Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Life

Not a lot going on in the Myers world. Scott is still in town although he did have to travel for a few days to Orlando last week. I am getting ready to start another school year and am still working on my prospectus. I got more feedback and am just trying to incorporate it into my revisions. This weekend I am going to Savannah for Michelle's bachelorette party and can't wait to hang out with the girls.

Addi is doing all kinds of fun stuff and asserting her independence in many ways. She is doing 16 signs now but her verbal communication has slowed some, which is normal when toddlers are learning to walk and other motor skills. She stopped saying "mommy" for a couple of months but is saying it occasionally now. She points to things she wants and says "dat!" and she sometimes signs something when she wants it (like "more" when she wants more watermelon to eat) but most of her signs are still animals or objects. I need to look up more signs - sometimes when we are reading she looks at me for the sign and I don't always know it. She made up a word for "cow" (kind of sounds like "zzzz") and signs and says the word every single time she sees a cow. Most of the time she will give you something if you ask for it politely (at least she is starting to understand "please" but she isn't saying or signing it yet) and she will usually bring you things you ask for as well (e.g. please bring me the cow). She still isn't walking full-force and is working on balance and how to fall somewhat gracefully :-) She is drinking out of her cup full-time and hasn't had a bottle since the last time I blogged.

Most days she eats well but she wants to feed herself so what we feed her is limited to "kind-of" finger foods. Favorites: watermelon, bananas, cheese, chicken, avocado, spinach quesodillas, pancakes without syrup, chocolate chip teddy grahams. Dislikes: white potatoes, peas, sausage, noodles, white bread (I told her teacher that she has only had wheat bread so she probably isn't sure what it is). At school they just let her feed herself (no matter what they are eating - it is really fun cleaning baked beans and spaghetti, which she doesn't eat they said, out of her hair and clothes when she gets home ;o)). Every once in a while she will let us feed her yogurt or cottage cheese, but usually she refuses to eat unless she can pick it up and do it herself.

She is stacking 3-4 cups and brings us books to read to her. She likes to read the same book over and over and has refused the "Going to Bed Book" for weeks now. Her new favorites are "Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch," "Dear Zoo," and the "123" book with pictures of animals and objects. She still loves "Doggies," "Where's Spot," and "Peek a Who." During playtime we read - before bedtime we read. We love to read! She either sits and reads to herself (she will sign the pictures and babble as she flips the pages) or she hands us the book. Most days she plays "crawling" chase with Scott, and she climbs in my lap to snuggle, just hang out, or read.

Addison hates baths now. This is a new development over the last couple of weeks. We don't know why or what happened but it is a nightmare to give her a bath. She screams and gets really upset. I think it is pouring water on her head. We bought a shampoo hat to keep the water out of her face (it hasn't come in yet) and are hoping to ease her back into liking them because she manages to get really, really dirty! She still loves water so we are going to get in with her and just play and try some other things to see if we can get her back to loving baths.
Please read me this book
Reading her Biscuit book - she loves it!



Just hanging out

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Myers: Unplugged at the Beach

We just got back from an amazing beach vacation with my parents. It was the long vacation Scott and I've had since our honeymoon. We left our computers at home and turned our cell phones off. It was nice not having to think about work and be "unplugged."

We stayed in a resort on the beach and on the backside was a lake (sea water but they called it a lake). We had two balconies - one with a gulfview and one with a lakeview. It was between Destin and Panama City Beach, just a few miles away from where we go with our friends, Brandy and Dan. Scott, Dad, and I took the snorkels and watched fish daily. Dad and Scott saw much more than I did, but I loved shuffling the sand and watching the beautiful fish come to my hands. Dad caught a few for fun on a string and hook on his finger so Addi was able to check out the fish before he released them. Other than that the water was clear and the beaches beautiful. The beach is so relaxing. Addi didn't really like the waves, even the small ones, but she did like playing on the blanket and pouring buckets of water on herself. We also had two large pools to relax in - one in the shade, which was nice for Addi.

Addi and her Sitti
Just hanging out on the beach
An evening stroll along the beach -our resort was next to the protected park areas and it was beautiful and really secluded
Breathtaking scenery
Ready for a "night on the town"
"Trying out" the waves
Our beach "set-up" - what was really nice about this area was that everyone left  their stuff out all day and overnight
Checking out the beachview
I love my shovels!
Check out my shades!
Just playing on the beach
More awesome views
Matching beach hair!
We spent 4 nights there, but I guess we couldn't get enough of the beach because we headed for St. Teresa when we got home and spend Saturday there. Mom, Addi, and I played while Dad and Scott fished. Saturday evening Mom, Dad, Scott, and I made dinner and watched Tommyboy. Mom and I laughed so hard I was hurting! I forgot how great that movie is and of course mom LOVES it!

Fishing at St. Teresa
I miss my parents so much and I know Addi misses them. She said "paa" and "ssss" for Grandpa and Sitti. Not sure she knows what the words mean (she likes to copy sounds) but it really made everyone's day. Even looking at their pictures and saying their names she said them again.

Addi is doing more new signs - ball, cow, and cheese.

Movin' on Up!

Our sweet baby girl is growing up so quickly! Over two weeks ago (July 18th), Addi took her first steps. She has been taking a few steps here and there and we are so excited for her!

Today she moved into the 1year old/walker room at her school/day care - maybe I should call it day school? She is the youngest and isn't really walking more than a few steps, but they went ahead and moved her up. In this room she isn't allowed to have a bottle, she sleeps on a mat, she eats at the "big kid table," and she has daily lessons (which hasn't changed much from before except that we (the parents) get her monthly lessons and there is more art, music, learning type stuff). She also gets to go outside twice a day (when it's not really hot) and they have unstructured play in addition to all the structured play. Since she isn't allowed a bottle, I made her drink from her cup today when she got home. They said she did great there so I figured why not. She fussed a bit but then realized she didn't have a choice. Hopefully, tomorrow morning will go well too. She napped for an hour at school today, which is a huge improvement over her normal napping at school. Let's hope it keeps up. Our Poppy Addison is growing up! But not too quickly...we won't let that happen ;-)

The photographer posted a few of the pictures on her blog. I thought they turned out well and can't wait to see the rest.

http://whitneyfletcherphotography.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/the-myers-family-tallahassee-havana-family-photographers/

Friday, July 23, 2010

The rest of the trip

We spent over a week in SC between the party, wedding shower for Michelle and Charles, and the wedding. It was a great trip although my allergies were awful! We were able to visit with many friends and family. My friend Carrie came down from NC with her little girl. I have lots more pictures and can share them on FB and on email. Fun times!

Swimming with Erin & Walt at Winona's pool. Erin bought Addi a float. This pool sits on an edge of a cliff overlooking the lake. The wall right behind us is the edge of the pool. Beyond that looks into the lake. There are stairs walking down to the dock from there. You can see the dock in the picture below.
Addi LOVED Tiki, Erin and Walt's lab. She kept giving Tiki her toys and goldfish. She loved that she could hand her the toy and Tiki would gently take it away.
Addi thought it was hilarious when Walt squirted Tiki with the watergun. 

The sign out by the road for the wedding shower
Such a gorgeous couple!
Riding her pink horse. She looks so grown-up here. She can now get on and off of it herself.
My parent's new puppy, Al
Addi and Mary Elizabeth (Carrie's daughter). M.E. is almost 6 months in this picture.
Addison was more interested in reading than having a picture taken.
I love those big blue eyes!

Judy & Jeff's Wedding

My Aunt Judy got married to a great man, Jeff. They have a "Brady-Bunch" style family now with three children. I am so happy for them. Here are a few pictures of the wedding. We were on the front row so I couldn't get too many pictures.  Her colors were beautiful - greens and white with pink in her flowers

At the reception - I meant to catch Aunt "Gilley" before she changed
Pictures at the reception
The cousins at the wedding including our new cousins Carson & David
The siblings with their sister
I love Jeff's expression in this picture
Seeing Devin walk his momma up the aisle made me cry and of course my tissues where in the diaper bag and not with me! What a beautiful bride!

The kids decorated the truck

Addi's SC Birthday Party!

While in SC we had a birthday party for Addison. It was a lot of fun and lots of family and friends came. It was hot but not unbearable. The burgers and dogs were wonderful. The cake and ice cream were scrumptious. The help from family setting up was awesome! Thanks everyone! Addi was super awesome considering she was so excited that she didn't nap much. She never fussed and just enjoyed all the love and attention. My mom did so much for the party is was ridiculous! She bought and made most of the decorations and food. I am so thankful! Addi's friends Brooks and Dana came and they all played as well. Addi received lots of great clothes, toys, and $$ for the college fund.

Still wasn't a huge fan of cake


Cake & Ice Cream - the orange and pink were pulled from her invitation

Family picture
Addi LOVES her all-terrain Radio Flyer wagon!
A Christmas dress
Everyone enjoying the burgers and dogs
Just mingling
More mingling
Check out the lime green Rody (Italian donkey bouncer) - she finally likes it!
My parent's backyard is the perfect place for gatherings

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Happy Birthday Addison!

Today is Addison's first birthday. One year ago today at 9:11pm Addison was born! I can't believe that a year has gone by and am so thankful for this most wonderful gift that God has given us. Addison has taught us both so much.

First thing this morning
 At her 1-year check-up Addison had gained back most of the weight she just lost because of the throat virus. She weighs 18lbs 5oz (10th percentile), and she is 28.5inches long (25th percentile). Our ped was happy that she is still gaining and that she looks so good. She told us to finish out the formula and switch to whole milk and to switch from a bottle to a cup. She said that normally she recommends that you quit the bottle cold turkey but that if Addison won't drink from the cup she worries she will lose weight if we quit cold turkey. So we are going to do things one step at a time and just keep trying the cup. We will probably try to quit in the morning and see how things go. One bottle at a time. She likes to chew on it and prefers a cup without a lid but that just won't do all the time.  We've gotten several different types so hopefully one will work. Yesterday, Addison did a new sign (the frog sign) and she is trying to say more words. She is standing on her own but still hasn't taken that first step.

We had a birthday dinner today and Addison opened some of her presents. She enjoyed her very own cake but didn't really get into it as much as we expected. It was kind of late and she didn't really eat any of it either. We will save it and at least give her a treat later. Mom said that I didn't really get into the whole "smash your face in the cake" thing either.

 We gave her a spoon and it still didn't help. She didn't even do the mustache...we did!
After a while she was like seriously, I don't want this cake! (It was good cake too!)
Addi was quite worn out...

What a wonderful day.

I took some video today and will put something together soon to share.