Expressions of Addie B.

As I waited for Addie to wake up from her nap, I decided to fiddle around with Google's Picasa and made this collage. Picasa is a pretty cool tool and easy to use for organizing and blogging about your photos, creating collages and sending your photos straight from Picasa or making an album and sending it.

Merry Christmas

Hide

Give Addie a couch and a blanket and it's the cue to hide.

This new activity also involves one or both of us as we hide with Addie. And then acting as her voice, Courtney or I ask the other, "Where's Addie?" Her body squirms with delight beneath the blanket as she sense one of us approach. Seconds after finding her, you hear her sweet little voice say, "Hide. Hide." --which sounds much more like "hi" but you got to give the runt credit -- and quickly hides herself again. This little activity usually last a few minutes, but is a riot to see and hear.

Skills

Addie's new skills aren't like Napoleon Dynamite's, but for one-year old, they're not too bad.

As she strives to become completely independent, Addie is doing her best to feed herself. She no longer wants us to feed, but insists on using a spoon to feed herself which she is doing it with GREAT SUCCESS (Borat reference).

If that's not enough, she's now become quite the artist and her medium of choice is Crayons and paper. Sources close to us tell us that after she is potty trained she'll move out on her own, selling her art to support herself.

More Snowflakes

Today we had a pretty good snowstorm, getting a bit more than six inches. As I went out to shovel the driveway, Court got Addie in her snow gear to play a bit. As the snowflakes came down, Addie repeated her snowflake-catching skills; tilted her head back, opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out.

Below are pictures showing Addie catching snowflakes.

Addie has the Christmas Spirit

With Christmas quickly approaching, Addie's got the Christmas spirit. We just put up the tree (I know, we're a few weeks late) and Addie came downstairs the morning after and started "oohing and awing."

If that's not enough, we've started asking her what Santa says and she'll then say, "ho, ho, ho." She grabbed a Santa that we had on display and walked around saying, "ho, ho, ho" as she shows it off. Addie is even enjoying it when we read "The Night Before Christmas" at night.

The other night we went to Gardiner Village with some friends, and as we walked around seeing the lights Addie almost came out of her stroller and would say in her little voice, "La. La. La."

With all the decorations out, she's been admiring them to point of picking them up and carrying them around the house. If she gets excited, she'll say, "Ho, ho, ho" as she carts them around. She's become so festive that her "piggy" imitation even sounds a bit like her Santa.

Needless to say it's been a fun Christmas season with Addie.

Snowflakes

Here's a quick story.

It became apparent to me today that it is instinctual for a person to open his or her mouth to try and catch snowflakes as they fall. Why do I believe this?

Tonight as we were taking Addie out to the car, huge snowflakes were falling. Addie has seen snow before, but this was the first time she actually was in the snow uncovered. So, as Court carried her to the car, Addie leaned back in her arms, opened her mouth and began catching snowflakes.

Adventures in Picture Taking

The following is an e-mail sent by Courtney about her recent visit to Kiddie Kandids. A few weeks ago she took Addie to get her picture taken, but since the lady at Kiddie was a dork, they offered to retake them. The following is the experience seen through Court's eyes.

Well, we're back.

I don't even know what to say. Addie was so happy, well rested, playing fine until picture time. The lady tried her hardest -- she was being very nice and trying to please -- while Addie was totally uncooperative. I should have gone with my gut and waited till my mom or someone could go with me. It just doesn't work to only have me because I have to sit next to her and make sure she doesn't fall off.

She wanted to do everything but sit still for a picture. So we kept trying to get a smile but she just wouldn't smile. She'd do a little half smile, but mostly she'd just stare at her or watch her or try to grab whatever she was using to get her to smile. Finally, we decided to change her outfit and try for another pic in her christmas dress.

We got her changed; she was happy but then I went to set her down and she was done. She'd cry and reach for me so I gave up. I'd had enough. It had been over an hour and things weren't going to get better.

Needless to say I'm exhausted. This first picture appears as if Addie is just toying with us.

Little stinker!

Vocabulary

Over the past month or so, Addie has been expanding her vocabulary. It is evident that Addie is anxious to communicate on a greater scale than her one-syllable words allow as this past Friday night she carried on a five-minute conversation with her "Maga" -- or as Addie would say, "Gaga" -- but none of the words were understandable, though Addie seemed to think she understood because Maga would respond to her.

Here is a list of her new words with the appropriate translation:

• Gaga -- Maga (This is what my nieces and nephews call my mom, minus Amelia who calls her "Hammy")
• Bampa -- Grandpa (She'll often wander around calling "Bampa" at random times)
• Hi -- Hi (No need to explain)
• Hello -- Hello
• Noona -- Noodles (One of Addie's favorite foods)
• Na, na, na -- No, no, no (She mocks us)
• Baby -- Baby
• Ba Ba -- Bottle
• La -- Light
• Nana -- Banana
• Mmmm -- no need to explain
• uh oh -- no need to explain
• Ca -- Cracker/Cookie
• Bebe -- Binkie & Blankie
• Pooba -- Pooh Bear
• Ba -- Ball
• Buh -- Book
  
• Mama -- Mom
• Dada -- Dad