Yes, I am finally posting pictures from Christmas. We had Addison's first Christmas with my family in Memphis. We had a great week. Here are some pictures from Addison's first Christmas and other activities we did that week:
Addison being held by her cousin, Sam.
Ethan, my nephew, cheesing it for the camera as always.
Getting some lovin' from her cousin, Carter.
Playing with her cousins, Presley and Coby.
Matthew, Ethan, and Wes at Carter's basketball game.
At her first basketball game sitting with her Aunt Lesle
"Playing" doll house with Presley.
Uncle Jason and Presley
Papaw and Sam
Getting a bottle from Uncle Wes
Unwrapping some of her gifts on Christmas Eve
Is she going to unwrap this or just put it in her mouth???
Playing with Carter
Playing with the gifts Santa brought her. She got this dog that looks similar to Layla, and she loves this animal!!!
WOW!! Our sweet baby is almost a year old! I'll say it again....this year has flown by! She is such a joy to us, and we feel beyond blessed to be her parents. We can't get enough of her sweet snuggles, her smiles, her laughs.....do we sound in love or what?? As always, I have some things that I want to remember that she's doing right now:(just a warning, this may be long but this is basically her baby book....pictures are below)
Eating a little more table food. Wish this was a faster process with her, but it's not. Progress is being made, so I need to be okay with it.
She has 3 teeth now (one on the bottom, two on the top). I can feel the second bottom one (which will be tooth #4) just under the gums, so I assume it will be poking through anyday now.
She is finally pulling up a lot. Now that's she's pulling up, she has even tried to move to the sides a little bit while she's holding on to things. Still think we aren't too close to walking. I have learned that she does everything in her time. I didn't think she could really pull up without a lot of coersion and assistant until I saw her do it effortlessly one day like she had been doing it for weeks :)
She is jabbering/talking a lot, and it's so funny to listen to! It's like she is having a conversation with us or her toys, but we are just not sure what she's trying to say to us :)
She is still imitating/approximating some words. She can spontaneously say 'mama, dada, do (for dog).' We have frequently heard her imitate us when we say 'bye-bye, ah du (all done), aya (layla), dipu/bipu (diaper).'
She can find some of the toys we ask for, mostly just the ones that are her favorites.
Loves most all her stuffed animals, especially her chihuahau dog that looks like Layla.
She frequently will show us what she's playing with and/or bring it to us.
I think those are the main things I want to remember. Now, here are some pictures of her from the past few weeks :) The first four are of her on her official eleven month birthday.
Addison turned 10 months old on January 2, 2010. It's hard to believe her 1 year birthday is going to be here before we know it. It's been a busy and fun month with holiday travel. I wanted to post some things that we want to remember about Addison at 10 months. She is pulling up to her knees, but hasn't started pulling up to her feet without our assistance. So, I don't think she'll be walking anytime soon. She now has one of her front teeth, which now makes one on the top and one on the bottom. The only down side to these two teeth is that she will grind them together, and it's not a great sound to listen to. She is mimicking us a lot with her voice when we make sounds and say simple words, which warms this speech pathologist's heart :) She is really enjoying her new toys, and doing more with them than just putting them in her mouth. We got her a stuffed animal for Christmas that looks like Layla, and she loves that stuffed animal. We are still trying to introduce some more solid foods, and so far she really loves and goes back for more of the various crackers and breads.....big suprise! She has tried various meats, cheese, yogurt, and vegetables, but doesn't eat a lot of these. All in good time I guess. This past week, she has started taking only formula, which turned out to be a really easy transition. She is crawling everywhere and will find us wherever we are....so long, privacy! I think those are the highlights at 10 months. Stephen and I love this girl more than we ever imagined, and are loving how every month we see more and more of her personality coming through....we're thinking she might be a little firecracker! Thank you God for our sweet baby girl!
Addison turned 9 months old on Wednesday, December 2nd. We are completely in love with this little 'pumpkin'! We recently got a card in the mail from Stephen's oldest sister about 'Things you'll soon discover with your new baby girl,' and we both loved the words because they were so true. Here is what the card said:
"That raising your own princess beats any fairy tale. That a lot of great big people can be wrapped around one tiny finger. That a toothless smile can light up the world like instant sunshine. That watching her sleep is (sometimes) more satisfying than finding sleep yourself. And most of all...that there's no greater joy than having a little girl to love."
We went to the doctor today for her 9 month checkup, and here are her stats: weight- 16 lb. 15oz. (25%), height - 26.8 inches (25-50%), and head - 18.3 inches (>97%). She had not gained much weight in the past 3 months, so I was a little concerned since from birth to 6 months she hasn't had any trouble packing on the pounds. My doctor was not at all concerned. He said that her height and weight were average to above average up until now, but now her genetics have kicked in....meaning that she comes from small parents, so she's not going to be a big girl. He said her weight is just right for her size, so that eased my worries! You just worry so much about them gaining weight in the first 6 months, so now you have to get in the mind set that if they are healthy and developing normal then it's okay that they're not gaining a ton of weight. anyways, here are somethings i want to remember that she's doing at 9 months:
crawling
getting into everything. she loves shoes and will crawl to wherever she can spot a pair!
continues to love books and being read to
waves alot and will sometimes approximate 'bye-bye' when we say it
claps
starting to really mimic mom and dad when we babble with her. the other day at a restaurant, there was a kid throwing a fit across the room. everytime she'd hear him squeal, she'd squeal back...it was cute!
babbling various consonant-vowel combinations
still loves to be sung to
getting feisty when things don't go the way she would like (don't know where she gets this from). this is usually worse when she's tired
just got her first tooth
loves layla! will frequently crawl to wherever she is to get a grab of her tail, ears, foot, and/or fur, and layla let's her do it for a brief time before she scurries off.
we're starting to introduce some more finger foods, so this should be interesting!
Rocking on a little rocking chair outside of Cracker Barrel.
Addison with her cousins Maddie (left) and Karlie (right) on our Thanksgiving trip in Gulf Shores, AL. These girls gave Addison a lot of lovin' during the trip. Maddie had just given Addison her Hannah Montana blanket to 'play with'....so cute!
Here is a video of Addison on her 9 month birthday doing some of her new tricks:
Happy 9 months, Addison! We love you more than words can express!
Well, Miss Addison has been busy this last couple of weeks. She has hit some motor milestones in a matter of weeks. On the 6th of this month, she started being able to go from being on her belly or on all fours and into a sitting position. Then a week later, on the 13th, she started crawling. This week she has become a more efficient crawler. Right now, she's just crawling to get things she wants, but I think it's only a matter of time before she's crawling to explore every inch of the house :) Our little girl is growing up so fast!
Here is a video of her on the day she started sitting herself up:
Here is a video of her crawling to get her book this afternoon. She loves books!
Well, our little Addison is 8 months old today! I can't believe her first birthday is around the corner....it just doesn't seem possible! She is our gift from above, and we feel so blessed to be given her to raise. Her personality is coming through more and more everyday, and it's neat to see it happen :) Some things I want to remember that she's doing right now are:
She will vocally play back and forth with us. If I squeal, she'll squeal back.
I have heard her babble using the consonants /b, m, w/. She says 'mama' quite a bit. Even though I know it's not intentional when she does it, I still love it :) When she says it, I typically will say 'Do you want mama?' I can't help myself :)
She is getting up on all fours, but I don't think crawling is going to happen any day now. She isn't getting up on all fours all the time, but I noticed her doing it more today than I even saw her do it on Sunday.
She loves her dolly, and this has occured just within this past month.
Loves to be read books. When I open the book and start reading, she'll start 'talking' and her little legs go crazy.
Loves to be sung to, especially 'Twinkle, twinkle little star.'
Continues to love mouthing on toys and especially non toy items :)
Will drink a little from a sippy cup, but she really loves to chew on the spout.
These first two pictures were taken today:
Up on all fours and rocking back and forth.
Look at that face! Our sitter put her hair up like this today. I think I like it :)
Playing with her friends Cooper (left) and Ranger (middle).
I loved this picture because it showed just how blue her eyes can be sometimes. This picture is of her giving her daddy love before bed time.
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