7 Months

My baby girl is growing up too fast. She now crawls and is not content with her little play area. Up until now, I was able to use the ottoman and the couch to create a nice closed in area for her to play. She was perfectly content to crawl around and play. Not so anymore. Now she wants to explore the rest of the house and well, I guess I am just not prepared for that! Not only is she moving on to bigger places to explore but she is now a champ at feeding herself. Wow. I mean, it's amazing. She sits in her high chair and is able to pick up food while I sit by her typing this. I guess I just can't believe that we have come this far already. Everyday it seems that she is able to do something new.

Five days ago she said "dada". But! A little over a week ago she said "mama". Mama! Made my heart want to explode. Now that she figured out how to say dada I haven't heard mama since. I'm glad that she says it though. Some of you may not know that Jamie is getting deployed in January. So I am thankful that he is able to hear her say it - even though she says dada for everything! She also thinks waving hello/good bye is fascinating. At times she will open and close her hand as though she is practicing. She just looks at her hands as though they are just amazing and she is realizing more and more what she is able to do with them.

Another development? She is able to pull herself to standing. She started out on the ottoman and is now able to do so on the couch and in her crib. From what I hear this means that my little girl may be walking soon. Wow. The more I type the more I am so incredibly thankful that I am able to see all of her developments first hand.

Someone asked for me to do what I used to do. So here it is...
Addie's Favorite Things
1. Food. Can you blame her? Recently I found out that she loves apples with cinnamon. So now she will not eat plain applesauce. However, she does not like some veggies and meat.
2. Her babies. She likes to pin them down and lick their face. I guess that is fine now...hopefully I won't get a call from her teacher saying that she did this to a kid on the playground! :)
3. Kayla (our cat). She loves Kayla. The feeling is not mutual.

I can't imagine what 8 months will bring. Who knows? Maybe she will be climbing trees or composing a symphony.

6 Months

It seems like just yesterday Adalyn was born. It is so hard to believe that she is 6 months! Actually, almost 7. I just love spending time with her. I'm not going to lie but it has been a hard transition from working to being a stay-at-home mom. I feel like I have to be overly productive that I just exhaust myself. I am learning to take it slowly - to not get caught up in to-do lists. Sometimes I just feel so much pressure to be the best wife and mom. Things are getting better - not sharing to alarm anyone! It feels good to share.

Addie and I spend our days together. I love to watch her make new discoveries. I am so thankful that I am able to be at home, to see this firsthand. That was always my fear I guess. That I would go back to work and miss all of this, especially after losing Alyssa. I treasure my time with her - even the days that she is grouchy.

Addie is crawling now! She is so mobile now it is crazy. She likes to crawl but when she wants to get somewhere quickly she will not crawl on her hands and knees. She will just low crawl and sometimes dive. I have had to rearrange the living room to accommodate her moving. I also need to baby proof.

This weekend was great! We got to spend a lot of time with Jamie. We found a church that we are going to as well as a small group. It's nice to feel like we are getting settled. It is also wonderful that God has blessed us with good friends as well. Today we got Addie's 6 month pictures! She did really well but towards the end she was in meltdown mode. I can't wait to get them framed! Here is one of my favorites.

Happy 6 months Addie!