Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone has had a very Merry Christmas. Addie had a whirlwind Christmas. The only thing that was missing was Daddy (okay, so that's kind of a big thing), but everyone helped us have a wonderful Christmas despite Nathan not being here.

On Christmas Eve the whole family went to the annual Farley Family dinner. We all had a really wonderful time.

On Christmas morning Addie opened her stocking and got her presents from Santa at Nanna and Baba's house. Santa left really wonderful Haba and Selecta toys in her stocking, but her favorite item was her new toothbrush.

Then we went straight to Grandma and Grandpa's house. She was showered with gifts by everyone there. She loved all the shiny paper and boxes. What a lucky little girl.

Then we came back to Nanna and Baba's and napped for awhile. We then went to see Marley and Me at the theater. Addie has been to two movies when she was teeny tiny, and slept all the way through them. I wasn't sure how she'd do now that she is older, but she was really wonderful. The last 20 minutes of the movie I had to get up and stand in the back because she always prefers standing to sitting. All in all, she did wonderful. When we went back to Nanna and Baba's we opened all of the family gifts with Amber, Curry and Ryn Ryn. At this point Addie had had enough and I put her to bed around 7:00. It was a big few days for a little girl.

Who could resist a shot of Fancy Nancy doing the Marilyn Monroe?

Santa at Work

Addie got to got to the annual Christmas party at Midwesco. She loved visiting Baba.... I mean Santa at work. It was great fun seeing Baba interact with all the other children. Many of the youngsters were quiet scared of Santa, but not Addie.

One of the nice ladies at Midwesco....I mean elves from the North Pole brought gifts for all of the children. This was Addie's first experience opening a wrapped gift and she caught on rather quickly. Once the gift was open she was frantic to get at the little turtle in the package. Unfortunately it took us a few minutes to free him from all that plastic, but once liberated Addie sucked on him for a long time.

Santa Clause

Addie is so fortunate to be the granddaughter of Santa Clause. No yucky germy mall Santa for us (and no lines to wait in!) Here is a little taste of the photo shoot we did last night.

All I Want For Christmas...

Is my two front teeth.

Guess what? Addie got both of her bottom front teeth this weekend! Saturday afternoon her front left finally popped. We could feel it through the gums for quite a while. This morning when I stuck my finger in to feel it I found another tooth! It was quiet a surprise because I never felt the second one coming.

Hair Today, Gone Tommorow

Addie's hair has been getting kind of unruly, so I decided it was finally time for her first haircut. I swore I'd never cut her hair, but if you look at the pictures below you will see that it needed some straightening out.

Before:

After:

Note to Self: It is really hard to cut a 6 month old's hair, especially when said child wants the scissors.

Picture of the Day

6 Months

As you may already know, Addie had her 6 month birthday a little over a week ago. I truly cannot believe that she is half a year old already. She has developed quiet a personality.

Likes:

• People - Addie loves people. I don't what else to say, but that she is the epitome of a people person. She enjoys making "friends" with people in any public place by singing to strangers. She is an equal opportunity people person, as she especially loves elderly people and African Americans. These two groups of individuals get leg kicks and squeals from Addie no matter what.
• Jake - I said it before, but Addie truly adores Jake. She really lights up when Jake walks into the room. She is enamored by all of his odd behaviors (scratching, licking, rolling around, etc.) Jake on the other hand is occasionally warm to Addie.
• Bath time - I think this is Addie's favorite part of the day. Since bath time is at the end of the day I am usually tired and ready to get her to bed, but Addie could probably play in the tub for hours.
• Long car rides - She had a month or so in which she wasn't so sure about her car seat. These days though, she loves to go on trips, and ALWAYS falls asleep.
• Hazel - There is a baby in one of our playgroups named Hazel. She is 12 days older than Addie. This summer we were walking to the farmer's market and found out that Hazel lives two blocks down from us. Anyways, at first Addie was indifferent to Hazel. Well, everything changed the other day we saw Hazel at the store. They grabbed each other's hands, kicked their legs, and squealed in delight. A couple of days later at playgroup they rolled around together, and were so excited at the sight of the other one. I didn't know this could happen at 6 months.
• Jumping - Nathan got Addie a jump-a-roo for their Christmas together. Now she tries to jump whether she is in the jump-a-roo or not. It is quiet amusing to watch.
• Mirrors - She absolutely loves her reflection. This is normal for babies her age, but it is so funny to see her light up at her own reflection.
• Being naked - This really doesn't need further explaining.
• Ittsy Bitsy Spider - This song can stop tears in their tracks, and always brings out a smile.

Dislikes:

• Coats - Addie hates her coats. I think she hates them because they restrict her movement, but I am not a 100% sure. She often cries at the sight of a coat.
• Hats - The same goes for hats. She absolutely hates them (unless she is looking at herself in the mirror with a hat on, and then its hilarious). I finally got her a hat that buckles under her chin so she can't take it off. We haven't tried it yet, but it might make her really mad.
• Solid food - We had a couple of good experiences with solids before Addie started having bad reactions. Now she turns her head if you even come near her with a spoon. The pediatrician told me to hold off a bit due to her sensitive stomach.
• Cameras - Have you noticed that Addie is rarely smiling in pictures? we have taken over 1000 pictures since her birth, and there are smiles in maybe 2% of the pictures. This is odd to me considering what a happy baby she is.
• Naps - Don't even wanna talk about it.

I am just happy that her likes far outweigh her dislikes. I love wondering what kind of curve ball Addie will throw at me every month with her developing personality. Watch out world...

Itty Bitty Snow Angels

I took this video on Thanksgiving, which is the day Nathan left for Afghanistan. The two of them are too cute!