MUCH needed Ada update

As I was walking around Target just a few minutes ago--all by myself!!!--my thoughts began to wander, and I realized that this blog is in desperate need of an Ada update, my little girl who is leaving babyhood behind right before my eyes.

She is such a girly girl, this daughter of mine, and I can't imagine that she would be any other way, considering that my attempt at being a tomboy when I was young was to request the American Girl doll, Molly, who seemed more tomboyish than all the others. In hindsight, I don't think ordering a doll was going to help my attempts to become a tomboy. But this is not an update on me.

Things about Ada that are so very girly

1. she loves shoes. loves them. She particularly loves the squeaky shoes given to her by her aunt Ann. When she wakes up in the morning, sometimes wearing only a diaper and the shirt she slept in, she immediately finds her shoe and brings it to me for me to put it on her, and then she stomps around the house as hard as she can in order to produce as much squeak as possible. The shoes are still a bit too big, which adds to the comedy of it all. If the squeaky shoes are unavailable for some reason, she will settle for whatever shoe she can find. Even mismatched ones. But she has to have her shoes.

2. She loves her babies and stuffed animals, and she loves to "love" them, which is the word we use for her cuddling them close to her neck like an itty bitty newborn baby. Just the way I used to do with her. We will say, "love your baby, Ada," and she immediately hugs it so tight and sways back and forth for extra cuddle.

3. She is beginning to like dress up of all kinds. For example, she likes to put on several bibs at once and hats and shirts. She comes up with some odd concoction of an outfit and then prances around as if it is the most fashionable thing ever worn. So funny.

4. And, well, her emotions are nothing but girl. Things are always a big deal. She is either oh so happy or pitching a fit. There is never in between.

Other Ada things to record.

She is getting a bit of an attitude that is driving me CRAZY. Anything that I am eating or drinking or doing she wants to eat or drink or do, and she lets me know by pointing and grunting. Which I think is unacceptable. We are really working on the signs for more and please, because I don't like the tone of that grunt. And then if I don't immediately give in to her wishes, she breaks down into sobs as if I have permanently damaged her world. She is so mistreated. Lives such a hard life. Ha.

But she is also such a delight. She gets so excited when she sees me in the morning, and if we are watching baby shakespeare (a baby einstein video full of delightful poetry), she cuddles up into my lap, and I just love it so much. She is thrilled when Scott gets home in the afternoons, running to the door to greet him. And when he picks her up for a hug, she pats him on the back several times as if to comfort him. And she loves to dance. Loves it. She has learned how to turn the music on with all of her toys, so throughout the day, she randomly hits the music buttons, and dances. When the music stops she just repeats the process over and over and over. And she twirls and sways and squats. Whatever best matches the rhythm of the music or her current mood.

She loves to eat beans. All kinds of beans, but she spit out the broccoli that I gave her tonight. She makes her likes and dislikes very clear. And finally she is sleeping through the night on a very regular basis. I didn't know if we would ever reach this point, and I am not sure how we did reach this point, but here we are. And I am thankful for the sleep.

And I am thankful, oh so thankful, for my little precious Ada who just fills my day with so much love and laughter and frustration. My precious, precious Ada. My firstborn.