Tuesday marked our seven week anniversary of becoming Ada's legal parents and I must tell you that it has been the most incredible seven weeks of my life. I imagined what it would be like to have a daughter, even to have her in my life, but my wildest dreams couldn't capture how madly I would love her and how much fun we would have day to day.
So I thought I'd use this post to share a little more about our dear gal... we'll start with a few of her favorite things:
Her reflection. See past post, but I'll add that she also likes to see photos of herself and now grabs for the camera after we take her picture to get a look.
Water (but not to drink). She gets in the pool and just splashes and kicks and squeals pretty much non-stop. We bought her a float and it is so much fun to swim with this kid. She's totally fearless in the pool. A real water baby, for sure.
The Pixies. It doesn't matter how mad or upset Ada gets, the second she hears the first note of Debaser, that kid is bouncing and swaying. It's uncanny how consistently that song has turned her frowns upside down. She likes music a lot overall, but nothing gets her shaking her booty like the album Doolittle. We have regular dance parties, and for those of you who know us well, you know that John and I are not really the dancing sort. Well, we weren't until it made Ada smile and laugh. Now we are. Funny how she's changed everything.
Tickles. Ada is totally ticklish, and we are suckers for her laugh. As you can imagine, there's a whole lotta tickling going on. What's funny to me is that her ticklish spots migrate from day to day, so aside from the knee squeeze, there arent any sure bets... she's a mystery!
Now, on to the things she's not so crazy about:
Food. Or, to be more precise, anything on a spoon or anything in a bottle other than her perfectly warmed formula. She could not be clearer about this. In fact, it is through our repeated attempts to introduce food on a spoon that we learned about her incredible gag reflex and ability to projectile vomit. Really and truly spectacular. But still we try... and she is willing to try most anything she can pick up and put her in mouth. Most of this is rejected summarily, but at least she's willing to try.
Naps, most of the time. Ada hates to miss the good times, so there is often a fairly extensive protest once she understands that its naptime. And then of course, there's also the charm-your-way-out-of-the-nap protest that is my personal favorite. This exercise often begins with a smile, followed by a giggle, then a full blown belly-laugh and some clapping. It's too cute and it always makes me laugh too. I'm totally owned by this kid. I'll admit it.
And now, on to her latest tricks:
Ada has learned to kiss, and on command. It turns me into a puddle when she leans forward, mouth slightly opened, ready to deliver a 'kiss' whenever she hears "Kisses for Mommy" or "Kisses for Daddy." Yummy.
Ada has learned to blow kisses. We just discovered this today and it just might be the cutest thing ever. Every day, we have a video conference with my dad and stepmother, Ada's Papa and Grammy. At the end, we always blow kisses. Tonight, I was telling her goodnight and she blew me a kiss. Is there anything sweeter? No.
Oh, and last but not least, Ada now has FOUR teeth -- two on the top and two on the bottom, with more visibly on the way. Today, she bit my finger and left four little teeth marks. Ouch, but cute.
And yes, this kind of unabashed pride may be endless. Sorry, folks. I'll be talking about all the tiny details of my life with Ada for many years to come.
