End of July already

So I have been a little delayed in our new blog posts...but nothing really new to report. Jonathan has this weekend off...so I thought I would catch up a little bit while Addison naps (or reads in her crib while she is supposed to be napping). :) Anywho, we are all doing great...same thing different day. Addison is doing wonderful...learning and saying all kinds of new things everyday. And did I mention that she LOVES to read!?! One of her teachers said that her vocabulary is really growing...and we can sure tell! She loves to repeat words and sometimes it is funny what actually comes out of her mouth as she tries to talk. Yesterday I told her to say "See you later" and she came pretty close! She can tell us that she wants milk or water ("wawer"), and today she said "gayray" (gaterade). Too funny! Here are some other memorable things that she is doing now:

- When Jonathan and I are getting ready to put her down for a nap, she tries to make us lay down (she'll push on our backs if we are on the floor). Once we are down, she'll find a blanket (or a towel) and cover us up. She even gives us a toy or stuffed animal too. I'll have to try and catch a picture of this when she does it to Jonathan. :)

- She loves to help me in the kitchen. When I am making something where I can get her to help me...like putting cheese on something or stirring...I get the step ladder and Addison watches and helps. It is so fun to watch her...can't wait until she can really help bake cookies. :)

- She loves to give hugs and kisses. I'll ask for a hug or a kiss and she'll give me one and then go give daddy one. She'll kiss and hug her babies or Elmo if they are close enough at the time.

- She LOVES LOVES LOVES Elmo!! She usually watches at least one episode when we get home from school. She gets mad if we don't fast forward through Sesame Street to go straight to Elmo's World. Here she is watching Elmo's World:

- She pushes her baby doll stroller all over the house! She also tries to sit in it herself and get us to push her.

- When she starts to whine like she wants something (usually to eat or drink), we'll go to her and ask her to use her words. Then she usually says "help me" or tells us what she wants like "milk" or "cookie."

- She is trying so hard to hop! It is funny to watch...like she's trying to jump into the ground rather than off the ground. Hard to explain but hilarious.

- When she's done with dinner or snack, she says "all done." (And then usually pulls her bib off or throws her spoon/fork on the floor.)

- She asks to "walk" alot now...which is great except when we are in a hurry. Her walking consists of a slow stroll and wants to stop and look/touch/smell everything! When she goes up or down the stairs she doesn't want you to be near her...she'll turn around and wave her hand saying "no, no, no" because she doesn't want you to help her. She's actually gotten really good at going up...its the down part we are still working on.

- Eating spaghettio's...she always looks like this:

- Playing in the tub...lining her bath toys on the ridge of the tub. She can also pick up the toys that you ask her to. For example if I ask her where is the dolphin...she picks it up (and sometimes throws it to me). Haha! Oh, and she loves to splash and often tries to drink the bath water. Yuk!

Addison's first trip to the dentist

On July 15 (21 months), Addison went to her first appointment with the dentist. We chose a pediatric dentist, Dr. Bittle, who came recommended by friends. We always brush her teeth before bedtime and don't let her have anything but water after that. From what I have read, the recommendation of a first trip to the dentist is around 12 months. I thought this was a bit too early, but thought maybe around age 2 we would go.
The waiting room area was pretty fun for Addison, although she seemed to like the door to the playroom the best (in and out, in and out). Then she found the chalk board. This was fun as long as I could keep her from putting the chalk into her mouth! LOL!
After a few minutes, they called us back and Addison wanted to sit in the big chair all by herself. I brought my camera with me, but felt silly trying to take a picture, so unfortunately I have no pictures (mad at myself now). The hygenist gave her a stuffed animal and some books, and Addison was just fine. The dentist came in and started asking her about the book. Then he counted her fingers and toes (to get her comfortable with him), and slowly worked his way to her face. She was looking over at me like "who is this guy?" It took alot not to laugh...
She did good until of course he wanted to look inside her mouth. She started crying a little bit and reaching out for me, but the dentist was great and kept telling her "you have no idea how much it helps when you do that" meaning that he was able to see her teeth much better when she was yelling (haha)!
He told me everything looked really good, and he would like to see her in a year unless we had any other problems or her 2 year molars came in sooner than that (which he said did not look like they would be coming anytime soon).
One memorable moment...while the dentist was talking to me about Addison's teeth, Addison had gone into her diaper bag, gotten the wipes, a diaper, and the mat that I lay her on to change her diaper. She was sitting in the big dentist chair attempting to put a diaper on the stuffed animal the hygenist had given her! It was too funny!
Addison left with a new toothbrush and 2 little plastic fish. I think she did a great job...and I feel better knowing that we are doing the right things to keep her teeth clean at this point. Yay!

Trip to Florida and Alabama

So I have not posted anything in a while. We are in the process of moving all of our blogs from Addison's old webpage (www.babymcneal.com) to this new one. However, it has been a while, so I will try and catch up a little bit.

Addison and I took a little hiatous from Virginia since her school was closed for the week of June 28. I had to take off work anyway, so we flew to Florida to see my mom and stepdad for a few days. We had a blast and got to see my sister Jen and her little boy, Colton. We took the kids to the waterpark in Crestview and they had a ball!

Addison kept running through the water fountains and trying everything out.

She even went up the stairs and down the slides multiple times. Needless to say, she tuckered out on the way home.
The next day, we headed back to Ft. Walton to see my grandmother (Oma) and take her to breakfast. Well, Addison had other plans and had an ultimate meltdown in the IHOP! We literally had to leave the restaurant. That was definitely a first for me...but I'm afraid it won't be the last meltdown. So much for the terrible twos...she's only 20 months old and I'm afraid they have already set in!

Addison also is in this phase now where she will bite herself or pull out her hair to get my attention. She especially does this when she wants something and I refuse (mostly because she could hurt herself) or alot of times when she wants out of the car seat and I won't let her (while the car is moving). I just tell her that I will get her our when we stop. She has left bite marks on herself (and me) and has pulled alot of her front hair out. So frustrating for me...but I think (I hope) it is just a phase.

After a few days in Florida, we headed to Montgomery, AL to spend some time with my dad, Sara and Courtney. We had a great time there too!

Addison and Courtney

We went to the YMCA pool the first day, and Addison again sprinted right for the water. I bought her some swimmies to try and keep her from going under the water. She has always LOVED the water and was so excited about this new found independence. The pool was zero entry and only 3 feet deep. She walked all over that pool and of course still thought it would be fun to go under. I was always right beside her, ready to pick her back up to do it again. She had a BLAST!

The next night, we went to Bass Pro Shops, and I think this was the funnest part of our trip to AL! We spent about 1 1/2 hours in that store and Addison and Courtney just explored every inch of it! I got some great photos too...they really had a great time climbing in and out of the boats, tents, and ATVs. Then we went to dinner there and Addison was surprisingly really good the whole day!
We also went to the Montgomery Zoo...and had a great time. We saw lots of animals, and got really close to a giraffe's tongue! Addison could point to some of the animals if I asked her where they were. She loved looking at all the animals, but was also very interested in pushing her stroller around. This zoo is really good! I was surprised by the habitats they have there and so many different animals! Our favorite was the monkeys...even had one climb on the window right in front of us! We rode the train around the zoo as well, and Addison seemed to enjoy the trip! We played on the zoo playground too...and Addison enjoyed the slide for sure!

The airplane rides were actually very uneventful this time too! I was a little worried about traveling with Addison without Jonathan's help...but Addison did GREAT! She loves to wave and blow kisses to people...she is such a ham! She'll often stand on my legs and look back in the plane to see everyone.
A couple other quite memorable moments that happened recently....I bought Addison a potty chair (pink baby bjorn chair) and she loves sitting on it. She sets her dolls in it too. So we've been putting her on it before getting in the bathtub (without her clothes or diaper) to see if she would do anything and mainly just to get her comfortable on it. Well, about a week ago...she did it! She went pee pee in the potty for the first time! She hasn't done it since...but she did it!! We are going to start trying a little harder now that we are done traveling for a while and see what happens.