Yes No Yes No

We have mastered a few new skills this week:

• Nodding our head yes
• Shaking our head no
• Using the baby sign for eat and then pointing to what she wants to eat
• Saying baby (sometimes in reference to her baby)
• Saying kitty (mostly in reference to the kitty)
• Maybe saying binkie (has been used appropriately for her binkie)
• Following many more complicated requests (such as bring mama the baby with the bottle, go find the ball, where is elmo, bring mama a book to read etc)
• And jumping on the bed!

And on a funny note... Addy is eating like crazy right now, she must be in a growth spurt. So I asked if she was a hungry little monster and she pointed to the cat. We call one of our cats Delia monster and apparently she has caught on!

Also she has now been off the bottle and on real milk for a month now with NO problems! It was the easiest transition ever!

Play date with Lolo!

While up in the cities, grandma, Addy and I were able to sneak in a playdate with a good friend from when I was little, her two little girls, and her mom. Lolo and Addy played. Lolo showed Addy the ropes and even taught her how to jump on the trampoline! Poor baby Brooke watched and almost got knocked on the head numerous times by various toys but none the less survived the playdate. I am sure by our next playdate she will be crawling all over and joining in on the fun!

Meet Hello

This weekend we took a spur of the moment trip up to the cities. Grandma took us to the mall and Addy made a special stuffed animal to keep up at Grandmas for visits. We went to Build-a-Bear and Addy picked out a little kitty stuffed animal. She got to stuff it, kiss its heart and put it in, and give it an air bath. She even got a cute little kitty pajama outfit for it. We named the kitty Hello. Cute huh (do you get it, if not think about it a while!).

A new day, a new view

Happy Obama Day!

For those of you who have not heard or read his speech, I would recommend googling it and reading it. Here is a short exerpt...

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. .... We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. "

Here's hoping the next 4 (or 8) years are filled with hope and progress.

And with the turn of the president, we decided to change our blog background. A new view for you to enjoy! I am working on a picture header for the title but that will take some time!

On another note, please keep my parents and family in your thoughts and prayers during this stressful time. Thank you in advance.

I will try to post some new pics in the next couple days!

Happy MLK day!

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr gave a speech that changed the way Americans think and changed our history forever. He spoke of breaking the racial divide, of being able to live in harmony, to live in a country where everyone is treated equally.

As tomorrow approaches and history is made with the inauguration of an African American president, we remember this amazing man who helped start the movement that is slowly bringing our country closer to realizing his dream.

Even though racism still very much exists, we are making small strives every day to break the barrier and stand up for what is right.

Please let people know that racism, racist terms, attitudes, and comments are not OK. Speak your mind. Every time you ignore a comment, you are reinforcing to that person that what they are doing is OK and even though you may not realize it, you are then in fact supporting their behavior. So as uncomfortable as it is, stand up and say something. Even saying something as simple as "what makes you say that?", "why do you feel that way?", "I find what you just said very offensive" or "in our family we don't support your behavior/comments" will let the person know that it is not OK and at least make them think twice before doing it again with you present.

Part of Martin Luther King Jr's legacy is what made it possible for us to cross racial lines and adopt our amazing beautiful daughter. We know that challenges may lie in the future but are ready to face them head on, as a family united.

OK, off my soapbox!

Double Toothage!

Here is an update to a previous post titled "We Have Toothage"....

The second top one poked through. Once again you will have to squint and look closely to see that on the right side of the picture there is a tiny corner of a tooth poking through. The left side of the picture has gIgantor tooth coming in!




Does anyone else think their kids are the cutest thing on earth and wish you could just brag about them all day! Well this blog gives me a place to do just that! And for those of you interested in all of the tiny details of life with Addy, here are some more stories of cuteness....

So I had to take a picture of Addy and her new tooth today. She is very interested in the camera so I turned it around so we could look through the pictures. She pointed to people in them (ok me and herself) so I told her who they were. Then we got to one of the sledding pictures of the two of us and she leans forward and kisses my picture! SOOO CUTE. ok so my camera is a little drooly now but who could resist that!

I taught Addy how to wink, well it's not really winking but she closes her eyes really tight and then opens them up fast and smiles. So if you ask her to wink she does it a couple times and is very proud of herself.... So yesterday I read her a book. Its a little board book, maybe 8 pages, something about barnyard animals. So I read about the cow and said that a cow said "MOO" she mumbled something back that sort of sounded like a moo. Then I read about the pig and how it said "oink oink", well apparently in baby world, oink oink sounds an awful like wink wink! She started winking like crazy when I said oink oink! Too funny!

Stay tuned for more Addy-isms!

We found our TUMMY....

I ran upstairs to grab a snack for Miss Addy and this is what I came back too....

She figured out how to get her shirt off and found her tummy which apparently is the coolest thing. She pushes it in and out and then laughs and laughs. So we refused to wear our shirt for about an hour until she decided it was too cold. Her clothing remained on the rest of the evening!

A Year in Review....

Addy is now almost 13 months old, can you believe it?!! What a cutie! I cannot believe how much she has changed in the past year. When you look at the pictures above, month by month she grew and grew into a little girl. The last picture makes her look SO old! She is such a sweet little girl and we just love her up every day.

Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can see them all more easily.

We have TOOTHAGE!!!

Look closely on Addy J's top gum line (no not at the cherrio's), there is a little toothy poking through! (When you look at the picture, on the left, midline.) The other one isn't far behind! A couple weeks ago we had a rough go while they were moving down but she didn't even notice that it poked through! Yay for teeth... With teeth come great things, like REAL FOOD! No more lonely teethers!

Snow Day Shmow Day

Jared got let out early today at 10AM so he and Addy got some special play time in. I decided to come home a little early and once little peanut woke up for her nap, we all bundled up to go out in the fluffy snow! She LOVES it! She was all smiles. We went sliding down our tiny hill in our front yard and then rode up and down the sidewalk in the sled and topped it off with a little fort (otherwise known as a big hole) built by dad. Here are a couple pics of her first time really sledding!






These are the moments that I live for. The small things that make us happy and make us really know what a wonderful thing being a family is. Something so simple as sledding becomes a moment to remember, the making of memories and traditions for each new year to come. A moment of truely being present in the moment and enjoying every minute together. Here's hoping for many more memorable wonderful family moments in the year to come.

Belated Birthday Gift

We have a good friend that I have been friends with since I was born whose mother-in-law makes these amazing winter hats. We got one last year and loved it but Addy's head was a little too big for it this year. Well we got two more and they are adorable! She loves them and will even leave them on. She will rub her face on the fuzzy part and then laugh and laugh like it is the funniest thing she has ever done. It is pretty cute. So here are a couple pics (I couldn't resist) of her and her hats!

One year pics!

A couple weeks ago we did Addy's one year pictures...

We have a good friend who has been doing our photography for us and has done a great job... Who knew a teething, wiggly, one year old would be so hard to take pictures of! Well here are some of the beautiful pictures we got!

We even went out and took pictures in the snow for Addy's first snow experience. She dug a whole.... and then nose dove right in!

What are these things you call beef sticks....

And why to they taste so darn good!

And so Addy had her first real meal and fed herself. Granted she has been working on it but we haven't been able to find enough different things for our picky little eater (must take after mama!). So typically meals are string cheese, numerous types of crackers, cherrios, applesauce, yogurt and any combination of the aforementioned foods. But tonight, tonight we branched out into a full fledged meal.... one and a half chicken tenders, three tatortots, half a beef stick, ritz crackers, and a few ounces of milk... Wow what a good little eater! Ok, so maybe not the healthiest of meals but a good start none the less.

Page 2!

Here is the matching page to the one two posts ago! I am starting to catch on but it sure takes some time to learn a new program.

Last day of Kwanzaa

Today is the last day of Kwanzaa. Today represents Imani, faith. Faith in ourselves, our family, our future, and our past. On the seventh day a feast is had with African and African American food and there is a big celebration. The last candle on the Kinara is lit.

And so today, our local Harambee Transracial Parenting Group had a gathering. We all brought a dish to share of an African or African American recipe, we had an African drummer who brought a bunch of different African drums and instruments that the kids learned to plan, and a hip hop dancer who taught everyone a dance. Addy had a good time dancing and listening to the drums!