Where's Addie? (Hint: Not there)

Really, we have a good excuse for the lack of updates this time: we've moved. On Thanksgiving Day we packed up and headed from Kirksville to Springfield. With trying to get settled and all, we just haven't gotten around to updating the blog until now. I'll explain the title of this post later, and I recommend you stick around to read it, because it's good. But first, I think we need a little update on how (and what) Addie is doing.

Addie is now 1 year old, which is impossible. Ame has commented (multiple times...) how the 9 months of being pregnant are the slowest 9 months of your life, and the year after the baby is born is the fastest year of your life. Really, though, I'll concede the point. Not to be one of those people who is always saying "They grow up so fast," but, darn it, they grow up so fast.

Speaking of birthdays, we had three small little parties for Addie. The first one was here with my mom, and was easily the messiest (on a "cake-on-the-face" scale). Ame tried her hand at making a bear-shaped cake using a cake mold. It was supposed to turn out more or less like this, but that didn't happen. For one reason or another the cake didn't set up right, so we were left with a few bits of baked cake and a few bits of undercooked batter. Ame was able to salvage it, though, by taking the bear's face and icing it. So we let Addie have her way with that, with the following results:




That same day (Christmas Eve) we made our way up to St. Louis to visit Ame's family. When the waitress at Macaroni Grill (not even our waitress, but one who just stopped by to comment on how cute the baby is) demanded -- really -- that we accept a free birthday cake for Addie, we had our second party. So we stripped her down (Addie, not the waitress) to let her go at it, and... nothing. She just wasn't interested, much to the disappointment of the three or four onlookers. At the very least, one of the employees sang "Happy Birthday" to Addie in Italian.

The third birthday party came the next day at Ame's dad's house, but was again a bit of a bust, at least in terms of the "cake-on-the-face" scale I mentioned earlier. Addie played with her cupcake a little, but apparently just isn't the "let me smear this all over my body" type.

Since Addie's was born on Christmas Eve, that puts the birthday and Christmas festivities very close together. As such, we put Addie's birthday presents underneath the Christmas tree along with the Christmas stuff. Addie was apparently very fond of the package that her Aunt Cat sent her, as she managed to grab it and drag it into the kitchen. Perhaps the colorful paper made her think that the package itself was a toy. Who knows.



As for developmental sorts of things, I'm not even sure where to begin. Addie is walking (read: stomping) all over the place, and seems to get quite a kick out of doing so. Now that she can walk, it's amazing how quickly she can get from one place to another. Sometimes it's funny to watch her because she'll get going faster than she can really handle so that her legs are whirring along and she looks like she's just along for the ride.

Addie also likes to stand up on her feet and then bend over, touch the top of her head to the ground, and look through her legs. I'm really not sure why she does this, but it's funny. When you get behind her and look back at her through her legs, she'll reach between her legs to try to touch you, giggling the whole time.

One of her Christmas gifts was a pair of L.L. Bean tartan footie pajamas that are quite possibly the cutest thing ever. We went to an 11:00 Christmas Eve candlelight service while in St. Louis and dressed her up in her new jammies in case she fell asleep (which didn't happen, as she stays up as late as we stay up, usually midnight or so). She did, however, fall asleep on the drive back to the house, so we put her in bed and took a few pictures. This is easily the cutest bundle of plaid I've ever seen.


Now onto the meaning of the title of this particular post. See, Addie likes to play peek-a-boo, so we play peek-a-boo with her a lot. Sometimes we'll cover her up with a blanket, sometimes we'll cover ourselves up, sometimes we'll cover our eyes with our hands, sometimes we'll hide around a corner -- all kinds of ways. But apparently this ongoing game of peek-a-boo has become ingrained in Ame's subconscious. A couple of nights ago I was awakened by Ame saying "Where's Addie?" in a very peppy, talking-to-baby voice. I rolled over to see her lifting up the corner of the sheet and putting it back down, apparently playing peek-a-boo with Addie. The thing is, Addie wasn't under the sheet; she was to the side of the bed, probably a good foot from where Ame was playing with her. Turns out Ame was was playing peek-a-boo with Addie in her sleep (with her eyes open, nonetheless), and was apparently very excited to be doing so. So I woke Ame up, explained what she had been doing, and we got quite a laugh out of it all.

So that's it for now. I'll try to post again soon, but it's probably best not to expect anything before Addie turns 12.