Addilyn Ranne Smith

Since we will be adding a sibling soon, I thought it would be best if I wrote a few things about Addilyn. I know I write about her all the time, but that's going to change and this is mostly for me and any grandparent. :)

Addilyn at 2 years old.

Sleeping- we have been SO lucky with her sleep. She's in bed averaging 7pm and gets up about 7am. One of the great things about her is that she can stay up late with us (like 9 or so) if we are out and won't cause any problems. She keeps her tiredness to herself. If she's not tired and in bed, we will listen to her sing or talk or laugh to herself until she does fall asleep. Her naps are about the same thing. Recently she changed her naps from 1-3ish to 2-4ish. I'm still trying to adjust with snacks when she wakes up vs dinner since it's so much closer to that time.

summer 2012

Putting her to bed- I am a firm believer in routine and sticking to your guns during the hard times. Especially since we have had the results we have. So long as you read a book, say a prayer, and sing a song, she will go to sleep. More often then not she gets a bath before this too, but she can manage going to bed without it in her routine. I will hold her with her head on my shoulder next to her crib and sing and then place her down with her babies that she requests. On occasion she wants to be cradled...what 2 y/o wants that???!!! She is so sweet. The same order minus the prayer applies before her nap time.

Fall 2011

Special naps- During naptime, if she doesn't go right to sleep, I've heard her jumping in her bed laughing hysterically. One time she didn't sleep the entire time and I couldn't figure out why until I went to get her after the 2 hours. She was as happy as can be because she figured out how to get to her blanket stash that sits near her crib. Her crib was filled with them. That same nap time also had the library book bag leaning against the crib and she figured out how to get almost all of the books through the slats of the crib. So her crib not only was covered in a gazillion blankets, but all of her new books to keep her entertained. 

Winter 2012/13

Eating- Addilyn, you love to eat. Just recently you started to give us a little bit of a tough time. Really because you're eating so slow and we need to go....So we started doing the whole "choochoo" into your mouth. And ever since then, I've caught you doing it to yourself when you are eating on your own. Love it. Addilyn loves dairy- milk, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, you name it. She only likes straight water if it's from my water bottle. To get her to have water in hers I have to sprinkle a little bit of powdered Gatorade in it. Oh- and also sometimes to get you to eat something, we will "feed" your baby first. And then feed it to you. Works like a charm.

Spring 2013

Play time- Addilyn LOVES going on walks. She also loves going to parks- particularly if there are slides involved. She is for the most part completely unafraid of slides. In the last 6 weeks she's been able to climb up the ladder at the playground near our house that we walk to. And she loves to swing. Since we have swings on our tree house, she can sit in a non-baby swing and has yet to have an accident. But believe me, I am a nervous wreck when she's on it. She is also really awesome playing with other kids. Friends who've had her over and her nursery leaders all say she is a sweetheart and is really easy to watch. (thank goodness)

Winter 2012/13

Indoor playtime- Loves: coloring, reading books (with our without me), singing, pushing her stroller, playing with blocks, putting shoes on, talking on her cell phones (anything can pass as a phone including a piece of paper), carrying her purse, playing mom. Okay- I'll pause on that one. She is so incredibly maternal I have no idea where she gets it from. She loves her babies (aka stuffed animals) and will do everything a mom would do. She feeds them, diapers them (from wiping, to applying vaseline, to trying to put a diaper on), rocks them and says "shhh shh", puts them in any make-shift bed she creates, puts blankets on them, tells me they are sleeping, reads to them....you get the picture. One of my favorite things she does aside from playing mommy is when she is gathering things into her stroller, has a purse on her shoulder, and is talking on a phone. She will walk around like that- I don't know where she picked up on that :)

Talking- Only in the last few months has her vocabulary exploded. I was aware this would happen about this age because of books I've read and such. But wow, nothing prepares you or shocks you for what this sweet girl will suddenly say. Just yesterday in the car we were about to get out and she started pointing to the ceiling and saying "push". I couldn't figure it out until I realized that the button that we push to open her door is up on the ceiling where she was pointing. (our van has automatic opening/closing doors which is my most favorite feature) Things like that you don't realize she's making connections with words and the things around her. I bought the Richard Scary's Biggest Word Book from the Goodwill last week and we point at things and she names them. Or I'll say where is ___ and she will point to it. I'm learning so much from her about what she is picking up on. Thank goodness we have clean language at home because I could only imagine the things she would say.... It's funny when she says the slang/things I say like "ahhh man!" or Scott just taught her "What!!! Woah".

Spring 2013

Other quirks- She's super interested in everything you are doing. Addilyn can be extremely independent. Recently she's started shaking people's hands at church. She loves LOVES animals. Specifically dogs and cats. She's also really good at how to approach them (hand out so they can sniff etc). She knows just about all the animal sounds and will gladly demonstrate them. Addilyn loves trains, airplanes, trucks, and cars. She can spot an airplane in the sky better than I can. She's not afraid of the Dr's. (like at her check up they did her blood pressure. The nursed asked if she could see her arm muscles and Addi quickly lifted her arm and was happy to have the cuff on her. Probably because at my dr apt's we practice playing with them in the waiting room) She LOVES her daddy. She gets up on the kitchen table to look out the window when he leaves and waves and screams "BYE!!!" and blows kisses to him when he goes to work. If she gets an owie, she comes up to you, points to it and says "Owie" and expects you to kiss it. Immediately she goes back to playing as if nothing happened. She really is a tough cookie.

I could go on and on...and on about Addilyn. The last 2 years has been such a learning experience for us. We still are trying to figure out this whole parenting thing. But she really makes it easy on us. I'm hoping her brother is just as kind to us! (and I hope I'm not jinxing us by saying that)