Little Things

Just a few of the little things I want to remember about Adaline.

1. Always watching. While my parents were in town, Adaline quickly learned a few tricks from my Mom like how to open things with her teeth. And things like that are happening daily around here -for better or for worse.

2. Strong-willed. Her nursery leader recently used those words to Mr. Bluth as he went in to pick her up one Sunday. Mr. Bluth found Adaline holding onto a toy while ALL the other toys were put away and he didn't ask how big of a fight she put up to keep that toy out. It was almost reassuring to know that others see it too. Sometimes I feel like all I do is fight Adaline because it is always her way or the highway (or at least screaming, tears and full body meltdowns).

3. Babies. She loves her baby doll and loves to find her friend's baby dolls and hold on to them with all her might. Related to point number 2: she will not share any baby doll. She loves to take care of her doll and will change the diaper, put the doll to bed, and do just about anything else with the doll. Her love is not just for dolls, but for all babies and loves to say "hi" to real babies that she sees around the city.

4. Daniel Tiger & Moana. We recently gave in to allowing her to watch some shows. Screen time does not happen everyday, but every once in awhile we will turn on an episode of Daniel Tiger. She loves it and will stand with her face inches away from the TV and especially loves Trolley. Adaline also recently attempted to watch her first movie. It was late on Saturday afternoon and the weather was bad, which prevented us from going outside, so we pulled out the computer and all three sat together to watch Moana. She was captivated for about 45 minutes, but then became a little restless and started moving around. She went and stood behind the computer and watched us watching Moana. Bedtime came around so she didn't get to finish it, but she still keeps saying "Moana".

5. Cheese. Not referring to food, but rather what you say when taking a picture. Frequently she will stand somewhere and say "CHEESE" with a grin and won't stop until I pull out my phone and take a picture. This usually occurs when she sees others taking a picture or when she is somewhere were we have previously taken a picture before. I now just pretend to take a picture because I would have zero space on my phone if I took a picture every time she said "cheese".

6. Friends. She loves her friends and gets so excited when we play with them. Most of the time she gets tired of me so I try to give her opportunities to socialize everyday. I can't say she has a favorite friend, but currently she is obsessed with Gigi. She gets so excited whenever she sees her and I will find her saying "Gigi" during the day when she is having one of her many conversations where I only pick up on a few words.

Fall 2017

This fall has been nothing short of a wonderful and crazy whirlwind. From our own travels to having visitors we have spent the last two months laughing with friends and family, and seeing more of our world. 

We love when people take us up on the offer to stay at the Bluth Bed & Breakfast and we had wonderful visits from Jessie and Mark Brown, Michelle Bluth, Marisa Johnson, and Grandpa and Grandma Lee. I hope that one day we will be able to offer more than just an air mattress in our dinning room and maybe even a guest bathroom. But there is nothing like sharing a bathroom and having a baby wake everyone in the entire apartment to help strengthen a relationship. It is fun to share our little world with others; and visitors always help us appreciate our little city and the adventures that are right in our backyard. We had wonderful weather for all of our visitors except for my parents who got to experience a Midwest monsoon for a day. Luckily the day before the monsoon we had beautiful weather and Adaline was spoiled at the zoo as Grandma bought her a ticket to ride the carousel and to go on a big slide. Most importantly, Adaline was able to show her grandparents a couple of her favorite parks and the beach where we spent most of the summer. 

I went on a solo trip to Denver for a girls' weekend in the mountains and I fell in love with Denver. It was a special little getaway with dear friends from college and it was so good for my soul. Another family weekend trip was to Orlando, but it was not to go to DisneyWorld or any theme park. We met up with our bestie Andrea and just relaxed at the pool, explored Gatorland, and visited DisneySprings. Adaline loved Gatorland and the Rain Forest Cafe. Mr. Bluth loved visiting a new place. I loved being with my bestie and swimming in a pool. And we learned some good tips if we ever visit Orlando again in the future. Last year we visited Andrea and Colin in Philadelphia, so fingers crossed we will be able to meet up with them next year somewhere as they are friends you just don't ever want to lose. 

We took another family trip to Nashville due to Lindon traveling there for work. He was attending a conference that was more time consuming than we thought it was going to be, but he got a special certification that will benefit him and his career so we won't complain that we only got to see him in the evenings and during his lunch break. My main objective in going to Nashville was to catch up on some sleep. There is always something to take care of at home so I was able to escape some responsibility for a few days and just focus on Adaline and relaxing during her naps and early bed time. I worked on some goals and read some of a book--so I lucked out the most on this trip. 

Nashville was a little underwhelming, but still fun to see and explore. Since country music is not my first choice and I don't know enough about hall of famers in the industry, I found myself mostly enjoying the history part of Nashville. We found the Tennessee State Museum and I could have spent an entire day walking around and reading about the state, but Adaline could only be entertained there for a bit--except when we were looking at the horses. We ventured up to the state capitol a couple of times just because it was beautiful and had fun walking around a national park just off of the capitol grounds, until I realized bugs were attacking my legs. 

One day I had to mail a package so we found the Post Office which was located in Arcade Alley. Arcade Alley was one of my favorite discoveries. I found where all the locals go for lunch and it was so fun to sit and watch people and we found some great food establishments. It felt like a completely different world than Broadway Street and the honky tonks. One night when Mr. Bluth had a networking dinner, Adaline and I found a local spot for dinner and were blessed with lots of Tennessee charm. Adaline got an extra bowl of Mac & Cheese and a free banana pudding along with everyone in the kitchen coming out to meet her. As we were leaving the restaurant she started saying goodbye to everyone and before I knew it, EVERY patron in the restaurant was waving to her and blowing her kisses. 

Adaline and I also figured out their bus system so we could find a park with an actual playground and the Colosseum. I was just grateful for my city baby who is used to crazy adventures. If we ever go back to Nashville, my main stops would be at Mike's Ice Cream for some Tennessee fudge ice cream and Arcade Alley. Yes--my fav stops all revolve around food. 

One of the reasons I desperately needed to catch up on some sleep was because I was training for a marathon. We got back from Nashville on Thursday night, I hosted a bridal shower on Friday and then I ran 26.2 miles on Sunday. Leading up to our trip to Nashville, I was at the end of my training and just at the end of my energy. Waking up at 5:15 to go on long runs had taken its toll on me. (Editor's note: She absolutely crushed her marathon and ran a terrific time for a first time marathoner!)

Visitors, traveling, and running pretty much sums up my fall. 
Visitors, traveling, and learning more words sums up Adaline's fall.
Visitors, traveling, and managing a tired wife sums up Mr. Bluth's fall.