A 9 month old update

Oh 9 months! You have not been a fun one.  Addison has literally only been well for about 2 days out of this whole entire month, so you can imagine how the rest of it has gone.

Of course the biggest impact was on her sleep...and we all know how fabulous that was anyway! but the poor little darling was so stuffed up for most of the month that as soon as she lay down she just couldn't breathe...which led to many nights me having to just sit up upright with her so she was able to sleep on me.  So I'm definitely declaring this the worst month yet for sleep - are we noticing a pattern? I think I've said every month since 6 months has been the worst yet for sleep, but they have been spiralling into decline ever since! Naps as well were mostly on me, and not in her cot - which led to me getting zero done! and then when she was able to eventually go down in her cot she was napping for anywhere between 15-30 minutes! I'm really ready for some longer naps to start happening around here, and more sleep would be amazing too if the powers that be are listening! Hear my plea! 

I wish I'd written this post sooner, but February has just been a crazy one! I can't believe it's March already! Addison has been learning and doing so much in just the past 2 weeks that I feel like I can't even remember what she was doing last month, but I'll try my best! 

She learnt to wave! which has been really fun, saying hi and bye to anyone and everyone...and just on the day of her turning 9 months she learnt to clap! We were all very excited for her.  At first it was just a silent clap, but more recently she actually makes noise when she claps which Ella is just thrilled about! 

She is becoming more destructive! as evidenced by ripping her sticker logo in half by the end of the photoshoot.  In fact ripping paper is just one of her fave pastimes - when she's not trying to eat it! 

After a couple of weeks of being unwell, she had the 2 days of being well, and then that night had some horrendous teething! and for the next few days too.  She still only has the 2 teeth at the bottom, but it looks like more are going to break through at the top. 

So there's been a whole lot of poorly snuggles...

and lots of sleeping on me.  Look at those little rosy cheeks.

So cute when she sleeps! 

One of the saddest things about her month of sickness is that she's stopped sucking her fingers! I think she realised she couldn't breathe properly when she was all blocked up and tried to put them in her mouth so she just stopped doing it, and never went back! It was so cute, and I miss seeing her sucking away, it was also great for helping her settle at night so I would have loved if she'd carried it on!! 

We did a 5 week block of a music class with a lady called Pooee and her puppets, with our friends Gillian and baby Cohen, and this picture up above sums up how Addison felt about it! She just loves music! Her favourite time in the class was instrument time! All the boxes of musical instruments would come out and everyone could pick one - maracas are definitely Addi's instrument of choice! She would happily shake away to every song, and we'd always finish on a rather rousing rendition of Nelly the Elephant! We were so sad when the classes came to an end, but back to work beckoned so we're planning to go back for one of the Easter specials next month instead.  

She is still big into her books, and the 'that's not my' series are definitely her favourite (just like they were Ella's too).  My mom bought her the new one - 'that's not my owl' at Christmas and this definitely seems to be the book of the moment! She knows just where all the fluffy/fuzzy bits are to feel.

She also loves a bit of vanity.  She has 2 toys she plays with that have mirrors on - and she always acts so delighted when she peeks in and sees herself! She literally sat on the floor for about half an hour the day she first discovered this mirror in big sister's Hello Kitty case! 

Her favourite spot right now is probably playing in an empty bath! Oh the fun she has in there! Those silver handles are the big draw (she is trying to pull herself up on one in the pic above) and the plug is pretty exciting too! 

Baths with water in are still a big highlight too - especially with big sis, because everything is more fun when Ella is around! 

That knowing sister glance!

I feel like Addi looks like she's riding sidecar in this one!! Going for a spin around the Hirsel in their retrospective modes of transport! 

She also got to try out a swing for one of the first times! I think she wanted to eat the chains!

Cuddles before school...

and laundry basket rides!

Sharing a sweet moment at the library as Ella wanted to pick out a book she thought Addi would love, and then read it to her.  

Matching dresses will just never get old! 

This outfit even came complete with matching unicorn tights! 

A frosty walk in the woods and some snowsuit snuggles! 

I was super excited when this little outfit finally fit! This bear shirt and dungaree dress were some of my fave clothes for baby Ella.  So when Addi wore it to church one Sunday, I had to dig out a pic of Ella wearing it too and do a throwback! 

Same outfit, same happy countenance, but Addi obviously wins in the hair department! 

So much so that she's getting better at rocking a ponytail these days! 

She has also been enjoying some of big sister's old toys too - especially this Balapalooza, she has got really good at putting the balls in herself!

and I really think she thinks baby Annabel is real! She loves to pull her eyelashes up and down - and also tries to replicate this with Ella! and has also become quite obsessed with baby Annabel's dummy, if only she could have loved her own one quite as much!

She got to celebrate big sister's birthday...

and absolutely loved all the music and dancing at her party! She was bopping around like crazy on her bottom - I can't wait til next year when she'll be running around trying to join in!

She also got to be loved on lots by family when they all came for Ella's birthday.  Like this balloon sword fight with Grandad! 

and relaxing with Auntie Mara!

and some hair pulling!

and giggles with Granny! 

I would say I hope the next month brings more sleep, but since it is over tomorrow I already know that didn't come to fruition!!! I'll try and be more organised about posting next month's write up! 

A 9 Month Old Update!

 

This little monkey turned 9 months this week! and this is about the only good picture we got! because she spent the rest of the time on the move!

Mostly trying to rip down that bunting! she loves paper more than anything right now! She always manages to eat a corner of an envelope just in between the 10 metres it takes for me to walk down the hall from collecting the post each morning! the little rascal! 

Backwards shuffling on her belly was her way of trying to avoid the photoshoot! She backed herself into a corner under a chest of drawers!

and then started trying to roll over!

and even a bit of standing too!

Eventually the bunting had to be done away with before she destroyed it forever, we've still got 3 more months to go!

Phew, that was hard work! Despite not actually being able to crawl she sure knows how to move! and her 9 month old self is a real wriggler! 

She's been rolling over far more than she ever has done in the past! In fact she's so keen to roll as soon as you put her on her belly that I struggled to get this video!

                              

and she was very pleased with herself when she discovered she could sit herself up from lying down! All those stomach crunches back in the day paid off!

                              

At the beginning of the month, she started making da sounds which soon turned into dada! We managed to record a little clip of her doing it on the first day she was putting the sounds together! Byron was delighted...I upped my efforts in teaching her the ma sound meanwhile...

                             

and two weeks ago we finally got the first mama, and we've been hearing it lots ever since (even more than dada now!) which makes me very happy!!

                             

We also started teaching her the 'more' sign at the beginning of the month to use during meal times so she can tell us when she wants more.  Within a week she was using it independently! and she now uses it to tell us when she's hungry too away from mealtimes which is very helpful indeed! 

                             

So there's been lots happening! She is really growing into such a little person and you can tell her understanding has increased so much! She understands when I say 'shall we sing a song' and her eyes light up in anticipation of which song I'm going to pick! When I say 'let's read a book' she looks over at the books and knows we're about to pick one! and she also understands when I say 'let's watch baby Jake' and she claps her hands with glee! We have a big baby Jake fan over here! She watches one episode a day, and is mesmerised from start to finish...in fact it's the only time she'll willingly let you snuggle her and hold her hand so baby Jake time is special for both of us!

She also had her first trip to the zoo, we checked out the Welsh Mountain Zoo which is just nearby to us in Colwyn Bay and we were really impressed with how good it was!

We started off watching the sea lions, doing all kinds of clever tricks like catching frisbees...

but Ella's attention was elsewhere! yep she was checking out the regular old blackbirds and seagulls! We should have told her you get to see those for free!

but she is a huge bird lover!

and you can bet if her eyes are elsewhere in a picture it's because she's spied some birds!!

So we took her to the actual aviary, much to her delight!

This is her wide open mouthed 'wow' face!! She was mesmerised by all the bird action in there! it was so cute!

and what's even better than watching seagulls in the sky? chasing them with daddy of course! I love her outstretched hands here, like she actually thinks she's going to catch it!

She celebrated her first Halloween, as a little pumpkin!

and we discovered her love for balloons! I had hung some up on the arch that leads into our lounge, and we literally couldn't walk out of the lounge without her having to touch each balloon at least 5 times! We would walk back and forth and back and forth between each bundle that had been hung! oh, how she loved it! we only took them down this week because she had just been enjoying them too much!

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch, which was very fun!

We met up with Granny and Grandad and Auntie Alli for some fun in the corn maze!

Ella thought it was hilarious to find a field full of pumpkins!

We found a wheelbarrow, picked our perfect pumpkin and popped in Ella for the ride!

She was very happy to be the driver! I love how she's balancing herself with her little outstretched hands here!

We also went to a 'trunk and treat' organised by church where everyone decorates the boot of their cars and the kids trick and treat between cars!

We just watched this time since Ella isn't at the chocolate eating stage! and took pictures next to giant pumpkins! can you believe that one is real!

Bonfire night was a rather low key affair due to Ella having had a sickness bug the week leading up to it, so she actually fell asleep during the time we were meant to go to the local fireworks display! We did a few sparklers outside the house, but in true Ella fashion she was more interested in watching the sparks fall to the floor than watching the sparklers themselves! 

In other news, one of her favourite past times is being hung upside down! she can't get enough of it! 

and her other favourite thing this month is the book Dear Zoo.  She was bought it by my friends when she was born, but she's suddenly become obsessed with it in the past month! She is really good at lifting up all the flaps and knowing where the flap opens on each page! She especially loves the monkey page and accompanying monkey noise that we do when we read it to her! I'm now stocking up on more flap books for her Christmas prezzies!

This month, she also worked out how to move her eyebrows to produce a very sad looking scowl! She has perfected it quite well, and it's now one of her favourite facial expressions to do! When people try and smile at her in shops now, she flashes them one of her scowls instead! It's kind of embarrassing but she seems to love it! 

Waving and clapping continue to be her favourite things to do! She gives her waves away freely, and always likes to greet you when she wakes up from her naps with a wave! it's pretty adorable! and if you say hi or say the word wave to her she will respond appropriately! 

Byron took her into Asda the other night while I waited in the car to pick up some nappies, after the cashier asked him if Ella was his! (who else's would she be?!) she proceeded to say to Byron 'oh, she must be your whole world'! I thought that was a very cute thing to say, and how right she is.  Ella is our whole world, and every day spent with her happy and infectious personality is an enjoyable one! She makes us proud every day to be her mommy and daddy and we're loving what every new month brings!