"Please" Sign Success

We recently started working on manners with Addison's sign language and I am pleased to report within less than 2 weeks she got "please". She has always had trouble being consistent with the "more" sign; sometimes she does it and sometimes she claps to indicate it. When we were teaching her please we started with "more please". Instead of her putting them both together now she just says "please" when she wants "more please", however she understand that this sign indicates she wants something and that she must do it to get what she wants....and thats all that matters.

I think we are in what most refer to as the "sign explosion" stage. She seems to study your signs so meticulously right now and repeats them fairly quickly. In the past two weeks she has learned please, potty and milk. We are still working on her getting them consistently though.

Another interesting observation, she understands the signs when she sees them and hears your words along with it. When I sign "drink your milk", she looks are her cup, picks it up and takes a drink. FUN!

I have had a few people ask me about our baby sign language experience and I am going to write a thorough review of our journey soon. So stay tuned...

PLEASE

Vegetable Lasagna

Many of you have asked for the recipe for the Vegetable lasagna I was facebooking about the other day. Since Little Joy LOVED it, I blogged about it on the Little Tummy Yummy blog: Vegetable Lasagna. Check it out and enjoy!

One taste bud warning, this is a southwestern take on lasagna so if you are expecting an Italian taste, you will be disappointed. Go in with an open mind and you will love it as much as we did!

11 Months, Can it be??

Happy 11 Months Addison Joy!!

I cannot believe in less than a month Addison will be a year old, where has time gone?? This month was full of ups and downs but its easy to forget the downs. Some of the downs: double ear infection and a not so pleasent flight from MS to DC. Some of the ups: she is saying more and more words, learning more sign language, understanding more of what you say and getting so mobile.

The Stats

• Weight: Hovering around 21 pounds; she lost quite a bit of weight when she got sick
• Height: 30 inches I would guess
• Clothes: 12 months and some 18 months. Depends on the brand
• Diaper Size: 4

Milestones

• Talking: She can "say" so many words now and can look at pictures of a couple of things and identify them. For example, she can see a picture of a baby, daddy, duck and Addison and say each of those words. Now let me tell you her words on not pronounced perfectly but she sure says those words and many more. It is so exciting to see her learn words!
• Mobility: I believe she is still very far from walking, which is fine with us! She has a lot of baby and height to drag around. Plus, she is an observer so she is happy watching rather than getting up and joining in. She pulls up on EVERYTHING and cruises around on everything as well. She sometimes does a regular crawl now too versus her usual army crawl. She is much faster army crawling though.
• Breastfeeding: Oh man....we are quitting in a matter of days. As soon as she's finished with her antibiotics---straight to the cup with cow's milk we go! She was doing great with milk in her cup until she got sick then she would drink from a cup OR bottle---ONLY ME!!!! This is the first time EVER she has ONLY wanted to nurse. We are thinking we will continue a bedtime bottle with expressed milk until 13-14 months or until she wont take it which ever comes first. So technically she will be breastfed the whole first year. I feel blessed we made it this long!!!! Thank you to all my friends and family who encouraged me every step of the way--I could not do it without you. A special thank you to my most precious husband who not only encouraged me but also helped me eat right and stay focused on the commitment. I don't see how people do it for a year on their second, third and subsequent children--wow!
• Eating: We are pretty much off all purees with the exception of a few here and there (especially fruits to ensure she is hydrated). It is so fun giving her some table food and some super yummy "toddler" foods such as turkey loaf, sweet potato fries, Chicken and Rice Peach Stew, toast with homemade fruit paste, pancakes, etc. I still do not LOVE mealtimes, but it is beginning to grow on me.
• Personality: Not much to report here that is any different than previous posts. Addison is still quite an observer; the church nursery all love Addison because she is so well behaved but they joke because she usually finds one spot with one toy and stays there watching everyone. She does not like diaper/clothing changes and has started a bit of separation anxiety again. Addison is truly a JOY and lights up a room with her goof ball faces.
• Routine: I AM LOVING THIS ROUTINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! She only takes two naps but they are LONG!! She naps from 10am-12:00 or 12:30pm and then again from 2:30pm-4:30 or 5:00pm; not to mention she sleeps from 7:45 or 8:00pm to 8:00 am. I am not convinced she is actually asleep that entire time, but she sure doesn't make a peep.
• Teeth: Oh man do I hate hate teething! She is about to get her pre-molars in. Poor thing gets her teeth so early, I think she doesnt know how to handle it. I am so over it, but she really is a trooper.
• Independent Play: After vacation for 2 weeks followed by a week of sickness, this has been a challenge. She is back to 15 minutes of independent play once a day. Our goal is 20-25 minutes in the morning and then 15 minutes in the evening. We will get back though!

Coming Up

• The Spring Consignment Sale is coming up at my church and I cannot wait---WE NEED CLOTHES!!!! AND Addison will be in the nursery all day for 2.5 days so it will be great for her!!!
• We are turning her car set forward facing on April 1...YAY!! I am so ready for this, then she and I can chat in the car better!
• Her first birthday party, not sure what I am doing yet....but my old high school friend made these cupcake pops and I may have to try it out too!!! Tonya---Any words of wisdom??? Either way, I will throw something together the week before I am sure!

Pictures & Videos

Bloopers from the 11 month photo shoot, she loves sticking her tongue out. Good thing we are ending the monthly pictures at 12 months cause she wont sit still anymore!

Monkey face; she loves to do this at people because she always gets a laugh.

How about I hold the sign mommy??? Much more exciting!

She is ready to be done with independent play, ha! The timer went off and she is reaching for it!

Loves helping Daddy on the computer.

Cooking pizza with mommy; I cannot wait until she can stand on a step stool and really help. One of my fondest memories growing up is helping my mom cook; she was/is such a great teacher. If only I could cook like my mom!!!

Daddy's light saber!

This is how she waits for Matthew to come home sometimes.

Spaghetti is messy!

Mommy with her girls.

I really just wanted a picture of her outfit. I HAD to get the shift because she got so excited when she saw the frogs.

hehehe, I love the frogs and I dont know why!

Clean Up Sign

Jump, Jump, Jumping....but not getting much air. If any of you have seen ME try to jump, you might know where she gets this from :)

Happy Valentines Day

This was our valentine this year :)

All wrapped up!

Our valentines was pretty low key and that is how we like it! I made a special dinner complete with Texas Sheet cake for dinner than night and also gave Matthew a couple magazines he has been wanting (not a subscription, just a couple issues). Grandma Grant bought Addison a sweet little valentine outfit as well...and yes...she will wear this even when its NOT valentines day. I loved the shirt (pictures below) because it almost looks retro.

And last but not least, Matthew and I went out for a rare evening alone while Addison played with all her friends. She is the youngest of most of our friends kids here in DC, but not for long----two of them have one on the way!!!! Matthew and I went to Old Towne for dinner and then tried to hit up Starbucks but....we forgot they close so early on Sundays. We went to Target instead and raided the dollar bin!!! Addison was still up playing with all her friends (there were 6 other kids playing with her ages 9, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2) and she was having so much fun she was grinning ear to ear when we arrived to pick her up! Matthew wrote me the sweetest letter as my valentine gift and I loved it!!!!

Our valentine cheeseball smiler

Matthew's prize. Those are the flowers he got for me a few days before.

In Old Towne Alexandria

A Trip Grandma Grant's Daycare

I am behind in my blogging, yet again!

While Addison and I visited Gambrell Manor a few weeks ago, we decided to spend a couple of days at Grandma's daycare to see the Grant side of the family. Originally we were supposed to be there for two nights and three days, but Addison's cousin Lyla (the one and only pupil at Grandma's daycare) got sick with a stomach bug. Knowing that we would be on a plane for 6-8 hours on Friday, we decided not to risk giving anything to Addison, so we delayed our trip by a day.

Addison enjoyed her time with Lyla. It took Addison a while to warm up to Lyla, since she is a bit shy and passive. She always needs a while to sit back, observe and assess the new people and environment. At first Addison whimpered any time L.C. came up to her but after an hour or so they started to play. Bath time together however did not go as well; I think Addison was tired from all the traveling and a little overwhelmed by all the toys, audience and bathing partner who could stand!! HAHA! After recovering from bath time...they were so cute having a little PJ party!

Personally, I enjoyed interacting with Lyla and Addison together. It was neat to see how they are only 10 months apart but yet still SO different developmentally. I am looking forward to the next few years when the 10 month age gap is nothing and they can really have a blast together! I bet in about 1-2 years they will get into all kinds of mischief together. It will be so fun!!!!