Just a Thursday

Just a few photos because it's Thursday.

crawling

Addie's crawling! She still gets across the room like a little soldier Army crawling but she's also getting around the typical way on all fours. Her new favorite adventure sport is trying to pull herself up on her excersaucer which not only rocks back and forth but turns in circles. Not too safe but she adores standing and holding on.

toy box obsession

The toy box is Addie's newest obsession. She stands over it holding on to the edge or balances her belly on the side while she sifts through all the toys. She doesn't quite understand how to go from standing to sitting. This morning she found the toy she was reaching for in the toy box. Once she had a hold of it she no longer had a grip on the side of the box. She quickly plopped down on her rear and gave out a little squeal of shock and pain. That diapered rump will feel plenty of falls in a lifetime. Here Addie is playing inside the toy box (totally blew her mind to be inside!) and also standing outside with her handbag. She's shopping!

On another note; project Sleep Through the Night has commenced. Addie only woke twice last night and didn't drink a whole bottle the entire night. We let her cry when she woke and a few times she put herself back to sleep. Night one was a good start.

new old cool

I'm a sucker for products that are marketed as being old fashioned. It's in my blood, I was born with the antique love in my genes. While at Target on Monday I admired a new line of environmentally concious products by JR Watkins. The natural plant-based home care products are all packaged in adorable old apothecary style bottles with cool old labels. I had absolutely no need to bring any of it home but how could I not? I NEEDED the hand soap. The scent is pleasant and it's all natural so really I'm saving the environment. Anyway, I'm a marketing team's dream come true because JR Watkins reminds me so much of my favorite skin care line C.O. Bigelow whome I originally brought home for the same reason I have new hand soap in the kitchen. Now I can't live without the No. 1055 Extra-light face lotion with chamomile and parsley extract. I guess I see that old fashioned courier font and the word "apothecary" and get all stupid. Shopping for your goodies at the chemist or apothecary is so romantic with all the brown glass bottles and herbal remedies. Then I think about all the creepy medical stuff that went on in the mid 1800's and I am glad that I get to enjoy the cuteness of that medical era in the packaging of household and personal care products marketed to yuppies like me!

barking like a seal

Well, we can add croup to the list of illnesses Addie has experienced. Her cold turned into a nasty barking cough this afternoon. She cries everytime she coughs because it's such a deep horrible bark. We've cranked her humidifier up but we are expecting to be up double-time with her tonight. Although it was a three day weekend we aren't more rested because of it. The last few nights have been tough. Justin and I try to take turns soothing her when she wakes but whenever Justin picks her up she immediately cranes her neck towards the door and cries for her Mama. In the end I'm up most of the night with her. Tonight should be extra exhausting.

Besides croup, Addie has had a pretty exciting weekend. She's army crawling around the house. She makes a few steps forward on her hands and knees but her quickest mode of transportation is still army crawling. She's pulling herself up on the toy box and coffee table. She's making me a bit more nervous with all her bouncing and grabbing and pulling of everything that is in sight. She's also decided that strained food is for the birds, "give me the real stuff!". She tried cooked carrots, zucchini, apples, pasta, bread, scrambled egg yolk, and cheese this weekend. If she wasn't sick I think she would have devoured it all. That being said she still had fun playing with all the bits of food and eating some of it too. Avacado is still her favorite. Addie is now drinking water from a sippy cup. It took all of an afternoon for her to use the cup on her own. She's totally advanced...I'm sure of it. Watching her use the sippy cup, put food in her mouth with her hands, and stand at her toy box and reach for toys that catch her fancy all make me so proud. All of this while she was sick. Watch out for the weekend when she is feeling 100%. She's amazing.

Annapolis

Saturday was the first date Justin and I have been on alone since our anniversary last June. The last time we had approximately 2 hours to get sushi and rush home before our 4 week old newborn needed to eat again. Coincidentally we chose sushi for this date too. We dropped Addie off at Kiki and Po's house before we headed to downtown Annapolis, MD. The day was cold but sunny. The freedom of being without the responsibility of Addie made me giddy to eat, shop, and leisurely walk around like grown-ups. We held hands and ordered drinks with lunch (mine was tea but still). The sushi was delicious at Yin Yankee Cafe. We got a hot butterscotch butter brikle sundae then walked the shops so I could drool over the expensive boutique clothing. We finished up the date with a movie-in the theater-Juno. It was sweet and funny and full of pop lingo that made me feel a little bit old and very thankful I never got pregnant in high school. It was a perfect day.

this is for real

Our soon approaching move to Manila feels suddenly very "real" now that I have two sore arms and had to rip off three Band-aids from vaccinations I received today. Nothing like a little pain to make the enormity of moving overseas a reality. In all honesty, it's very exciting-and scary at the same time. I felt a bit more at ease after I grilled the nurse about Typhoid fever, Dengue fever, Malaria, Rabies, and a few other nasty diseases that we don't give a second thought to here in the States. In the Philippines these are very real worries and concerns. I have a long list of vaccinations yet to get before we leave and even a few that I will receive later in Manila. The real worry of mine is protecting my daughter who is too young still to receive the large array of immunizations that adults get. I hope family is ready to ship us bug spray and citronella candles.