Food is yummy, food with texture is yucky

We are still working on Addy's food texture issues.  At the recommendation of the new OT, we have tried adding new flavors and textures to some of Miss Sunshine's favorite foods.  So far:

• cinnamon is out (burns her skin)
• Ritz crackers have a big thumbs up (mmmmmm, salty, buttery deliciousness)
• cracker crumbs have a big thumbs down (even crunched up Ritz crackers are not going well; something about the texture doesn't agree with Addy)
• brown sugar is iffy (has that sand-like cracker crumb texture that she doesn't like, but it is so sweet and delicious if it's stirred into something)
• garlic salt is interesting and improves the taste of peas (I said "improves," not "transforms them into a little green bit of Heaven on a spoon")
• over-cooked pasta is a surprising winner, provided Mommy monitors how many pieces Addy has put in her mouth

In other therapy-related news, Addy is just starting to do some comando crawling (using her arms to pull herself forward).  It's pretty funny to watch because she uses both arms together instead of alternating right then left; she looks like she's doing "the worm."  We're also looking forward to getting a mobile stander in the near future so that Addy can work on strengthening her legs.  Watch out world, Addy's gonna be walking before you know it!

Operation "Cutest Penguin Ever" Update (9-25)

Hat: check
Body: check (well, mostly "check".  I need to add the elastic at the bottom and the hook-n-loop at the shoulders.  But it's done enough for Addy to model it for me!)
Jump suit: nada
Footies: nada
Fish: also nada

I do it myself!!

Addy really likes to drink from Mommy's water glass...

Operation "Cutest Penguin Ever" update (9-23)

Addy is modeling the latest progress on the "Cutest Penguin Ever" costume. Still have the jumpsuit, penguin body, footies, and fish to go, but the hat is so super cute!

"C" is for "cup" (and "cup" is for everything)

Addy has a new favorite word: cup! It means "cup", "cat", "look at me, I'm being cute", "more", "cracker", "neat, I can say 'cup'", etc.

Operation "Cutest Penguin Ever" update (9/18)

Step 1: Pattern acquisition. Status=complete.

Step 2: Fabric acquisition. Status=complete.

Step 3: Pattern modification, layout, and cutting. Status=started, but not complete. I know which pieces I need to use, modified the one piece that needed it (let's face it: a duck bill would look just silly on a penguin), and which pieces get cut from each fabric. But nary a pin left my pin box this weekend, so this step is still mostly incomplete. I also figured out which steps in the instructions need to be done not-as-written. More on that when I get into it and actually determine how to do those steps.

Step 4: Costume fabrication. Status=not started.

Step 5: Fitting and adjustments. Status=not started.

Step 6: Accessories. Status=not started, but it is taking a surprising amount of self control to work on Step 3 and not jump ahead to this step! The fish are going to be freaking awesome!!

Alpha cat

I'm sure this will be a common theme over the next several years, but Addy is getting so big! She's been scooting (still mostly backward), rolling over, and sitting like a total pro, and in the last couple of days has been getting really good at getting herself swapped between them with ease if still slightly lacking in grace and finesse. She's starting to show interest in going forward, too, so we just have to work on her bicep curls. (Not really, but the PT did show us how to encourage Addy to pull instead of push with her arms.)

Merry, our opinionated cat who was not really fond of Addy's arrival, seems to have decided that Addy is the new alpha cat in our house. It is almost impossible to keep her more then 5 feet from Addy, and she is surprisingly patient with the not-very-gentle love that Little Miss Sunshine shows her. The other 2 cats don't really seem to care one way or the other about Addy, but Merry is taking no chances and is trying to secure her place as #2 in the pride.