Pictures of Adora & Mommy!

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Christmastime!

I wore my Santa outfit to a Christmas craft fair, and everyone thought I was the cutest baby in the world!



















Look how long my bangs are getting! Mommy has to pull it back with a bow or put it in pigtails (if I let her).












I've been taking MMA lessons--Reagan and I are a close match, but I totally kicked her butt!











I think I already said that when we were teaching Adora to crawl, we had to tempt her with puffs. So here is a video of her first night crawling--for puffs, of course! You can also see my haircut.





Now that I can crawl, I sometimes get stuck under stuff, like my exersaucer thingie!


















I took a good nap with Dad while Mom and my cousin, Elizabeth, napped in my bedroom in Vail.

We went on a hike in the mountains--I am such a snowbaby!

My cousins, Elizabeth & Briley, were making funny faces in front of a frozen waterfall on my hike!

I loved sitting in the hot tub with my family!

All the great grandkids with Grammy Grammy--Brianna, Luke, Ashley, Addison, Briley, Adora, and Elizabeth.

Wichita Mountains 11/8

Adora loved looking at the prairie dogs. At one point, we were afraid they were going to eat her toes!

Hiking is sooo tiring! (She was actually asleep before we even started.)

Baby on top of the world! This is Adora

touching the marker on top of one of the mountains in the park.

Some quick photos.

Adora and Daddy carved a pumpkin on Halloween. Adora's favorite part was trying to eat the seeds. She is lightning-quick at getting stuff to her mouth!

Isn't my hair sooo cute in pigtails? Too bad I scream when Mommy puts them in.

I'm 8-months-old today, Nov. 1!

Uh Oh--Crawling!

Adora started really crawling yesterday!! It was so cool. Jake started leaving a trail of puffs for her to eat, and she would army crawl toward them Friday. We kept practicing that with her and intended on showing off her new army-crawling skill to her Nana, Pop, and aunts and uncles on the Hostetler side, so we whipped out the web cam. Instead of army crawling, she got up on all fours and crawled like halfway across the living room! She still has to work on her form, and this morning, I think she forgot how to do it for like half an hour before she remembered, but she is moving and grooving a lot now!

Even better news--Adora now sleeps through the night! Friday night, while Jake was in charge, he took away her passy. She went to sleep at her normal time and then woke up like normal between 10:00 and 11:00. I fed her then. She woke up again at 2:00ish, and he did some progressive-waiting (let her cry for three minutes, then go in and try to calm her down--then let her cry for five minutes and then go in and try to calm her down, etc.) and she went back to sleep without the passy and didn't wake up until 5:50! The next night, she slept from 7:30 p.m.-7:20 a.m.! She is a much happier baby during the day and can stay awake for much longer stretches. In fact, she is down to two naps per day now! The crying is hard--we sometimes still have to let her cry for a few minutes before she goes to sleep, but in the end, I think we are all happier this way.

I will try to post some pictures and videos later, but Jake and I are about to eat dinner. Ciao!

A few minutes while Adora's napping

I have a few minutes while Adora's napping, so I thought I'd try to update a little. I tried to take a nap for 20 minutes, but I couldn't. Then, I had a couple of visitors. She's been asleep. . . 37 minutes now, so she might wake up any minute, but she's been taking longer naps lately (thank goodness!) so she might be out for a little while longer.

Adora will be 8-months-old tomorrow! She is such a fun little girl. She is eating table foods now, which is just a fancy way for saying she eats just about whatever Mommy eats. She had some spaghetti & meat sauce for dinner last night. Then she slept from 8 p. m. until 2:30 a. m.! Should I give her spaghetti every night?!

Here is another picture of our camping trip.

Adora can pull up onto her knees from a sit now, as evidenced in this photo. Mommy, let me out of jail! You can also see how she has one pigtail in her hair. It was sooooooo cute, but she screamed and thrashed and would not let me do the other side--oh well!

Jake's birthday was Oct. 25, and our little girl loved to help him open his presents! She loves paper, so any chance she gets to chew on it is gold. I usually let her chew and then take it away once it starts to fall apart, which is usually within one minute, but this wrapping paper was a little sturdier. She did say DaDa for the first time on Jake's birthday--he was excited but not too thrilled since she yelled it when she woke up from sleep at night time while she was crying in her crib

Now, this may be TMI, but Adora likes to poop when she's eating. She is not a stealth pooper, either--she grunts and turns red and her eyes get watery. It is pretty hilarious, so Jake was trying to get a video of it. She loves to stare at the camera, though, so she stopped pooping to stare at it. Toward the end of the video is a really cute squeal, though. Who knows, maybe this is something only a parent could love.

In this video, she is making a really cute growling sound. I think it is her favorite sound right now.

Here is one of her Halloween costumes.

Here is another--I know it's dark, but I just love her smile in this one.

Here is Adora with her friend, Reagan, at the playgroup Halloween party. Reagan didn't know she was supposed to dress up, but it's ok--she's just a baby, after all! Reagan is almost one month younger than Adora.

This little Tootsie Roll, Oliver, is so cute. He is five months older than Adora, but he was two months premature! She is taller and heavier than he is. Look how advanced my child is--she already knows how to share! Oliver's mom made his costume--how crafty!

This is Adora with "her best friend, Kennedy" (that's what Jake says all the time). Kennedy's mom is one of my good friends here. Kennedy is two-and-a-half months older than Adora, and she is already walking! They change so quickly. I love her costume's hair :)

Gavin loooves to give kisses. His mom is my other good friend here.

Happy Halloween!

What a scary ghost!

MawMaw and PawPaw got this swing for me and put it up on their back porch. I loved it!

Me, dad, and Adora at Laura's house.

Yep, she loves the wind blowing in her hair!

Adora was a good little camper when we went the evening of the 18th at Lake Texoma.

We hiked with Adora around the campground the next day.

Surprise!

So, Jake surprised me with a visit to Baton Rouge a couple of weeks ago! It was soooo fun. We went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour and just hung out with my friends and family. What a good time! We then took Adora camping this past weekend. It was a whole lot of fun. The little sweetie loves being outside, and she slept just as poorly as normal between mom and dad on the air mattress in the tent. I haven't uploaded pictures from this stuff yet but will as soon as I can.

Here are some pictures from last month or earlier this month--can't remember.

I'm Captain Adora Laine Hostetler! This hat stayed on her head only briefly before she ate it.

Sometimes, Mommy puts my hair in a ponytail like this but it doesn't stay in very long!

I like to wear my giraffe robe after a luxurious bath.

This is at the petting zoo during Falls Fest. The event itself was kind of a disappointment, but hey, it got us out of the house and was something to do for a couple of hours! The petting zoo was the best part. There were all kinds of animals--deer, calves, sheep, etc. There were even some kangaroos, but they were in a separate part. I think they were resting and probably came out after we left.

This is Adora painting that beautiful masterpiece from the last blog entry. I'm planning on framing it--just one thing on my long list of to-dos.

In other news, two nights ago, Adora only woke up twice at night! It was so wonderful. She went to sleep at about 8:15 or 8:30 and woke up at about 3:00 and again at about 5:30. The next night, however, she woke up a million times. Tonight, she's already woken up once.

First Bath (3/08)

I know this is old, but I just saw it for the first time at Laura's house. It's a sweet video of my little girl's first non-sponge bath. Look how skinny she is compared to now!

Famous artwork!

Look at this artwork! See if you can guess who the artist is.

That's right! It's Adora Laine Hostetler's first painting! First artwork, actually. We went to Falls Fest today and visited the painting booth. Jake named this painting "Harvest Sunset." He said Adora told him that was her name for the painting.

It's been awhile

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've updated. Sorry! Adora is doing really well. She isn't spitting up as much anymore, which is great. She loves trying new foods, and she is eating a ton at each of her two meals. She is getting better at picking up finger foods and getting them to her mouth. She got a new tooth this week, so she has her bottom front two now :) Sooo cute. They are razor sharp, though! I'm trying to teach her not to bite.



Adora still isn't sleeping well, but I am trying some new techniques to try to get her to sleep a little better. Since Jake went cross country last weekend, I haven't had a full night's sleep in almost two weeks, so I am really looking forward to tonight!

Adora is moving all over the place now. She's not crawling (she can't get up onto her hands and knees by herself yet, even), but she rolls everywhere and occasionally scoots a little bit, too. I put her down on the blanket to play while I worked in the kitchen, and she somehow ended up underneath the coffee table!

Adora had a friend come over for a playdate last week. Adalyn is about three weeks younger than Adora. They had a lot of fun sharing toys, and Adora feasted on Adalyn's foot :)

I've always thought Adora was probably ticklish, but when she was a tiny baby, she didn't really know how to react to tickling. Now, though, she sometimes will laugh and laugh and laugh! I discovered a new tickle spot today--just above her knees. She has a cute laugh sometimes, like she is trying to hold it in but it escapes anyway.

Well, back to the debate!

6-month checkup!

Adora had her 6-month checkup yesterday. She was about 6 1/2-months-old. She weighed 17 lbs. 3 oz. (below the 75% percentile). She was 27.5 in. tall (the 90% percentile!). Her head circumference was 17 in. (above the 50th percentile). She is doing really well! Dr. Bryant said her acid reflux should go away by her 9-month birthday. He said that 25% of babies still wake up at night at nine months and wasn't concerned by the amount that Adora wakes up.

Jake is going cross country this weekend, so I might have more time to post some new pictures of Adora tomorrow! It has been a busy week here. I planned and executed a baby shower for a friend who is moving in a couple of weeks, went to two playgroups, took Adora for her checkup, had lunch with a friend, and slept very little :)

Wash it good!

We went to the Wichita Mountains last Saturday and had a blast! Adora had her first dip in a lake. She also took a nap in her pack & play outside for an hour and 40 minutes! We visited with Dan & Shawna, friends who we met when we were in Wichita Falls the first time. They are moving in a couple of weeks.

Adora had ham for the first time today (from the jar). It had an odd texture, but it didn't taste too bad. And, unlike lots of jarred food, it actually smelled like it should. She ate the whole jar, along with some turkey dinner and a little banana. (She eats chunks! She can mash them in her gums--& tooth, I guess.) Mmmmm.

Either I'm hilarious or Adora just thinks I have a really bad voice--you decide!

This post was typed by Adora

'./'/'
bv 7 nn

First tooth!

Here is a picture of Adora from a couple of days ago. I know I'm biased, but I don't know how I had such a beautiful girl!

Adora got her first tooth today! It is a sharp little one on the bottom front (left side). She has been pretty fussy and trying to bite everything. I put her teethers in the fridge, and she likes to bite the ones that she can easily hold. I've been giving her Tylenol, teething tablets, and I did Oragel once (she was very interested in the taste). I need to try the Oragel more to see if it works, but the Tylenol definitely works. I'm not too sure about the teething tablets, but they are harmless, so I give them to her anyway. Besides, she likes to eat them.

Last night was a rough night--probably worse due to the teething. I read about a technique today to get your baby to skip a feeding at night, so I might try it out in the next couple of nights when Adora is feeling better about her tooth. The Baby Whisperer says that instead of feeding your baby at night, pick her up, hold her, and give her a pacifier and she should stay awake about the length of time that she usually eats and then go back to sleep. The next night, she should stay awake less time. In three nights (which means at least nine for Adora if it works at all!), the baby will be sleeping through that feeding. I'm so exhausted that I'll do nearly anything that might work, so we'll have to see how it goes.

Jake and I worked on cleaning out the garage tonight. It has a bunch of unpacked boxes from our move and is a general mess. Now that the sailboat is in there along with the car, it's a little more dire of a situation. We got a lot done before the mosquitoes came out and I went inside. Jake's still out there plugging away!

Well, even though I took four naps today, I am still reeeally tired, so I am going to go read a little bit and then go to bed!

This is from awhile back when Adora couldn't roll over yet, but she is trying sooo hard!

Barbara Ann

Adora is growing so much each day. She turned six months yesterday. She has a tooth that is soooo close to breaking through. She was pretty fussy today, but I know she'll feel better when it gets through. She wants to crawl really badly--when she's on her stomach and can't reach a toy that's in front of her, she will get upset because she can't move to get it! She also gets upset sometimes because she wants to push herself up to sit but can't figure out how to do it yet.

Adora gets really messy when she eats, so I usually strip her down. This is one of her experiences eating barley. She had a turkey dinner tonight! Turkey, carrots, green beans, and barley. I tried it (jarred food)--it was kind of tasteless. I make a lot of her food but haven't learned how to do the meat, and I'm not sure I have the time anyway. Baby food is pretty healthy from the jar, though--it is just the food and sometimes water is added. I just like to make it when I can, and it doesn't hurt that it's significantly less expensive!

We went to Oklahoma City over Labor Day weekend. First, actually, we went to Enid to visit Steve. It was a short visit, but we had a really good time. We went to his favorite restaurant, IHOP :) Jake and Steve stayed up really late talking, but I had to go to bed around 11:00 or so. The next day, we went to the Yandles' house in OKC. We went to the OKC zoo Sunday, which was so fun! Adora did ok--she slept through a lot of it and didn't take notice of too many animals, but that's alright :)

This is a fun video of Adora--I don't know all the words, so don't make fun of me :)

I'm Back!

Adora ate a ton for dinner tonight--4 oz. of squash, a tablespoon of rice, 2.5 ounces of milk from a bottle, and then, she nursed a little! Maybe she'll sleep through the night (wishful thinking)!

Below are some pictures from the Houston trip that Adora and I took the 14-21.

This is her first airplane flight--she slept almost the whole time!

Uncle Jonathan did an awesome job feeding Adora. Sometimes, she was too hungry to eat, so I had to nurse her first :)

This was one of Adora's favorite places to be--on Uncle Jonathan's shoulders. She would pull his hair and slobber all over it. Fun stuff!

SMU fan! This is a new face for her--she looks scared, but she didn't seem scared. I'm not sure what it's all about.

Adora loves her Mawmaw & Pawpaw!

We took Adora to the zoo--it looks like she is petting the goat, but I am pretty sure Aunt Julie didn't let her. I was worried about freak animal germs--is that weird? Adora's favorite part of the zoo was the part that had an aquarium. She loves watching fish swim! I took her to the Houston Aquarium the next day, and she LOVED it! She kicked her legs in the Baby Bjorn the whole time :)

This is Adora's first slide. She kind of just went with the flow. Since then, she's been sliding with Daddy a couple of times. Still no reaction, though!

Adora looks a little confused about what we're doing--we're flying back to Wichita Falls, sweetheart!

And what would this blog be without a video at the end? This is really short--it was going to be a photo, but the camera was in video mode. I decided to keep it because her little kick is so cute!