Miss Adelaide at 3ish Months

Let's be honest....Adelaide is going to get the shaft when it comes to monthly blog posts about her growth, she's not going to have photographs of every day of her life (at least for the first year) like Zara, and she's certainly not going to get lots of brand news clothes when her sister's hand-me-downs will serve her just fine. Life is tough for child #2.

That does not mean, however, that Adelaide is any less adored by all of us. She is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise difficult time in our lives. I want to jot down just a few things about her at 3.5 months so I don't forget.

Nicknames

Adelaide is quite a mouthful and we often get asked if we use a nickname for her. The short answer is no. The long answer is yes, but it varies.

David feels strongly that if Adelaide wants to shorten her name to any one of the many options available to her, that is her choice but we will not chose it for her. David absolutely detests the fact that even though his name is David and he always introduces himself as such, the majority of people who meet him automatically shorten it to Dave. (I did too when we first met.) He really wants to avoid that for our children. Adelaide is her name and Adelaide is what she shall be called until she informs us otherwise.

Personally, I call her lots of things. All parents have nicknames for their children...it's just the natural order of things. Some of them play off her name and some of them have absolutely no relation to her given name at all. The two most common names I call her are Lady Adelaide of the Cheeks and Smiles. The first because she has the most awesome cheeks in the world and the second because she loves to smile and show off her dimples.

I love the name Adelaide but I also love that it has such a large number of possible nicknames available to chose from including: Addie, Ada, Adele, Della, and Laidy. My favorite of the bunch is Laidy and I secretly sometimes call her that (when no one else is around). Laidy Malone sounds very regal. (Adelaide does mean noble after all.) My least favorite is Addie and I would just a tad disappointed if that was her preferred name. But I do believe it's her choice to decide what she prefers. I did the same, when I changed my name from Amanda to Lizzie in 4th grade and again when I shortened Lizzie to Liz in 9th grade. And for the record, I have never been called Elizabeth.

Stats
Adelaide was an above-average baby at birth (in terms of weight and length) and she has continued to top the charts as she has aged. The last few times I have weighed her, she has measured between 16 and 17 pounds and about 25-26ish inches.

Disposition 
I find Adelaide to be a relatively happy and easy going baby as long as she is properly feed, diapered and burped. She smiles all the time now and we've even managed to elicit a few adorable giggles out of her. (Zara is often the most effective at making her laugh.) She is also surprisingly tolerant of her big sister and cousins' almost incessant need to touch her, poke her, or pinch her cheeks. She rarely cries without reason and often calms down quickly if soothed.

She started to spit up a lot (both in frequency and volume) around week 4-5 and all attempts to discover the root of the troubles were in vain, including my pathetic attempt to eschew dairy. I was beside myself with concern over her constant reflux and it magically seemed to resolve itself during our 4 day cross country drive from Utah to Virginia. I don't know if she really was allergic to Utah or sitting more upright in her carseat for so long helped alleviate her problems but since moving to Virginia 5 weeks ago, she has only had 2 larger-than-average spit ups. It helps to burp her and keep her upright for a little bit after feeding.

Sleep
Sleep issues are the bane of my parenting existence. Zara was the model sleeper until everything went to hell at 4 months and I live in constant terror that Adelaide will wake up one day and decide that sleeping with any sort of regularity is for sissies and putting her down to sleep will not be tolerated. So far, she's a decent sleeper. She cat naps a lot during the day and often falls asleep while nursing and will stay asleep if held. Despite my love of cuddling sleeping babies (seriously, I think the key to world peace has something to do with snuggling sleeping babies), I often have to put her down to attend to her sister or take care of other things around the house. She will occasionally stay asleep, but more often than not, she'll wake up within 15-30 minutes. Depending on what I'm doing, I will wear her in the baby carrier and she will always conk out and sleep in that as long as I keep wearing it.

I do love wearing her and letting her sleep on me, but I also fear having her develop such a need to be held that she won't sleep on her own. By 4 months, Zara would not sleep anywhere but on me for any nap and refused to sleep in a crib so we co-slept for about a year. I don't mind co-sleeping at night, but having to wear and/or hold Zara for all her naps was very hard on me after a few months. I feel a bit selfish saying it, but I force myself to put Adelaide down so that she will eventually learn how to continue to sleep on her own.

She is, however, an excellent nighttime sleeper (knock on wood) and will often fall asleep all on her own. (A skill Zara never developed until much, much later.) I'll often nurse her around 9-9:30pm, wrap her up like a little baby burrito and put her down in her pack n' play still awake. She'll inevitably wrest her arms free after a few minutes of struggling and will munch on her fingers and occasionally whimper just a little bit until she falls asleep, often within 15-20 minutes, and will stay asleep for several hours. Since Zara never did this, I find this behavior in Adelaide to be the mark of angels and worthy of endless praise and adulation. I don't care that other babies have been doing this for centuries....mine is a blessed baby. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that month 4 doesn't unleash the furies of hell like it did with Zara.

Other Observances
Adelaide hates tummy time, but has excellent head control and strong legs. She's great at standing on her own with very little support and assistance.She will often roll from her back to one side or the other. She hasn't attempted to roll from her back to her belly or vice versa. [Update: As of 9/12, Adelaide can roll from her tummy to her back.]

She has entered the oral fixation stage of life and loves to put her fingers or her blanket in her mouth. She has started to drool more (as a result of munching on more) and sometimes acts irritable like she might be teething, but I think she's still got a ways to go until then. She is also quite taken with sucking her thumb, which I have many mixed emotions about.

When she gets excited, she'll start pumping her legs and flapping her arms with a huge grin on her face.

Unless pinned down, she will not allow any blanket to continue covering her for any amount of time.

She also moves around a bunch. She is never exactly where I left her.

She's almost outgrown her 3-6 months clothes, which she has been wearing since she was 6 weeks old.

By this age, it was apparent that Zara's hair had a bit of a curl to it. Adelaide's foretells no such future and is lighter than Zara's was. I think Adelaide's might continue to lighten, so that it's a nice honey blonde or even strawberry blonde.

All in all, we love our Adelaide and couldn't imagine these last 3 months without her. Here's hoping I'll update again before another 3 months have passed. Of course, we need some obligatory pictures:

Happy First Birthday Zara!

I really can't believe that my baby is a whole year old.

Zara loves to clap, twirl and point her tiny little index finger at things she wants, accompanied with a high-pitched screech. The most adorable one is when she points her little finger at Suyom and cries "eee!" as if she's trying to say "Kitty!"

Zara loves balls, computers, phones (any technology really), her barrel of monkeys, and her miniature broom. Oh, and her little baby doll.

Zara loves to laugh and giggle. It's one of the best sounds in the world.

Zara also loves to move. She's not one for sitting still. (Which makes church a chore, for sure.) She wants to always be moving some part of her body.

Zara will sit still to flip through books. She's fascinated by books and loves to turn through their pages.

Zara loves to eat fruit. She especially loves mangoes, cherries, bananas, and pineapple, proving that she is David's child.

Zara is stubborn as all Hayman women are. She's already begun to throw little tantrums and stomp her little foot when she's not getting her way. I hope to cut that in the bud in the near future.

Zara's sleeping has greatly improved in the last few weeks and she has started to sleep through the night. Hallelujah!

Zara had only 4 teeth for a long time, but a fifth front tooth has finally emerged. It also looks like she's getting some back molars on her left side so maybe she'll be able to eat a different variety of foods soon.

I tried to take photographs of Zara every month with her stuffed monkey to show her growth. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for two months--when here monkey was packed away during our move--but here's the progression of Zara from birth to one year.

Zara Hope Malone, August 31, 2010

One Month (September 2010)

Two Months (October 2010)

Three Months (November 2010)

Four Months (December 2010)

Five Months (January 2011)

Six Months (February 2011)

Seven Months (March 2011)

Eight Months (April 2011)

Nine Months (May 2011)

Ten Months (June 2011)

Eleven Months (July 2011)

Twelve Months (August 31, 2011)!

How big she's grown! I haven't taken many photos recently (on account of the move) but here are a few from the last month that I like.





Happy birthday Zara!

Zara at Ten AND Eleven Months!

I'm way behind on updates for Zara. I missed her ten month update because we were in Georgia with no internet connection and I'm a little behind on her eleven month update as well. Best get it in before she hits a year at the end of this month!

The word that best sums up Zara is crazy. She is a crazy, crazy baby and she's full of life and stubbornness and opinions and she's crazy. She sometimes drives us crazy but we still love her a bunch and kinda think she's the best baby ever (except when she's being crazy). As David often says, he'd rather have a crazy baby than a boring baby. Zara is not boring. Not a teeny, tiny bit.

General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.

Let's see....Zara is a big baby. She's taller than all her cousins who are one week older and three weeks younger and has big fat baby feet and hands. It's no wonder that she can walk as well as she does.

And walk she does....in fact, she's getting pretty quick that I don't think it'll be long before she starts running.

Zara has also learned how to climb up stairs but hasn't quite mastered climbing down them. She also climbs up on everything else, the little monkey.

Zara is generally a very happy baby unless she is tired or hungry. Then she becomes a cranky monster. She has also started throwing little tantrums if she doesn't get her way. I didn't think the tantrums would come so soon. I'm not liking it.

She still has only 4 teeth but I think more are on their way in.

People always comment on Zara's beautiful blue eyes and her dark curly hair. It's such a striking combination. I really hope it lasts.

Eating and Sleeping Habits

Zara's sleeping schedule is still all kinds of messed up since we've been vagabonds for the last two and a half months. I'm really hoping that once we get settled in our new home, we can quickly get her back into a consistent routine and that her sleeping habits will improve. I'd really love for her to take one longer nap during the day (not on me, David, or in her car seat) and to sleep in her own bed at night.

Zara continues to breastfeed, though she goes longer stretches between feedings. She mostly nurses in the morning, maybe once or twice during the day, and then right before bed. (She still wakes up once or twice a night to nurse though.) We're working on getting her used to drinking water or juice out of a sippy cup. She especially enjoys drinking out of straws.

Zara is generally a very good eater. She'll try just about anything and loves to feed herself. She particularly loves fruit. She doesn't always love it when we try to feed her the pureed baby food but sometimes she loves it. If she can feed herself, Zara prefers it.

Accomplishments and Firsts

Zara has mastered clapping her hands. If you start clapping, Zara will start clapping along and finds it to be absolutely delightful.

Zara also started clicking her tongue a few weeks ago. David and I don't know where she picked it up--since neither of us have demonstrated or encouraged the behavior--but Zara does it frequently.

She is has perfected her walking. She can really get some speed going too.

Zara has also learned how to climb up and down stairs. She still forgets sometimes to turn around when she tries to climb downstairs but she has improved quite a bit. I'm just glad that our new home doesn't have any stairs.

Favorite Toys, Places to Go, Etc

Where has Zara not gone these last two months? She's one well-traveled baby. I don't know if any place is her favorite....I just know that she hates her car seat with a passion and puts up the good fight every time we try to strap her in. She's a wily one, that one.

Zara loves her baby doll. (I think we might want to name the baby since we just call the doll The Baby but Zara is The Baby so it gets all confusing because sometimes I'll tell David to grab the baby when I mean the doll but he thinks I mean Zara and then the poor Baby (the doll) gets left behind. Or we'll ask "Does the Baby have the Baby?" and really proper nouns are there for a reason, right?). Anyway....Zara likes to carry her baby doll around by it's little hat and has become quite cute when she holds and hugs her baby.

Zara also enjoys her barrel of monkeys, Jenga blocks, cars, balls, and the giant stuffed bear my aunt has. We also bought Zara her first Lego Duplo set and she's been enjoying those more as well.

Now for some more adorable photos of our crazy baby.

We are alive and other such things....

It's been far too long since my last blog update. And there is so much to tell! We've had two months of craziness driving from one end of the country to the other and I fully intend to bore you with all the minute details. But first, a quick update of where we are and what's been going on. (Just in case I never get around to the boring details.....)

We arrived home (to San Diego) on June 1st. After two weeks there--during which time, David out-processed with the Navy--we drove to Georgia to visit David's family, stopping in Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Vicksburg and Birmingham along the way. We spent two weeks in Atlanta--during which time David mostly helped his parents move into their new house--and we didn't have internet for awhile. (So sad! So glad I have a smart phone now.) We left Georgia on July 5th and drove back to San Diego, stopping in Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis, Springfield, Nauvoo, Independence, Oklahoma, Albuquerque, and Williams, Arizona along the way. We arrived in California on the 14th, just in time for my mom's big 60th birthday celebrations and mini family reunion. After that, we drove up to Lemoore, California (30 minutes away from Fresno) to spend some time with my sister and her kids. We went swimming, ate delicious food, and visited Sequoia National Park. We then drove through Northern California to Reno and from Reno to Utah.

We've been staying with my Aunt in American Fork for the last week as we've been house hunting for a place to live in the Provo/Orem area. The first few days were rather discouraging. We couldn't find anything decent in our price range in the Provo area and even when we widened our search to Orem and Springville, we still couldn't find anything we liked. Most of the houses in Provo are in a sad state of disrepair since students tend to move in and out frequently and the landlords don't have the time or inclination to keep their properties well-maintained. When we did find a place we liked, they always had a strict no pet policy.

We finally found a nice 2 bedroom condo in north Orem which we both liked, allowed pets, and was in good condition. It wasn't my ideal housing situation, but I knew we could make it work for the two years we'll be living here. It had a nice, big kitchen, a good sized bathroom, and several playgrounds and a swimming pool in the complex. But after putting in our application for the condo, we decided to keep looking at a few more places, just in case. We even drove all the way down to Provo to look at one 3-bedroom condo but the landlord got in a car accident that morning and didn't show up. (Obviously, that place wasn't meant to be.) As we were driving home that afternoon, I saw a new posting for an old house in Provo. What really caught my eye was the picture of the kitchen--with a gas stove. I love cooking with gas and was sad that everything we saw had electric stoves. I made David call about the house--even though the rent was a big higher than we wanted to pay--and we went out to see the house the next morning.

We fell a little bit in love with the house. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home built in 1899 but it's been really well-maintained and upgraded. It has a beautiful kitchen, big rooms with high ceilings and is in a nice neighborhood in Provo that's within walking distance to several parks, shops, grocery stores, restaurants, and the Provo Library. Even better is that the house comes with a big backyard, a garage, and a separate fully finished bonus room (with electricity and air conditioner) that will become David's office and a sewing room for me. Best of all, they allow pets! Since we wanted a two year contract, the landlord struck a deal with us for a lower monthly rent. It's exactly what I was looking for and I'm so excited to move in. Unfortunately, we can't move in until August 15th, which means that we have another two weeks of bumming around, living out of suitcases. We're all pretty tired of the vagrant lifestyle and are really looking forward to getting settled again. I guess I can survive another two weeks and hopefully my aunt won't get sick of us and kick us out.