The Rozells: October 2008

Someone gave me some advice shortly after Adah was born ... She said that the days may go by slowly, but the years go by very quickly. Boy was she right! Seriously ... has it really been a year already! I thought we would start out this post with a little nostalgia. Here's a picture from one year ago...

As a parent, I don't think I will ever forget the first moment I saw her ... heart gushing with love for this little being whom I just met. She has completely changed my life (for the better) and I love her more and more each day. Here are some things I have learned in the last year ... patience does grow with children, love for your children (and husband) really is boundless, Moms and Dads always carry snacks, and the joy of watching someone else discovering the world for the first time is one of the best things in life.

Now, here's what Adah's been up to the last month.... Adah now has 8 teeth and is trying lots of finger food. She has days where she still prefers a bottle, but she has really been good about trying new foods. She developed her own language (Adahish, we call it), babbling away assuming that we understand her. She also has added new noises to her repertoire, adding clucking and clicking with her tongue to her lip smacking. Playtime is filled with a lot of piling and sorting things. That is, first the books come off the book shelf to a pile on the floor, then they go in the laundry hamper, then out of the laundry hamper, etc. She also has started handing toys to us, beaming with a smile when we say thank you. She is definitely proud to be a giver.

She has gotten more mobile by the day. While a month ago she was tentatively standing and holding on to nearby furniture, now she is often running around the house on her own. She can still be unstable at times, but she gets less wobbly by the day. She has an especially proud smile when she makes it across the room on her own. You can just see new worlds open up for her as she discovers that she can now get up and go where she wants, when she wants. God help us!

Days when I go to a mom's group and Adah goes to the nursery to play with other kids for an hour or two are the best days. She loves other kids, and gets very excited when she sees her playmates. Today, she kissed her friend Zach who was visiting the house for her birthday. Unfortunately, Zach was not too happy about the invasion of his space! Her daddy tried to explain to her that she should play a little hard to get, but we're not sure she understood.

Here are some pictures of the Birthday Girl on her special day...

Adah Opening Birthday Presents