Adam at 3 years & (almost) 2 months

Adam continues to amaze us every day. I refer to him as "personality plus -- both good & bad" since he is so incredibly strong-willed, curious and spirited. Fortunately, he is a very happy little guy -- as long as he's getting his way. If he's not, all heck breaks lose.... just as it has since his first temper tantrum at 7(or was it 9?) months old!!! There is never a dull moment with Little Love around!

Here's what our little guy is up to these days:

Playing: Adam continues to be interested in a wide assortment of activities. He still enjoys playing by himself. He especially likes to cook in his kitchen, play with his trains or turcks, and write (especially letters). He recently has begun to also take care of his doggies. He likes to feed, burp, rock and put them down for a nap. He has officially named Big Doggy "Ruff!" and his baby doll (yes, he has a baby doll... I bought it for him about a year ago and he has recently taken an interest in it) "Yoke". He really likes naming things these days with his absolute favorite name being MAX. I think it's from "Max and Ru.by" since he enjoys that show. Besides the common name of Max, he makes up the most random, nonsensical names for people. They usually have a German or Dutch sound like "Yogelshwawa" or something... it's truly hilarious. If you ask him to repeat the name he'll reply "I already told you!" I told you -- personality plus, that kid!
Adam's signature... and self-portrait =)

Adam also loves playing with other children, including our 5.5-year-old neighbor, Tara. It's so sweet since they started playing together 2 years ago. Now she'll even knock on the door sometimes and ask if Adam can play. She's very patient with him and he just loves her. He has also started interacting (cooperatively play) with the other kids during playdates. We hung out with Riley and Sean the other week and they had a great time together. Last week, we had a playdate with Sarah (and baby Ella) and Adam & Sarah held hands going down the slides together. It's so funny hearing him talk to other kids. He can get silly... purposely bumping into his friends... guess it's a boy thing?!? Regardless, it's really fun watching him interact & talk with other little people. =)
Playdate with Sarah

Of course, Adam still loves sports, running around, etc. And music. and TV. He's truly a Renaissan.ce Kid!



Potty Training: Besides sleeping, Adam is 98% potty trained. He's been 100% potty trained (including naps!) at school for months now. He's great about letting us know when he has to go potty and is beginning to use the potty in public places (ugh... I always have potty protectors). However, if I put him in a pull-up (in the fear that he'll have an accident when we're out), he will not go in the potty -- only in the pull-up. He usually doesn't have accidents, either... but traffic in D.C. isn't always the greatest and little ones can only hold it for so long. Any suggestions???

Eating: Adam eats pretty well, for the most part. He usually eats a decent breakfast and dinner... but a very small lunch. His teachers at school have recently been very upset about him not eating much at lunch. I have to remind them "not to force him" and that he's never been a huge eater. His 3-year-old check-up isn't for another month... he looks like he weighs around 30-ish pounds...I try not to stress too much about what he eats (or doesn't eat) these days. Fortunately, he still drinks milk (even "plain milk") so that helps with the calories. He eats all the toddler staples -- chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta, yogurt (in the tube), fruit (loves fruit), etc. He doesn't like to try too many othnew foods, though. He LOVES breads & sweets... definitely got my sweet tooth/fondness for carbs. The only time he'll really sit still and "nicely eat" is when he's eating dessert!!!
Finding a quiet spot to enjoy his ice-cream cone =)

Our little braniac: Adam continues to to be a chatterbox, like his mama. =) He loves to "read" books... creating stories from the pictures. He has quite the imagination! He also will amaze us with his knowledge. Last night he was stalling going to bed and asked for water. When we said we had to check if we had any, he said "You do... you have filtered water. Water comes from the tube(?) into the cup". Steven and I looked at each other in shock... filtered water? Really? I didn't even know of the term until I was in my 20's! He also mentioned how something had "energy" the other day. Looks like they really DO teach the kids science at his school, haha.

Our little sweetheart: Recently Adam has been giving us tons of hugs and REAL actual kisses several times a day. He's also saying "I love you, Mommy" or "I love you, Daddy" all day long. If he does something wrong he'll say "I'm sorry" and "Don't be sad". Of course, he still has temper tantrums (much less, thank goodness!) and then a whole other side comes out (beware!!!)... but, fortunately, he's usually our amazing Little Love.

LL at 29 months (UPDATED with more details)!

Our Little Love turned 29 months today! Unbelievable. Here's what he's been up to these days:

School: On Tuesday, Adam will start his new class at Mont.essori. More on that later (I'm quite nervous about the change)!!!

Sleep: Little Love has FINALLY been sleeping 10 hours straight without waking up in the middle-of-the-night since we've back from B'ham (yes, I realized I just jinxed this)! He's also taking shorter naps these days -- 2 hours instead of 3. Probably b/c he's sleeping better at night. He loves his big boy bed... but we still have to stay with him ("hold my feet!") until he falls asleep (usually relatively quickly).

Food: For the most part, LL is eating pretty well (for him). He had chicken mixed with rice & peas at Grandma's house today and loved it. He still usually eats the toddler basics: mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, etc. Recently, he enjoyed a slice of pizza and, shocker, he loves french fries now, too. Fruit still is his favorite food group, though... especially grapes! He also has a major sweet tooth these days... loves cake, cookies, etc. Big shocker since he's our kid, right?!? He had a cupcake from a birthday party (in his class) yesterday and I took a little bite. He was NOT amused...told Daddy that "Mama took a bite of my cake!"... I couldn't help laughing through my guilt!

Favorite Activities: Exploring & figuring out how things work, Playing Ball (any ball -- soccer, football, you name it - he loves it!), Water Table (or, more correctly, playing with the hose and getting Daddy all wet), Books (he now understands -- really understands -- stories... so he loves reading! Yay!), Singing/songs (new favorites are the Micke.y Mouse and Ses.ame Street cds), going to Grandma's house, playgrounds (always), exploring Home De.pot with Daddy (a new favorite), and playing with other kids (he has especially liked playing with Jack, Mary & Lewie who live near Grandma's house recently).

Pretend Play: Adam is really into pretend play these days. He varies his roles between caretaker (changing doggy's diaper), housekeeper (he insists on sweeping the floor every single day), chef (making Mama "mac & cheese" and bringing Mama her "soda") and, his favorite, playing doctor.
How precious is this?!? Adam always puts on his "gloves" (socks) whenever he's examining with his "stethoscope". It really is the most adorable thing.

Tattletale?: As Grandma found out today, nothing gets by LL. He spent the day at Grandma's house today while I was at work and had a great time, as always. Well, every night when I tuck him in, we discuss the day. He told me he had been at Grandma's House and then he said... "I fell down. In the kitchen." When I asked him what happened, he elaborated... "I fell from Grandma's hand. I hit my head. I cried hard. My head hurt". I'm thinking WHAT?!? Grandma never mentioned this! I call Steven up and Adam repeated the story. I call Grandma and... guess what... Little Love did fall in the kitchen today! She was holding him and he said "put down" and before she could... he slipped out of her hands onto the floor! He fell on his feet/tush but then lost his balance and flipped over hitting his head. =( I was very upset hearing about this but Mom said he only cried for a minute and seemed to be fine, just a little shaken up from the experience. We both found it remarkable, however, that he could recount the story perfectly. We can't get anything pass this guy!

Adjectives to describe LL (in random order) : happy, curious, strongwilled, stubborn, delightful, beautiful, precious, smart, precocious, funny, sweet, talkative, lovable, affectionate, fun & curious (has to be mentioned 2x -- he's into everything). Speaking of curious, Adam takes apart everything. I mean everything. He'll play with something for a few minutes and then tries to take it apart (I imagine to see how it works). For example... he got a little "blow toy/party favor" (no idea what they're called) and had a ball blowing on it. Then after a few minutes, he tried to take it apart. Also, if he hears the word "battery", he MUST take the battery out of the remote control and put it back in. Same with flashlights, watering cans... anything that has parts. My mom calls him very mechanical -- he always has been, too. It's interesting because I am so NOT mechanical and I don't think Steven is, either.

Even though Little Love has his moments (does he ever!), he really is such a delight and a blessing. He says the funniest things (such as "No Mama, don't kiss me" when I was overloading him with kisses!) and is extremely lovable (calling us "MeeMee, DeeDee, and GramMee" when he's in an affectionate mood). We just ADORE our Little Love! xoxox

Daddy and his Mini-Me, watching Sesam.e Street... Adam's current favorite show. He especially loves "Elm.o's World" with Mr. Noodle! He also loves Bert! I bought him the Sesam.e Street CD and song DVD... he LOVES them! New favorite song is "Rubber Duck.ie"!!! I LOVED Sesam.e Street as a kid so it's so fun watching him discover the characters now. =)

WordY Wednesday: Buddha Belly, eating, talking & Grandma's back!

Adam has eaten beautifully the last 2 days which is evidenced by his Buddha Belly! Yay! However, Miss Annie at Montessori did mention that Adam still refuses to eat & gets all upset at mealtimes sometimes (shakes & cries???... but only when it's time to eat). I told her not to force him to eat (obviously) and that he never has been a great eater (is that a word?). Still, it's frustrating and upsetting hearing this. He has been sick on/off with a cold/cough for the last month which I'm sure contributed to this. He seems to finally be rid of it (let's just hope it doesn't come back. AGAIN) so his appetite seems to finally be back. Not sure what I can do when he doesn't want to eat... any suggestions out there (besides not forcing him, give him what he likes, etc) or new (& easy) meal ideas? Any feedback would be much appreciated!

On a lighter note, Adam talks in 4 or 5 word sentences contantly now. The cutest phrases come out of his mouth. Yesterday, he climbed onto a big chair and said, I quote, "Such a big boy!" :O) We also *really* need to watch what we say. A few weeks ago we were in the car when someone cut Steven off, nearly causing an accident. Without thinking, Steven said "F%@* It!"... forgetting that Adam was in the car. Yesterday Adam & I were headed to the library when I drove over a ridiculously huge speed bump... and I heard a little voice say, I kid you not, "F&*% It"! I could not believe my ears!!! Admittedly, it was quite funny but at the same time, I do not want my 2 year old cursing (obviously)! I explained to Adam that wasn't a nice thing to say. Let's hope he doesn't say it again for another 20 years or so!!!

Last, but certainly not least, Grandma's back from CA!!! Yay!!! We missed her so much. She had a great time with Uncle Steven/Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joey/Aunt Hillary in LA, Newport Beach, etc. We're just so glad she's home. Of course, Adam asked her to cook him turkey right away. :o) Welcome home, Mom!!!

Yahoo! Grandma's back from California!!!

More pictures from our Birmingham trip later this week (hopefully tomorrow)!

22 Things -- 22 Months Old (Part ONE)

Facebook has inspired me. After reading the infamous "25 Random Things" lists from at least 50 friends (and writing my own), I have decided to write 22 things about my 22 month old. I had planned on doing this on the day Adam turned 22 months (10 days ago) but have kept procrastinating. Not sure why -- I have notes & everything! :)

22 Things about my 22 Month Old -- Part one (in random order, of course):

1. Adam has been called "Little Love" by my mom and I since his newborn days. When mom & I e-mail, instead of writing "Adam" we actually write "Little Love" or "LL". I also say to Adam "Adam is Mama's ___" and he knows to say "LOVE"! :)

2. Adam still *LOVES* his doggies!!! He now has 5 Gund Spunky Dogs (1 huge, 1 medium, 2 small that bark and 1 tiny rattle one). He calls the tiny rattle one "Baby Doggy" and the huge one "Big Doggy". The rest are simply known as... "Doggy!" Baby Doggy is brown, the rest are blue. We also had a blue Baby Doggy but lost it in Palm Springs. Adam loves ALL things DOGGY. He has several other Doggy stuffed animals, which he also adores... but he HAS to sleep with Doggy and carry Doggy to school with him (usually one for each hand, the small ones still being his favorite). I know I've written way too much about STUFFED DOGS (!!!) but they really are a big part of Adam's life. :)

3. Adam talks in little sentences all the time now. The funniest thing he says is, "What did I do? What did Adam do?" in this hilarious, high pitched voice... like he's totally shocked (and amused) by whatever (usually naughty) thing that he did. For example, he loves books with little tabs that open. He also LOVES to rip off these little tabs and say "I rippped it. Need tape. Adam ripped it". He acts all horrified and shocked when he rips the pieces out even though he knows EXACTLY what he's doing. We've had to take away several books b/c of this. When we give him back the books, the first thing he'll say (and throughout the book) is "No rip it"! He is hysterical.

4. Adam's body type is JUST LIKE STEVEN'S (Dada's). They both have naturally slim body types with a small tush and a BIG BELLY. Adam has always been very skinny... except for his adorable tummy.

5. Adam took himself off the bottle a few weeks ago, right before he turned 22 months. At that time, he was still having 2 bottles (sometimes 3) a day of the Next Step Formula, which he seemed to love. I was always planning on having him completely off the bottle by age 2 (I've kept him on it until now b/c he is on the small side) and was a little concerned about how to go about it. Well, Adam decided one day that he no longer wanted his "baba" ("No Like It!" was his exact phrase and that was that. He quit the bottle cold turkey! Which is great EXCEPT he doesn't like drinking formula or milk in a cup either. The only thing he wants to drink is apple juice (& water if apple juice is unavailable... we limit it to 2 cups a day and it's the watered down, low sugar version, of course). He will not drink smoothies or eat yogurt now, either. However, he will eat cheerios in milk, on occasion, which is great. And messy. I really liked having him on the formula for another month or two since I knew he was getting all his nutrients/vitamins that day but he wasn't going to have it. Did I ever mention that Little Love is *very* opinionated and knows *exactly* what he wants?!?

6. Speaking of food, Adam's favorite foods are fruits & veggies. He loves ALL fruit (incl. applesauce & raisins) and his favorite vegetable are peas. He could eat these all day and be happy. He also loves cheerios, bagels, apple juice (as mentioned above), mac & cheese, Grandma's spaghetti & meatballs, Grandma's turkey meatloaf and anything that Steven and I are eating (HA)! He's not a picky eater (except for the milk!) but he usually eats very small portions. Oh, he also loves the kid-friendly chicken & cheese quesadillas from the Play Cafe. He ate almost an entire adult portion there last week! Another reason why I love the place.

7. Entertainment favorites include:
Books: Goldilocks & The 3 Bears, the Big Word Book, Goodnight Moon (an old favorite that has recently resurfaced again), Goodnight Gorilla, Goodnight Washington D.C. (do you see a theme here?), That's Not my Dinosaur (he loves the bubbles on one page... it's bizarre), & I Love You Through & Through.



TV: Barney (always #1, he even knows the different "On Demand" episodes and requests certain ones... his favorite episode is "Barney -- On the Road/Cars"), Sesame Street, particularly Panwapa (a Sesame Street special) and his new favorite, a cartoon about Kipper, the (British?) dog. He watches about 30-60 minutes a day, usually when he first wakes up and after his nap.

8. Adam seems to love school now even though he'll say "No Annie (his teacher, who he loves) or "No Like It" some mornings. However, he doesn't cry when Steven drops him off and looks happy when I pick him up (even though he does say "HOME" to me immediately... at least he's not literally bolting to the door when he sees me anymore!). His reports are always marked that he's happy (which is a good thing... I still remember the time when "teary" was marked. I got teary myself reading that!)! He loves Miss Annie and Miss Nas and they love him... Miss Nas told me yesterday that Adam is "the best one" in the class... that he's "so smart, so cute, etc"... which, I admit, I loved hearing (who wouldn't?!?)! I'm sure she says this to all the parents, though! Adam adores his friends at school and recites their names, when asked... Jackie, Olivia, Connor, Neila, Rushawn, etc. and can point them all out in photos.

9. Bath time is a favorite again (he's been hot/cold -- pun intended) about bath time since about 8 months old. Currently he loves it and wants to take a bath every single night (instead of every other night). He loves playing with all his bath toys, especially the new bath paints that Zayde bought him. He still likes to stand up in the bath (we always have to remind him to sit down) and hates getting his hair washed (shocker, right?!?).

10. Adam probably has at least 5 play phones. Every time he picks one up (or the real phone) he says "HI BOBBE". Every single time. Bobbe's ears must be ringing all day long! :)

11. Adam loves his sleep (just like his mama & dada)! After a book or two, he'll look at me and say "sleep... in the crib... with doggies... in the corner" (he always sleeps in the corner against the bumpers). He also likes the room pitch black. He thinks the little light on the fire alarm is a star and always points to it and says "star". :) Sometimes I'll check on him at night and if he hears me (which is rare) he'll say "BYE BYE MAMA" and he's serious... he wants me OUT. He does NOT want to be interrupted! It's kinda funny, actually. He'll also say "I love you so much" REALLY fast when he goes to sleep. When he wakes up (after 10 - 11hours), the first thing he'll say (usually) is "Mama". When he hears me open the door, he'll start to gather up his doggies. The first thing he says to me when I open the door is "DOWNSTAIRS. DOWNSTAIRS" and then "Watch Barney on couch". Like I said, the kid knows what he wants!!! I do love watching Barney with him in the AM. He usually snuggles up against me and smells & feels so warm and cuddly.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this list later this week! :)

Hmm... what did Mama write about me this week?

I can't believe Mama wrote that... DELETE!!!

Adam is 1 1/2 years old!!!!

LITTLE LOVE IS A YEAR AND A HALF TODAY!!!! 18 MONTHS OLD!!!!

Where has my little baby gone?!? He's now a (somewhat) big toddler!!!

So bittersweet. And yet I'm so incredibly thankful that we've gotten to this point.

Adam is such a delight. Every day with him is sincerely special. Especially since Mama is *everything* to him right now! Remind me of this when he's a teenager!!! Seriously, every time I walk in the room, his face lights up and he runs to me with the biggest smile, yelling "Mama". What could be better than that?!?

Little Love's vocabulary is 100+ words. He can say just about anything these days. He says a few mini sentences such as "Bye Bye Mama (Doggy, Dada, Bear... anything)", "It was good", "He's sleeping" and "That book". He can clearly communicate his needs to us and will now say "water" if he's thirsty or "walk" if he wants to go for a walk. He has even started to say "sleep" when I'm singing to him at night if he wants to go right to bed (is it my voice?!?). What a change from a year ago... Adam loves to go to sleep now. As long as his doggies are in the crib, of course. :o)

Let's see, what else... of course, Adam runs everywhere and is *very* curious. He will eat just about anything but not too much of it. He usually eats a decent breakfast, good lunch and not too much dinner. However, he will *always* eat fruit... definitely his favorite food. Melon and strawberries are his favorite but any kind will do.

Our days are very busy... he has school on M, W, Fr... playgroup on Tuesday AMs and some Tuesday PMs, play time with Grandma on Wed. afternoons, library/music class on Thursday and soccer class on Friday. He loves to read, play with his stacking cups, blocks and his popper inside. Outside, he loves to kick his ball, push around his bus and... throw things off the deck. Never a dull moment with our little love.

Here are some pictures of Adam at 0 months (birth day), 6 months, 12 months (1st birthday) and today (18 months). Needless to say, Adam Thomas has brought such incredible happiness, joy, beauty and love into our lives. My love for him truly takes my breath away... as my mom says, he is *INCREDIBLE*. Thank you, G-d!!!!!
Just a few minutes old

Six months

First birthday (12 months)!

18 MONTHS TODAY!!!

Day 2 (smile)

Adam had a much better 2nd day of school, Thank G-d! I'm so relieved! When we dropped him off this morning, he was a little apprehensive but did not cry and went into the teacher's aide's arms (good sign). I was a little nervous since he threw up his entire bottle right before we left (lovely). However, he wasn't acting at all sick... I think it's just his reflux acting up.

I felt really sad (and kinda sick to my stomach) today, especially in the morning. Most of my friends are not working and are at home with their kiddos. I'm really fortunate to only be working 3x a week but I still feel guilty for leaving him. Very guilty. I'm also sad that I'm missing out on this time with him. I love our mornings together. Believe me, new moms, the cliche is so true... time does indeed fly by. All morning I was really feeling down and even a bit quesy about the whole going back to work/Adam going to Montessori (aka daycare!) thing.

Needless to say, I was SO RELIEVED when I picked him up today. I peeked in his room and he was crawling through a tunnel and looked very happy. When he saw me, his face lit up into a huge grin and he came running towards me. Of course, this was the highlight of my day. Miss Annie (who Adam seems to love... when you ask him who his teacher is, he'll say "Annie" & "kiss" since she's always chasing him for a kiss!) said that he had a really good day and was only fussy during nap time. He also ate well today but didn't drink his bottle (maybe this is a sign that he's ready to be out of bottles? Let's hope so!). He was also his little talkative & curious self today. He pointed out the "babies" to me in the room (seriously) and seemed very happy. YAY!!! SUCH A RELIEF!!! So, let's hope that he continues to do well at school. As for work, it's going well. SO much less stress (and paperwork!!!) than my old job... at least so far. I'll be starting my classroom lessons next week, which I'm looking forward to.

In other news, Adam is now officially using a booster seat (instead of a highchair) at home... see photos. See that big roll? His favorite bread, from Wegmans. He also had broccoli for the first time last night and loved it. As the photos show, we need to work on Adam's table manners (see leg on table). :o) You may also notice the Redskins pajamas that Adam was wearing last night. Unfortunately, it did not bring our beloved Skins any luck. Oh well, they were playing the Super Bowl Champions. I have confidence that they will be AWESOME this season. I can't wait to teach Adam the "Hail to the Redkins" song!



Happy weekend, everyone!

Word Explosion... Etc.

Can't believe it's already July! Wow! Ever since Adam has started walking (he's now running!), time has flown by even faster than usual. Our baby is definitely becoming a toddler which brings much happiness... and a wave of nostalgia, too.

As noted in a recent post, Adam has recently had a "word explosion". He seems to be learning a new word or two every day. It's so cool. I absolutely *love* to hear him talk!

Some new words:

- truck (well, not new, but now he says it *every time* he sees a truck on the road)
- hot (usually says it when I wash his hands... even if the water is cold!)
-spoon
-hat
-water (today he actually pointed to the cup and said "water")
-light (except it sounds like "ite")
-phone (maybe???)

He also says "duck" and "mom" but he is not referring to the animal or me (he definitely knows those words in their correct context). So we're not sure what he's trying to say when he does that.

He's also trying to say a few other things in true make-up babble talk which I don't understand. It's cute, though... if he babbles something and then I tell him what the object actually is, he smiles (it looks like a lightbulb going off, seriously) and repeats the word.

Another breakthrough... Adam used his fork by himself at dinner tonight when eating mac & cheese. He actually pierced a noodle and put it in his mouth! Yay, Adam! He tried doing it about 10 times and was only successful about 3 times but it's a start.

LL is also into throwing *everything*. He finds throwing to be great fun. Steven and I were a little concerned if this was "normal" behavior and it seems to be. However, the article we looked at states that toddlers usually don't start throwing until 18 months old, at the earliest. Adam has been throwing since 10 months. The article said not to discourage throwing since it truly is joyful for toddlers, especially curious ones, like Adam (they like to see where the thrown object lands)and to buy soft balls that are good for throwing. This is good to know.

Unfortunately, the article did not address what to do when a toddler (not mentioning any names here) likes to throw objects over the deck onto the neighbor's lawn, causing Mama or Dada to run down 2 flights of stairs to get it. :)

Here's Adam in one of his "quieter" moments... playing peek-a-boo whic is still his absolute favorite game... especially when he gets to hide behind the curtains. He still giggles hysterically whenever you say "Where's Adam"? Too bad his name isn't "Waldo" (am I showing my age here?!?)! :)

14 months ago, yesterday

14 months ago (yesterday) Adam was born. Not to be all chiche-ish, but it just keeps getting better & better. He is such a love. He is also hysterically funny. Just looking at these photos above cracks me up. He has so many different expressions... the last photo is priceless, his look of pure joy as he finds yet another carpet fuzz. Which he clamped in his hand and then hid behind the drapes so I wouldn't retrieve it from his precious hands before it landed in his mouth (I was too fast for him, though!).

Seriously though, HE IS SUCH A JOY!!! Always smiling, exploring, playing, etc. He is also repeating everything... his current favorite being "Bye Bye". I usually say "love you" when getting off the phone so now when he hears that phrase he'll say "Bye Bye" before I do! He's also saying: balloon, ball, chicken, up, bathroom, duck, mama, dada and he signs for "more" when eating. The only "issue" that we're still facing is his eating. LL is just not a big eater (unlike his parents). He's also extremely active. The combo makes it tough for him to pack on the pounds. I really do try not to stress over it too much. Really. I did buy a whole bunch of new organic food items at "Bloom" tonight... ravioli, macaroni with meat sauce, ingredients to make bean/cheese enchildadas, etc. Let's hope some of these foods are a hit.




Lots more to write but too tired to do so tonight. So I will leave you with one final photo that was taken at the Merrill's home on Sunday. I have to say, the kid's a natural...

Wordless Wednesday -- fun with prunes!

As much as Adam loved the prunes (can you tell?), it wasn't as much fun changing his 3 *filled* diapers afterwards, if you know what I mean... TMI?!?

Dr. visit and NEW FOODS :)

I still need to post some photos on last Friday's "field trip" to a wonderful park with Riley and also Adam's special visit with Mr. and Mrs. D, who were in town from Boone, NC. I promise those posts are coming later this week! :)

For now, I will update our Adam Fans with some other news. Adam finally had his 12 month check-up last week (3 weeks late... our Drs. are busy!) and he was officially diagnosed as a "lightweight". He weighs almost 20 lbs. (hopefully he's hit the big 2-0 mark now since the appt. was last week) which places him in the 5 - 10th %ile, the same %ile he was in when he was born. Fortunately, he did triple his birth weight (just barely, but he did). Length-wise, he only grew 1 inch in 3.5 months which means his height dropped from the 50-75th%ile to the 25-50th%ile. Of course, this being ME, I was a *little* concerned. I'm not concerned that he is on the "smaller side" (as long as he's healthy), I'm concerned that the length percentiles dropped during the last 2 appts. At four and six months, he was in the 75th%ile (25th%ile at birth) and it's continued to drop since then. The Dr. didn't seem too worried, though. He said if he continues to drop in the percentiles, we can check his blood during his 15 month visit. I *really hope* it doesn't come down to that!!! He recommended feeding him LOTS of protein and giving him the Step 2 formula (20 - 24 oz. a day) instead of milk. He also wants us to keep him on bottles (instead of sippy cups) until his 15mo. visit.

We got the "thumbs up" to feed him anything but seafood and nuts. As a result, we've been experiencing with lots of different foods, all of which Adam has seemed to like (YAY!). His "new favorite foods" are cottage cheese on whole wheat toast and scrambled eggs with cheese. He also has tried cheese lasagna (his face was priceless when tasting the marinara sauce!), pineapple, rice and lots of versions of chicken (he's been eating plain chicken for months now). Hopefully he'll continue to eat well and grow, grow, grow!!!

Interesting side note... ever since Adam has officially become a walker, he has been sleeping 11 - 12 hours a night after only sleeping for 10 hours a night for months and months. Guess he needs more rest now that he's practically running through the house! :)

Photo note 1: As all faithful Adam fans know, Adam LOVES dogs! Real dogs (he smiles and laughs whenever he sees a dog... so cute) and, of course, stuffed dogs. I bought him "White Doggy" (see second photo) for Valentine's Day and he has recently taken a liking to him, too. Do you think this is his way of telling us we should get a pet dog?!? ALSO, if you look carefully at the photo (you can click on it to enlarge it), you can see Adam's reflection in the window! You may also notice the curls coming in on the back of his head... which everybody comments on...

Photo note 2: Isn't the Roots T-shirt adorable? It is a hand-me-down from the cousins, probably a gift from our other cousins who live in Toronto.

Photo note 3: This is LL's usual sleeping position. He *loves* his bumpers and is always in the corner, against the bumpers. When I put him in his crib at night, he graps Doggy (or Doggies -- plural! -- and Ducky) and proceeds to his corner. When I get him out of his crib in the AM, he usually smiles at me and then bends down to pick up Doggy (if he isn't holding him) and then, finally, puts his arms out to get out of the crib. PRECIOUS!!!

Milk, Cheese, Chicken... & New Shoes (& bath toys)

The title pretty much summarizes our weekend.

Adam is experimenting with new foods. He had milk for the first time and seemed to really like drinking it from his sippy cup (yay!). The Doctor advised us to keep him on formula until his 12 month appt (which will be next Tuesday, almost a month late -- our Doctor is so busy!) but said we could slowly transition the milk in. He also had toast with cream cheese for the first time today and loved it (like any good Jew would... we just have to switch the toast to a bagel!). Other news in the food department... Adam has been eating chicken for a few months now and loves it. Yesterday he took a bite of the chicken and announced "chicken". It was great... he repeats the word all the time but it's the first time he's said it on his own.

Adam's shoes were too tight so we went to Stride Rite and picked out two new pairs (buy one, get the second pair half off -- good deal!). It took him a few minutes to adjust to walking in the new shoes but by evening, he was walking in his new sneaks like a pro. :)

We also broke out Adam's new bath toys this evening. He got a cool water movement toy from Zayde and adorable color changing ducks from his cousins Jake, Evan and Zach. He loved his new toys so much that he took them out of the tub with him!

Photo note #1: Adam is loving his new sneaks! If you look carefully, you can see some chicken in his mouth (I didn't realize that he hadn't swallowed it all till I saw that photo. Oops!).

Wordless Wednesday (yummy!)

Here are a few pics of Adam from today. Grandma prepared him a delightful dinner of chicken, sweet potato, and peas. If you look closely, you can see the evidence on his face! :)

Fortunately, besides the fountain of snot (which cleared up a little later in the day), LL was back to his happy & energetic self today. Yay!

The beauty of self-feeding

Adam is not a good eater (shocking, if you know his parents!!!). He had HORRIBLE acid reflux until he was six months old. He had the kind of reflux where he refused to eat b/c it hurt so much. It was very sad and very stressful at times. Fortunately, once he started solids and/or grew taller, the reflux miraculously disappeared. Now he usually takes 24-28 oz. of formula a day without much fuss. He has eaten solids since six months but he never has eaten too much of it. We're lucky if he eats oatmeal (with fruit), yogurt and a bit of chicken and veggies each day (and I mean a bit). However, he LOVES to feed himself. He'll pretty much eat anything that he can pick up (including carpet fuzzies and anything else the vacuum missed). He will ALWAYS eat his Gerber's puffs and teething biscuits. Too bad they don't have much nutritional value! Recently, he's been pretty good about eating pieces of banana and Grandma's chicken. When we spoon feed him, though, it's a different story. He'll consistently "open up" for oatmeal and yogurt but that's about it. He "demanded" to feed himself his carrots yesterday. See how that turned out?!? :)

Caught red-handed

Steven has a pretty bad cold so he took a "sick day" yesterday. It was really nice to spend the day together. Since he didn't feel "that sick" he still could spend time with Adam and I. The weather was beautiful so we decided to go to Reston Town Center last night to walk around. We had an early dinner at Julio's Rio Grande Cafe (yum). As I was feeding Little Love his veggies, he decided to take the spoon from me and feed himself... but instead of feeding his mouth, he fed his clothes (see photos)! Also, when the waiter put down my entree, Adam's hands immediately went into my salad. I think his bib wording (see photo) was quite appropriate! :)