18 months

Adele turned 18 months old on Friday, Nov 7. I know I say this everytime she hits a major birthday milestone, but GEEZ! How did this happen? EIGHTEEN MONTHS? Criminy.

She had her check-up that day (Nov 7) and the stats are

Height: 31.75 inches

Weight: 20 lbs, 9 ounces

Head: 18-something inches (I don't pay too much attention to this stat anymore.)

Her height is now in the 50th percentile for her ACTUAL AGE. That means she is perfectly average height for normal, full-term 18-month-old!! Holy cow. If we adjust that for her gestational age it's somewhere in the 90th percentile (I think--I don't have the chart with me now). Her weight is still on the low side, coming in around the 5th percentile for her actual age. The doctor looked back at Adele's charts and noticed the highest percentile she hit was 25th right around when she was 5 or 6 months old. The doctor isn't concerned, really, since developmentally she's fine. She doesn't think it's a nutritional deficiency or any sort of metabolic issue, so that's good. It's probably a combination of genetics, catch-up growth, and the fact that she's an on-the-go toddler. She looks healthy, though, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

She finally sprouted her two top eye teeth, so that makes a grand total of six. Sigh. Poor kid. Someday she'll catch up in the dental department.

Here are the most recent pictures:

Because I am THE cheapest and laziest mom on the planet, Adele's "moose" Halloween costume consisted of her brown pants, inside out brown sweatshirt and "antlers" from Target. Next year I'll do better. I promise. Hey, she still looks cute, right?


Skeeter wanted in on the action.Her "Mummy Loves Me" Halloween shirt. And I posted this pic mostly because of her sweet, sweet face.
A few weeks ago, my friend Joanne and her daughter, Maggie, came over for lunch. Maggie was born 2.5 weeks before Adele. Maybe she can loan Adele some hair.
Adele and Daddy enjoy one of the last nice fall days.
The Foot Book is always a favorite.
We made a trip to Wichita last weekend to help Steve's mom with some work around the house. Here she is with Adele during our Pei Wei lunch. Mmmm!

For the Grandmas

I've been thoroughly scolded by Grandma Van Horn for not having posted anything since late September, and probably more importantly, no PICTURES since Sept. 16. Bad Mommy! Bad! So, with my tail between my legs I humbly beg your forgiveness. I come bearing gifts--LOTS of new photos!

But first, just a quick catch-up on what she's up to these days.

• Walking everywhere--not quite running yet, but I'M not complaining!
• New words: "no," "bye-bye/bye," "hi," "shoe" (although sometimes it's more just shhhhhh), "gimme" (lovely), "more". She also signs "more" and "all done." She has been saying "uh-oh" and "mommy" and "daddy" for a while now. If your remember pictures of her nursery, I put little dot applique thingies all over and some are right by her changing table. We've been using them as distractions during diaper changes and once in a while we hear her say something that sounds like a garbled version of "circle." Probably only recognizable to us, but since she only says it in relation to the dots, we're sure that's what she's talking about. We're trying to teach her "drink" and/or "milk" in both words and sign language. Hope she picks that up soon, as the "gimme" has got to go, and she says "gimme" most often when she wants her cup.
• She's really good at following directions and understanding what we're saying. The other day she was on her way to the living room and I said, "let's change your diaper first," and she turned around and walked straight to her changing table! Just now, Steve told her she needed socks and she found her socks lying on the footstool and picked them up and tried to put them on her feet! She'll also get her shoes if I ask her to find them, or bring a book if I ask, etc.
• Speaking of books...she loooooooooves books. We read probably 10 books a day (sometimes it's the same book 10 times). We're also trying to teach her how to say "book" but no luck so far. You'd think she'd have picked it up by now, as often as she hears us say "do you want to read that book?"
• One slightly disturbing trend is that in the past week or so, if she is scolded or is told "no" she'll start hitting herself in the head and repeating "no, no, no". It's really sad and very upsetting to us. She doesn't cry or anything, but I'm wondering why she's doing it! We certainly don't hit her and I'm 100% confident in her daycare situation, so I really don't know what's going on. It might just be her way of venting her frustration, but still...we have to get that one to stop.
• We finally got her report from CMH after her developmental screen. Her scores/ranges were 8-10 months for language (which is low, I think, but we knew they'd score her low since she didn't talk much at the appt); 11-12 months for motor skills and 14 months for cognitive development. She was around 16 months actual/13 months adjusted at the time, she's right on par for her adjusted age!
  

I know you're really here for pics, so I won't make you wait any longer!

From mid-September, KU Band Day, Adele devours a good book ("Pat the Bunny," I believe). This is one of the few photos of Adele where I think she actually looks like me!


October 5, we all went to the pumpkin patch!





No one we know in the photo below, I just thought it was a nice picture of a beautiful Kansas farm!

*Here is where I add my political disclaimer. I'm usually not one to vocalize my political views, although if you really know me, you probably know which way I lean (and after this post, you'll definitely know). If you want to discuss politics or express your views, please email me. If you're looking to debate or argue, you can skip it entirely, as I don't find that to be fruitful at all, and I like to stay on good terms with my friends and family. :) *

Having said THAT... Saturday, Oct 18, Adele and I joined 75,000 of our closest friends and went to see Barack Obama speak at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. It was an awesome day (although my legs and back were killing me after standing for 4 hours) and we had great weather. Adele was a trooper and charmed everyone around us. She fell asleep just before Obama took the stage, though. Oh well! At least she could nap in the stroller and I could enjoy the speech without having to hold her the whole time. We weren't terribly close to the stage, but not way in the back either. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!

For a while our line butted up to a grassy knoll, so I let Adele wander around and play in the grass.


The view from our spot in line. The entrance is past that building at the top of the photo and around the corner. When we first arrived it was half as long as it is here, but foolishly we decided to go get lunch thinking it wouldn't grow TOO much in an hour. Sigh...
The line continued behind us, around the corner, to the end of the next intersection and halfway up THAT street. CRAZY.
Obama 08 sign
We played several rounds of "Spot the Secret Service"

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius:
Finally, the main event, Barack Obama! (This is with quite a zoom effect on, and unfortunately things get rather blurry when I'm using the super zoom.)

El fin

Today we had what turned out to be our LAST Tiny-K visit! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! We're so very happy because it means Adele is a-ok. Steve and I already knew that, but it's nice to be released from the program and have it be official. The OT is going to speak with Adele's doctor about whether or not we NEED to have another swallow study done. Staci, the OT, and Steve and I are all on the same page that we don't feel it's necessary. Adele has been on all unthickened liquids for more than a month, and is doing just fine. I hate to expose her to more radiation for something that isn't a "must" and we all agreed that kids tend not to perform as well in these tests since they're anxious about being in a new place, different environment, etc. We'd hate to have her "fail" simply because of the surroundings, when we're fairly certain she's fine. Make sense?

Anyway, it's alllll good news. We're going to transition over to their Ages and Stages program insstead. They'll mail us a sheet every so often that we'll use to mark her development, and if they see any red flags they'll schedule something.

Even though she's still not technically "caught up" to her actual age, there are absolutely no concerns about her catching up eventually. So, no more Tiny-k, no more Children's Mercy, no more thickener. It's all "normal" kid stuff from here on out! YAY!

Sentimental Fool

As fall quickly approaches, and as Adele quickly outgrows all her clothes, it's become apparent we're overdue for a clothing purge. Every day is a struggle to find something that fits her AND is weather appropriate. (When it's 50-something in the morning and 80-something in the afternoon, it's very difficult to know how to dress your kid for the day.) Adele has two drawers and a closet full of clothes, but only 25% of it fits right now. This morning, I got sick of the digging and finally pulled everything that was too small or too summery.

A few weeks ago, my friend at Goddess in Progress blogged about packing up her twins' clothes, and how she didn't feel much of a desire to keep anything. She wrote, "I don’t find myself with any real pull to keep any of it. Maybe it’s because we’re most likely done having kids..." The opposite is true for me. I got misty a few times as I was packing up the last of the onesies today. Part of the sadness/wistfulness is knowing that Adele isn't a baby anymore, the other part is knowing that there likely won't be another baby later that would make it necessary to keep anything. It's hard for me to let go of the one and only baby experience I'll have.

I am sentimental by nature, no doubt, but I'm sure my sadness is magnified by how I still feel like I was cheated out of the Full Pregnancy Experience. Everything ended too soon--it all went too fast. While I know being a one-kid family is the right choice for us, I still can't help but wish I could do it one more time, just to prove I CAN. Just to experience those things I didn't get to the first time (like the third trimester). Just to have, maybe, a normal labor and delivery. Just to know what it's like to be discharged from the hospital WITH your baby. But Steve and I are no spring chickens, and soon I'll be in Advanced Maternal Age territory. AMA means higher risk pregnancies, and I just can't take that chance again. So, one kid it is. At least we hit the jackpot the first time! AND I get to live vicariously through my fellow Preemie Moms who are brave enough to try again, like my friend Jessica (mom to a 25-weeker), who is almost 35 weeks along in her current pregnancy and cruising toward her Oct. 21 c-section date. Or my friend Jen (mom to a 30(?) weeker), who bed-rested her way through most of her second pregnancy, but was rewarded with a gorgeous, healthy, Take-Home Baby, Caleb.

Back to clothes: I did keep most of her first outfits, the tiny preemie onesies that she wore in the NICU, and the outfit she wore home from the hospital. And I kept certain items that were meaningful in some other way (her first Easter dress; the little red hooded sweater she wore in her first professional photo; favorite shirts and receiving blankets). But everything else is boxed up, ready to be passed on to someone else who can actually use it.

Now, I just need to find homes for the baby carseat, baby bathtub, Bumbo tray, Boppy, mobile...

Baby steps

Sorry that I haven't posted much lately! We've been very busy lately, and you can always assume no news is good news. 

Adele is absolutely fabulous in every way. And, get this--she's WALKING. Yipes. She started taking steps around Steve's birthday in late August, and over the course of the next few weeks she's progressed by leaps and bounds. (Ha! Punny!) She can walk across a room without falling once, but it might take her all day. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess! She still chooses to crawl most of the time, but I have noticed that she's attempting to walk first before giving in to the faster, more efficient mode. This weekend we're off to KC to get her some real shoes, just in time for cooler weather. Robeez just won't cut it in the cold, wet Kansas winters, no matter how cute they are.

She had a developmental follow-up at Children's Mercy last week and that went fine. We're still waiting on the final report, so I don't have anything "official" to share. But no major concerns were mentioned to us, so one can assume all is well! The psychologist did say that Adele was "smart but intense" (after witnessing a major meltdown when I wouldn't let Adele keep climbing the PT stairs). Ah yes..."intense"...guess we will need to learn how to keep that attitude of hers focused in the right direction. And I have NO idea who she gets it from...(ahem).

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to share the video montage I made. Enjoy watching Adele progress from unsteady stumbler to sure-footed walker! (Okay, maybe that last part is a stretch, but she's getting close!)

(Filmed Sept. 9-15)

Is it November 5th yet?

I will not give myself an ulcer this election cycle.
I will not give myself an ulcer this election cycle.
I will not give myself an ulcer this election cycle.

Deep breaths in...deep breaths out...

Weekend in Wichita

We took a quick trip to Wichita this weekend to see the family down there and had a blast. But before I talk about THAT, I need to mention that Grandparents Pontow were here Friday and Saturday and REALLY helped us out by babysitting for several hours on Saturday so I could attend a church meeting (while Steve worked) and so Steve and I could go see Batman on Imax. Steve and I rarely get to do anything together without the baby (not that we mind), and we really appreciated that G-ma and Papa were willing to watch Adele for a few hours! Thank you! (By the way, the movie is AWESOME. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it, and seeing it on Imax is worth the extra bucks!)

Anyway, Sunday we headed to Wichita to see family there and take a much-needed mini-break. Most of Steve's family lives there (his Dad and Raylene live in OKC), which includes his mom and Ted, his triplet siblings and all their kids. It's quite a group when everyone gets together! Unfortunately, Theresa's girls were sick, so they couldn't come over. But Jason and Angie (the other two of the triplets) and their significant others and kids all made it over. YAY!

We spent a few hours in Grandma and Grandpa VanHorn's pool and enjoyed a delicious supper complete with an early birthday cake for Steve! Monday was Steve's birthday and we went to the Sedgewick County Zoo and spent half the day there. I'd never been and the last time Steve was there was at least 25 years ago. It was a really nice zoo! Great exhibits, very clean and well-kept and CHEAP (thanks especially too some 1/2 price admission tix we got from the VanHorns). And since it was a Monday morning, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Adele seemed to enjoy the animals, although she did konk out about halfway through the morning. After the zoo we hit Pei Wei for birthday lunch with Steve's mom and were on the road back home.

Since we weren't able to take a real vacation this year, we've been relying on occasional long weekends to break up the summer. We camped earlier in the season and now we're wrapping up the summer with the zoo trip. Fun! I even remembered to take some photos during the weekend.

Oh! The other fun thing that happened was that Adele came THISCLOSE to walking! She's standing up on her own more and more now and occasionally she'll take a step (although sometimes she does more of a pivot move). I'm sure it's only a matter of weeks before she figures it all out. Eek! So, there's a short video of some small steps after the photos. Enjoy! Also, I put an album online in case you want to see more of the weekend. Click here for those.

(That's cousin McKenzi in the background...)