Christmas 2013 in NY

Once again, I have let time get away from me!  Christmas & NYE have come and gone and we are almost to Valentine's Day!  Let's back up and recap our Christmas this year...we drove to Endicott the Saturday before Christmas (a Wednesday this year).  We would be in town until the following Saturday and had lots of fun plans!
Unfortunately, things did not play out as we had hoped!  Justin's grandma (Nana) was admitted to the hospital the day we were driving up because she was having a hard time breathing.  She would have to stay put at the hospital until Christmas Eve when the doctors decided to have her flown to the Cleveland Clinic.
Talk about change of plans! Also, Addy decided to get sick.  The poor kid started off with a bad cough & cold. Justin, Addy & I were scheduled to head out to the cottage on the Sunday after we arrived, but Addy woke up with a horrible, nasty cough.  Katie was only in town until Monday morning, so i knew I had to get a quick visit in ASAP, but I also knew I couldn't bring Addy to meet Katie's 2 month old baby and risk getting him sick.  I decided to leave Addy home with Justin and head out alone which was a good choice because Addy eventually got worse.  I got back from the cottage and Addy was in full blown clingy mode.  She didn't really sleep well that night and when she woke up in the middle of the night she had a nice fever.  Her cough kept getting worse and her fever wasn't going down and then she decided to throw up.  So next stop for us, was the walk-in clinic.  The doctor we saw was the same one we saw on our last trip!  She said it was good we brought her in because she sounded like she was on the way to getting bronchitis.  We got Addy some medicine and hoped she'd start feeling better soon.
Christmas Eve day was bizarre...pretty much everyone, except Addy & I, went to the hospital to spend time with Nana before she left for Cleveland.  Addy was still sick, but I really wanted to go see Nana before she left, so I packed her up and off we went.  Addy was thankfully in good spirits at the hospital and behaved the whole time.  We were in and out in a half hour because I really didn't want Addy catching anymore germs!  After, Addy & I went grocery shopping for a few of her favorite foods to hopefully get her eating again then we hung out alone til roughly 6:30 when family started showing back up.  That night we went to Uncle Greg's & Aunt Lisa's for a late dinner.  It was great to see everyone and Addy had such a great time with her cousin Jordan.  Jordan is only 2 months younger then Addy and they were two peas in a pod!  They had fun chasing around Nicole & Natalie's little dogs and just hanging out in general.  Addy didn't get to bed until 10:30 that night, but it was definitely worth it.  She slept good that night and woke up looking somewhat better on Christmas day.  She still had her sick eyes and would go back & forth between feeling great and feeling yucky, but overall, the day was good.  Addy opened WAY more presents than any child ever needs and she loved it all.
The day after Christmas it snowed a lot!  Addy was on the mend, but I wasn't going to chance it and take her out in the cold to play.  Instead we watched Grandpa do the snow plowing from inside.  She loved watching him!  For the remainder of the days we were in NY, we laid pretty low.  We met up with no one else and just tried to enjoy the little time we had left.  Here are some pictures from our trip...

Sick baby!

Walk-In Visit

My sick lil Elf...Christmas Day

Gannon, Addy & Adam

Surrounded herself with her presents!

On the mend!

December 2013

Wow, the past couple of months seem to have really gotten away from me!  So much has happened, but I haven't really felt like reflecting on it.  Within a short two month span, we surprisingly found out I was pregnant and then seemingly just as quickly, found out I had miscarried.  I didn't want to write about it, but I also don't want to forget about it.  These turn of events have made me realize yet again, just how precious life is.  We saw a little heartbeat back in early November.  After some light bleeding two days before Thanksgiving I went in to get checked out by the doctor.  They unfortunately couldn't find a heartbeat anymore...the baby was measuring in around the 9 1/2 week mark which meant it had really just "happened".  So many emotions were had by all.  Justin & I were obviously upset, but tried to remember just how thankful we are.  We have a very happy, healthy 2 year old little girl who just lights up our entire world.  Addison definitely helped us push forward - she kept us smiling over those very tough days.  As time goes on, it doesn't hurt as bad.  I still think about where I would be in this pregnancy week-wise and think about how Addy would have been with a sibling.  Hopefully, one day we will be able to have another child and give Addison a sibling.  

On to happier things!
Since turning two, I feel like Addison has become a full blown little person.  She has SUCH a personality on her!  Justin & I took Addy to her first parade...it was the Raleigh Christmas parade and we had a great time!  Addy loved the horses, princesses (pageant queens), floats, dancers, dogs and so much more.  On the flip, she hated anyone who was dressed in a character costume, motorcycles & clowns!  

My family also took Addison to the Raleigh Museum the Saturday after Thanksgiving just so we could all get out of the house and do something fun.  We all had a great time, but my favorite thing happened at breakfast that morning. While Addison was sitting on my mom's lap she looked at us all and announced, "I pooping on Grandma!"  Now, i know when she says pooping, she really means peeing, but still it was hysterical.

On Grandma's lap at breakfast

Communication. She has been speaking in short sentences for a little while now (Addison wants M&M's, blow on food, have a good day mama, love you too!)  It is getting easier to communicate with her and I feel like we have actual conversations.  Don't get me wrong, she still has moments of pure giberish, but that mostly happens when she is singing.   A couple of weeks ago, Justin said to Addy, "Are you an Octonaut?" (Disney characters) and Addison's response was "I'm not an Octonaut, I'm a princess!"  We are trying to get away from the princess mentality, but she does love her princess shows!  Her two favorite songs right now are Jingle Bells & Enchancia, Enchancia (Sofia song).  

Attitude. Addison can be so so sweet but on the flip can be so so sour!  She has tantrums on the daily when she doesn't get what she wants and they are BAD!  I think the tantrums are extra bad right now because she her two-year molars are trying to come in...at least i hope!  She has such a mischievous side to her and is pretty defiant.  If you are going to give her instructions, you have to be ready to follow through by forcing her to do it because she will hugely ignore you if she isn't interested in it.  I have to try and remember her sweet moments when she is being "bad"!  She can be so loving and cuddly!

Sleep. She is going to bed around 8 and wakes anywhere from 6 -7:30.  We have had a few sick nights recently where she has joined us in the middle of the night, but hopefully she will go back to sleeping through the night soon!  When she goes to bed at night, she talks or sings to her buddies that are in her crib and then usually drifts off to sleep peacefully.  I love listening to her on the monitor at night because you never know what she will say!

Hanging with her buddies

Meals. Addison is still a pretty good eater.  She still has her preferences of Mac & Cheese, pizza & hot dogs (all very healthy, i know), but will try other things.  She is really into pears right now and cheese is always a favorite.  

Other tidbits I want to remember: Addison is pretty good with her manners.  She is consistent with please, thank you and your welcome.  if she forgets, she quickly remembers when prompted.  She is a great little helper.  She seems to really like little chores, such as: feeding Brinkley, putting her dirty clothes in the basket, wiping up the table, unloading the dishwasher, helping with laundry, throwing trash away and so on.  She is happy when she helps and I like that!  Addison knows the morning routine and recently told Justin, "Daddy get your shirt, Brinkley hungry".  We broke out in laughter because she knew the sequence of the events.  Lately she has enjoyed getting her nails painted.  When the paint comes off a nail, she requests that I paint more on.  She can count easily to ten (although she forgets 2 most of the time!) and has starting working towards 20.  Colors still seem to give her a hard time, but she is getting better.  Her favorite books right now are the llama, llama series.  We have three of the books and she wants to read all three every night multiple times.  I have tried using the "time-out" technique with her, but she seems to enjoy it!  If she does something bad, she'll say "I go sit in time-out" like it's a fun thing to do.  Addison "helped" us put the Christmas tree up and she has been really good with it.  She touches the ornaments occasionally, but doesn't try to destroy anything (knock on wood). 

Last, this child is so weird, she enjoys sipping water out of the top of my contact case!?  She loves filling up these tiny tops and then drinks the water from them.  I have an extra case that is just for Addy so she isn't drinking the contact solution residue left on the ones I actually use!

Next on our "to-do" list after the holidays is potty training!!! Oh the fun we will have!!

Drinking from a contact case top

A carriage ride through Brier Creek Shopping Center with Marty the horse

Addison's 2nd Birthday Party

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write about Addison’s 2^nd Birthday party!

The day came and went in the blink of an eye, but I know Addison had a great time (when other children weren't trying to use her toys obviously!)  I didn't really have much to do other then prep some food, put decorations up and get the birthday girl ready to roll.  The Friday night before her party, I went to my parent’s house with all the groceries for the party and set up shop.  I enlisted the help of my mom, sisters and even Justin.  Everyone was hugely helpful!  My mom, Amanda and I did the majority of the food, Shelly watched Addison to make sure she didn't get into any trouble and Justin made the pizza rolls. It was a group effort and worked out well.  The menu included: Mac & Cheese, pizza rolls, little hot dogs in crescent rolls, veggies & dip, fruit kabobs, chips & salsa, Swedish meatballs, sugar cookies and cake.

On Saturday morning, Justin, Addison and I just hung out for awhile.  Once she went down for a nap, it was go time for me.  I showered, got completely ready and then headed over to my parents.  Once I was there, my sisters helped setup the tables, decorations and put the finishing touches on the food.  We were in good shape and surprisingly didn't have to run around like crazy people.  Eventually, Addison woke up from her nap and Justin brought her over to my parents for the big party.  The party started at 4:30 and we were ready to go!  Some of our friends were out of town, but we still had a good showing.  There were 3 other kids at the party, which was actually a pretty good number.  We ate an early dinner and mingled for a little while.  After everyone was done with food, we moved on to the present portion of the event.  Addison was pretty good, but had a fit if anyone took one of her new toys away from her!  We did have some crying moments, but got past them quickly.  Soon it was cake & cookies time…we sang Happy Birthday to Addison and she looked so happy!  She ate some of her cake, but was mostly interested in running around with her friends.  The kids ran around for awhile before everyone called it quits.  It had been a long day for me, so I wasn't complaining!  All-in-all it was a great day and I still can’t believe little Addison is 2!

2 Year Well Appointment

Addy’s 2 year appointment wasn't as smooth as I had hoped.  She is usually such an easy going kid and goes with the flow, but after she got her finger pricked to have blood drawn, she was pissed!  After that, she wanted nothing to do with Dr. Sarah or any of the nurses.  I even tried bribing her with chocolate, which didn't work!  Addy is also fighting a cold, so I know that doesn't help matters.

Her stats were:

Height - 34 inches (50^%)
Weight - 28 lbs (80%)
Head - 48 cm

BMI - 75%

So I was kind of shocked that they start monitoring a child BMI at 2 years old!  Apparently a child is considered to be:

• overweight if they have a BMI over the 95th percentile for their age
• at risk of becoming overweight if they have a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age
• underweight if they have a BMI under the 5th percentile for their age

A child has a healthy BMI if it is between the 5th and 85th percentile, so I guess we are good at 75%.  Dr. Sarah said that once we move her from whole milk to 2% milk, we may see a slight change.  Addy also received her flu vaccine at this appointment which was not in shot form, thank god.  She still wasn't pumped because they shoot a little nasal spray up both sides of the nose, but better then a shot I think. 

The appointment went by quick, but like I said, not the best appointment we have ever had!  Hopefully we won’t be back for awhile!  

Here are a few pictures while we were waiting for the doctor...

24 Months

Oh my gosh, our child is 2 years old!  Justin and I have been reminiscing the past few days about when our precious little girl was born.  It seriously seems like a decade ago that I gave birth to Addison, but on the other hand I can remember details like it was yesterday.  Her birthday party is this weekend and I decided to do a much more low key party then last year.  I will be shocked if Addison sits still long enough to even open presents. 

Size Stats:  Addy was 27.5 lbs when I took her to the doctors just last week.  We have her 2 year old well check-up on the 17^th, so I’ll have a better idea of height & stats soon.  Addy is still holding strong at 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  I think we will be bumping her up to a size 6 shoe soon, but her feet just seem so tiny still!

Development:    This kid amazes us EVERYDAY.  The words she uses is where I am most astonished.  She will try to repeat just about everything back to us.  We call her our little parrot.  This month because of Halloween coming up, she is able to say Frankenstein, Dracula, Ghost, pumpkins, and even skeletons!  I feel like these aren't easy words and she just says them with such ease.  Her teacher at Daycare said it’s very easy to chat with Addy…she understands most of what Addy is trying to tell her.  Every morning, Justin will head downstairs to get Addy her morning snack (dry cereal) & a juice cup…well apparently he wasn't moving quickly enough one day because she looked at him and said, “Daddy, get my stuff”!  We couldn't believe her “grasp” of the situation.   She is starting to recognize/remember parts of the books we read as well.  She’ll know which words are coming up and will try to read to us.  We were reading Cinderella one night and on the last page it says, “It was a Dream Come True” and Addison got to that page and just kept repeating “come true”.  Pretty good memory!

Personality:  I just love her little personality.  She is becoming such a little person!  She is definitely mischievous, but can be so sweet.  I feel like so many words could describe her!  She is a very determined child, but I think her feelings get hurt easily.  If you tell her she isn't supposed to be doing something, or scold her, she gets really upset and needs a hug.  She is definitely getting into that “Terrible Twos” frame of mind.  She is bi-polar at times!  She can go from one extreme to the other extreme in mere seconds!  She is super sweet with her animals and babies.  I love watching her take care of them.  She feeds them, changes their diapers, takes them on walks and rocks them.  She is such a little mommy!  She also will head over to wherever Brinkley is to pet her.  She will rub her head or back and tell her she loves her, or she is being a good girl, and then gets a kiss from Brinkley.  Brinkley is totally fine with this and even looks like she may like it!    

Sleeping:  Addy is still all over the board, but for the moment it looks like things have settled down.  She basically comes into bed with us around 5-6 every morning and sleeps until we wake up for work around 6:30 or 7.  It isn't too bad, but the child has radar on me, I am sure of it!  I could push her to the farthest corner of our bed and she will roll, kick and struggle until she is right back on top of me!  There are times I will sneak to Justin’s side of the bed for a few extra minutes of shut eye while he is showering in the morning for some extra space.  No lie, within 5 minutes, she’s found me!  I’m just glad she is spending 95% of the time in her room.  2 adults + 1 child + 1 dog + a Queen sized bed = CROWDED!

Likes:  Right now, her favorite animals are puppy & teddy.  Usually where there is one, there is the other.  She is always hell bent on bringing both of them wherever she goes.  Addy likes to color and will even try to color on objects other then her coloring books.  We have to keep a very close eye on her when the crayons are out!  She knows what’s she’s doing and will check to see if you are paying attention to her.  I recently found bath time crayons and those seem to be a hit.  It gets her into the bath and keeps her happy.  She really likes it when you take her crib mattress out of her bed and lie it on the ground next to the crib.  She will go in and out of her room pretending to go to sleep.  This is how we keep her busy many mornings while we are trying to get ready for work.  We just turn the video monitor on and watch her to make sure she isn't getting into any trouble!  Addy also likes to help me bake or cook.  We've made a few things together and each time she loves to help pour & mix the ingredients.  It takes about 5x’s longer to get something accomplished, but it is fun watching her “bake”.  Last but not least, she loves her Sofia Amulet (necklace).  She got it as an early birthday present from friends of ours and I can’t tell you what a hit it has been!  She walks around asking for her Amulet or telling you to put her Amulet on…it seems like such a big word for such a little girl!

Dislikes:   I can’t think of too many dislikes.  Lately she has been much better at getting her diaper changed so it hasn't been too much of an issue.    

Pictures:  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...

23 Months

Another month has flown by!  Addy has become more of a parrot and we have to be super careful on what we say around her!  She is trying to become more & more independent in everything she does.  Her 2nd birthday is creeping up on us and I really have to get my party planning act in gear!  This month we also had a couple of firsts…getting our toenails & fingernails painted by Grandma and swinging on the big kid swings!  At the end of August we were lucky to have Nonna in town for a week and Uncle Adam for a few days.  It’s always fun having family in town and even better for Addison because she has more people to boss around!

Size Stats:  I swear Addy has had a growth spurt!  She feels a lot heavier and looks taller!  I weighed her at my parent’s house the other day and she was 27.0 lbs on the nose!  She is still wearing mostly 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  
Development:    I don’t even know where to start!  Addison likes to walk up & down the stairs and will try to do so without holding someone’s hand…not gonna happen!  She will hold the railing and one of our hands to go downstairs and you can tell she is pretty pumped with herself.  She is able to name some shapes and colors (although green seems like a favorite because she almost always starts with that one).  She has learned to open & close the bedroom doors.  She is trying to open the sliding glass door, but thankfully it is too heavy for her!  She continues to expand her vocabulary and the amount of words she can say in one sentence.  Daycare has mentioned on several occasions that she is more “advanced” then most of the kids in her class when it comes to talking.  Right now her favorite phrase seems to be “No do that” aka don’t do that.  While she says it she wags her little finger back and forth.  It is really hard to not laugh at her!  She is just so serious about it!  Plus, to top things off, I think she can finally say “Cheese”!  She is doing a really good job pronouncing her S’s lately.
Personality:  I think she has her daddy’s mischievous side and my OCD side.  She is feisty but has the sweetest heart…if that makes sense! She’s a girl on a mission and doesn’t like someone trying to veer her in a different direction.  Addy is very particular about having a “clean” table when eating and will ask for a nap-in (napkin) in order to clean her space.  She is constantly wiping/cleaning things up but on the other hand isn’t afraid to get down and dirty outside.  She also has to put her baby perfectly in her little stroller before she can take a walk with it.  She will move baby around several times before she is just right.  She’s big into asking for help lately.  If she can’t figure something out or get what she is after, she says help, help!  In fact, now when she is in her crib she frequently yells out “Help Mommy, Help Mommy!”…I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cry.  On the one hand, I know she doesn’t technically “need” me, but then I start to think well wait, maybe she does!  I am pretty sure it is just another way for her to manipulate me!
Sleeping:  Sleep has been pretty good.  She has an 8 o’clock bedtime and will rise anywhere from 5 – 7…you can tell she is still tired when she wakes up around 5, but she just can’t seem to get herself to go back to sleep.  We have been told by daycare that she was falling asleep before naptime in random spots on her early rising days.  She’s a work in progress, but is doing so much better.  It’s amazing how much happier she is when she gets a good nights sleep!
Likes: She is so in love with Sofia that I’ve decided to throw a Sofia themed 2nd birthday party because of this obsession.  Her favorite foods are still Pizza and Mac & Cheese.  She asks for Mac constantly!  She has had a newfound love for puppy and Brinkley.  I think finally after 22 months Brinkley has really decided to like Addison!  She’s always been really good with her, but now they are definite buddies.  Two peas in a pod!  Addison very frequently stops what she is doing and goes over to ask for a kiss from Brinkley or to pet her.  Addy loves to run around naked right now!  After bath time, she jets out of the bathroom before I can even say “time to put a diaper on”.  So far we haven’t had any accidents, knock on wood, but I know I am playing with fire!  
Dislikes:   She gets so ticked off when it’s diaper changing time.  I think potty training will be a big priority as soon as she hits the 2 year old mark.  I thought about trying earlier, but daycare said they aren't equipped to help that process in the 1 year old room.  They have the little sinks and toilets starting in the 2 year old room.  
Pictures:  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...

22 Months

This past month we have fallen into a pretty fun nighttime routine.  We will give Addison a bath, then lay with her on our bed while she has her nighttime milk and watch a little TV.  After that, we turn the TV off for some singing and hanging out.  This is honestly my favorite time of the day.  She has us in hysterics most nights.  It’s just really fun to be all cuddly in bed before she goes down for the night.  We have been doing “family hugs” lately and she loves this…she even requests them!  We both then take her into her bedroom, get good night hugs & kisses and she is asleep sometimes before we even get downstairs. 

We had extra fun this month because we went up to NY on a whirlwind trip!  Our drive up to NY wasn’t the greatest.  We ended up stopping around 10:30 pm somewhere in Pennsylvania about 2 hours away from Endicott because Addy got sick all over the place.  It was a yucky mess, so we did some laundry, took baths and regrouped till the following day.  We had a lovely King Size bed for the 3 of us, but Addison is like glue and stuck to my side and crowded me!  It was great once we finally got to NY, but it was crazy.  Friday we had the rehearsal dinner for Justin’s cousin Nicole, Saturday was her wedding, Sunday I went to Katie’s McD’s baby shower and Monday we got on the road to head back to NC!  Addy was great on the car ride back.  We basically let her watch Mickey Mouse & Dora episodes all the way home (around 12 hours!?!).  It kept her happy and I think it keeps her focused so she doesn't get car sick!!

Size Stats:  Addison is about 26lbs, wearing mostly 2T clothes, size 5 shoes and size 5 diapers.  I think she has gotten a little taller because her hands just about reach the sink when standing on her stool in the downstairs bathroom. 

Development:  Addison is definitely putting sentences together.  Pretty sure I am going to count July 17th as the first day Addison said her first sentence.  It was, “Daddy come here, lay down”!  It all just flowed together perfectly!  When we were in NY for a wedding, she was yelling at the wildlife…”Deer, Come Here! I’m talking”!  She is pretty bossy actually!  She is able to look at me and say “I Love You, Mommy” or look at Justin and say “I Love You, Daddy”.  Her favorite song to request lately seems to be ABCD.  She’ll say ABCD which basically means she wants to sing the A,B,C’s.  She is pretty good at it!  She still enjoys Twinkle Twinkle, Happy Birthday, You Are My Sunshine and Baby Beluga.  She is getting better at jumping and loves to twirl in circles.

Personality:  Bossy, Sassy & Determined basically sum Addison up.  There are many times when she is sensitive, sweet & cuddly too.  She definitely has a sensitive side to her which I think I forget about because her other traits are so obvious.  She is so sweet to her babies & stuffed animals and gets genuinely concerned when something goes wrong when watching her shows.

Sleeping:  Sleep has still been going well, KNOCK ON WOOD!  She had some issues when we went to NY, but I think she just has a hard time sleeping anywhere but her crib.  She ended up in our bed every night when we were in NY, but whatever she needs more sleep than Justin & I.  If she is unhappy then we are all probably unhappy by association!

Likes: Sofia the First on Disney, she calls it Fia.  Now if only Disney would make a few more episodes!  Justin & I have seen the same 5 episodes one too many times! I swear if I have to hear the song, “I’m a Blue Ribbon Bunny” one more time, I may break the TV!  Pizzzaaa is a definite favorite food at the moment.  She loves to unload & reload her 2 bottom drawers in her room…which are shorts & pants.  It makes for quite the mess and I have decided I am no longer folding these items because she usually just destroys my beautiful work.  She likes to be alone in her room as well.  She’ll close the door and when you open it, she’ll yell “No Mommy, Out”!  Wonderful, her teenage years are already creeping in!

Dislikes:  Lately she dislikes unfamiliar men.  She’ll say No Guy when someone is near her that she doesn't approve of.  This isn't a horrible thing from her, so we usually just go with it and try to reassure her if it is someone who is OK.  She gets super funny about drool.  Like I said before, we lay in bed before her bedtime and often times she will drool on our sheets when rolling around.  She seems mortified of the drool and will ask for a napkin to wipe it up.  She has been blaming the drool on Daddy lately, but we know it’s really her!

Pictures:  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...