Tricks and Treats

It's been a busy week around here! Adele and Cookie have "played" many more football games, and that's just the beginning!
By the way, this outfit is my new favorite! She looks so big in it! I remember when I bought the onesie (at a garage sale...), I couldn't imagine that she'd ever be big enough to wear it! Daddy picked out those overalls all by himself...and they fit!

These two are quite the pair. Cookie is really starting to appreciate Miss Adele. She realizes that thanks to Adele, she is pretty much guranteed two walks per day (sometimes more when Miss Adele is particularly fussy). Also, Miss Adele has started to play "uhoh" with her food at meal times (as in "Uhoh, I threw it on the floor"). Cookie has claimed a permanent spot for herself right underneath Adele's highchair. Unfortunately, sometimes Adele holds food out to "give" to Cookie but then she changes her mind and shoves it back into her own mouth.

It's beautiful outside right now, but earlier this week it was pretty chilly! On Tuesday morning it was 32 degrees outside with a windchill...yes, I said windchill (in October!!!) of 22! Cookie still wanted to go for a walk (of course!) so I bundeled Miss Adele up in the cozy snowsuit from Memaw and we headed out. We actually managed to use the snowsuit three or four times this week. It's easier than wrapping Miss Adele up in blankets, and she doesn't seem to mind it too much. Plus, she looks so stinkin' cute all bundled up!

Yesterday Miss Adele and I had a "playdate" with Angelia and Laureli at Starbucks. Laureli just snuggled with Angelia, but Miss Adele was a busy little bee. Fortunately we got the cozy chairs with the "short" table, so Angelia and I "blocked" Adele in and she cruised around the table like nobody's business. She got lots of attention from everyone, including the workers. Only one person called her a "he", but today I decided she needed to be all pink to avoid any confusion!!! I know she's wearing yellow, but come on, those are FLOWERS on her pants!

Today we got ready for Halloween. Miss Adele has been "practicing" collecting candy. She loves putting her toys into her plastic jack-o-lantern and dumping them out again. She also thinks it's a pretty neat instrument. It took a few days before she could "shake" it herself, but boy was she excited when she figured that out! We're still working on saying "trick or treat" though. Oh well, maybe next year!

Here she is with her jack-o-lanterns. I carved them last weekend, so they're looking a little...wilted...today. Oh well!
Oh, and trick-or-treating was from 5 until 8 in our neighborhood. That first picture was taken around 5:30. Can you imagine trick-or-treating when it's THAT sunny still? We waited a while before heading out!

Here we are with Josh, Laureli and Angelia. Isn't Laureli just the cutest Princess Leah? I'm supposed to be a "mummy" they had mummy shirts at Target for $10, and I figured it would be very fitting to go as Adele's Mummy this year. Daddy thinks I'm crazy, but you'll notice he's not in the picture...that's cuz he didn't have a costume! Pfft!

Attn: Aunt Katie

Got it?

Are You Ready For Some Football?

You may or may not know that I'm a Lions fan (there, I said it...you can ask me why later) and I'm SURE you know that Daddy is a Redskins fan. Well, our "teams" had the good fortune to play each other on Sunday. Let's just say that despite my loyalty to the Lions, I'm VERY pleased with how the game turned out, because I would not want to live in the same STATE, much less house as Daddy had the Lions somehow held onto their lead and won. Thank goodness we don't have cable, so the game wasn't actually on at our house!

We didn't miss out on football completely, Adele and Cookie played a little pigskin right here in our own living room (and then celebrated with a pig ear...)


I'm not quite sure how that last frame got there, but I can't seem to edit it out.

PS I'm REALLY a Colts fan and have been since I moved here. Pay no attention to that random comment from someone named Katie a while back about Adele being a Packer's fan...we know where her loyalties lie!

A View from Sunday

Adele has been facinated with this laundry basket lately, so yesterday I put her into it to see what she would do. Here's what happened:

"What did I do to deserve this?" (Her face clearly shows how she's already planning her revenge, doesn't it?)

"I've had enough of this" She literally just flung herself backwards to tip over

"Alright, now I just gotta get my legs un-stuck"

"Watch out, mom, I'm coming for you next!"

"Gotcha!" (Okay, okay, so I might have helped her get the basket on my head...)

"Aha! Victory is Mine!"

Monday, Snuggle Day

Adele woke up early today, but I didn't mind so much, since I only had to go into her room once last night, at ten, and I just snuggled her and put her back to bed then. (I'm still not quite ready to "admit" on my Blog what it is that she's basically been doing the past 2 nights...)

She woke up in time to say "bye bye" to Daddy. Then she kept on saying "daddy" all day long. Some of it was just babbling, but some of it was DEFINITELY saying "dada" and "daddy". We have a little cube that holds 5 pictures in it. One of the pictures is of Daddy, and she carried it around ALL day saying "dadada". It was pretty much priceless. (Although, it would've been better if she was saying "mamama"...right?). Here she is standing on my leg, leaning on the couch, "talking" to her Daddy Cube. She stood there for quite some time. (I think I pulled something in my back reaching for the camera, but I thought she was just too funny standing there on my knee as if I wasn't even there.)

It was pretty chilly outside today (I think the high was 46) so on our morning walk, I put her in the Maya Wrap and zipped her up into my jacket. I wish I would've taken a picture, we looked pretty toasty! The perfect day for snuggling, which worked out well! She was super snuggly all day long. I think she's not feeling very well. She threw up once yesterday and twice today, not a lot, but it definitely was throw up, not just spit-up. (I'll spare you the details). She also has a rash all over her back, neck and chest, and the rash that's pretty much been permanent in her diaper area looks worse too. (On a good note though, I'm pretty sure that she's NOT allergic to wheat, which is a HUGE relief!!!) And one eye is runny and rashy. Poor girl! Despite being in such rough shape, she napped well today and was clingy but happy. We must have read her books a dozen times each! She just wanted to sit and snuggle. I like days like that! Especially when I see how big she is getting, I know she won't be my little baby forever! (Believe it or not, I've actually MISSED going into her room for those middle of the night feedings the past two nights 'cuz that is one of my favorite times to snuggle her!)

For dinner tonight she ate what we were eating again (although, this time hers was all mashed up) we had cod, broccoli and sweet potato...well, Adele and I did, at least. Daddy's not really a broccoli fan, plus, there was one helping of ribs leftover still. She did have some bites of my fish (not mashed up with broccoli and sweet potato) and LOVED it! She loved her chunks of chicken at lunch today too. She is turning out to be quite the little meat eater!

Tonight she entertained herself for a LONG time (it's hard to say how long, but I'd guess that it was over 10 minutes) playing with one of Daddy's shoes. She bites the shoelace (I know, I know...eew!) and then takes it out of her mouth with a disgusted look on her face. She does that over and over again. It's pretty cute! We should probably tape her doing this at some point!

Speaking of taping her, stay tuned, Daddy is working on a project as I type :)

Pictures and Videos

She definitely doesn't have enough toys:

"Mom, haven't we already done this?"

Playing "tug-of-war" with Cookie's toy:

Sweet and smiley:


And here's a video of Miss Adele chattering away:

Somebody Thinks She's a Big Girl!

Weighing in at 19 lbs, 15 oz with a length of 28 3/4 inches, Miss Adele has decided that she wants to be a big girl! Her dinner last night was exactly the same dinner that Mommy and Daddy were eating: Ribs (hers were minus the barbeque sauce though), sweet potato and corn bread. She also had a nice helping of rice mixed with rice cereal, but that was just in case she didn't like her dinner, which she did!



Then, something else amazing happened, but I can't say what! I will say that it involved 12 full hours of staying in her own room alone. No visitors, no meals, no tears. Yay Adele!

9 Months!!

She's been on the "outside" as long as she was on the "inside"...almost ;)

Let's see, at 9 months, Miss Adele is:

crawling like a pro
crusing around EVERYWHERE! She has gotten pretty bold and will reach from one piece of furniture to another now!
climbing up onto her toys in an attempt to get up onto the furniture
sitting down from standing up (this just happened today!) She is so cute squatting down to sit!
eating everything in sight, including bigger chunks of food
only waking up once (usually) at night
babbling all the time (she's SO close to saying Dada!)
using sign language for: hi/bye, more and milk
just as cute as ever!

Notice I didn't write anything about what a good napper she's been...that's because she hasn't...we haven't had a good nap since September. (Oh wait there was that ONE good nap...I blogged about it...but seriously, that's it since SEPTEMBER!!!) With her, it's either sleep well at night or take good naps, I guess.

We'll see how big she's gotten at her doctor's appointment on Friday :)

Pictures!

Here are a few glimpses of the trouble our little one has gotten into lately:

Does this scream "guilty" or what?

"Mom, you must have the wrong baby, I'm perfect, remember?"

Her latest trick: Climbing on top of her toys!


Flying baby!

"Does this thing have text messaging?"

"Like my new 'do?"

Finally, all 6 teeth in one shot:

Make that two shots! Thank goodness Daddy is so silly!

Aren't Daddies Great?

I guess it helps that he has his Master's Degree in technology...


Did you notice the GREEN pants? They don't look any more comfortable than the ones from the 70's!

Then and Now...again :)

This time, it's a picture of me...and sorry, no green polyester pants :(

So...did you figure out which one is me?

Maybe these shots of Adele will help you...


:)

59 Minutes and Counting!

What's that, you ask? It's how long Miss Adele has been sleeping! YAY! Her nap was much later today, starting at 11, and by the time I finish posting, she'll have been out for an hour! Plus, she only woke up ONCE last night! Woo Hoo!

So, what have I done with all of this Free Time???

Well, I...

Vacuumed
Dusted
Made (and ate) lunch (on the stove!)
Cleaned out my car
Organized the baby food in the cupboard (yes, it needed to be done!)

And now I'm going to go cut up broccoli and cauliflower, I think...

63...64...

So....

Last night wasn't as great as the previous nights, but it was still a great night!

Yes, she was up 3 times before Daddy and I headed off to bed, but she finally went to sleep for good. She woke up one more time around 12, but went back to sleep on her own, and then at 3:30 when she woke up I fed her. She went back to bed until 7. So, yes she was up 5 times in all, but she only ate at one of them.

We had a busy day today. At lunch, Miss Adele started to sign the word "more." She DEFINITELY wanted MORE Goldfish crackers! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure she shouldn't eat them. She's all broken out again, and they're the only new food I've introduced recently. I've been reading up on oat and barley allergies, and it seems they're all in the "Wheat Allergy" family, so I'm going to stop giving her wheat. She hasn't seemed to be too affected by MY eating wheat (thank goodness...), but I'll see what the doctor has to say next week. Now I just have to find some finger foods that she LOVES as much as those yummy Goldfish!

We went to the Y and Adele played while I swam laps, then we did some swimming together. She had a blast! There were several children swimming, and one other baby who was probably just over a year old. All of the children LOVED watching Adele, and the other baby's brother and sister kept telling their mom to have that baby do the things Adele was doing (swim on her back, jump into the water, etc). It was SO cute. I felt very proud of Adele (Especially since the other baby couldn't do those things....) While she and I swim, I often make "comments" for Adele. I'll say, "Adele says, 'Mommy, I don't want to go on my back now'" or, "Adele says, 'I like jumping in!'" One of the little boys who was also swimming heard a few of these comments and asked me, "Is she really telling you all that stuff?" I thought it was TOO cute!

She did get a bit crabby this afternoon, but I definitely blame that on her naps! Since she's been sleeping so well at night, her naps have been...hmm...dwindling? She will still maybe take two naps but they don't last more than 10 or 15 minutes each. After an all too brief afternoonnap (10 minutes, tops), she tuckered out quickly. We went outside and blew bubbles, played "peek-a-boo" with Cookie (yes, Cookie behaved while I covered and uncovered her, while Miss Adele giggled and giggled) but she got VERY fussy VERY fast! I took Miss Fuss for a walk and by the time we got home, Daddy was home too, so she forgot all about being fussy and played nicely with him while I made dinner.

She went to bed easily and hasn't made a peep yet, so I'm hoping for another good night!

I didn't take any pictures today, but here's one from the pumpkin patch at Church yesterday:
"I'm cute, and I know it!"

A New Blog!

Hey! I just found a new blog that I'm going to follow. I've added it to my list on the left. It's called Peanut Free Mama! I'm SO excited! If only I could find a peanut, oats and barley free mama too...yeah right! Anyhow, I'm excited to start following this blog, I think I'll be able to learn a lot from this mama! Her daughter is 4, so she's a bit ahead of Adele and I, but they didn't discover her allergy until she was 18 months old...

Anyhow, just thought I'd share

Oh, by the way, Adele has already been up THREE times tonight, poor little girl has some bad gas!

Another Great Night!

Adele slept 10 straight hours again last night! Plus, she must have known that Daddy got in late last night, because she slept in until almost 8:30. (She has been getting up around 7, but by 7:30 at the latest). I really could get used to this! I think part of the reason she is sleeping so well is because she is eating TONS more during the day.

I have been teaching her sign language for the word "more" ever since she started solid foods. I will ask if she wants more, sign more, and then give her more. Well, she can't quite sign back yet, but she definitely understands my question, and when I ask if she wants more, she opens her mouth (she's been doing that for a while) and waves her hand up and down. She pretty much waves whenever she likes something, I guess, but hey, it's communication! Anyhow, I did have a point...oh yeah, so, when I ask if she wants more, she waves frantically and eats and eats! Tonight for dinner she ate a jar of babyfood (Chicken with veggies and rice, yum!), about a dozen peas, some sliced cooked carrots, a slice of cheese (Have I mentioned that she LOVES Cheese??? She starts shaking when she sees it!), about 1/4 cup of applesauce and some goldfish crackers. HUNGRY BABY! She probably would have eaten more, but I ran out of things to give her! She's been eating like this for the past 3 days, so I'm guessing that the eating and sleeping are related!

Well, she must have "heard" me bragging, because she's crying right now, argh! Hopefully I didn't just ruin her streak!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin!

One of my earliest memories is of a pumpkin. Aunt Katie and I had a pumpkin (just one?) that seemed HUGE! I don't know how old we were, but I'm guessing about 17 months (it probably wasn't at 5 months...hehehe). Anyway, from the pictures I remember seeing, it wasn't that big, but as I said, we were little, so it seemed gigantic. I remember that it was a lot of fun! I am hoping that Adele feels the same way about her pumpkin neven though she probably won't remember this Halloween. So far she gets excited when she sees the pumpkins, and she is obsessed with the stem on the big one. She has literally pulled it apart...little stinker!

"Hey, I like these big orange things! What's that thing on the top?"

"Oh, hi Mom!"

So big!


"There, I almost got it off!"

"All you need is a face"



On another note (I'm writing this way down here so as not to brag...) we had TWO good nights in a row! (A 10-hour stretch Thursday night, and a 9-hour one last night). We've had very little napping over the last 3 days (not even half an hour today...), but VERY GOOD nighttime sleeping! I hope the third time's the charm and that a brand new nighttime sleeping pattern is set. Ah...glad I got that out. I'm sure in a month or two I'll be trying to remember the time when Adele actually slept through a night...twice. (And technically...she didn't sleep through. She nursed at 5:30 on Thursday night and 4:30 last night, then woke up for good around 7, but I'm still counting it!)

A Video from Gramps...

Miss Adele always "dances" when Daddy plays the piano. Here she is dancing to one of her favorite songs last weekend in Wisconsin



Isn't she just too cute???

Ellie's New Ride

Daddy got a GREAT deal on a jogging stroller from someone he works with. He brought it home last night, so we decided to try it out right away. Adele had been VERY fussy all afternoon (hmm...could it be that she didn't nap??) But, as soon as we put her into the stroller, she cheered up! We took a nice, long walk last night, and Adele just zoned out in the stroller. She didn't quite fall asleep, but she sure was relaxed! The fussing continued as soon as we got home. Fortunately, she went to bed easily and slept great last night!

So, this morning, I was excited to try out the stroller again! We started out on a short little walk and about half way through, I noticed that someone had fallen asleep! She was nowhere near being due for a nap, but I wasn't going to wake her up! I decided to take Cookie down to play with her "boyfriend" in order to give Miss Adele a little more time to rest. (Especially since I figured this snooze would cancel out her morning nap...) Adele stayed asleep for the remainder of our walk/romp, and even slept in the stroller for about 15 minutes once we got home!

I think I like this stroller!

Isn't she precious?

On the Road Again...

...and home again safe and sound :)

Adele's great-grandpa passed away on October 2nd, so we made another trip to Wisconsin to attend his funeral. Fortunately, we had Daddy with us this time, so the drive was a breeze! We made great time both ways, and Adele even took a nap that lasted over two hours on one leg of the drive!

Adele practiced her waving, but wasn't thrilled about being passed around among relatives. She DID want to be passed between Mommy and Daddy though. If she could see both of us, then she always wanted whoever WASN'T holding her.

We stayed at Tim and Laura's to break up the trip going both ways, and we stopped to get breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa, so Adele has seen LOTS of family lately!

We had perfect fall weather up in Wisconsin. In the mornings it was so cool that we probably could've worn gloves, but we didn't have any. Fortunately, I did think to bring "hoodies" for Miss Adele. She didn't fight her hoods too much, but she wanted NOTHING to do with the hat that I tried on her.

"Wait a minute, something feels funny here..."

"Gotcha!"

"That's better, now I can look at the camera!"

More Cute Pictures

An old one of us in our Badger Gear:

Reading with Gramps:

Always with one foot up...just like Mommy!

Our weather has finally gotten cool...YAY! I've been waiting to put this outfit on her, and she actually kept the hood on for 3 walks today!

Poor girl has a new allergy (I'm thinking Barley...) Her rash got SO bad tonight :( But she's still cute!