The Easter Bunny

I hate when you are so excited about something and it goes totally wrong.

I was really excited to bring Addison to see the Easter Bunny. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that she would hate it. I guess I just thought this was her first "real" Easter, and I wanted it to be perfect. She had a new dress, new shoes and a cute bow in her hair. But I knew it was taking a turn for the worse as soon as the Easter Bunny came out to take a seat in his big chair. That is when she started shaking her head no and clawing to go into her Grandma Kim's arms. Yep...this wasn't going to go as planned. I should have known. I guess I should have prepared myself...not Addison, for the worst. Then the picture lady kept asking if I wanted to buy the pictures saying, "Some parents like the upset ones." Well, not me lady. Good thing my mom brought her camera. I really didn't want to pay $30 for this...

Well...there is always next year. We are supposed to go to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Hopefully it goes better than this.

My Little Talker

Talking is getting better. However, I still feel like she should be farther along. I'm sure all parents feel this way. Addison's list of words include:

Hi

Dada

Mama (only heard it once or twice)

Dog

Socks

Good Girl

Thank You (she knows it but rarely says it)

Baby

Baba

I really should Google her progress to see if she is on target. I also never talk to her in baby talk. I never have. I try to repeat everything I am doing when I am doing it. She understands so much and is really adaptable to her surroundings.

Just the other night she picked up one of her socks and tried to put it on Donnie's foot. Some might think, "So what?" but to me I think it is so cool to see her notice that what she picked up was a sock and the fact that she knew exactly where it went! Yes, that is the thoughts of a mom.

Anyways, we are making progress on the talking. Now if only we could work on the teeth situation. We still only have one!

Gymboree

I know I have posted about Gymboree before. We are still going every week and she continues to love it each time. It has actually gotten easier since she has started walking. She loves to explore all by herself. It is difficult to keep her attention to what the class is doing. She is a very independent little girl. We just try and steer her back to the group and what everyone else is doing. I'm not a spokesperson for Gymboree but I always try and spread the word. Many other Moms don't know about it and I wish I knew about it sooner. The only reason I found it was because I was looking for a playgroup for Addison. It is so hard being a working mom. Most playgroups do not meet at night or during the weekend. They usually meet during work hour times when I can't bring her. I was looking for another outlet even if I had to pay for it. I want Addison to be socialized with others her age. Unfortunately, we really don't know anyone with kids where we could get them together on weekends.

Anyways, Gymboree gives us this outlet and I am so grateful for it. I love bringing her every week. It is hysterical how the children interact with her and with each other. Right now, they don't care if toys are taken out of their hands...they just pick up a new one. It will be interesting to see when they make this distinction and start to realize, "Hey, you took my toy." Now, Addison could care less.

During the Gymboree session, they do this part called "Busy Box" where they pull out four small totes filled with little toys geared towards hand and eye coordination. The bins are separated by colors and each box of colors has similar toys. With no fail, every week, Addison goes for the same toy. No matter the color, she has to have the same spiky, plastic ball. Last week, she scanned the toys looking for this specific ball. After finally spotting one, she went for it. It is so amazing to see how she processes her thoughts and acts on them.

I know we will continue to go until she is too old. After the play and learn classes (which I think goes to 16 months), we can switch to the music classes. Next kid...I'm starting earlier.

The First Year

I started reminiscing through pictures today. I guess I am just missing my baby right now (especially since we usually spend Saturday's together). I, unfortunately, had to work today. Bummer. Good news though...blogging time during some spare time. Here are some pictures of my baby girl for her first year. Please note...this is only a snid bit of pictures we have taken. We would need pages and pages to show them all.

I can't believe it's been a year. Feels like yesterday.... It is all worth it...every bit of it.

I love you Addison, more than you will ever know. You have completed my life, and I do not know what I would do without you in my life. You have made me a better person.

It's been awhile...

Yes it has. I'm still here just not blogging much. I have been sooooo busy with work, and when I get home, blogging just isn't making the list. Tons of stuff has happened since the last update. Addison turned one. As soon as I have the time, pics will come up. She is also walking now. Running and walking! Boy does walking open your eyes to tons of stuff. It is amazing how much stuff she can get in to in a short (very short) amount of time. We have child proofed the house but there are some things I want to teach her not to touch or get in to without child proofing...for example, DVDs or our TV (and equipment). She knows she isn't supposed to touch the DVDs. Trust me...she knows. Especially, when she looks over her shoulder to see where you are before she pulls off another DVD. Then, when she sees that you noticed, she goes running with the DVD in her hand. The kid is crazy :) Child locks...she doesn't care. She will still try to open up the cabinet or stick her hand through the small opening to grab whatever she can get her hands on.

Talking? Not as much as I would like her to be. I think every Mom worries about this thinking, "is my child at the same level as everyone else?" She says Dada very clearly. I know she can say Mama, but everytime I ask her, she just repeats with Dada. We have witnessed her saying Dog, Hi, Mama, Good Girl, Socks repeatedly but it just seems like she forgot or refuses to say it.

Teeth...or lack of? Yes, we have a problem in this area. She has one...actually half of one. She got this speck of a tooth almost two months ago and nothing since. The doc said not to worry but it is hard not to especially when I see other kids her age with 6-8 teeth already. The doc said we should only be really concerned if she didn't have any hair. And obviously she has tons of hair (don't want to have to remind you of this). I think by 15 months the worrying will begin to escalate (if it hasn't already). I do not see another tooth in sight so I will just have to wait and see what happens. Fingers are crossed.