Happy 15 month birthday to me!

Today I turn the big 1-5. Months, that is. Mommy and I paid a little visit to my pediatrician this afternoon for my 15 month well visit. All was fine and dandy while in the waiting room. I said hi to everyone as if I knew them all so well and laughed back at the young girl who was giggling at me, which caused even more giggles and eventually became a laughing contest. I smiled as the two little boys across the way were flirting with me and read one of my favorite books to Mommy - my ABC book. I can sing "ABC" and pretend to say "HIJ" and when it comes to "LMNOP", I sure can carry a tune but the letters don't quite come out how I intend.

Anyway, I was just being my pleasant self and when the nurse called my name, I happily followed her down the hallway, holding Mommy's hand. I even walked into the exam room as if it were Disneyworld. Mommy undressed me and walked me over to the exam table. It was at this point that things made a turn for the worse. I knew exactly where I was and what they were going to do to me!

I was measured and weighed...red faced and crying the entire time. 22lb. 8 oz (55th %) and 30 1/4" long (45th %) were the results. A whole half pound weight gain in 3 months - about a pound in 6 months. No wonder my nicknames have gone from Chunky Monkey and 'Lil Chunk to Munchkin, Munchie, and Peanut. Mommy guessed my weight right on the nose, and was actually happy I had a gain to show for myself at all! The doctor said that my weight was bound to level off one of these days and based on how active I am plus my Mommy and Daddy's physical stature, he's not surprised.

Dr. B examined me and said I look wonderful. He was floored by my vocabulary (both verbal and signing) and said I have perfect form to my walking. Then he and Mommy tried to have a conversation, but couldn't hear much over my 95 decibel wailing. I just kept crying and saying/waving "bye bye". I just wanted to get out of there! But first Mommy needed to address her one concern (vaccinations). I sort of settled down during that discussion because I had a feeling I might like the end result. And I did. I only had to get one shot...all others were delayed for personal reasons! YAY for me. The DTaP wasn't so bad and we were immediately out the door. Mommy made me a paper boat while we were in the exam room and I spent the car ride home decorating it with stickers the nurse gave me. The horror is now a distant memory, though Dr. B says to expect much of the same at my 18 month appointment. I guess 15 and 18 month appointments often go like this. OY!

Well, I have some visitors coming this weekend so it's going to be another busy one. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

"Kate Day"

Today was a good day. It was "Kate Day". Well, at least that's how Mommy labeled it in her calendar. Our wonderful friend, Kate, came over to spend the day with me and "learn" my routine because she will be one of my sitters while Mommy and Daddy are on vacation. I've seen Kate 3 times in 6 days (thanks, Kate, for all the quality face-time!), which has really helped me get to know her better. As a matter of fact, 99% of the time I reached out to be picked up today, it was for Kate! Poor Mommy. Just kidding. Mommy is happy that I did that because it validated that I will be just fine. And not even miss her. Poor Mommy!

Now, Mommy, you can relax and have fun with Daddy in Hawaii. Bring me back a dolphin, please!

Good Luck, Aunt Beth!

Good luck on your very last med school exam, Aunt Beth! We know you will do great and will be the best doctor, ever. We can't think of a single reason why anyone would not want you as their doctor!

Spring in February

Spring has arrived in Ohio a bit early this year. We know it won't last long, but we are enjoying it while we can. We've had quite a number of days this month in the 50's, which is fabulous! Today was in the mid 50's and tomorrow will be the same. This means lots of walks and time on the swing.

Fortunately our next door neighbors put a baby swing up for me last year, so we don't have to go far!

One unfortunate thing is that I do not like to be put down on the ground outside - no matter if it's concrete, stone, grass, mulch, dirt, snow, or sand beneath me. This is going to be a huge problem if I don't outgrow the phobia. Please, someone, tell Mommy that I will outgrow it!

What a fun weekend I had - Part II

On Saturday, Daddy and I spent the day together while Mommy and Emily went...yup, you guessed it...shopping. :) I am SUCH a Daddy's girl and love it when I have time all to myself with him. We play and dance and he tickles me and reads to me and feeds me really messy meals!!

Daddy and I also went to the club together. He worked out and I played with my friends in the Kids Club. Then, our friends, Kate and Anthony, came to visit me in the afternoon. That evening, Mommy and Emily came home and I couldn't wait to see all their purchases. Mommy got a couple things for me but they're for Easter so I wasn't allowed to see them. Instead, I played dress up with one of Mommy's new scarves.

The next day, Kate and Anthony decided they just didn't get enough of me the previous day and came to visit, again! They wanted to bring me something that I could use next time I go to workout with Mommy or Daddy.

Opening my present.

A box, I love it!!!

You guys shouldn't have!

Oh, it's not just a box?

There is more inside?

Oh, this will be perfect for the gym!


Thanks guys, I'm going to be the cutest kid at the club!

I'm off to workout now!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Beth!

I love you, I love you, I love you! Hope you have a wonderful day!

What a fun weekend I had - Part 1

This past weekend was another busy one! Mommy says we don't have a weekend "off" until May, so to expect this to continue. We love staying busy/having visitors/etc. so we actually don't mind at all! Mommy's best friend, Emily (otherwise known as my "Aunt" Emily), came in from Chicago Thursday night for a weekend visit. Unfortunately, I was already asleep by the time she got to our house, but was excited to see her and rearing to go bright and early Friday morn!

In my short 15 months of life, I've learned that when Emily comes into town that I better be well rested because we do lots of shopping! So after waking from my morning nap, we headed out for some lunch and a little bit of shopping. Emily let me borrow her scarf and off we went.

A couple hours passed and as is usually the case, I was a gem. I love riding in my stroller just people watching. I rarely make a sound, which is very odd for me. Mommy and Emily thought that I was doing just that and when they saw that it was 2:00, decided it was time to head home for my afternoon nap. Just as we were leaving an indoor part of the mall to get to an outdoor part, Mommy lifted my stroller canopy to pull the blanket over me (since it was a scorching 25 degrees and we were at an OUTDOOR mall) and saw this sweet sight.

This was definitely picture worthy simply because I do not fall asleep on the go. Not on occasion. Not ever. And because I was a young preemie during last year's cold/flu/RSV season, Mommy and Daddy missed the opportunity to take me out during that time of my life when I could just sleep anywhere. So, this was a really big deal! Mommy and Emily decided to keep shopping while I took a little cat nap. Mommy said to Emily, "I give her 20-30 minutes, max." After an hour and a half, many checks under the canopy, and several attempts at picking Mommy's jaw up off the ground , I still hadn't moved an inch.

Finally, almost 2 hours and some successful shopping later, I awoke.

And I stayed like this during the last bit of shopping, a stop for smoothies, and the long, frigid walk back to the car...without making a single peep. I must have been really comfy!

And I am now Mommy's new 2nd favorite shopping buddy (I'm not sure I'll ever beat out Emily on this one)!

Cleaning

Remember reason number 10,000,000,0001 why Mommy loves me? Well she's come up with 198,764,355 more reasons since then, so below are numbers 10,198,764,357, 10,198,764,358, and 10,198,764,359.

Bubba went up my slide!

Bubba would do anything to get ahold of my socks...even climb up my slide!

Climbing on my table/having a tea party

Disclaimer: We do not encourage this type of behavior in our house. But this morning (after turning her back for 3.2 seconds), Mommy found me on top of my table. Because she wanted to see just how I got there and get it on video she pulled out the video camera and watched me do it again.

And that was the end of that. Mommy showed me how the table was supposed to be used. Like tea parties, for example.

Saying "fish"

Here we go again...another "sh" ending word! I say it right at the beginning (so pay attention!) and then the rest of the video, Mommy tortures me by trying to get me to say it again when all I really wanted was those darn goldfish!

Saying "brush"

You'll have to excuse the 3 (short) videos of me saying "brush". Mommy thinks it is one of the cutest words I say.

Signing and saying "bath"

Signing "bath"

Saying "bath"

Signing "hat"

Walking in my shoes

This is from a week ago. I am getting so fast!

Playing with Christmas cards

Mommy is going through some older video and finding all kinds of fun stuff. Here I am playing with my Christmas cards. I play with them every day...it's one of my favorite things to do! I think Mommy is going to keep them in my toy cabinet until this Christmas because it keeps me busy for so long!

Noah holding onto Addison

Word and Signs

A few people have suggested to Mommy lately that she write down all the words and signs currently in my vocabulary. So, here's our best shot of my vocabulary at 14 1/2 months. The ones with an * are words I can also sign. Of course I don't say all of these words perfectly, but I do say a lot of them pretty darn well!

Mama
Dada
Yum
Hi *
Bye *
Fish
Brush
Baby
Bath *
Hat *
Bow
Book *
Pretty
Cheese
More *
Milk *
Water *
Bubba * (signs dog)
Sock
Butterfly
Eat *
Eye
Open
Ball *
Down *
Up *
Bottle *
Banana *
Play*

Other words that I can sign but not quite say:

All done
Night night
Help

I almost forgot to tell you...my favorite phrase is "who's that?" Every picture I see, I point to and ask "who's that?" It's hilarious!

Addie and Gammy

Here are some pictures of me and Gammy while she was visiting last weekend. We were on our way out the door for some shopping!

My Valentine's Weekend

I had a very fun Valentine's weekend with some special visitors. My Aunt Julie, Uncle Josh, and cousin Noah (and Bubba's cousin, Bailey) and my Gammy all came to spend the weekend with us!

I bet you can't guess what the theme of the weekend was. I'll give you a hint....

It involved some of this cuteness....


...and this sweet thing.
Good guess, but it had nothing to do with our Mommy's posing us in front of the big teddy bear...

...or me refusing to take off the hat that just a month ago I refused to wear!

And although it was fun, the weekend did not completely revolve around me sitting on and trying to smoosh my little cousin.

I promise only a small portion of the weekend was spent with me and Noah opening the gigantic Valentine's Day card from Gammy and Poppy....

...and playing a game of twister with it.
I bet you thought we spent all weekend putting my bows on Bailey, didn't you? Nope, sorry...wrong guess again!

Okay, I'll make it easier on you. Maybe these pictures will help you figure out the theme from our Valentine's weekend.

I bet you all will get a point this time! Any of the following answers will be considered correct:

1) Noah tugging at Addison

2) Noah pulling off Addison's clothes

3) Noah biting Addison (nice bites, of course)

4) Noah wrestling Addison to the ground

5) Noah pulling Addison's hair

6) Noah pinching Addison

7) Noah loving on Addison

8) Noah's fingers are like a crab's claws :)

Yup, that's pretty much what my weekend consisted of. It was exhausting...but so much fun! And I can't lie....flattering, too. :)

Bye-bye, cousin Noah. I love you and will see you again in less than 2 weeks! Smooooooch!