We left Addie for 18 days to go to Europe, missing her 18 month birthday, so here are 18 things about her right now. This is mostly for me to remember, so feel free to skim.

1. She went to nursery at church for the first time on Sunday, and it was so great! No more running the halls, trying to keep her quiet, and seriously failing. She loved playing with toys with the other kids!

2. She went to the doctor last week for her 18 month appt, got 3 shots, and for the first time, she anticipated the shots and started crying BEFORE the nurse even stuck her. She knew what was going on over there, and she was NOT happy about it. Her stats:

• Weight: 23 lbs 15 oz (45%) – Yay, this is the highest percentile she’s ever been! Thanks Grandma for fattening her up a bit!
• Height: 31 In (29%)
• Head: 47cm (62%)

3. The girl TALKS! I can’t even count the number of words she says, but she just blows me away with how much she communicates. She knows the difference between “I like it”, and “no like it”, she counts “one, two, three”, she says animal sounds (“MOO”, “Ribbit”, “quack”, etc), she talks on the phone (“hello, How are ya, good” is what she says everytime I let her hold the phone)

"Hi Mom"

4. She loves SHOES. She puts my shoes or Zac’s shoes on if they are left out on the floor, and she is very particular about which shoes I put on her.

5. She has discovered bubbles. She chases them around the backyard and tries to eat/pop them. Zac just bought a bubble blower and it is awesome! Now I don’t have to pass out trying to blow bubbles for hours!

6. She is obSESSED with Elmo. She thinks that is the sole reason for the computer, and whenever she sees me sit down at the computer, she says “Elmo please?” So cute.

7. She loves to go on walks, and has decided that she wants to push the stroller instead of ride in it. She calls it her “Strollie”.

8. We live near the airport, so she often gets to see airplanes flying in the sky. She ALWAYS points them out and wants to watch them until they land.

9. She is becoming such a cuddler, which I love! She gives hugs and kisses to Zac and me on a daily basis. It is the greatest.

10. She is learning to say prayers, and folds her little arms and closes her eyes SO TIGHT. Now if I can just get her to do it in church, when it really matters!

11. Favorite Foods: peanut butter sandwiches, ritz crackers, olives (she loves to put them on her fingers), cereal (and she loves to drink the milk after the cereals gone), fruit snacks, and bananas.

12. Her hair is finally long enough for pigtails! Yay!

Hiding

13. She says “Hi” to everyone! Cashiers at the store, people at church, any child she sees anywhere. It’s just “Hi, Hi, Hi” all day long when we’re in public with her.

13. My dad and I went to the driving range last week, and she had a great time learning to golf. She picked up all the golf balls she could find and carried them around in her bucket the whole time.

14. This summer we will be spending a lot of time doing two of her favorite activities: Swinging at the playground, and swimming! She has discovered a love for swimming, and now cries whenever I take her out of the pool. I’m glad her fear of water was short-lived. We swim at grandma’s house, our neighborhood pool, or at apartment pools where our friends live.

She could swing for hours

15. She is still taking two naps a day! I’ve given up trying to get her down to one good nap, so two short ones will have to do for now. As long as she’s happy, I’m happy, so we’ll work with two naps.

16. She loves to play hide and seek, and her favorite spot to hide is in the nightstands we have sitting in our dining room (see pictures above).

17. She is very loving and nurturing. She gives her stuffed animals big hugs and tries to feed them and let them drink from her sippy cup. She also loves babies. She wants to hold their hands, help them walk, give them hugs, share her toys, and kiss them. She will be a good big sister someday.

18. Addie has completely stolen our hearts, and we love her so much! It is hard to express how much I love this little girl. She makes being a mommy so much fun!

We went to the Easter Egg hunt at the Market Street Grocery store today! We were surprised that it took place inside the store, along the aisles, but all they really did was toss out some candy on the floor, and the kids had to go and gather it up. Cheap, easy, and the kids loved it! We went down the “Newborn to age 2″ aisle, where most kids were just sitting there, playing with a few pieces of candy while their parents eagerly videotaped their child’s first “Easter Egg Hunt”. And yes, if you were wondering, we are those parents too.

So after the candy experience, we thought Adelyn would like to sit on the Easter Bunny’s lap and get a picture. She is usually very social and friendly, but lately has become pretty clingy, and aware of things that make her scared or uncomfortable (namely the waterfalls at the Arboretum, being babysat at the gym, or being set down anywhere that isn’t home for fear that I will leave her there).  As we waited in line for the Easter Bunny, Addie seemed very excited to sit on his lap, because all the other kids and babies ahead of her were loving it!  So here is how it went when it was our turn:

Yup, that is my kid’s high pitched scream, followed by about 30 or so parents’ laughter. It was pretty funny, and on our way out of the store, a couple of people asked if that was our little screamer. I’m pretty sure the entire store could hear it. But seriously, watch it again, and see how the bunny reacts. I would be scared too!

We promised we would put more videos on the blog soon and here they are. We have this fancy new HD video camera which takes beautiful videos. The difficulty is the files are so large that they just don’t work too well on the blog. I am trying to find a more elegant solution to put videos on the blog, until they they may be few and far between.

These are some fun videos of Addie. She had lots of fun with some bubble wrap that we found over the weekend. I hope you enjoy the videos.

Bubble Wrap Hat

Bubble Wrap Stomp

A few weeks ago we were getting Addie ready for bed, and she became fascinated with her belly button. So we got out the video camera and filmed her showing off her tummy. Be warned, there is some baby nudity in this video. Sorry this video is so long, but there is a little bit of everything in there: Funny Face, Sad Face, Cute Face, “awesome”, “bye bye”, kisses, etc. It really shows her personality. We hope you enjoy it! We’ll try to do more videos in the future, just not this long:)