Christmas!

Addie had her first Christmas and it was wonderful! It was just the 3 of us and we got an unexpected snow storm that day, so we were warm & cozy indoors. Addie enjoyed opening her gifts (though i think we enjoyed watching her even more!). She wasn't big into the wrapping paper, but once she saw the toy, she got a cute little smile on her face and would poke at it with her index finger. We read a boardbook about Jesus' birth and the reason we celebrate Christmas...Addie loves turning the pages for us. Though we missed our families back in CA & MN, nothing beats a quiet Christmas at home!

Merry Christmas from the Mercer's!


Yummy Christmas Eve feast!



waking up to new toys...yay!

my best friend, "cowie"

Addie has a best friend named "cowie." It's a security blanket w/ a cow's head & arms on top (actually it might be a giraffe, but i think it looks like a yellow cow). We got it when Addie was about 7 months old and started giving it to her whenever she slept, hoping she'd become attached and it'd help her sleep when not at home. Well it worked...too well! She doesn't sleep easily without it. We had to get another "cowie: after it was left at daycare once and we had to drive back & get it. She likes to suck on the arms, which can get pretty gross, so we are washing them pretty much every day. So far Addie has made transitions very easy for us. She gave up her pacifier and thumb sucking on her own at about 6-7 months, but it's looking like "cowie" will be around for awhile :) The only way to get her to let it go is to replace it with a bottle when she wakes up!

First Haircut!

First Thanksgiving & first haircut all in one.

Not a professional doo, but a trim by mom on the kitchen table none the less. We had a dilemma...keep the shaggy, pre-mullet going, or risk making her look even more boyish. We took the risk and here she is:

Before:

During:

After:


oh and today we found two more bottom teeth, for a grand total of eight! She used those new teeth to chew up some yummy turkey, which put both her & I to sleep for a long nap!

Happy Thanksgiving!

movin & shakin

Addie finally crawled today! We thought she was just gonna skip it. She has been pulling herself up and walking around the furniture for at least a week now. To get around, though, she would sit up, then go flat on her belly, then roll over & sit back up again.
Check out some footage:

Halloween Chicken

Addie was a cute little chick for her first Halloween. She got to go to a 1st grade party with daycare, so she was a bit worn out for the evening. We went to my (Kassie's) work and got her picture taken and visited my co-workers. She was a hit and got tons of oohs & awws. From there we went over to some friends to go trick or treating, but Addie was so worn out she fell asleep on the way and she awoke and was overly tired when we got there, so she had a bit of a meltdown and cried for awhile before finally giving in and falling asleep again. Oh well, she wouldn't have gotten the candy anyway :)

9 months and oh so grown up!

Addie had her 9 month photo shoot and had a blast! One of her favorite things is fake laughing...where she chuckles just to get a laugh. She was doing this the whole time and also she recently started clapping. Whenever she gets upset, we just clap and she starts clapping & everything is all better :)

It's been a wonderful month. Addie is so much fun and just an overall easy kid. She now says "Dada" and will repeat it on command. She has also said "mama" and "dog" but we're pretty sure those were accidents. When we ask to to say them again, she says "dada." She also just started responding to the cats when they meow. She tries to meow back, but it sounds more like a sigh in her softest, highest pitched voice. It's really cute.

She also had her 9 month check-up and all is good. She's slowed down on her growth and at 20 lbs, she's now only in the 75th percentile.

We are thrilled that she's still not crawling. She gets on all fours and rocks back and fourth, though, so it appears imminent. She stands pretty well while holding onto the couch and us, but hasn't ventured to take a step yet.

Family

Here's one of the shots from our photo shoot in MN...what cute cousins! (L to R: Addie, 8.5 months, Stella, 3 years, Henri, 6 months)

New friend!

During our visit to MN, Addie finally got to meet Jordan (the son of our dear friends Sally & Matt). They are quite opposites, but still seemed to like each other. Addie has always been on the chunky side...Jordan is a lightweight, Addie is content to sit and play whereas Jordan loves to be on his belly and roll all over!




She also got so see cousins Stella & Henri again and took pictures with them in the park...we'll post some when we get them back.

How Many Lakes?

Last weekend our family trekked out to Minnesota for Kassie's grandparents 60th anniversary. We were only there for 3 days but we had a great time and got to see a lot of our awesome friends and family!

Addie did great on both plane trips, sleeping for a majority of both flights, but, i doubt we'll be flying again anytime soon. Kassie and I are totally done with airports. I guess its everyone else's turn to come see us!

Glasses!

Yes, our 8 month old now wears glasses. We took her in for a routine visit at 6 months (the recommended age) and they unexpectedly found something...she is more far-sighted than most kids her age. This was making it hard for her to focus on close objects and once in awhile one of her eyes would turn in from the strain. If left alone, she may have developed a lazy eye and it could have slowed down her development. So now she has some flexible pink frames that she tries to pull off after just a couple minutes. I have a feeling we'll be fighting this battle for awhile!

FYI: all infants should have their first vision check before the age of one. There is a program called InfantSEE (www.infantsee.org) that offers a free check up for infants ages 6 to 12 months. The website can locate a participating optometrist near you. Apparently 1 in 10 kids have vision problems and most are not discovered until much later in life. Many problems can be prevented or more easily corrected if noticed early on.

Purple Pride

Though Dad is desperately trying to convert Addie into a Browns fan...the purple is just so much cuter on a girl:) Now that the Vikings won their first game, Addie will have to wear her jersey each week...it just might be good luck! Go Vikes!

Toothy-Montser

So Addie's teeth have come in with a vengeance! super fast! they probably came in based on her appetite, which is huge, therefore, she needs teeth! she now enjoys crackers, cheerios and puffs of which Polly is excited about since now there are an abundance of treasures on our kitchen floor.

oh, and taking pictures of your infants teeth, not the easiest job!

Polly and Me

Polly and Addie are such good pals. Everywhere we sit Addie, Polly will be there shortly, and she just lays down next to Addie. Addie will often pat or attempt to pet Polly, but whatever Addie does, Polly just lays there, like a good friend.

Calling My Number

So for those of you who don't know our current situation, Kass works every other weekend and therefore Brian is on daddy-daycare every other weekend by himself. this means taking Addie to church by himself, which isn't a big deal, at the least it's an hour of free daycare.

Twice in the last three weeks, Addie has decided that she didn't want to be in daycare any longer which then turns into a frightening moment for Brian...my number gets shown on the screen representing that my child is in need of attention (to put it lightly). Since we stated that its happened twice in the last three weeks, guess which two weeks they were...yup, the weeks that Kassie wasn't there.

Anyway, the first time it happened i about sprinted from my seat thinking the worst, she was dying, only to find out that she was tired. Later i was informed that they wouldn't put my number on the screen if she was dying, they'd probably call 911.

poor little girl, teething is not a fun thing!

water baby

Addie took her first swim today, in a pool in our front yard. It was a hot 90-something degrees. She got a little over zealous at first and tried to dive after her ducky. After momma rescued her, she braved the water again and had a blast sitting near the edge with mommy and splashing around with daddy.

teeth!

She's got two of them now! Aunt Virginia discovered that they were first coming in and that explained why she was having a fussy week...poor thing! The two sprouted up in just a few days, one right after the other. Now her gummy smile has two pearly whites, but is still just as cute :)

4th Baby

New Home

Our first family picture at the new house.

Sitting Proper

Uh-oh, next step is crawling!

Asleep at the wheel

How do you fall asleep while bouncing? It looks like this...

Cousin Henri

Cousin Henri, along with Uncle Brandon & Aunt Virginia came to visit last week. I had a great time with them. As you can see from the picture-we are good buds...he's 3 months & I'm now 6 months old. According to the dr, I'm still in the 95th percentile for weight & I'm 95th for height too! Henri is a big boy too-he understands me :) Mommy says she doesn't know where that height is coming from, when my feet aren't growing much longer. I guess I'm having my growth spurt now. I just got two teeth in too! Pictures will come when these darn gums stop hurting and I'm smiley again.
-Addie

Food shots

So i'll try not to post a picture of every new food she eats, but this was just too cute to not share...i think these were carrots. Looks like she likes 'em!

The floor is my playground

Addie did it! She rolled over...back to front! She now weighs about 17.5 lbs, so this was no easy feat. Brian walked at 10 months, so things may progress quickly from here on out! It was great and here's a shot of her "after" position :)

No applesauce, please

Finally a food she doesn't like...applesauce! I think it's still too sweet for her, as she wasn't too fond of peaches either, but loves carrots, peas & cereals.