Rub A Dub Dub

Can I just say that I love having a newborn in the house again?

Here are a couple pictures of bath time- Maverick is just like Adelaide was and loves the calming water of a bath :)

Maverick's honorary aunt Naomi sent him this funny onesie... love it!

Big Sis

I'm getting excited to watch Adelaide interact with baby #2 when it arrives. Although she is quite aggressive in general I sometimes notice a sweet and soft side to her when we are around other babies and especially when she plays with her baby dolls. It will be interesting to see how she deals with the real thing come October :) Do any of you mothers out there have advice for helping a child transition to being an older sibling?

Adelaide always has one of her baby dolls with her.

They make her happy.

Sometimes she even gives them kisses.

Almost 18 Months

Lately I am amazed by Adelaide's inquisitiveness. She is suddenly extremely curious and constantly trying to learn new things. She absolutely loves to read and if she could have it her way she would sit in my lap all day except for brief breaks to go pick out more books. She especially likes books that have lots of animals or objects that she can identify or point to so she can learn their title. She also really likes her lift-the-flap "Where is Mommy Book" probably because it has my picture to kiss at the end. :) She likes to color now and do little art projects and is trying to say new words. The words we can understand so far include Mama, Dada, Grandpa, teeth (she loves teeth, kinda funny), eye, baby (loves her dolls), bye bye, uh-oh, over there, what's that, please and no (my least favorite- I am trying to squish it out of her vocabulary by saying YES in a very exciting way all the time, it is not working). She is babbling constantly so I'm sure she thinks she is saying many more coherent words and probably wonders why we are ignoring all her brilliant thoughts and ideas. She also really loves to nod her head vigorously for yes or no answers. We just love her and watching her grow.

Yesterday I let her decorate our front door with paper hearts and that made her happy.

I'm Suffering from Cabin Fever

Adelaide has become so hyper lately! I'm sure anyone who has children older than Adelaide know what I'm talking about... she has always been active but suddenly she is everywhere all at once. Whether it is rummaging through our kitchen cabinets, playing with our recyclables, putting important items in the toilet, attempting to eat lip balm, unrolling all our toilet paper, wrapping herself up in our shower curtain, throwing all her shoes and socks on the floor while wearing tights as a scarf, placing stickers in her ears, trying to destroy our dvd collection, or hiding underneath the kitchen table, this girl is a busy body! Today she decided it was hilarious to put her shorts on her head like a hat. She walked around pointing to it and laughing and laughing. I am tired but amused, what does one do to keep up?

I look forward to Spring & Summer when little miss Adelaide can take her rambunctiousness outside!

Santa is Scary

Over the weekend I took Adelaide to a Christmas party so she could sit on Santa's lap. Well, apparently Santa is really scary. She super freaked out when I tried to put her on Santa's lap, but settled on a pouty face when I held her next to him for a quick picture.

She mostly resembles Rick but sometimes resembles me when she makes her sad face.

1st Popsicle

Yesterday Adelaide had her very first Popsicle. I didn't grab the camera in time but when she first got a hold of it she held the cold part in her hand and started biting on the stick instead. Eventually she figured it out and seemed to enjoy it. :)

Little Miss Tech Savvy

I recently got a smart phone and I am still trying to get the hang of it- I am a little technologically challenged. I seriously think Adelaide (who is technically not allowed to touch my phone) knows how to use it better than I do. I have seen her pick it up and gently swipe her fingers across the screen to unlock it. Funny girl!

This is not staged... she got up on the bed next to her Dad , put my laptop on her lap and pretended to talk on the phone... wants to be like her daddy I guess.

Figuring out how to use Mommy's phone.

Adelaide Gets Groovin'

My second blog post. Normally, Emily is the mastermind behind this blog, but since she refused to post this video, I had to get in on the blog action myself.

Disclaimer on Emily's Behalf: In this video, she was practicing for a youth dance festival that she was choreographing.

Adelaide Gets Extreme: Part 3

Adelaide's extremeness increases every day. Here is some video of her latest father-daughter trick. It makes the days of simply balancing on Rick's hands seem like no big deal.

Adelaide Gets Mobile: Part 2

It was fun watching Adelaide master crawling but it has been even more fun watching her learn to walk. She has been walking now for a few months but we have finally documented some of her journey. Enjoy!

Xylophone

Adelaide has recently discovered her xylophone even though it has been in with her toys forever. She spends long stretches of time playing cute little tunes on it and I am surprised at how gently she does it. Maybe she will be the musical type?

Indo Partners

Adelaide is no stranger to the Indo Board, She rode it while in the womb. But lately she has been riding it alongside her Dad, hands up style. I would be lying if I said this didn't terrify me, but it is also pretty cute.

Toothbrush Lover

Adelaide loves to brush her teeth. I guess she was insanely jealous of all the fun I had brushing my teeth and now whenever she can get a hold of a tooth brush she wanders around the house scrubbing away. What a character.

First Kiss

I know Adelaide is a little young, but she definitely has a crush. His name is Jack and although he is a few months her junior, he has captured her heart. Last week Adelaide gave him lots of kisses followed by big grins and the clapping of her hands. What does this mean she'll be like when she is 16?!

It was clear that Adelaide enjoyed this, but we're not quite sure how Jack felt.

Adelaide's Birthday Picnic

Adelaide's birthday party was really fun.

Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it so memorable!

It was definitely a little risky planning an outdoor picnic party in Colorado since the weather here is so unpredictable, but the day turned out to be gorgeous.

I made lemon berry cupcakes which we placed on stands in the middle of each blanket.

The recipe can be found here.

We were lucky enough to have Melanie from You are my Fave do the charming decorations.

I love the bunting banners which now adorn Adelaide's bedroom.

We had picnic finger foods and made lemonade that was served directly out of a watermelon.

We also had blankets laid out on the grass and in each corner was a balloon weighted down by a favor bag filled with Salt Water Taffy.

These pennant flags were for everyone to wave while they sang happy birthday to miss Adelaide.

The original birthday cake I made for Adelaide was embarrassingly ugly so I made this one out of the cupcakes last minute instead.

After we all sang happy birthday I was surprised that Adelaide didn't immediately smash her cake.

She was too busy smiling at everybody.

She finally got around to eating her cake but it was a long and slow process.

Our family of three...

We've made it one year.

Happy Birthday Adelaide!

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

For Adelaide's birthday I made my Grandma's Milk Chocolate Cake.

I kept Adelaide occupied and happy during the baking process by letting her lick the whipped cream covered spatula.

I decided to make the cake with four layers

(because this allows for more whipped cream filling!)

The chocolate frosting is delicious.

Adelaide just blew out her first candle!

Milk Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 C Sifted Cake Flour

1 2/3 C Sugar

4 t Baking Powder

1 t Salt

5 T Cocoa

2/3 C Soft Shortening

1 1/3 C Evaporated Milk

1 1/2 t Vanilla

3 Eggs

Directions:

Sift all dry ingredients together. Beat shortening, evaporated milk and vanilla for 2 minutes. Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pan(s) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Be careful not to over bake. Let cool for ten minutes. Put homemade whipping cream between layers and frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 t Vanilla

1/4 C Butter

1/3 C Cocoa

1/4 C Milk

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if necessary to reach desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Miss Adelaide!

I can't believe it has been a year already since our Adelaide was born (and look how dark her hair was). She is such a sweetheart and Rick and I have enjoyed our first year learning how to be parents on our little guinea pig of a child.

As every parent does, we just adore Adelaide. Some of the things we especially love:

Adelaide is (almost) always happy. I can't count how many times friends, family and complete strangers have told us, "I've never seen such a happy/friendly/smiley/giggly baby."

Adelaide loves to eat. Perhaps she got this trait from her parents? We thoroughly enjoy our family dinners eating and laughing together.

Adelaide is very smart. She is a problem solver and figured out early in life how to bite off the lid of a puffs container and reach her little fingers inside to come out with a handful. She is extremely inquisitive and curious.

Adelaide makes funny sounds. She started out with distinct pterodactyl sounds as an infant but lately has begun making human screeching and screaming sounds. She especially loves to make these quirky sounds during church or while holding an exciting toy (i.e. plastic ball).

Adelaide is a great travel companion. She has been on 17 flights during her first year and traveled to San Diego, North Carolina, San Jose, Boise, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. She was a constant flirt with the flight attendants and other passengers. She also travels great on our camping adventures and road trips.

Adelaide is a water baby. She loves bath time. She loves to swim in the pool even if the water is too cold for her parents. She loves the beach and would fearlessly crawl straight out into the ocean if left unattended. When we walk near a fountain she gets upset that I don't let her get in.

Adelaide is a great workout buddy. While I trained for my half marathon she sat in front of me in the Bob stroller for the majority of my runs. She also has been on numerous family bike rides. She sits there babbling to herself and occasionally nods off to sleep.

Adelaide is great at entertaining herself. She loves some of the typical things like her baby doll, stuffed animals and books, but her very favorites of course are recyclables, rugs, lotion and shampoo bottles, phones, cords, remotes, cameras, computers, printers, iPods and wallets.

Adelaide loves animals, especially dogs. They love her too at first, but then she overwhelms them by her squealing and French kisses.

Adelaide is a mini-Rick. She literally looks exactly like he did when he was a baby. And they have so much fun being crazy together.

Adelaide has beautiful eyes that I am constantly staring at to try to figure out their color. They are like a deep grayish blue and I love them.

Adelaide is very social. Even at the grocery store she will try to catch people's attention and once she has eye contact she will smile and be all cute while they admire her. Basically she constantly craves attention and loves to interact with anyone and everyone.

Thank you God for sending us such an adorable and wonderful baby. We love her so much and can't wait to watch her grow up in years to come.

Almost Walking

but not quite.

Grandpa R. sent over an early birthday present and Adelaide loves trying to walk with it.

She has trouble turning so she just squeals when she hits a wall until one of us comes to help her redirect.

So excited about this gift!

cute chubby legs.

Concentrating.