Saturday Stumper...

Now where could you find this:

...and get a reaction like this:

...when you see the biggest cat of your life?

More to come soon!

Steppin' Out

The million dollar question that everyone seems to be asking about Addie is: "Is she walking yet?" Being the calm, collected, non- worrying mother that I am, this has certainly not produced any much anxiety and concern regarding my child's development. I am confident fairly sure that my early childhood development and special education classes have adequately somewhat prepared me to recognize any most warning signs of developmental delay. With great confidence trepidation I calmly sweetly reply that we believe she has the ability but will walk when she's ready!

I mean seriously people, why do we let others (many of which are far less educated and knowledgeable, at least regarding our child) place doubt in our minds about our children?

Well, Addie has been cruising around objects for months now.

Couch to chair.

Chair to couch.

Couch to toy.

Toy to climber.

Climber to activity table.

You get my point.

She's gotten increasingly more stable in her independent standing (when she wants to) and can even dance without holding on. She's managed to take a few steps getting from one object to another or towards a mirror...as long as she's headed towards something that will catch her. However, moving from an object into an open area hasn't happened...

...until today!

She let go of the chair.

The arms went out for balance.

She swayed back and forth a little.

Thought about it.

And then it happened...

she picked up tiny her foot and took

one. then two. itty. bitty

STEPs...

right before she took what appeared to be an intentional nose dive towards the floor catching herself with her arms as she scurried away on her hands and knees faster than some old people can walk!

So...is she walking? Not really. Will she be walking soon? Probably. Am I really concerned about her development? Definitely not! It's not like her gross motor skills are lacking when she can roll, toss, and catch a ball. Nah. She may look like a 2 year old, but she's still my baby 1 year old!

Below is a video that we took a few weeks ago. Even though it's old, I figured it was still fun to see!

Go, Baby, Go!

Happy Friday!

Baby Blues vs. the Wamsted World

I haven't much felt like blogging recently. That's ok. I'm actually trying to get Addie's Easter dress smocked by tomorrow night so I can put it together in a class. I started smocking during her afternoon nap yesterday...

While sharing about our crazy absurd week with our Life Group a few weeks back, I had heard the Baby Blues comic strip went right along with our week! Add in our tire and substitute the microwave for our new sink faucet and the dishwasher for our main sewer line...and it fits perfectly!

We are so thankful for our new AC/furnace (that was in December), new refrigerator, new sink faucet, new tire, and new main sewer line; but we do not look forward to paying all of that off! I guess that's life! This too shall pass...

Rear Facing 'til TWO?

I was reading a college friend's blog and she'd posted this...

The American Academy of Pediatrics has put out a new recommendation—that toddlers stay rear facing until age 2. It was previously recommended that babies stay rear facing until age 1, and then I heard as long as possible.

Now the AAP reports:

Recent data shows why toddlers between ages 12 and 23 months who ride rear-facing in a car safety seat are more than five times safer than those riding forward-facing in a seat.

--------------------------------------

We turned Addie's around about 2 weeks before she turned one because the car seat was out, and I couldn't see putting it back in rear facing only to reverse it in 2 weeks! Bottom line, she loves facing forward. But 5 times safer...? That's a lot!

There is a weight maximum (35lbs) on Addie's Britax Marathon but no height maximum for rear facing? She's currently 25lbs (more to come on those stats that I forgot to previously post!) and 31 inches long.

So all you mama's out there...what are/have you done with your little ones?

Birthday Party Pictures

ok...finally some birthday party pictures!

I must admit: I did a terrible job getting pictures of Addie with everyone, especially her grandparents! In fact, I really didn't do a great job getting pictures with anyone! Why it didn't occur to me to look up from taking pictures of her smashing her cake and take a quick snapshot of the people around the table, I'll never know!

So I apologize in advance to the grandparents and our other friends!

But before things got busy, I did manage to get a few of Diane and her kiddos!

I think they loved Addie's toys almost as much as she did! It was fun to watch them get creative with baby toys! Such imagination!

We had a great lunch (which I failed to take any pictures of) with family and close friends. With bad weather and extenuating circumstances, everyone sort of arrived in shifts. So I guess I can use that as my excuse for the lack of pictures!

Addie had a blast opening presents (which someone else took pictures of):

But there's no way she could have done it without Tyler and Ellie's help!

The all-time-favorite present award, if there ever was one, has to go the pink cat, whom Paul has affectionately named Princess Fuzz (you know, after our cat Fuzz!). Check out that face!

And finally it was time to smash eat cake! Want to know how this:

becomes this in less than 5 minutes...?

I dunno...but Addie's certain that she had nothing to do with it!

I mean, look at that innocent face and complete cake!

Well...maybe she helped just a little bit!

Addie totally hammed it up with an audience. It wasn't just the typical "Mmmmm!" She'd stick her hand in her mouth, covered in icing, and pop it out really quickly with a huge grin on her face and a big "Mmmmm!" Unfortunately, I didn't get a great video of that but here are a few from the afternoon.

I totally did this one the wrong direction (so prepare to turn your head or your computer screen), but she basically does a modified version of what I mentioned above!

Video 1

You can hear the grandparents in the backgroud (finger paint, 10 years from now, 1st date:)

"Mmmmmm!"

Video 2

Ewwwww! & "All done!"
Video 3

A Gag & Bye Bye
Video 4

So after she was covered in icing, Rie Rie (my mom) and Diane gave Addie a bath and got her all cleaned up. After a quick wardrobe change, she was ready for more partying! This dress was actually Kat's, our sweet family friend, when she was a little girl (when I used to babysit for her!). We were so glad they were able to make it to Addie's party (even though they had to drive back from Birmingham to get here!)

And finally we made good use of all the butterflies we had around the house. They were all on magnets and everyone got one to put on their frig!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

One Word Wednesday!