18 Months

This past month I feel like I have heard the word "Momma" uttered just shy of a million times!!   She is constantly talking, either actual words or her own language.  She is currently obsessed with cheese ("Ch ee") and grapes.  It's ridiculous that we have to cut her off from eating more than her fair share of cheese!

Size Stats:  I feel like she is a peanut, but she is in the 90^th % for height & weight.  She is wearing all 18 month clothing with some 2T things thrown in there as well.  She is still in a size 4 diaper and we recently moved up to a size 4 shoe.  The 4’s are a little big, but 3’s were getting to be too small.  She is long & skinny and I miss her baby fat!!  

Development:  We have a full blown walker/runner on our hands!  She is so proud of herself as are we.  It is so stinkin’ cute watching her walk and still seems unreal.  Our “baby” isn't very baby-like anymore!  Her motor skills seem to be great, she has a ball with shapes cut-out in it and can pretty much find the shape, put it where it’s supposed to go and push it through.  Ah-mazing!  She can put a the chap stick top back where it belongs and loves doing it over and over again.  She can also put a water bottle top on & off.  Her vocabulary is always expanding; I’m continually shocked at what she tries to repeat back to us.  The daycare teachers have said that Addison is a parrot at school lately.  I guess we have to be extra careful what comes out of our mouths at home!  She is very good at pointing out mouth, ears, eyes & nose on herself & others. 

Personality:  I think Addison knows she is funny…she just has this look about her like she knows she is entertaining you.  In this aspect she is so like her father!  They both have great comedic timing!  Everyone at daycare said she smiles from when I drop her off til when I pick her up.  It's still hard leaving her there, but she does seem to enjoy it.  Addy already shows off some when it is just Justin & I, but when anyone else is around, she puts on a show.  She still is very hard-headed and wants to have her way.  She knows she shouldn't touch the DVR, but will go up to it and turn around to look at us to see if we are paying attention.  Same thing with Brinkley's water bowl and same thing with standing on her Minnie Mouse chair!  She knows its wrong, but is constantly testing her boundaries.  

Sleeping:  Sleeping has been a disaster lately.  It’s so hard to make a plan and stick to it.  A few weeks ago, we had gotten to a point where she’ll come into bed with us for a little while, watch some TV then head back to bed.  She is always willing to head back to bed after a little time with us, but it still makes for a very tiring night.  Since she got her tubes, we've had some good nights and some awful nights!  She's slept in bed with us a few times and let me tell you, sleeping with a snoring husband, a snuggly dog and wild sleeping baby is sooo NOT fun!  We've had some good nights for a few days so we are hoping we are getting into a good pattern!

Likes:  She still has a deep love for baby wipes.  She always wants to have one!  She likes to put things in the garbage still so we have to be careful to not turn our backs…you never know what she may try and throw away.  She loves to brush her teeth and always wants more toothpaste to suck off her toothbrush.  She also likes to put lotion on after bath time.  Her new favorite activity is to unload my jewelry drawer.  Thankfully I don't have too many nice things, but man, it isn't fun to clean up!  She is very into going outside and playing with chalk.  The weather has turned nice and all I hear is "o-side, o-side"...it's going to be a long spring/summer!  

Dislikes:  I think I have finally found the secret to making Addison not hate diaper changes…singing!  If I sing short little songs (Twinkle, Twinkle, Row your boat, Itsy Bitsy Spider) things go so much more smoothly. She has short little hissy fits when she doesn't get her way, but moves on quickly from them.  For awhile she hated wearing her pink puffy winter coat…I had to ditch it and just add layers so I didn't have to deal with it!  

Pictures:  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...

Addy's Surgery

After several months of back-to-back ear infections, we were referred to an ENT by Addy's primary doctor.  Justin & I were both sick of Addy having ear infections and what comes with them: pain, irregular sleeping patterns, antibiotics, pain relieving medicine and crankiness!  The poor kid just couldn't catch a break, so after visiting with the ENT specialist we decided to go ahead and get tubes.  I had heard from numerous people that life would be "so much better" for Addy once she has the surgery.  The doctor said the actual surgery should only last 10 - 15 minutes and overall was a very simple procedure.
Addy couldn't eat past midnight the night before her surgery, so we got her out of bed around 11:45 for some late night snacks.  She seemed totally pumped to be hanging, eating & drinking with us...I think she thought it was a small party for her!
Friday morning, Justin & I woke up at 5:30, showered, dressed and got everything situated before we woke the patient up.  She was happy when we woke her up, but immediately asked for her cup.  I kept telling her that we forgot it and she seemed to buy it.  Once we arrived at the surgery center we had to sit down and fill out some paperwork.  Addy continued to be in good spirits.  She probably asked for her cup about 40 times that morning, but at no point had a meltdown.  
We finally got called back to the pre-op room.  She meet several nurses, her anesthesiologist and then our doctor came in.  She was great with everyone and they were honestly great with her.  Everyone was so kind and tried to make it easier on all of us.  The time came where the nurse who would be in on Addy's surgery came to get her.  Addy was a little apprehensive, but didn't cry when she took her & puppy back to surgery.  Justin & I went out to the waiting room, sent a few text messages, grabbed coffee and then waited patiently to hear how it went.  I looked at my phone and saw that 11 minutes had passed and I was getting nervous.  I told Justin she should be done by now and about 1 minute after that the doctor snuck up on us from behind.  He told us Addy did great and she was already in the post-op area waiting for us.  He said she hadn't had an active ear infection, but she did have some fluid build up.  This is where it gets a little sad...as soon as we went through the doors to the post-op area, I heard Addy crying.  A nurse was holding her on her lap and Addy was just so upset.  I don't think Justin or I had ever seen her that upset before.  She seemed completely out of it.  We had been told to expect this, but it still sucked!! Even once I grabbed her from the nurse she continued to cry & scream.  The poor girl was just so confused and still fuzzy from the anesthesia.  
Justin & I dressed her pretty quickly and tried to leave ASAP.  The nurses said that the little kids usually get much better after leaving...well I think these nurses think that because they can't hear them crying anymore once they leave!  Addy cried the whole way home and was still pretty upset once we got home.  I just stood and rocked and she started to calm down.  She finally decided to have a fruit squeeze pack and started to get more comfortable.  Justin went and made her some french toast sticks and she went to town on them.  As the morning went on, she got better & better.  Soon it was time for a nap..for Addy & myself!  We both took a nice 2 1/2 hour nap and when she woke up happier then ever.  All in all it was a good day and we are hoping this solves her ear problem.  We have to administer drops in both ears twice daily.  We were told that most kids have huge problems with this, but so far she has been an angel.  Justin holds her, puts her little head on his shoulder and i put the drops in as quick as possible.  She hasn't made a peep yet!  
We have a follow up appointment in a few weeks to see how everything has healed, but so far so good!
Here are a few pics of our very tired baby before surgery:

She wasn't really sure why she had to have a tag on her ankle...probably the only real time she fussed beforehand!

17 Months

We seem to have hit an “I want to hit you” phase.  Addison has been hitting Justin & I a lot lately, much to our dismay.  It happens primarily when she is frustrated or isn't getting her way, but still it doesn't make it ok.  It’s been interesting to say the least!  I’m hoping it’s a quick phase that she’ll get over because I am sick of being smacked!  We have been telling her no and telling her that hurts, but sometimes we just have to walk away and let her cry.  The hitting seems to go on more when she isn't feeling 100%...the 3 of us have been sick on and off for what seems like a month now!
This month has been extra exciting because Uncle Gannon moved down to NC and is currently living with us!  Now Addy has one more person to show off for!
Size Stats:  I'm not really sure of her stats, I know she weighs around 23 lbs, but I'm unsure of the other two.  She is wearing all 18 month clothing currently, but some of the pants run a little big on her.  

Development:  Addy finally started walking!!!  My mom watched Addy for us on Sunday March 10th and at one point she texted me and said, "Is it normal for Addy to stand from a siting position and then just walk?"  Uhh, not really!?  She's been a walking fool ever since!  We had an appointment scheduled with our pediatrician regarding her walking on March 11th.  Needless to say, Addy decided she didn't think that appointment was needed and started walking a ton more!  Addy can kind of count...if we say one she'll say "two" and then "three".  Two & Three kind of blend together, but still very cute.

My new favorite sentences that Addy says are: “Where’d it go?” and “Lay-Down”.  When she says, “Where’d it go” she cocks her head to one side and throws her hands up like she is confused.  She looks so freaking adorable.  She also has a tendency to point at the dogs and tells them to lay down…guess she hears it enough from everyone else!  Addy is usually pretty good at saying Please & Thank You, but sometimes needs to be reminded.  I hear "up, up" a lot during a day and she is usually wanting her snack cup or juice cup.  I think she's pretty smart!  I pretty much jinxed myself on the last post because rides to and from daycare lately have been a nightmare!  She gets so pissed when I put her in her car seat and if she is wearing her pink puffy winter jacket, well let’s just say be prepared for screaming & crying galore! I've been giving her a juice cup & snack cup to help things go more smoothly, but sometimes she just isn't having it.

Personality:  I think Justin & I are going to have to lay the law down with her constantly!  She is soo hard headed!!  She is determined to do what she wants to do.  Even when she is sick, she is hell-bent on getting her way.  She likes to be held when she doesn't feel good, which I get, but she’ll only be happy if I am holding her and ONLY IF I AM STANDING!  It’s like what the heck child!  If I sit down for 1 minute with her she freaks out like I am causing her great pain.  I think it’s just another instance of Addy wanting to get her way.

Eating:  She has been kind of picky lately.  It probably hasn't helped that she had the stomach bug and a bad cough & cold.  She would eat fruit all day if I let her, but it seems to mess with her stomach a little.  She’s a big fan of cereal lately and munches on it first thing in the mornings when lounging in our bed before we get ready for work.  Every once in awhile, Justin & I find remnants of whatever she ate earlier in the day in our bed…yuck! 

Sleeping:  Again, being sick has not helped with Addy’s sleeping pattern.  She had been waking up in the middle of the night to: cry, talk, scream, cough, watch Mickey Mouse, hang out, etc.!  It’s always a challenge because I honestly just want to do whatever it takes to get her back to sleep so I can get back to sleep.  For some of us, it’s easier to sleep through a crying, screaming baby then others!

Likes: Right now she likes to color…but with that comes her fascination of chewing on the crayons.  She chews on it a little, makes a horrible face and then goes back for more!  Interesting, very interesting.  So usually coloring comes to an abrupt halt because she won’t stop tasting the crayons.  She still loves bath time…bubbles are a huge hit.  She is obsessed with taking wipes out of the container.  We usually say, just one, but she’ll grab as many as possible before we take the container away.  I swear we have more dried up wipes lying around the house, then fresh ones in the container!  Every once in awhile, she’ll decide a wipe is trash worthy and will take it to the kitchen to throw away.  She’s just so helpful that one. 

Dislikes:  Still isn't a fan of having her diaper changed.  She cries and cries like I am torturing her…I assure you, I’m not!

Pictures:  Not the best pictures, but I'll take some more at the end of the day!

16 Months

Another month, another Addy update!  This child has us wrapped around her little fingers!!  It is soo hard to discipline her because I find her to be hilarious.  I need to be more strict otherwise I am guessing I'll regret it at a later date!  Here is a picture that sums up her sassy-ness lately...she will give us this look a minimum of 20 times a day!

We had another ear infection this month bringing our total up to 3 ear infections total (2 in her left ear, 1 in her right ear) since she turned 1 years old. We have an ear recheck on February 18th with the doctor who has primarily seen Addy, so I'll have a few questions for her.

Size States:
Height - 31.5 inches (they didn't actually do this measurement, so I just copied last month's measurement!)
Weight - 23 lbs 5 oz
Head - 46 cm (they didn't actually do this one either, so I just copied last month's measurement as well!)

Development:    Addy is taking her sweet time in walking on her own.  She is very apprehensive about walking on her own, but really likes to walk while holding onto someone's hand.  It's pretty cute holding onto her one little hand and walking around.  She has taken steps on her own at home and at daycare, but doesn't really take initiative on her own.  I feel like it was the same thing when she wouldn't roll from her back to stomach...she was just scared.  At times she is very sturdy when walking with help, while other times she is still very wobbly.  Addy continues to expand her vocabulary.  She can repeat all of the other kids names at daycare and some of the teacher's names as well.  It is crazy how much of a "parrot" she is.  She really is never quiet unless she is watching TV or tired.  Lately, on our way to daycare she is super chatty!  She yells, chats and keeps herself entertained the whole way there.
Personality:  Addy is definitely a determined, stubborn little girl.  She knows which things we have deemed "wrong" in our house, but will constantly test her limits.  She has become a pro at going up & down the stairs and will try to do this without one of her parents close by which leads to Justin & I sprinting to her.  Man she is quick! She is so outgoing and I am pretty sure she knows when she has an audience.  She will definitely ham it up when anyone is over.  

Eating:  Addy is on a spaghetti & sauce kick lately...she can consume a large amount of pasta!  She is hit & miss on other items.  She likes turkey hot dogs and still is a fan of her mandarin oranges.  She fell out of love with bananas awhile ago, but recently decided she loved them again.  We have gone back to having to hide the bananas! 

Sleeping:  Her ear infections definitely screw with her sleep.  She has had some solid nights and some not so solid nights.  Justin & I continue to argue on how long we should let her cry it out...I usually win!  This will probably come back to haunt me!  I just have such a hard time listening to her cry knowing she is such a happy baby otherwise!  As Justin says, "You'll be getting up with her still when she is 12 years old!"
Likes: She LOVES her babies.  I wish Justin or I could come up with names for each of her babies, but I guess we have zero imagination!  She plays with her babies non-stop at home and also at daycare. The teachers say she cares for them all day long!  They've also asked when we plan on having our next child because they think Addy would be very good with a baby....UHHHH NO!  Not yet!  She is very caring towards her babies, always kissing, hugging & rocking them.  The babies are constantly being put to bed and she says, "night-night" over & over again and covers them up with their own little blankets.  So precious.  She still loves Mickey Mouse, but has learned to enjoy Blue's Clues & Go Diego Go in the mornings when we are getting ready.
Dislikes:  She still dislikes getting her diaper changed...nothing too horrible, but it makes having to change her a task.  She has been throwing min-hissy fits when I put her in her car seat after picking her up from daycare.  They are short lived, but not fun!
Pictures: Yup, she refuses to look at me for pictures!  It's like she knows what I am trying to do and does the complete opposite!

15 Months

This past month seems to have flown by with Christmas parties, Christmas festivities, New Years and traveling to & from NY.  Addison has been a trooper through it all, but that doesn't really surprise me.  Addy was pretty good to & from NY with one minor hiccup (throwing up 2 hours into the trip to NY).  Our car sure was smelly, but she bounced back quick!  
I know I should be working on taking away her last bottle which I usually give to her right before bed, but I am struggling with it!  I enjoy holding Addy tight, kissing and rubbing her little fingers & head and having the last 5 minutes of her day all to myself.

Size States:
Height - 31.5 inches (80th percentile)
Weight - 22 lbs 2.5 oz (75th percentile)
Head - 46 cm (75th percentile)

Development:  Addy still isn't walking on her own!  She is taking her dear sweet time with this!  She continues to pull up on everything and scales most of the furniture.  She talks all the time and is consistently surprising me with how quickly she picks up on new words.  Her fourth bottom tooth finally came in along with 2 top molars.  Addy blows us kisses when we ask and can say, "Love You" really well now.  She repeats it back to us and it just melts our hearts!  She has been better at handing out kisses to us, but Brinkley & "baby" definitely get more than Justin & I do!  She'll follow Brinkley around, going Muahhh, until she either gets a lick from her or gets bored in chasing her.  Addy probably has my dancing genes (which isn't a good thing).  When she hears a song she stomps her right foot and moves a little back & forth.  She can stomp her foot while sitting, kneeling or standing...she's very versatile!  She constantly twirls her hair when she is tired.  It's pretty darn cute watching her twirl a pigtail.  Also, when/if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll twirl her hair to soothe herself back to sleep.
Personality:  I think we have a stubborn one on our hands.  She knows what she shouldn't do aka touch the computer, touch the soap bar in mommy & daddy's bathroom, touch an outlet with plugs coming out, but she continues to test the limits.  She will literally go to do one of those things, look at us, say no-no then touch it!  She likes to tell us no-no all the time.  Greeeat! When I dropped her off at daycare the other day, she sat down looked at me and said, "bye-bye".  I was like, well jeez, she wants to get rid of me quickly!  But that same day when I picked her up, she was sitting at the table when she saw me, stood right up and exclaimed, "MAMA"!  I was beyond happy and her earlier bye-bye remark was easily forgiven.
Eating:  Addy still enjoys eating, in fact when she doesn't have an appetite, we know something is off.  She's been fussy off and on over the past month because she has been dealing with an ear infection and molars coming in.  It's no fun for anyone!  With our trip to NY we found that Addison really likes McDonald's french fries, I mean who doesn't?  It was the only thing she would eat out of a pretty large selection, so we went with it.  She still holds her fork/spoon in her right hand, but hasn't mastered the art of actually using them.
Sleeping:  I guess we are just going to have fun with sleep for awhile.  She was doing really well, then got an ear infection, was up multiple times a night and then we were in NY and she was a miserable mess there as well!  She has been doing better lately, but man she gives us a run for our money!
Likes: She is in LOVE with the Mickey Mouse Club House show...we only have a DVR downstairs, so she doesn't' understand that we can't magically make it play when we are in our bedroom.  It would be awful nice of Disney to put MMCH on at 7am everyday though so we could get ready in a more orderly fashion for work!  She received two Minnie Mouse little chairs for Christmas; one from Grandma & Grandpa Rosplock and one from Uncle Adam & Uncle Gannon...she loves these chairs and will go in and out of them and keep herself entertained for quite a while.
Dislikes:  She has become a pain in the butt while getting her diaper changed.  She wants to roll over, scream, cry, etc.  She also doesn't like to take medicine the old-fashioned way. Justin & I now have to spike her medicine with chocolate syrup.  I'm at the point where I just don't care...she just needs to drink it!!  If we mix her medicine, some milk and some chocolate syrup she drinks it all by herself.  I'll take that over holding her down, blowing in her face and her screaming and crying!
Pictures:  My poor little punky didn't feel good today and was home from daycare.  We spent much of the day snuggling and watching Mickey.  I think her shots got to her and I think she is getting a cold.  Here are some pictures from our day at home!

14 Months

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well not here in sunny North Carolina, but somewhere I'm sure!  I've actually had enough of the nice weather and would like to have some colder days so I can dress Addison in some warm comfy clothes! The Christmas tree is up and the stockings are hung.  Addison has been pretty good with our tree, she finds little interest in it.  When she does wander over to the tree, there are "safe" ornaments at the bottom so she can pull them off & on.

Here are her stats from our Thursday doctor's appointment, poor thing has an ear infection and 2 teeth coming in!

Size Stats:
Height - 30.25 inches (43%)
Weight - 21 lbs 15 oz (42%)
Head - 46.5 inches (97%)

Development:  Addy is becoming more & more sturdy when she walks with our help.  I feel like she will be walking on her own very, very soon.  She is pulling up on everything.  She enjoys pulling up on the couch and will then whine until you put her up there so she can sit & play.  She is totally into reading books lately and will throw a book at you and shake her head yes, like you will read to me or else.  I'd say she has 5 favorite books right now which are, "Goose on the Loose, "10 Tiny Puppies", "Farm Animals", Night Time Prayers (which is a book that is read by Grandpa & Nonna Crooks) and "Bunny Book".  I can sadly say that between Justin & I, we have probably read the above books no less then 100 times in the last few weeks.  I'm not proud of it, but I have actually hidden Goose on the Loose a few times because I just can't read it one more time!
Addy talks a lot and is using a lot of new words!  She can say, Nonna, BamPa(Grandpa), Ma-Ma-Ma(Grandma) Banana, No-No, Good Dog, Gannon, Shelly (La-La), Puppy, Brinkley, Hot, Go, night-night, belly-button, nose, Santa, scarecrow and obviously Da-Da & Ma-Ma.  Even though she can say many words, she babbles a lot as well.  As of this morning though, Daddy taught her Love You!  We are working on Adam & Amanda, but she's having a tough time with them!  She speaks gibberish all the time and it cracks us up.  One thing she has learned, which seems to be making life a little easier is to sign "more" when she wants more food.  She also knows to blow on her food when it's hot...well blow in its general direction!

Personality:  She is a hand full!  She knows how to make everyone laugh even when she knows she shouldn't be doing something.  She knows how to push our buttons for sure!  She is big on personality, but lately has been throwing in some diva-tendencies.  We are working on it!  She has been interested in everything lately and makes this noise, "uh-uh" towards everything!  We have no idea what it means and it's so frustrating for all involved.  It's like we know she wants something and she knows she wants something, but sometimes it's hard to find out what that may be.  She can be very cuddly in the morning which makes it hard to get ready on work days.  On weekends it's much nicer where we can all lounge and take the mornings slow.

Eating:  Addy is an eating machine!  She eats anything and everything.  She drinks lots of milk at all her meals and she gets watered down juice for snacks.  She still takes 1 bottle of milk at night before bed...I have no idea when I am going to attempt to take this from her!  She gets a fork at every meal and sometimes uses and sometimes it just sits there.  I'm in no rush for her to use it, so we will just keep making it an option.  For awhile she was favoring her left hand, but lately she puts her fork/spoon only in her right hand.  

Sleeping:  The angels are singing!! Can you hear them!?!?!  We finally (OK, I came to the conclusion a little later then Justin) decided it was time to make her sleep through the night and she actually didn't put up too much of a fuss.  There were a few rocky nights, but nothing horrible.  She had been consistently sleeping from 7 pm - 7 am for almost 3 weeks now, but lately has been waking up in the middle of the night at multiple times screaming!  What the heck!  I feel so bad and have read up on night terrors (don't soothe or console), nightmares (soothe & console) or illness.  So one question I have is how in the heck do I know if she had a night terror or nightmare!  I know right now is prime time for  separation anxiety, but again I have no idea.  Sometimes I take her out of her crib and hug her and rub her back, other times we just lay her back down and rub her back.  It's frustrating because I just don't know whats wrong therefore I'm not sure how to handle it.  I do know I can't (and most likely will not) just let her scream her head off...it breaks my heart!
Update: She has an ear infection and since she has been on her antibiotic, her sleeping has been much better!

Likes:  She is in LOVE with my cell phone & the app called Zoola.  If she even catches a glimpse of my phone, she wants it and she wants to look at Zoola.  Zoola basically has a lot of animal pictures and you can tap on each animal to see a Daddy, Mommy and baby version of that animal.  Each animal also has a song that goes with it...kind of weird, but Addy seems to like it.  She actually has a love hate relationship with the song selections, she isn't a fan of the slower songs and will quickly swipe them away if you play it.  She likes the more upbeat tempos. Although Addison loves this app, it is slowly driving me crazy.  I don't want her on my phone too much, so I have to hide my phone from her a lot lately.  This means, no phone calls, no texts and no browsing Instagram, Twitter or FB while I am in the company of Addison!  Plus when I do let her play with it, she doesn't want to sit there and touch the animals herself, she wants someone else to do the navigating.  Jeepers, what I thought was a nice gesture turned out to be a stupid download!  
She seems to be liking the Mickey Mouse Club, Backyardigans & Blues Clues.  Each show has kept her mildly entertained for ten minutes here & there.

Dislikes:  She freaks out and has a hissy fit when I take the phone away...but I've come to the conclusion that it's OK for her to get upset about it and to hold my ground.  There are way more fun things for her to do than look at a phone!

Addy looking sassy!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Tonight we headed over to the Bright Leaf development to see Santa with some of our friends.  I wasn't sure Addison would like Santa because we have a small Santa figurine that sits in our Christmas tree that she isn't fond of.  She likes to stare at him, but don't think about bringing it close to her!  
As we suspected, Addison wanted nothing to do with Santa.  Santa was in a room all by himself and we took all of the kiddies to see him.  When it was Addison't turn, she clung to me like she has never clung before.  I felt soo bad, like I was traumatizing her!  We didn't put her on Santa's lap because I'm pretty sure she would have had a nervous breakdown, so Justin, Santa & I all stood together while I held Addy for a picture.  Santa was super nice and understanding, but she just wasn't having it.  After pictures with Santa we went into the adjoining room for cookies & milk.  Addy definitely enjoyed the cookie part!  We tried to get Molli, Dex, Elyn, Nolan and Addy to sit together for a picture, but that proved to be hugely difficult!  

Playing in the pantry before meeting Santa

Stacking spices

Meeting Santa

Family pic with Santa

Molli, Dex & Addison