lucky number 7

Seriously? Has it really been seven months since she was born? Seven months (and the baby weight still lingers) feels like it was just yesterday, but that many months is so much time in their first year.

Ad continues to be an angel child. I mean, I really don't think babies come any better than her. She sleeps great, eats great, fusses very little, and smiles lots. She's such a little chub, and I want to bite her cheeks all the time! She's just so squeezeable! Love love love it!

She has the most delightful happy squeal! As I've said in previous months, she doesn't really laugh, she squeals. And we think it's adorable! She's started babbling a lot more too, saying da da, and ba ba all the time. I feel a little slighted that she doesn't say ma ma yet. Hello... I do everything for her! : )

She eats everything we put in front of her, and I can't tell if she's got a favorite, because she scarfs everything down. On thanksgiving she tasted a bit of pumpkin pie, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and mashed potatoes. And recently I shared a cherry popsicle with her. Love I tell you! She couldn't get enough of the popsicle, not that it's any surprise. What kid doesn't love a good red popsicle?

She's getting stronger and is almost sitting up completely unassisted. I blame the fact that she isn't doing it perfectly by now on myself. I don't put her on the ground enough... mostly because my neurotic side comes out and gets disgusted by all the germs that are crawling around on the floor. Oh well. She'll get there eventually.

Addie hates being on her belly. If I want her to have any tummy time at all, I have to sit right beside her right side to keep her from rolling onto her back, otherwise as soon as she's on her tummy, she'll turn onto her back. And she always only turns onto her right side. Dunno why.

She's really into blowing lots of spit bubbles these says, and I think it's so cute. Makes me chuckle to hear it over the monitor in the morning.

Her hair is still a strawberry brown/blonde, and it's growing everywhere except for the huge bald spot on the back of her head. Her eyes are still unknown. Not blue, but sometimes they're brown or green or a grayish color... or all at once.

Addie has the chubbiest thighs to go with her cheeks. I want to bite them all the time too.

Not sure what she weighs this month... but I'm pretty sure she's still close to last months weight.

She is so so entertained by anything that Dean does. If he stands in front of her while he drinks from his sippy cup she squeals and smiles and yells. And he is so great with her. He still adores her and loves to keep her happy. If she cries when I leave the room, he jumps up to talk to her so she'll stop crying. I love that they love eachother!!! I hope it lasts forever! They way he takes her hand and puts it to his cheek is priceless.

**pics to come*

A week of thanks - day 6

I'm thankful for date nights!

I'm thankful for in-laws to watch my kiddies for above date nights!

I'm thankful for heated car seats.

I'm thankful for sippy cups. Oh the disasters we've avoided!

I'm thankful for a 3 year old who loves to sing!!!

A week of thanks - day 5

I'm thankful for music.

I'm thankful for our rainforrest jumperoo!

I'm thankful for hot chocolate.

I'm thankful for the holiday season.

I'm thankful for cozy warm socks!

A week of thanks - day 4

I'm thankful for a job that allows my husband to work from home when he's sick.

I'm thankful my husband has a stable job.

I'm thankful for delicious hommade desserts. Oh chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, how I love you!

I'm thankful for a car to drive. So what if it isn't the best.

I'm thankful for cell phones. I can usually talk to who I want when I want. That's a huge deal.

The months keep rolling by!

Addie girl is 6 months! Help me please! She cannot already be 6 months. Seriously. Half a year. 6 more of these and she'll be a year!!! Ok, I'd better stop talking about it now... I'm really really not liking this.

Ad is so so so so pleasant. I can't stress that enough. She is just so good! We've been totally spoiled. Not that Dean was a bad baby or anything, but we were first time parents and not relaxed which I think added to his uppityness. Now we're so relaxed this time around, and I'm pretty sure that's why we have such an angel child.

She's growing like a weed, getting chubbier all the time. Maybe that's because she's a great eater. Aside from nursing 5 times a day, she eats oatmeal cereal and fruit for breakfast, more fruit for lunch, and oatmeal cereal and veggies for dinner. No complaints from her thus far. She seems to genuinely love everything, even the formula I have to give her after she nurses each night. So far she's tried :

applesauce

pears

peaches

prunes

carrots

Ad is still in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothing, with the occasional 0-3 month piece thrown in.

She isn't quite sitting up yet but with a few more weeks of practice, I think she'll have it down. For now she can handle a few seconds before she hits the ground. And she isn't a great roller yet either. She can do the belly to back, but hasn't mastered the back to belly, though she's been close a number of times.

Her favorites these days seem to be:

her jumperoo, therefore making it my favorite toy too.

her Deano. He can make her smile or squeal every single time

Food.

Being talked or sung to

Addie's nighttime habbits are fantastic! She sleeps a 12 hour stretch, wakes up to eat, and goes back down for another hour or two. How lucky are we?!

Her talking is so cute! It's always more of a squeal. I have a feeling it means she'll be a shrieking toddler. For now it's adorable though. She also blows bubbles trying to imitate me. I'll have to get that on video one of these days.

I'll have an update of this months height and weight stats after her 6 month appt.

weight: 15lbs. 9oz. (sounds chubby... but little Max weighed in at 18lbs. at 6 months!!!)

A Week of thanks - day 3

I'm thankful formy DVR. Oh how I love watching my shows after the babes are in bed!

I'm thankful for toasters and microwaves. They make warm meals easy when I just don't want to actually use my oven or stove.

I'm thankful for online shopping and browsing. My holiday shopping and research are much easier.

I'm thankful for packages that come in the mail. I'm always excited to open 'em up to find what's inside!

I'm thankful for clean clothes and bedding. MMM the smell of clean!

A week of thanks - day 2

1)I'm thankful for soft fleece robes. They make getting out of bed on chilly mornings a little more doable.

2)I'm thankful for hot steamy showers.

3)I'm thankful for my dishwasher. Dishes are tha bain of my existence. Without a dishwasher, imagine how much worse it'd be!

4)I'm thankful for quiet time. Everyone needs a few minutes here and there to pick up a good book and read while the house is completely silent.

5)I'm thankful for cartoons. On those days when I can hardly manage to breathe let alone entertain two kids for hours, cartoons are an esay fix. Not the best, true, but when you just can't muster up enough energy to even feed yourself it's nice to have something so simple available.

(*can you tell we've been sick in this house lately?)

A Week of Thanks

I've wanted to do a post of the things I'm grateful for in my life but just never seem to get around to it. I guess now couldn't be a better time, right?

1) I'm thankful for medicine during this flu season! With how sick we've been over the last week, medicine has been so great in helping get us all back on our feet!

2) I'm thankful for my beautiful kids. I know this one goes without saying, but still, I don't think I could ever say it enough. Their sweet personalities and crazy adorableness (I know it's probably not a word, okay?) is enough to melt anyone's heart, so just imagine what it does to mine!

3) I'm thankful I have the perfect dad for my kids. He really is top notch. I'm not just saying that. He's so involved and hands on, and his kids will never ever question his love for them.

4) I'm thankful that Deano loves his Ad! He's 3... so I think we got pretty lucky with him not resenting or ignoring her.

5) I'm thankful for my family... the ones I get to see everyday, and the ones I wish I could see everyday. My mom used to tell us that we needed to be best friends when we were little and would fight. She was so right. Family really is everything.

*Turns out this was more difficult that I thought. I could write a thousand things each day, so picking only a few proved challenging.

Blessing dress

My s-i-l Marie snapped a few pictures of Addie in her blessing dress for me. Of course I couldn't pick just one or two to upload. I love them all! True, you can't see her dress in most of them, but isn't she just so dang cute?!

She's 5 months!

Addie girl is 5 months already! I hate how quickly time passes! I want my kids to stay little forever.

She's such a good little babe. And unless she's tired, hungry, or poopy she's generally a happy content girl. Lately though she's had a problem with dirty diapers, going stretches of up to 6 days without having one. I end up giving her a bit of apple juice every few days so that she goes. That however, comes with a downfall. She has serious diaper blowouts a few times a week, and I almost always have her clothes soaking in oxiclean. Love that stuff.

Right now she's got her first virus in the form of a rash. The side effects aren't bad, a runny nose is all. And she's cranky. Poor girl just doesn't feel well. Hopefully it'll clear up soon before any of us get it.

Ad had her first bowl of rice cereal a week or so ago (that's a whole other post) and seems to enjoy it, but she doesn't eat a whole lot. It's hilarious to watch her get excited when she sees the spoon coming her way. She usually grabs my hand and forces the spoon into her mouth.

I recently got out the old rainforest jumperoo and she L.O.V.E.S it! I was hoping she'd like it, and it has been a total hit. Dean didn't ever sit in it more than 10 minutes or so before he was begging to get out, and I usually only put him in it once ot twice a day. Addie will usually sit and play for a good 25+ minutes 3 or 4 times a day. So nice.

She still fits comfortably in 0-3 month clothing, though I put her in a lot of 3-6 month stuff because I have more warm things in that size. And she's still in size 2 diapers.

Her eyes are for sure NOT blue. Not sure exactly what they'll be though. they go between hazel, green, and brown.

When I took her to the dr. for her rash they weighed her, which makes me happy to have an official weight for this month instead of a guess, since she only has appts. every 2 months.

She was a whopping 15lbs. which sounded big, until Kels sent me a text telling me that Max weighed 16lbs 10oz. at his 4 months appt. Now she seems a little small... or he's just a chunk!

Anyway, she's such a joy to have. We love love love her to pieces. She's growing too fast, and I have to remind myself every night when I nurse and rock her before putting her to bed, to enjoy these moments, because she won't be small forever.

Love you Ad. (Dean started calling her that without the help of either of us. Cute huh?)

My First Little Love

My First Little Love,

I can't believe you're three! Time really does fly. I still feel like we just brought you home from the hospital. I cried the whole way home worrying that I couldn't possibly do everything to keep you safe and healthy. The instant I met you, I knew I would do anything for you. I loved you more than I could have imagined. I still do. You add so much spunk and personality to our family. And you are so silly! You're talking in such long sentences, and explaining things in such great detail, that I sometimes find myself surprised. I can't help but laugh at some of the things you say... I feel like you're still my baby. You would never let me call you that though. I try to get away with it every now and then, but you're so quick to tell me that you're a big boy. And you are. But really, you'll always be my baby. Your latest obsession with everything Ghostbusters has left you slightly more needy these days, and truthfully, I don't mind as much as I pretend to. I actually like cuddling with you at night, or having you sneak into our bed at night.

You are a fantastic big brother. I've never once seen you act out negatively towards your sister. I know you love her. It's written all over everything you do for her. And you do lots for her. She loves you, and the attention you give her.

I adore watching you play with your cars and trains, and can't get enough of listening to the little stories and conversations you make up while playing with them. Funny boy. One of my favorite things is to watch you take the porcelin temple we have on our bookcase, put in on the table, and drive your cars around telling them that it's time to go to church now. You are so entertaining!

I'm glad I'm your mom Deano. I love that job. I love you!

You're my best boy ever! Happy Birthday!



XOXO

3 year stats:

height- 39in. (90th %)

weight- 37 lbs. (90th%)

head- 19in. (90th%)

*imaginitive play
*talking in full sentences, paragraphs really
*jumping
*singing
*recognizing numbers, letters and shapes
*potty trained (since Feb.)
*coloring and drawing shapes

*sword fighting (with dad of course!)
* playing w/ transformers, cars, trains, and legos
*tracking down ghosts as Egon the ghostbuster (hilarious to watch!)

I think maybe Addie looks a touch like her Uncle Dirky

I was taking a few pictures of the kiddos playing today and when I looked at them, Addie looked so similar to some baby pictures I had recently seen of Dirk. What do you think mom? A little?

Addie girl- 4 1/2 months

Uncle Thom's post funeral luncheon...

Here are a few pictures of the luncheon after Uncle Thom's funeral. By a few, I mean three. I was too busy chatting and enjoying family to take pictures, but now I'm wishing I had taken a few more. Anyway, these are mostly for my mama.

Me, Addie, and Grandpa

Uncle Kim and Addie

The way I am

The Way I Am

If you were falling, then I would catch you
You need a light, I'd find a match

Cuz I love the way you say goodmorning

And you take me the way I am

If you are chilly, here take my sweater

Your heart is aching; I'll make it better

Cuz I love the way you call me baby

And you take me the way I am

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair

Sew on patches to all you tear

CUZ I LOVE YOU MORE THAN I COULD EVER PROMISE

And you take me the way I am

You take me the way I am

You take me the way I am

*written by Ingrid Michaelson

Happy four years babe! I love you more than ever!

Thanks for taking me the way I am.

If I had to go back, I'd marry you all over again!

Grandpa came to town!

My great uncle Thom died wednesday. He wasn't super old, as the title "great uncle" would have you believe. He was 65. Too young. He died of a heart attack. Unexpected. My grandma, Thoms older sister, couldn't make the trip to Utah for the funeral. But my grandpa could. And while the reason for his trip is heart breaking, the silver lining was that we got to see him, and introduce him to our precious babe, Addie Nanette. Named after his mom and his wife. It had been nearly two years since Dean had seen him last. No way would he remember grandpa from the last time they had met. But when we went to the door, it was like Dean had always known him. They played like best friends. Heartwarming. And grandpa loved his little Addie too, nearly getting emotional the first time he held her. I wish we lived closer to them. I want my kids to know them. To love them like I love them. Maybe someday.

Grandpa Dean and Addie

Grandpa, Dean, and Addie
(this picture could only be better if gramma were in it too.)

Dean giving grandpa high fives. Grandpa pretended Dean's slap was painful. Dean Loved it!

Addie and grandpa getting to know eachother.

My kiddos playing with their grandpa Dean

Grandpa dancing with Addie

Great Aunt Jan with Addie

Grandpa and Dean reading together

More books!

Dean put on a luchedore mask and tried to scare grandpa

Check out our little wrestler!

Grandpa tried it too.

So did Matt. haha!

Thanks for giving us a little of your time grandpa! We love you more than you know!!

Sweet Pea

Just had to share the most adorable picture of our little booberry!

Scroll Down... Again

Max and Addie at Gaga's house Sept. 2009

I published a post about Addie turning 4 months, scroll down to see it. Is it just me, or does everyone hate that it publishes on the day you started writing it, instead of the day you actually click the post button.

The good with the bad

Deano has been all sorts of difficult these days it seems. He's almost always defiant, he back talks like it's nobodys business, he throws is toys, food, sippy cup, you name it. Don't even think about asking him to clean up his toys or messes, your voice will just go hoarse asking him over and over again. And eating meals? We can easily spend an hour + getting him to eat, what with all the getting up and playing during meal time.

But ya know, he can be the sweetest boy in the whole world. Last night, he told Matt he needed me to come say goodnight to him one last time. When I sat down beside him, he wrapped those little arms around me and said "I your best boy ever mom!"

And just before that little happening, both Matt and I had been in there to love on him. He loves that personal time with just mom and dad. He put an arm around each of us and said "Hi guys. (big grin) Please lay down wis me a little bit." How could we resist?

He loves is little Addie more than anything really. I can't count how many times I've found his toys sitting around her because he wanted her to have something to play with. And only a few minutes ago, while she was playing on the floor, he noticed a bit of spit up on her bib and on the floor, so he ran to the bathroom to grab some tissue to clean her up. I didn't even have to ask him to do that.

After he's been naughty or been sitting in time out, he's always quick to give and recieve loves. He hates being in trouble. I could never refuse a tight squeeze my thick little love.

When he's really being difficult, I have to remember, he's 3. He's still learning, and I have to teach him.

Our baby is 4 months old!

Addie girl is four months old! Really?!

Well, I uploaded these pictures totally backwards, which is so annoying, but I don't want to spend the time changing them around, so here you have it.

Addie rolled from her stomach to her back! (pay no attention to the dates on the pictures, they're off. I really need to get that fixed)

She took her first plane ride across the country, and was awesome!

* She's a talker these days!

* Addie drools... A LOT! Really, if we don't put a bib on her, she's soaked.

* Along with drooling she constantly makes spit bubbles. I'm pretty sure she hasn't completely figured out how to swallow all of her spit.

* Her eyes are still to be determined, though in my opinion, they seem dark most days, so we may have a brown eyed girl over here!

* Addie was given a name and a blessing in church!

* Her hair is still pretty dang red. Crazy... I never thought red hair would be a possibility.

* Addie enjoys tummy time for a 5-10 minutes 3 or 4 times a day. She's got super strong neck muscles!

* No rice cereal yet for my babe. Dean started around 4 months, but as far as Addie's concerned, I'm just not ready to give her solids yet. It'll mean she's growing up... and that's happening way to fast for me this time around!

*Addie still wears 0-3 month clothing, and just moved into a size 2 diaper.

*She loves to sit in her bumbo, and super loves playing with toys that make fun sounds.

* STATS:

Weight: 14 lbs.- 61%

Length: 24 in.- 41%

Head: 16 in.- 42%