First Steps Preschool

Addison started First Steps (Mother's Day Out) on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning on August 31st.  This was a really big adjustment for our family as she had not stayed with anyone other than family before, with the exception of the church nursery.  We had "meet the teacher" the Thursday before and met Addison's teacher, Melissa.  We really liked her and were thrilled to learn this was her third year to teach the class.  Addison is one of three children in the class and the only girl.  Her classmates are Issac and Silas.  We are looking forward to watching her develop and interact with others over the school year.

Addison was not the least bit nervous about her first day as she napped on the way to school.  She was all smiles as we got her "locker" set up and gave Melissa a final run down.  When we left her, there were no tears, just a smiling girl.  We are so proud of the ease with which you adapt to new situations.  You are the best ever and will have an incredible year!

We are sitting!

It is hard to really nail down when Addison began truly sitting.  She had been able to sit for a while on her own, but I am not truly sure if it counts when you are still a bit apprehensive that she might fall back at any second.  On August 29th, I feel  certain that we can say that she is truly sitting.  She is even now brave enough to reach for things after she has been sitting for a while, but that never ends well.  She has the best posture and is so proud of this new feat.  It is amazing how quickly you have moved from the Bumbo to the look what I can do all on my own phase.  We are so proud!

July 16, 2010

August 29, 2010

High Chair- August 12, 2010

Now that you have begun to eat cereal, we decided it might be time to move from eating in your Boppy to the high chair.  Our first night, we discovered this might be a bit of a challenge as your dad noted that gravity is working against you in this mode.  You didn't love the high chair, but the reclining feature did help to ease into the transition.  You were able to finish your cereal, and we decided that maybe you weren't quite ready for complete use of the high chair quite yet, but we are going to use it a few times a week to get ready for the addition of foods following your sixth month visit.  You do have fun sitting in your high chair and getting wheeled around the kitchen area as we prepare our dinner and eat.  You really feel like a big girl sitting at the table with us.

Four Months

Addison-
It is hard to believe that one-third of your first year has already passed. You are at such a fun stage right now! Your dad and I are having the best time with you. Each day you continue to amaze us. This month you have continued to love your baths and we have even started putting you "on you tummy" to let you feel what it will be like some day to actually swim. Around the time you turned three months, we began to put you in your Exersaucer. You absolutely love it, specifically the dog, which I refer to as Spot. You push all sorts of button on him and just giggle in delight at all of the noises he makes. You are really beginning to also enjoy mirrors. We will talk at length about the pretty girl we see in the mirror and you just grin at her.

This month has marked quite a few firsts in addition to the Exersaucer. You have really started to begin to reach for any and all things that we place in proximity to you. You love to just talk to us and make noises with your tongue. You get so very, very excited when you notice that we are making a bottle for you and love to help us feed you. Your way of helping is not always the best, but you sure do give it a go. You try to put your hand in with the bottle and somehow haven't grasped quite yet that you are working against yourself. You and Dad have so much fun during the day and I rush home after work to join in on the fun.

To mark your four-month birthday, your Lisa took some special pictures for you at the Famous Water Co. as well as First Christian Church. As you can tell from the pictures, you LOVE to put your hands in your mouth and by hand I do mean the ENTIRE hand. One day you will learn that the gagging reflex you often evoke is the result of cramming an entire hand in your mouth all the way to your wrist. We can't thank Lisa enough for capturing our sweet girl at this fantastic time in our life.

Pictures taken August 3, 2010

Big Girl Bed

Monty and I have had differing opinions as to when the appropriate time for Addison to move to her own room would arrive. Most opinions shared with us ranged from 6 weeks to 6 months. Monty would have opted for 6 months whereas I felt Addison would get a more restful sleep in her baby bed. Until this point (less one night in her bassinette) she had been sleeping in her pack-n-play on my side of the bed. During the night, she would make various noises and I would notice her in a number of positions, all of which were different from where she initially started her night. In the process of literally turning 180 degrees, she would get upset as she kicked/ran into the side of the pack-n-play.

Our compromise was that when Addison was able to successfully roll over she would be able to move into her own room. On Friday, August 6th, we made the transition. She went down about 9:45 and slept until 7:15 the following morning. It was the best sleep anyone in our home has gotten since her arrival on March 31st. We have a video monitor in our room (thanks to Nannie's sisters!) and it was funny, albeit sad, but Monty and I watched her in the monitor that first night for quite some time before we went to bed.

In her new bed she is still just as squirmy as ever! In fact, there are nights that I have to wake up to move the monitor camera because she has moved so far out of range, and it has quite a substantial range. It is a good thing that I took her bumpers out of her bed. I miss the extra bit of color and the way they look, it was just too risky to leave them up with our wiggle worm. Yet another milestone as she continues to amaze us each day. God is so great!!

Sleeping beauty on her first night in bed.  Notice her sleeves are rolled up because otherwise she will work to make sure they end up in her mouth the minute you put her pajamas on! 

Firm Lake Party

Following her four month appointment, our family of three headed out to Possum Kingdom Lake for my firm party.  I really enjoyed the idea of closing the office for a half day for a break of boating and B-B-Q!  Addison did very well considering she had just gotten two shots.  She "played" in the lake with dad and was able to visit with everyone from work.  Needless to say Addison, Dax (Heather's son) and Sophie (Kelley's daughter) were the hit of the party.  It will be so fun to see Addison in a lifejacket next summer with the other two.  She already wanted to join them this year......

Cereal Time!

After a long day of a 4-month doctor's appointment, my firm party at Possum Kingdom Lake and dinner with Cousin Adam, Addison had her first taste of rice cereal (July 29, 2010).  Doctor Ramsey told us that Addison could begin to incorporate cereal into her final nightly feeding.  She instructed us to give her 1 tablespoon (dry measurement before adding liquid) and said she would probably not be able to eat that much at her age.  Dr. Ramsey wanted us to try to feeding her with a spoon, but mentioned that not all babies can start straight with a spoon and we could resort to a bottle if she did not like the spoon.

Since we started a bit later in the day than usual, she was extra tired and could barely hold her head up to eat in her Bumbo.  Monty suggested that we feed her in her Boppy which is where she normally takes her bottle/nurses.   She caught on immediately and would open her mouth for the next bite of food similar to the way which she will open it in the event that you remove her bottle from her mid-feeding.  We loved sharing her first "food" experience and can't wait to introduce her to even more.  What a precious girl we have!!