Adalyn: 11 Months

A baby no longer, this month Adalyn has become a little girl.  She is on the move and becoming more independent by the day.  This month, Adi has mastered crawling and pushing up to stand.  She is able to walk while holding on to furniture and is curious about everything.  Her first steps could happen any day!  Her vocabulary continues to increase and she is able to tell us what she wants, especially if it starts with the letter B, bird, ball, bunny, book, bottle, etc.  She is still a fantastic eater and prefers to have foods that she can feed herself with.  She loves coconuts, quesadillas, noodles, rice, pork, fish and kiwis.  As she grows, she is starting to move from two naps to one nap per day.  We are still waiting for her next two teeth to pop through, but I'm sure they will be here soon.  This month Adi spent two weeks with her great grandmother and we traveled to Thailand and Singapore.  We had a great time showing her around SE Asia.  As we move toward greater mobility and independence, Adi is starting to shift her play needs.  We have spent a lot more time this month playing with other friends and Adalyn and Coco have become friends. We also celebrated Songkran, Thai New Year, and Easter this month.  It's been super fun and a lot of work to watch her transition to a little girl.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures from this month.

An unforgettable boat trip in Thailand

DO NOT mess with this girl's coconut 

With our Great Gran

Covered in water and talcom powder from Thai New Year at the temple behind our house

 

This girl is on the move.  She is determined and fast

Standing came about three days after she learned how to crawl

Our first Easter as a family

Adi wanted to walk in her cute red Pumas

Talking to Buddha

Adi, "I think this is the way out."

Coco showing Adi where the handle is so they both can escape

Plotting their exit

No where is safe for Coco anymore!

Pretty proud of herself...and she's pretty darn cute too!

Impromptu pool party

Double trouble, Adalyn and Amelie are both on the move

Adalyn LOVED the aquarium in Singapore!  

Stay tuned for next month.  Our baby girl is turning ONE!!

New Zealand #5 - Lake Taupo & Wellington

After Rotorua, we continued further south to Lake Taupo, the largest fresh water lake in New Zealand that was formed after a super volcanic eruption over 26,000 years ago.  We stayed at an awesome house with views of the lakes and the surrounding volcanoes.  During our time in Taupo we visited Hakka Falls, Craters of the Moon and took a fun Jet Boat ride.  The best part of our time in Taupo was hanging with our friends and letting the girls play together.

The view from our house

Adi slept in the closet under the stairs, just like Harry Potter

Adalyn and Ellie played so well together

Us, the Foxes and Liz, who joined us from Wellington

The steaming and bubbling holes at Craters of the Moon

Adi and Ellie chillin on the playground

Hakka Falls

After we bid farewell to Nikki, Leon, Liz and Ellie, we drove to the bottom of the North Island to Wellington.  We had a very eventful ride that took us up a narrow one lane road through the mountains where I was certain we were going to die.  Thankfully, we only "encountered" eight other cars on this road but I needed a drink by the time we arrived at the Kempster's home.  Our friends Pete and Maria hosted us in their home, played tour guide and kept our bellies full.  Pete kept us busy showing us Wellington and lots of  his favorite locations.  We visited Mt. Victoria, Wetta Caves, Te Papa National Museum and had the best tour guide who told us all about the history of Wellington.  We had such a lovely time catching up with our friends.  After three short days in Wellington, we caught a flight back North to Auckland!

This gorgeous view was courtesy of NZ Deadliest Road...

Eric being proud of his driving skills...

Please note the width of this TWO lane road

Anyway, back to our Wellington pictures....

The top of Mt. Victoria and great views of Wellington

Uncle Pete and Adi

Eric versus the Orcs at Wetta Caves

Our trip to New Zealand was so fantastic, that we hope to return next year!  I can't wait to see what this magical country with it's amazing people will have in store for us next time.  Until then, I have lots of pictures and memories to keep me going!