December 20, 2016

Adelaide is 11 months old.

Month 11
November 19th - December 19th


Adelaide:
At 11 months, she:
  • eats everything in sight
  • celebrated her first Thanksgiving
  • is learning to wave
  • is not sure how she feels about Santa
  • only wakes twice at night
  • moved in with big sister
  • is cuddly as ever!
We were getting no sleep at night so Michael and I decided to sleep in the living room for a week. A pull-out couch may not be the most comfortable, but in our sleep-deprived state, it was perfect. Without us being in the room with Adelaide, she started sleeping so much better at night! She went from 4-6 wake-ups to only 1 or 2. So after a week of seeing how she did, we decided to make the big move and put Adelaide's crib in Genevieve's room. Of course that first night she woke up more times than I could count and big sister was confused as to why she was up all night, but we are pushing through. Hopefully by the start of the year everyone will have adjusted and I will have my room back!

Genevieve:
It's been a fun month with this girl.
We are a couple of weeks into her new diet and somehow we have managed to find something for her to eat. It's been super hard but now that we have a plan we are adjusting to her new food. In case you missed it - she can't eat: gluten, rye, dairy, coconut, honey, banana, tomato, cashew, peanuts, almonds, pineapple, lemon, soy, sesame, barley, bran, malt, green peas, dill, and mustard. We haven't noticed a huge difference yet but hopefully a few more weeks of clearing this food out of her diet, she will feel so much better.

Genevieve had her Christmas performance this month and that was the highlight! She did such a great job standing still and singing, "Rocking around the Christmas Tree", "Feliz Navidad", and "We wish you a Merry Christmas". Her teacher noted how much of a rule-follower Genevieve is and how she gave all the children the stink eye when the other children were running around during rehearsal.

She is also becoming the sweetest big sister! She gets very frustrated when her little sister grabs her toys, but she is learning to say in a calm voice, "No Adelaide, this is my toy. You can play with this one." She has learned to give Adelaide a new toy to play with. And now that they are sharing a room, I can see their relationship blooming. I love it! :)

Other Happenings:
This is the season of holidays and family and lots of events!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of the family, which is always my favorite. It really is special that we live 45 minutes from ALL of Michael's and my immediate families. I have a feeling that a few years from now that might not be the case, so for now we are just soaking it all up!

Michael and I took the kids to the Farmers' Market for lunch and sitting at the table next to us was a group of tourists. Genevieve and Adelaide were giving smiles and so one of the ladies approached us and asked if we wanted four free tickets to see ICE at Opryland that night. These are like $40 tickets so we quickly invited some family and made a night of it. Although the ice sculptures were pretty amazing, it was absolutely freezing and I am thankful it was free. But memories were made and the older girls loved seeing their new favorite character - Rudolph.

I also celebrated Christmas with my work team. We have been together for a year and it was really special to get together with all the spouses over a meal and fire. I truly love every doula on our team and I am so thankful that this company has given me purpose, friendship, and joy this last year.

And of course we have been in Christmas preparation mode. Genevieve is entering into a new season of understanding holidays a little better. We had fun picking out our little tree (table tops are essential with a crawling/pulling baby), decorating our tree, and listening to Christmas music. We also met Santa Clause. Genevieve was very timid meeting him but now she can't stop talking about him. But then we decided to try a second Santa sighting. We have a family friend who looks like Santa and has the costume, so he came by my parents house to surprise the kids. What a treat! Genevieve sat on his lap for 10+ minutes singing songs and chatting with him. She loved it. I know she felt so special! It's been pretty magical. I didn't grow up with Santa Claus, neither did my husband, but it has been fun to watch Genevieve find the magic of Christmas with Santa. We aren't going to tell her that he is real (any more real than Mickey Mouse), but we are letting her just experience Christmas as it comes.

I am really excited for our family celebrations this next week!
My Sweet Adelaide, 
You are almost a toddler! What?! You are cruising, crawling, and pulling up on EVERYTHING. You are much more adventurous than your sister, which keeps us on our toes. You still smile for everyone and you are starting to wave and squeal. I already miss not having you in our room at night although watching you and your sister giggle at bedtime melts my heart. You are so loved, my little one. As I'm putting together a video of your first year of life, I am reminded about all the amazing moments we have shared. This time last year I was almost full-term anticipating your arrival and here we are with just one month away from your 1st birthday. I am going to cuddle you extra tight this holiday season. 
Love, Mama