23 Months.

Dear Addison,

In one month you will be 2 years old!! I can't believe it!

Time flies by in the blink of an eye around here. I feel like we just brought you home from the hospital yesterday. You are growing up to be such a big girl.

You imitate your sister at every turn and it's quite possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

You're learning new things every single day. It's just so much fun to watch you figure something out and literally see the light bulb turn on in that pretty little head of yours.

You are an amazing sleeper...like a mini teenager. ;) You go right to bed at 7:30 pm and don't make a peep for the whole night. And I usually have to wake you around 9 am or else you would sleep all day long, I think! Just like your mama. :)

You are literally like the most fun little girl to be around. It is amazing for me to watch you learn or do something new every single day. I LOVE IT.

You are our little diva girl. You LOVE yourself some bling. You rock bracelets, rings and necklaces almost daily and it's way cute. You are also falling in love with bags and love to carry them around with all of your rad toys stuffed in there.

 You're the best, baby girl. I love you so much that sometimes my heart can't even stand it.

Love always and forever,
Mommy

22 Months.

Addi,

You're 22 months old today! I know I say this every month, but I really can't believe that you're going to be two in just two short months! I feel like I just got done writing your 21 month post yesterday.

Getting off the couch like a champ these days. :)

LOVE this face.

You are growing up so fast and you are so much fun. You and your big sister still fight and yell at each other a lot, but I guess it's just giving me a glimpse into the teenage years with two girls. ;)

You have started talking more this month, which has been AWESOME! Your words are:

Mama
Daddy
Nana
Sissy
Breakfast
Please
Thank you
Bye bye

I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but it is for you!

I know it's blurry, but HOW CUTE!!

You are also so animated. You make the funniest faces and we are constantly cracking up at your awesome dance moves.

Just a few days ago we were outside playing and you saw a little white doggie a few houses down and you growled. So now I always say, 'Can you bark like a doggie?' and you do this little growl. Love it!

Probably my favorite face that you make. I'm so glad I captured it.

So sweet and innocent. 

I know this is a short letter, but I've just been soaking you in this month. You are one amazing little girl and I know God has great things planned for your precious life. I love you with everything I have, little one.

Love,
Mama

Dancing to the music from your book.

And again. :)

21 Months.

Dear Addi,

Today you are 21 months old! I'm seriously blown away by how quickly these 21 months have gone. We've been through a lot in these almost two years. You've have a tumor scare, you didn't walk until the day after we took you to an orthopedic doctor, we moved you across the country at 3 months old. Oh and we're adopting your little brother or sister from Ethiopia!! You have had a lot to get used to in these 21 months, but you take it all in stride, baby girl.

You are so easy going and just love life. This is my absolute favorite stage of life because I get to see those wheels turning and then see them click into place. You are starting to 'get' stuff now. You're understanding so much more and I love watching it happen!

Every morning we come downstairs and you immediately want your shoes on. You go to the front door, pick up your shoes and bring them over to me. Then you sit down on the floor and wait for me to put them on your little feet. After that, you walk over to the garage door and wait until we go outside. If something else is going on at the time, you whine and scream at me until I drop what I'm doing and we go!

You walk with your left arm swinging and it is the cutest thing ever!

Whenever you want a snack, you go to the cupboard where we keep your little bowls and plates, grab a bowl, go to the pantry and wait until we come get you something.

We've been teaching you how to say 'thank you' after someone gives you something. You're getting the hang of it, but right now it sounds like 'de-do' and it's totally awesome.

All of us (Makayla included) walk around saying 'doe-be-dee, doe-be-die' because you started saying that a couple months ago and we LOVE it!

Makayla takes you for rides in her Jeep almost every day and you are so chill. You just hang out in there with your little seatbelt on and cruise with your big sister. It makes me look to the days when your big sister will be giving you rides...in a real car! Eeeek!! Though it does look totally cute these days...and Makayla will look over at you to make sure you're okay and then she goes off the sidewalk into someone's yard! HA! Let's hope we can remedy that before she really starts driving! :)

You read books upside down, but you're still totally excited to look at all the pictures.

When we go to Makayla's preschool to pick her up from class, you bolt into her classroom, past all the other moms waiting for their kids. It's pretty hilarious and I totally let it happen because I think it's awesome. Even if you are going in there to play with the toys...not to get your sister.

Lately you've started giving us all kisses. Oh my word, it is too precious!! I'll ask you to give Sissy a kiss and you stroll over (left arm flailing) and stick your little face out, lips puckered up, waiting for Sissy to bring it in. Sometimes, she's a little mad at the world, so she doesn't always comply, but when she does, oh man! Then, you always decide that you must give Mommy and Daddy one of your amazing kisses as well. And we totally oblige you because how could we not?! It's too sweet.

Every time I put you down for a nap or bed time, you lay your head on my shoulder and drape your left arm around my neck. Slay me! I cannot put you down after that! You're my little snuggle bug and I know these moments are fleeting, so I take them when I can get them. It's my favorite.

You also love to snuggle up while we're watching Blues Clues, which happens to be your favorite show. You always make this 'oh' face when I put it on and you do this little squeal because you are just so excited!!

I'm telling you, 21 months is my favorite. You're such a blast to hang out with every day. You and Makayla are starting to get along better these days, too. Though you occasionally throw some blows at her when she starts bugging you. You girls do play together and color together pretty well most of the time.

I'm so glad God has given me the privilege to be your Mommy. It's an honor, precious one.

I love you!
Mama

(Pictures to be added later!)

Addi: 18 Months.

Dear Addison,

You are 18 months old today! I know I say this almost daily, but where has the time gone?! I cannot believe it's already been 18 months.

You are such a little treasure and bring so much joy to our family.

You are in the process of getting all four of your molars...yes at the same time! You've been such a champ through it all. I mean, you have your moments, but who doesn't, right?

You still sleep pretty much all day long. You typically wake up around 9 or 10 am and then go down for a nap at 1 pm and we wake you around 5 or 5:30 pm. Then you're back to bed for the night at 7:30 pm. Trust me, we've tried to deviate from this and that's when you aren't happy. You're my little teenager in a toddler body. :)

You hate eating. Like, you want to eat food (all the time), but then when we try to give you, um, anything you won't eat it. You don't even like peanut butter and jelly anymore!

Thankfully we're going to a new doctor (yay!!!!) on January 2nd, so I hope we can figure some things out.

You aren't walking yet...another thing we'll be discussing with the doc at your appointment. You have started to stand on your own, though, which is fabulous! And you LOVE walking around while holding on to our fingers. It's pretty precious.

You get REALLY mad when things don't go your way. I mean, I've never seen an 18 month old throw tantrums like you can, girlfriend. If you don't want something, you let us know.

You are saying Mama, Dada, Nana, baby and ticka ticka. :)

I love you so much, sweet Addi Lou. You are the sweetest, teeny tiniest baby and I love you with every fiber of my being.

Love,
Mama

Addison 15 Months.

Dear Addison,

Today you are 15 months old! I can't believe how quickly you are growing these days! It's like time is flying before my eyes.

You took your first assisted steps yesterday! You were walking while holding on to your toy stroller and it was amazing!! I have been waiting for this day! :)

You are getting your fifth tooth right now...the top right one! We love it!

You look like a little vampire when you do your crazy, squinty smile and your little vamp teeth show. It's pretty much adorable.

You LOVE your Monk-Monk...which is what we very lovingly call your monkey stuffed animal that Daddy picked for you to sleep with. You do this super cute thing where you grab him and give him a huge hug and lay your head on his (Monk-Monk's, that is...). It's pretty much too cute for words.

You also do this really cute thing...who am I kidding, EVERYTHING you do is cute!....where you lay on your belly on a pillow or stuffed animal and then kick your feet. You smile and laugh the whole time. I'm telling you, it's crazy adorable!

You LOVE Sister's Dora microphone. You always dance to the music and when it stops, you hand it to me to make it start playing again. You do this super funny dance where you arch your back out reaaaaaaally slowly and then stick your belly out even slower than that! It is hilarious! And of course, you're smiling super huge the whole time!

You are SUCH a joy to have in this family. We adore watching you grow up and seeing you and Makayla interact together. Your sister is getting to be much more loving towards you, though she still has her moments.

You have officially become 'Sissy'. I fought it for as long as I could. Oh, it was hard. I called you 'Sisty Bisty', which stuck for quite a while, but then M started calling you Sissy and I just couldn't stop her. I hate that word, but I'm coming around to it. It is you, after all. ;)

You are just too precious and I love you with every fiber of my being. You are going to do big things, baby girl.

I love you,
Mommy

All Kinds of Stuff.

Makayla is on a roll with all the adorable things she says and does on a regular basis. I just like to keep track. And if it weren't for this very blog, I would never have all of this stuff to look back on. And for her to read one day. Here goes:

Dear Makayla,

You're like the best thing ever. You are SO much fun. You love to play on your own and you have THE biggest and best imagination I've ever seen. You can make the most random things turn into something amazing and super fun. Also, you adore your sister. And I do mean adore. You always, always, always come in with me in the morning to get sister and you copy whatever I say to her in the morning. Then you immediately want to give her a hug. You always say, "Can I see her?" And before she goes to bed, you always come in, kiss her and say, "Goodnight sister!" I know you two are going to be the best of friends. Also, sometimes when you see her, you say, "Addi, sweetheart!" Gah!

The other day, you were playing with some washcloths and they became ice cream cones (see? The imagination.) and you made one for Daddy. "Daddy likes stripes (since it had stripes on it). Daddy loves ice cream!"

Here are some other random things you've said in the past few days:

"Mommy, can I tell you about my dream?" 'Yeah! Tell me about it!' "There was a witch. And a storm cloud. I couldn't go to sleep. You have to close the hole so I can go to sleep again!"

"Here's a Thanksgiving apple. It's for chewing." You had Addison's apple teether and that's what you came up with. :)

Yesterday, you kept covering yourself up with your Dora blanket. (You did it today, too. And today you became a snow princess.) Then you decided to cover me with it. Then you took it off and said, "Woohoo! A gift!" I said, 'What is it? What's your gift?' And you responded, "You're my gift, sweetie!" I die.

Also yesterday, we were playing in the dining room (play room) and you said, "I need to go find that Daddy. He makes us happy. I'm sad. I need to go find him so he can make me happy!" and you walked off, with your shoulders slung down, sauntering to the other room to find him.

Last night before we put you to bed, you were drinking out of one of your sippy cups and it made this funny sound...kind of like a horn. Then you busted out with this gem, "I'm like, horny, like a seal!" HA! Your Daddy and I laughed until we cried with that one!!

This morning, you decided to make a raft. I don't know where you come up with this stuff, but I love your imagination!! Want to know what it was made out of? Your pillow, with Addison's pink and brown blanket on top and then your unicorn Pillow Pet. Of course, to use your raft, you needed paddles. And naturally, those paddles were your seal and monkey stuffed animals.

You also made a bed in the laundry basket yesterday night and this morning. Daddy took you all around the house in it with your pillows, blankets and stuffed animals. Then, he stopped. You tried to get out. And you busted your head on the bookshelf that was behind you. You've got a huge goose egg on the back of your head now, poor girl.

You are too stinking funny. And I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Addison is also pretty awesome.

Dear Addison,

You're almost 7 months old! You're still wearing your 6 month clothes, but I need to start getting your 9 month stuff out, even though you're just a petite little squirt! Almost none of your sleepers fit anymore! Lately you've been sleeping from midnight until 7 or 7:30. Awesome! Keep it up, girlie!

You ate green beans (baby food, of course) for the first time on the 14th. You were not a fan. You ate them for dinner tonight, though, and seemed to tolerate them a little better. Maybe it's because Daddy fed them to you? :)

You push yourself SO far up on your arms when you're on your belly these days. I swear you'll be crawling so soon!! I can't believe we're so close to the crawling stage already. This has gone way too fast.

You also took a teeny scoot backwards yesterday! Gah! You turn yourself all over the floor to get what you want. Not roll, but you'll just turn and turn in a circle. It's super cute and I remember your sister doing the same thing around this age.

You do this really adorable thing where you shake your head back and forth. It's like you're saying no. And it's even funnier when we ask you something and then you do it! You'll do it when you're laying down, or when you're in the baby suity, or sometimes just in the air. It's so funny!

You've gotten really good at getting stuff to your mouth now. When you're in your ExerSaucer, you grab the toys and shove them right in your mouth. And anything I give you while you're laying on the floor tends to go right in, too.

Also!! You're sitting up so much now! You're not a pro yet, but you are SO close. This week has really been the week that you've started doing it without much assistance. You still fall over quite a bit, but you can sit up without us holding you for a few seconds. The Boppy has really been working to prop you up and we just sit right in front of you to play. You love it! And then you reach too far (to grab your toes, of course) and topple forward.

You continue to be the happiest baby I've ever seen in my life. Nothing fazes you. It's so rad. You're totally chill and as long as you're in my arms (or Daddy's!) you'll smile at anyone and everyone. Happiest baby ever. Unless we leave you in your saucer and we leave the room. Then you're not very happy.

Either way, you totally rock my socks. Just like your older sister. I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Letter to Addison

Dear Addison,

Today you are 10 weeks old. I can't believe it! These past 10 weeks have flown by. You are such a wonderful baby. Of course you cry, but what baby doesn't? You have been a wonderful sleeper since birth...a million times better than your big sister was!

We started letting you cry it out to put yourself to sleep last Monday and you've been doing fabulously!! I nurse you every night before your bed time, which is usually around 7ish, and you eat for 30 minutes, fall asleep and I put you down. Sometimes you wake up when I put you down, other times you don't. Either way, you have only been getting up one time a night since we've started the CIOing. Thank you!! It's been really nice to not be dictated by a little baby like I was with your big sister.

You started to roll over from your belly to your back at three weeks old and now every time I put you on your belly, you roll right over! At least you're getting a lot of neck exercise when we hold you! :)

You still are not very content just laying on the floor by yourself. You always need someone right in your face and talking to you. We can't just be next to you...that's not enough. Words must be coming out of our mouths.

You love to watch Makayla. Anytime she is around, you want to watch her continuously. She usually ends up running away and then you can't see her anymore, so I take over and talk to you. But Makayla loves you a thousand times over! She is always, always, always hugging and kissing you constantly. Constantly! Every time you cry, Makayla says, "It's okay, Addi! We're all right here!". You two are going to be the best of friends.

You love being naked on your changing table, too. It's really funny because I can leave you up there with no diaper on and you don't let out one little peep. You just lay there and kick your legs with your nakey bum hanging out. It's so adorable!

You love to sleep with your head to the right. all. the. time. It kinda freaks me out that you might get a flat head, but so far, so good. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll ask him about it then...if I remember. You also have a bald spot starting on the back of your head. It looks just like your sister's did!!

I have loved these past ten weeks with you in our lives, my little peach. You are such a blessing to our little family and I can't wait to continue to watch you grow into the strong and amazing woman I know you will become.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

P.S. It is UNCANNY how much you look like Makayla at this age!!