Adventures in Loving Addy: Cool Weather, New Clothes, & A Ball Pit!

The weather has changed here in Chicago, sending everyone into a frenzy of Pumpkin Spice Latte's, leather boots, and most importantly, football! The cool weather meant one thing for Miss Addy...new clothes!

Giving the boys some time to themselves, Addy and I headed out for a girl's shopping trip. On the list: new pants, new shirts/onesies, new shoes, and anything adorable we could find. I was also on the look out for a new winter coat for Addy, especially since they are predicting this winter to be much worse than last year's polar vortex. Yikes.

I went crazy shopping for Addy when we found out she was a "she". I was beyond bored with the dinosaurs and fire trucks, all things blue, and all things boy. The tiny pink onesies and itty bitty socks with bows made my heart melt, and I admit, I went completely overboard. I'm pretty sure Addy had the entire Carter's baby girl collection upon her arrival home from the hospital.

We spent the first months of Addy's life in short sleeves, enjoying the sunshine and not having to deal with rolling sleeves. Then winter hit, and we rolled sleeves all day everyday, her constant wiggling unrolling all of our efforts. This year, she is on the move and into everything! She uses her lucky fin so much on a daily basis, that finding clothes that work for her was very important to me this year. I went back and forth on whether or not to alter them, making one sleeve shorter than the other, and so far, we haven't chosen to do that. I did however, find myself scouring the aisles in stores rolling and unrolling sleeves, trying to figure out what would work best for our little go getter. I found myself drawn to three quarter length sleeves, knowing that they would keep her warm but allow her freedom from my constant rolling of her sleeves. Her newest trick is pulling on the sleeve of her right arm and pulling her arm completely out of the shirt, something she thinks is hilarious, especially when we are out in public. Such a ham. I ended up buying a good mix of three quarter length and long sleeve shirts, knowing that she will be taking both of them off daily anyways, so what difference does it make?

The one thing I am still searching for is a good winter coat for her. I am worried because the circulation in her little arm isn't as good as her other arm, which means it gets cold much easier and much quicker. She's been waking up in the mornings with her little nubbins purple and freezing, and it makes me nervous for this winter. I've bought mittens to put on her this winter, but I haven't found a coat I can alter easily, or one that I can roll easy enough to give her the freedom she craves. We took a trip to a play place this weekend, and the pouring rain forced her into a coat, one that wouldn't stay rolled up on her lucky fin side, and we had to hear about it all the way to the play place...in very shrill screams. My search will continue until I find just the right coat, one that will keep her warm and give her freedom to use both her arms! Am I the only one who spends a little extra time shopping to find just the right fit for my lucky fin girl? Do you alter your kiddos clothes to give them freedom from rolling sleeves? Any tips or tricks you can share?

We also had a birthday party to attend this weekend, Addy's friend Brooklyn turned one, and we celebrated with a bouncy house and ball pit! Addy had a blast, showing off all of her hard work in therapy working on her balance! She was able to climb up the inflatable steps and pull herself into the ball pit with no problem! Therapy has truly been a blessing for us. Her occupational therapist did a Peabody evaluation today during her session to get a feel for where Addy was falling in terms of milestones in fine motor and gross motor skills. Addy blew her away, showing off all of her new tricks! She tested in the 15 month range, a whole month ahead of schedule! I'm so proud of our hard worker, she has such a good disposition and such great problem solving skills already! We are continuing to work on her trunk strength, extension in her right arm (she keeps it bent and tucked when she walks or is sitting, so we want to ensure she works on full range of motion), and continue to work on her left hand strength. As she hits milestones, new challenges will arise, and we will tackle them one at a time! For now, she's right on track, and we couldn't be more proud!