Pinch Hitter

This post is coming from Addy’s Daddy this week. Mom is busy grading papers and Adalyn’s typing skills need a lot of work so I am stepping up for the team.
This is a big week as we prepare for Adalyn’s first birthday. I was entirely unaware how much was involved for a first birthday party. Our dining room has been taken over by party supplies and I’m still not sure I understand why the cake needs to match the napkins.
This past Friday Adalyn got her haircut for the first time ever at Patty’s. She loved the cape and as you can see in the pictures she had a great time being the center of attention.
Adalyn continues to be a very good eater. She is willing to eat almost anything we give her and generally only turns it away when she sees a better option, like a banana. She is also much more interested in everything mom and dad are eating. Mom did finally find something this past week that Addy hates, salsa. She was very curious about the salsa when we had tacos and was OK with just a small piece, but a whole bite was just too much.
Addy’s walking continues to improve and she is as adventurous as ever. She is also doing a much better job recognizing our words and following directions, at least when she wants to (she gets that from her mom). She has also become much more affectionate lately. She loves to give mom and dad kisses. She also likes to kiss the baby pictures in one of her books and will even give herself kisses in the mirror. This kissing phase is really cute but it does have her dad concerned.

Our Little Valentine

This week was certainly a crazy week. We had a lot of special events going on in second grade. Celebrating Abe Lincoln's 200th Birthday and having a Valentine's Day party all in the same week almost did me in!

Addy is now walking with ease. This week she has also mastered standing up without having to pull herself up on something. At times she still looks a bit like a drunken sailor as she maneuvers around, but she is getting around pretty easily. We have had a few close calls with falls, but nothing too serious--yet.

This weekend we met my family in Indianapolis on Saturday for a late celebration of my dad's 50th birthday. We met up with them in Circle Center Mall, so I put Addy down to show off her newly acquired walking skills. She was a bit hesitant to walk. I'm not sure if it was the unfamiliar surroundings or the fact that she didn't want to pull out her best trick so early in the weekend. We celebrated at Weber Grill restaurant (early in the afternoon to avoid all of the valentine diners) and browsed Circle Center Mall. After shopping for a while, we went to check into our hotel and take Adalyn swimming in the hotel pool. She loved swimming in the pool, but kept trying to drink the water. It was a very low-key trip and was nice to just hang out with my family at the hotel. Addy really enjoyed her time with them.

On Sunday before leaving town we met up with Cory (Derek's brother), Courtney, and Derek's mom for lunch. It was nice to see them and catch up on how Courtney is doing, they are expecting their first child in July (it's a boy!).

It seems as though Addy is recognizing many more words. She says baabaa every time she sees a dog. Adalyn loves dogs and gets very excited anytime she sees one, especially in person. This weekend while hanging out in the hotel with my family, Addy had obviously been working on a dirty diaper and I asked her if she needed to be changed. She then proceeded to walk over to her diaper bag and pull out the container of diaper wipes and brought them to me. Whether it was just a coincidence or not--it made her mama very proud. Derek was even prouder of the fact that she brought the wipes to me and not him! Among other new discoveries we have also found that she understands the words doorbell (she rings it on her toy house), duck, and horse.

Lately she has taken an interest in being read to. Each night before bed we read her a few books and one of the book has to be Goodnight Moon or Night, Night, Baby or she will continue to point to them until we pick them up to read. It has gotten to the point where I hear Goodnight Moon in my sleep; maybe we need to invest in the Spanish version, just to mix it up a bit!

This week is a short week for me because of Presidents' Day. Hopefully the four days of school will just fly by.

Baby Steps!!!

A few weeks have passed since our last post and it is official...we have a walker on our hands. Last week Addy started taking several steps in a row independently. This past week a few steps turned into many! On Wednesday evening Adalyn took 20 steps in a row. Although she is a bit shaky, she is walking from item to item with great enthusiasm. Adalyn is now 11 months old. Over the past few weeks we have seen Adalyn become even more independent. It is so much fun to watch her make new discoveries and take chances.

About a week ago we got carpet reinstalled in our basement. We took many of Addy's toys downstairs and she loves her new space. We also took down a small plastic jungle gym with a slide that I had bought last summer. She loves to climb all over it and go down the slide backwards!

We have also learned that Addy can eat like a champ. We have found very little table food that she will not eat. She even eats things that neither Derek or I like such as cottage cheese, pickles, etc. She loves to eat her veggies and bananas.

The weather was beautiful here this weekend and we got to take Addy outside in temperatures that didn't make her bury her face in our shoulders. Since the grass was water logged from the melted snow, we let her play in our rock flower beds. She loved investigating the rocks and throwing them. Watching her get dirty and play outside was only a glimpse of how exiciting this spring and summer will be!

This week we are looking forward to warm weather and over the weekend we are meeting Adalyn's Grandma and Grandpa Schum to celebrate Grandpa's 50th birthday. We are excited to see them and Addy is very excited to show them her walking skills!

Addy really enjoyed watching the Super Bowl from her rocking chair. She had recently started to stand on top of the chair and use it to climb to get to things.

Addy looking through a hole in her jungle gym.

Adalyn loves spaghetti!

Schedule Challenges

This week Addy had a difficult time getting back on schedule. She had been sick and had been at home with mommy and/or daddy for an entire week, so going back to the babysitters' houses was quite the challenge for her. She apparently wanted to be held for most of the days and didn't want Kalee or Patty to turn their back on her. Hmmmm....can someone say..spoiled?

Adalyn has taken a liking to her bouncy horse and now can get on and off of it on her own with ease. Although she doesn't ride it for very long, she enjoys bouncing on it and climbing on and off and then back on again. It also has an option to hook it up to the TV and to play games while bouncing. Addy seemed to like the games on the TV, but didn't quite make the connection that they were connected to the pony.

I have included a few pictures of Addy and her most prized posession--her silky! Addy never took to a pacifier but grew very fond of a silk blanket we recieved from Derek's work. She now brings it with her everywhere and uses it for comfort when she's upset. She also MUST have her silky to sleep. Since she relys on the silky so much, we have ordered several more and use them interchangeably. Thank goodness she's impartial and loves them all!



Addy is not walking on her own yet but she is getting closer and closer to letting go. She has been letting go when cruising from various pieces of furniture. She will also walk between Derek and I, but always dives at our laps as she gets within reach. She is standing mroe on her own now, but will grab ahold of something when she actually realizes that she is standing on her own.

On the food front, we have been giving Addy more table food. We can honestly say that there isn't a whole lot of food that she doesn't like. Addy's friend Charli is a bit pickier than she is about her food and apparently Addy is more than happy to eat whatever Charli doesn't want right off of her booster tray.

This weekend was very low key for us. On Saturday I had class for most of the morning. This is my last semester and it definitely requires more time than previous semesters. The busy part of the semester hasn't even started and I am already beginning to feel very overwhelmed! I will be so happy when May rolls around. Saturday evening our good friend Kim came to play with Addy and Derek and I cleared out the basement so that installers can come and install carpet. Up until about a year ago we had carpet in the basement, but then the sump pump decided to stop working and we had a giant swimming pool with a carpet bottom! After getting a back-up system installed, we decided to get the carpet installed again!

Addy and her Aunt Kim taking a break.

On Sunday Derek went into work and Addy and I stayed home..nice and toasty in the warm house. January and February are very busy months for Derek at work and he has been putting in extra hours. Sunday evening we had dinner and then I caught up on some school work. This weekend was definitely low-key, but I definitely feel like we were productive in getting things accomplished!

Hopefully next weekend will be just as productive!

Back on Track

I know..I know...I haven't posted in quite a while! Last Sunday Adalyn came down with a fever which distracted me from posting. Unfortunately we have once again had a sick Addy on our hands this week. Sunday evening her temperature reached 102 so I stayed home with her on Monday and headed in to the doctor's office to share a waiting room with all of the other kids who came down with something over the weekend. The Dr. checked Addy out. Her ears looked good, which was surprising because I was SO sure that this time it was definitely her ears! Her throat looked a bit rid and a strep test was performed but came back negative. Basically they said that whatever she had was viral and had to run its course. They said that it may take her 3-5 days to kick the virus. It took Addy every bit of 5 days to get over the hump. Her temperature eventually reached 103, which is quite scary! We gave her tylenol to help her feel a bit better, but that's all that we could give her. Derek and I took turns staying home at the beginning of the week and then the sub zero temps came to town and school was cancelled on Thursday and Friday, which was a blessing in itself. Addy and I both needed a bit more time at home. I stayed home from Tuessday night until Saturday morning when I headed to my grad class. That was a long time for me to stay home...I was going a bit stir crazy, but in the end, I was glad to stay warm and cozy inside!

On Sunday we went to Charli's first birthday party. Charli and Addy go to Patty's together and Charli's mom, Kristi, and and I teach second grade together. So we have dubbed Addy and Charli as best friends. It is hard to believe that Charli is already 1. It seems like only yesterday that Kristi and I were talking about all of the uncertainties that we were about to face as new mothers. Now our little girls are turning one and we have more and more challenges ahead of us. Charli's party was a lot of fun and Kristi did a super job with the planning. I was very impressed! This weekend our good friend Kristy (a different Kristy) came to visit from Florida. She come to our house on Sunday night and we hosted poker in her honor. Derek lost his money, but a good time was had by all. Tomorrow we have the day off, which I am looking forward to, but we are also looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule on Tuesday!

Adalyn and Charli recently had a Saturday playdate. Sharing was quite the challenge that day:)

Addy and I played dress up on one snow day when we were bored.

Ten Months...Already!

I'm 10 months old!!!

Time continues to fly by as Adalyn turned TEN MONTHS this week. I know that people say this all the time, but it truly is amazing how fast they grow! Addy is no exception to the rule. She is cruising from furniture at a rapid pace, but hasn't got up the nerve to let go for more than a few seconds. She loves to climbs stairs and tries to sneak to them in our house quite often. Recently Adalyn has developed a fascination for clapping and does it whenever she is recieving attention (which is most of the time) and when she's sees ANYONE puts their hands together (TV personalities included). She loves going out to run errands and gets very excited about riding in shopping carts. She usually draws plenty of attention to herself by waving to everyone that crosses our path and screaming and talking with delight. Adalyn has recently started to throw balls. She enjoys balls and has many that have come with her toys. Anytime she picks up a ball she will throw it if someone asks her to. She will then chase the ball, retrieve it, and then throw it again. Her form isn't great..truthfully...she throws like a girl, but we're working on it! She is certainly a people pleaser. We have also started to give her more table foods, which makes Addy very happy. She enjoys bite-sized carrots, green beans, and peaches. The truth is that so far we haven't really found any things that doesn't enjoy...hopefully she continues to enjoy her fruits and veggies!

Happy NEW YEAR!!

We rang in the new year pretty quietly Wednesday evening. Derek had to work during the day, so Addy and I met him for an early dinner after work. We went to Logan's, which was quite the experience. It was Addy's first time eating table food at a restaurant and she decided to let everyone know how she felt about it by screaming and yelling out for most of the dinner. Thank goodness the restaurant was very crowded and loud! after dinner we stopped by to see our friends Kelleen and Ray. They just had their second child, Elizabeth Ray, who is simply beautiful. We visited with them for a while and got our baby time in. Kelley and Ray also have an 18 month old daughter, Evelyn. It was a lot of fun to watch Adalyn and Evelyn play and interact. Addy pushed Evelyn all around the house on a riding toy. Thank goodness no one was injured:)

Addy and her friend, Evelyn

Elizabeth Ray--she is precious! It's hard to believe Addy was this size (okay maybe a pound more) only ten months ago!

This weekend we spent some time getting our house in order and also recieved a suprise visit from our high school friend Brad and his fiance Molly. It was Adalyn's first time meeting them and it was really great to see them. We don't see or talk to them as often as we would like, so we really enjoyed spending some time with them. Addy enjoyed all of the attention they gave her too.

On Saturday Addy was very fussy, which was something I had been noticing as a trend the last few days. She was also tugging at her ears and was extremely fussy when eating. I was afraid that she might have an ear infection, so we took her to Prompt Care. The doctor said everyhting looked fine and she may have a virus of some sort. He didn't say it, but he gave us that.....oh you are first time parents and paranoid look. We were relieved that she didn't have an ear infection.

Saturday night was quite disappointing as the Colts were eliminated from the play-offs. We could tell that Addy was distraught too, as she had a hard time sleeping through the night and woke up several times. We think that she may be teething and hope that the fussiness and waking at night will pass very soon!

We spent the day Sunday getting ready to get back into the routine on Monday. It will definitely be hard for Addy and I as we have spent the last few weeks together. Quite frankly, I am dreading Monday morning and wish that I had a few more days at home with my baby girl!

A Whirlwind of a Holiday--Part II

On Saturday we spent the majority of the day at Derek's mom's house and then went to to visit my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Dan, and cousin Lisa in the evening. Throughout the week Addy really had fun exploring all of her new surroundings. She really enjoyed trying to get into all of Ruth's pretty Christmas decorations. We don't get the opportunity to visit with them very often and really enjoyed seeing them on Saturday! On Sunday we went with Derek's mom and brother, Cory, to the Widick Christmas, which is Derek's mom's side. Addy had the opportunity to meet many new relatives that she had never met and did very well with all of the new faces.

On Monday Adalyn stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Schum while Derek and I headed to his mom's house to help paint her kitchen and bathroom. She is planning on putting her house up for sale in the spring and we decided to get some things done on her house while we were home over break. Monday evening we had dinner at my parents house and then Derek and I went to see the Tale of Desperaux at the movie theater. I have read the book to my classes for several years now and wanted to see the movie. It was a huge disappointment!...I say this all the time but the book is MUCH better.

Tuesday morning we packed up Huey the Vue"y" and headed for home. Packing up the Vue was quite a chore as we were taking home lots of Adalyn's loot. The back was packed to the roof and there were things stuffed in every nook and cranny! Derek and I both wondered what will happen when/if we ever have two kids! We were sad to leave our families, but happy to be returning to our regular schedule and own beds. We had a wonderful time visiting our relatives, and wish that we had more time to spend with them. As always we didn't get to see everyone that we would have liked, but hopefully we will get to see them in future visits. Going home makes us really appreciate our loved ones and how special they are to us. We are so lucky to have so many loving and caring people in our lives.