2 Year Well Appointment

Addy’s 2 year appointment wasn't as smooth as I had hoped.  She is usually such an easy going kid and goes with the flow, but after she got her finger pricked to have blood drawn, she was pissed!  After that, she wanted nothing to do with Dr. Sarah or any of the nurses.  I even tried bribing her with chocolate, which didn't work!  Addy is also fighting a cold, so I know that doesn't help matters.

Her stats were:

Height - 34 inches (50^%)
Weight - 28 lbs (80%)
Head - 48 cm

BMI - 75%

So I was kind of shocked that they start monitoring a child BMI at 2 years old!  Apparently a child is considered to be:

• overweight if they have a BMI over the 95th percentile for their age
• at risk of becoming overweight if they have a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age
• underweight if they have a BMI under the 5th percentile for their age

A child has a healthy BMI if it is between the 5th and 85th percentile, so I guess we are good at 75%.  Dr. Sarah said that once we move her from whole milk to 2% milk, we may see a slight change.  Addy also received her flu vaccine at this appointment which was not in shot form, thank god.  She still wasn't pumped because they shoot a little nasal spray up both sides of the nose, but better then a shot I think. 

The appointment went by quick, but like I said, not the best appointment we have ever had!  Hopefully we won’t be back for awhile!  

Here are a few pictures while we were waiting for the doctor...

24 Months

Oh my gosh, our child is 2 years old!  Justin and I have been reminiscing the past few days about when our precious little girl was born.  It seriously seems like a decade ago that I gave birth to Addison, but on the other hand I can remember details like it was yesterday.  Her birthday party is this weekend and I decided to do a much more low key party then last year.  I will be shocked if Addison sits still long enough to even open presents. 

Size Stats:  Addy was 27.5 lbs when I took her to the doctors just last week.  We have her 2 year old well check-up on the 17^th, so I’ll have a better idea of height & stats soon.  Addy is still holding strong at 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  I think we will be bumping her up to a size 6 shoe soon, but her feet just seem so tiny still!

Development:    This kid amazes us EVERYDAY.  The words she uses is where I am most astonished.  She will try to repeat just about everything back to us.  We call her our little parrot.  This month because of Halloween coming up, she is able to say Frankenstein, Dracula, Ghost, pumpkins, and even skeletons!  I feel like these aren't easy words and she just says them with such ease.  Her teacher at Daycare said it’s very easy to chat with Addy…she understands most of what Addy is trying to tell her.  Every morning, Justin will head downstairs to get Addy her morning snack (dry cereal) & a juice cup…well apparently he wasn't moving quickly enough one day because she looked at him and said, “Daddy, get my stuff”!  We couldn't believe her “grasp” of the situation.   She is starting to recognize/remember parts of the books we read as well.  She’ll know which words are coming up and will try to read to us.  We were reading Cinderella one night and on the last page it says, “It was a Dream Come True” and Addison got to that page and just kept repeating “come true”.  Pretty good memory!

Personality:  I just love her little personality.  She is becoming such a little person!  She is definitely mischievous, but can be so sweet.  I feel like so many words could describe her!  She is a very determined child, but I think her feelings get hurt easily.  If you tell her she isn't supposed to be doing something, or scold her, she gets really upset and needs a hug.  She is definitely getting into that “Terrible Twos” frame of mind.  She is bi-polar at times!  She can go from one extreme to the other extreme in mere seconds!  She is super sweet with her animals and babies.  I love watching her take care of them.  She feeds them, changes their diapers, takes them on walks and rocks them.  She is such a little mommy!  She also will head over to wherever Brinkley is to pet her.  She will rub her head or back and tell her she loves her, or she is being a good girl, and then gets a kiss from Brinkley.  Brinkley is totally fine with this and even looks like she may like it!    

Sleeping:  Addy is still all over the board, but for the moment it looks like things have settled down.  She basically comes into bed with us around 5-6 every morning and sleeps until we wake up for work around 6:30 or 7.  It isn't too bad, but the child has radar on me, I am sure of it!  I could push her to the farthest corner of our bed and she will roll, kick and struggle until she is right back on top of me!  There are times I will sneak to Justin’s side of the bed for a few extra minutes of shut eye while he is showering in the morning for some extra space.  No lie, within 5 minutes, she’s found me!  I’m just glad she is spending 95% of the time in her room.  2 adults + 1 child + 1 dog + a Queen sized bed = CROWDED!

Likes:  Right now, her favorite animals are puppy & teddy.  Usually where there is one, there is the other.  She is always hell bent on bringing both of them wherever she goes.  Addy likes to color and will even try to color on objects other then her coloring books.  We have to keep a very close eye on her when the crayons are out!  She knows what’s she’s doing and will check to see if you are paying attention to her.  I recently found bath time crayons and those seem to be a hit.  It gets her into the bath and keeps her happy.  She really likes it when you take her crib mattress out of her bed and lie it on the ground next to the crib.  She will go in and out of her room pretending to go to sleep.  This is how we keep her busy many mornings while we are trying to get ready for work.  We just turn the video monitor on and watch her to make sure she isn't getting into any trouble!  Addy also likes to help me bake or cook.  We've made a few things together and each time she loves to help pour & mix the ingredients.  It takes about 5x’s longer to get something accomplished, but it is fun watching her “bake”.  Last but not least, she loves her Sofia Amulet (necklace).  She got it as an early birthday present from friends of ours and I can’t tell you what a hit it has been!  She walks around asking for her Amulet or telling you to put her Amulet on…it seems like such a big word for such a little girl!

Dislikes:   I can’t think of too many dislikes.  Lately she has been much better at getting her diaper changed so it hasn't been too much of an issue.    

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

23 Months

Another month has flown by!  Addy has become more of a parrot and we have to be super careful on what we say around her!  She is trying to become more & more independent in everything she does.  Her 2nd birthday is creeping up on us and I really have to get my party planning act in gear!  This month we also had a couple of firsts…getting our toenails & fingernails painted by Grandma and swinging on the big kid swings!  At the end of August we were lucky to have Nonna in town for a week and Uncle Adam for a few days.  It’s always fun having family in town and even better for Addison because she has more people to boss around!

Size Stats:  I swear Addy has had a growth spurt!  She feels a lot heavier and looks taller!  I weighed her at my parent’s house the other day and she was 27.0 lbs on the nose!  She is still wearing mostly 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  
Development:    I don’t even know where to start!  Addison likes to walk up & down the stairs and will try to do so without holding someone’s hand…not gonna happen!  She will hold the railing and one of our hands to go downstairs and you can tell she is pretty pumped with herself.  She is able to name some shapes and colors (although green seems like a favorite because she almost always starts with that one).  She has learned to open & close the bedroom doors.  She is trying to open the sliding glass door, but thankfully it is too heavy for her!  She continues to expand her vocabulary and the amount of words she can say in one sentence.  Daycare has mentioned on several occasions that she is more “advanced” then most of the kids in her class when it comes to talking.  Right now her favorite phrase seems to be “No do that” aka don’t do that.  While she says it she wags her little finger back and forth.  It is really hard to not laugh at her!  She is just so serious about it!  Plus, to top things off, I think she can finally say “Cheese”!  She is doing a really good job pronouncing her S’s lately.
Personality:  I think she has her daddy’s mischievous side and my OCD side.  She is feisty but has the sweetest heart…if that makes sense! She’s a girl on a mission and doesn’t like someone trying to veer her in a different direction.  Addy is very particular about having a “clean” table when eating and will ask for a nap-in (napkin) in order to clean her space.  She is constantly wiping/cleaning things up but on the other hand isn’t afraid to get down and dirty outside.  She also has to put her baby perfectly in her little stroller before she can take a walk with it.  She will move baby around several times before she is just right.  She’s big into asking for help lately.  If she can’t figure something out or get what she is after, she says help, help!  In fact, now when she is in her crib she frequently yells out “Help Mommy, Help Mommy!”…I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cry.  On the one hand, I know she doesn’t technically “need” me, but then I start to think well wait, maybe she does!  I am pretty sure it is just another way for her to manipulate me!
Sleeping:  Sleep has been pretty good.  She has an 8 o’clock bedtime and will rise anywhere from 5 – 7…you can tell she is still tired when she wakes up around 5, but she just can’t seem to get herself to go back to sleep.  We have been told by daycare that she was falling asleep before naptime in random spots on her early rising days.  She’s a work in progress, but is doing so much better.  It’s amazing how much happier she is when she gets a good nights sleep!
Likes: She is so in love with Sofia that I’ve decided to throw a Sofia themed 2nd birthday party because of this obsession.  Her favorite foods are still Pizza and Mac & Cheese.  She asks for Mac constantly!  She has had a newfound love for puppy and Brinkley.  I think finally after 22 months Brinkley has really decided to like Addison!  She’s always been really good with her, but now they are definite buddies.  Two peas in a pod!  Addison very frequently stops what she is doing and goes over to ask for a kiss from Brinkley or to pet her.  Addy loves to run around naked right now!  After bath time, she jets out of the bathroom before I can even say “time to put a diaper on”.  So far we haven’t had any accidents, knock on wood, but I know I am playing with fire!  
Dislikes:   She gets so ticked off when it’s diaper changing time.  I think potty training will be a big priority as soon as she hits the 2 year old mark.  I thought about trying earlier, but daycare said they aren't equipped to help that process in the 1 year old room.  They have the little sinks and toilets starting in the 2 year old room.  
Pictures:  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...

22 Months

This past month we have fallen into a pretty fun nighttime routine.  We will give Addison a bath, then lay with her on our bed while she has her nighttime milk and watch a little TV.  After that, we turn the TV off for some singing and hanging out.  This is honestly my favorite time of the day.  She has us in hysterics most nights.  It’s just really fun to be all cuddly in bed before she goes down for the night.  We have been doing “family hugs” lately and she loves this…she even requests them!  We both then take her into her bedroom, get good night hugs & kisses and she is asleep sometimes before we even get downstairs. 

We had extra fun this month because we went up to NY on a whirlwind trip!  Our drive up to NY wasn’t the greatest.  We ended up stopping around 10:30 pm somewhere in Pennsylvania about 2 hours away from Endicott because Addy got sick all over the place.  It was a yucky mess, so we did some laundry, took baths and regrouped till the following day.  We had a lovely King Size bed for the 3 of us, but Addison is like glue and stuck to my side and crowded me!  It was great once we finally got to NY, but it was crazy.  Friday we had the rehearsal dinner for Justin’s cousin Nicole, Saturday was her wedding, Sunday I went to Katie’s McD’s baby shower and Monday we got on the road to head back to NC!  Addy was great on the car ride back.  We basically let her watch Mickey Mouse & Dora episodes all the way home (around 12 hours!?!).  It kept her happy and I think it keeps her focused so she doesn't get car sick!!

Size Stats:  Addison is about 26lbs, wearing mostly 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  I think she has gotten a little taller because her hands just about reach the sink when standing on her stool in the downstairs bathroom. 

Development:  Addison is definitely putting sentences together.  Pretty sure I am going to count July 17th as the first day Addison said her first sentence.  It was, “Daddy come here, lay down”!  It all just flowed together perfectly!  When we were in NY for a wedding, she was yelling at the wildlife…”Deer, Come Here! I’m talking”!  She is pretty bossy actually!  She is able to look at me and say “I Love You, Mommy” or look at Justin and say “I Love You, Daddy”.  Her favorite song to request lately seems to be ABCD.  She’ll say ABCD which basically means she wants to sing the A,B,C’s.  She is pretty good at it!  She still enjoys Twinkle Twinkle, Happy Birthday, You Are My Sunshine and Baby Beluga.  She is getting better at jumping and loves to twirl in circles.

Personality:  Bossy, Sassy & Determined basically sum Addison up.  There are many times when she is sensitive, sweet & cuddly too.  She definitely has a sensitive side to her which I think I forget about because her other traits are so obvious.  She is so sweet to her babies & stuffed animals and gets genuinely concerned when something goes wrong when watching her shows.

Sleeping:  Sleep has still been going well, KNOCK ON WOOD!  She had some issues when we went to NY, but I think she just has a hard time sleeping anywhere but her crib.  She ended up in our bed every night when we were in NY, but whatever she needs more sleep than Justin & I.  If she is unhappy then we are all probably unhappy by association!

Likes: Sofia the First on Disney, she calls it Fia.  Now if only Disney would make a few more episodes!  Justin & I have seen the same 5 episodes one too many times! I swear if I have to hear the song, “I’m a Blue Ribbon Bunny” one more time, I may break the TV!  Pizzzaaa is a definite favorite food at the moment.  She loves to unload & reload her 2 bottom drawers in her room…which are shorts & pants.  It makes for quite the mess and I have decided I am no longer folding these items because she usually just destroys my beautiful work.  She likes to be alone in her room as well.  She’ll close the door and when you open it, she’ll yell “No Mommy, Out”!  Wonderful, her teenage years are already creeping in!

Dislikes:  Lately she dislikes unfamiliar men.  She’ll say No Guy when someone is near her that she doesn't approve of.  This isn't a horrible thing from her, so we usually just go with it and try to reassure her if it is someone who is OK.  She gets super funny about drool.  Like I said before, we lay in bed before her bedtime and often times she will drool on our sheets when rolling around.  She seems mortified of the drool and will ask for a napkin to wipe it up.  She has been blaming the drool on Daddy lately, but we know it’s really her!

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

21 Months

This month has had its ups & downs.  When Addison is being sweet, she is soo soo sweet!  On the flip side, when she is miserable, she is really really miserable!  It makes for fun days that’s for sure!  In the end, Justin & I continue to feel so blessed to have a healthy and mostly happy child!


Size Stats:  Addison has leveled out right around the 25 lb mark.  She is still wearing size 5 diapers, but we jumped to a size 5 shoe!  Many of her 18 month clothing is getting too small, so it’s mostly 2T stuff going forward.

Development:  Addison has started to string together sentences!  It’s amazing to watch her try and put words together.  Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they don’t!  Just recently she has been singing Twinkle, Twinkle with us.  I literally started to cry one night because she sang so many words and her voice just sounds so pretty to me!  Her favorite word continues to be “NO”, but we have also added “ouch” to the equation.  If you try to hug her, give her a kiss, change her diaper, change her clothes or look at her the wrong way, she’ll yell OUCH!  It usually never really applies to what is going on, but she seems to think it does.  Addison has also went from BP to Brink-ka-lay…it is way too cute to hear her call out her name.  Lately she has been telling her I la-lou Brink-KA-lay (I love you Brinkley) and it melts my heart.  She really gets into her I Love You’s…full facial expression and emphasis on her words.

Personality:  Once again she is a hard-headed, determined child.  She definitely needs a firm “hand” and will test boundaries endlessly!  She is a child of a million expressions and each one of them cracks us up.  She is Justin’s mini-me when it comes to personality for sure. 

Sleeping:  Dear lord, where do I start?  We basically got to a point where Addison was in our bed every night.  She would rouse at some ridiculous hour and for sake of ease, I’d bring her in with us and let her watch TV or go back to sleep with us…BIG MISTAKE.  She got very use to this and one night when Justin went in to tell her it was bedtime and to go back to sleep, she was already standing with her blanket & puppy in hand ready to go.  We finally decided it was time to make her cry it out.  The first night Justin had to listen to her scream & cry for 1 ½ hours from 10:30pm to midnight!  I am so happy I was asleep, with my door closed, the TV on and the fan going because I heard none of it.  I don’t know how he did it, but I was very impressed and happy that he did.  He said it was super hard to listen to, but since he knew she was in no immediate danger it made it slightly easier.  The second night she decided to wake up at 3:45am…Justin is a heavy sleeper, so I am not sure how much he actually heard, but I heard it all.  I kept telling myself not to ruin what Justin started!  Addy finally decided to lie down and go back to sleep at 4:25, not bad!  I felt like I accomplished something even if it felt like torture.  The third night was better as well!  She only cried for about 20 minutes tops.  The nights after that she has made a few peeps, but nothing horrible!  Hallalejah!!  The poor thing just came down with a summer cold though, so I'm sure this will all change again!

Likes: She loves her Cozy Coupe Car that is at my parent’s house.  Whenever she starts to figure out that we are headed to my parents she starts saying car, car, my car. She gets in and out over and over again.  She’ll get a baby and put it in the backseat and drive it around as well.  She has fallen madly back in love with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Although, she never calls it Mickey, she always calls it Minnie.  She likes episodes where Minnie plays a big part.  If Minnie disappears, she keeps asking “where did she go”?

Dislikes:  There isn’t much to report here.  She has been hit or miss with diaper changes but seems to be getting better at it or at least more tolerant of it.

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

20 Months

This month I had to admit to Justin that I was wrong...yup, imagine me being wrong!?  I had bought Addison a sandbox a month or so before and he warned me sand would be everywhere.  I didn't think it would be that bad and Addison would just LOVE it!  Well, the sand did get that bad and Addison sort of "liked" it...needless to say, I made the decision to empty it out and call it a day.  I then found a water table on CraigsList which is so much easier to deal with and Addison seems to find joy in any body of water!  I guess sometimes I should listen to my husband!

Moving on...
Size Stats:  Addy has hit her 25 lb mark.  She is pretty heavy to carry around!  She is wearing size 5 diapers, size 4 shoes (such tiny feet) and mostly 2T clothing.  She can still fit into a lot of 18 months clothes though!

Development:  Addison has become a pro at carefully getting of the bed and couch.  She knows to go onto her tummy and shimmy off.  This child continues to love to talk.  She is soo chatty!  This month, her favorite words seem to be, “Airplane, wa-lah (water), birthday and I did it”.  She could hear a loud car and she’ll look into the sky for an airplane, it’s so cute!  Her vocabulary just keeps getting bigger & bigger.  This month we switched her carseat from rear facing to forward facing.  Her legs were cramped facing backwards and the constant struggle of getting her to “behave” was enough to make me want to crash the car!  Her forward facing days have been much more enjoyable! 
Lately Addy has been calling Grandpa, Guppy.  I have no idea how it went from Pa-Pa or Bampa to Guppy, but that's where she is at!  It is sometimes frustrating when trying to decipher what she is saying, but man, she tries so hard!  In fact, lately she has been saying "Bobby" a lot!  At least that is what I think she is saying...we know no one named Bobby and we don't watch any shows with a Bobby as a character, so I am kind of freaked out!  I feel like she is seeing spirits or something!  I'm hoping that I am just misinterpreting something!

Personality:  We have a hard headed, determined child on our hands.  Addison doesn't even cower when we raise our voices!!  There was one day when she wouldn't stop trying to touch a night light and after several attempts of yelling I decided to slap her little hand…I did not get the reaction I had hoped for…she LAUGHED at me!!!  Justin and I looked at each other like what the heck!?!  She likes to stand on her Minnie Mouse chair and will only basically sit down when we go over to make her sit down.  Sometimes on a rare occasion, she will sit down when we ask her to.  My favorite new thing is when she sings.  She will scrunch her face up and shake her head from side to side and “sing”.  It cracks me up!!  She looks like she is putting her heart & sole into it!

Sleeping:  Ask me in 5 years...between teething, strep throat and a cold, our nighttime sleeping patterns have been all over the board!

Likes: This month we found out that she loves the sprinkler.  She also loves the baby pool at my parent’s house.  It stays out back on the deck and she has a ball.  She currently loves our neighbor’s water table.  Does anyone see a theme forming?  I just don’t get why water is so exciting, but it continues to be!  We also just got her a little car "coupe".  My mom let me bring it into her house and Addison played with it for awhile getting in & out and putting baby & polar (bear) into it.  

Addison has gotten a few new pairs of shoes and she loves them!  I’ll put them on her little feet and she immediately begins to walk towards the hard wood floors to test them out and see how they sound.  On our way to and from school, we listen to kids songs which she loves and I loathe!!  Some of them are soo horrible!!  They make me want to pull my hair out, but it keeps her happy & relatively quiet!
She is also on a pizza kick...she loooves pizza!  

Dislikes:  Still dislikes getting her diaper changed…Booo!

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

Strep Throat

Can this poor kid catch a break!?  Addison's canines have been trying to come in for weeks now, which have been bothering her to know end!  Just this past Sunday (May 19th) Addy started acting more clingy then usual.  We had errands in our plans, so we dropped Addy off at my parents house and went on our merry way.  Once we got back to my parents, she was in full-blown mommy mode.  She definitely felt warm, but I thought maybe, just maybe those teeth were going to pop through!  
She went to bed well, but was soon awake around midnight.  She was burning up and was not a happy camper.  I could just tell she wanted to throw up and after hanging out downstairs for a little bit, she got sick to her stomach.  Thankfully it was the only time, but both her & I needed a bath after. I felt so bad for her!  We were still awake around 2:30 am, so I knew she wouldn't be going to daycare on Monday.  I sent a quick email to the director and we finally cuddled up and fell asleep in our bed with daddy & Brinkley.  By the time we woke up on Monday, I had an email back saying another toddler was out due to Strep throat...YUCK.  I decided to make Addy an appointment to get her checked out, just in case.  We really cuddled all day long on Monday until her appointment and well into the evening.  She just wanted to be rocked or held.  I finally gathered her up for her appointment & sure enough, her strep test came back positive.  We got a prescription for Amoxicillin and started in on the dosage.  She was to be on her meds for 24 hours before she should go back to school, so more of the same on Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon she was looking & feeling a lot better.  She wasn't 100% but she was on her way to recovery.  My poor baby!  I hate it when she is sick!

Monday morning bath to bring that fever down!

Medicine + Chocolate milk = FAIL!

Hanging with Baby

Finally getting a little of her appetite back

Back to her old tricks...trying to stand on her chair!