Big Girl Bath Time

Addison has graduated to her Big Girl Bath Ring. She was splash, splash, splashing and soak, soak, soaking the kitchen so mommy decided it was time to move to the big tub. She loves it.

On another note, I think she had her first temper tantrum in the tub last week. I took one of her bath toys out of her hand so I could wash her arm and hand, and she got SO mad at me. She grunted, turned red in the face and kicked both of her legs in the water as hard it she could. I'm sure I shouldn't have, but I laughed really hard.

Summer Fun

Two weeks ago, I met my friend Robin at the beach. Robin was my college suitemate, and she has 2 beautiful children who are 3 and 5. They live in NC, and unfortunately, we don't get to see them as much as we would like to. They were visiting her aunt, uncle and cousins, and since my mom lives near the beach, I thought it would be a great time to visit with my mom, pick up my dog and see Robin and her children.

It was Addison's first trip to the beach, and while she loved sunbathing (under her tent), she wasn't too sure what to think of the ocean. I think she was scared of the noise and caught off guard by the splashing waves. We enjoyed spending time with Robin and her family, and we had a fun first day at the beach.

As she can see in the next series of pictures, Addison went from, "This beach thing is interesting, it might be okay," to "I am not so sure about this beach thing," to "I don't think I like this beach thing," to "I REALLY don't like this beach thing!"

Don't worry, mommy made it all better!

7 1/2 Months Old

My, oh my, where is the time going? Little Addison is 7 1/2 months old, and I simply cannot believe it. The past month has been so much fun for all of us. It is like a million little switches have gone off in her head. You can just watch the "aha" moments as she has them. She has grown and developed so much in the past month.

If I had to choose one word to describe her this month it would be B-U-S-Y! This child is WIDE OPEN! She won't sit still for a minute, and I love it! She is into everything, and she isn't even mobile yet. She has tons of toys, but she would much rather play with remotes or cell phones or sunglasses. Anything but the toys, and anything she can get her little hands on. It's pretty funny.

Speaking of being mobile, she isn't crawling just yet, but she is SO close. She can now push herself up on her hands and knees and rock herself back and forth. She has the "reverse" scoot mastered, but she hasn't quite mastered the "drive" scoot. She is a smart little cookie. Since she can't crawl yet, she has figured out how to roll to get where she wants to go. She will roll over and over and over until she makes it to her desired destination. I just know she is building up her momentum to go, and I am afraid when she learns to GO, we are all going to be in big trouble around here.

Especially the dog. Addison LOVES Molly dog. Her eyes light up and she giggles when Molly comes around. Unfortunately, Molly is not feeling the love these days. The pincer grasp is not her friend. If Addison can get close enough, she will grab a handful of fur (or tail) and pull it as hard as she can. Needless to say, Molly takes off as soon as she can escape. She is careful to position herself as far away from the baby as she can.

In other news, I hate to say this for fear that she will change her mind again, but for now, ADDISON IS DRINKING FROM A BOTTLE! We finally found a winner in the MAM bottle. I have no idea what compelled me to try another bottle, but boy, am I glad I did! I put a little milk in one and gave it a go. Voila! She sucked the milk down and wanted more! Once she started drinking from her new bottles, I thought I would press my luck and introduce a little formula. Guess what -- she drank it and wanted more! I couldn't believe my eyes. She usually drinks 2-3 bottles of formula a day now, which is something I NEVER thought she would do.

Just like her daddy, she is a CHATTERBOX. I know I have said this before, but she is just talking up a storm these days. Mama, dadadadadada and babababae among the babbles that can be heard coming from her sweet little mouth. The "mama" is usually associated with a little whining, but it melts my heart each time I hear it. (In fact, she is looking at me right now saying Mamamamama. I think she is trying to tell me she is tired of jumping in her Jumperoo).

She can sit unsupported for long periods of time now. She is getting stronger and trying to pull herself up on her own, but she isn't quite there yet. Craig and I have to watch her very carefully when she is sitting in her car seat, high chair or travel swing because she can totally thrust herself forward. It's amazing how something so little can be so strong.

Tooth #3 is on the way. It is just starting to pop through her gums, and there is lots of drool to go with it. Everything, and I mean everything, still goes straight to her mouth when she picks it up.

When she sleeps now, she rolls over on her belly, curls her arms and legs underneath her and sticks her cute little tush up in the air. It is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Addison continues to amaze us more and more each day. Craig and I are so lucky to be the parents of such a precious, precious 7 month old baby girl. We couldn't be more proud of her, and we are looking forward to many happy days ahead.

Happy Birthday Papa!

We would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Addison's Papa. We're sorry we aren't there to celebrate with you, but we'll see you in a few short weeks.

Love you! Craig, Nancy, Addison and the little white dog

The Wild, Wild West

Well, we have returned from our adventures in the Rocky Mountains. What a wonderful trip it was! Our little girl clearly shares her mom's love of traveling and adventure seeking. She was such a trooper!

My family has a place in the middle of NOWHERE, and I just love the time I get to spend there. Believe it or not, this was Craig's first trip to the ranch, and of course, it was Addison's first trip as well.

We met my brother, his girlfriend and her 2 children in Charlotte on Thursday afternoon. Our adventure began with a 2 HOUR thunderstorm delay on the RUNWAY in Charlotte. The longer we waited to take off, the more nervous I got. I had no idea what Addison had in store for us on the flight, but as it turns out, she did not make a peep for 5 1/2 hours!

We spent the first night in Denver (it was 2:30 am EST) when we finally arrived. On Friday, we headed for the ranch, which is 5 hours west of Denver. We stopped in Vail for lunch on top of the mountain. Addison enjoyed her first ride up the mountain in the gondola. Hopefully, she won't be afraid of heights because I plan to have her riding the chairlift and skiing down the bunny slopes in just a few years.

After lunch, we continued our journey to the ranch. Needless to say, we were all exhausted when we finally arrived. Addison had her first major meltdown, but I didn't mind because she was so good on the flight and the drive to the ranch. After dinner, we all turned in for a good night's rest.

Since we had no cell phone or internet service while at the ranch, we enjoyed many outdoor activities. We rode four wheelers (yes, that is Addison riding the four wheeler in the Bjorn); we rode horses; Craig fished in the pond; we shot BB and potato guns; my mom and Craig did a little gardening; we had a wonderful 4th of July family picnic; we ate entirely too much and we spent many hours rocking on the front porch looking at the beautiful view.

(Addison says, "These are MY brownies!")

My mom drug out my old stroller for Addison-- I imagine this thing was the 1970s version of a BOB stroller. She also found one of my old walkers, and much to my dismay, she put my child in this contraption. My brother said it looked like a metal spider that was ready to collapse and eat my child at any second! Luckily, there were no injuries. Talk about a blast from the past!

We took Addison on her very first tour of Aspen and all the town has to offer. This is one of my favorite places to visit when we go West. In the summer, I love to stroll through town, and in the winter, I love to ski at Snowmass. Hopefully, Addison will learn to love Aspen as much her mama does.

As always, our vacation was over way to0 soon. I loved every minute of my time in Colorado, and I was so glad to introduce Craig & Addison to the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Hopefully, our future will include many more trips to the Wild, Wild West.

Our Little Cowgirl

Happy 4th of July

We hope you had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a great trip to Colorado. As soon as we are all settled, I will try to post pictures from the trip.