Bathroom Update

I mentioned earlier that we had our bathroom remodeled. I'm finally getting around to showing the before and after pics. We haven't decorated anything yet. We're avoiding putting holes in the wall until we absolutely have to. It's very nice and luxurious (for us). It looks like it belongs in a nicer house than ours.
BEFORE


(Addie's modeling TP- I just never learn to keep it out of her reach). Notice the yucky tile floor.






AFTER






Speaking of the bathroom...guess what Addie has started doing when she goes to the bathroom?





Just for fun- Here's a picture of Addie after eating mashed potatoes yesterday.

Ode to Addie- 1 Year Old!

Our sweet baby girl turned one today...it's so hard to believe. We had a fun Valentine's party with our friends and family. She was awesome, although she did keep taking food from her friend Hailey! She wasn't too sure about the cake, which was a bit of a let down, but I'm sure she'll love it eventually. Who doesn't?

This year has been has been a growing experience for all of us (even the dogs). At first, I didn't know what to think of motherhood. Addie was such a fussy little one and I was so worried about being her mother since it seemed that she was unhappy no matter what I did.
But now, I couldn't imagine life without her. She is such a joy! She's smart, busy, beautiful, funny, & sassy too. I can already tell that God has blessed her with many wonderful traits and talents. What a difference a year makes.

For your viewing pleasure...

Here's a video of Addie performing her newest trick...to the tune of "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear":

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Another trick she is working on is jumping. Her feet don't even come close to leaving the ground, but she laughs just the same. She leans forward and then arches back quickly. At first, I thought she was having a seizure or something serious, but then she giggled a little. Then I figured out that she was trying to jump (so she must have picked it up from the "Baby Song" DVD we had seen earlier that day.

The big birthday is coming up soon...this Saturday!!! Finally, Addie will get to try a piece of yummy chocolate cake and we'll see who she really takes after: mommy or daddy!

Beautiful Baby Contest

She really is beautiful, don't you think?

I was watching "Regis and Kelly" last week and they were talking about their "Beautiful Baby Contest". I entered the picture above. I couldn't help it. It was simple to enter and they are going to show pictures of some of the contestants during the week of Feb. 15. I thought, "What the heck!" Maybe she'll get 5 seconds of fame.

Here are just a few more that I took during our "Photo Session":



Addie is getting her third tooth. It's on the bottom by her other two. Can you see it?

Last week, we found out Addison had Pink Eye. We have no idea where she got that from, but we're glad she's doing better. The eye drops we had to put in her eyes were a joke. She was the master at getting out of our grip or putting up a good fight by squeezing her eyelids shut very tightly.

THis week, we are having our bathroom remodeled (YEAH!!!!!) so it's been kind of loud (and dusty) around here. We've been going over to Dana's house for naps. I guess it's a good thing that she's dropped her morning nap b/c there's no way she could survive on such little sleep in the morning.

We'll post before and after pictures of our bathroom after it's done!

Daddy's turn to post

Occasionally, it's not my fault that I can't find my running shoes. Here she is caught red-handed. She's probably trying to think of a new place to hide it.


Touching the magical foot of Syd. Feel the power!


There's nothing like a good dog.


And there's nothing like a good dog's saliva on your fingers. Yummy.


Playing with the trash can and watching tv - can anyone tell that Mommy is away?


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Peek a boo!

Addison is back to nursing four times a day! YEAH!!! She's waking up in the middle of the night and crying about something, but I'd take that over her not nursing. Pretty soon, everything will align just right and we'll have a good day of eating AND sleeping...I just know it. It might be when she's 16, but it will happen. Ha Ha!

We had a nice and relaxing weekend. We went to Sydney's first birthday party (Addie will be having one of her own in less than a month). Syd was an absolute doll. She even shared her toys graciously with all of her guests.

Addie loved playing with Sydney's cool toys!


Here's Addie playing in half of her clothes. Doesn't she look like she belongs in the film Zoolander?



We got Addie her new car seat for when she turns a year old and can face the front. She looks so tiny in it, but it's supposed to work for her until she's 100 pounds.

Memaw made Addie a new hat. She's so stinking cute!!!


Oh Yeah! Addison wants to play PEEK-A-BOO!

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Nursing Update...

Okay...things are starting to look up. Thanks for those encouraging comments. I called the doctor yesterday to see what to do and they told me to bring her in to see if she had gotten over her sinus infection or not. I pretty much knew already that she was over it b/c she wasn't fussy and had no more snot running down her face.
At the doc's office, they checked her out and said she had no reason (physically) to not be nursing and they really wanted her to get one more month of breastfeeding (at least). The doctor thinks that Addison is just one "smart cookie" and learned that she can get her milk sooner from a bottle/cup and not have to wait for a let down. She can also bite them and not get scolded like she does with me. In an effort to regain nursing, she suggested that I not give her anything to drink and only offer my breast. I was concerned that she would get dehydrated and Dr. Williams assured me she would not. She said babies don't do that to themselves. She would eventually give in. By that evening, she was running up to me and pretending to nurse but then she'd run away. She didn't nurse at 7:00 so she went to bed AGAIN without any milk. But, when she woke up at 11:40 last night, she gladly nursed...only by then my milk wouldn't let down and she was frantic. Today, she has nursed twice and although they were very short, at least she didn't bite me or push away. I think I offered her the sippy cup too soon and she became efficient at using it before weaning was necessary. Since she's so independent, she didn't see the need for me anymore, I guess. Anyway, I think things are going to be better from here on out. I just can't believe how difficult these past two days have been. Thanks again for your prayers...it really does help! I hope no one I know experiences a "nursing strike" like I have, but if so, hopefully you'll learn from my experience. :)

Nursing Strike!

I'm very sad right now. Addie has refused to nurse all day! I don't know why but I'm starting to speculate that I've made the mistake of reacting strongly when she bit me once and now she doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't really know how to take this. My goal was to nurse her for a year, but I was willing to nurse longer if it was going well...now I don't even think we'll make it to eleven months! She acts as if she wants to nurse, but when I pull her on my lap, she bites and then cries and wriggles away. It's hard not to get stressed out about the whole thing. Addie hasn't ever had formula, so I can't see her wanted to try it now, but it's too early to give her cow's milk. I'm trying not to feel like she's rejecting me either. I really loved nursing her and I don't think I'm ready to quit!

Our Busy Baby is Baaack!

Addison is feeling much better since we went to the doctor on Monday. I turns out she developed a sinus infection from a cold/cough she had the previous week. She's on an antibiotic and back to her busy self.


I finally got a picture of her two new teeth.


The dog whisperer
Here's Addie "walking" Lucas around the house after we returned from an outdoor walk. He wasn't too thrilled, but he played along anyway.


She's been obsessed with anything that swings (ex. cabinets and doors). She is especially pleased when she gets the door completely closed.


She's twirling the computer chair here. She also likes to sit in it while I twirl her.


I let Addison have her food in a bowl this week. She picked it up and scooped her food into her mouth straight from the bowl!


Bathtime is still her favorite time of the day. She is so happy once she hears the water running. We have no idea how to do her hair, so we're experimenting. What do you think of the "wild child" look?




After her bath, Addie gets to run around her bedroom and have "naked time". She's hilarious...going a hundred miles an hour. Even though she's got a lot to do before bedtime, she managed to give me some love (probably since I was in her way). She lays down on you as if she's just resting but doesn't stay long, of course.


This week, our sweetie pie did something really cool. Right before her morning nap, I asked her to get me a book (in sign lang.) and she ran to the bookshelf and brought a book to me. I was so amazed, I called Micah at work. At bedtime, I asked her to get a book and she ran and got one and brought to me again! Micah saw it with his own eyes too! It's such a testament that babies really do understand more than we know.

Then we tried to get it on video, and she didn't quite perform as expected...but she is still adorable to watch.



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Sick Baby...

Addison has been sick this past week and I think I'm going to have to take her to the doctor on Monday. She has a terrible cough and a small rattle in her chest when she breathes. She still seems to be sleeping fine, but is unbearably fussy during the day and especially before bed.

We don't have many pictures to show you because she is so sad in every shot we've taken. Nevertheless, she is still moving and shaking as long as she's got some medicine in her system.

She's also doing some signing now, which is so delightful to see. So far, she's signed: "milk", "all gone", and I think she's doing "more" in her own way (she's clapping instead of touching the tips of her fingers together). We're being very diligent in signing because we want to escape some nasty fits she might want to throw in the future. I REALLY want to avoid as many tantrums as possible.

Also- Addison's two bottom teeth are almost completely in. I haven't had a chance to get a good picture of them yet because she either a) has a binkie in her mouth or b) is too fussy to cooperate.

Here are some pictures we did manage to take of her this past week...



Addie and Lucas sharing



We installed a tiny little flat screen TV in our kitchen after Christmas and Addison is zoning out while I was cooking/cleaning.




Addison has been doing this a lot lately. She likes to look through her legs. It's pretty cute. It's actually the "downward dog" position we do in yoga. Looks like all the prenatal yoga I did really paid off! :)

Here's a video of Addie playing with her new toys she got at Christmas:

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Christmas

We spent Christmas in California with the Hunt's and in Missouri with the Williams' .
She did fairly well on the plane trip out and back. Both of our flights were delayed so she got some walking in at the airport before take off.

Here are some highlights of our trip in the bay area:

• We got to see our family and had a great time with Gigi, Papa, Aunt Beth, and Uncle Cory, and Rowan.
• Addie got some great presents, including gifts from Russia!
• Rowan and Addie played nicely together.
• Micah and I got to go for a run along the bay...it was beautiful!
• We got to have In-n-Out burgers.
• The girls played a lively duet on the piano (see below).

Here's Addie trying out Rowan's Sit and Spin!


Ruthann read to both the girls before bedtime. I was actually nursing Addie before putting her down for bed and she heard Ruthann reading downstairs. She sat up and started saying "da-duh da-duh". She wouldn't settle down, so I took her downstairs and she finished listening to the book. It was so cute!


Addie feel asleep on the plane in mommy's arms both flights!


We had a problem with Addison dropping her binkies on the first flight out and it was nearly impossible to get them from underneath the seats, so Micah rigged this contraption up on the way home. It worked well!



Here are the highlights from our time with Memaw, E-pa, Aunt Joyce, Uncle Ken, Caleb and Toby:

• Addie watched Caleb ride his scooter and big wheel around the block.
• We opened lots of fun presents (again)!
• Christmas was at our house, so we had lots of fun with our family staying the night.
• Mommy and Daddy got to go to a movie with A. Joyce and U. Ken while Memaw and Epa stayed with the munchkins.

Addie shared her new activity table with her cousins (Toby & Caleb).


Here I am with Addison and Toby (my nephew who is 4 months younger than Addie, but one pound heavier)!



Toby sucks his thumb. It's so cute I had to take a picture.


We were extremely blessed this Christmas by our generous parents and siblings. Addison now has lots of clothes and toys and we have "toys" too! Most of all, we got to celebrate our Lord's birth. God is so GOOD!

After many months, Addie Sue has decided to allow a tooth to come forth. She spends most of her day chewing on one, or two, index fingers as she waddles around. I guess the pointer fingers taste better. Here she is about to taste her right finger. Her proud tooth is just visible on the bottom.





Addie is looking forward to Christmas this year. However, I think that we told her the truth about Santa Claus a bit too soon.





We're slowly learning that if your child is playing quietly by themselves, then they're probably up to no good. Apparently, there was too much soil in one of Mommy's plants.




Why does the word "debonair" come to mind?


Addie Sue has a unique way of letting us know when she's had enough to eat.

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