10 months

Today Adelyn is 10 months old. It's a big day because her and I are flying to Minnesota in just a few hours. I wanted to take a few cute pictures this morning but she was more interested in taking out and putting back in all of her toys into the diaper caddy. This is by far her favorite thing to do. Then of course she had to show off her crawling skills and crawl over to me while taking a picture.





Two seconds after this picture was taken she face planted into the wood floor and when I picked her up there was blood coming out of her mouth! She had cut her mouth and given herself a fat lip. Talk about a rough morning. After sucking on an ice cube for awhile she seemed ok again. Hopefully the rest of our day goes a lot smoother.

Zerbit

Addy's favorite "trick" of late is to give just about anything she can a zerbit. This is something I started giving her when she was just a tiny baby and have continued to do. Whenever Addy cries on the changing table, if I give her belly a zerbit it always makes her laugh, granted she may cry moments later, but at least temporarily there is a smile on her face. Starting last week we noticed her trying to give herself a zerbit on her arm. It was hilarious, she actually did a few really good ones. Then she tried on my arm and successfully gave me a zerbit. We did this a few more times until she got so excited she bit me. That wasn't as fun.
Then today she was crawling around Brian's legs and then stopped and gave him a zerbit. It was hilarious. She knew we were laughing at her so she did it again. Then she got really excited and bit him in the leg. I'm sensing a pattern that might be problematic.

Growing Girl

This weekend I spent some time going through Adelyn's clothes and setting aside the ones that no longer fit and going into the beloved "bottom drawer" to see if she can fit into any of the bigger sized clothes yet. I'm not sure why this process is always so surprising to me, but it is. It seems impossible to me that something that I just took out from the bottom drawer is already too small and I'm always surprised when something marked 12 or 18 months fits her already. It's sad to pack the too small clothes away, but its always fun to see what new outfits await her. It's an instant reminder to how quickly she's growing.
On that same note, we had to go shopping for a new car seat this weekend since she has outgrown her infant one. Hard to believe she's already ready for the convertible car seats. How do these changes seem to happen so quickly?
Here are some pics of Addy in her incredibly awesome track suit which we've been waiting to put her in since she got it at Christmas (thanks Dave and Kathy!). I'd say it was worth the wait.

Poor Addy, Poor Daddy

I'm back from Colorado and had a great trip and Brian and Addy had a great weekend together. Brian commented that the weekend went fine but was very glad he wasn't a single parent and after what happened yesterday I think we both agree even more with that statement.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from Addy's daycare that she wasn't feeling well and had a slight temperature. It was close to the end of the day so Brian was already on his way to get her. When he picked her up he could tell she wasn't herself. We checked her temperature as well and couldn't get an accurate read, but it was higher than normal. We called the nurse just to be safe and she gave us some tips but said there was no reason to be too concerned. So we proceeded to have some dinner and a just a few minutes later Addy looked like she was choking on her peas. So I went over to help her and all of the sudden she threw up everywhere. It was disgusting. I was frozen for a few seconds and wasn't sure what to do, luckily Brian jumped into action and started cleaning up. I took Addy straight up to the bath while poor Brian was stuck cleaning the floor, the table and highchair.
Poor Addy was really hot and tired but she went right to sleep after the bath and slept through the night. Brian of course had the kitchen sparkling clean and got everything washed and clean. Thank God neither of us had to deal with that alone.

Let the Baby Proofing Begin

Addy's Daddy here. I picked up Adelyn from daycare today and the caretaker told me that she crawled about 5 feet to retrieve a toy. So, of course, I needed to see this for myself. When she and I got home, I set up the video camera and placed her most prized possession (her pacifier) away from her to see if she'd crawl to get it. The video below is proof that we definitely need to buy a baby gate soon.

Before and After

Before I had Addy there were a lot of things I would hear other parents say that I really didn't understand. One of them was hearing new mom's talk about their anxiety about daycare and returning to work. Before going through it myself I really couldn't relate and thought "How hard can it be? Clearly other people are qualified to care for your child, it'll be fine." Then once I was living it, I got it. It made sense. It really is a big deal.
Another issue that didn't make sense to me before kids was hearing people talk about how they couldn't imagine spending a night away from their child. I swear my sister went like 3 or 4 years before leaving Sydney for the night. I really couldn't understand that before, I thought parents would be dying for a night on their own without kids. Well, I'm about to get just that and now I get it. It makes sense. It really is a big deal.
I leave tomorrow for Colorado for 4 days for a friend's wedding. While I am so excited about the trip and the wedding and the whole weekend, I am also so scared about being away from Addy. Obviously I know she will be in good hands with Brian, it's not them I'm really worried about, it's me. I've never spent a night away from her and now I'm about to do three. I'm sure we will all be fine and the time will go by quickly..or at least that's what I keep telling myself. Funny, how all those things I heard parents say before that I thought were crazy are all making a lot more sense to me now.

Seafair Saturday

Even though yesterday was a gray overcast day, that didn't stop us from making the most of it and partying it up. First we headed out to watch the Blue Angels for Seafair. They did the "low show" because of the clouds but it was still amazing. The planes were a little loud but Addy didn't seem to mind.
Then we headed over to Parker's 2nd birthday party. How to describe the party? One word. Hilarious. Parker was a doll as usual. I think my favorite part was when she and another little girl decided it was time to take off all of their clothes and run back and forth naked. Who doesn't love a naked birthday party? It was priceless. Addy had a great time seeing her friends again and didn't want to say goodbye. Pics below include the boats lined up on Lake Washington, Parker with her new drums, Parker and Kenzie hugging, Addy with a birthday hat, Addy practicing her high five, Kenzie and Addy saying goodbye.

Bucket of Happy

Tons of people have commented to us on what a happy baby Adelyn is, but I think my favorite phrase was coined by my coworker Kyle who calls her a "bucket of happy." He claims that he's never seen a picture of her where she's not grinning ear to ear. Obviously that isn't true, but she really is a remarkably happy baby. The other morning I went in to get her out of her crib and she had the biggest smile on her face and was flailing her arms so fast I thought she might take off for flight. She also loves to be "chased" up the stairs. If I'm carrying her then Brian will chase us up the stairs and she shrieks in laughter that is so contagious it always ends with the three of us laughing hysterically. We've also discovered that she thinks coughing is hilarious. Whether its a real cough or a fake one whenever we do it she laughs. I don't really get that one but it's still funny. It really is fun to discover what she loves and what we can do to make her laugh. Of course Brian and I think we are hilarious since she laughs at almost everything we do. I'm sure we will hit a stage eventually where we can't get her to laugh no matter what we do so we better enjoy this while it lasts.

The Stats

Today we took Addy to her 9 month appointment. As usual it started with her height, weight and head measurements. Here are her current stats:
Weight: 19.5 lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (75th percentile)
Head: 45.5 (90th percentile)

All good numbers! Again the Dr. was really happy with Addy's progress and commented several times on what a happy, mellow, good-natured baby we have. We couldn't agree more. Addy even showed off her skill of waving bye-bye to the Dr. at the end. The best part though was that she didn't have to get any shots at all during this visit. It's so hard to believe that the next time we take her in for an appointment she will be 1 year old!

Pat the Bunny

My Dad and Kathy have been visiting since Thursday and it has been wonderful. It's a trip I don't want to come to an end because each day is more fun than the last. Addy has really bonded with them and it has been so fun to watch her interact with them. The focus of the trip was definitely on Adelyn and it was great. We had nice relaxing leisurely days (I actually got my Dad to relax!) with no busy schedule to follow. They bought Addy a new big book of nursery rhymes which she loved, but the highlight was reading Pat the Bunny over and over. For the first time Addy "smelled the flowers" just like Paul and Judy. It was a great trick and she was quite proud of herself. She also started playing peek-a-boo by herself, but wanted to make sure everyone was always watching. They didn't believe me at first when I said Addy would play to a crowd and pose for the camera, but she did both several times so now they know the truth. She had so much fun and definitely will miss Papa and Kathy.