Addison in the Morning
Addison and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' are still going strong. As soon as I go in to get her in the morning, she asks to go "night, night here" (which, for her, means to go lay in our bed), and to bring her blankies (ickies) with her. She'll tell me whose pillow she wants to lay on (mommy's or daddy's) and once settled ask for milk. "Milk, please" with a prompt :) She does a pretty good job answering Mickey when he asks questions and gets a lot of the questions correct! I'm sure many are because of repetition, but some are new episodes! So, while I know TV is a big no-no in the world of perfect parenting, I think she's gaining a little education from it. And it sure makes my mornings of getting ready for work much easier. Of course I interact with her as well throughout the entire morning too.
Addie Eats
Most mornings it is a struggle for me to get Addison to eat much of anything. Sometimes it is due to her sleeping in. We leave at 8am to take her to Auntie Lorie's, and sometimes I have to go in to wake her up at 7:30, so there's just not enough time to really sit down and get her to eat. Other mornings, she's just hyper and wants to run around and play. Other mornings, I think she's just testing her power or "no." Although, she often times eats breakfast over at Auntie Lorie's - which is the same food - so who knows? I think if her cousins are eating there, she wants to join in. When she does eat, it's usually waffles or cereal or a nutri-grain bar.
Her lunches and dinners are typically lunch meat or Chef Boyardee, yogurt, crackers, fruit, etc. For dinner we do try and get her to eat whatever we are eating and that works like a charm when it's grilled chicken, pasta and veggies. She likes cookies and has been a huge fan of suckers this month, which has resulted in a few tantrums when we've had to say no.
The Great Outdoors
The fickle and wintry weather has been rough on Addison, and us! We went for a ton of evening walks in April, even when it was a little chilly outside. Addison has two playgrounds to choose from, both just a 5-minute walk away. One is bigger and typically has middle school-aged kids running around, while the other is smaller and equipment built for toddlers.
We have gotten some use out of our backyard, although can't wait for the weather to settle down and get more use out of it! Addison's love of bubbles has grown and she's pretty good at blowing her own bubbles now, although she usually wants Mommy or Daddy to join in on the fun.
Addison enjoys looking out the windows, especially when Mommy or Daddy go for a run, and wave to her from the sidewalk! She still likes to watch the cars drive by, counting them and saying what color they are.
Chatty Addie
Addison is quite the talker! Wonder where she gets that from :) She learns new words everyday and can repeat almost anything. She has a tendency to repeat some phrases over and over, especially when she expects your response or acknowledgement. We are certainly attentive to her when she speaks, but at times we are having our own conversation or in the middle of something and don't respond to her right away and she can get irritated.
The other struggle in communication is cause and effect or rewarded behavior. For example, she wants to play bubbles when it's time for breakfast. I tell her that we'll play bubbles after breakfast. She does not understand this and just says "No breakfast...bubbles!" Clearly not understanding that I mean we can do both. That can be very frustrating for me because it delays the entire process because I have to spend so long arguing with her to try and get her to eat, if she would just take a few bites - it would all be over in a few minutes and we'd be out playing bubbles!
I expect, like anything with her these days, that this too shall pass and will become a distant memory. She is really growing and becoming such a sociable and intelligent little girl. We are so proud!
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