or mouth to talk. She also “types” on the I-pad and cell phone screens. She tries doing this on Mommy’s cell phone, but it does not have a touch screen. Soon she will figure out just how old-school Mommy really is!

The cashier at Ben Franklin in Monona gave Addy her first balloon. She was absolutely thrilled and played with it the entire time Mommy ran a few errands.

When we ask Addy to chew up her food, she covers her teeth with her lips and acts like a ventriloquist dummy, chomping her lips together rapidly and pretending to chew.

When we ask Addy to eat finger foods one at a time, she usually interprets this to mean 10 pieces at a time in her mouth.

Addy loves imitating everything. If Mommy is wiping up the floor, Addy pretends to wipe up the floor. If Mommy is cooking, Addy starts taking the pots and pans out of the cupboard. Unfortunately, Addy has yet to imitate us picking up her toys and cleaning up her messes!

Addy stays busy in the kitchen by playing with magnets and papers on the refrigerator.

Addy has become quite the little monkey in church. It’s a world wrestling federation match starting with the opening hymn and continuing all the way to the final strains of the closing song. Antics include playing peek-a-boo with people behind us, babbling, squirming, crying, whining, flipping through the hymnal, throwing toys, back arching to escape Mommy and Daddy’s arms, laughing, making faces, sniffing, and monkeying around. Some older women have been so kind as to bring Addy books from the children’s basket in the back of church. She promptly throws these on the floor. Hmmmm, I guess we don’t need your parenting assistance after all!

Addy likes to do the “sprinkler” with one arm behind her head and the other pumping water out in front of her body when she’s really excited.

Addy figured out how to open the garbage and recycling cans and is fascinated by them.

Addy has officially pushed her bedtime back to 8:15 p.m. The hour before bed involves Mommy and Daddy trying to encourage calm activities like puzzles and books while Addy does laps around the living room, rolls around the rug and over pillows, giggles, screams, and acts like a wild animal. It’s so hard not to laugh!

The sass is starting already. Addy tossed her triangle musical instrument across the living room when Mommy took the cell phone away and continues to throw head and back arching tantrums over getting her diaper changed.

While we were visiting J. Fisk in River Falls, Addy woke up from a nap and proceeded to take off her diaper and stomp around in her poop. Mommy learned a valuable lesson about making sure Addy goes to bed with her pajama bottoms on!

Adelline is A TALKER at 9 Months

People always have advice to share with new parents, and I’ve really taken a lot of it to heart. Some of my favorites include:

It goes way too fast, so hang on to every moment.

The days are long, but the weeks fly by.

Enjoy every day, kid, because it doesn’t seem like that long ago when you were just a little girl.

You draw on patience you never knew you had.

By the end of the day, you are so exhausted, physically and mentally, that any requests made by your husband feel akin to organ donation!

Anyone who thinks being a stay-at-home mom isn’t tough, guess again!

Mommy was driving to a baby shower with Aunt Britty and Addy in the backseat. Addy kept playing with the tissue paper in the shower gift and trying to pull it out. Aunt Britty was getting irritated after taking it away from her several times. Mommy had to laugh as she finally heard Aunt Britty say, “Presley, I mean Addy, stop it!” And who claims she never yells at her dog? 

Mommy likes to remind Daddy every day: “You are the protector of Addy’s head, skin, and emotional well-being.” Sometimes Addy and Daddy get so busy playing, they forget about being careful, wearing sunscreen, and taking a minute for hugs and kisses after falls.

Addy LOVES our neighbors’ cats. She chases them all over their house and then sits up on her knees, waves her arms wildly, and “talks” to them. “Ahhhhhh (hi kitty) ahhhhhh (wanna play?) ahhhhhh (can I pull your tail?) ahhhhhhh (why are you running away?).” That is Mommy’s interpretation of what Addy is saying to the cats!

When Addy wants something now, she leans forward, reaches with her arm and hand, and says, “Huh.”

While visiting Daddy at school, Lizzie Duffy, one of our high school babysitters came up to say hello. When Addy heard Lizzie’s voice, she immediately burst into tears and tried to crawl further into Daddy’s arms. We were amazed she associated Lizzie’s voice with us leaving even at school!

Addy loves opening cabinets and emptying them of their contents. She also likes taking a taste or two as she’s exploring. Today’s cuisine of choice: toilet paper!

We have found Addy’s first “disliked” food: asparagus. How did we figure this out? Shortly after setting a few pieces on her tray, they were flying onto the floor. That’s okay. More for Mommy and Daddy!

Addy said her first word at 9½ months—DA DA! She even managed to say it when Grandpa Mark, Grandma Vicky, and Aunt Lyddia were visiting.

When Addy gets tired, she buries her face in her blanket on the floor. One day, Mommy was feeding Eli his bottle and singing a lullaby while Addy was in the Jumperoo. Addy tried tipping her head over and snuggling into the Jumperoo to fall asleep.

Addy “helps” Daddy unload the dishwasher by taking out the clean silverware…and either throwing it on the floor or sucking on it! We’ve now taught her how to hand it to us. Next up—putting it away.

Addy has really started talking—LA LA, GA GA, and DA DA are her favorites. No MA MA, of course!

The doctor said Addy is doing well with her nine-month skills. She has good eye contact, social skills, and fine and gross motor development. Her language is a little behind, but she seems to be a more physical baby. We were assured that her language skills will catch up eventually. No worries.

Addy can locate her car and loves the under-the-seat storage feature best. Mommy and Daddy filled it with juice lids, which she enjoys putting in and taking out over and over and over again.

When asked, Addy can find her bib, the parrot on her Jumperoo, ball, books, and hat.

Addy has lots of important “routines” around the house including pulling cookbooks off the shelf to find a recipe, unloading the snack cabinet in the kitchen, opening and closing the microwave and touching the plate and light, pointing at and wanting to play with the breakables on the shelf in her room, snuggling with her blanket and touching her guardian angel picture after naptime, and opening and closing Mommy’s music box.

Addy was always fascinated by the outlet with the carbon monoxide detector until pulling on it one day and finding out what happens when it gets unplugged. The ear-piercing sound emitted was enough to keep her away from it ever since.

While Mommy was at a bachelorette party one weekend, Daddy and Addy had some father-daughter bonding time. Mommy thought she had left enough instructions, but she forgot to include: No rides in the MR2 convertible!

Mommy always wondered if the day would come when letting Addy run naked would be a bad idea. Welcome to that day! While waiting to get into the bathtub, Addy proceeded to grin mischievously before going to the bathroom all over the rug. Let’s just say she’s a well-hydrated little girl.

On the last day of daycare, Addy crawled over and kissed Eli several times. Daddy commented that Eli was being a “typical male” by leading Addy along and getting a kiss from her before taking off overseas for the summer. I think Daddy may have been recalling something from his own life! Hmmmm…

Adelline is ADVENTUROUS at 8 Months

What a memorable month with an unexpected family vacation to Orlando as Daddy had an opportunity to attend an education conference at NASA courtesy of the military. We had so much fun enjoying the sunshine and visiting Seaworld. Addy’s first plane ride went well, considering Mommy was by herself, the flight was three hours long, it took place during Addy’s normal bedtime, and Mommy was supposed to keep an eight-month-old on her lap the entire time! Addy was a trooper, as she stayed up until 10 that night helping Mommy gather luggage and make shuttle arrangements to the hotel. The trip home was a lot easier with help from Daddy and a nun on the flight between Milwaukee and Madison.

Addy likes to “dance” to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the song that is played at the end of her recordable book from Great-grandma Adelle and Great-grandpa Lawrence. She sits up on her knees, bounces, and flaps her arms.

Addy’s memory is really improving. It’s much harder to hide things she’s not supposed to be playing with. She knows exactly where the keys are hanging in the kitchen and reaches for them every time we walk by!

After much discussion, Mommy and Daddy decided that enough was enough during the second week of naptime antics. It was a showdown as Addy pulled herself to standing and screamed for 30 minutes before passing out face down in the crib. Ever since then, naptime has returned to normal!

One night before bath, Daddy yelled to Mommy in the kitchen, “Ahhhhh, Mom, could you please come here and help us out?” Mommy arrived to find a naked baby standing next to the bathtub with a turd stuck in her butt. Apparently, this is a job for moms!

Addy now pulls herself to standing without help using the coffee table, crib, couch, or anything else she can reach.

Addy has started “shooting” the basketball into her hoop.

Addy finds her blankie, “Rudolph” book, and bib when asked to locate these items.

Addy gives high fives and waves “hi.”

Addy enjoyed her first airplane ride this month as Mommy flew with her to meet Daddy in Orlando. Many people on the plane helped out by making faces and playing peek-a-boo! The first-class travelers may not have been as impressed by Addy’s attempts to pull back the curtains separating first-class from coach, kick the seats, grab ice cubes out of Mommy’s cup, and squawk intermittently.

Addy had an exciting day at Seaworld in Orlando. As we waited in the parking lot for the next available trolley, Addy proceeded to urinate through her diaper, down Daddy’s arm, and onto the ground. Mommy and Daddy just stared in disbelief before starting to laugh.

Addy loved being in Orlando. We could tell by her arm flapping, nose crinkling and sniffing, and waving to strangers.

At the airport check-in desk, Daddy had a momentary loss of memory as he couldn’t spell Addy’s legal name. Before we left, the agent jokingly recommended that he learn how to spell his daughter’s name for the next time he flies!

Addy seems to be getting over her stranger anxiety. She tolerated a few new babysitters, and she was happy leaving Mommy’s arms at the last family gathering at Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric’s house.

Addy loves Presley, Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric’s dog. She starts smiling and flapping her arms wildly whenever he is around.

Addy is still hesitant to crawl on or touch the grass outside. She will stay on the blanket when we go out to play. Mommy and Daddy are happy that she can still be “contained,” at least for a few more weeks!

Addy is an avid reader. Her librarian grandmas will be so proud! She helps turn pages and enjoys her bedtime stories. She will often find her books and read by herself for a few minutes each day. Addy’s favorite books are “Baby Animals Touch and Feel” and “In My House,” which also features various textures throughout the pages.

Addy decided to start climbing up the basement stairs all by herself. What a big girl!

During meals, Addy says, “Mmmmmm,” after each bite of food she really likes. Right now, her favorite dish is cooked pears with mangoes and yogurt.

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.