Scrub-A-Dub-Dub… there’s an Adele in the Tub. Somehow, this became Adele’s favorite thing in the whole world. She crawls over to it and points at it until we put her in. Funny girl.

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub August 12, 2013
14 Months Young August 10, 2013
I almost missed it. Another 8th of the month went by and it wasn’t until 9 o’clock that night that I realized another month went by and Adele is that much older. I really see the difference this month. The past couple have been much of the same (babbling, crawling, exploring), but she really took off in the past week or so.
Photo by www.honeypotphoto.com
At the beginning of this week, Adele woke up at midnight and didn’t go back to sleep until 4am! I was immediately thrown back to the newborn days trying everything in the book to get her back to bed. Rocking, milk, cuddling in our bed… but all she wanted to do was play! She wasn’t upset… she just wasn’t tired I guess! Eventually I got her down by walking around with her snugly in the Ergo carrier. And truthfully? I loved every second of it. I miss those baby days. I sort of miss waking up in the middle of the night to see her pretty face.
Somewhere into the third hour of baby insomnia, I turned to Irving and said, “I bet she’s going to hit some kind of milestone this week since her sleep is all out of whack”. And sure enough, she woke up the next day with a new, older looking face face, and looking just a little bit bigger.
{That’s the day she also woke up with a little cold too, but hey, it happens}.

The biggest thing that happened this week was that she (finally!) took some steps!! I saw the first three steps on Thursday afternoon. She was real focused on something and then moved forward for it! My cheering probably scared her and she promptly fell down, but I saw it! And then again last night, with some bribing of a cell phone, Irving and I got her to take 4-5 steps back and forth between us. It’s starttttting! I’m scared.

This girl’s got personality, attitude and an opinion… in the cutest way possible. You can’t sneak much by her anymore. She’ll spot something she wants across the room and she’ll point at it and talk to you until she gets it. And if you hide something from her… forget about it. She’ll stop at nothing to find it. I especially love when something rolls under the couch and she scoots down low and looks under for it. Love her.

We call her the little destroyer now… she can’t be trusted to keep a room clean for anything!

A whole cup of cheerios? Don’t mind if I do. (No, please don’t, Adele. haha)

One sock on… one sock off. Typical.

She’s got sass, and all the facial expressions to go with it.

I have to get it on video, but she plays this game where she’ll smile at you, then turn it into a frown, then back to a smile… over and over again. It’s hilarious and she thinks it is SO FUNNY.

So let’s cut to the 14 month stats….
WEIGHT: 18.8 on 8/8!
DIAPERS: Size 3
SHIRTS: 18 Months
PANTS: 12 Months
TEETH: 8 (with a couple more on the way)
This is what happens when we put her in 18 month pants…. just like mommy.

SLEEP
7:30a/8p until 7:30-8a the next day. She had a week where she was waking up at 6:30a, but I think that was due to teething and she’s since started sleeping later again.

At daycare, she takes one nap a day usually from 11:30a-1p or so. Sometimes, she doesn’t nap at all there. But on the weekends, we’re usually able to get her to sleep for 1 hour in the morning and 1-2 hours in the afternoon. She’s not on a set nap schedule, we’ve always just followed her lead and looked for cues.
She always goes to sleep with her pacifier and doggy. And at home, we put her music/projector on.


MILK
15 Ounces of Organic Whole Milk a day. (3 bottles/day). She also drinks about a cup of water a day as well.
FOOD
We’ve regressed a little bit in the food department. My wonderful little eater has gotten pickier and pickier. SO much food ends up on the floor now. Of course, she thinks it’s funny and I do my best to keep a straight face. She’s also developed this thing now where she’ll chew up her food and then spit it out! I’m going crazy worrying that she’s not actually ingesting enough food. But I never force her, I just hope she’s getting enough. I noticed that having her use her own fork has helped. She likes the novelty of it, and will take more bites with it. But then the fork ends up on the floor too. Sigh.

Her favorite foods are eggs, grapes, cheerios, raisin toast, strawberries, carrots, yogurt, bananas and cheese.

TOYS
She loves anything that zips and unzips. I gave her an old purse this week and she’s having fun sticking toys in it and zipping it up. She loves to put things away now too. She’ll take out some toys… and then put them all back where they came from. Good girl.

She also loves opening and closing things. I got her this Melissa & Dog game and there are little magnets inside that come out of each door.
And then I showed her that the pieces stuck to the refrigerator door! Baby mind blown. That’s her go-to activity when I’m cooking in the kitchen now. Magnets. Yes.
I also gave her a cup with some markers the other day and she sat for a half hour putting them all in the cup and taking them out again. It’s the little things, folks. But she does a great attention span for things like that. And lots of patience too.

Oh books! She still loves her books. She reads out loud to herself now and I die inside every time I hear her.

WORDS
She babbles all day, everyday. We’re just starting to hear some words here and there. By some standards, she might be a little late with the words, but I’m not worried nor concerned. I bet her vocabulary explodes in another month or two. But right now, she says “mama, dada, dag (dog), dat (cat), quack, moo, down, that, ata (water) and Banana”.

At 14 Months, you can:
-Point to what you want
-Blow Kisses (blows kisses with her hand and makes a “Muah” sound)
-Wave (to people and dogs. Always dogs)
-Give kisses on demand
-Point to your belly and your head on demand

-Stack rings
-Use a fork and spoon
-Turn your music player on and off while falling asleep at night
-Try to put your shoes on your own feet (unsuccessfully, but still a valiant attempt)
-Climb in a chair… but not quite climb out. This is the universal sign for “help me down, mom!”

-Make a “click click” sound with your mouth.

14 Months is my favorite month yet. It’s a challenge chasing her around all day, but she makes it so worth it. I’ll never be one to curb a curious mind and an energetic girl, that’s for sure. Keep dreaming, living, loving and exploring, little one. Mama loves you.

5 Miles on the Beach August 9, 2013
Last weekend, Adele and I woke up early and met our friend Caitlin for a charity walk in Santa Monica. We enjoyed five beautiful miles on the bike bath along the beach watching the fog lift over the waves. Again, we are SO lucky to have all this so close to home here! Adele’s a lucky girl!

Daddy put her in her track jacket to make sure she was ready to take on the miles.



I think we might have a future marathoner on our hands here!
Okee Dokee Brothers at the Getty…Twice! August 8, 2013
I’ve been listening to the Kids Place Live channel on XM Radio everyday in the car with Adele. Some of those songs are just so funny and clever, I actually really enjoy them. One of my favorite bands is the Okee Dokee Brothers and when I heard they were coming to play at the Getty Center, I put it on my calendar right away.
The Getty is up on a mountain above Los Angeles and I forgot how gorgeous it is up there. Adele loved riding the tram to the top too, she was laughing as she pointed out the window on the way up the hill.

We met up with some friends, spread out some blankets and enjoyed the music in the fresh air.

Can you believe we got photobombed by a one year old? Haha, Claudia! Love her.

We brought a toddler-friendly picnic and there were bites of grapes, cheese, crackers and fruit being shared all around.

We danced and clapped along to the great music and had an absolute blast.
Someone even practiced her dancing skills on her own two feet!
We had so much fun that we actually went back on Sunday for the encore show!!! This time, instead of taking the tram, I pushed Adele in her stroller and walked UP that hill (3/4 mile uphill)!!! Whew!

The show was just as good the second time around. Surrounded by some more great friends (and even more toddler food)! I don’t know who enjoyed it more!

We are SO lucky to have all these great events for kids here in LA. I may be absolutely exhausted by the time our weekends end, the laundry may still be piled up from Friday, and the sippy cups may still be in the sink waiting to be washed, but it’s so worth it to get out and have some fun together. Make the weekends count, right?
Yes, those are sleepy eyes… that’s the face of a girl who had way too much fun with her friends, lots of fresh air and music and a full tummy. That’s the face of a girl who will sleep well tonight. =)
Bang That Drum August 7, 2013
I joined a friend for a Music Class a few weeks ago. Adele loved playing with all the different instruments and dancing around…. but I think she liked sitting on the big drum the best.

By the way, this is her “pick me up, i’m stuck” gesture. So cute!








