Christmas Time 2010

This was our first year celebrating Christmas as a family of five. It was so neat to be able to see some pink under the tree this year mixed in with all of the boys blue paper and their cars and trucks. Mom came down from Ohio to be with us this year. Next year I would LOVE to be able to make it up there for Christmas so that the kids can have a white Christmas.

We made sure that we made cookies and decorated them for when Santa came and had our reindeer food ready to go for when the reindeer landed on our lawn.

On Christmas Eve we had Chris, Kelli and Hayden over for dinner and to exchange presents for the kids. On Christmas morning we celebrated at home and then headed over to Dad and Kims for Christams at their house.

North Pole 2010

We started off our Christmas break by heading to the North Pole which has become a new tradition for us. The boys love to make the cookies, pick out books and a new stuffed animal and of course tell Santa what they would like for Christmas. I was excited to have them all sit with Santa this year, but I don't think Addison quite shared in my excitement. :) She was terrfied... so we quickly snapped the picture and got her so that the boys could have a quiet time talking to Santa.

The boys at the North Pole


So far so good


Wait a minute...who are you and what have you done with my mommy?


HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!


Mommy comes in to save the day!


Blake telling what he wants


Alex telling what he wants


Picking out their new stuffed animal


Cookie decortaing time

Thanksgiving Break 2010

Blake ended up getting his tonsils out about a week before Thanksgiving. I did it this way so that he had a week off from school for Thanksgiving break to heal. He was a trooper and has recovered quite easily and nicely. He has been busy eating ice cream for dinner and popsicles...all the finer things in life. He is now on a soft food diet for three weeks and I will be happy when he is off of that..hard trying to come up with enough soft foods to keep him interested. He is getting bored of eating the same things over and over and I can't blame him. While on break Addison and I ended up getting sick. It was the first time she has ever been sick! :( Made me sad. We are both on antibitoics now though and are feeling much much better. She has also gotten in two teeth at the bottom and is crawling now! All this happened in a week. I keep begging her to slow down and try to grow up a little slower, but it's not working.

So every year we celebrate Thanksgiving at Dad and Kim's the day after Thanksgiving so that everyone can have time with their own families and in-laws if needed. Since Ala's mom lives in New York this allows us time to just have dinner and be with our own little family. On Friday we headed over to dad's house with a car load of baby products and toys to keep Addison entertained. We had a nice dinner and the boys ended up making cookies and decorating them to bring home too. They had fin and had many many helpings of turkey and potatoes!

Checking out the tree at the Grandparents



Making cookies with Hayden and Grandma

Halloween 2010

Our little ladybug, Captain Rex and Mario.

Alex Turns 8!

Alex chose to go to the JW Marriott and stay the night with us as a family in place of a big party. I love it when the boys decide to do things like this. I don't mind spending the money when we get to spend some great family time together celebrating a birthday! We ate at the poolside restaurant and swam in the pool that is heated and the boys rode the waterslides. We made smores by the fire and stayed up late! It was great fun and we had a blast. We still did have a party at the house though with just the family. I can't believe that 8 years ago I became a mommy for the first time. Alex is such an amazing little boy full of love for his family and is so sarcastic and funny. He is our little love bug and cuddler!

Did you shave her head?

On the 18th of this month our little Addison turned 6 months. I cannot believe that she has been here for 6 months already. We have all been truly blessed by her tiny presence. I have seen a side of Alex and Blake that makes me so proud to be their mommy. They show me everyday what great daddies they will be one day. They are so gentle loving and playful with her. We do not have to ask for help from them...they are right there with any whimper that she has and are so attentive with her. She is in love with them and vice versa. She will just sit and stare at them while they are playing. Alex loves for her to be in her highchair while he reads to her and shows her the pictures. :) Such a sweet boy. And Blakers will sing a song and make funny faces to make her laugh. Such a sweet family I have.

Here are some things she is doing now at 6 months:
-She is eating solids now. She started on vegetables and fruits at about 5 1/2 months because the formula alone wasn't cutting it anymore. We have been through all the stage one foods, so this week we are starting her on stage 2.
-She still wakes up a couple times in the middle of the night. All she needs though is her pacifier and she will go right back to sleep.
-She is rolling from back to belly and belly to back.
-She is trying her hardest to sit up on her own. I think that she already would if it weren't for the large melon that she is carrying on her shoulders. Yes she has the Meers large head too. The boys have all grown into theirs so I am sure that she will too. If I just keep putting big bows on it maybe it won't look as big! :)
-She is slightly spoiled, but is getting a little better. She loves to be enteratined all the time. This is all of our fault though. When you have mom, dad and 2 brothers doting over you 24/7 this is what you come to expect all the time!
-She is the happiest baby. I had a lady at the boys school ask me if she is always that happy. YES! She loves people. One of the questions the pediatrician asked me is does she recognize mom and dad....YES! And then is she cautious of strangers....NO! Right now at this point in her life she will pretty much smile at anyone and love to be with anyone that loves on her. She loves to give people smiles and lights up with her big blue eyes!
-She is off of her acid reflux medicine and seems to be doing well. She still spits up what seems like tons, but we know its not. We at this point need to pack extra clothes for us to chnage into when she spits up and not her. She has a great knack of leaning over when she feels something coming up to make sure that she keeps herself dry, but will spew fountains over anyone that is holding her. She learned this quick!
-She weighed in at 18 lbs 15 oz
-She was 25 3/4 inches long
-She can still fit into some of her 3-6 month clothing but is mainly in 6-9 months now.

And the kicker of the day....Addison has no hair. She is starting to get peach fuzz in. The boys were the same way though. They didn't grow hair until about the age of 1and from what I am told I didn't grow hair until about age 2. So we are sitting in there and she just keeps looking at her head. I am sitting there worried that something is not right with her head and she is just trying to find the words to tell me. Then she asks me if I shaved her head! I busted out laughing. The way her hair is growing in it looks like a little crew cut and it is pretty uniform. I told her no, but laughed about it the whole way home.


Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
-- Elizabeth Stone


Here are some pics of our cutie patootie Addison!

The First Day of School

I cannot believe that I am the mother to not only a baby, but to a 1st and 2nd grader. Where is the time going? The boys were super excited to start their year. They both loved their teachers, as did we, and we were all excited for the year to start. They have done great so far and are making lots of new friends. Last year Alex was in the cooking club and would make all sorts of cool things. So of course this year when cooking club was offered Blake begged to do it. I prayed that he would get in becuase there are only 20 spots for all of first grade and I am pretty sure atleast half of first grade wanted to to do it. He found out today though that he is in and he can't wait for his first "cooking project." Here are some pics from their first day.

It's Been How Long?

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since July when we went to my mom's house for vacation. I am getting back into the swing of things. So much has happened in between the trip and now...so I am going to get back on later tonight and post to get us up to speed!
Here are some random pics though of my cuties! :)

Say What?

When I woke up this morning mommy told me that she had some suprising news for me. I was shocked to hear this and hoped that it would be something good.


She told me that in 6 days that we would be leaving Nena's house and ending our vacation. I didn't know how that would be such a big surprise. I was actually a little sad to hear this. I am having fun at Nena's. I have seen a lot of new things, met some new people and got to hang out by the pool everyday so far.


But then...she told me I would see Daddy in 6 days!!


This made me the happiest girl in the world! I can't wait to see my Daddy again.

Slow Down Little Girl...

When they placed you in my arms, you slipped into my heart.
-Author Unknown

Today my sweet Addison turns two months. It is going by so fast! She had her two month shots today and weighed 10 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is getting to be a big girl. Still the smallest out of the kids though. She was in the 50th percentile for her weight (unadjusted for her birth date), 30th percentile for her head(unadjusted) and 40th percentile for her length(unadjusted). She is now smiling which is always a bright spot in our day, is getting more control over her arms and legs and can help to hold her head up now. She loves taking baths and I think she would sit there for hours and let me pour the warm water over her. I could just eat her up after bath time when she smells so sweet! :) She is so much more alert now and scans the room for people when she hears them. She has a death grip and is a super strong girl. We have noticed that she may have some acid reflux so she is going on a prescription to help her with that, but besides that she seems to be progressing great. The Dr. said that since she was 5 weeks early that some things may take a little longer then we may have noticed with the boys, but by 6 months they expect them to be almost caught up.

Addison is loved by all of us so much. I love to walk into the room and see Blake catching a peek of Addison with a smile on his face. He is now starting to give her kisses on the cheek and touch her little feet. He has been the slowest to warm up to her. I think that there was intimidation with him because she was so small and had to be in the hospital. I think he wanted to make sure that she was going to be ok first. Alex is still infatuated with her and tells me all the time that he always wanted a little sister. He is a little confused about the whole gender thing though and asked me how I knew that she was a little girl and not a little boy. I explained that she did not have the boy parts but had her little girl parts. He sat there for awhile longer and then asked me if I was sure. lol...pretty sure honey! We are blessed to be her family.

Missing Him

In 10 days, on April 25th, it will be one year since my grandfather passed away. I am sad tonight...I am sad because he wasn't here for my birthday. I missed his phone call telling me hapy birthday and that he loved me. I missed him being at the hospital the night that I gave birth to Addison. I miss not having a picture of him with his great-granddaughter. How proud he was of the boys and how proud he would have been of Addison also. He is still so missed and so very much loved still. He is a hole that can never be replaced and a presence that is missed deeply.

Easter 2010

Here are some pics of the boys and Addison the night before Easter. The boys and I decorated eggs while Addison hung out in her swing and looked on!

Bluebonnets

Before mom left we took the kids to go take some pics in the bluebonnets. It was the first time that Alex had ever held Addison and he did great! Needless to say she does not enjoy sitting in a field full of flowers and weeds. They were all troopers though and it is a challenge getting 3 kids to all look good in one pic, but I think they turned out pretty cute!