Vacation wrap-up!

I haven't blogged in forever, but it's only because we've been so busy! We went to the beach (St. Augustine) the week of 6/23 to 6/30. We had SO much fun! We rented a condo next to the one my parents rented and it was a wonderful week! And Addie had her first flights! She did so great. We were very proud of her. On the way down, she was a perfect angel. We didn't buy her a seat (next time we will - I just think she would have been more comfortable in her car seat) but she sat in my lap without too much wiggling :) The way back was a little different, but she still only fussed for about two or three minutes total - and it turned out that she was getting sick, which we found out when we got home. It also may have been because it was so early - our flight left at 6:40 a.m. Eastern time, so we had gotten up at 4:00. We almost missed the flight, too, due to the security backup at the Jacksonville airport! What an adventure...

Anyway, the week was perfect - we spent about an hour at the beach each morning (not quite enough for my liking :)), then would go in for Addie's nap time. The afternoons consisted of either more beach time, pool time, park time, or Mimi & PawPaw time :) John Michael and I really enjoyed spending so much time together, too, and went on three whole dates while we had "built-in" babysitters (thanks Mom & Dad!!!! We love you!!!).

Addie had a blast at the beach and ate plenty of sand! That's why you'll notice her paci in her mouth for most of the pictures - it was the only way to keep shells out of there. She had so much fun knocking down sandcastles as her Daddy built them, and she also really enjoyed the water! She was just too cute, and we had tons of strangers coming up to tell us how cute she is (duh! ;))

We also had a good time visiting my family - my dad lived in St. Augustine til he met my mom, and I still have aunts and uncles there (he's the youngest of nine). It was so great to see everyone, and Addie had a good time with her cousin Ben, who is 11. He kept sitting in her little travel booster seat (while it was on the floor, after dinner). She was NOT ready to share, and kept trying to push him out from behind, or pull him out by his collar. TOO cute! Everyone was laughing hysterically at her, and all she wanted was her little seat! The sharing thing will be fun to tackle soon :)

It was a perfect vacation - we really can't wait til the next one!!

So now, it's picture time!

Addie climbing to her favorite place, the end of the beach chair!

Some of Addie's new favorite toys, "shats" (shoes)!



Hunting shells!



"I could swear there were some Teddy Grahams in here somewhere!"



"Take that, sand castle!"
(er, sand blob...)


She stepped into this and thought it was hilarious!



"Woohoo! I'm ready to dig!"


In the condo on our last day there
(shameless picture to show her cute curly hair, I admit :))

A weekend away

This past weekend was different, to say the least! John Michael's best friend from high school and college, Nick, got married, and he was the best man in his wedding! He got married in Atlanta, and when they announced the date a little over a year ago, we decided it would be a good weekend away, just the two of us. So we did it! I almost chickened out at the last minute and wanted to take Addie, but we ended up going alone and had a great time. We definitely missed her like CRAZY, but it was a nice adult weekend. And the funny thing was that most of the bridal party was away from their kids for the first time, so we kept each other occupied very well!

It was so much fun to see our friends and to catch up! I had a few teary moments, but nothing a phone call to my parents to check on Addie couldn't take care of! The hotel where we stayed (and where the reception was) was very nice - the Evergreen Resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Our room had a balcony overlooking the lake - it was beautiful! We would definitely go back again. And of course, Nick and Christie's wedding was beautiful too! We really enjoyed seeing them and spending time with them, and also John Michael's other roommate, Alan, and his wife Cindy. Cindy and I enjoyed our Saturday (while the boys were doing wedding stuff) by getting pedicures at the hotel spa! See? I told you we stayed busy to keep our minds off missing the babies (their son Jacob is 17 months old)!!

Early Sunday morning, we met my college best friend, Kendall, and her boyfriend Brayden, for breakfast. It was so great to see her - it has been over 2 years since we last saw each other, and we are trying to get better at staying in touch!

Addie had a blast with her grandparents (she stayed with my parents Friday night and John Michael's parents on Saturday night). She was definitely well on her way to being spoiled and made sure we knew it by testing her limits with us Sunday evening at home :) She was thrilled to see us though, and was not happy about me leaving the room even for a second that evening! It was amazing to see how much better she had gotten with her walking, even in two days!

It will definitely be a long while before I'm ready for a weekend away again. But we're excited, because we're all going to Florida at the end of this month with my parents! YAY! You'll see in the pictures from this weekend that the sun will be good for me... :)

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm pale...

And I just realized that's the only really good picture I took this weekend! I'll get more from Cindy and post them later...

Silly me!

I forgot to post the most exciting news from the past couple of weeks - Addie is officially walking. She had been taking a few steps here and there for a little over a month, but she's now walking almost all the time (as opposed to crawling). She is absolutely ADORABLE when she walks, and it is amazing to watch her determination - if she falls, she gets up without a second thought and just keeps on going.

I took this little movie with our camera. She has her paci because it's almost bedtime :)

Welcome, Maddie!

Today, I had an exciting day! I got to spend time with two of my good friends from work, Ashley and Beth. Ashley and I went to Murfreesboro to visit with Beth, who just had her first baby, Madelyn Elizabeth, on May 21! Maddie is an absolute doll - she is beautiful and has the sweetest disposition! I am so happy for the whole family! Congrats Beth & Derrick!

What a little peanut! Maddie was 6 pounds, 1 ounce when she was born!

Ashley, Madelyn, and Beth




Just us girls!

A busy few weeks!

We have been so busy the past few weeks, but have had so much fun! I finished school for the semester on May 15! It was such a relief to be done for a little while. Then, on May 18, John Michael and I had our fifth anniversary! Where has the time gone?!? We went out to dinner to celebrate and had such a good time! We laughed, because when we were on our honeymoon, we decided our "plan" would to return to the British Virgin Islands in five years to begin trying to begin our family! HA HA HA...Obviously, we decided we were ready sooner than that, and now we have our sweet Addie. Anyways, I am so lucky to have John Michael. He is a wonderful husband and father and Addie and I both love him to pieces!

THEN, this weekend, we had Addie and Holland's joint birthday party. It was SO much fun! We had an awesome crowd there and I think everyone had a blast! Both kiddos were absolutely adorable and they both got lots of wonderful gifts. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to be there!

Lynn and I had fun planning and putting everything together (including the cakes, which turned out AWESOME - yes, I'm tooting our own horns - I'll post pics of them as soon as someone sends me some)! She never ceases to amaze me with how great she is at things like this! I think I learned a lot from her this week, and also from our friend Leslie. Thanks, and love you both! And an extra special thank you to the Drs. D'Amico, for letting us have the party at their home!
We love you guys!

Now...for the pictures!

"Hmm...this could be good - don't you think, Holland?"



"Yup! It's not too shabby!"




"But enough of being dainty - I'm going in!"




"Now that's more like it!"




"Seriously? This is child's play!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADDISON!

Well, Addie is officially ONE YEAR OLD! Where did the time go?! It seems just like yesterday that she was born. The year has flown and has been absolutely awesome. She has changed so much and is doing so many fun things. She never ceases to amaze us! She is almost walking (she takes steps but seems more content to crawl for the time being), has six teeth, has about five verbal words (although lately, everything is a "hyat!"), and can sign "more," "all done," and "outside." Each day is more fun than the one before it, and we have a hard time believing our friends who tell us that it just keeps getting better!

Addie had her one-year checkup on Friday, and Dr. Hood was very happy with her development! She is still a petite little princess - 25th percentile for both height and weight (28 1/2" long and 19 lbs., 8 oz.). We are supposed to move fully to whole milk now - that has been fun so far! She also eats pretty much everything we eat now, and lets us know whether or not she likes something by dropping it to the floor :)

Today we had such a fun time. We had a little party for Addie - my parents (Mimi and PawPaw), John Michael's parents (Gramma and Granpa), my grandmother (Gigi), and John Michael's grandparents (Gran and Pop) came over to celebrate Addison's birthday! Everything went so great and Addie put on quite a show! We pretty much just all sat around and watched her the whole time. What could be better?! :)

Here are some pictures from the past few days.

On Thursday, Addie's birthday!


We were playing the game "Clap your hands if it's your first birthday today!"
We got it on video, too - I'll post it if I can ever figure out how :)



From today's party, with Gigi. We learned our lesson and had her wearing only a diaper this time!


Gramma, Mimi, Gran, Granpa, Pop, PawPaw, and Gigi - all watching Addie Leigh!
(Pop used to be the chief photographer for The Tennessean, Nashville's newspaper, which is why his camera is all fancy schmancy ;))


The cake! I got it from Publix. It's supposed to be a "1" but looks kinda funny to me :) No big deal - it was YUMMY! The little cake to the right was the one Addie was smooshing. Publix gives you the baby's cake for free when you buy a big cake! Woohoo!



Addie's new crocodile toy. It has these cute blocks that stick in the top. She's obsessed...



Four generations!
We also got one of my mom, grandma, Addie and me - but not on our camera. I'll post that one as soon as I get a copy!

Finals time and a preview

So sorry I've been away from blogging for so long! It's finals time at school. I actually only have one exam this year, but it's in Bankruptcy Law and it's even more complicated (and boring) than I expected. But it'll be done in less than a week, and hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things!

Addie's birthday is tomorrow! I can't believe it. One year ago today was my due date. We had gone in on May 8th and set an induction appointment, so I knew (pretty much, at least) that she'd be born on the 10th. We were so excited! I didn't sleep at all that night, knowing that sometime the next day, Addie would be born! What a wonderful day it was. But I'll save that story for the birthday post and instead post some pictures from the past few weeks.

We had chocolate chip waffles - mmm! But I'm a little embarrassed about the mess on my face...




Yay! Open, close, open, close!

(John Michael and I got this outfit for Addie before she was born - we had gotten so many 0-6 months clothes at our baby showers that we decided to exchange a few duplicate outfits for some "big girl" clothes)


Pre-birthday celebration with Aunt Lynn, Uncle Kris, and Holland. I made cupcakes for us instead of a big cake - that will come Saturday!



And *this* is how you eat a cupcake!



Yummy! Cake is my new favorite food, Mom!

We had to take the kiddos for a bath immediately after cake - I guess we'll have a few more rounds of this between now and Holland's official birthday, June 2!


My new laptop from Aunt Lynn, Uncle Kris, and Holland! Holland and I will be blogging in no time!

11 months

I cannot believe that Addie is 11 months old today! Where has the time gone?! Our lives are so different - even better than we imagined - since she has been here! We joke that we have never laughed so much, never cried so much (okay, that's just me :)), but most importantly, never LOVED so much!!! I am becoming a little bittersweet that Addie will soon be one year old. I always thought it was silly when moms would be sad when their little ones were growing up, but now I see why! Each new stage is so very exciting, but it is just going too fast! I love being "Mama"! I could never have imagined how precious anyone could be to me. I thank God every day for placing her in our lives. And it has also been amazing to watch John Michael in a new role! He is such a wonderful father. It makes me love him even more than I did before.

Wow, I'm getting a little cheesy, and a little ahead of myself - better save this sappiness for her "One year" post! :) Ha ha ha !

On a "save the date" type of note - we are planning Addie's first birthday party for May 26th. She and Holland are going to have a party together, so we figured it would be a good idea to have it as close to in the middle of their birthdays as possible. Invitations will follow! Drop me an email if you know I don't have your address :)

Addie's favorites at 11 months:

Food - milk (duh!), cheddar cheese, Cheerios - truthfully, Addie likes everything she has tried, with the exception of two foods: avocados and cheesecake! Ha ha ha.

Drink - milk (duh!), apple juice, water - especially out of a real cup (a "big girl" cup!)

Toy - her soft stuffed lion - a Baby Gund toy which plays the lullaby song, her jumperoo, and her exersaucer (although she now walks around the outside of it instead of going in it)

Games - peek-a-boo, dancing, rolling a ball

People - Mama, Dada, Mimi, PawPaw, Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Lynn and Aunt Kris, Holland, Miss Judy and Miss Sherry

A few of Addie's milestones/things she is doing:

Addie has six teeth (four on top, two on bottom)

Crawls, cruises holding onto things, uses toys as walking aids, climbs stairs

Says mama, dada, dog ("daw"), cat ("cah"), and ball/block/bye ("bah"); also shakes head no and responds to baby signs "more" and "eat" and "drink"; actually signs "more"

Eats/has tried most all foods - except cow's milk, which her pediatrician wants us to wait until she is one year old to try

Addie is now fully on formula - Similac milk-based - this was bittersweet for me, but is better for my health as it became a strain for me to keep up with her demand

Addie is down to one nap - from around noon to 2 pm, and anytime we are in the car for longer than around 15 minutes

Addie uses a paci at naptime and bedtime - and also when we're around something that we do NOT want her putting her mouth on :)




I think those are all of the tidbits I can think of right now! I will update the post if I think of anything else or the baby book reminds me of something...

Addison Leigh, approximately 30 minutes old



Addison Leigh, 11 months old

Cold Easter Weekend!

Wow - the weather got so cold last week! I wasn't ready for it at all. We actually got snow on Friday! It was very pretty - I guess it fell for about half an hour. Of course, none of it stuck (thank goodness!) but it was fun to have snow in April, nonetheless!

On Saturday, Mimi and PawPaw came over to bring Addie's Easter basket to her - she got lots of neat clothes, including a bathing suit! SO CUTE! We will be going to the beach with Mimi and PawPaw in June. We can't wait! It'll be Addie's first trip to the beach.

We had a great Easter Sunday! We went to the 7:30 service at church. They didn't have nursery at this service, but Addie and Holland were so good! They started getting a little antsy towards the end of the service, but nothing a few Cheerios and a bottle wouldn't take care of :) They looked very cute for their first Easter. What a wonderful day - it has always been my favorite holiday - for its significance, mainly, of course, but also because it is always such a happy and lively time of year!

After that, we went to Gramma and Grampa's house to see what the Easter Bunny left and to have an Easter egg hunt! We had to get all bundled up, but we still had a blast! (I will have to post pictures of this later because we forgot our camera! Gramma took plenty though). Addie did so great! She got very excited to pick up the eggs - especially the ones that made lots of noise (the Easter Bunny always leaves coins in some of the eggs at Mike and Cindy's house).

We then went to Gran and Pop's house for Easter lunch. It was so great to see everyone, although Addie was sneezing and coughing like crazy! She wasn't feeling her best, but still had a good time with all of her cousins. (We know now that Addie just had a little cold - she got it from me :( - that started making her wheeze. The doctor thinks that she has inherited John Michael's asthma, as this is the third time that a minor cold or allergies has caused her to wheeze. Luckily, she is responding VERY well and very quickly to breathing treatments - we are hopeful that if she does in fact have asthma, that hers will be very mild like her daddy's).

Here are a few pictures! More to come...

Bathing beauty!

(She is trying to eat her new silver monogrammed bracelet that a friend of Gramma and Grampa gave her)


Addie in her bunny coat with PawPaw!
(Cindy gave me this at my very first baby shower last year!)


Addie and Daddy at church


Uncle Kris, Baby H, Daddy, and Addie!

Real moms...

I got tagged by my friend Emily in her blog! I'll give it a shot, although I can't promise I won't edit it later to make it wittier and/or more profound ;) Read on...

• Real moms realize that their once-most-important attribute - being punctual - no longer exists!
• Real moms learn to laugh when they're on the way out the door and get spit up on!
• Real moms constantly try to do the best for their families (stole that one from Em!)!
• Real moms used to love to shop for themselves, but now jump at the chance to spend the dollars leftover at the end of each month on their kiddos!
• Real moms learn that little boys aren't the only ones who can projectile pee!
• Real moms don't think twice about wiping noses with their bare hands!
• Real moms have a hard time with the bumps and bruises on their crawling/trying-to-walk babies!
• Real moms laugh so hard they cry on a regular basis.
• Real moms' priorities change. Gladly.
  
• Real moms are in awe every day of the new things their kiddos learn - and of the miracle of children, in general!!!
  
• And last, but certainly not least: Real moms love wholeheartedly and unconditionally!
  

So I just did a few, but it was fun! I have a million more, but I'll stop there.

I tag Amber, and anyone else who wants to play along!

A new tooth and pinkeye

Well, I figured it was time for an update since it has almost been 3 weeks! I'm embarrassed :( Things have been going great! Addie's personality is really developing more and more every day. She is moving EVERYWHERE and has even tried to take a few steps (usually from a table/chair to me). She doesn't make it that far :) But she's trying, and that's what matters!

Starting last week, Addie decided she didn't want to eat very much. We let it go on for a couple of days, thinking she was just more interested in playing. Well, after it had been 3 days, I called the pediatrician and they suggested that it was probably her getting a new tooth. Sure enough, she was working on her fifth - the one to the left of her top teeth. It seemed just miserable for her! It has really taken its toll - she hasn't been herself at all. Luckily, it broke through Sunday and she already seems to feel about 250% better :) And her new tooth is cute!!

Also this weekend, John Michael went out of town on a camping trip with some of his guy friends. We missed him a lot, but we had so much fun having girl time! We spent some time with Mimi and PawPaw, and stopped by to visit Gramma and Grampa for a little while too. We also had dinner with Aunt Lynn, Uncle Kris, and Holland! Addie and Holland are interacting SO MUCH. They have such a blast together. They had baby races on Friday night :) The funniest thing was when they would realize (a.k.a. think) that no grown-ups were around - they would just laugh hysterically at each other! They are so cute and are finally playing together more than just trying to eat each other and pull hair and scratch eyes :) Lynn took a little movie of them "racing" - I'll try to get her to post it on YouTube and I'll put the link up.

Also this weekend, something icky happened. Pinkeye. But not for Addie, for ME!!! Who knew?! I kind of thought it was something only kids can get - apparently not! So far, Addie and John Michael are pinkeye-free. I am being VERY careful around them and washing my hands an insane amount. Hopefully it'll stay away from them. I can't imagine Addie going through this - it has not been fun for me so far...

Okey doke - time for some pictures! Disregard the laundry on the table. It's clean and just waiting to be folded, if that makes it any better :) Welcome to my life... ;)

"Hmm...which cracker should I eat?"

"I looove my apple juice!"


Addie after her first temper tantrum (I took the sippy cup away - I gave it back only after we had a discussion and she agreed to never throw a temper tantrum again ;) - wishful thinking, right?!)!


"I am such a big girl! I don't even need the sippy part - it's just a little messier without it, is all :)"
(I think we all know that it's a LOT messier - ha ha!)


We got this little horsey riding toy from John Michael's aunt. Addie loves it, and she can really get around well on it!
(By the way - how cute is she in that outfit?! Gotta love Target!!!)


And she always finds her way back to the wagon :)

Chatty Cathy!

...Or Addie, at least! This weekend, Addison surprised us by saying TWO words! She now says "dog" and "cat!" They are her first two words, not counting "dada" and "mama," which she has had for a couple of months now. And she definitely understands that they are associated with the animals! Now, whenever Hops comes in the room, she yells "DAW!" And whenever she sees a cat (like the three at John Michael's parents' house - one of which is ours, Cleo), she says "CAH!" It is SO cute, and very exciting!

More pictures on the way!

Two posts in one weekend!

We had lots of fun this weekend! We had two visitors - Aunt Katie and Aunt Jen! Addie had met Aunt Katie before and was very happy to see her again! We all had lots of fun shopping on Saturday! Katie is one of my best friends from college and it is always good to see her! We always have so much fun talking and laughing about a little bit of everything! Jennifer and I became good friends in college, too, and I had so much fun catching up with her! Thanks so much for coming to visit us :) We love you both!

Just us girls

Then tonight, Lynn, Kris, and Holland came over for dinner right as Addie was getting a bath. So we just had to do the obligatory bath shot to hang on to and embarrass the kiddos with later :) Enjoy!

But Mom, there is a boy in my bathtub!

Nine months...kind of late!

Well, now that Addie will be ten months old this week, I thought it would be a good time to give her nine-month update! Ha ha! Her checkup with Dr. Hood went great! Dr. Hood is very impressed by Addie's movement (and jumping :)) and with the progress her ears have made. She had a hearing test and all is well - that was good news, although we weren't expecting otherwise. We also found out that Addie is a petite little princess - she was 16 pounds, 13 ounces, and 26 1/2 inches long. That is in the 25th percentile for both! Dr. Hood said she is doing great though, and is just petite - she said it's not like John Michael and I are large or anything :) She did give us some pointers as far as feeding her, and said that pretty much anything we eat, she can now have (within reason). We are having a difficult time "brushing" her teeth though, because after her last round of medicine, she will NOT open her mouth for anything but food anymore! So I can't even brush with my finger. I'm sure she'll grow out of that, but tonight she bit me to keep my finger out - hehehe (no, it wasn't so funny at the time...).

Here are a few pictures from this month. Most of them are from feeding, because that's when she's at her cutest! We use that little plastic booster seat as her every day highchair - a friend of mine clued me in that the highchair I had was a pain to deal with on a daily basis (due to having to wash it because it gets so messy) so John Michael and I decided to give that to my parents and purchase this one for around $20. What a great buy!

I took this one to show off her hair - she had yogurt on her hands and decided to pull her hair out on the side and the top...think Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura :)

Mmm...spaghetti!!!


"I sure do love bath time! Check out my cool green earplugs!"


"Mom, do I have something on my lip?"


"I love my wagon...

...but do you think I could get out now, please?"