Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Addison - the 16 Month Old!

A Little Girl's Dream
Addison always sleeps through the night, but in the past few weeks, she has woken up crying in the middle of the night. The first few times, it was because of teething (she's getting her first molars) - but the last several times we think it's simply been bad dreams.
We will go in to check on her and she will be sobbing, but her eyes are still mostly closed. As soon as we pick her up and snuggle her, she quiets down - and after rocking her for a few moments she is back to sleep, or dreamily staring at us. While I don't enjoy being awoken in the middle of the night, these short disturbances are cozy and remind me of when I had to get up with her every single night as a little baby. And nothing makes me feel the "powers of Mom" more than being able to stop a child's screams simply by holding her :)

Baby Addie Takes a Bite "Arr Rumph!"
Addison has a great appetite and she is not too picky of an eater. Generally, she'll try anything once. If she doesn't like it she's very clear in making a yucky face, sticky out her tongue, and taking the food out of her mouth (quite the scene!). Also, when she's done or knows she doesn't want something, she simply shakes her head and says "No!" So, there's really never any guessing games with her.
Her favorite foods are bananas, apples, pears, cheese, mac n cheese, crackers and french fries. She usually eats good meals, and snacks often. From the looks of her chubby belly, she's a well fed little girl!

These Are a Few of Her Favorite Things
Since last month, the drum corps obession has faded away - in mid-September. Instead, when she would bring me the DVD remote, I just started cueing up some Disney movies we have and watch those over the course of a few days. This past week, Monsters Inc has been in the whole time, so she's seen it repeatedly and really likes it!
Also, to give her an alternate to "Bob!" (SpongeBob) - we gave thumbs-up in TiVo to several PBS kids shows -so now we have Sesame Street and WordGirl being picked up to play on the weekends. She knows/loves Elmo from her "So Big" book - so she was immediately drawn to any scenes with Elmo. And - it just the past week or so has begun asking for "Melmo!" :)
Addison has been on a good rotation of toys. She's really enjoyed her building blocks/Legos for the past month or so. Her favorite thing to do is knock down what Daddy & Mommy build up. She's such a bully!
She has also learned how to throw garbage away in recent weeks, so when she drops a cracker on the ground or finds something on the floor -she goes to the garbage can to throw away (we have to open it for her - or else she will be throwing things away left & right!). She also does this for her diapers. She certainly likes this new "skill" and we are happy we've taught her this, and hopefully it will somewhat stick.

Out of the Mouths of Babes
Here's some new Addie words from the month:
-Cheese
-Ball
-Kitty
-Teeth (when she wants to brush her teeth)
-Hi
-Please
-Butt
-My
-Bob (SpongeBob)
-Melmo (Elmo)
-Bubba (cousin Nicolas)
-Gaga (when she hears a Lady Gaga song)

Toddler Time
A couple weeks ago, I signed Addison up for a "Toddler Time" class at the Schaumburg Park District. It takes place in the Creative Activity Room - the same room where her birthday party was. There are about 8-10 other toddlers, between the ages of 12mo-20mos, so Addison is right in the middle.
The class starts with some organized activities - sitting on a rug, singing/dancing to songs (like Hokey Pokey, Wheels on the Bus) and arts & crafts. Addie has made a few crayon marks on the paper, but that's about it on that.
Then, comes Addie's favorite part - free play time in the tumbling area! She usually starts by finding one of two push toys (grocery cart and ride-along) and pushes those all over. The teacher sets up some big soft blocks as towers, and Addison loves to clobber those and knock them over too. Then she typically just runs around all the different areas, checking it out and trying everything once. She's been forced to share a few times and has surprisingly taken it very well. I am also proud to say that she is one of the friendliest kids in class. The very first day she went up to a few of the kids and patted them on the head, handed them toys or simply said "Hi!"
The class continues until Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to these classes!