Dora!

Adelaide's first live show was a success last Sunday morning. We took her to see Dora the Explorer Live! She was so excited to go see Dora and her friends. When we got there, she walked right up to pose for her photo, and the woman taking pictures couldn't believe how well she took direction.

Ade awake from nap - more to come later!

Pee Pee in ze Potty

Adelaide has now peed in her potty twice, and we are so excited. She is starting to really understand. Even when she doesn't go to the potty, she knows she is going in her diaper or pull-ups. Sometimes she realizes too late, or is too busy to care. I think we are making real progress though!

The Guhs (though now Adelaide is saying grandma and grandpa better) are here this weekend. Grandpa took her to Target to pick out a new toy today, and here they are with her crawling baby:

Tomorrow morning we are taking Adelaide to see Dora the Explorer Live! downtown. I am not sure if she will sit still, but I am keeping my expectations low. If she has a great time for 20 minutes, then that is fine. I can't wait to see her reaction.

Short post today, but you never know how long a nap will last, and mommy needs some time to herself ;-)

Sleep patterns

The past few days Adelaide has adjusted her sleeping patterns. She falls asleep easier at night, allowing both of us, not just Daddy, to lay her down almost asleep. And, she has been sleeping in until shortly after 7. I am sure this will be short-lived, but we are enjoying it while it lasts.

This weekend I had an all-day class on social media on Valentine's Day, so Ryan and I had a quick dinner out at Red Robin on Friday (romantic!). I got Adelaide a Cupid Potato Head, showed her how to do it once, and she mastered it. That kind of surprised me, considering devoid of his parts it is a brown lump with small holes. She knew exactly where each piece went to make him whole again, and was able to manipulate those tiny pieces.

Ryan got her a Red Sox hat, which she sported while she spent VDay with daddy and Aunt Jenna:

I have also been teaching her how to shake hands and say, "Nice to meet you!" as well as give thumbs up and thumbs down. 

I also owe an update on the fish tank, which has been a huge hit, as you can see by her Vday pose:

She sits next to the tank at least twice a day to feed the fish and say hello to them. Currently we have:

• Domino
• Creamsicle
• Stormy (red and black for Hurricanes)
• Mr. Pleco
• Blackie (Adelaide named)
• Swordtail
• Heart

We can probably get a few more for our 12 gallon tank, but we have acquired the fish in three separate trips to spread out the joy of the activity.

We are looking forward to this weekend when the Guhs are headed down for a visit. 

The Perfect Weekend

This past weekend, we had a perfect weekend. I think I will outline it for posterity, so we remember what a perfect weekend felt like in 2009.

Friday:

• We had April and Jozef over for dinner while they were in town, and Adelaide really took to April, feeding her many objects including rawhide bones, which April gamely nibbled on.
  

Saturday:

• Yoga in the morning, while Ade played in the Y's nursery.
• Ryan went to the car show while Jenna and I took Ade to pick out some fish for her new fish tank (more on that in a future post).
• While Ade napped, Ryan and I sat on the porch in the gorgeous 70 degree weather and read and drank a beer.
• After nap, we played outside and then went to eat dinner at Shuckers. Mmmmm.
• In the evening, I worked while Ryan watched NASCAR.

Sunday:

• I did laundry, bills, and household chores while Ryan played with Ade.
• Jenna came over to play while Ryan and I showered, etc.
• We went to meet the Frank's at Falls Lake dam and took a walk, played on the playground, and threw rocks into the lake. Then we ate lunch at a Mexican place and Ade said "Quesadilla!"
• During Ade's nap, Jenna and I went to the Morrisville outlets and I stocked up at Carter's outlet.
• Ryan and I played outside with Ade and grilled out in the afternoon. We all ate outside on the patio at dinner.
• In the evening we watched some TV and went to bed early.

What a perfect ratio of work, chores, alone time, couple time, and family time. It was just a great weekend, and gorgeous weather. Ade sure didn't complain, especially about the corn on the cob:

OCD or just a toddler?

First, let's take a look at the cutest little smiling model:


And here is Ade celebrating the Steelers sixth Superbowl win:


So, to the matter - Adelaide is a bit obsessive. I think it is just a toddler figuring out what she can master, but you be the judge...

• Ade wants to wash her hands 800 times a day, for long periods of time. If even the smallest almost invisible crumb is on her hand, she hold her little chubby fingers out and insists, "Wash!" She will pump the soap, adjust the water stream and scrub scrub scrub. When she finally finishes - we usually have to pry her away - she holds her hands up like a surgeon and walks out, sleeves up, to show her clean hands off.
• She lines up objects. But, she doesn't just line them up. They are in impeccable lines worthy of Arlington National Cemetary, with exact spacing between them. The other night she lined up flash cards she loves in a big pattern all around where she was sitting on the floor. As she sat back to survey her work, Ryan came in and was in shock that she had done it herself. If any of the cards touched, she heaved a frustrated sigh and righted them.
• There is a stack of coasters in the living room, and she goes and lines them up over and over. If I restack them, she relines them.
• She loves to put things away, and regularly helps put the folded laundry into drawers. She doesnt like things to be left out. 
• She loves puzzles. Puzzles!

Alas, her cleanliness stops there. She does not mind at all a dirty diaper. So, even though she loves to play potty, and knows all of the routine (toilet paper, flushing, washing hands, she even says "Pssss!" like she is peeing) she will not actually go. We got her some Dora "big girl diapers", or pull-ups, which she LOVES. This has motivated her to want to sit on the toilet more often, but again, not to actually go. Oh well... she has time to learn.

American Indian Chinese (AIC)

Adelaide speaks a new language, which as far as we can tell is a hybrid of American Indian (we can't discern which tribe) and Chinese (also not sure of the dialect). She has been speaking this magical language more frequently lately. Check out some of her vocalization here:

Adelaide is learning English as a second language, apparently.

Another odd Adelaide moment occurred last night. Typically when I leave for class, we try to get her interested in something she really enjoys when I leave. Under normal circumstance we always say goodbye and don't sneak away as the "experts" advise, but in the evening when I leave for class, we don't want Ade having a breakdown for daddy at bedtime. So, she has learned that if Daddy offers to take her upstairs to watch Lion King that means mommy is leaving, and can result in "No, Mama! No, Mama!" Last night she was asking to see Lion King, and Ryan asked if she wanted to go upstairs with him and she said Yes! and started heading for the stairs. Then she stopped, turned, waved and said "Bye!" to me. Ryan and I both looked at each other like, "Did that just happen?" Ryan walked with her up the stairs, and I headed out. In the car, I texted him, "Did Adelaide just tell me Bye like she knew I was leaving and it was okay???" I am not sure if this was a one-time event, or if next week she will be so accommodating again. We shall see.

In Ade's words, "Yamma shammie oh uh aye yeee shom."