Birthday Bash!!

sweet adalyne turned one last saturday! where did this last year go? a year ago she was this adorable newborn...

now she is this adorable walker, runner, talker, climber, clapper, giggler, snuggler, dancer, ball-thrower, squealer, girly, toddler girl. 

she is still our tiny toddler girl, though

16lbs 14oz -- 1%ile

28.5 in long -- 28%ile

her birthday was a blast! we had so many family members come celebrate with us and Addie soaked up the attention and smashed the daylights out of her cake. enjoy the pictures!

The Vintage Carnival Setup

The Singing

The Smashing

(a.k.a. - the demolition. notice her frosting fists and the fact that she hardly eats a thing but thoroughly enjoys getting completely messy while raking her cake to pieces)

not sure if you can tell, but this girl was haaaaappppy

The Spoiling

(not awesome quality photos, but oh well)

Opening Nana's present - a book with her voice recorded!

she knew exactly where to look for her presents

taking off with her ball...she ran away with her favorite presents: her ball and her doll

we finished the night with a warm swim in the pool, complete with sharks-n-minnows and fruit basket with the younger cousins. addie, as always, loved splashing in the water. it was an awesome night for a first birthday! we love you baby girl. 

Biggums

(Warning: Long, full of video, and about a month overdue)
Biggums is what Grandpa Randall calls his little grandchildren and that is what Jon calls Addie. Unfortunately, this 11 month old biggums girl seems to be interested in things that I shouldn't have to teach her about yet:

Make Up
Credit Cards
Cell Phones
Board Games

Tampons, Maxi Pads, and Nursing Breast Pads

But there are things that are right on track.

Talking
Unfortunately, the endearing first words of "mama" or "dada" are never to be. Her first word is officially "balloon", pronounced "buhgoon" with the "goon" ending in a high squeal. As if she could have chosen a harder first word. However, she has now officially begun saying "hi" and "Da" for Dad. Lucky guy. 

She has become an incredibly good mimicker: she can repeat "stop" "ouch" "up" and "ball" remarkably well. It's funny how when I ask her to say "mama", she just cocks her head and stares at me. 

She is also a serious babbler using intonation and cocking her head as she speaks. It is darling. 

Walking

New bump on her left side, old bump on the right side. 

She has been an official walker since the middle of May. Every day she gets more and more confident and has now decided that she is good enough to haul things around that are just as big as she is. Unfortunately, she also goes faster. We will be running very soon! (How weird is it to watch your 16 lb, 12 oz baby walk. She is way too tiny!) The best part is that she knows that she is doing something totally awesome and she makes sure that she gets praised for her accomplishments! The worst part is she gets at least one bruise or bump a day!

 Teething
She has 5 official teeth. Her newest tooth is her left canine. She has her two middle teeth and her right canine hovering just below the surface, and due to the recent pain and tears, I can predict they are about to show their pearly heads. 

Making Friends
She has discovered the incredible world of stuffed animals. She was so indifferent to toys before...no favorites, moving on quickly between toys. But she recently became very attached to a large sheep pillow pet we call Sherpa and a small stuffed elephant named Ellie. If we ask her where either one is, her face lights up and she goes off on the hunt. When she finds them, she throws herself on top of them and gives them loves. Then she wants me to snuggle both of them, so she'll bring me the animal and then climb into my lap for a big group hug. Melts my heart every time. 

 Dressing Up
She has recently realized that she can make anything into a necklace and she has learned how to put them on and take them off (sometimes, not very smoothly). She will put on a bow or the handle of a bag and then pose for us by tilting her head to the side. Such a personality. 

this is the "posing" look she gives us...head tilt to the side, small smile

Finding a Groove

She has discovered that she has rhythm in her tiny body and finds the funniest ways to express it. She rocks back and forth in her high chair, claps things together, shakes things, and has recently learned how to rock herself in her rocking chair.

She has also discovered that she can dance! Any time music comes on - in the car, in a store, on the TV - she starts to wiggle her shoulders and rock her head back and forth. She can also dance on command!

 Playing
She is never as happy as when both her mama and daddy are home and playing on the floor with her. She becomes very hyper-active, showing off for both of us. Her most favorite activity of late is being chased around our ottoman. I have never heard her laugh so much as when we chase her.

Reading
She LOVES her books. She will sit and turn their pages all day. She doesn't have a long enough attention span to look at the pages but she loves turning them. My favorite is when she will bring me a book, turn herself around and plop herself in my lap. Love, love. 

Niner

Addie-babe is a whoppin' 9 months old. That is only 3 months away from a year. She is definitely growing up way too fast!

But I am loving all the hilarious new things that she can do. Her personality keeps growing every day and she has become such an independent, stubborn, loving, curious little girl.

At nine months (technically 9 1/2 months), her stats are:

Height: 27 3/4 in (50%)

Weight: 16 lbs 1 oz (5%)

Head Circ: 16 3/4 in (10 %)

Still just as tall and skinny as ever. 

She has three teeth (all on the bottom), and a couple more that will be coming in soon.

Among many things, at nine months she can:

Wave "hello" and "bye-bye"

Stand by herself for a second or two

Drain her sippy cup of juice

Pop the lid off of her "puffs" container with her teeth (i feel like this is so genius, haha)

Turn book pages one by one by putting her pointer finger between the pages (too cute)

Suck through a straw

Open and close doors

Whine in a certain way to let me know when she wants something

Walk along anything, including walls

Eat big people food like sweet potatoes, bananas, peas, green beans, watermelon, eggs, etc. and LOVES it

She:

Has discovered how to unroll toilet paper

Has learned that there is a mini-pool inside the toilet that is just for her fun

Has learned that there are certain cupboards I'd rather she not get into, and she heads straight for them

Likes to eat the fireplace soot

Loves bathtime more than anything...in fact, she just LOVES water

Is attached to her mama, especially since our Utah trip

Plays hide-and-seek in her crib. When we first come in to get her from a nap, she gives a huge grin, then drops and crawls away from us into the nearest corner to "hide" from us and happily pumps her legs until we finally pick her up.

Shares, but only when she is feeling ultra generous. She will take Jon's glasses, give 'em a little suck, then hand them back to him (never releasing them from her grip) so he can slobber a little, and then she takes them back for her own suck.

Loves to be chased, whether by Jon or I or by a stuffed animal, it makes her squeal and giggle more than anything else.

Our most favorite characteristic of Addie's (or the one that makes us laugh the hardest) is that she is totally
destructive.

If you put her blocks back in her bucket, no matter where she is, she will stop what she is doing to completely empty the bucket. Usually she accomplishes this by dumping it over her face.

If you build a tower, she will do whatever it takes to get to it, and level it until not a single block is on top of another.

If you pop up the animals on one of her toys, she will stay there until she has successfully put them all back down into their places. Usually she accomplishes this by slamming the toy upside down, effectively shutting each animal back in its place with minimal exertion. How smart is she?

If there is a container of anything or a stack of anything, it can no longer exist. This includes: Easter baskets filled with eggs, folded laundry stacked higher than two items, DVDs on a shelf, tupperware in a larger container, clothes in a drawer, clothes in a suitcase, items in a decor basket, cords in a drawer, food on a shelf, etc. You get the idea.

I sometimes feel that my baby is allergic to order. She is not content unless ordered things are put out of place. 

While it can be frustrating at times, it makes me laugh more often than not.

This girl is the joy of our lives. We love being her parents. We love how special and unique she is.

 Love you, big girl. 

Episode Three: Motherhood

I can't even begin to describe the feelings that I have had since becoming a mother, but these were some of my thoughts from the first months of motherhood. 

I never knew how truly difficult it was going to be. 

They tell you that you will be tired, but I have never experienced such complete exhaustion. An exhaustion that was the culmination of a 52 hour labor process; a two-night stay in the hospital with a hungry newborn who struggled to breastfeed; the newborn who can't sleep longer than an hour because she is so tiny and her tummy is so tiny that she is eternally hungry; a newborn who doesn't understand that the sun means being awake and the dark means sleeping; a newborn who is so DANG cute that instead of sleeping you stay awake to watch her sleep; an eternal list of to-do's that began the day she was born and never seems to get smaller; and the constant thinking about her was entirely draining...

They tell you that breastfeeding can sometimes be difficult but it is "natural."

But I never knew that for something so "natural" it is anything but easy. There were so many nights full of hopeless tears and mascara-stained pillows because of this "natural" process.  I can remember grasping for that month-old mark, holding to the reassurances that we would be "pros and this whole thing will be so much easier." And I remember turning to Jon on that month mark, still worrying about whether she was latching, whether she was getting enough, whether she was getting too much, whether it had been long enough between feedings, whether I should switch sides, whether she was choking, whether this and whether that...

Everything...EVERYTHING...was SO much harder than I had ever imagined. 

Yet it was, is, also so much sweeter than I had ever dreamed.

I feared that I wouldn't connect with this little girl, that I would revolt at this new way of life that revolved around her. But I love her so much. It is true that she has redefined me as a person, but I love the new me. I love her crazy. I love that she is a little piece of me and Jon and that she is a sort of representation of our love and dedication to each other as husband and wife. I love knowing that I get to spend every day with her to watch her grow and learn and make mistakes. I love her little personality that is already exhibiting itself and I love how much I can tell she loves me. 

When Adalyne was just three weeks old, I was holding her snuggled up against me, staring into those serious, unwavering eyes, feeling such an overwhelming love for her when she slowly smiled. It was such a deliberate smile, never breaking eye contact, her entire face lit up by this gentle giant smile that I had never seen before and I felt so strongly that she knew who I was and that she could feel all the love I felt for her. My eyes pricked with tears.  It was one of the most special moments of being a mother I have had...that smile was meant for me, her mother. It was such a tender mercy and the feeling of love that enveloped that moment will never be forgotten. 

So while it is SO much harder than I have ever imagined, it is so  worth  it.

Updates:

Episode Two: Home Away From Home

Episode One: The Blessing

Don't Miss Your Life

I have been feeling a little weighed down lately by my 

to-do list. 

Sometimes I hate those two little hyphenated words. 

It is funny how things, even simple things like "do the dishes so your house doesn't smell" or "vacuum your floor so your child doesn't eat something awful like a bug", can build up into such an insurmountable mountain of stuff. 

How do I have so much stuff  to do?

I am a stay-at-home mom, and while my to-do's have changed, I feel like my to-do list is just as large as when I was teaching full-time, working a side job on the weekends, 8 months pregnant with two moves pending in our future. 

And peeking its head around this list comes the guilty thought, "I am not spending enough time with my daughter." 

But how can I spend hours of time playing with my daughter and still keep a clean home, and prepare my Relief Society lesson, and go shopping, and change and feed my baby, and do the never-ending laundry, and sweep the floor, and manage the budget, and cook dinner, and run all the errands that need to be run, and still have time to me...even just to shower?

Oh, man. Like I said, I've been feeling a little weighed down. I know it's all about balance, because frankly, while it is wonderful to play with my daughter, I do need to make dinner and I do need clean clothes tomorrow and let's face it, I NEED to shower. 

Then last night, as I was driving home from a soccer game (which always helps in itself) blaring my music, the country song, "Don't Miss Your Life" by Phil Vassar came on (cheesy, I know). It kinda summed up my feelings...I don't want to miss my life or Addie's life because of all the stuff in the way. I just haven't learned how to balance just yet, or I haven't figured out how to feel okay with my current balance. Will I always feel like I never spend enough time with my children? Any suggestions?

Goofball

At 8 months, Adalyne is such a goofball and has lately really loved to play around with us. She loves when we sneak animals up her arms, she loves when we crawl around with her and pretend to chase her, she likes it when we tickle her, she loves patty-cake and she loves to dance with us. She is just too cute. Rather than a long post, I thought I'd just post some pics and videos of her from this last month. (Sidenote: Ignore the special mommy and daddy voices in the background of the videos!)

BATH TIME

Warning: A cute baby bottom may be shown many times... 

PLAY TIME

(There are about 4 more videos I am dying to post, but for some reason, my computer won't accept the format...even though they are the same as the other videos. I even converted them to from their current movie files to MP4 files and it still didn't work...if any of you have suggestions, let me know!!)

SCOOTER TIME

(Thanks Aunt Elyse!)

Love you goofy girl!

7 Months

Dear Adalyne,

Oh, how your mama loves you! These seven months have been the best of my life and I truly can't believe that you are 7 months old! Where has the time gone?? Your little independent spirit makes every day an adventure and I love watching you learn and grow so quickly. While it is a little sad, I love seeing your face light up with joy every time you accomplish something you have been determined to do, and it melts my heart when you look up at me with a huge grin to say, "Look at me, Mom! I'm doing it!"

You are growing so quickly, although you are still in the 5th percentile for weight (14 lbs 14 oz). In fact, you just graduated from your 0-3 month pajamas to 3-6 month sizes! The onsies and pants are still too big, but the pjs are a pretty close fit :) My seven month old is finally in 3-6 month clothes, sorta!

This last week you have become such a cuddle-bug, which is beyond rare for you and I am cherishing it! It feels as though you are reassuring me that you love me just as much as I love you. Please don't stop!

Had to tie up the dress so she could crawl. 

Among the many wonderful things you do at this age, the top achievement has been CRAWLING! Yep, you are an official crawler, as in, you can move to every dangerous/off-limits/poisonous/potentially hazardous place in our tiny town home in under 20 seconds. You spent about two weeks rocking on your hands and knees, not quite understanding the next step and then you only tentatively moved 3-4 feet at a time. That inhibition is long gone and even though I know it brings its own challenges (I can't even count the number of times you have fallen on your head in the past three weeks resulting in lovely goose eggs), I am loving that you can crawl...you are SO much happier and your repetitive whine has been significantly reduced (music to my ears).

Along with the tremendous accomplishment of crawling, you can do the following:

- Pull yourself to standing. On everything. The door. The couch. The ottoman. The chairs. The oven. The crib. And then you get stuck because you haven't learned how to get down, or you fall (which is how you got those goose eggs, thank you). My poor adventurous, bruised little girl.
- Run. Running is the new crawling. Apparently now that you can crawl, you're too cool. Walking, and when possible - running, is way better. Only mom and dad's backs start to hurt. The video below shows your awesome prancing skills. And for some reason, Jon and I can't stop laughing despite having watched it over 10 times.

- Understand "Mama" and "Daddy". Whenever we say, "Where's mama?" or "Where's daddy?", no matter what you are doing, you stop to play the game and look. And your mouth opens in this wide "O" as you look around for whomever is hiding. I love it. I love that you understand who I am.
- Talk. You've recently really started to babble all sorts of combinations. You've been able to say so many sounds but lately you combine the following in all sorts of ways: ma ma, da da, ba ba, ja ja, bra bra, and throw in a squeal every few sounds. It is sooooo cute. We just love you're enthusiasm for conversation. I have a feeling you'll be a lot like me when I was little: you won't ever stop talking :)

- Try to clap. When you get happy or excited, you throw your hands in the air and wave them all around and then you try to clap. You don't quite get it yet, but you will soon!
- Spit. You especially love to buzz your tongue when I am feeding you, sending food all over you, the table, and of course, me.
- Blow raspberries. You have somehow discovered that you can blow raspberries on my arms and knees and it is one of the things that makes Jon and I laugh the hardest.

"Can't I go with you to Denver, Dad?"

- Feel for the materials in your touch-and-feel books. For a long time, I was afraid you just hated to read and would only want to suck on your books (not that we are completely past that stage). But you have more recently begun to really pay attention to what we are reading. Your favorite books are the touch-and-feel books (especially Nana's recent gift, Moo)and now you think that every book has a fuzzy little chick somewhere or a silky horse head. You get quite confused when we read "normal" books and scratch your hands over each page, determined to find something.
- Play peek-a-boo. You have really begun to LOVE peek-a-boo. It just sets you off in a set of giggles that sets Jon and I laughing too.
- Laugh. It's like you found the laugh switch in you. Sometimes, I can just give you a look that you think is funny and you will just giggle and giggle. Sometimes, you can even laugh until you have tears in your eyes. Oh, I just love this the most!
- Play with your tongue and teeth. You have quite the serpent tongue these days and I can see you rubbing it over your two little teeth all day long. It's like you're testing them out, seeing what they are capable of.
- Eat crackers. Or at least gum them to death and smear the resulting smudge in impossible places.
- Give mischievous looks, like you know exactly what you're doing. Especially when you toot. Haha...this is one of the funniest things ever: when you toot, you will look back at your daddy (you have never done this to me) as if to pin the blame on him and say, "Dad, I can't believe you did that!" Haha...and you do this ALL the time in Elder's Quorum where all the men turn to look to see who's tooting and see you looking at your dad...they all think he is full of gas. Love your sense of humor already.

Post-Bath time snuggle, with Sharkie and Daddy

- Dominate our bed. Every night before we put you to bed, we put you on our bed. It is one of your most favorite times. You seem to get so hyper on our bed; you squeal more, roll more, crawl faster, talk louder, and are overall more rambunctious on the bed. We think it is a good way to get out your endless wiggles before nighttime.

Tearin' up a storm on the parents' bed

My darling Addie, we love you!

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