Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year with several Baumberger family relatives. Addie's Grandpa Pat came to town for a long weekend, and her Auntie Jennie flew in the day after Thanksgiving. Throughout the weekend we visited the Farmer's Market, went out to dinner, spent a night on the town (well, until 10 pm) for our wedding anniversary, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Addie sure loves it when her Auntie Jen and Grandpa Pat come to visit!

The Monday after Thanksgiving Addie, Jennie, Grandma Julie, and I headed to Orlando for a quick girls trip. I had a conference to attend, so we stayed at a nice hotel not too far from Disney. We spent some time in the pool and went to Magic Kingdom - Addie's second time in a month, lucky girl!

She went on all of her favorite rides again - Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, It's a Small World, and the Carousel. She insisted that she still thought Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh were too scary. She tried a couple of new rides on this trip - Aladdin's Magic Carpets (loved it!) and Jungle Cruise (not so much!). She again really enjoyed the parade and was able to meet and hug several characters. On this visit she met a couple of new characters - Ariel, Alice (in Wonderland), and the White Rabbit. When Alice asked Addie how old she was, Addie responded, "I'm two and a half" loud and clear as a bell. Everyone in line got a kick out of that.

It was fun to take Addie to Disney with Grandma Julie and Jennie. They were a bit more enthusiastic than Jay :)

Addie's First Trip to Disney's Magic Kingdom

We finally gave in and took Addie on her first trip to Disney this fall. She absolutely loved it!! We spent a long weekend at Disney's Caribbean Beach Club Resort, including a couple days of relaxation and one fun filled day at Magic Kingdom. Addie was in awe of all of the characters, especially the princesses, Mickey, and Minnie. She absolutely loved the parade and pointed out all the characters she recognized. She went on most of the rides in Fantasyland including Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Dumbo, Winnie-the-Pooh, Magic Carousel, and the Spinning Teacups. As she tells us now, she doesn't like Peter Pan or Winnie-the-Pooh - they're too scary. She also went on the Astro Orbiter - loved it, even thought it's fast and so high.

She was able to meet Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Pluto, Goofy, Tigger, and Pooh. She hugged all of them - the characters were definitely the highlight of her day. She is now obsessed with princesses. We also spent some time at Downtown Disney where Addie had fun at the Lego store, riding the train, and eating at Rainforest Cafe.

2-1/2 Year Stats

Addie was talking up a storm with the doctor at her 2-1/2 year check-up, and the subject turned to food. When the doctor asked Addie what is her favorite food, Addie paused for a loooong while, pursed her lips and tapped them with her pointer finger, and then said, "hmmmmmm, hot dogs."  In all seriousness.  I laughed out loud because the truth is I can count on one hand how many times Addie has even eaten hot dogs!  I told the doctor that, and both she and Addie looked at me like, yeah right, I know she's lying.  At least when the doctor asked her what else she likes Addie said strawberries and blueberries. Phew!  Hopefully that convinced the doctor that I do serve things other than junk food.

Here are Addie's 2-1/2 year stats:

Weight: 25.3 lb (12th percentile)
Height: 34.8 in (32nd percentile)
Head Circ: 19 in (52nd percentile)

Halloween 2011 - The Princess Mouse

All throughout September and October when talking about what she wanted to be for Halloween, Addie would say she wanted to dress up as Marie, the little white kitten from the Aristocats movie.  I finally found her the cutest Marie costume online and ordered it for her. Wouldn't you know that once it arrived, she wouldn't even try it on.  She still hasn't!

Mandy, Addie's new nanny since August, was trying to take Addie to a Halloween party. Instead of the Marie costume, Addie wanted to wear her Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) princess dress.  Mandy had the great idea that Addie should also wear her Minnie Mouse princess hat. And ta-da, the Princess Mouse was born! Everyone commented on what a cute costume it was.

Addie also went to a Halloween event at her Waldorf school. The children all went on a "journey" where they received secret crystals and an apple and got to watch a very elaborate puppet show. It was very much a Waldorf style event...Jay was definitely amused. A reporter at the event took a great picture of Addie with her paper lanterns that we made in Waldorf class.

On Halloween night, we met up with neighbor friends Jonathan and Aimee, and Addie got to go trick-or-treating with their son Morgan. They were a cute little pair!

Dakota even got to join in the fun and was painted like a zebra, or Bengal tiger, as Addie pointed out. The neighbors thought Dakota was hilarious. He definitely was a big white (and black) beast that night! We also saw Grandma Julie's dog Shannon, who was dressed up like a pumpkin.

Talking Up a Storm!

Addie just turned 28 months last week, and the biggest change these days is by far her language development.  She is talking so much, and her pronounciation is getting clearer and clearer every day.  Strangers are always commenting on how well she speaks for a 2-year-old.  Here are some of her latest phrases:

I can't believe how many books I have.  I just CANNOT believe it!

Have you seen my Pooh Bear book, by chance?

No, mama, that's ridiculous.

Aawww, Daddy. I'm so glad you're home. I love you and I missed you today!

Mama, I want some Snapple, Pop, Craps (Rice Krispies).

Daddy's workin' today at his job site.

Here comes Ko, the white beast! He's a maniac, and a bonehead, and a Labrador, and a monster!

Mama, could I have a bed-night snack?  Just a tiny, tiny bit?  Just one small sample?  My tummy is hungry - see, listen, he's saying, feed me, feed me!

Awwww, I love your necklace (shirt, earrings, dress, etc). Where'd you get that from?


I could go on and on....it's so fun to hear what she comes up with these days.

After several weeks of vacations, houseguests, and some big changes (new nanny), things are finally settling down here in our household.  We are looking forward to a relatively quiet fall.  The summer was a whirlwind, and I think it's good for Addie to have some downtime. She has started toliet training, although she's still not completely interested. She started going to a ballet class once a week, which she loves - her favorite move is sashay, sashay, sashay.  She also started up on her Music Together class - luckily it's a late afternoon class this fall so I usually can make it to her class.

We also started going to Parent-Child Circle at the Waldorf school once a week. Addie and I both love it.  We play outside, make bread, and interact with the nicest group of children and their mothers. It's such a relief to get to know some other parents with a more similar, gentle parenting style that we try to foster.

Addie still loves the beach, puzzles, playing outside, puppets, dressup, and tons and tons of BOOKS!  She will sit for at least 30 minutes at a time just reading through dozens and dozens of books by herself.  She has the names of more than 100 of her books memorized.  She absolutely loves reading and looking at her books. She also is really into painting, stamping, glitter glue, and markers right now.  She loves her arts and crafts!

Fun Week!

Addie had a particularly fun week this week, July 24-30, 2011. First, on Sunday, she went to her first movie in the movie theater with Jay and I.  We saw Winnie the Pooh at the Sarasota Hollywood 20 Theater in downtown Sarasota.  She was so exited to have her kiddie pack with popcorn, pink lemonade, and fruit snacks. She ate a TON of popcorn! She had to sit in my lap because she wasn't big enough to keep the seat from folding up on her....her little bottom would fall right through the opening between the seat and the back of the chair :)

This week she also got to make enchiladas with Grandma Julie. She liked rolling them up and putting on the "sprinkles" - chopped cilantro and green onions.  I thought they were a little too spicy for her, but she loved them!

On Friday, Jay came home early at 3:00 so that I could work for a few hours. He took Addie on a "Daddy Date" to Lido Key. Addie was so excited when I told her she was going bye-bye with Daddy. First, they went to look for one of Addie's shoes that I lost this morning on our trip to Mote Marine (another fun thing she did this week!), but they couldn't find the shoe. Then they walked a little by the water, and then they went to South Lido Park so Addie could play on the playground. It's a very nice park with lots of shade. Then they walked around a little on St. Armand's Circle and went to Tango's to pick up some sushi takeout for supper. That night when Jay gave her a hug and kiss good night, he asked if she had a fun day.  She said, "Thanks, Daddy, for takin' me to the park."  It was so touching that she spontaneously thanked him for a little thing like taking her to the park. I think Jay will be taking her on a lot more Daddy Dates from now on!

Addie at 26 Months

Addie has changed so fast during the past couple of months. She talks in full sentences now, and random people are always commenting on how well she talks for a 2-year-old. She also has the most amazing memory. One of her favorite things to say lately is, "Remember that, Mommy?" or "You remember that, Daddy?" Then she will proceed to tell us about something that happened weeks or months ago. She will see something that reminds her of an event that happened in the past, and I guess it just triggers her memory. Here are a couple of examples:

Last weekend I asked Addie if she wanted to go play with her friend Morgan.  A few weeks ago I invited Morgan and his mom Aimee over to play and then sent some of Addie's toys home with him.  At first she was just fine with Morgan borrowing some of her toys, but when it came time for them to leave, Addie got a little upset.  So yesterday when I asked if she wanted to go play with Morgan, she looked at me suspiciously, and said, "Sure, but he's NOT going to borrow my Nemo!"

The other day we were playing in the office, and I mentioned something about a flash of light. Addie said, "You remember that, Mommy? When he flashed me and I was hanging from the bar?"  At first I didn't know what she was talking about, but then I realized she was thinking back to her photo shoot over a month ago where she was playing at my friend's workout studio, and the photographer was "flashing her" (taking photos using a flash).  She then said, "I had fun hanging, and I danced in the mirror, and I played with those big balls..."

I can barely remember things from month to month. It amazes me that she can.

She is also starting to understand the concept of humor and will "laugh" when we do during adult conversations. She even made a joke the other day - we were in the car talking about dance class and gym class. I asked her if she would like to attend again. She said, "Sure, Mama, you can take me to music class." And then a long pause....and she said, "And maybe Jim can take me to gym class" with a big smile on her face, like she knew it was funny.  I thought that was very intuitive and smart that she made that language connection.

Addie has picked up some not so nice words, such as "crap."  That one is courtesy of Jay...he uses that word all the time without even realizing it.  The other day Jay was helping Addie watch her favorite videos on Youtube. She asked to watch Nemo, so Jay found the one he thought she wanted.  Once she realized it was not the video she was expecting she said, "No, Daddy, no!  This one's crap."  Jay tried not to laugh and told her that wasn't a nice word to say, so she thought a minute and then said, "No, Daddy, not this one.  This one's terrible."  Another word Jay uses often :)  Guess we're going to have to start being really careful with what we say!

She is still a pretty light eater...she's just too busy. When she does eat she still loves her ice cream, hummus with pretzle chips, and most fruits. She also loves freezies, string cheese, and anything salty.  I tried to give her some crackers the other day, and she said, "No, Mama, I want the salty ones."  We were at Jim's pool last weekend, and he always has big pretzle rods for her to eat. He scrapes the salt off before giving them to her.  I guess she has finally realized that because she saw me scraping two pretzles together to get the salt off, and she said, "Stop, Mama, stop! I LIKE the salt."

Sleeping is still not her strong point. She goes to sleep in her bed just fine, but around 12 or 1 in the morning, she wanders into our room and either wants to get in bed with us or else she wants me to take her back to her room and rock her. Sleeping with us would be fine if she wasn't such a restless sleeper! She rolls around like crazy and ends up completely perpendicular between Jay and I, with her feet in his face and her head right against mine on my pillow. She also HATES to have any blankets on her, so if we try to cover her up, she will immediately kick them off.  Jay ends up going to the guest room at some point most nights. Addie has even taken to calling the guest room "Daddy's room" and the bed in there "Daddy's bed."

Addie loves to play with and "snuggle" Dakota. She also loves to walk to Grandma Julie's house where she can play in her little pool, her sandbox, and with her new playdough table. She and Ashly (nanny) do lots of fun things during the week like go to storytime at the library, visit the pet store, go to the craft store and toy store, visit the Ringling museum, go on some playdates, and play at the park. Ashly has been our nanny for almost nine months now, and Addie really has a good time with her.

Addie also likes to help in the kitchen. She enjoys chopping veggies with the chopper and helps stir whatever we are making for dinner. This weekend she helped me make cupcakes and even tried frosting them herself. That was a huge mess, so then I had her stick to putting on the sprinkles. We also made monkey bread, and Addie loved helping knead the dough. I hope her love of baking lasts a very long time!