The Handley Family: 38 Week Update

38 Week Picture:

This week was pretty eventful. Along with Addie's ever-growing personality, we had lots of little things to report on her milestones (see below). We had a family "lunch date" on Saturday with just the three of us which went really well. Addison sat like a big girl in the high chair at Applebee's and flirted with the waiter.

Milestones:

First Words?: When do you know for sure that your baby has actually said their first words? Addison has been saying dada and mama for weeks now indiscriminately, but this week she seemed like she might have said "dada" and KNEW what she was saying. I just don't know for sure. This is what happened... We called daddy when he was on his lunch break and put him on speaker. Of course, Addie loves to grab at the phone and "talk" to daddy. When we hung up, only a few seconds later, Addison looked at me and said "da-da-da" and smiled. Hmmm... you be the judge.

Miss Personality: Over the last several days, Addison has been displaying a very different personality. I guess you could call it moody but either way, she will go from happy to angry in seconds without any apparent trigger. Some of the pictures below you will see that she's happy in one and this instantly angry in the next. I've been trying to let the moods run their course without catering too much and coddling, but it gets hard when she's hysterical. Lets hope this is a VERY short phase she is going through :)

First drink from Sippy cup: This week we have been trying to introduce the sippy cup to Addison. The one we are trying out is the Orthodonic with Air System by NUK. The reason this sippy is supposed to be great is because of the soft mouth piece, easy grip handles, and it doesn't allow the baby to suck air so it makes for a great transition from an ordinary bottle. At first, Addison wouldn't touch this unusual contraption but finally agreed to chew on it. After a few more days, she finally sucked down her first drop of water. "YUCK" is the only way I can describe her face at that moment as she let the water drip out of her mouth. After another day though, she tried it out a few more times. She still isn't sold on this new drinking method, but has kept down a total of 1oz of water. A work in progress.

Flipping back: One of Addison's newest excitements is to flip herself back. She generally does this when in her high chair. The best way to describe it is that she will lean all the way forward and then throw her head back as hard as possible. Luckily, she can't hurt herself because she is buckled in and the chair is cushioned. She seems to do it mostly for attention at the dinner table, but mommy and daddy are doing their best not to feed into it. It's VERy hard not to laugh when she does it though! :)

Sleep Patterns...er... lack thereof: Something we have learned as parents is that just when you think you've developed a routine with your child, you blink, and they're changed again. Same goes with Addison's sleeping patterns. She went from sleeping the night through (in the beginning) to on again off again sleeping through the night. Some nights she'll sleep 7-9 hours with no problems, other nights, she will decide to wake up 3 or more times in the night. We haven't really established a reason for either one yet either.

Standing more: Addison can't stand without assistance yet, but she does great when she has something or someone to hold onto. She hasn't tried moving her feet to a walking motion yet but she will reach for something on a surface that she is standing against.

Eating solids: This week (with the exception of one or two days), Addison has had two meals of baby food solids per day. So far, Addie has been somewhat of a picky eater. Her favorites right now are Carrots, Corn, and Sweet Potatoes. In an effort to conquer her pickiness, mommy has been mixing things she likes with things she does not like. We also tried introducing YoBaby Yogurt, but that was a complete FAIL. Something funny we noticed this week was that when Addison doesn't like something she's eating, she will close one eye, make a face and start shaking her head "no". Although COMPLETELY funny and adorable, we're trying to keep from giving attention to such behavior :) ha ha

More Pictures from week 38:

She loves to watch daddy brush his teeth.