Daddy’s coworker commented that her household can only handle her being gone one night of the week. When hit with the second round of flu this winter, I could definitely relate. Daddy is amazing at taking Addy on adventures to Menards, the zoo, the airport to watch planes, and the mall play area, but the house seems to fall into federal disaster zone status within a matter of hours when they are both home unsupervised. It is almost mind boggling how fast they can go through toys, snacks, and laundry. I find myself exasperated as I follow their “trail” asking, “Are you playing Hansel and Gretel?” to which Addy and Daddy flash their most innocent faces before running away to avoid the question.
Well baby check-ups continue to be a source of great anxiety for Addy. We talk about all the things the doctor and nurses are going to do ahead of time, but it never fails that the screaming starts the minute we exit the waiting room and does not end until a teary child waves and says BYE to the nurse. Addy has also added ALL DONE signs and loud NO NO NOs to her doctor’s office repertoire. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy try to discuss concerns and ask for advice over the wailing. Dr. Bellissimo is always so patient and assures us things will turn around by the time Addy is a little older...maybe as a teenager!
Addy tells us a sheep says BAH, and a bunny goes HOP HOP. She also says CHE (cheese), WA (wallet not to be confused with WA for water!), BOO (boot), HUG, RO (roll), BOW (bowl), HOE (Hooey), and BATH. Addy likes repeating numbers and letters such as O, I, B, J, one, and eight.
Addy loved the Zor Shrine Circus. We were amazed she was able to sit through a two and a half hour show with only a couple snacks and a few squirmy moments. She was fascinated by the animal acts and the motorcycle cage and jumps. Daddy almost gave in and bought a huge circus balloon as Addy’s OH OH OHs and ecstatic pointing drew everyone’s attention to the balloon display making its way down the aisle toward us. For the record, Daddy and Addy exited the elephant ride line after they were close enough to see the price—$15 PER PERSON!
Aunt Britty came to visit, and it was so neat to see Addy interact with her at this age. They had lots of fun setting puzzles, building block towers, and snuggling on the couch with books. Aunt Britty started a routine where Hooey the Parrot sneezes by saying, “Ahhhh-Hooey,” which is now part of our daily activities.
Addy surprised us all by going #2 on the potty when Aunt Britty was here. Mommy could hear Aunt Britty laughing and Addy saying UH OH over and over again in the bathroom. Apparently, Addy had gotten up a little too soon from the potty and left a trail of poop halfway across the bathroom. Mommy kicked Aunt Britty, who then remembered she should be praising Addy instead of laughing.
During Aunt Britty’s visit, the car alarm went off because the trunk was left open. Addy was very concerned and wanted to tell us the story over and over again, mostly by saying YEAH YEAH YEAH and pointing out the window. This continued throughout dinner and bedtime routine. It began again the next morning as Addy had to inform Daddy about the events of the previous night.
Addy is very impressed with the bear toddler bed we borrowed from Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark. She likes sitting on the bed, growling, and petting the bear’s face while reading books.
One night before bed, Addy ran to the refrigerator, motioned frantically for us to open the door, and then pointed emphatically to the pickle jar. As Mommy chided Daddy for introducing Addy to a pure-salt snack, Daddy denied any involvement. Apparently, Addy figured out on her own why we all love Grandma Dell’s dill pickles.
Eli was conveniently “busy” during clean-up time at daycare. Addy decided to go over and “explain” to him what he was supposed to be doing. She leaned forward to get in his face and babble several sentences. Eli just stared blankly at her, but he did decide to wander over and put a couple blocks away after Addy’s very intense reminder. Mommy and Daddy are already worried about parent-teacher conferences!
One night before bed, Addy was yelling MO MO MO at Mommy in the kitchen while Daddy was trying to tell her that she had enough cheese and could have a bagel if she was still hungry. Mommy reiterated what Daddy was saying as Addy became more and more frantic and upset. As Mommy and Daddy looked at each other wondering how to diffuse the situation, Mommy realized Addy was saying MO (moose), not MO (more). Sorry sweetie girl!
When Mommy was at the sink rinsing dishes, Addy climbed into her highchair and caught a glimpse of the swingset catalog sitting on the table. She proceeded to S-T-R-E-T-C-H herself with legs on the chair and hands on the table to reach the catalog. Mommy turned around just in time to witness and rescue our little human bridge builder before she faceplanted on the floor.
We had a great family weekend in Stevens Point for the annual Point Bock Run. Addy loved staying at Uncle Thomas and Aunt Angela’s house. She was thrilled with all the “playmates” there, namely many different stuffed animals throughout the house and Thomas and Angela’s college friends. Mommy and Daddy were very impressed with Addy’s friendliness, as she has been a little shy of new people and places in the past.
Addy loves playing peek-a-boo by putting her hands over her eyes, usually while still peering through her fingers to make sure you are playing along.
Addy, Eli, and Lily enjoy playing with the “texture box” Mommy put together for them. The coveted toy consists of an old shoe box with a hole cut in the top, so the kids can put their hands in and search for various items. They also love putting the beaded necklaces from the “pirate treasure chest” around their necks. Who would have guessed all those “precious” souvenirs would be so useful someday?
During Addy and Eli’s playdate at the Verona pool, Daddy dunked Addy under water several times after asking her to close her eyes, counting to three, and blowing in her face right before going underwater. Addy seemed to like it. She is also getting better at kicks in the water.
Addy was not a fan of the “tattoo application process” during pirate week at daycare. She wanted nothing to do with the washcloth on her skin. Lily and Eli loved their tattoos.
Addy has been a snuggler after lunch. She brings all her blankets, Moose, and Hooey over to Mommy and puts her arms up to be held. If Mommy starts rocking her, Addy will point to Mommy’s mouth requesting a song. Usually Mommy sings “Our God is an Awesome God” or “Thy Word,” but one day she started asking Addy which song she wanted to hear. Addy kept saying DA, so Mommy assumed she meant Daddy’s bedtime song—“Amazing Grace.” As it turned out, Addy wanted Mommy to sing a silly song called “Senor Don Gato” that Daddy had played on YouTube the previous night where the cat dies and is paraded through town in a cardboard box before coming back to life when passing the fish market!
At the park, Addy loves swinging and going down the slide. At the top of the slide, she sits several feet back from the entrance waiting for the signal to go down, which gives Mommy and Daddy time to get to the ground to catch her. As she scoots forward, she realizes how high up she is and tries to turn onto her stomach or change her mind about going down the slide. After offering to hold her hands, she goes down the slide, and a big smile lights up her face every time.
Addy has successfully transitioned to her new bear bed without a tear! Mommy and Daddy have commented that bedtime is actually easier now. Who would have guessed? The first night, Daddy snuck into the room after Addy was asleep to line the floor with pillows, but so far, no falls. Our little girl is growing up!
Addy loves the “farting” noises Mommy and Daddy make when she lifts the flap in her farm book where the cow is going poop.
Daddy took Addy on an adventure to the Dane County Airport to watch the planes taking off and landing. What he failed to gauge was how exciting the opportunity to sit in the front seat would be. Instead of watching the planes, Addy was fascinated by pressing all the control buttons on the dash and then devastated when Daddy said it was time to get back into her carseat.
Addy loves using Mommy’s eyelashes to open her eyes. Mommy pretends to be sleeping and then awakens as a monster. This is apparently hilarious.
Addy had a little mishap with the snake figurine in our front window one morning when Mary was dropping Eli off for daycare. Mary and Mommy looked up as Addy cried out to see the snake tipped over in the windowsill and Addy’s feet up in the air. Addy had tipped headfirst over the back of the couch, but the snake saved her from falling to the floor. As Mommy jumped up to rescue her, she stepped on Eli’s toes, which caused the second meltdown of the morning. Addy likes to retell the story by pointing to the snake and the area behind the couch and saying YEAH YEAH YEAH over and over again!
Addy was very dismayed when Mommy had to pack away her favorite striped sweater that she tried to put on every day over her outfit. Unfortunately (fortunately?), it was getting a little too tight.
Addy is always very enthusiastic about snack time before nap. One day, she came running into the kitchen and executed a perfect “safe” slide into “home plate” next to her water and snack bowl.
Happy Halloween!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Adelline is A GIRL WITH OPINIONS at 1 Year, 5 Months
As my pregnancy progresses, Addy’s energy levels seem to rise by the day. I am starting to feel the exhaustion of third trimester, but unfortunately, Addy has outgrown her second nap. This Mommy needs an afternoon nap! Addy’s vocabulary has really expanded this month, and she continues to give new words a try on a daily basis. Thankfully, she still does some of her oh-so-cute baby babble from time to time, to which we respond, “Wow, that is very interesting,” or, “What a great story. Thanks for sharing.” We’re going to miss that unintelligible babble when she can quite clearly articulate exactly why, when, and how she disagrees with us!
Daddy and Addy went to Ida’s to babysit Thomas and Jackson one night. Addy was on safety patrol as she loudly pointed out all the uncovered outlets with a very urgent, “UH OH!”
Addy pretends to make her breakfast cereal by whisking in her little kitchen pots.
Addy and Lily are buddies, as Addy makes sure Lily has Grinch by her side throughout the day. If Grinch gets too far away, Addy immediately retrieves him and brings him to Lily. We thought about getting Addy her own Grinch, but Amazon’s best deal was $39.99. When you miss the $5 Kohl’s Cares stuffed animal special promotion, the mark-up is astounding!
Addy’s latest words include NIGH NIGH (night night) before bed, MO (more), HI, CHAI (chair), BU (bus), BA (bread), BUTT (this one is quite clear and needs no interpretation), DIS (this), ADDY, MI (milk), BA (Aunt Britty), SIRL (squirrel), ONE (sometimes while holding up one finger, but most of the time refusing to do so), CERL (cereal), SEAHO (seahorse), and WA (water). Addy also tells us a cow says MOO and an ambulance/fire truck/police car says WOOO.
Addy likes to echo parts of her “God Bless” prayer. When we name family members and friends, she will say DJACK for her cousin Jack, SSSSARA for Aunt Sara, and JAY for Uncle Jay. She also repeats MA, DA, and ADDY.
Addy is starting to transition out of her two daily naps, much to Mommy’s sadness! She has been pretty consistent with going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and sleeping until 7:30 a.m. Now without a second nap, we have witnessed the famous “beast baby” behavior identified and named by the Longs. This behavior includes wild flailing of arms, throwing one’s body on the floor in a tantrum, kicking everything off the changing table, and becoming a writhing jellyfish when picked up. Thankfully, Addy’s bedtime has moved up to 7:30 p.m. without a second nap.
During bedtime prayers in her room, Addy enjoys doing hot laps and being as wild as possible. She hides in the corner by her closet and crawls in circles around Mommy and Daddy. Daddy has learned to position himself in the doorway to block the only exit!
Addy makes us laugh with her “naked baby time” before bath. Of course, we encourage it by chasing her around the house. She will often stop to sweep the floor or complete other important tasks that apparently must be done while naked!
We had our first accident during naked time before bath. Fortunately, it was on the tile floor in the bathroom and not the living room carpet.
Mommy had to attend a neighborhood board meeting at Talula’s, so Addy and Daddy tagged along for dinner. Addy loved the singers and entertained people in the bar area with her dancing and antics. When Daddy took her home early for bedtime, Addy started yelling, “UH UH UH,” from the back seat and trying to turn to see if Mommy had gotten into the car. She was very concerned Daddy was leaving without all the passengers! Daddy assured Addy that Mommy was getting a ride home after the meeting.
During daycare, Addy and Eli love running to the nursery, opening the door, and slamming it shut before Mommy can get there to supervise. One day, Mommy decided to give them a couple minutes before checking in on the monkey business. After hearing the door slam, she waited and then approached the nursery to knock and play peek-a-boo with Addy and Eli. As it turned out, Eli was the only one in the room. After checking the closet and behind the door, Mommy started to panic as she frantically opened door after door in the hallway looking for Addy, who was being very quiet. After a couple minutes of searching, Addy was located in the main bathroom, snuggling with her duck towel. Mommy did notice that Addy was able to go through a few off-limits cabinets with those “sticky fingers” of hers.
Addy struggles to sit down during snack time if she is not contained in a highchair. After multiple reminders and attempts to “Fred Flintstone” all over the house while snacking, Addy figured out she can technically “sit” on her car while still in motion. Mommy is quite sure preschool and kindergarten will be more than happy to accommodate Addy’s need for continual movement, right? An exercise ball chair may be in her future!
Daddy has a piece of artwork in the living room called “Orange Juice.” It is one of his favorites—a picture of an orange with an electrical outlet on the side. As our safety patrol officer, Addy pointed to the picture recently and said, “UH OH,” as one of the outlets does not have a cover on it!
Addy is very good at saying SARA. She now separates the word into two syllables: SA-RA. We called Aunt Sara during bathtime, so she was able to hear Addy saying her name.
Addy is very attuned to messes or dirt on the floor. When people come into the house without wiping their shoes or if they do not stay completely on the rug, she will run over and say, “UH OH,” over and over again pointing at the gathering pile of dirt and snow. She also points out spots on Daddy’s pants that need attention. Daddy commented that “Grandma Vicky would be proud!”
Addy woke up one night at 11 p.m. when Daddy tried opening her room door to let more heat in during the night. After a diaper change and drink of water, she refused to go back to sleep. Instead, she stood and screamed in her crib for 45 minutes. We tried giving her Tylenol, thinking her teeth must be bothering her, but the screaming continued. Finally, around 12:30 p.m., as Mommy was contemplating a possible trip to Urgent Care, Daddy got up with Addy and went out to the living room to rock in the chair. Mommy could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. Apparently, Addy had been screaming for an hour and a half because she wanted to eat a bagel. After an entire bagel and half a piece of bread, she was ready to lay back down at 1 a.m. However, when she was getting full, she refused to give Daddy the last two pieces of her bread. Instead, she held onto them for dear life (and made a HUGE crumbly mess all over the floor) until she was too sleepy to care and then dropped them on the floor. What a kid!
Addy enjoys climbing into her highchair by herself many times throughout the day as she continually requests snacks. She then throws herself on the floor screaming when Mommy says, “No, we just had breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack.” How many times does a child seriously need to eat in 24 hours?
Addy has also been attempting to climb into her crib, which is definitely the preferred direction!
In addition to being ultra-perceptive of messes on the floor, Addy is also unable to move past the obstacle until we clean it up. She was recently a frozen statue in the garage, as the UH OHs continued until Mommy picked her and helped her walk past the dirt and salt all over the floor.
Addy likes to pretend she has stiff legs that swing out to the sides, a movement we call her “wooden soldier” walk.
Addy’s favorite new word is DIS (this). She uses it to point out all the things she would like throughout the day, from snacks to toys to off-limits items. DIS DIS DIS. Would you like some yogurt? NO. DIS DIS DIS. Would you like a Clementine? NO. DIS DIS DIS. Ohhhhh, you would like the frozen package of ground beef. YEAH!
Addy enjoys peeling Clementines and bananas and composting the peel.
Addy and Eli have both started to establish many of their own opinions about things. Mommy has to remember to avoid yes or no questions and stick with things like, “Would you like the pink or the green diaper shell?,” instead of, “Do you need a diaper change?” (NO!)
Eli cracks us up when his mom tries to pack him up to leave daycare for the day. He has perfected running away, pretending not to see her, hiding, turning into a jellyfish, and yelling, “NO NO NO!”
Addy has a couple new sippy cups with a straw thanks to a shopping trip with Daddy. She forgets to leave the cups level to drink and often has to be reminded. One day, after attempting to tip the cup back, she set it on the floor, and bent over into an impressive yoga pose to sip from the straw at her feet.
Addy and Daddy continue to be best buddies. When he was gone for his military weekend, Addy repeated DA? DA? DA? and pointed toward the front door over and over again every time she heard any kind of sound outside of the room were playing in.
Addy will say MAW and sign “cat” (pulling whiskers by nose) when asked what a kitty says.
Addy is very “helpful” in the bathroom. She likes to plunge the toilet, pull paper from the roll and put it in the garbage can, and rearrange items in the cabinets under the sink.
In the morning, Addy has learned to stand at the far end of her crib, so she has a view out her bedroom door to “catch” Mommy or Daddy trying to sneak past to use the bathroom or take care of something in the kitchen before going in to get her up for the day.
One morning, Addy insisted on eating plain tofu chunks instead of having Mommy mash them up in her oatmeal.
Addy notifies Mommy and Daddy about various concerns by coming up to us and saying, “UMMMM…” followed by babbling or excessive pointing. Mommy realized the apple does not fall far from the tree when she recently heard herself saying, “Ummmm, excuse me Adelline, we do not…” Oops!
Addy now points to her diaper when it is messy or wet and “explains” the problem to us. Maybe potty training is closer on the horizon than we think!
Our little monkey is NOT ready for a toddler bed. Please pray for us!
Mommy came into Addy’s room one morning to find her pajamas completely unzipped and taken off. There was also a little girl laughing hysterically.
Our attempt at Addy’s 18-month pictures was one for the memory books. It started when Mommy decided to trim Addy’s hair the night before. Let’s just hope the “bowl cut” look is back in style! It continued at Portrait Innovations, where Addy decided she disliked everything about the place, including the photographers and any toys they tried showing her. She clung to Daddy for dear life, cried, picked her nose, and emphatically said NO to every request made of her. We did manage to get one halfway decent photo, so that will be a good reminder of the 18-month experience.
Without a second nap, Addy gets a little sassy before bedtime. One night, she refused to put pajamas on. Daddy was trying to make a game out of it by “feeding” the pajamas under her bedroom door asking Addy to put them on. As soon as he opened the door, Addy whipped the pajamas at Daddy’s face. The bathroom hand towels have also experienced Addy’s bedtime wrath. After seeing the towels go flying, Mommy couldn’t help but laugh, and soon, Addy’s cries turned to a smile. Fatigue gets the best of all of us sometimes!
One night as we were trying to skip bathtime since bedtime was quickly approaching, Addy was not excited about having her messy diaper changed. Daddy called Mommy in for back-up, but it was too late. There were already poop on Addy’s shirt and changing table, and she decided it would be hilarious to slap her butt while we were scrambling to grab wipes and keep her kicking feet out of the mess. The horrified/dismayed looks on our faces must have been enough to make her think it was a game, as she continued putting her hands into the poop. Apparently, a quick bath was on our agenda after all!
Daddy and Addy went to Ida’s to babysit Thomas and Jackson one night. Addy was on safety patrol as she loudly pointed out all the uncovered outlets with a very urgent, “UH OH!”
Addy pretends to make her breakfast cereal by whisking in her little kitchen pots.
Addy and Lily are buddies, as Addy makes sure Lily has Grinch by her side throughout the day. If Grinch gets too far away, Addy immediately retrieves him and brings him to Lily. We thought about getting Addy her own Grinch, but Amazon’s best deal was $39.99. When you miss the $5 Kohl’s Cares stuffed animal special promotion, the mark-up is astounding!
Addy’s latest words include NIGH NIGH (night night) before bed, MO (more), HI, CHAI (chair), BU (bus), BA (bread), BUTT (this one is quite clear and needs no interpretation), DIS (this), ADDY, MI (milk), BA (Aunt Britty), SIRL (squirrel), ONE (sometimes while holding up one finger, but most of the time refusing to do so), CERL (cereal), SEAHO (seahorse), and WA (water). Addy also tells us a cow says MOO and an ambulance/fire truck/police car says WOOO.
Addy likes to echo parts of her “God Bless” prayer. When we name family members and friends, she will say DJACK for her cousin Jack, SSSSARA for Aunt Sara, and JAY for Uncle Jay. She also repeats MA, DA, and ADDY.
Addy is starting to transition out of her two daily naps, much to Mommy’s sadness! She has been pretty consistent with going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and sleeping until 7:30 a.m. Now without a second nap, we have witnessed the famous “beast baby” behavior identified and named by the Longs. This behavior includes wild flailing of arms, throwing one’s body on the floor in a tantrum, kicking everything off the changing table, and becoming a writhing jellyfish when picked up. Thankfully, Addy’s bedtime has moved up to 7:30 p.m. without a second nap.
During bedtime prayers in her room, Addy enjoys doing hot laps and being as wild as possible. She hides in the corner by her closet and crawls in circles around Mommy and Daddy. Daddy has learned to position himself in the doorway to block the only exit!
Addy makes us laugh with her “naked baby time” before bath. Of course, we encourage it by chasing her around the house. She will often stop to sweep the floor or complete other important tasks that apparently must be done while naked!
We had our first accident during naked time before bath. Fortunately, it was on the tile floor in the bathroom and not the living room carpet.
Mommy had to attend a neighborhood board meeting at Talula’s, so Addy and Daddy tagged along for dinner. Addy loved the singers and entertained people in the bar area with her dancing and antics. When Daddy took her home early for bedtime, Addy started yelling, “UH UH UH,” from the back seat and trying to turn to see if Mommy had gotten into the car. She was very concerned Daddy was leaving without all the passengers! Daddy assured Addy that Mommy was getting a ride home after the meeting.
During daycare, Addy and Eli love running to the nursery, opening the door, and slamming it shut before Mommy can get there to supervise. One day, Mommy decided to give them a couple minutes before checking in on the monkey business. After hearing the door slam, she waited and then approached the nursery to knock and play peek-a-boo with Addy and Eli. As it turned out, Eli was the only one in the room. After checking the closet and behind the door, Mommy started to panic as she frantically opened door after door in the hallway looking for Addy, who was being very quiet. After a couple minutes of searching, Addy was located in the main bathroom, snuggling with her duck towel. Mommy did notice that Addy was able to go through a few off-limits cabinets with those “sticky fingers” of hers.
Addy struggles to sit down during snack time if she is not contained in a highchair. After multiple reminders and attempts to “Fred Flintstone” all over the house while snacking, Addy figured out she can technically “sit” on her car while still in motion. Mommy is quite sure preschool and kindergarten will be more than happy to accommodate Addy’s need for continual movement, right? An exercise ball chair may be in her future!
Daddy has a piece of artwork in the living room called “Orange Juice.” It is one of his favorites—a picture of an orange with an electrical outlet on the side. As our safety patrol officer, Addy pointed to the picture recently and said, “UH OH,” as one of the outlets does not have a cover on it!
Addy is very good at saying SARA. She now separates the word into two syllables: SA-RA. We called Aunt Sara during bathtime, so she was able to hear Addy saying her name.
Addy is very attuned to messes or dirt on the floor. When people come into the house without wiping their shoes or if they do not stay completely on the rug, she will run over and say, “UH OH,” over and over again pointing at the gathering pile of dirt and snow. She also points out spots on Daddy’s pants that need attention. Daddy commented that “Grandma Vicky would be proud!”
Addy woke up one night at 11 p.m. when Daddy tried opening her room door to let more heat in during the night. After a diaper change and drink of water, she refused to go back to sleep. Instead, she stood and screamed in her crib for 45 minutes. We tried giving her Tylenol, thinking her teeth must be bothering her, but the screaming continued. Finally, around 12:30 p.m., as Mommy was contemplating a possible trip to Urgent Care, Daddy got up with Addy and went out to the living room to rock in the chair. Mommy could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. Apparently, Addy had been screaming for an hour and a half because she wanted to eat a bagel. After an entire bagel and half a piece of bread, she was ready to lay back down at 1 a.m. However, when she was getting full, she refused to give Daddy the last two pieces of her bread. Instead, she held onto them for dear life (and made a HUGE crumbly mess all over the floor) until she was too sleepy to care and then dropped them on the floor. What a kid!
Addy enjoys climbing into her highchair by herself many times throughout the day as she continually requests snacks. She then throws herself on the floor screaming when Mommy says, “No, we just had breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack.” How many times does a child seriously need to eat in 24 hours?
Addy has also been attempting to climb into her crib, which is definitely the preferred direction!
In addition to being ultra-perceptive of messes on the floor, Addy is also unable to move past the obstacle until we clean it up. She was recently a frozen statue in the garage, as the UH OHs continued until Mommy picked her and helped her walk past the dirt and salt all over the floor.
Addy likes to pretend she has stiff legs that swing out to the sides, a movement we call her “wooden soldier” walk.
Addy’s favorite new word is DIS (this). She uses it to point out all the things she would like throughout the day, from snacks to toys to off-limits items. DIS DIS DIS. Would you like some yogurt? NO. DIS DIS DIS. Would you like a Clementine? NO. DIS DIS DIS. Ohhhhh, you would like the frozen package of ground beef. YEAH!
Addy enjoys peeling Clementines and bananas and composting the peel.
Addy and Eli have both started to establish many of their own opinions about things. Mommy has to remember to avoid yes or no questions and stick with things like, “Would you like the pink or the green diaper shell?,” instead of, “Do you need a diaper change?” (NO!)
Eli cracks us up when his mom tries to pack him up to leave daycare for the day. He has perfected running away, pretending not to see her, hiding, turning into a jellyfish, and yelling, “NO NO NO!”
Addy has a couple new sippy cups with a straw thanks to a shopping trip with Daddy. She forgets to leave the cups level to drink and often has to be reminded. One day, after attempting to tip the cup back, she set it on the floor, and bent over into an impressive yoga pose to sip from the straw at her feet.
Addy and Daddy continue to be best buddies. When he was gone for his military weekend, Addy repeated DA? DA? DA? and pointed toward the front door over and over again every time she heard any kind of sound outside of the room were playing in.
Addy will say MAW and sign “cat” (pulling whiskers by nose) when asked what a kitty says.
Addy is very “helpful” in the bathroom. She likes to plunge the toilet, pull paper from the roll and put it in the garbage can, and rearrange items in the cabinets under the sink.
In the morning, Addy has learned to stand at the far end of her crib, so she has a view out her bedroom door to “catch” Mommy or Daddy trying to sneak past to use the bathroom or take care of something in the kitchen before going in to get her up for the day.
One morning, Addy insisted on eating plain tofu chunks instead of having Mommy mash them up in her oatmeal.
Addy notifies Mommy and Daddy about various concerns by coming up to us and saying, “UMMMM…” followed by babbling or excessive pointing. Mommy realized the apple does not fall far from the tree when she recently heard herself saying, “Ummmm, excuse me Adelline, we do not…” Oops!
Addy now points to her diaper when it is messy or wet and “explains” the problem to us. Maybe potty training is closer on the horizon than we think!
Our little monkey is NOT ready for a toddler bed. Please pray for us!
Mommy came into Addy’s room one morning to find her pajamas completely unzipped and taken off. There was also a little girl laughing hysterically.
Our attempt at Addy’s 18-month pictures was one for the memory books. It started when Mommy decided to trim Addy’s hair the night before. Let’s just hope the “bowl cut” look is back in style! It continued at Portrait Innovations, where Addy decided she disliked everything about the place, including the photographers and any toys they tried showing her. She clung to Daddy for dear life, cried, picked her nose, and emphatically said NO to every request made of her. We did manage to get one halfway decent photo, so that will be a good reminder of the 18-month experience.
Without a second nap, Addy gets a little sassy before bedtime. One night, she refused to put pajamas on. Daddy was trying to make a game out of it by “feeding” the pajamas under her bedroom door asking Addy to put them on. As soon as he opened the door, Addy whipped the pajamas at Daddy’s face. The bathroom hand towels have also experienced Addy’s bedtime wrath. After seeing the towels go flying, Mommy couldn’t help but laugh, and soon, Addy’s cries turned to a smile. Fatigue gets the best of all of us sometimes!
One night as we were trying to skip bathtime since bedtime was quickly approaching, Addy was not excited about having her messy diaper changed. Daddy called Mommy in for back-up, but it was too late. There were already poop on Addy’s shirt and changing table, and she decided it would be hilarious to slap her butt while we were scrambling to grab wipes and keep her kicking feet out of the mess. The horrified/dismayed looks on our faces must have been enough to make her think it was a game, as she continued putting her hands into the poop. Apparently, a quick bath was on our agenda after all!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Adelline is A SMARTIE at 1 Year, 4 Months
It has been fascinating to watch Addy’s play progress from adult-centered antics to solitary and parallel play to the start of pretend and imaginary play. Addy loves her stuffed animals and melts our hearts with the kindness she exhibits toward them. We hope it continues with her new baby brother or sister! Addy is more willing to try repeating words we ask her say, and she surprises us every day with all the new things she has learned, especially when we have not specifically focused on a particular concept or skill. The most recent example happened when Addy took one of our key sets and stood on her tiptoes to pretend to lock the front door from the inside. Her antics this month are filled with similar stories. She is learning so much and growing up way too fast!
Even Daddy could not escape the flu that hit our house before Christmas. Luckily, he was able to take care of Mommy and Addy for several days before he got sick. He tried to pretend that it was a bad turkey sandwich causing his illness, but he soon gave in and admitted he had the flu. The flu seemed to affect adults much more than the kids. Eli, Lily, and Addy all had mild cases while the parents were sidelined for several days by it! Mary Long named the flu “Rottinger Disease” as it was responsible for shutting down daycare for several days.
Uncle Jay and our neighbors Jamie and Kyle Miese took Addy off our hands for a few hours when we were really sick. Thankfully, Jamie and Kyle managed to avoid the flu, especially since Jamie is pregnant, but Uncle Jay texted and teased Daddy for “using Addy as a biological weapon against him.”
Addy did a great job with her first Salvation Army bell ringing experience. She was a “wild bell ringer” at times, but she definitely worked the crowd, and we were able to collect a bucket full of money during our shift from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, December 19, at Sentry on Cottage Grove Road.
Addy’s latest words are SIT (sometimes sounds like SHIT!), DJACK for her cousin Jack, SSSSARA for her Aunt Sara, and OH OH OH in a high voice for Cheerios. She signs “airplane,” “light,” and “moon.”
Addy likes to pretend to wash her hair by using the mini bottle of hand sanitizer from Mommy’s purse. She rubs the top of her head while holding the bottle.
We visited the Rotary lights display at the zoo in Marshfield during our visit to Colby and decided to try a Santa visit since he and Mrs. Clause were in a heated hut. The visit was very quick as we snapped a picture of Addy screaming and trying to escape while Santa looked disinterested and told Mrs. Clause to “give ‘er a candy cane.” As we exited the hut a few moments after we entered, Mike told the people in line we had a “short list” this year, which made them chuckle. I am quite sure they heard the screams!
Addy had a wonderful Christmas with both sides of the family. She was not shy or scared of people, much to the relief of Mommy and Daddy. The Calmes/Stettler/Mertens/Roltgen/Ellenbecker families tried a “progressive Christmas” this year starting at Great-Grandma Adelle and Great Grandpa Lawrence’s house for quick breads, cheese, and games. We “progressed” to Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric’s house for salad and Christmas carols, during which Addy liked dancing to “What Child is This?” and playing piano during “Silver Bells.” We also attempted the “12 Days of Christmas” by handing out slips of paper, each with a line of the song written on it. Addy added to the fun and laughter by running out with only a diaper on halfway through the countdown of days. We completed the evening at Grandpa Mark and Grandma Vicky’s house, where we enjoyed soup, ham roll-ups, bread, and dessert. Addy was very deliberate about unwrapping presents and had fun with all the Christmas excitement. In fact, she had such a good time she kept Grandpa Mark up half the night during her sleepover. They were both waiting for Santa We actually have to place a little of the blame on Grandpa Mark who kept trying to cover her up with blankets that were underneath her. We warned him about that maneuver!
The Roltgen side of the family celebrated in two shifts this year, as not everyone could make it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We were part of the Christmas Day crowd, where we enjoyed a nice meal, followed by the modified sibling gift exchange involving socks and candy this year under Aunt Sara’s direction. Addy loved doing hot laps through Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gretchen’s living/dining/music rooms, jumping on Grandma Gretchen’s stuffed dragon, and pretending to ride the tricycle around the house.
Addy’s favorite present was a squeaky teething giraffe named Sophie that she used to have when she was younger. The old Sophie started to mold, or got “scuffed” according to the lab report, so we had to take her back. Daddy was right that Addy was overjoyed by the return of Sophie. She would not let go of her as soon as she was out the package. Of course, this was the gift Mommy gave to Addy to open during Great-Grandpa’s Christmas reading, thinking it would keep her busy. Little did Mommy know that Addy now understood Sophie was a squeaky toy, so the continuous squeaking started during the end of Great-Grandpa’s reading, proceeded for an hour past bedtime in her pack ‘n’ play, and continued into the night with Grandpa Mark. Addy fell asleep on top of Sophie clutching her for dear life!
Addy did a great job with all the traveling throughout Christmas this year. She entertains herself with mini books, blankets, reindeer/moose, and scenery out the window. We hardly hear a peep out of her, unless she starts “chattering” about something she sees or reads!
During daycare, everyone must be seated during snack time. Addy and Eli like to push the limits by kneeling or squatting, so Mommy started saying, “sit on your butt.” The day before Christmas break, Eli started repeating the word “butt” in the morning, continued through lunch, and entertained his extended family over Christmas with his new word. Addy also likes to sit and use her feet to “Fred Flintstone” her way to various locations around the kitchen and living room during snack. She has inherited Daddy’s metabolism and with her movements, most likely has the snack calories burned off before snack time is over.
When asked what Santa says, Addy responds in a low voice, “HHH HHH.” Santa never gets his third HO!
Mary, Kevin, and Eli Long hosted a Wild Baby Sleepover at their house during Christmas break. Addy continued her preference for men and latched on to Kevin from the start. She grabbed his finger the moment she arrived and led him around the house while jabbering, “Ya ba da ba da ba…”
Addy’s chores include scrubbing floors and any other surfaces that catch her eye, throwing away trash or what she deems as trash, unloading the dishwasher, sorting laundry, cleaning up toys, throwing her dirty clothes in the hamper, and delivering requested items. She is a great helper!
Mommy asked Addy if she would like to play with the “hungry” caterpillar stuffed animal from Eric Carle’s classic children’s book. Addy responded by running to the kitchen with the caterpillar and placing him in the highchair, since he was “hungry!”
Addy is fascinated by the blender, mixer, and anything cooking on the stove or in the oven. She says “HOT HOT HOT,” even if Mommy is making a salad.
Addy is a great bowler with her new bowling set from Kevin, Mary, and Eli Long for Christmas. She will roll the ball nicely AFTER trying to chuck it across the room several times. If she misses any pins, she runs over and knocks them down with a wild fling of her arm.
Addy loves playing with cups in the bathtub. She dumps water from one cup to the other, over her head, and then tries to douse Mommy! She also likes washing up in the bathtub when we squirt soap into her hand.
When Daddy had his shoulder surgery, we had to remind Addy over and over again that Daddy had an “owie” and could not pick her up. When he showed her the bandages, Addy would scrunch up her face in an expression conveying both disgust and fear.
After Christmas, Mommy and Daddy tried to get Addy to color with her new animal crayons on all the thank you cards for a personal touch. She was excited about this task for the first three or four cards but soon lost interest. This resulted in Addy rolling on the floor throwing a tantrum while Mommy and Daddy attempted to wrestle a crayon into her fist and make marks on the remaining cards. Mommy explained that “sometimes we have to do things we do not want to because it is something nice for other people.” Addy was not impressed with Mommy’s speech. Needless to say, some of the coloring on the cards was, as they say in the art world, a “print” rather than an “original!”
Addy loves her Christmas presents. Right now, her favorites are musical Snoopy dog, Little People nativity and airplane, Toes, Ears, and Nose lift-the-flap book, Sophie squeaky giraffe, and the busy ball drop. We like to refer to Snoopy as “Snoop Dog.” Addy forwards through the airplane sounds until the music plays so she can dance.
Addy decided to pull strings out of her monkey hat in the backseat while Mommy was driving. The continuous UH OHs should have been Mommy’s first clue!
Addy likes pretending to put Snoop Dog to sleep in the baby bed by covering his entire face with the blanket and feeding him chicken and ice cream in the baby highchair. All the stuffed animals—Octotunes, ducks, Snoop, reindeer/moose, and Little Lamb—have to watch Addy eat breakfast from their spot on the table or chair. They also go potty, get carried everywhere around the house, and enjoy lots of snuggles.
Mommy told Addy to go ask Eli if he was hungry for lunch. Addy ran over to Eli, lifted up her shirt to show her belly, jabbered something, and then ran back to Mommy signing “EAT.” Meanwhile, Eli just looked at Addy with a very confused expression!
Eli now calls his girl Addy by name—“Aaaaaaad.”
Mommy and Addy ran errands while Daddy was recovering from surgery. The customer service line at the store was very long, but Mommy decided to give it a try. While kneeling by Addy to talk to her, Mommy smelled a full diaper, so she called it a day, and they headed home. Mommy informed Daddy about the very poopy diaper that had brought an early end to the errands and needed immediate changing. Daddy was laughing as Mommy opened the diaper to discover that Addy and Daddy simply share overactive gastrointestinal systems!
One night, Mommy and Addy were having wild exercise time before Daddy got home. When Mommy challenged Addy to run as fast as she could, it was accompanied by a revving motor sound. Addy was also interested in doing squats with Mommy. At first, she pushed her hips and pelvis forward as far as she could trying to imitate the movement. Mommy showed her how to bend her knees. After a couple successful attempts, Addy got tired, laid down on the floor to rest, and refused to attempt any more squats.
Addy loves bagels and will say “uh uh uh” while pointing emphatically at the toaster. After toasting her bagel, she will do the same sound and motion toward the refrigerator, which is her request for cream cheese. She also asks for flakes on many of her foods. In Addy’s world, “flakes” are brewer’s yeast and ground flax meal.
Addy knows she can lead Daddy all over the house by extending her hand requesting his finger. Mommy sometimes complies with her request, but oftentimes Addy is disappointed because Mommy cannot follow her around when the daycare kids are here. After Mommy declined, Addy tried grabbing Eli’s hand and leading him over to the couch, but Eli was a bit reluctant!
Addy is very intrigued by Mommy’s growing belly. When asked where the baby is, she lifts Mommy’s shirt to play with her belly button ring. She also kisses Mommy’s belly when asked to give kisses to the baby.
Addy likes playing with Mommy’s ponytail before naps and bedtime. Laughs are always better than screams in our book!
Addy is very good about alerting us to potential dangers by saying UH OH over and over again or stopping dead in her tracks. One day she found an outlet cover that had been removed and not replaced. She brought it over to us right away. She has also found the baby gate open on the stairway several times (not to mention names…Daddy!), but she stops and points until we come over to close it. Addy is our little safety patrol officer!
Addy figured out she can play Octotunes by sitting on it, so we have renamed him “Octo-butt!”
Addy drives Mommy CRAZY by refusing to keep her hands on her tray during meals. Eventually, they make their way under her bib, in her hair, and on her pants. We should probably have stock in laundry stain remover.
Addy sets six- to eight-piece puzzles by herself.
We have a new bathtime routine as Addy likes to run naked all over the house while Daddy tries to get her into the bathtub. No accidents so far!
Due to overuse of the word UH OH, we have been talking about its appropriate context. When a ball gets stuck under the couch…UH OH. When Addy deliberately throws her sippy cup off the tray…NO NO. Let’s just say the lesson needs some revisions as the response to everything remains UH OH!
Addy knows how to press play on the CD player, adjust the volume, and play with the bass settings. She loves choosing a CD from the stand and trying to put it in by herself. We have listened to “The Little Mermaid,” “Dirty Dancing,” and Aunt Sara and Grandma Gretchen’s Christmas CD over and over and over, as those three seem to be her favorites at the moment.
Mommy and Daddy have perfected their “ice skating” moves on the hardwood floors as we try to avoid the major creaks when we are getting ready for bed.
Mommy and Daddy were marveling over Addy’s persistence as she has been boycotting bedtime recently and trying to skip her second nap. After 50 minutes of crying/screaming/howling that could not be soothed by a drink of water, extra cuddle, or diaper change, Addy finally gave up and went to sleep. We decided she may be a good candidate for the half marathon, as her long-term persistence and determination would be enough to outlast the other runners to the finish!
Addy is very curious about computers and likes to pretend to use the mouse, type, and press random buttons that do crazy things to our screen settings.
Even Daddy could not escape the flu that hit our house before Christmas. Luckily, he was able to take care of Mommy and Addy for several days before he got sick. He tried to pretend that it was a bad turkey sandwich causing his illness, but he soon gave in and admitted he had the flu. The flu seemed to affect adults much more than the kids. Eli, Lily, and Addy all had mild cases while the parents were sidelined for several days by it! Mary Long named the flu “Rottinger Disease” as it was responsible for shutting down daycare for several days.
Uncle Jay and our neighbors Jamie and Kyle Miese took Addy off our hands for a few hours when we were really sick. Thankfully, Jamie and Kyle managed to avoid the flu, especially since Jamie is pregnant, but Uncle Jay texted and teased Daddy for “using Addy as a biological weapon against him.”
Addy did a great job with her first Salvation Army bell ringing experience. She was a “wild bell ringer” at times, but she definitely worked the crowd, and we were able to collect a bucket full of money during our shift from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, December 19, at Sentry on Cottage Grove Road.
Addy’s latest words are SIT (sometimes sounds like SHIT!), DJACK for her cousin Jack, SSSSARA for her Aunt Sara, and OH OH OH in a high voice for Cheerios. She signs “airplane,” “light,” and “moon.”
Addy likes to pretend to wash her hair by using the mini bottle of hand sanitizer from Mommy’s purse. She rubs the top of her head while holding the bottle.
We visited the Rotary lights display at the zoo in Marshfield during our visit to Colby and decided to try a Santa visit since he and Mrs. Clause were in a heated hut. The visit was very quick as we snapped a picture of Addy screaming and trying to escape while Santa looked disinterested and told Mrs. Clause to “give ‘er a candy cane.” As we exited the hut a few moments after we entered, Mike told the people in line we had a “short list” this year, which made them chuckle. I am quite sure they heard the screams!
Addy had a wonderful Christmas with both sides of the family. She was not shy or scared of people, much to the relief of Mommy and Daddy. The Calmes/Stettler/Mertens/Roltgen/Ellenbecker families tried a “progressive Christmas” this year starting at Great-Grandma Adelle and Great Grandpa Lawrence’s house for quick breads, cheese, and games. We “progressed” to Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric’s house for salad and Christmas carols, during which Addy liked dancing to “What Child is This?” and playing piano during “Silver Bells.” We also attempted the “12 Days of Christmas” by handing out slips of paper, each with a line of the song written on it. Addy added to the fun and laughter by running out with only a diaper on halfway through the countdown of days. We completed the evening at Grandpa Mark and Grandma Vicky’s house, where we enjoyed soup, ham roll-ups, bread, and dessert. Addy was very deliberate about unwrapping presents and had fun with all the Christmas excitement. In fact, she had such a good time she kept Grandpa Mark up half the night during her sleepover. They were both waiting for Santa We actually have to place a little of the blame on Grandpa Mark who kept trying to cover her up with blankets that were underneath her. We warned him about that maneuver!
The Roltgen side of the family celebrated in two shifts this year, as not everyone could make it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We were part of the Christmas Day crowd, where we enjoyed a nice meal, followed by the modified sibling gift exchange involving socks and candy this year under Aunt Sara’s direction. Addy loved doing hot laps through Grandpa Bob and Grandma Gretchen’s living/dining/music rooms, jumping on Grandma Gretchen’s stuffed dragon, and pretending to ride the tricycle around the house.
Addy’s favorite present was a squeaky teething giraffe named Sophie that she used to have when she was younger. The old Sophie started to mold, or got “scuffed” according to the lab report, so we had to take her back. Daddy was right that Addy was overjoyed by the return of Sophie. She would not let go of her as soon as she was out the package. Of course, this was the gift Mommy gave to Addy to open during Great-Grandpa’s Christmas reading, thinking it would keep her busy. Little did Mommy know that Addy now understood Sophie was a squeaky toy, so the continuous squeaking started during the end of Great-Grandpa’s reading, proceeded for an hour past bedtime in her pack ‘n’ play, and continued into the night with Grandpa Mark. Addy fell asleep on top of Sophie clutching her for dear life!
Addy did a great job with all the traveling throughout Christmas this year. She entertains herself with mini books, blankets, reindeer/moose, and scenery out the window. We hardly hear a peep out of her, unless she starts “chattering” about something she sees or reads!
During daycare, everyone must be seated during snack time. Addy and Eli like to push the limits by kneeling or squatting, so Mommy started saying, “sit on your butt.” The day before Christmas break, Eli started repeating the word “butt” in the morning, continued through lunch, and entertained his extended family over Christmas with his new word. Addy also likes to sit and use her feet to “Fred Flintstone” her way to various locations around the kitchen and living room during snack. She has inherited Daddy’s metabolism and with her movements, most likely has the snack calories burned off before snack time is over.
When asked what Santa says, Addy responds in a low voice, “HHH HHH.” Santa never gets his third HO!
Mary, Kevin, and Eli Long hosted a Wild Baby Sleepover at their house during Christmas break. Addy continued her preference for men and latched on to Kevin from the start. She grabbed his finger the moment she arrived and led him around the house while jabbering, “Ya ba da ba da ba…”
Addy’s chores include scrubbing floors and any other surfaces that catch her eye, throwing away trash or what she deems as trash, unloading the dishwasher, sorting laundry, cleaning up toys, throwing her dirty clothes in the hamper, and delivering requested items. She is a great helper!
Mommy asked Addy if she would like to play with the “hungry” caterpillar stuffed animal from Eric Carle’s classic children’s book. Addy responded by running to the kitchen with the caterpillar and placing him in the highchair, since he was “hungry!”
Addy is fascinated by the blender, mixer, and anything cooking on the stove or in the oven. She says “HOT HOT HOT,” even if Mommy is making a salad.
Addy is a great bowler with her new bowling set from Kevin, Mary, and Eli Long for Christmas. She will roll the ball nicely AFTER trying to chuck it across the room several times. If she misses any pins, she runs over and knocks them down with a wild fling of her arm.
Addy loves playing with cups in the bathtub. She dumps water from one cup to the other, over her head, and then tries to douse Mommy! She also likes washing up in the bathtub when we squirt soap into her hand.
When Daddy had his shoulder surgery, we had to remind Addy over and over again that Daddy had an “owie” and could not pick her up. When he showed her the bandages, Addy would scrunch up her face in an expression conveying both disgust and fear.
After Christmas, Mommy and Daddy tried to get Addy to color with her new animal crayons on all the thank you cards for a personal touch. She was excited about this task for the first three or four cards but soon lost interest. This resulted in Addy rolling on the floor throwing a tantrum while Mommy and Daddy attempted to wrestle a crayon into her fist and make marks on the remaining cards. Mommy explained that “sometimes we have to do things we do not want to because it is something nice for other people.” Addy was not impressed with Mommy’s speech. Needless to say, some of the coloring on the cards was, as they say in the art world, a “print” rather than an “original!”
Addy loves her Christmas presents. Right now, her favorites are musical Snoopy dog, Little People nativity and airplane, Toes, Ears, and Nose lift-the-flap book, Sophie squeaky giraffe, and the busy ball drop. We like to refer to Snoopy as “Snoop Dog.” Addy forwards through the airplane sounds until the music plays so she can dance.
Addy decided to pull strings out of her monkey hat in the backseat while Mommy was driving. The continuous UH OHs should have been Mommy’s first clue!
Addy likes pretending to put Snoop Dog to sleep in the baby bed by covering his entire face with the blanket and feeding him chicken and ice cream in the baby highchair. All the stuffed animals—Octotunes, ducks, Snoop, reindeer/moose, and Little Lamb—have to watch Addy eat breakfast from their spot on the table or chair. They also go potty, get carried everywhere around the house, and enjoy lots of snuggles.
Mommy told Addy to go ask Eli if he was hungry for lunch. Addy ran over to Eli, lifted up her shirt to show her belly, jabbered something, and then ran back to Mommy signing “EAT.” Meanwhile, Eli just looked at Addy with a very confused expression!
Eli now calls his girl Addy by name—“Aaaaaaad.”
Mommy and Addy ran errands while Daddy was recovering from surgery. The customer service line at the store was very long, but Mommy decided to give it a try. While kneeling by Addy to talk to her, Mommy smelled a full diaper, so she called it a day, and they headed home. Mommy informed Daddy about the very poopy diaper that had brought an early end to the errands and needed immediate changing. Daddy was laughing as Mommy opened the diaper to discover that Addy and Daddy simply share overactive gastrointestinal systems!
One night, Mommy and Addy were having wild exercise time before Daddy got home. When Mommy challenged Addy to run as fast as she could, it was accompanied by a revving motor sound. Addy was also interested in doing squats with Mommy. At first, she pushed her hips and pelvis forward as far as she could trying to imitate the movement. Mommy showed her how to bend her knees. After a couple successful attempts, Addy got tired, laid down on the floor to rest, and refused to attempt any more squats.
Addy loves bagels and will say “uh uh uh” while pointing emphatically at the toaster. After toasting her bagel, she will do the same sound and motion toward the refrigerator, which is her request for cream cheese. She also asks for flakes on many of her foods. In Addy’s world, “flakes” are brewer’s yeast and ground flax meal.
Addy knows she can lead Daddy all over the house by extending her hand requesting his finger. Mommy sometimes complies with her request, but oftentimes Addy is disappointed because Mommy cannot follow her around when the daycare kids are here. After Mommy declined, Addy tried grabbing Eli’s hand and leading him over to the couch, but Eli was a bit reluctant!
Addy is very intrigued by Mommy’s growing belly. When asked where the baby is, she lifts Mommy’s shirt to play with her belly button ring. She also kisses Mommy’s belly when asked to give kisses to the baby.
Addy likes playing with Mommy’s ponytail before naps and bedtime. Laughs are always better than screams in our book!
Addy is very good about alerting us to potential dangers by saying UH OH over and over again or stopping dead in her tracks. One day she found an outlet cover that had been removed and not replaced. She brought it over to us right away. She has also found the baby gate open on the stairway several times (not to mention names…Daddy!), but she stops and points until we come over to close it. Addy is our little safety patrol officer!
Addy figured out she can play Octotunes by sitting on it, so we have renamed him “Octo-butt!”
Addy drives Mommy CRAZY by refusing to keep her hands on her tray during meals. Eventually, they make their way under her bib, in her hair, and on her pants. We should probably have stock in laundry stain remover.
Addy sets six- to eight-piece puzzles by herself.
We have a new bathtime routine as Addy likes to run naked all over the house while Daddy tries to get her into the bathtub. No accidents so far!
Due to overuse of the word UH OH, we have been talking about its appropriate context. When a ball gets stuck under the couch…UH OH. When Addy deliberately throws her sippy cup off the tray…NO NO. Let’s just say the lesson needs some revisions as the response to everything remains UH OH!
Addy knows how to press play on the CD player, adjust the volume, and play with the bass settings. She loves choosing a CD from the stand and trying to put it in by herself. We have listened to “The Little Mermaid,” “Dirty Dancing,” and Aunt Sara and Grandma Gretchen’s Christmas CD over and over and over, as those three seem to be her favorites at the moment.
Mommy and Daddy have perfected their “ice skating” moves on the hardwood floors as we try to avoid the major creaks when we are getting ready for bed.
Mommy and Daddy were marveling over Addy’s persistence as she has been boycotting bedtime recently and trying to skip her second nap. After 50 minutes of crying/screaming/howling that could not be soothed by a drink of water, extra cuddle, or diaper change, Addy finally gave up and went to sleep. We decided she may be a good candidate for the half marathon, as her long-term persistence and determination would be enough to outlast the other runners to the finish!
Addy is very curious about computers and likes to pretend to use the mouse, type, and press random buttons that do crazy things to our screen settings.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Adelline is A CLIMBER at 1 Year, 3 Months
Addy is using her words to communicate. It is amazing to watch her work so hard to form a word and then beam with pride as she realizes she has said something that makes sense to us. Language development is also mysterious, in a way, as you never know what words and concepts have made the biggest impression. It makes me think twice about the words we use on a daily basis, as those will probably be some of the first added to her vocabulary! Addy loves climbing onto chairs, couches, and highchairs. She is our little monkey, although she has yet to link her ability to climb with getting things out of reach or off limits. Whew!
Addy has several favorite books including Peek-A-Boo Snail, My Daddy and I, Hug, The Going to Bed Book, In My House (touch and feel book), My First 100 Words, The Little Composter, My Little Book of Words, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, and any lift-the-flap books.
Addy loves pointing to and touching Mommy’s eyelashes and teeth.
When Mommy tells Addy she has a baby growing in her tummy, Addy lifts up Mommy’s shirt to see this baby for herself!
When other people are clapping, Addy will join in. She tries to “roll ‘em up” for pat-a-cake, but it ends up looking like wild flapping arms.
Addy says OWWW for wow, UH OH when a ball gets lost or her sippy cup gets dropped, BOCK for block, and FIFE for five or fine. She loves saying FIFE whenever you say a word that starts with “f.” Her latest words are SSSSSSOCK, STUCK, and SNACK.
When you ask Addy what a snake says, she responds, “Sssssssssssss.”
Addy finds books she would like to have read to her, hands them to the reader, and then turns away so she can “back it up” into his/her lap for a story.
When Aunt Britty, Aunt Lyddia, Grandma Vicky, and Grandpa Mark were coming down to watch Colby at state football, Mommy and Daddy asked Addy if she was excited to have Aunt Britty stay for the weekend. She responded by vigorously shaking her head NO from side to side, which made us laugh and the head shaking continue. Now when we ask Addy if she is excited about anything, the answer is always NO with a head shake!
Addy likes to go to the closet to find a washcloth before her bath.
Addy can “gobble” like a turkey by brushing her lips with her fingers, but she hasn’t quite figured out how to make the gobbling sound yet.
Addy loves her fleece footie pajamas. When Mommy was putting away laundry, Addy spotted a new pair and immediately fell in love with the “horsey” on the front. She ran around the rest of the night holding the pajamas and eventually went to bed clutching them. An hour and a half past her bedtime when we could still hear her screaming and being a monkey despite multiple attempts to check her diaper and offer water, an exasperated Mommy took off Addy’s cotton pajamas and put the fleece horsey pajamas on. Problem solved. We have a very persistent little girl!
One morning, Addy was throwing balls around the living room. She knows our rule is that only balls can be thrown—not toys. She looked at Mommy, deliberately tossed a green cup across the room, and then ran over to the Jumperoo for “timeout.” Somehow her “excitement” for timeout was not quite what Mommy was hoping for.
Addy did really well at the Roltgen family gathering for Thanksgiving this year. We learned that playing catch helps her adjust to all the commotion and new people. Addy bonded with Alice Schreiner, one of Daddy’s young second cousins. By the time we arrived in Colby for Thanksgiving, Addy seemed to be a little overwhelmed. She spent most of the weekend clinging to Daddy and pulling him around by the finger. We realized later that we should have brought a ball along!
When Addy is very excited about a food or activity, she breathes heavily. This HUH HUH HUH is usually reserved for bagels with cream cheese and going downstairs to throw balls in the storage room with Daddy.
When we ask Addy if we can see her prettiest smile, she scrunches her nose and eyes into a ridiculous funny face.
Lunch with the daycare kids often involves funny face time where we all try to make each other laugh with our silliest faces. When Eli was first learning how to make a funny face, he would squint his eyes and bat his eyelashes, but he could not figure out how to scrunch up his nose at the same time.
Addy loves throwing balls. She has a quite extensive wind-up that sometimes results in the ball being released behind her. Other times, it’s a softball fast pitch. Our favorite is the “run full speed toward the target with arm raised and refuse to let go of the ball, despite being asked repeatedly to throw it, until you are at point-blank range with someone’s face!”
Addy’s new favorite word is “YEAH.” Do you want to play with the ball? YEAH. Should we go on an adventure? YEAH. Is Mommy the best? YEAH :)
We may have discovered the “magic” stuffed animal who will eventually help with potty training. “Reindeer” was found in one of the Christmas bins, and Addy has a new best friend!
Uncle Jay babysat one night when Mommy had a meeting and Daddy was at parent-teacher conferences. Addy did a great job “teaching” him the bedtime routine by leading him to each activity, starting with the closet to find a washcloth for bath. Uncle Jay struggled a bit to interpret the HUHs and pointing. He also said bathtime involved every toy and letter being dumped into the tub and lots of splashing. How much actual washing took place is questionable!
Addy loves grabbing Daddy’s finger and leading him around the house to all her favorite spots, mostly the gate in front of the stairs to go to the basement.
Addy is a climber. She likes crawling onto chairs and sitting like a big girl. When Daddy was home for the day when Mommy had the flu, she insisted on eating all her meals from a regular chair. She will also try climbing into her highchair at mealtime and up onto the couch without help.
When Mommy had the flu, Daddy took Addy to school for his first two classes. She enjoyed throwing balls with the kids and sitting in the desks. The kids informed Daddy that her “reindeer” stuffed animal is actually a “moose.” Oops!
When the flu hit our house, Addy only threw up one time in the night. She went back to sleep with Daddy on the couch while Mommy tried to get some rest.
When we read My Little Book of Words, Addy fakes a laugh during the line, “A chuckle is a little laugh.”
Naptime at daycare is usually easy to identify. It starts with someone throwing toys, followed by a tantrum over being asked to only throw balls. Soon, everyone has lost his/her sense of balance. After a few minutes of walking around like drunk babies, we start the naptime routine!
Addy is a big fan of “wooden soldier” legs. She walks without bending her knees in an exaggerated manner with legs out to the side.
Photos continue to be a challenge as we try to take nice pictures, but we usually get a stone face or blank stare. Lately, we have seen a smirk after multiple requests for a smile, so it appears Addy knows she is being a turkey when the camera is out!
Addy has several favorite books including Peek-A-Boo Snail, My Daddy and I, Hug, The Going to Bed Book, In My House (touch and feel book), My First 100 Words, The Little Composter, My Little Book of Words, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, and any lift-the-flap books.
Addy loves pointing to and touching Mommy’s eyelashes and teeth.
When Mommy tells Addy she has a baby growing in her tummy, Addy lifts up Mommy’s shirt to see this baby for herself!
When other people are clapping, Addy will join in. She tries to “roll ‘em up” for pat-a-cake, but it ends up looking like wild flapping arms.
Addy says OWWW for wow, UH OH when a ball gets lost or her sippy cup gets dropped, BOCK for block, and FIFE for five or fine. She loves saying FIFE whenever you say a word that starts with “f.” Her latest words are SSSSSSOCK, STUCK, and SNACK.
When you ask Addy what a snake says, she responds, “Sssssssssssss.”
Addy finds books she would like to have read to her, hands them to the reader, and then turns away so she can “back it up” into his/her lap for a story.
When Aunt Britty, Aunt Lyddia, Grandma Vicky, and Grandpa Mark were coming down to watch Colby at state football, Mommy and Daddy asked Addy if she was excited to have Aunt Britty stay for the weekend. She responded by vigorously shaking her head NO from side to side, which made us laugh and the head shaking continue. Now when we ask Addy if she is excited about anything, the answer is always NO with a head shake!
Addy likes to go to the closet to find a washcloth before her bath.
Addy can “gobble” like a turkey by brushing her lips with her fingers, but she hasn’t quite figured out how to make the gobbling sound yet.
Addy loves her fleece footie pajamas. When Mommy was putting away laundry, Addy spotted a new pair and immediately fell in love with the “horsey” on the front. She ran around the rest of the night holding the pajamas and eventually went to bed clutching them. An hour and a half past her bedtime when we could still hear her screaming and being a monkey despite multiple attempts to check her diaper and offer water, an exasperated Mommy took off Addy’s cotton pajamas and put the fleece horsey pajamas on. Problem solved. We have a very persistent little girl!
One morning, Addy was throwing balls around the living room. She knows our rule is that only balls can be thrown—not toys. She looked at Mommy, deliberately tossed a green cup across the room, and then ran over to the Jumperoo for “timeout.” Somehow her “excitement” for timeout was not quite what Mommy was hoping for.
Addy did really well at the Roltgen family gathering for Thanksgiving this year. We learned that playing catch helps her adjust to all the commotion and new people. Addy bonded with Alice Schreiner, one of Daddy’s young second cousins. By the time we arrived in Colby for Thanksgiving, Addy seemed to be a little overwhelmed. She spent most of the weekend clinging to Daddy and pulling him around by the finger. We realized later that we should have brought a ball along!
When Addy is very excited about a food or activity, she breathes heavily. This HUH HUH HUH is usually reserved for bagels with cream cheese and going downstairs to throw balls in the storage room with Daddy.
When we ask Addy if we can see her prettiest smile, she scrunches her nose and eyes into a ridiculous funny face.
Lunch with the daycare kids often involves funny face time where we all try to make each other laugh with our silliest faces. When Eli was first learning how to make a funny face, he would squint his eyes and bat his eyelashes, but he could not figure out how to scrunch up his nose at the same time.
Addy loves throwing balls. She has a quite extensive wind-up that sometimes results in the ball being released behind her. Other times, it’s a softball fast pitch. Our favorite is the “run full speed toward the target with arm raised and refuse to let go of the ball, despite being asked repeatedly to throw it, until you are at point-blank range with someone’s face!”
Addy’s new favorite word is “YEAH.” Do you want to play with the ball? YEAH. Should we go on an adventure? YEAH. Is Mommy the best? YEAH :)
We may have discovered the “magic” stuffed animal who will eventually help with potty training. “Reindeer” was found in one of the Christmas bins, and Addy has a new best friend!
Uncle Jay babysat one night when Mommy had a meeting and Daddy was at parent-teacher conferences. Addy did a great job “teaching” him the bedtime routine by leading him to each activity, starting with the closet to find a washcloth for bath. Uncle Jay struggled a bit to interpret the HUHs and pointing. He also said bathtime involved every toy and letter being dumped into the tub and lots of splashing. How much actual washing took place is questionable!
Addy loves grabbing Daddy’s finger and leading him around the house to all her favorite spots, mostly the gate in front of the stairs to go to the basement.
Addy is a climber. She likes crawling onto chairs and sitting like a big girl. When Daddy was home for the day when Mommy had the flu, she insisted on eating all her meals from a regular chair. She will also try climbing into her highchair at mealtime and up onto the couch without help.
When Mommy had the flu, Daddy took Addy to school for his first two classes. She enjoyed throwing balls with the kids and sitting in the desks. The kids informed Daddy that her “reindeer” stuffed animal is actually a “moose.” Oops!
When the flu hit our house, Addy only threw up one time in the night. She went back to sleep with Daddy on the couch while Mommy tried to get some rest.
When we read My Little Book of Words, Addy fakes a laugh during the line, “A chuckle is a little laugh.”
Naptime at daycare is usually easy to identify. It starts with someone throwing toys, followed by a tantrum over being asked to only throw balls. Soon, everyone has lost his/her sense of balance. After a few minutes of walking around like drunk babies, we start the naptime routine!
Addy is a big fan of “wooden soldier” legs. She walks without bending her knees in an exaggerated manner with legs out to the side.
Photos continue to be a challenge as we try to take nice pictures, but we usually get a stone face or blank stare. Lately, we have seen a smirk after multiple requests for a smile, so it appears Addy knows she is being a turkey when the camera is out!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Adelline is A SNUGGLER at 1 Year, 2 Months
Addy took part in her first official sleepover this month, as we hosted my daycare kids, Eli and Lily, for a Wild Baby Sleepover. It was a busy and crazy night for Daddy and me, but the kids had a great time. We played, ate dinner, took a bath, read books, and snapped a few funny pictures. What amazed us most was everyone slept through the night. Woo hoo! Daddy and I jumped up at 5:30 a.m. wondering what was wrong as the house was quiet, and no one had woken up during the night. We had pancakes and applesauce for breakfast before sending Eli and Lily back home with their parents. Three kids might actually be feasible someday, at least for a night!
Addy had so much fun at the Roltgen family October birthday celebration. She loved jumping in the leaves with Uncle Jay, going for walks with Aunt Sara, and playing with Cousin Tessa. She even took a good afternoon nap at Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob’s house, which was a first!
At naptimes and bedtimes, Addy now needs snacks. If we forget or try to distract her, she will head to the kitchen to point out her food choice or bring us the things she can reach like the Triscuit cracker box.
Addy signs THANK YOU and SLEEP and says BA BA (bottle). She has her own word for blanket, which sounds something like “DU BAI DU BAI DU BAI.” She also has words for diaper and clock that originate from her own language! When she is very excited about something, she’ll often say, “NOM A NOM A NOM A NOM A.”
Addy enjoys helping us Swiffer, which involves swinging the pole of the dust mop around wildly, almost taking off heads and knocking pictures off the walls.
Daddy and Addy are best friends and have special playtime that includes activities like laundry basket spaceship rides, throwing balls around the storage room, and other things that Mommy does not want to do every day. Addy particularly enjoys throwing the pool ball onto the cement floor in the basement storage room, which makes Mommy think the house is cracking apart!
We headed up to Colby for a quick visit over Halloween weekend. Addy loved playing with Presley, throwing sticks, and sneaking food to him during dinner. She was caught red-handed by Aunt Britty when she tried feeding him her sippy cup of milk!
Addy is getting over her stranger anxiety. As soon as we entered the house, she jumped into Great-grandpa Lawrence and Great-grandma Adelle’s arms and snuggled with them. They were impressed, since they don’t see her very often. Addy also ate three plates of Great-grandma’s beef tips at lunch, played quietly with toys, and showed them both her “muscles” by putting her arms up in the classic pose.
Addy is quite adamant about signing when she is ALL DONE with something. Unfortunately, it happened to be Aunt Lyddia the weekend we went to visit and Dr. Bellissimo at her 15-month check-up.
Addy likes to “wild dance” now by marching quickly in place with her feet. This is usually most popular right before bedtime.
Addy’s favorite foods this month are yogurt, Clementines, Mum Mums, spicy chili, spaghetti, cheese, Triscuit crackers, sweet potato fries, corn, frozen strawberries, and homemade applesauce. Of course, Aunt Britty will be happy to know that Mommy hides all kinds of good things in these foods like shredded carrots in spaghetti sauce, walnuts and brewer’s yeast in yogurt, and everything but the kitchen sink in chili!
This was Addy’s first year of trick-or-treating. She dressed as a cow (a-Dell-ine), Mommy and Daddy wore cowboy hats (farmers), and we attempted to be the “Farmers and a Dell.” Addy was less interested in the candy and more intrigued by our neighbors’ cats and dogs.
Addy experienced her first bonfire this year at our neighborhood Halloween event. She made everyone around the fire laugh as she started jabbering exuberantly and pointing at the fire as soon as we walked up to the circle. She kept up her chatter for several minutes.
Addy’s bedtime antics continue to amuse and drive us crazy! When Daddy was gone for his military weekend, Mommy was hoping to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep from daylight savings time. Addy had a different game plan, which included unloading all her diapers from the basket, running around like a wild child, refusing to pick out books, repeating FIFE FIFE FIFE when Mommy said “five books” is the limit before bedtime, and putting her head on the ground and butt in the air waiting to do somersaults when asked to pick up her toys.
Addy puts her head on her shoulder or snuggles with her blanket when you ask if she’s sleepy, but we all know how long that lasts!
Addy was talking to Daddy on the cell phone when he said, “Good job not buying a pretzel at the mall today with Mommy.” Addy immediately dropped the phone, ran to the snack cabinet, located the bag of pretzels, and signed “more please.” Wow, the power of suggestion is strong!
Addy helps by putting her dirty clothes in the laundry hamper.
Addy makes monkey sounds—AH AH AH AH—in a high-pitched voice when asked if she’s being a monkey.
Addy loves doing SO BIG, with her hands up in the air, waiting to be tickled.
Our attempt a few months ago to move Addy’s bedtime up to 7:30 p.m. was a bust. Thankfully, daylight savings time helped us out this month, and we were finally able to get some of our evening back to get things done, at least for a few days. Addy is slowly starting to push things back again.
From the minute Daddy gets home from work, he and Addy are always exploring the house, naming and pointing to various objects, and having a great time, but Daddy ends up carrying Addy quite a bit. When Mommy reminds him to let her walk once in a while, Addy proceeds to assume a “plank” position with her legs bent at the hips, refusing to touch the floor with her feet. Mommy then asks if her legs are broken and whether we should call the doctor. Addy thinks this is all very funny, but refuses to put her feet on the ground. I think someone has Daddy wrapped around her little finger!
Mommy now says, “Goodnight monkey,” to Addy as she gets settled into her crib. Addy responds, “AH AH AH AH.”
Addy likes building and playing in forts with Daddy. Mommy tried to make a fort during daycare, but it was a very amateur attempt. After consulting with Mr. Kevin, Eli’s Dad, Daddy made some minor adjustments, added a second couch, and blew the kids away with his ultimate fort!
Addy gives “bonks” by touching her forehead to things she loves—Eli, Lily, horsey on a stick, Mommy, and Daddy.
Addy and Mommy started making funny faces at dinner one night. Now, toward the end of meals, we see who can make the silliest face.
Before bed, Addy likes touching Mommy’s teeth while she’s singing bedtime songs. She also enjoys funny faces, raspberries, and other antics that make her laugh. Mommy has decided this is better than the usual screaming, so she’s happy to oblige.
Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark gave Addy a press-the-sound book about trick-or-treating for Halloween. She loves dancing to the music button and ringing the doorbell over and over and over and over…
Addy enjoys grocery shopping and is a good helper. She places all the items in the cart, mostly by throwing them over her shoulder. There is one thing, however, that is too good to place in the cart. Addy has taken bites out of two blocks of cheese now, plastic and all, once with Mommy and once with Daddy!
Addy had so much fun at the Roltgen family October birthday celebration. She loved jumping in the leaves with Uncle Jay, going for walks with Aunt Sara, and playing with Cousin Tessa. She even took a good afternoon nap at Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob’s house, which was a first!
At naptimes and bedtimes, Addy now needs snacks. If we forget or try to distract her, she will head to the kitchen to point out her food choice or bring us the things she can reach like the Triscuit cracker box.
Addy signs THANK YOU and SLEEP and says BA BA (bottle). She has her own word for blanket, which sounds something like “DU BAI DU BAI DU BAI.” She also has words for diaper and clock that originate from her own language! When she is very excited about something, she’ll often say, “NOM A NOM A NOM A NOM A.”
Addy enjoys helping us Swiffer, which involves swinging the pole of the dust mop around wildly, almost taking off heads and knocking pictures off the walls.
Daddy and Addy are best friends and have special playtime that includes activities like laundry basket spaceship rides, throwing balls around the storage room, and other things that Mommy does not want to do every day. Addy particularly enjoys throwing the pool ball onto the cement floor in the basement storage room, which makes Mommy think the house is cracking apart!
We headed up to Colby for a quick visit over Halloween weekend. Addy loved playing with Presley, throwing sticks, and sneaking food to him during dinner. She was caught red-handed by Aunt Britty when she tried feeding him her sippy cup of milk!
Addy is getting over her stranger anxiety. As soon as we entered the house, she jumped into Great-grandpa Lawrence and Great-grandma Adelle’s arms and snuggled with them. They were impressed, since they don’t see her very often. Addy also ate three plates of Great-grandma’s beef tips at lunch, played quietly with toys, and showed them both her “muscles” by putting her arms up in the classic pose.
Addy is quite adamant about signing when she is ALL DONE with something. Unfortunately, it happened to be Aunt Lyddia the weekend we went to visit and Dr. Bellissimo at her 15-month check-up.
Addy likes to “wild dance” now by marching quickly in place with her feet. This is usually most popular right before bedtime.
Addy’s favorite foods this month are yogurt, Clementines, Mum Mums, spicy chili, spaghetti, cheese, Triscuit crackers, sweet potato fries, corn, frozen strawberries, and homemade applesauce. Of course, Aunt Britty will be happy to know that Mommy hides all kinds of good things in these foods like shredded carrots in spaghetti sauce, walnuts and brewer’s yeast in yogurt, and everything but the kitchen sink in chili!
This was Addy’s first year of trick-or-treating. She dressed as a cow (a-Dell-ine), Mommy and Daddy wore cowboy hats (farmers), and we attempted to be the “Farmers and a Dell.” Addy was less interested in the candy and more intrigued by our neighbors’ cats and dogs.
Addy experienced her first bonfire this year at our neighborhood Halloween event. She made everyone around the fire laugh as she started jabbering exuberantly and pointing at the fire as soon as we walked up to the circle. She kept up her chatter for several minutes.
Addy’s bedtime antics continue to amuse and drive us crazy! When Daddy was gone for his military weekend, Mommy was hoping to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep from daylight savings time. Addy had a different game plan, which included unloading all her diapers from the basket, running around like a wild child, refusing to pick out books, repeating FIFE FIFE FIFE when Mommy said “five books” is the limit before bedtime, and putting her head on the ground and butt in the air waiting to do somersaults when asked to pick up her toys.
Addy puts her head on her shoulder or snuggles with her blanket when you ask if she’s sleepy, but we all know how long that lasts!
Addy was talking to Daddy on the cell phone when he said, “Good job not buying a pretzel at the mall today with Mommy.” Addy immediately dropped the phone, ran to the snack cabinet, located the bag of pretzels, and signed “more please.” Wow, the power of suggestion is strong!
Addy helps by putting her dirty clothes in the laundry hamper.
Addy makes monkey sounds—AH AH AH AH—in a high-pitched voice when asked if she’s being a monkey.
Addy loves doing SO BIG, with her hands up in the air, waiting to be tickled.
Our attempt a few months ago to move Addy’s bedtime up to 7:30 p.m. was a bust. Thankfully, daylight savings time helped us out this month, and we were finally able to get some of our evening back to get things done, at least for a few days. Addy is slowly starting to push things back again.
From the minute Daddy gets home from work, he and Addy are always exploring the house, naming and pointing to various objects, and having a great time, but Daddy ends up carrying Addy quite a bit. When Mommy reminds him to let her walk once in a while, Addy proceeds to assume a “plank” position with her legs bent at the hips, refusing to touch the floor with her feet. Mommy then asks if her legs are broken and whether we should call the doctor. Addy thinks this is all very funny, but refuses to put her feet on the ground. I think someone has Daddy wrapped around her little finger!
Mommy now says, “Goodnight monkey,” to Addy as she gets settled into her crib. Addy responds, “AH AH AH AH.”
Addy likes building and playing in forts with Daddy. Mommy tried to make a fort during daycare, but it was a very amateur attempt. After consulting with Mr. Kevin, Eli’s Dad, Daddy made some minor adjustments, added a second couch, and blew the kids away with his ultimate fort!
Addy gives “bonks” by touching her forehead to things she loves—Eli, Lily, horsey on a stick, Mommy, and Daddy.
Addy and Mommy started making funny faces at dinner one night. Now, toward the end of meals, we see who can make the silliest face.
Before bed, Addy likes touching Mommy’s teeth while she’s singing bedtime songs. She also enjoys funny faces, raspberries, and other antics that make her laugh. Mommy has decided this is better than the usual screaming, so she’s happy to oblige.
Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark gave Addy a press-the-sound book about trick-or-treating for Halloween. She loves dancing to the music button and ringing the doorbell over and over and over and over…
Addy enjoys grocery shopping and is a good helper. She places all the items in the cart, mostly by throwing them over her shoulder. There is one thing, however, that is too good to place in the cart. Addy has taken bites out of two blocks of cheese now, plastic and all, once with Mommy and once with Daddy!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Adelline is A HOOT at 1 Year, 1 Month
Addy has definitely inherited her dad’s sense of humor. She is such a hoot and always making us laugh. She’s really been catching on to the idea of “teasing” and likes to show us that she knows what she’s not supposed to be doing. She will walk casually over to the electrical outlets and slowly reach out, pretending to touch them while grinning at us. We’ve discovered her “petting” the freestanding lamps in the living room, and when we ask for something back that she’s not supposed to be playing with, it promptly gets whipped across the room as if to say, “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything!”
There was a recent accident with Addy’s “princess-mobile,” or “cruiser,” as Daddy likes to call it. Car and driver were both involved in the sideway rollover, but no major injuries were reported. A dispute between Addy and Eli ensued after the accident over who was going to set the car upright, so the princess-mobile headed to the body shop (AKA the bathroom) for the afternoon.
Mommy has had to employ some creative strategies with the daycare kids including toys in “timeout” when there are arguments over sharing, bathroom fans on to create “white noise” during naps, and big praise for helpers who throw away diapers and assist with other daily chores.
One night before bed, Addy would not let go of her plastic bathtime book. Daddy decided to choose his battles and let her take it to bed. When he snuck in later to remove it from the crib, Addy was clutching it tightly to her chest.
When Addy was being particularly wiggly on the changing table, Mommy said, “Lyddia!” That story made everyone laugh as they recalled that Mommy did not change very many of Lyddia’s diapers.
A lady at church was so kind to suggest that we attend 10 a.m. mass on Sunday mornings, when “the nursery is available.” Obviously, we are still working on appropriate church behavior.
Addy loves spotting birds and airplanes outside. She will notice and point out birds on top of lightposts or flying in the sky. She will stop what she is doing in the house if she hears a plane flying over.
After reading more of Tracy Hogg’s “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers,” Mommy is convinced she classified Addy and Eli incorrectly as babies. She thought Addy was a “textbook” baby who adhered to a strict schedule (in reality, it was Mommy who adhered to the strict schedule!), and Eli seemed like a “touchy” baby, who was sensitive to change. Toddlerhood has made things more apparent. Eli is hands down an “angel” baby who adapts easily and naps like a champ, and Addy is “spirited.” No wonder we are always so exhausted, and the Longs are well rested! Spirited kids have the most energy and are the most active of all babies and toddlers. They also push limits, get sassy, and are extremely persistent. Why did Mommy ever think her offspring would be spared these traits? The book does note that spirited kids grow up to be great leaders. Now if we can just keep working on toning down that sass. The good news is that it only took Mommy twenty-two years or so!
Timeouts have officially begun. With three little ones running around during the day, we need some separation from the group at times. The timeout ratio is about five for Addy to every one for Eli and Lily. Oh man, we are in trouble during adolescence, aren’t we?
When Mommy went to get Lily up from her nap, Addy felt compelled to help herself to some Triscuit crackers. Addy has always enjoyed unloading the snack cabinet, but now she knows how to open the packages. She had one Triscuit down and several more in her hands before Mommy made the discovery!
At lunchtime, if one baby/toddler is still eating, the other two are like little scavengers, circling the highchair, waiting for food to drop or a chance to sneak something off the tray.
Addy was pushing her car from her bedroom down the hallway to the living room. This required a turn to navigate into the hallway. Mommy was encouraging Addy to keep trying as she rammed the front of the car into the wall over and over again instead of making any attempt to turn the wheels. Daddy was watching in disbelief as Addy eventually just gave up and walked away. Mommy had to break the news to Daddy that Addy has apparently inherited Mommy’s engineering/mechanical skills!
Mommy was making sweet potato fries one night before bedtime. Addy caught a glimpse of them and immediately started signing “please” over and over again. This was literally five minutes before bedtime, and the fries weren’t even done baking yet. The meltdown that followed was one for the record books. Mommy had to go through a big “goodnight sweet potato fries” routine and put them “back to sleep” in the oven. It was a still a rough bedtime.
Addy likes to rub her eyes with her toes. She’s our yoga girl!
Addy will point to her eyes, mouth, toes, and nose. She pretends to put her socks and shoes on her feet by setting them on top and then looking at Mommy and Daddy.
On our family trip to the apple orchard, Addy was very intrigued by the sheep. She loved running around under the apple trees. It was somewhat comical to watch as she would lose her balance occasionally when she stepped directly on top of a fallen apple! Addy was also interested in taking bites of apples, which Mommy and Daddy learned when she picked up a worm-infested, rotten apple and took a huge bite before anyone could stop her!
Addy’s new favorite book is a nursery rhymes pop-up book. We read it approximately 100 times per day, especially “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
Addy was exposed to her first swear word this month. Mommy had just cleaned out Addy’s diaper into the toilet and pressed the handle to flush when Addy came running in and decided to throw a wooden puzzle piece into the swirling water. Apparently, the natural reaction to this happening is saying, “SHIT,” as you stick your hand into the poop to retrieve the puzzle piece. Thankfully, it wasn’t the puzzle pieces Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob made, and even more of a relief was that Addy has yet to repeat the “new word” she learned! Oops.
Addy is Mommy’s little helper. She likes to sweep the kitchen with her little broom, throw diapers away in the Genie, and attempt to feed Lily. When Mommy had her back turned, Addy grabbed Lily’s spoonful of garden vegetables and ran at Lily in her highchair trying to put the spoon in her mouth. Luckily, Mommy intervened before any injuries occurred, but it was really cute!
Addy’s newest words are NA NA for banana, DOG, DUCK, HOT, and BALL. She also says MUM MUM MUM MUM in front of the pantry cabinet whenever she thinks she should have a Mum Mum rice cracker. This is usually several times a day, to which Mommy has to say, “No, we just had lunch,” or “No, we just had a snack after nap.”
Addy’s one-year molars are coming in on the bottom and top. Her bottom set popped through around her first birthday, and the top two made their appearance at about 14 months.
Addy enjoys throwing away tiny pieces of fuzz or dirt from the floor. She is very proud that she can lift the cover of the garbage can now. Of course, this led to her seeing a piece of bread from breakfast in the trash and proceeding to take it out and eat it before Mommy knew what was going on.
Addy enjoys teasing Mommy by touching the outlets and floor lamps in the living room. She usually “pets” them while grinning mischievously.
Addy loves playing “ghost” with her blanket. She covers her entire head with the blanket and then walks around like a ghost until she runs into something.
Addy is really into “snuggling” with her blankets. She carries them around and buries her face in them.
Addy learned about somersaults, so she now places her head on the floor, butt in the air, and waits for you to flip her forward.
Addy now signs the following words consistently: MORE, MILK, PLEASE, YES, ALL DONE, and EAT. She also growls like a bear, pants like a puppy, shakes her head NO, and follows simple commands when she feels like it.
There was a recent accident with Addy’s “princess-mobile,” or “cruiser,” as Daddy likes to call it. Car and driver were both involved in the sideway rollover, but no major injuries were reported. A dispute between Addy and Eli ensued after the accident over who was going to set the car upright, so the princess-mobile headed to the body shop (AKA the bathroom) for the afternoon.
Mommy has had to employ some creative strategies with the daycare kids including toys in “timeout” when there are arguments over sharing, bathroom fans on to create “white noise” during naps, and big praise for helpers who throw away diapers and assist with other daily chores.
One night before bed, Addy would not let go of her plastic bathtime book. Daddy decided to choose his battles and let her take it to bed. When he snuck in later to remove it from the crib, Addy was clutching it tightly to her chest.
When Addy was being particularly wiggly on the changing table, Mommy said, “Lyddia!” That story made everyone laugh as they recalled that Mommy did not change very many of Lyddia’s diapers.
A lady at church was so kind to suggest that we attend 10 a.m. mass on Sunday mornings, when “the nursery is available.” Obviously, we are still working on appropriate church behavior.
Addy loves spotting birds and airplanes outside. She will notice and point out birds on top of lightposts or flying in the sky. She will stop what she is doing in the house if she hears a plane flying over.
After reading more of Tracy Hogg’s “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers,” Mommy is convinced she classified Addy and Eli incorrectly as babies. She thought Addy was a “textbook” baby who adhered to a strict schedule (in reality, it was Mommy who adhered to the strict schedule!), and Eli seemed like a “touchy” baby, who was sensitive to change. Toddlerhood has made things more apparent. Eli is hands down an “angel” baby who adapts easily and naps like a champ, and Addy is “spirited.” No wonder we are always so exhausted, and the Longs are well rested! Spirited kids have the most energy and are the most active of all babies and toddlers. They also push limits, get sassy, and are extremely persistent. Why did Mommy ever think her offspring would be spared these traits? The book does note that spirited kids grow up to be great leaders. Now if we can just keep working on toning down that sass. The good news is that it only took Mommy twenty-two years or so!
Timeouts have officially begun. With three little ones running around during the day, we need some separation from the group at times. The timeout ratio is about five for Addy to every one for Eli and Lily. Oh man, we are in trouble during adolescence, aren’t we?
When Mommy went to get Lily up from her nap, Addy felt compelled to help herself to some Triscuit crackers. Addy has always enjoyed unloading the snack cabinet, but now she knows how to open the packages. She had one Triscuit down and several more in her hands before Mommy made the discovery!
At lunchtime, if one baby/toddler is still eating, the other two are like little scavengers, circling the highchair, waiting for food to drop or a chance to sneak something off the tray.
Addy was pushing her car from her bedroom down the hallway to the living room. This required a turn to navigate into the hallway. Mommy was encouraging Addy to keep trying as she rammed the front of the car into the wall over and over again instead of making any attempt to turn the wheels. Daddy was watching in disbelief as Addy eventually just gave up and walked away. Mommy had to break the news to Daddy that Addy has apparently inherited Mommy’s engineering/mechanical skills!
Mommy was making sweet potato fries one night before bedtime. Addy caught a glimpse of them and immediately started signing “please” over and over again. This was literally five minutes before bedtime, and the fries weren’t even done baking yet. The meltdown that followed was one for the record books. Mommy had to go through a big “goodnight sweet potato fries” routine and put them “back to sleep” in the oven. It was a still a rough bedtime.
Addy likes to rub her eyes with her toes. She’s our yoga girl!
Addy will point to her eyes, mouth, toes, and nose. She pretends to put her socks and shoes on her feet by setting them on top and then looking at Mommy and Daddy.
On our family trip to the apple orchard, Addy was very intrigued by the sheep. She loved running around under the apple trees. It was somewhat comical to watch as she would lose her balance occasionally when she stepped directly on top of a fallen apple! Addy was also interested in taking bites of apples, which Mommy and Daddy learned when she picked up a worm-infested, rotten apple and took a huge bite before anyone could stop her!
Addy’s new favorite book is a nursery rhymes pop-up book. We read it approximately 100 times per day, especially “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
Addy was exposed to her first swear word this month. Mommy had just cleaned out Addy’s diaper into the toilet and pressed the handle to flush when Addy came running in and decided to throw a wooden puzzle piece into the swirling water. Apparently, the natural reaction to this happening is saying, “SHIT,” as you stick your hand into the poop to retrieve the puzzle piece. Thankfully, it wasn’t the puzzle pieces Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob made, and even more of a relief was that Addy has yet to repeat the “new word” she learned! Oops.
Addy is Mommy’s little helper. She likes to sweep the kitchen with her little broom, throw diapers away in the Genie, and attempt to feed Lily. When Mommy had her back turned, Addy grabbed Lily’s spoonful of garden vegetables and ran at Lily in her highchair trying to put the spoon in her mouth. Luckily, Mommy intervened before any injuries occurred, but it was really cute!
Addy’s newest words are NA NA for banana, DOG, DUCK, HOT, and BALL. She also says MUM MUM MUM MUM in front of the pantry cabinet whenever she thinks she should have a Mum Mum rice cracker. This is usually several times a day, to which Mommy has to say, “No, we just had lunch,” or “No, we just had a snack after nap.”
Addy’s one-year molars are coming in on the bottom and top. Her bottom set popped through around her first birthday, and the top two made their appearance at about 14 months.
Addy enjoys throwing away tiny pieces of fuzz or dirt from the floor. She is very proud that she can lift the cover of the garbage can now. Of course, this led to her seeing a piece of bread from breakfast in the trash and proceeding to take it out and eat it before Mommy knew what was going on.
Addy enjoys teasing Mommy by touching the outlets and floor lamps in the living room. She usually “pets” them while grinning mischievously.
Addy loves playing “ghost” with her blanket. She covers her entire head with the blanket and then walks around like a ghost until she runs into something.
Addy is really into “snuggling” with her blankets. She carries them around and buries her face in them.
Addy learned about somersaults, so she now places her head on the floor, butt in the air, and waits for you to flip her forward.
Addy now signs the following words consistently: MORE, MILK, PLEASE, YES, ALL DONE, and EAT. She also growls like a bear, pants like a puppy, shakes her head NO, and follows simple commands when she feels like it.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Adelline is A LITTLE GIRL at 1 Year
Maybe it’s just me being emotional, but I’m really feeling the transition from “baby/infant” to “toddler/little girl” this month. Between weaning from breastfeeding and bottles and asking Addy to be “Mommy’s helper” at daycare, I can already picture that first day of kindergarten, and it breaks my heart. Okay, let’s be honest. I’m pregnant and hormonal. Yay! I know Addy is going to be such a wonderful big sister. I can’t believe it’s time already to start expanding our family. We’ll have some busy and exciting years ahead. In some ways, I hope it’s a girl, as I can’t imagine life without my sisters, but I do know Mike really wants a boy at some point. Given my family’s track record with many more females than males, we’ll take a healthy baby boy anytime God wants to bless us with one!
One day, Mommy was doing some laundry and left Addy playing in the main room of the basement. When she walked out less than ten seconds later, Addy had completely disappeared. Mommy started going through the storage room, expecting to find her playing with something poisonous or potentially life threatening. As it turned out, Addy was just hiding under the foosball table!
Addy loves throwing the dryer balls into the dryer. Mommy is grateful for this game, which gives her just enough time to switch the laundry over and start a new load.
Since 2% milk was not a hit, and Dr. Bellissimo said Addy could use the extra calories (Mommy is jealous!), we switched to whole milk. Apparently, that was the ticket, as Addy loves her sippy cup filled with milk at mealtimes. Mommy and Daddy are still a little unsure about when to phase out the bottle. We’ll have to keep experimenting.
Addy’s is working on her problem solving skills. After she finished unloading one side of the silverware, Mommy encouraged her to walk around the door to reach the silverware on the other side. Addy responded by crawling on top of the dishwasher door, picking up a fork, and handing it to Mommy.
Mommy was able to take a shower while Addy played with blocks on the floor. Victory! Now we just have to lock the toilet lid as one of the fun things to do with blocks is try to put them in the little potty chair and the toilet.
Addy is not a big fan of the word “no.” We’ve started to see several head-flailing tantrums lately. Arching the back and legs (an impressive yoga position) so it is impossible to lay her down on the changing table is also very popular at the moment.
Daddy and Addy have become big buddies this summer. There were even days when she’d cry when Daddy had to leave for cross country practice or errands. Someone might be in for a real shock when school starts. Hopefully the daycare kids will help her transition. In the meantime, Mommy has enjoyed the break!
After much grief, Mommy and Daddy agreed to have a small first birthday party for Addy. We celebrated on August 28 with Great-uncle Dave and Ella, Aunt Lyddia, Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric, Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark, Great-uncle Kevin and Great-aunt Julie, and Second Cousins Emily and Bailey. Everyone came to our house for a luau. We had kabobs on the grill, potato salad, crab noodle salad, veggies and dip, fruit salad, cheese, sausage, and crackers. Addy enjoyed her first piece of cake—angel food with strawberries and Mommy’s homemade whipped cream. Yummy!
Addy has started playing foosball downstairs. She used to just throw and chase the balls around, but the other day, Mommy heard “plunk” as Addy stretched on her tiptoes to place the ball up over the side and into the game. She has not caught on to the little black cup that would be easier to reach and still achieve the same result.
Daycare has begun for the year, and Addy is officially Mommy’s little helper. She brings all the dirty diapers to the Genie and tries pushing them down as far as she can. She only needs a few reminders on the way there to keep them out of her mouth. She helps put all the kids down for naps. Since she is the worst sleeper of the bunch, she also helps get them up from naps. No need to worry about getting some quality one-on-one time with her after all!
On the first day of daycare, Addy crawled over to Eli and kissed him on the head. We all missed him over the summer!
During the first week of daycare, Mommy was trying to adjust the kids into a similar schedule. Unfortunately, Addy was the one who had to make the sacrifice as Mommy tried to keep her up until the other two were tired. Interestingly, Addy gets really wild when she’s overtired, and her repertoire includes all the things that are no-nos such as chomping on the corner guards on the coffee table, trying to use Lily and Eli’s heads as leverage to stand up, throwing toys, pulling all the cookbooks off the shelf, running away from Mommy, flailing wildly around the living room, and just basically being a Rambo! These antics will be split up by random collapsing on the floor and snuggling with blankets and pillows. Another feature of this time is avoidance of a diaper change. It usually takes Mommy almost sitting on Addy to get a diaper back on her bare bottom. So far, there haven’t been any accidents.
Addy has her old pal Eli and her new buddy Lily at daycare now. They love playing together!
Addy and Eli have a daily “stairs race” when Mommy has no hands to carry them. So far, victory has gone to the one who doesn’t get distracted by socks or things on the stairs.
Addy is quite adept at ignoring her name when you say it ten times trying to get her attention. This occurs most often when she is playing with plants and other no-nos.
Addy has just taken off from hesitantly walking to running between items she can hang onto for support.
Addy is now becoming my picky eater, while Eli thinks I am the most fabulous cook. So far, he’s loved kabobs, peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes, and my purees. Eli’s mom can’t believe how much he eats here and the fact that he’ll let me feed him healthy purees with a spoon. Watch out Iron Chef!
Addy and Lily were playing in Addy’s room. Mommy was trying to locate a blue rectangle shape that she didn’t want Lily playing with since it was too small for her. She looked high and low but could not find it. As it turns out, Addy was hiding it in her pants.
Aunt Lyddia’s play kitchen is a very popular item. Lily loves the pizza slices, Eli is a bacon man, and Addy enjoys trying to “pizza cutter” both of them. She is also a fan of the ice cream cone, which Grandma Vicky jokes, “Too bad she’ll never even know what that is.” Mommy’s family thinks she’s too strict with Addy’s food options.
Addy is doing really well with weaning. We are down to breastfeeding once a day and one bottle before bed. It was harder on Mommy than Addy, as she just can’t believe her little girl is growing up so fast.
When Addy wakes up from her nap, we’ve always given her time to transition before we go into her room. One day, there was immediate sobbing coming from the crib when she woke up, so Mommy thought her foot might be stuck. She ran in there to find Addy’s blanket on the floor and a very distressed little girl. Taking the bottles away may be the least of our battles!
Addy enjoys brushing her hair before bedtime. She almost closes her eyes as the hairbrush is whipped around wildly, sometimes hitting herself in the face.
Addy loves climbing in and out of her umbrella stroller and plastic lawn chair. She is trying to figure out how to climb out of the pack ‘n’ play when Mommy puts her in there for a few minutes of safe “containment” during daycare.
Addy is a parrot now, as she mimics a lot of our phrases and sounds.
Addy likes to “pet” Lily and Eli on the head during daycare.
Addy loves going to Daddy’s cross country meets, as they involve running around, eating supper in her stroller, watching kids, and hanging out with her best buddy Daddy. Mommy appreciates the change in pace after a long day of daycare.
Addy attended her first wedding and was entertained by walking up and down the handicapped access ramp leading into the dining area. We all took turns eating dinner and walking the ramp.
Addy is very diligent about notifying us about important things like the smoke alarm in the kitchen. It has gone off a couple times while Mommy’s been cooking, so she is hyper-aware of its presence now. She also likes pointing at the smoke alarm, clock, and doorbell over and over again while Daddy names them one by one.
Due to wild pre-bedtime behavior, we are going to try moving Addy’s bedtime up to 7:30 p.m. So far, so good!
One day, Mommy was doing some laundry and left Addy playing in the main room of the basement. When she walked out less than ten seconds later, Addy had completely disappeared. Mommy started going through the storage room, expecting to find her playing with something poisonous or potentially life threatening. As it turned out, Addy was just hiding under the foosball table!
Addy loves throwing the dryer balls into the dryer. Mommy is grateful for this game, which gives her just enough time to switch the laundry over and start a new load.
Since 2% milk was not a hit, and Dr. Bellissimo said Addy could use the extra calories (Mommy is jealous!), we switched to whole milk. Apparently, that was the ticket, as Addy loves her sippy cup filled with milk at mealtimes. Mommy and Daddy are still a little unsure about when to phase out the bottle. We’ll have to keep experimenting.
Addy’s is working on her problem solving skills. After she finished unloading one side of the silverware, Mommy encouraged her to walk around the door to reach the silverware on the other side. Addy responded by crawling on top of the dishwasher door, picking up a fork, and handing it to Mommy.
Mommy was able to take a shower while Addy played with blocks on the floor. Victory! Now we just have to lock the toilet lid as one of the fun things to do with blocks is try to put them in the little potty chair and the toilet.
Addy is not a big fan of the word “no.” We’ve started to see several head-flailing tantrums lately. Arching the back and legs (an impressive yoga position) so it is impossible to lay her down on the changing table is also very popular at the moment.
Daddy and Addy have become big buddies this summer. There were even days when she’d cry when Daddy had to leave for cross country practice or errands. Someone might be in for a real shock when school starts. Hopefully the daycare kids will help her transition. In the meantime, Mommy has enjoyed the break!
After much grief, Mommy and Daddy agreed to have a small first birthday party for Addy. We celebrated on August 28 with Great-uncle Dave and Ella, Aunt Lyddia, Aunt Britty and Uncle Eric, Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark, Great-uncle Kevin and Great-aunt Julie, and Second Cousins Emily and Bailey. Everyone came to our house for a luau. We had kabobs on the grill, potato salad, crab noodle salad, veggies and dip, fruit salad, cheese, sausage, and crackers. Addy enjoyed her first piece of cake—angel food with strawberries and Mommy’s homemade whipped cream. Yummy!
Addy has started playing foosball downstairs. She used to just throw and chase the balls around, but the other day, Mommy heard “plunk” as Addy stretched on her tiptoes to place the ball up over the side and into the game. She has not caught on to the little black cup that would be easier to reach and still achieve the same result.
Daycare has begun for the year, and Addy is officially Mommy’s little helper. She brings all the dirty diapers to the Genie and tries pushing them down as far as she can. She only needs a few reminders on the way there to keep them out of her mouth. She helps put all the kids down for naps. Since she is the worst sleeper of the bunch, she also helps get them up from naps. No need to worry about getting some quality one-on-one time with her after all!
On the first day of daycare, Addy crawled over to Eli and kissed him on the head. We all missed him over the summer!
During the first week of daycare, Mommy was trying to adjust the kids into a similar schedule. Unfortunately, Addy was the one who had to make the sacrifice as Mommy tried to keep her up until the other two were tired. Interestingly, Addy gets really wild when she’s overtired, and her repertoire includes all the things that are no-nos such as chomping on the corner guards on the coffee table, trying to use Lily and Eli’s heads as leverage to stand up, throwing toys, pulling all the cookbooks off the shelf, running away from Mommy, flailing wildly around the living room, and just basically being a Rambo! These antics will be split up by random collapsing on the floor and snuggling with blankets and pillows. Another feature of this time is avoidance of a diaper change. It usually takes Mommy almost sitting on Addy to get a diaper back on her bare bottom. So far, there haven’t been any accidents.
Addy has her old pal Eli and her new buddy Lily at daycare now. They love playing together!
Addy and Eli have a daily “stairs race” when Mommy has no hands to carry them. So far, victory has gone to the one who doesn’t get distracted by socks or things on the stairs.
Addy is quite adept at ignoring her name when you say it ten times trying to get her attention. This occurs most often when she is playing with plants and other no-nos.
Addy has just taken off from hesitantly walking to running between items she can hang onto for support.
Addy is now becoming my picky eater, while Eli thinks I am the most fabulous cook. So far, he’s loved kabobs, peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes, and my purees. Eli’s mom can’t believe how much he eats here and the fact that he’ll let me feed him healthy purees with a spoon. Watch out Iron Chef!
Addy and Lily were playing in Addy’s room. Mommy was trying to locate a blue rectangle shape that she didn’t want Lily playing with since it was too small for her. She looked high and low but could not find it. As it turns out, Addy was hiding it in her pants.
Aunt Lyddia’s play kitchen is a very popular item. Lily loves the pizza slices, Eli is a bacon man, and Addy enjoys trying to “pizza cutter” both of them. She is also a fan of the ice cream cone, which Grandma Vicky jokes, “Too bad she’ll never even know what that is.” Mommy’s family thinks she’s too strict with Addy’s food options.
Addy is doing really well with weaning. We are down to breastfeeding once a day and one bottle before bed. It was harder on Mommy than Addy, as she just can’t believe her little girl is growing up so fast.
When Addy wakes up from her nap, we’ve always given her time to transition before we go into her room. One day, there was immediate sobbing coming from the crib when she woke up, so Mommy thought her foot might be stuck. She ran in there to find Addy’s blanket on the floor and a very distressed little girl. Taking the bottles away may be the least of our battles!
Addy enjoys brushing her hair before bedtime. She almost closes her eyes as the hairbrush is whipped around wildly, sometimes hitting herself in the face.
Addy loves climbing in and out of her umbrella stroller and plastic lawn chair. She is trying to figure out how to climb out of the pack ‘n’ play when Mommy puts her in there for a few minutes of safe “containment” during daycare.
Addy is a parrot now, as she mimics a lot of our phrases and sounds.
Addy likes to “pet” Lily and Eli on the head during daycare.
Addy loves going to Daddy’s cross country meets, as they involve running around, eating supper in her stroller, watching kids, and hanging out with her best buddy Daddy. Mommy appreciates the change in pace after a long day of daycare.
Addy attended her first wedding and was entertained by walking up and down the handicapped access ramp leading into the dining area. We all took turns eating dinner and walking the ramp.
Addy is very diligent about notifying us about important things like the smoke alarm in the kitchen. It has gone off a couple times while Mommy’s been cooking, so she is hyper-aware of its presence now. She also likes pointing at the smoke alarm, clock, and doorbell over and over again while Daddy names them one by one.
Due to wild pre-bedtime behavior, we are going to try moving Addy’s bedtime up to 7:30 p.m. So far, so good!
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Addy and Octotunes
