I'll Teach My Kid 100 (or more) Words

Adriana is really starting to take off with her vocabulary.  Scott and I were talking yesterday about how many new words she is learning, and I said that it was going to be hard to give a monthly update because I'll forget what all she has learned by that time.  So, I've decided to keep a list here.  The first 18 or so are in no particular order.

1.  Daddy
2.  Mama
3.  ball
4.  bye-bye
5.  boom
6.  chip
7.  cheese
8.  chair
9.  Elmo
10.  milk
11.  more
12.  Zeke
13.  Poppy
14.  puppy
15.  poop
16.  no-no
17.  clicker (remote control)
18.  night-night

As of 2/23/13

19.  good
20.  girl (she says she's a good girl)
21.  baby (3/1/13)

As of 3/2/13

22.  cracker
23.  oh no!
24.  uh-oh!

Baby Herman #2

A loyal reader recently pointed out that I haven't posted any belly pictures during this pregnancy.  Although I realize that gaining weight is a necessary part of pregnancy, and I don't worry about gaining that weight because I want my children to be healthy, I do still feel a little self-conscious about it.  Especially when people make comments.  When I had just gotten pregnant, a co-worker told me that she knew I was pregnant because it always shows immediately in my hips and thighs.  After that comment, I wasn't up for showing off pictures that would feature my seemingly huge hips and thighs.  However, I don't want to be unfair to this baby, so...

Week 18 (Click here to compare to Adriana at 18 weeks):

Week 19 (Click here to compare to Adriana at 19 weeks):

Week 20 (Click here to compare to Adriana at 20 weeks):

Plus, by waiting until 20 weeks to post, you get to see the most exciting pictures...pictures of the baby!

My students thought this one showed that I was having twins.  I had to explain that they were looking at a stomach and a head, not two heads.

In the fetal position

Adriana Leigh is Seventeen Months Old!

Adriana continues to be the brightest part of each of my days.  I just finished reading an email from a hateful parent, and I have chosen to write about Adriana before I go to bed so that my day ends on a good note.

Adriana can now say 16 words.  Some of them sound quite similar because they start with the same sound, but she always uses them correctly.  The words she can say are Mama, Daddy, ball, bye-bye, boom, chip, cheese, chair, Elmo, milk, more, Zeke, Poppy, puppy, poop, and no-no.  She also recognizes the letter A, and recognizes the number 1 most of the time.  She can tell you the sounds that m, p, and t make.  She still loves babies and flowers.  Right now, she is fascinated by faces.  She is constantly pointing out eyes, noses, mouths, tongues, ears, cheeks, and hair.  She thinks it's hilarious when people wear hats.

I found a developmental milestone chart on babycenter.com, and I can tell you that Adriana can do all of the following:

• Turns the pages of a book
• Has temper tantrums when frustrated (like her mommy)
• "Helps" around the house (cooking, laundry)
• Takes off one piece of clothing by herself (mostly, her coat)
• Likes riding toys
• Feeds a doll or animal
• Dances to music
• Brushes teeth with help
• Uses a spoon and fork
• Runs
• Points to a picture or object when you call it by name
• Throws away garbage
• Can walk up and down stairs

Some of those things are for children as old as 21 months, so I'm quite proud of her.  :-)

She's still as tiny as can be.  She's growing taller, so she'll need to go up to 18 month clothes soon, but based on her weight, she could still stay in 12 months for quite awhile.  She weighs about 21 pounds.  According to the chart on babycenter, this means that she is in the 5th - 10th percentile.  We love our tiny girl!

You can't really tell here, but she's making Elmo clap his hands.  She loves doing this with her stuffed animals!

 See you next month!

My Mom's Birthday

Perhaps you remember a post that I wrote at the beginning of 2011.  I said that I was so excited for Sue's birthday because we already knew what her present was going to be...another grandchild.  Adriana's due date was September 14, 2011 (Sue's birthday).  Well, in order to be fair, we thought we should get my mom something just as wonderful for one of her birthdays.*  So, we have decided that this year, we will get my mom another grandchild for her birthday.  Our next baby is due on July 18, 2013 (Mom's birthday).

Adriana is very excited to be getting a new friend.  She is obsessed with babies right now, and we're hoping this continues.  She's also obsessed with my growing belly.  We tell her the baby is in there, and she will point to my belly and make the sign for baby.  If you ask her if she loves the baby, she will come up and kiss my belly.  It is the cutest thing!  Today, she was holding her baby doll up to her belly, and then looking up at me with a huge smile on her face.

We are all so thrilled about our big news.  I have been very sick once again.  I hope I don't jinx it, but I think it's over now.  I've been doing a lot better the past few days.  I will be sure to update the blog as frequently as possible to keep you informed about this baby.

And, no, we will not find out the sex of the baby until it is born.  After all, it's Mom's birthday present.  I can't tell her what it is before it's time to "open" it.  ;-)

*I am kidding about the planning of this stuff.  If I tried to plan for these days, it would never happen.  But it is a nice little coincidence.  :-)

Adriana Leigh is Sixteen Months Old

It's hard to believe another month has gone by already!

Since I see Adriana everyday, it's hard for me to think of all the new things she has accomplished this month.  I sometimes forget if she has been doing something forever, or if it is a new skill.  One thing I know she has perfected this month is knowing two of her letter sounds.  I am so proud of her for this one!  She will consistently tell me that "T" says ta and "P" says pa.  I am so impressed by this!

She is starting to pick up other words as well.  She calls Poppy (my dad) "Pop-Pop."  She tries to say "ball" every once in awhile.  And, in a moment that makes every parent proud, she says, "poop."  We actually are proud of this because she uses it correctly.  We're excited that she's starting to show the beginning signs of potty training.  She is obsessed with chasing other people into the bathroom so she can see what is going on, and she tries out the potty about once each day.  Of course, we know this might be a long process, but it's something.

Adriana has also started doing "Ring Around the Rosie."  She is so cute when she does it!  She gets so excited and starts laughing so hard.  Sometimes she forgets to fall because she wants to start spinning again right away.  Yesterday, she spun so many times in a row that she got really dizzy and started to trip over her own feet.

She's getting so big!

Adriana Leigh is Fifteen Months Old

Yes, I'm aware that I am six days late with this post (Mom).  I took the picture on December 11, but had a little trouble getting to the blog.

Adriana is doing very well.  She is enjoying playtime at the Monon Center, story time and playtime at the library, and making new friends wherever she goes.  In the spring, Grandma Herman is planning to start taking her to a music class for toddlers.  I think she will LOVE this.  Whenever she hears music, she will stop what she is doing so she can "dance."

Adriana is also adding to her vocabulary.  She still loves making animal sounds more than anything.  She can tell you what an elephant, a puppy, a horse, a sheep, a cow, a cat, and a monkey say.  She can also tell you that Santa says "ho ho."  She knows how to say Mo-Mo (Elmo).  This morning she said "Poppy" (my dad).  And she knows how to say her new favorite word:  no.

Yes, Adriana has developed an attitude.  I don't know where it comes from.  It must be her father.  When she gets mad, frustrated, or just generally upset/tired, she will stomp her foot, shake her finger, and say, "ni-ni-ni!"  She first did this last Tuesday.  I was peeling a cucumber, and I wasn't fast enough for her.  When I wouldn't let her grab it out of my hand, she stomped her foot, shook her finger at me, and said, "ni-ni-ni!"  I didn't know whether to have my feelings hurt or laugh at her.  The second time she did it, it was easier to decide how to react.  She now gets a time out and doesn't get what she wants me to give her.  It may be cute and funny when she does it now, but I'm sure it will not be cute or funny if she's still doing it at 14, so we're putting a stop to it now!

I see Adriana everyday, so I don't notice much of a change in her looks from day to day.  But, I will let you decide how much you think she has changed in the last month:

She wanted to wear the bow, but...

...it didn't last long.

Hopefully, I'll be on time in January...

Adriana Leigh is Fourteen Months Old

It's hard to believe that it's been two months since Adriana's first birthday.  She has learned to do so much more since I last wrote.  She has learned new sounds and is becoming even more interactive.

If you are my Facebook friend, you have already seen the following video.  If you are not (Andi), you can see how proud we are!

(I'm having some technical difficulties.  I'll get the video on here as soon as I can.)

The biggest event this month is that Adriana got her first official haircut!  I only agreed to it because it is still long enough to be able to do pigtails when we want to, but it looks really cute on a daily basis, too.

She did such a great job!  No tears at all!

And, finally, here are the monthly pictures with Elmo...

Showing off her new haircut

Keeping an eye on Elmo