10 months old

Adalyn turned 10 months old today. It is quite difficult for me to believe that we'll be celebrating her first birthday so soon. I've started getting a few things ready for her party and now I better work on it some more as the busy holidays are here and then her birthday is just a few weeks after that. Here are some pictures of her this morning:



Sitting in the big chair



Standing in the living room


Doing a backwards wave



At 10 months, Adalyn:

-Has 4 teeth through, the bottom two and the top two eye teeth (little fangs!)

-Can pull up to stand throughout the house (using the couch, chair, kitchen cabinets and chairs, toilet and bathtub, bed, crib, etc. to stand)

-"Cruises" walks around things holding on as she goes (playpen, crib, couch to couch, and using us to hold on to)

-Lets go with one hand and briefly with both hands

-Waves, claps, gives a low "five"

-Babbles a lot, mostly da da sounds and says things that sound like words but not consistently yet

-Has been feeding herself pieces of puffed cereal since just over 8 months, and now loves feeding herself pieces of toast and cooked vegetables too

-Has been drinking out of a cup with help starting at 6 months and has been using the cup with a spout by herself for about the last two months

-Loves eating spaghetti and lasagna jarred meals, all types of fruit, our pasta and rice dinners that I puree for her, baby oatmeal and most vegetables

-Not so fond of eating potatoes, chicken or beef with vegetable jarred meals, and carrots

-Loves her mommy and daddy and sometimes takes a while to get used to anyone else :) (but after she does, she loves playing with everyone!)

-Entertains us every day with her cute smiles and new tricks!!

We sure do love our little girl!

Still loving that jumperoo!

Here is a video of Adalyn clapping a little and doing her jumping thing. This is still one of her favorite toys! She jumps so hard and swings her body forward now and actually moved the whole thing about four feet across the living room just by jumping in it this morning. Warning- this video's movement may make you dizzy! :)

Flu shot at the doc's

We took Adalyn to the doctor to get the second part of her flu shot on Friday. She was very happy riding in the car. She didn't mind the elevator ride up to the office. She was enjoying the waiting room. She even smiled at the nurse when we entered the exam room and when she sat on the exam table. Then we started taking off her clothes and she was NOT happy....she knew what was going to happen next, clothes being removed at the doctor's office usually results in several sticks with a needle! She got her shot and a snoopy band-aid from the doctor and was fine as soon as we left the exam room. She now weighs 18 lbs, which is about the 25th percentile, and she is 29 inches long, which is about the 85th percentile. Her next appointment is for her one-year checkup and immunizations and is scheduled for the day after her birthday.

Baby's Best Friend

Adalyn and Bailey have been interacting a lot since Adalyn has become more mobile. Every morning they "play" together. Usually Adalyn wakes up, then both she and Bailey eat their breakfast, then they get into things and play with toys for a little while before I get Adalyn ready. It has been really fun watching Adalyn and her best dog friend. When we got Bailey, she came from a home with an 18-month-old boy. The day we picked her up to take her home, she was running around and stealing his toys, circling him and hopping all over like the crazy little puppy she was. It was so funny and now it is funny to see Adalyn stealing her toys and playing with her! Lately, the favorite game is tug-of-war with Bailey's toys (of course they can only play when I am present, in case Bailey gets too rough)and Adalyn likes to give Bailey her toys and pat her, too.

Adalyn and Bailey "caged" under the kitchen table


Playing tug-of-war



Sharing toys

Sitting, Standing, Waving, Clapping!

Wow, two posts in the same day! I just wanted to add a little update on all of the new things Adalyn has been doing lately. Yesterday she started clapping her hands together! She has continued her cute waving, crawling and sitting up all over the house as well as attempting to climb up on everything. She keeps me very busy chasing her away from the pet's water dish. Today she was taking a nap in her crib and I heard some noises a short time later. I opened her door to find her standing straight up in her crib and looking around. She also stood up in her pack and play today and then got the biggest smile.

Here is a video of Adalyn waving the other day:

New Car Seat!

Adalyn needed a new car seat as she had reached the length limit on her infant carrier seat. It arrived this week and we love it already and can't wait to install it in the Jeep tomorrow. We decided on the Britax Marathon car seat based on a list of recommendations from the car seat safety technician at our hospital and numerous consumer reviews. It should be a wonderful seat for Adalyn and she will have it for a long time, as the length limit is 49" and the weight is 65 lbs. Most of the baby gear we have for Adalyn is neutral-colored for future use, but we got this seat in a pretty floral print as she'll be using it for quite a while and she is so darn cute in it! She was taking a nap when it was delivered and woke up to find it in the living room and then spent a lot of time exploring and climbing all over it.


Flowers everywhere! Having fun sitting in her new car seat



She even likes it when buckled in!

More Halloween pictures, as promised :)

Here are some more pictures of us in our Halloween costumes. We bought Adalyn's ladybug costume and then decided to dress up too. My bee costume is recycled from a Halloween long ago, when I was in middle school! (Thankfully my mom still had it in her Halloween storage) We made Jamey's pest control costume using a borrowed set of coveralls and accessories from around the house and previous costumes. I made his "logo" using felt and fabric paint. We had fun and here are some silly photos of us to prove it as well as more adorable photos of Adalyn.

Trick or Treat

We had a lot of fun celebrating Adalyn's first Halloween. She was a little ladybug and looked so adorable. Jamey and I dressed up as well and we went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We just visited a few homes of neighbors we knew and showed off our little bug. It was fun to do, and of course Adalyn isn't eating candy yet....so you know who really got the treats! We spent the rest of the night visiting friends and Adalyn nearly fell asleep in the car on the way between houses. She liked looking at everyone in their costumes and really had fun, even though she was getting a little tired by the end of the evening.
Here are a few pictures from Halloween day and one in costume from my camera. Jamey has more on his camera I will post later when they get transferred.

Here is Adalyn in her mummy bib:


Look at those bottom teeth showing!


Having fun on Halloween


My mom Jill "Beach babe", step-dad Russ "Human target", and sister Dana "Gothic fairy" stopped by before attending Halloween parties to pose with the little ladybug:


And for the tricks:
Adalyn has been busy doing a lot of new things lately. She has been waving for about a week and is now waving quite consistently, especially when Jamey goes to work. She even waves to Bailey! I am working on capturing a good video of her waving because it is so cute. She has been saying new sounds, like "at" when she sees either cat. Just today she started with two new things also! This morning she was in her crib and suddenly sat up on her own for the first time and she has been doing it constantly throughout the house all day. Then, she pulled herself up to stand at the couch in the living room while I was sitting on the floor against it. We certainly have a busy little girl on our hands!

Here is a video of her "kicking" her alphabet ball back to me on Halloween day: