Addison - the 19 Month Old!

Wow. What a fun-filled month it has been! We really got to enjoy the Holidays to the nth degree this year for Addison's second Christmas. Lots of memories created and captured, and Addison has grown by leaps & bounds. Every day becoming more and more her own person and growing from a baby to a kid before our very own eyes.

18-Month Check-Up
Yes, Mommy gets a 'FAIL' on this. It was November 25th and it dawned on me Addie was due for her checkup on the 27th. Of course all the appointments are taken, so just had to wait until December 27th when I had a day off work already and could take her in.
Here's her measurements!

Height
33 1/2" (75-90th percentile)
Weight
25lbs (50th percentile)

Time Out!
Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes. - Chinese Proverb
In this appointment, we discussed Addison's progress as well as disciplinary actions. In the last couple months, Addison's toddler tantrums have certainly increased. Many friends and family have witness her "Mrs. Noodle", when we have to pick her up and she goes limp, flails back and screams - or she's done the toddler cliche of falling on the ground, kicking and screaming. Usually it's when we're at home and we say 'no', or have to discipline her for something she did. Sometimes it's just for attention, though too. Those times we typically "ignore" her and a few seconds will go by and she'll stop and go play with something else. The doctor said at this age we can do time outs or simply remove her from a situation when she has these tantrums. One minute for each year of age. So far we've done TO's 2x. She whines/cries the whole time - then is just over it and moves on once it's done. She's a hard one to keep still, so I've had to sit with her on these "time outs". She does understand and can say "mean" or "naughty" so I'm hoping just being able to scold her in a speaking manner will do the trick sometimes. She has more behavioral issues over at Auntie Lorie's, since of course there are 3 other children there. Especially with Bianca, who is only 14mos older than Addison, they are both in that toddler learning-to-share stage so they get into many battles over toys. I bring over a few toys/books to Lorie's everyday so she has something there that is hers, but of course Bianca is usually interested in Addison's toys too and then Addison becomes very territorial and has screaming fits. She is even this way with some of Bianca's toys that she really likes and plays with a lot - she will get upset if Bianca plays with them. This is always difficult for us since we are not there to see it or able to discipline her ourselves. We can't re-create the situation at home, so we just try the best we can - like when she's trying to take my phone or we take something of hers and she gets upset. But still, it's difficult since during the week, she basically lives in two separate households!

Paci Wars
The pediatrician also mentioned it's time to start ridding of the "Paci". Over the summer we started taking it away from her steathly just when she'd be running around and she wouldn't notice. We were doing really good for awhile - and she's been good about actually giving us her Paci when it's time to eat!
Funny thing is that she just learned how to say Paci last month - just in time for us to start taking it away from her! We are trying to limit her Paci use to just bedtime and car rides. However, we were really bad over the holidays because she was so sleep-deprived and just crazed with everything going on, Paci use was a free-for-all just to keep her happy. Eek, bad mommy & daddy!!! But we've cracked down better in the last two weeks.

Christmas & Winter Fun
Snow
This was a great holiday season for the O'Neills. We were settled into our new home around Thanksgiving - no longer living amongst boxes - and Addison loves her new surroundings. The first morning we walked out into the snow, Addison was mesmerized just watching it fall from the sky. She reached her hand out and watched it fall on her palm. It was a magical little moment. As the snowfall accumulated, she quickly learned how to say "snow" and excitedly would point it out as we walked out the door. She also loved to stomp her feet into the snow along the sidewalk as we'd leave the house. She has a snowsuit and boots (the light-up sole style no less!!!) and played in the snow a couple times with her cousins.
Santa
I'm sure Addison didn't remember Santa from last year - but this year she caught on quick. We watched a lot of Christmas specials so she was very familiar with the fat guy in the red suit and hat ;) Addison is a big fan of hats and likes to point them out and put hers on. She also puts bowls and buckets on her head. Anything that can be used a hat! But I think it's the Santa hat that Addison recognized the best for Santa. Along with this, we taught her that Santa says "Ho, ho, ho!" So whenever she'd see a Santa hat, or anyone/thing resembling Santa she'd point and say "Ho, ho ho!"
Addison visited Santa the first weekend in December at Stratford Square Mall for her picture with him. She was excited to see him while we waited in line and happily run up to him. But once Tim placed her on his lap and we stepped back for the picture - the screaming started. Apparantely she was scarred by that experience, because we went to Breakfast with Santa 2 weeks later, and even though she'd follow Santa around as he went table to table, she would cling to us for dear life when we tried to put her on his lap! She was ok with going right up to him though. Silly girl!
Same thing happened at Christmas Eve at my brother's house when Santa made a surprise visit. She just stood and stared at home but was very nervous when I'd pick her up and bring her near him. Yet, once he left - she watched out the window and kept saying "Ho, ho ho!!!!!"
Next year she'll love him, I'm guessing!
Gifts
Addison was very spoiled this Christmas. She is surrounded by a big, loving and generous family - so the girl makes out well! She got a ton of really cute outfits and PJ's all the way up to 2T to grow into, some books, a couple movies, a toychest, basketball hoop, art desk and a bunch of toys. She even got an Elmo costume from her cousins that she wore for a while on Christmas Eve!
Last year, "Santa" was pretty tame with Addison. He got her a Bitty Baby and $$ for her college fund. But this year, well, she must have been a REALLY good girl because she woke up Christmas morning - came downstairs and in the living room she found a Disney Princess playtent, a kitchen and grocery cart! She immediately dove into the tent and has since hung out in there watching movies on the portable DVD player - and making Mommy and Daddy squeeze in there with her. Our cat Pebbles is a big fan of the tent, too!
She loves her kitchen and will pull us over there and say "cook"! She mostly likes to put items in the microwave up top. Ha!

So now, the "dining room" which we have dubbed Addison's play area is complete. Grandma Simon gave her a toychest to store her toys in downstairs - that she loves to climb up and sit on. Grandma G gave her an art desk for her to "color!" at -which she has really enjoyed sitting at and making little scribbles with all her crayons. Mostly, I think she just likes to sit at the desk! Uncle Ed gave her a basketball hoop which is now in the kitchen and believe me, she's pretty good at dunking!!! :) Soon, she'll get a stroller for her Bitty Baby from her aunt & uncle. They have one she's always loved, so this will be great to have her very own! Although for now, the grocery cart has been tiding her over well.

Christmas gatherings

Christmas sure was tiring for all of us. This year, we were very lucky that everything was close to home so logistically it was easy. Christmas Eve was at my brother's who is just a mile away from us now. We were there til almost 10pm - Addison kept getting second and third winds being around all the Simon cousins. She had so much fun! When we got her home, she was really fighting going to sleep. I think she was just still so wired from running around all night. Finally, she did go down, but then an hour later woke up with a belly ache and gave mommy a nice vom for Christmas :( But she fell right back asleep and woke up at 7am Christmas morning.

She was very excited to see her Santa gifts. We thought she'd take a morning nap, but then Tim's family came over with more presents and she was all excited again so didn't nap until after 2pm!

Once she woke up from that nap, we went over to Tim's other family and were there past 8. Again, she showed signs of being tired - but just so much stimulation and fun to be had!

Well, I could go on and on with all the Addison developments that seem to occur every day - but I think this entry is long enough!

I will try and write a separate entry in the next couple weeks more about her specific developments, achievements and advancements. It sure is an exciting time!

Addison - the 18 Month Old!

Whoops! Where has the time went? I was a bad mommy blogger and didn't update Addison's 17th month. It fell the week we were moving, so I just didn't have time. And, well, the days kept slipping past me and before I knew it, we were closer to her 18-month birthday, so I decided to just wait to give a nice big update for her 18th month - which is a milestone all on its own!

A New Nest

We have been in our new home for almost a month now. The time has gone quickly and we have been very busy unpacking and settling in. To our enjoyment, Addison had no problems adjusting. She was here a few times before we moved here, when I would stop by and drop off a few boxes in the morning. So she would enjoy running in circles and climbing the stairs. I would ask her "do you like your new home?" and she'd nod. I'm not sure if she actually understood me, but the answer was correct!

She loves running laps down the hall, round into the kitchen, then back through the living room. The best part for all of us with the new digs, is that since the kitchen has a HUGE dinette area, we do not have use for the dining room that is connected to the living room. So that is Addison's play area. This way, she's still right by us when she plays and we're watching TV, but her toys no longer take over the entire living room floor! She has some big Christmas gifts coming from Santa, so we will get great use out of that space!
Addison has had no problems sleeping in her new room. It is a little smaller and the walls are just blah white instead of the green/brown in her old room. We hung her pictures up last night finally, so it brought a little warmth into her room. But now, she doesn't spend as much time in there. We are usually downstairs, or when upstairs she likes climbing up on our bed or chair and watching TV.
Addison has had a lot of time to get used to her new house because for the first 2 weeks, Auntie Lorie had pneumonia so she couldn't watch Addison. Tim took a couple days off, as did I - and then between Grandma Simon coming down for a few days to babysit and taking her over to Grandma G's for John to watch her - we covered the 2 weeks off. Then, this past Thanksgiving week, Auntie Lorie and family were off to NYC, so I already had PTO days scheduled off, so we were home this whole week too! So, in the end it actually worked out well to really solidify the home change for Addison.
Even though the warm weather outside play days are over, I am looking forward to taking Addison out into our little backyard to play in the snow this year!

These are a few of her favorite things
TV Shows
Addison still loves her "Melmo!" and we watch Sesame Street almost every day. Her likes have expanded outside of just "Elmo's World", though - and she now knows how to laugh like Ernie and count (laugh) like the Count. It is pretty funny to hear her mimic their laughs! Oh, and the way she tries to sing "la-la lala, la-la lala Elmo's World" is adorable! It's basically just "lalalalalallalala", but we know what she means!
She also really like "Cat in the Hat" on PBS as well, and calls it "Go-Go-Go" from the song they sing in every episode. She associates and watches this show more with Daddy.
The past couple weeks, however, her favorite show has been "Mick!" as in "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on Disney channel. She squeals with delight everytime Mickey walks onto the screen. She has also started saying "Duck" for Donald and Daisy Duck. It sounds the same when they sing the "Hot Dog" song at the end of every episode - Addison will hop around saying "Dog, Dog, Dog"

Toys
In her Toddler Time play class (which ended last week), Addison was a big fan of shooting hoops. That has transferred to home play as well. She has a few small balls and one volleyball-sized one she likes to toss around and chase after. Yes, at times we do play "fetch" with our kid :)
Several weeks ago, we got her the hokey-pokey Elmo doll that she loves, then when we were up in Milwaukee for Halloween, the Vogels were nice enough to give us their extra E-L-M-O doll. Addison loves them both, but now she won't just play with one. If one Elmo is going off, she runs and gets the other one so they stand next to each other doing their song & dance. She's in Elmo heaven!
She still enjoys her push toys and building blocks/legos.
I'm not sure when this started, it doesn't look like I wrote about in previous blog entires, but Addison LOVES the Geico "little piggy" commercial. Thank God for YouTube as we have used it to watch the commercial about 300 times with her. She loves it so much that when we ask "what does a little piggy say?" her answer is "WEEEEE!!!!!" And she's got the sound down pat! Everytime she sees a piggy anywhere, she points and says "WEE WEE!!!" It's hilarious!
Our 16yr-old kitty Pebbles seems to be on another life here in the new house. She used to sleep about 23 hours a day, but now she is out and about, exploring and romping around with toys. Addison always liked her kitties, but now that she sees Pebbles in this new light, she has been obsessed and runs up to her with arms out saying "hug! hug! hug!" Pebbles has been very tame and usually just sits there and lets Addison pet her and point at her screeching "KITTY!!!!"

Chatty Addie!
It seems like Addison learns a new word everyday. I'm sure I will miss a ton, but here are some of her "new words" in the past 2 months:
-juice
-mick (mickey mouse)
-duck
-two (she doesn't say one, but if you start to count, she will join in at 'two' - the other day she almost said 'three'!!)
-shoe
-bite
-eat
-yuck
-potty
-poop (yes, we are slowly introducing her to toilet training)
-ah-choo
-out
-ham
-hand (when she wants to wash her hands, which she likes to do a lot!)
-belly
-hot (she also knows how to blow on her food when it's hot!_
-bubbles
-Pebbles
-please (I've gotten her to repeat it a handful of times, gotta keep workin' on it!)
-cookie
-apple
-cold
-book

-gobble, gobble

-grandma (she's repeated it a handful of times, knows what it means and has said it on her own a few times - gotta keep working on it for the Grandmas!)

Ok! Well, I apologize for the delay in updating, friends and family. But now you know all about Addison, the 18 Month Old!

Next update will be after Christmas. Which will be amazing, I am sure!

Happy Holidays!

Whew. Ok, that's all I can think of. Seriously, I think there are more! There are some words she'll just say out of nowhere, but then not again - so those are hard to keep track of. More words to come next month, I'm sure!

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!

Addison - the 15th Month Old!

"How Big is Baby Addie?"
"Baby Addie is SO BIG!!!"

Addison had her 15-Month Check-Up on Friday...Here's the numbers:
Height
31" - between the 75th-90th percentiles
Weight
22lbs. 13oz. - 50th percentile
Head Size
18" - 50th percentile

Addison has been in these percentiles since she was born (with the exception of her head size which began only in the 10th percentile!). Everything at her appointment checked out well - and the doctor even said she was a very well-behaved child during the exam. Apparently during the exams, other kids get very cranky and cry - but Addison just sat there calm and quiet while the doctor checked her out. I think it's because she is in that stage where she's interested in EVERYTHING, so I think she was entertained by the all the doctor "gadgets".
That being said, just like all doctor's appointments, this one had a bad ending - shots! Addison received her DTaP #4, Hib #3, Prevnar #4 as well as her first round of Flu/H1N1 shots.

These Are A Few Of Her Favorite Things
I am Spartacus
Ok, I get it - "be careful what you wish for". Via Facebook, you may have read that I was *in heaven* that Addison had taken a liking to drum corps - specifically '08 Phantom Regiment's "Spartacus" show. Well, since then we've/she's watched the show about 50 times. And by "specifically" I MEAN specifically!!! She doesn't want to watch other drum corps shows (she'll watch moments, then just walk away). She nods emphatically when we ask, "Do  you want to watch drum corps?" and now we no longer bring it up. But she will come to us with the DVD remote, or the DVD case of the show. So yes, I sincerely enjoyed those first dozen times - cuddled on the couch with Addison on my lap - watching her clap, wave her arms to imitate the conductor or drumline and be enamored by the color guard ballad solo, but now it's a relief when an hour goes by without having watched it again. I know it could be much worse - this isn't some obnoxious cartoon she's obsessively watching (that day will surely come) it's music and pageantry and c'mon, how cool of a story will this be in 17 years when/if she follows in her mommy's footsteps over to Rockford?
Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea
When it's not drum corps or no TV (those moments are great!), it's Spongebob she has started to really like in the last few weeks as well.
Oh, and don't worry - she spends a LOT of time away from the TV, outside or in her room playing.
Book worm
Addison still loves her books, and takes many off the shelves daily to flip through. She loves one of her pop-up books lately and her now long-time favorite "So Big" Elmo book and a baby Bible. She goes back and forth between a handful of books. However, she would rather just sit and flip through them herself rather than have us read to her. It's really the page-turning she enjoys. So I read whatever page she flips to, even if it makes the story quite the non-sequiter.

Out of the Mouths of Babes
Addison certainly understands much more than she can say - but she has also found ways to communicate many of the things she wants too.
Here's some words you can hear Addison say:
-Banana (Nnaa-Na!)
-Night-Night (Nye Nye!)
-Mama/Dada
-Milk
-Up
-Off (usually when she wants her shoes off)
-On (usually reverse of above)
-No
-More
-Cheese (maybe??)
-Cat
-Bye
-Go

There's probably more that I'm not thinking of right now - seems like there's new ones every few days!

Naughty Girl
Addison has had a bad streak of temper tantrums, especially over at Auntie Lorie's when she wants her cousins toys or food, etc. There's been a few instances of hitting and hair pulling. Tim & I are unable to recreate the situation as harshly at home, but we have been able to see her upset when she wants something we have that we don't give her, she'll wave her arms. When this happens, we take her arms, hold them at her side and say "Do Not Hit" - there's not much of a response from her until we hold her arm for about 10 seconds and then she'll start to cry. However, and this confuses me, when we let go of her arm, she'll go and point to my eye or nose - which is a game we play often (where's mommy's nose, etc). So, it's like her way of changing the topic?? We hope this discipline will set in so she stops this hitting situation soon. We do NOT want a naughty mean little girl!!!



Overall, Addison is a very energetic toddler. We are constantly on the move with/after her, even in our little condo! She sleeps through the night, no problem and takes 2 good naps throughout the day. She's very happy and there are times she has us cracking up (and she laughs right along with us!) She's social and creative and very curious. I love to sit with her when she plays and watch those gears turning. I can't imagine all she is learning!!!!

Next weekend we are going on our first family vacation to Galena, IL! We will be spending 2 nights at a Bed & Breakfast and can't wait to enjoy the scenery and have an amazingly cozy weekend with our little girl! Stay tuned for some pictures ;)

Addison-the 14th Month Old

Our Little Girl is Growing Up
Addison is becoming more and more a little person. She is fine-tuning her motor skills, being more verbal and communicating her feelings and needs/wants much better.

Walking, Running, Dancing

Addison has left her walkers behind with her days of crawling. She now walks everywhere with ease, only pausing or falling down when she attempts running or stairs/curbs. She can crawl all the way up a flight of stairs and move up and down a few stairs easily - however, always under our watchful eye!

The best thing about Addison walking - is when we crouch down with our arms out asking for a hug and she runs down the hallway - giving us a big bear hug and kiss. I look forward to many years of this :)

Addison is certainly a white girl. Her only dance moves are bobbing her head with her mouth open and stiffly waving her arms. But it is adorably hilarious all the same.

Some of her favorite songs are: "OMG" Usher; "California Gurls" Katy Perry; "Bad Romance" Lady Gaga

Communication
Addison clearly says things like "Up"; "That"; "Na-Na-Na" (No); "Nana" (Banana); "Nye Nye" (Night Night). It seems like she is on the verge of one day just saying 10 different words. She understands when we say it's time to go to bed, time to get dressed, when we ask if she's done or wants to be picked up and much more.

Books
Addison's favorite *toy this month has been books, which is a habit we adore! Her favorite books are "So Big"; "Guess How Much I Love You"; "My First Bible" and a Baby Einstein lift-tab word book. We are encouraging this fun pasttime as much as we can. Tim and I both loved books as children and hope that Addison grows up to be an avid reader.
She enjoys simply sitting in her Addison chair and flipping through books all on her own.

Overall, Addison is a good girl. She has her moments and certain things that make her bratty and throw toddler tantrums. We are trying to minimize her paci usage and that is often times the cause of her tantrums. That, and of course when bedtime sneaks up on her while she's playing and doesn't want to stop - but it also very tired.
We can't wait to see what fun awaits us just around the corner!

Addison - the 13 Month Old!

Toddler Time!
While many parents refer to the age of their toddlers in months - my tendency is just to say she's 1. But a 12-month old is very different than a 13-month old, as I've learned - so I understand the need to clarify! We do still call her Silly Baby and refer to her as a "baby" in many other ways - a habit I'm not sure will go away anytime soon.

Baby Steps
Addison took her first steps a few days after her 1st birthday. The first handful of steps she took unknowingly - then, she realized what she had done and it made her nervous. She took nearly a full week off from walking in the beginning of June. During this time she became very tied to her walkers - and got VERY quick pushing them all over the place. We would prompt her to take independent steps, but could just see the nervousness in her face. Low and behold, by the second week in June, Addison took a half a dozen steps on her own. Then, the next day she walked a dozen steps! That seemed to be her limit for that week, but since then she has advanced to walking all the way across the room or down the hallway. She's also now able to walk, bend/squat down and pick something up and keep walking! She also walks and turns around. In the past few days, she has been walking more than she crawls!

Eating
Addison is onto "grown-up" food. For breakfast she typically has pancakes and bananas; for lunch she has fruit, lunch meat, cheese; and for dinner she has a Gerber Graduate meal or whatever we're eating if it's friendly. There's not much she doesn't like - but there's also not much that she always likes. Bananas are really the only staple. Pancakes and grapes were too, but she has gone through phases of pushing them away also. Her eating is somewhat inconsistent, but when she doesn't eat much at a meal, she will make up for it within the next day or so. She almost always feeds herself now if it's hand-friendly. She will feed herself with a spoon and fork too with a little assistance.

Drinking
Addison is pretty good at drinking water throughout the day in her sippy cup. We started transitioning her off of the bottle and have been trying to give her milk in her sippy cup instead. At first she refused, but would simply carry on with whatever she was doing - seemingly not upset that she was missing out on the milk. But gradually we got her used to drinking milk from the sippy cup at least in the morning. At night we've still given her a bottle - we are hoping to nix that this coming week.

Talking
Addison sure makes a lot of noise, and has her own language - even though she doesn't say many actual words yet. She says Da-da all the time, and many times it's not even in reference to Tim. She also says Ma-Ma to people other than me, even though it's what she always says when she hears me open the door when I get home from work. Ga-ga is her newer "word" and over at Auntie Lorie's, it is believed this is her reference to her favorite cousin Isabella. At home, we're not too sure what she's referencing.

Playing
True to many articles I've been reading, the more independent Addison is able to be - the more clingy she has become. Her patience is also, well, non-existent. We're not sure if she just enjoys experimenting with her range of emotions or she's just frustrated in not being able to do exactly what she wants at all times and/or not being able to communicate what she wants to, but it can be quite frustrating when one minute she is laughing and the next minute she's screaming. The temper tantrums have certainly arrived!
Otherwise - Addison's favorite way to play is to be on the move. Crawling, walking, pushing her walkers, walking with us, etc. She's also developed quite an arm in the past couple weeks and enjoys throwing many of her toys. We will need to teach her what things are ok to throw and what things aren't.
She understands what "No" means, but she also understands how to press her luck. She's developed an annoying little charm of when she's reaching for something she's not supposed to have, we'll say "no" and she'll leave her hand on the item, look at me and scrinch up her face in a little smile. It's hard to resist, but I bite my lip and try to keep a straight face. If I don't, we're in deep trouble in the years to come!!!

Coming Up!
Addison's 2nd 4th of July is coming up - and this year we hope she gets to enjoy some of it. There is a 4th of July festival across the street from us that we've never been to. We plan on checking it out and walking around. Addison usually enjoys people-watching so we think she'll enjoy it!

Addison - the 1 Year Old!

No longer a Silly Baby.
Addison has officially entered Toddler-hood! It's amazing how I can still remember a time before I was even pregnant with Addison, and now she is one year old! Her 1st birthday weekend could not have been better - so many wonderful events and memories made.

Let's take a look at Addison's 1 Year doctor's check-up and her lifestyle in this 12th month.

1-Year Check Up
Height 30 1/2" - 90th Percentile
Weight 21lbs 2oz - upper 50th Percentile
Head Size - 17 5/8" - 50th Percentile

This time, Addison got 3 shots in her arm (previously her leg). She sat in my lap and the shot startled her and then a moment later she burst into tears which lasted until a few minutes after it was over. But, then the nurse forgot she had to also prick Addison's finger for anemia testing - by then Addie was quite squirmy so it was difficult and very heartbreaking since Addie was sobbing.
The shots she received were: MMR #1, Varivax, TB Mantoux, ASQ
Overall, Addison checked out well and Dr. Michael gave her clearance to begin drinking cow's milk as well as all foods now (within reason). Addison rejected the first 3 bottles of milk we gave her, but once we warmed it up, she would drink a couple ounces. But by Sunday she was drinking full bottles of milk!

Swimming
Swim classes ended on May 22, and Addison came a long way! She's quite the kicker and really enjoys playing in the water. Our outdoor condo pool opened up this past weekend, so on Sunday we took her out in her new inner tube (birthday present from Grandma Simon) and floated around the pool for a bit. After 20min or so, she got restless so we took her out and she was kicking all around the pool, even more than she ever did in swim class, so I guess those swim lessons really paid off!

Baby Steps
Addison has been cruising and crawling  all over the place lately. She advanced to standing on her own for several seconds to even standing unassisted while clapping or grabbing something. She has been using her push walkers constantly and walks very quickly and in laps throughout the condo. For the past week, we've been trying to set her up to take her first alone steps - but she would get nervous and immediately drop to the ground. Then finally - on Monday, May 31 (her due date) Addison took her first step!!! Actually it was two steps- unknowingly. Since then she has taken a step 3 separate times. Soon, we will have a walking Addie!