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!