9 month Pics

Lindsey Smith took Addy's 9 month pictures (that actually ended up being her 10 month pictures instead because we had to reschedule).  She posted a few on Facebook today... I love the tutu ones!  I was kinda hesitant to do those because it seems like everybody is doing tutu pictures these days but I think they turned out so cute! 

Here is our sneak peek... hopefully the rest will be ready soon!

This last one is my favorite!

Notice the silver rattle in a couple of the pictures... this was her trick to get Addy to sit still for more than a few seconds!  Based on how long my child sat still that day and how few smiles she passed out, I am very happy with the pictures I have seen so far!

Have You Tried These?

I don't know who loves sweets more, me or Courtney.  But when you put us together, we're a pretty deadly combination... that is if you're a piece of chocolate! 

Confession time:  Last Wednesday afternoon, I bought a big bag of pretzel M&M's at Target.  By Thursday at lunch time, they were gone (mostly thanks to me)!  The combination of sweet and salty is what makes them so addictive.  When we first tried them, we weren't sold... they kinda have to grow on you.  Have you tried them?  If not, you should!

Have a great Monday!

 

Recent pictures...

Addy reached a major milestone this week... she took her first steps!  She had been taking one or two steps but it always seemed to be on accident but on Monday, she definitely meant to take these steps... several in a row!  I tried to upload a video but couldn't get it to work.  Here are some other things she has been up to lately...

Such a big girl!

She is "loving" her doll

She still loves books... she and Daddy were reading one of her new favorites.  She likes lift the flap and touch and feel books.

She is learning how to give hugs

Her new favorite "toy" is the camera bag

happy.birthday

On Sunday, we celebrated Mia's birthday.  We took cards and presents to Mia & Pop's and then ate dinner at Cypress Inn.  Addy left quite a mark on Cypress Inn!!  See story below...

Mia & Addy

Addy was interested in reading Mia's birthday card

...and helping to open presents!

Warning...don't read on if you are grossed out by stories of poop! 

I often joke that Addy always waits until she has on a smocked outfit to have a dirty diaper.  It is like she saves it up or something.  I am beginning to lose track of the amount of times she has had on a really cute outfit that I just loved only to have an explosive diaper that ruins the outfit or requires lengthy scrubbing sessions with a toothbrush, spray n wash, bar soap and whatever else I can think of to remove a stain.  This has happened twice around my friend Laura so I was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with Laura but apparently not!  On Sunday, Laura was not around and Addy had on a smocked outfit... she did not disappoint. 

We were sitting at a nice corner table in Cypress Inn enjoying the sunset and the views of the river.  Addy was being adorable in her purple frog bubble outfit and seemed to be enjoying the famous Cypress Inn muffins.  We were about ready to feed her baby food while waiting on our salads to come and she started making the face... everyone who has had a baby knows what face I am talking about.  There is no denying it... her face turns beet red, she is straining so hard that her veins are popping out and she is grunting... like I said, no denying it.  Thankfully, it was not too quiet in Cypress Inn that night so the other diners didn't seem to notice the strange sounds that were coming from our table.   Trying to be nonchalant, I popped the top off the baby food jar and proceeded to feed Addy, thinking I needed to give her some time to finish her job before I whisked her off to the bathroom to change her diaper... and wishing that if I just ignored it, it would go away!  No such luck... after a few bites of baby food, Courtney's mom looked at me and said "oh no."  The look on her face said it all.  I was still in denial, thinking that she had just dropped a whole muffin in her high chair... but no, it was a muffin of poop!  I don't know how much of it (the poop) actually stayed in her diaper because it was mostly on the chair.  We rolled the whole high chair to the bathroom to begin the cleanup process.  Thankfully the clean up was not as bad as it could've been.  We got a few strange looks but then when people saw how adorable Addy was, they thought oh how cute, that little girl likes sitting in the high chair so much, her parents are riding her around the restaurant in it!  That's what they were thinking in my head anyway. 

In the end, the outfit was saved by lots of scrubbing (toothbrush, spray n wash, the works...) and we did get to finish eating dinner.  That's one of those things about parenthood... normally that would gross me out and I wouldn't have much of an appetite but I didn't have any problem finishing off my shrimp!  I woke up in the middle of the night Sunday worrying about whether we got all the poop germs off the high chair and if some baby was going to get e. coli the next day thanks to our pooptastrophe.   I thought I would call Cypress Inn from a pay phone the next day to warn them that they might want to Lysol their high chairs but then I forgot about it... I hope our clean up job was good enough!

It was definitely a memorable birthday dinner for Cheri... just probably not the kind of memories she thought she'd have!

Sips n Strokes

For Cheri's birthday we went to Sips n Strokes to paint sunflowers last Tuesday.  It was fun!  I had never been to the Sips n Strokes in Tuscaloosa and it is so cute!  Courtney kept Addy so I could go and it was nice to have some 'girl time!'

Getting ready to start on our masterpieces...

In progress...

Ta Da!

Old Pictures...

I forgot to post these a few weeks ago... we went to Rachel & Josh's house to play with Riley one afternoon.  Riley and Addy seemed to have lots of fun!  We are going to get them together again soon.  I guess they are getting old enough to play with each other a little more... the highlight was Riley (walking) chasing Addy (crawling) around the kitchen and then trying to tickle her! 

Riley and Addy

Addy might be a little chef... she liked "baking cookies"

Riley was modeling my sunglasses!

Fun with Friends

Tucker blowing bubbles

Cooper is giving it a try

Jenn and Addy

Throwing the football in the backyard

Cooper and Wes

Jennifer and me

Last Saturday, we had the Tidmores and Striplings over for dinner.  After we had so much fun at the beach for the 4th of July we decided that we were going to have a monthly "date" to all get together so we didn't go so long in between seeing each other.  Courtney grilled kebabs and we had yummy cookies and cupcakes for dessert courtesy of Jennifer & Courtney (Tidmore, not LeCroy!).   After dinner, Cooper spotted some bubbles and wanted to go outside to blow them!  It was fun to see everyone and especially to see Tucker & Cooper playing.  I know Addy will be chasing after them before too long!

Growing Up...

Addy grew up a little more on Wednesday.  I don't know what it was or how it happened but she just seemed a little older that day than she did the day before.  She has such a sweet little personality that is developing.  It is funny to see her becoming her own person!  She is in a phase where I don't have to take things away from her anymore because I just ask her to "hand it to Mommy" and she is eager to please... she just smiles as she hands over her prized remote control or telephone!  I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts because I know in a year or so, she probably won't be so happy to follow instructions!  We are realizing that she picks up on a lot of things now and she can follow simple instructions ("sit on your bottom," "bring me the book," "drink some water,").  She has gotten pretty good at saying "Hi" and "Bye Bye" to other people and she usually waves bye-bye when you ask her to.  She still loves to give kisses (but sometimes gets confused and licks your face instead). 

Getting into Mommy's gift wrap supplies...

She loves to pull out all the ribbon and was too quick for me to stop her so I just quit trying and took her picture!

She can now go from sitting on the floor to standing up without using anything to help her get into a standing position.  She still stands up without holding onto anything but is hesitant about taking any steps... she usually does it on accident and then it's like she remembers, oh yeah, I can crawl. 

Her sleeping is still a little off.  I shouldn't complain because at least bedtime doesn't sound like WWIII anymore (most nights anyway!).  She has been waking up though between 10:00 and 1:00 and usually takes a while to go back to sleep.  We can't figure it out!

Watching Baby Einstein on the couch with Daddy

Blogging Funk and Happy Birthday Mia!

I guess you could say I have been in a blogging funk this week... I keep knowing I need to update the blog but there hasn't been much to say!  We have had the stomach virus going around our house this week so we have been laying low...  it started with Addy, then I was next and now Courtney is the last one of us to experience it as of this morning.  Lovely!  I will be glad when this has passed... and hoping it doesn't come around again for a LONG time. 

Today is Mia's (Cheri) birthday... we were supposed to go celebrate with presents and dinner tonight but plans got postponed because of the yucko stomach bug!  We were more than a little bummed out!

We hope Mia had a good birthday and that we get to celebrate soon!  Mia, we love you and are so thankful for you! 

Visit with MawMaw

Maw Maw kept Addy on the days that I worked and is planning to keep her again in the fall when I start back.  She came over to see us on Wednesday and brought Addy the cutest baby doll.  Addy was so sweet loving on it and hugging it!  She and Maw Maw read a few books and had fun "catching up" since they haven't seen each other very much this summer!  We love Maw Maw so much and are so thankful for her!

Babies On the Way

Tuesday, we had a girls' lunch at our house with my WRS friends to celebrate two new babies on the way... Amber is having a boy - Kurt, and Tiffany is having a girl - Bailey.  We had a 'potato bar' with sweet potatoes and baked potatoes and all the toppings and mini cupcakes and brownies for dessert.  I always look forward to our weekly lunch dates and it was fun to spend extra time talking and laughing with these friends this week!

Thank goodness for self-timers on cameras!

Amber with her miracle blanket from Pam... that thing is wonderful!

Tiffany's pretty blanket from Amber!

**new post below**

10 Months!

In 2 days, Addy will be 10  months old... 10 MONTHS!  It seems like last week that I was writing about 9 months!  We went to the doctor today for her 9 month well visit... it was a little late since we rescheduled our appointment because of the beach trip.  Courtney went with us this time, thank goodness, because Addy didn't sit still or stop making noise the entire time :)  Last time, she was so quiet and serious I think the doctor thought there was something wrong with her so this time she made up for it!

She is 19 lbs, 10 oz (50th percentile) and 28 1/2 inches long (70th percentile).  Her head circumference is in the 55th percentile...it is still weird to me that they measure their head!  We talked about feeding, sleeping and discipline with the doctor and he answered all of our questions (Dr. Farmer).  Addy had to get two shots (Polio & Hepatitis) and she was not too happy about that part at all!

These are the things she is doing new these days or things I want to remember about this month...

• Says the following words (doesn't really know what they mean all of the time though):  da da, ma ma, bow, hi, bye-bye, good (Dad swears she said this but I am not too sure!), ba ba
• Stands without holding onto anything for several seconds on a regular basis now. 
• Cruises (walks holding onto furniture with one or both hands) and pushes her walking/push toys (stroller and pink walker)
• Eats lots of new finger foods now: pasta (bow tie pasta), carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, watermelon (loves!), peaches, blueberries, pancakes, rolls/bread, animal crackers.  Still loves her Cheerios in the morning while I'm getting her breakfast ready and loves Puffs too. 

Chowing down in her cute new bib with the plastic catcher flap thing... so glad Jennifer told us to get these!

• Knows the sign for "More" - can do it sometimes but isn't always consistent on it

More watermelon please!

Look at those cute little chubby fingers!

• If you compliment her bow in her hair, she will usually reach up and pull it out and say "Bow" and smile - it's a fun game for her, I guess!
• Is into EVERYTHING!  We regularly have to re-fold clothes when she's "helping" me with laundry and I have to watch her closely in the kitchen or she will try to unload all the cabinets.  She knows how to undo the cabinet latch in the kitchen and my bathroom.  If there is anything you don't want her to have, be sure that she will go right for it!  Courtney says she is like Curious George!

She has no modesty...booty in the air to get whatever out of the cabinet!

• Still loves to read/look at books by herself and will sit in your lap for you to read a book to her. 
• Drinks water out of her sippy cup but still needs help holding the cup.
• Plays peek-a-boo (will cover up her own face with a blanket or toy and then uncover and wants you to say "peek-a-boo")
• Likes the tub/bath time/swimming... anything with water
• Still have "Good Night Moon" ritual before naps and bedtime.  She gets so still and quiet when you start reading this!  It's like it puts her in a trance!
• Has 6 teeth - two on bottom and four on top... the middle two on top are kind of far apart!  I don't know if there are any more coming in between or if she just has a gap!  Courtney predicted there will be braces in her future.
• Wears mostly size 12 month clothes.  Some 12 month outfits are still too big for her but most 9 month clothes are too small.
• Eats 3 meals a day... with a snack in the afternoon.
• She has been having issues with sleeping - it's hard for her to settle at night and she wakes up in the night.  Courtney and I are trying to deal with the sleep deprivation and find a good solution for this!  She has always been a pretty good sleeper so this is new for us but the doctor said today that it is developmental and most kids start to have sleep issues somewhere between 6 - 12 months even if they haven't before.  We don't want to leave her to "cry it out"... we tried that one night and couldn't make it longer than 15 minutes.  But we want her to learn to fall asleep on her own and not have to be rocked to sleep every night.  I read The Baby Whisperer before Addy was born and felt like it helped us with a lot of things in the beginning so we are going to try the baby whisperer method of dealing with sleep problems at this age and see if it works!

Crazy hair after her nap yesterday afternoon... she is Courtney's daughter, you know?  He always has crazy hair when he wakes up!

*New Post Below*

Lunch with Friends

Last week, we had lunch with Lindsey, Anna Claire, Courtney and Tucker at McAlister's. It was rather interesting to try to have adult conversation while keeping two babies and an almost four year old happy and quiet! Here are some pictures of our lunch...

Tucker was practicing for his new baby brother or sister!

Take two...

Courtney & Addy

Anna Claire was so cute with her yellow sandals on!  She and Addy didn't quite know what to think of each other at first... they kept wanting the other one's toy!  Courtney said it was too early to teach them to share... ha!

Lindsey & Anna Claire

Wordless Wednesday...