Addison is moving right along with learning and trying to repeat what daddy and I do or say.  She is such a big helper these days.  Not only does she help with unloading the dishwasher, she hands me the laundry (to load the washer and then to fold). She also now knows where her nose, toes, ears, tongue and belly are when asked.  It is so cute to watch her show you where these body parts are...especially the belly as she lifts up her shirt and points to her belly button. Too cute...And of course mommy and daddy break out in to joyous claps and "yays."  Fell kinda silly writing this down...but hey we are proud of her! She also blows kisses alot and when you ask her for kisses, this is what you get.  She also gives wonderful hugs! She knows what bye bye means (and waves really hard...I can't explain but it is like her hand goes up and down rather than side to side).
We have sort-of moved her to size 4 diapers. Sigh. She isn't quite at the max limit for the size 3, which is 28 lbs., but Pampers Cruisers and Luvs are the only size 3 diapers that still fit okay in that size. We do use the Pampers Baby Dry size 4 now too, especially for night-time. I think I am just still holding on to her littleness a little longer.
Addison is still a pretty good eater. She eats pretty much everything that daddy and I do (when I have time to cook). We love the Eggo french toast waffles and pancakes, bananas, yogurt (yo-baby brand), pears, mandarin oranges, mixed fruit, corn, rice, broccoli (sometimes), CHEESE, chicken, pimento cheese sandwich, bagels, spaghetti-o's, and of course gerber puffs and yogurt bites. These are just a few of the frequently eaten at home...but there is alot more that she will try. If she doesn't like the texture though, she usually turns her head or puts it in her mouth and then spits it out. She recently did this with blueberries and strawberries. She tried a nutr-grain bar w/ yogurt today for a snack...and loved it. She is also doing great with a spoon and fork...even got food on the spoon and fed herself this past week. We usually give her a spoon or a fork at every meal whether she uses it or not.
Brushing her teeth has become a little more manageable when daddy holds her...but Lord help me if I am trying to do this without him.  I have to chase her around and almost pin her down. I let her help me hold the brush and I do the good scrubbing...then she sucks on the brush. Maybe this will be less painful soon. Sigh.
We have made the difficult decision to move her to another daycare (well school).  We have decided on Roanoke Valley Montessori School. She starts April 1 and we will transition her over there starting about 2 weeks prior. It will definitely be a change for us as we will have to bring all of her snacks, lunch, drinks, etc. which has all been provided by the daycare in the past.  A little change of pace, but I guess it is all in what you get used to. 
Unfortunately, today marks another injury for Addison. She was running down the hallway and tripped...into the inverse corner of a wall near the kitchen. I saw it was going to happen right before it did, but I could only catch her leg. At least this one didn't break the skin, but left a nasty bump and red mark on her forhead (above her right eye near the hairline). I'm sure there will be many more as she is certainly a brave little thing. Fearless...except for when the Eureka vaccum (little handheld) comes out of the closet. Oh and the hairdryer.  But the vaccum is worse...as soon as she sees it she starts to cry and scream. At least with the hairdryer, she can sit in my lap while it is on, but that is it. She is also TERRIFIED of strange men.  I went out for a long overdue girls night to see a movie and one of the girls' husbands offered to watch Addison until Jonathan got home.  Thanks Robert! Well, when he walked in the door, she stopped eating immediately and started to scream. It took about 10-15 minutes for her to finally warm up to him...but she was so scared at first.  Her teacher at daycare said she did the same thing at naptime, when an unfamiliar man (one of the other teachers in another building) came into the room. Screamed uncontrollably.  Those are the only 3 things that I can think of that have actually made her terrified.
One more thing that comes to mind that I want to jot down...this past week (or two) Addison has been unaffected by my coming to get her in the afternoon.  What do I mean?...well, usually she is so excited and runs up to greet me.  For the past week or so, she runs away from me like she doesn't want to leave.  She did this to her daddy one day too, so its not just me. But it makes me a little sad...I miss the girn-filled welcome. In the mornings though, she is sooooo clingy and cries everytime I have to leave her.  I'm anxious to see how things go at her new school...maybe this is all just another phase??

Addison is doing great...and having more and more great days since her ear infections have cleared and she is finally feeling well again. It feels like we have a different child sometimes since Addison is not crying in the carseat anymore and she is not as fussy on the weekends or at night (at least in the past week or so).
Addison has added "hello" to her vocabulary...we have heard it about 3 times.  She also says thank you and she is really saying uh-oh alot now.  It's uh-oh after she does anything, especially if she drops something or does something she knows she is not supposed to do (like hit mommy). And yes, she does hit you when she thinks she is playing...and most of the time it is right in the face.  It's more like a swat rather than a hit, but it hurts sometimes.  We try not to laugh because we don't want her to think it's okay, but it is hard sometimes.  I constantly try to keep her fingernails clipped so she doesn't scratch me (or herself)...but she hates this! She acts like I am hurting her so bad, but I'm not even touching her fingers...just the nails. 
In the car during our morning commute, she has started singing to me.  Usually in an "O" shaped mouth, but nothing I can really comprehend other than "lolelolelo".  It is pretty sweet though.
Brushing her teeth is still a challenge. Although she does better if she is sitting in daddy's lap.  She'll let me do this for about a minute, but that's it.
She also likes to give daddy 'five' when he holds his hand out to her and tells her to 'give him five.' Then she laughs and smiles and is so proud of herself.  She also definitely comprehends most of what we say to her.  When she has a book in her hand and brings it to me to read...if I tell her to take it to daddy, she turns around, walks to daddy and plops down in his lap ready for her book to be read.  Just this week we told her to pick up her balls and put them back into the ball pit.  She looks at us, then grabs the nearest ball and walks it over to the ball pit and throws it in. Daddy and mommy say "yay" and clap our hands to make sure that she knows she did good.  Then she does it again.
Funny story...this evening, we were telling her to put the balls back (as they were all over the floor...thanks Uncle Joseph and Aunt Lyndsey). She did it twice and then stood in front of the ball pit, taking in all the praise.  Then almost in slow motion she leaned backwards into the pit, and fell in through the cloth doorway.  It was hilarious (she wasn't hurt at all).  Jonathan and I could hardly contain ourselves, and she started cracking up too.
Bedtime is still going well...Addison usually goes right down with no coaxing or extra help from us.  She is in a pretty good routine and is in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 each night.  She has started getting up pretty early though (b/t 5:30 or 6:00), which has made for a different approach to my morings.  I rush to take a shower at the first sign of her being awake (she sits and talks to herself for a good 30 minutes or so before she gets upset that noone has come to get her).  And she now sits in my lap while I put my make-up on.  She plays with everything in my make-up bag, pulls everythign out (and drops several things on the floor). She has also tried to put powder on her face...its kinda funny, but I stop her before she gets in too deep with it.
I am sad to report that Addison had two biting incidents this past week.  But one of those, the other child actually put his fingers inside Addison's mouth.  So, I can't really blame her for that one.  We're hoping this is just a short phase.  Speaking of daycare though...Jonathan and I have been contemplating on when to move Addison to a more "structured" environment (more preschool than daycare).  Well, we think it is about time for her to move on and we are currently looking into some other places for Addison to go during the day. We still need a full time daycare due to both of our work schedules, so right now it is down to a Montessori school (which I was quite impressed with) and a Baptist Church program, which I have not yet visited (hope to next week).  We'll make a decision soon, and hopefully get her into a new program by the time she is 18 months.  Will keep you posted as we make some decisions.

I still can't believe it...but Addison will be 16 months old tomorrow!! She is really growing up quick and looking more and more like a toddler rather than a baby every day (much to mommy's sadness to see her grow so quickly).  Let's see, she is doing lots of new stuff these days.  She can blow kisses and loves to do this when we say goodnight to her.  She is really starting to try and imiitate the things that mommy and daddy do or say.  If daddy claps...Addison wants to clap.  If daddy shakes his head, so does Addison.  When asked to do so, she can also point to her nose, her toes and the latest...her ears! We are still working on her mouth and eyes, but she is getting close.  She also twirls in a circle after you show her what to do! She usually twirls around more than once or twice and she gets a little dizzy.  Its funny to watch her stumble around, but we make sure she doesn't fall.
She loves to help me take off her socks before bedtime...even tries to take them off before I get her shoes on for daycare in the morning.  She also loves to help you hold things, like her diaper or the mail.  Tonight, she even helped me unload the dishwasher (the silverware)! She would hand me each utensil one at a time and I would say 'thank you'. Then she would say "thank you" or "tank to" after she handed me a spoon, fork, etc.  Addison can also say "uh oh" and I swear she can say duck and Elmo (or "Ehmo") and we have possible heard the word bubble once or twice.  The only words that she is consistent with is mama, dadda, uh oh and thank you.  She also can wave hello or bye bye...and of course blow you kisses too.  Addison gives great hugs and I love it when she puts her head on my shoulder when I carry her.
I'm also proud to report that since my last post, we have had no biting incidents at school! Yay! I just hope that this trend continues and Addison is learning to use other methods of expressing herself without her teeth.  Speaking of her teeth...her top eye teeth are really coming through now.  They were budding for a while, but bless her heart they have her gums pretty swollen at the moment.  Hopefully now that they are on their way out they will come through quickly.
As for the weather...this has certainly been a year for the record books. We had more snow on Tuesday this week! We officially have had more snow this year than Boston or New York - and there are still 6 weeks of winter to go! Sigh!

Addison in the snow

Well here we are in ANOTHER snow storm! Okay, so we really enjoy it...but is sure makes a mess! We have about 8 inches on the ground as I am typing, with much more to come (supposed to snow all day). We bought Addison some snow gear this time, so hopefully we will get out in it later this afternoon.
Little Addison is doing great! She is trying to get well from another ear infection (her 3rd since October). We are on Augmentin this time - and she seems to be doing better.  We are not sure, but we think it may be the same ear infection that just hasn't been able to clear since October. Grand-mama came up to stay with Addison while Jonathan and I traveled to Las Vegas for a spine conference.  The day that we traveled back to Roanoke, grand-mama took Addison to the doctor who discovered the ear infection.  He also told us to give her yogurt everyday to help avoid the diarrhea that usually comes with the antibiotics.  So far it is working...Addison hasn't had any diarrhea on these antibiotics like she did with the others. So that's good.
So what else is our little munchkin doing???  Well, she has become a little biter at school. This week we got 2 incident reports that she had bitten a child that was somehow prohibiting her from something that she wanted. I'm just not sure how to make her stop.  She doesn't bite us at home! I just know that if Addison was the one being bitten, I would be upset...so we hope the other parent's understand that hopefully this is a short phase.
Addison is also dancing/bouncing around...it's really cute.  She loves to imitate now too.  If Jonathan or I shake our head, she does it too.  We are also trying to teach her where some of her body parts are (eye, nose, ears, etc.). So far we think she has the nose part down.  We'll ask her where her nose is and she'll point to it and then start clapping (of course we all clap too).  We are still working on the rest.
Addison loves to look at books...all kinds of books.  She could spend 20-30 minutes in her room alone just going through all of the ones on her bookshelf. And of course she makes quite a big mess in her room...but she enjoys it and it gives her parents a few minutes to do something else.

Addison waiting for snacks

Addison is now 15 months old! We can hardly believe it! To mark this milestone comes a trip to the doctor for a check-up and more vacination shots! Addison got two more shots this time.  She screamed and cried for a few seconds and then was back to her normal smiling self.  She weighs 25 lbs. (80%), is 32 inches long (90%), and has a head circumference of 18.70 (89%).  Dr. Nelson says she is a health girl and reaching her milestones. However, she still has some fluid on her right ear.  The doctor didn't prescribe any antibiotics, but told us to watch it and beware of fever or any other changes in Addison's behaviors.  Sad to hear this after just having gotten over (or thought we had gotten over) her second ear infection since October! Oh well...hopefully the fluid will go away.
Addison is doing great otherwise.  She loves her baths, and splashes ALOT, determined to get us wet everytime she is in the tub.  She has also started to stand up and sit down in her infant tub. This makes us nervous...but we just take extra care in watching her and keeping our hands close so she doesn't fall over. It won't be long before she grows out of this little tub...but we like it because we can fill it up further than we would if she were in the big tub.
Addison is definitely eating more variety of foods...although veggies are usually a problem if the veggie isn't corn.  Apparently she does pretty well at daycare with all kinds of veggies...so at least she is getting some good stuff there. She loves bananas, mandrin oranges, cheese, yogurt bites, animal crackers and goldfish. These seem to be her favorites. I gave her a pimento cheese sandwich this weekend...and she loved it!! She's pretty finicky with eggs, but will eat them now and then (with cheese). She also knows where her snacks are...comes in the house after school, goes straight to the pantry, points, and then she sits on the floor ready for a snack. 
Addison is still not saying any new words other than mama and dadda.  But she is babbling more and more.  Of course we think she knows some of the things she is trying to say (like thank you, which is tank tu) and she definitely understands most of what we say to her. She can follow commands, such as 'take the book to daddy.'
She's definitely growing fast...even helps pull her shirts on and off, and helps with putting on her jacket in the morning.  She's also really good at taking off her own socks.
Addison gets pretty mad when she can't do something. Either throws a toy or starts to cry (tantrum style). We think she's going to be pretty stubborn. Wonder where she gets that from?!?

Oma (Addison's great-grandmother), Addison and Colton (cousin)

We got out of Virginia without too much trouble...the main roads had been plowed...we just had to get out of our driveway (with a little help from neighbors).  Addison did fair (at best) in the car this time.  The dvd player helped a little bit, but she was better when one of us was sitting in the backseat with her.  She still was not happy to be confined for so long, but can't really blame her too much.  Hopefully she will get better as she gets a little older.
We stayed over in Birmingham Sunday night.  Jonathan went to get us some dinner while I stayed in the room with Addison.  I tried to put her to bed in the crib provided by the hotel...but Addison decided it would be more fun to play peek-a-boo.  She and I giggled for a while as she hid behind her blanket and then popped up to see my reaction. She finally fell asleep and slept through the night in the hotel!
We headed for Florida and had fun with grand-mama, grand-papa and lots of extended family there. At the house, there are several sets of stairs, and we told Addison she could sit on the bottom stair. After she found her "seat" she didn't try to climb the stairs at all! She just say on the bottom stair. We also went to Destin Commons so Addison could see Santa again this year.  She did so great with him...walked right up to him and let him pick her up to sit on his lap. We got some really great photos of them too. Addison had a great time playing in the little kids area at Destin Commons too! She would climb and crawl on everything...and then run around screaming! It was funny to watch, but we definitely had to run after her so she wouldn't leave the kids area.
Christimas Eve, Addison got to play with her cousins and open more gifts. She went right to Oma and let Oma read books to her for a while too. Addison wasn't feeling too well though...actually had a fever of around 101. We were pretty sure it was a recurrence of her ear infection (that we had just finished treating before we left Roanoke). She was a trooper though...she played and didn't fuss very much to be sick.
Christmas Day, we headed for Dothan to see Papa Bruce, Mimi, and the rest of the McNeal family. Addison was still not feeling well (and didn't sleep well at all the night before).  So we luckily found a drugstore open on Christmas day and were able to get another round of antibiotics for her.  Despite her ear infection, we had a wonderful time in Dothan! Lots of gifts, good food, shopping and sitting by the double propane heater outside with the family. Addison enjoyed Papa's pankcakes and she even ate a whole ham and cheese omlet for the first time!
Addison got a ball pit from Uncle Joseph and Aunt Lyndsey...and she loved it! We love it too...it folds up into a small circle and then pops up whenever you want to add the balls and play in it. She got lots of clothes and toys from her Mimi and Papa too.
We headed back to Virginia on 12/28 and stopped in to see G-Pa, Grammy and Courtney.  We had a good, but short visit and finally made it back to Virginia really late.  We still had alot of snow left from the storm! Addison slept most of the trip this time...but when she was awake it was difficult to keep her entertained.
Good to be home...getting unpacked and back into our routine.

Addison and daddy in the snow

Well, the forecasters were right this time about the snow! We got about 16 inches of the white stuff!  Apparently broke the record set in 1969 for snowfall in December here in Roanoke too. We even made the national news! It started about 1:00 on Friday (12/18), and it came down pretty fast. By the time I left work, we had about an inch or so on the ground, and I was in Jonathan's car (which sucks in the snow).  So I started out and didn't quite make it home.  I got stuck on a hill about 2-3 blocks from our house. Jonathan and Addison had to come rescue me and Jonathan's car had to stay out in the snow (backed up to the side of the street).  We were supposed to leave for Alabama today, but decided it would be best to wait until tomorrow (and enjoy this snow)! 
We also had our little family Christmas this morning. Addison got a DVD player for the car, several Baby Einstein DVDs, a ladybug beanbag chair, a little people amusement park set, a new umbrella stroller, books, and clothes. She also helped mommy and daddy open their gifts and enjoyed the paper and the bows the most!
We got out in the snow just before Addison's nap.  We didn't have any snow gear for her, so we made do with some socks, plastic bags, rubberbands and some warm clothes.  She got held most of the time and didn't want to stay out very long.
Pretty fun day with neighbors and friends...now on to pack for the big (long) trip to Alabama tomorrow.  We are stopping in Birmingham...so it will only be about 7-8 hours in the car. Here's to hoping the dvd player works like magic. :)

Well...almost there.  Christmas is right around the corner and the long travel home awaits us in just a few days. It has been quite a busy time for us this month. Lots of work and shopping to do before we leave VA.
Addison is doing pretty good. She has come down with another case of pink eye (12/9).  This one was a really nasty case too. I picked her up from daycare to find her sitting alone and her poor little eye was all goopy and her face looked almost swollen.  We immediately started her on eye drops and gave her some tylenol.  Bless her little heart! Once the pink eye looked like it was starting to clear up, I got a call from her daycare on Friday (12/11) that she just wasn't acting herself. We made an appointment with the doctor and found that she had a double ear infection! So we started the antibiotics for that ASAP as well. More tylenol and tender loving care from mommy and daddy. She still slept pretty well to be such a sick little girl.
She really is a great sleeper! She goes down so easily now...we just lay her in her bed and she curls right up with her Molly Dolly and blanket. Typically sleeping all night and we sometimes have to wake her in the mornings to get to work on time.
She also just started playing peek-a-boo! She started putting her hands on her eyes in the bathtub this week (12/17). It is so cute! We say "where's Addison" and she puts her hands up there. She always smile when she takes her hands away too.
Addison LOVES to be chased around...she squeals in delight as she realizes you are chasing her. She tries to go to a corner or a small space...or holds onto something before we get to her and usually pick her up or tickle her.  She also really loves being read to (she likes to turn the pages) and still curls up in our laps to read. She has even started to try and "read" them herself and talks outloud.
We are expected to get lots of snow tomorrow...they are calling for 10-16 inches!!  We'll update with some pics and details later. Take care!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! Jonathan was able to be off on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday! Grand-mama and Grand-papa came to visit from Florida and Uncle Joseph and Aunt Lyndsey flew in from Dothan, AL. We had a big meal on Thanksgiving day and invited a few of the medical students from the hospital to come join our family. Addison was awake this year for lunch too and enjoyed the new tastes of turkey, stuffing, and especially loved the corn souffle!  Addison is also loves to feed everyone else...sometimes even takes the food out of her mouth and tries to give it to you. She still loves the drop and pick-up game.  We play along for a little while, but when she realizes that we will always pick things back up off the floor she just keeps doing it.
She is definitely faster and loves to be chased around the house! She's into all the cabinets and is so proud when she comes around the corner with something in her hand.  She also loves getting in and out of the bar stools (the bars underneath). The day after Thanksgiving, she lost her balance trying to get inside the bars and she got her first black eye. It was pretty puffy and red at first, and she would not let us put any ice on it. The next day, her eye was purple and black (poor thing). It healed up in about a week though...but now we don't let her play under the barstools anymore.
Grand-papa helped us finish up our bathroom re-model in the basement.  We were trying to get everything done before company came...but we were only successful in getting the tile installed. After several trips to Lowe's and almost the whole time during Thanksgiving...we have a new bathroom downstairs!
Addison really started to show her interest in books this weekend as well! She will go into her room and pull all of her books out of the bookshelf, pick one out and bring it to you.  Once you take the book from her, she literally falls into your lap and wants to help you turn the pages as you read to her. It is really cute! She also had a fantastic time with her little musical purse (see photos). She walks around with it and goes to the door waiting for someone to open it.  She's ready to go out and takes her purse along...just like the little song says...too funny to watch!
Alabama played Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Friday...and Alabama pulled out the win! Go Bama!
On Sunday we had a babysitter for Addison so we could take Joseph and Lyndsey to the winery, Chateau Morrisette. We had brunch and did the wine tasting there. It was great and not crowded at all, which allowed us to enjoy that much more.  
It was wonderful to have such a houseful this year for Thanksgiving! We enjoyed being home and not having to travel during this vacation time too!

Addison at the pumpkin patch

Our little girl is growing quick...and getting quicker on her little feet by the day! She is into everything of course, exploring anything that we will let her get into.  She loves to open the kitchen cabinets, especially in the tupperware drawer where she takes things out, puts them back and slides some of them across the floor.  She also likes to climb in between mommy and the cabinets while mommy tries to wash dishes.  It's pretty cute though when she hugs onto our legs.  She always wants to "get in" the dishwasher anytime it is left open long enough. 
She has started saying her "G" sounds alot more, and we think she's got the hang of momma and dadda.  When she's not squealing, she is babbling all the time. She's also alot faster on her feet and much more confident. She loves her little mary jane shoes that squeak too.  Whenever I put those on, she stomps her feet and wants to walk all over the place to hear her shoes make noise. Although, it becomes a little annoying after 5 or 10 minutes. Addison likes to feed mommy and daddy some of her snacks.  She'll hold her hand out with a piece of food...but if your not quick, she will eat it herself and then offer you another piece. Some of her favorite foods are mandarin oranges, bananas, chicken and now corn. She also likes the taste of water in her sippy cup.
We are doing well trying to wean her off the bottle...in fact she doesn't use it at all during the day.  Just down to first thing in the morning and a little before bedtime. I think it is mommy who is having a hard time giving up Addison's bottle. I'm just not ready for her to be a toddler yet. Switching from formula to milk was a piece of cake...we'll get there with the bottle eventually.
Just yesterday, Addison sprouted one of her molars! I knew they had been coming up for at least a week or so, but last night we were getting in the car to go home from dinner, and Addison's mouth was all bloody. I got a little concerned, but after I wiped her mouth once, and stuck a tissue in there, it stopped.  She must have just hit it on something she was chewing or the tooth just erupted?!? Today, it is definitely through the gum surface, and the one on the left side of her mouth is almost out as well. Poor thing! I am sure it hurts to eat!
We are getting ready for Thanksgiving too! Looking forward to some visitors this year! Addison can actually enjoy some good food with us (last year she slept through the whole meal)!
I think that's about it for now...I'll try not to be so long between posting these blogs next time.  It's hard to remember everything that has been going on this past month.