Mealtime

Addison is almost over the spoon feeding. She LOVES to feed herself and it has become a struggle to feed her at meals. The trick now is to give her table food and sneak in the spoon between bites. This week has gone a lot smoother than past weeks. Here she is eating chicken from Chick-fil-a. She can't get enough of the chicken. And cheese. Those seem to be her favorites.

And this is what she looks like after a bad night. Swatting at the spoon, pulling the food off the spoon, rubbing it in her hair. What is not shown here is the food that makes it on the floor and the lovely design on my clothes. She usually goes from here straight to the tub.

The next Rachael Ray

Addison may not like getting shots at the doctor, but she does like practicing her cooking skills in her diaper while waiting.

Here's the skinny

Addison weighed in yesterday at 17 lbs, 12 oz (25th percentile) and was 29 inches long (90th percentile). The doc was a tad bit concerned because she hasn't gained much weight, but attributed some of that to her length. As long as she's eating good and seems to be gaining weight then she doesn't have to go back until she's a year old. They say that's when the pickiness in eating begins so they'll watch her a little closer if she still isn't gaining weight. She had two shots and a toe prick which she took like a trooper. And she got the okay to start eating most big people food in small portions.

On another note, I'm finally feeling better. This morning was the first time I actually had an appetite for food. I'm so lucky that my 24 hour bug lasted 3 days. So glad it's gone now.

Bugs, Mites & Cockroaches

The stomach bug has hit our house. Michael had it this weekend, I got it yesterday and still don't feel great, and I'm praying that Addison doesn't get it. It has been no fun. I couldn't imagine a person of her size having to go through this. Fingers crossed.

Still trying to get to the bottom of her constant congestion and coughing, we took Addison to an allergist on Monday. They tested her to see if she was allergic to mites, cockroaches, dog, cat, milk and assortment of other things. Good thing is - they all came back negative. So the yogurt reaction may have been a fluke thing. She was such a trooper. The scratch test done on her back doesn't hurt, but the nurse said that most kids just don't like it. Addison didn't even flinch. All the girls in the office were in love with her. The doc prescribed us a nebulizer to use as needed when the congestion and cough get really bad. He also put her on Singulair for 60 days as a preventive treatment for the colds. It will be a good trial run during the cold/flu season to see if it works. We go back in two months for a followup.

Addison's 9 month well visit is tomorrow. I'll post her stats after the appointment.

Milestones and such

Thought I would jot these down for the 9 month mark.

*Addison is crawling all over the place. The first time she did it was December 16th, the night we got back from New York. It took her another two weeks to realize that it was a better mode of transportation than the army crawl, but now she is an old pro. She's all over the place, especially when playing 'follow the leader' with Michael and I.

*She's in to everything. It took me awhile to get all of the Christmas stuff unpacked and put away. Addison had a great time with all of the clutter. This is what I found her doing while I was getting ready for work. (It's not the best lighting, but I didn't want to distract her.)

*Finger foods are her favorite. She loves to feed herself. She's now eating three meals a day and loves to snack in between. So far she's had some puffs, bitter biscuits, cheese, banana, pasta, veggies, bread and some small pieces of french fries from Chick-fil-a. I know. Not the healthiest, but I could tell she really wanted a taste.

*I think she's allergic to yogurt. I gave her some a week or two ago and she had a rash for 4 days. She hasn't had it since and the rash hasn't come back. I don't think it's the dairy since she has no reaction to the cheese or formula, but rather the cultures. We'll try again in a few months and see what happens.

*She has this new move which I like to call the alligator death roll. She displays this mostly during diaper changes and getting dressed. The back is arched and she refuses to hold still. Sometimes she likes to use this move when getting into the car seat. I'm hoping it's just a phase.

*She can say "uh, oh"...And understand it. Michael dropped something tonight and she was the first one to say it.

*She holds her own bottle. This started Christmas vacation. Sure did make me happy.

*She drinks water from her sippy cup with snacks and meals. Sometimes you have to tip it for her a little, but she has it down for the most part.

*She would rather stand than sit. Mostly to bang on things. She's always curious to see what is sturdy enough to pull up on. That lack of fear has led to a few falls.

*She loves to snuggle when she's tired. She'll crawl over to me and lay against me just to let me know it's time for a nap or bed.

I'm sure there are many more, but those are the highlights. She's such a joy to have in our lives and so much fun to be around. I love watching her grow and learn about the world around her. I feel so lucky to have such a sweet baby girl. We love you Addison!

9 months old

Some quick pics taken this morning. I was doing some organizing this past weekend and took Addison for a ride around the house in one of the big storage containers. She loves it and it's a good workout for me. So this morning we went for a ride in the laundry basket.

This must be her new face. I only really notice it in pictures. And of course - the maraca. Thanks for a fun morning Addison!

Dance, Dance

Addison is really getting into music lately. Let's define music to a 9 month old - Anything that rattles or makes noise. Anything that she can use to bang with or bang on. Anything that she can shake. I found this maraca the other day from our honeymoon cruise. It's hard to pry it from her hands. Even when sleeping.

And since she's been giving me a fit lately when getting her into the car seat (more on that), it also works as a bribe or distraction. I have some cute video I'm working on putting together. I hope to have it up for her 9 month mark tomorrow.

What's that you say?

This toy is in my way!
Where is my dinner?!
Go Jaguars!
Get this poo out of my diaper!
I need more sugar!
Quit tickling my feet!
Which way to the opera tryouts?!

Picture update

I finally added pictures of Addison to Shutterfly (month 9 album). There's some new ones in month 8 also. I just have so many - which is a good thing. And, just for kicks, here is a link to the photo book I created. We received a free one from Shutterfly, which expired Saturday, so I was up until 1:30 in the morning putting it together. The perfectionist in me sees some things now that I could have done better, but since it was free and I was in a hurry I won't worry about it too much. Enjoy the new pics!

Click HERE or see the link on the right to view photo book.

Got teeth?

Here's the pictures I've been trying to get. I love when she does her open mouth, smile, laugh thing. Makes for a good tooth shot.

New tricks

Addison has learned to do so many new things in the past couple of weeks. As I mentioned before, she now has her two bottom front teeth (which I still do not have a picture of) and I'm pretty sure more are coming. She is chewing on everything. Water bottles...

And her feet, especially when we try to change her diaper.

You put her in the middle of a room and she looks for the closest thing to pull herself up and stand. Nothing is off limits. Again,diaper changing is becoming more of a challenge.

Happy 2008

Here's a couple from the past week of holiday festivities. I have a TON of pictures to post to shutterfly over the next couple of days. Will do as soon as I can.