O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

The Christmas tree in our great room has been up for a month now. It's large and beautiful and formal and artificial and pre-lit and matches the rest of the room. Just how I like it!

And it blows a fuse when we have it lit with too many other lights/electronics on at the same time. But, it's soooo gorgeous!

We've been talking about it for the past 3 Christmases and this year we finally did it. We bought a second tree. "The kids tree" as we call it.

It's small(ish) and high maintenance and it's not formal nor is it prelit or matches the rest of the decor in the room. But it's real and it smells good and it puts me in the Christmas spirit, and it dons all of our meaningful ornaments, including the ones Addison has accumulated so far, and the cheerios that she and I strung together and I LOVE IT!


And on the top sits a representation of the real angel God sent to us 2 years ago.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

28 weeks

Let me just say it. Pregnancy is not glamorous! It's wonderful and enriching and so full of blessings. But glamorous, it is not. So, with that being said, I'm going to try not to be a downer in this post because as we all know, I have been up close and personal with the fragility of life and would carry any burden necessary for my children. But, my physical being is not at its finest this week and since this is my weekly update, I figured I would touch on it.

It's my hip. My left hip - the opposite side from my bum foot. The good news is, my foot is a lot better. Not 100%, but definitely on the mend. But this hip, it's like nothing I have ever experienced. It started on Sunday and by Tuesday was almost unbearable. Yesterday was excruciating and I am happy to report that today is excruciating minus about 10%. So, hopefully the hip is on the mend, too!

I have been crawling around like a baby, unable to do the things I do (clean, cook, play with Addison, etc.) The cleaning and cooking isn't a huge deal, but there is no one else here to help out with Addison, so I have been struggling a bit. I manage to feed her and get her to the bathroom but I can't carry her around like she sometimes requests, which results in tantrums that are uncharacteristic and as far as playtime goes, well...the poor girl has been neglected of Mommy's hands-on attention. That, and she's been getting away with a lot more than usual this week which I feel makes her so much less obedient in general. It's been a rough week full of moans and groans, but I am confident that it can only get better!

It has to or else I will be hiring a full-time nanny for the next 12 weeks while I put myself on bed rest!

I'm not sure how I hurt it, but I'm guessing it was a combination of favoring my left side (due to my right foot hurting) and the heels I wore on Sunday to my Godson's baptism. Heels that I am supposed to wear again on Saturday to Dustin's holiday party. Ay Ay Ay!

So, that's the hip story. Onto indigestion...

No, really there isn't anything horrible going on there. I have been getting it more often, but it's not as bad as it was with Addison. I only mention it because I currently have it. I would like to thank the tortilla soup I just consumed. Addison, even at 31 weeks, was born with a good head of hair, so I'm hoping this indigestion means the same thing for baby boy. If not, well a baldy is good, too! :)

Addison at four days old. Look at that hair! Just think what another 9 weeks could have done for her mane!


And as I was looking through those early photos, I found this one and chuckled. People always ask me "How do you keep Addison from pulling the bows out of her hair?" and I respond, "We started her young." I completely forgot that she was wearing bows (big ones at that!) at a week old. Her nurses would make them for her out of dry wipes. They care for those NICU babies like they are their own. Those wonderful nurses.


I could spend hours looking at the pictures from her first month in the NICU, recalling those tough, yet joyous weeks. 2 years ago today, at this exact moment, I was there with her. And tomorrow and the next day and the next day. What a time! It never fails to amaze me that my little lady was once a 3 pound peanut. Sometimes I forget she was ever so small. However, I never forget to count my blessings!

Anyway, I digress. AND I am done with my gripes (how could I not be after reminiscing about my first miracle). AND the indigestion magically went away (for now). AND my husband who has spent much of the last couple of months working way past Addison's bedtime just got home and is taking over toddler duty. YAY!!!!!

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How your baby's growing:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
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Belly picture

Birthday Invitations

I forgot to include pictures of Addison's birthday invitations. They make up my second proudest moment in regards to Addison's party and took me hours upon hours to make. But the compliments I received made the time spent well worth it. Plus, Addison loved them!

MOMS Family Fun Night/Holiday Party

Last Friday was my MOM's Club Family Fun Night/Holiday Party. It was so much fun and as always, Addison had a blast with some of her best friends.

Addison and Abby are something else. They are like glue to paper when together. It's been so neat watching them build a friendship.

And Raegan, who we have known since she was born, is another very special person in Addison's life. Her mom (my good friend, Abby), made her adorable outfit. She is so talented and I am so jealous!

I love this picture of Rae, Abby, Brooke and Addison. They are just too cute and seem so grown up!

Chris's Birthday Party

On the day following Addison's birthday party, we attended a 3rd birthday party for her friend, Christian, at our favorite indoor pool. Here are a few pictures of Addison swimming.

Addison's 2nd Birthday Party

Well, geez, could it have taken me any longer to post about Addison's birthday party? Sorry for the delay...I've had a few too many things on my mind (and agenda) lately.

Addison's 2nd birthday party was a hit. She loves Elmo, so it was easy to decide on a theme this year. Because it was held in between meals, I decided to take it easy on the food...unlike her 1st birthday party where I think I made enough to feed our entire neighborhood.

Some of Elmo's friends brought their favorite snacks to the party. For instance:

Grover brought pizza

Cookie Monster brought....what else?....cookies!

And Snuffy brought meatballs.

Big Bird brought some gummy worms and of course Elmo made his contribution with his favorite snack of all time - goldfish!

There was also plenty of cupcakes and cake for everyone to load up on their sugar. (Cake pictures in a few).

The main attraction at the party was to be the furry, red, lovable creature himself. ELMO! I knew it would go one of two ways. Either Addison was going to be so excited and totally love on him or she would be scared and not want anything to do with him.

What way do you think things went when Addison opened the door to find our special guest standing there?

Here, let's zoom in a bit on the birthday girl's reaction.

Yeah, I kinda thought there was a better chance of it going that way, too!

We had prepared her and talked about Elmo coming to her party for weeks. Every day, the biggest topic of discussion was that Elmo was going to be at her birthday party. She seemed really excited. Really! Never once did she say she was scared or didn't want him there. She spoke of how she was going to hug and kiss him and share all her toys with him.

Maybe she was expecting a miniature sized Elmo. Not a 6 footer! Thanks SO MUCH to my sister's fiance, Shawn, for practically suffocating in the costume and to Lori for doing all the leg work in getting the costume!

Though it was hard to tell, Addison really appreciated it. The story she tells now (after an entire 24 hours of telling me that she is scared of Elmo and almost refusing to attend a birthday party the very next day in fear that Elmo might be there, too) is that she sat on Elmo's lap and shared a cookie with him and that she wants him to come again tomorrow.

Actually, it's not entirely untrue. She did, while holding tightly onto Grandma, give Elmo a cookie. Immediately after handing him the cookie, she demanded "Away!".

Mommy and Daddy liked Elmo.

And we were able to convince Addison to hop in a picture with us, too.

Gammy and Poppy were successful in getting a picture with their two grandbabies and Elmo, thought it looks like Noah didn't take to Elmo all that well, either!

Believe it or not, the majority of the kids were very welcoming towards Elmo and many had their picture taken with him. Like Addison's cousin, Aaron, for example. He was so excited he couldn't even wait long enough to finish the meatball that's resting there in his cheek.

Addison and her friends colored pictures of Elmo.

Soon enough, it was cake time. I'm not much of a cake baker and the closest I've ever come to decorating one is to slap some icing on top and spread it around with a spatula. Oh, wait, I did once add sprinkles and words. It looked like the work of a 7 year old.

But this. This cake. This beautiful creation. This is one of my proudest moments.

Drum roll please......

Impressed? Seriously, I DID THAT!!! Wanna see it again?

I really surprised myself with this one!

We all sang Happy Birthday to Addison and Addison blew out her candle all by herself. I think she is keeping her eye on Elmo at this point as he was standing there singing along.

Then we served cupcakes. Because it would have been a disgrace to cut into such a masterpiece, that's why!

It didn't take long before one of the party goers insisted on having a piece of the Elmo cake and it went fast! So, now all I have to remember this incredible work of art is a couple of pictures.

RIP dear Elmo cake. We sure did have some good times together!

But don't worry, that wasn't the last we saw of Elmo. We still had the Elmo pinata to break open!

Addison had the honors of pulling the first string.

Once all the other kids had a turn and there was only one string remaining, a few of them teamed up to reveal the goodies hiding inside of Elmo.

And with bags in hand, they collected those goodies.

Gammy and her birthday angel.

We opened gifts once it was just family. We have pictures of Addison opening all of them, but people were so generous and it would take me forever to post them all. I like this one because it shows her new shoes from Grandma and Grandpa F. and the scooter from her Aunt Julie, Uncle Josh, and Noah.

It was warm enough to ride her scooter outside on one occassion and she was getting the hang of it. I'm thinking we'll bring it inside for the winter so she can be a pro by springtime!

It was getting late and the kids were becoming sleepy. Addison was so busy at her party that she didn't have any time to cuddle with her baby Logan, so she took the opportunity at the end of the night. She loves him so much!

Grandma and Grandpa F. with their grandbabies.

Thanksgiving

We had A LOT to be thankful for this year. 2009 has been good to us and I thank God every day for granting us such fortune!

Thanksgiving was spent with my family this year.

Grandpa S. spent Thanksgiving morning with us and Addison really enjoyed showing off for him.




But, let's be honest. Most of her time was spent with this guy....


They are inseparable.


And so cute!

Noah has amazing hair. Thick, luscious curls that anyone would die for. His mommy has yet to cut it in fear that he will lose the curls, and I don't blame her. However, it's going to have to happen one of these days as his hair is starting to get pretty long and to his Daddy's dislike, he may start to lose some of his masculinity! (LOL)

Noah's hair is long enough, in fact, that Addison and I thought it deserved a special hairstyle.

Noah's daddy was not happy with the new look and still denies that Noah asked all by himself (with not a single bit of Aunt Kristi's influence) for the bows.

I think it looked nice. It didn't last long. :)

Thanksgiving evening was spent at my Grandparents house with my family that is big enough to start it's own government. We had to leave (for bedtime) before the whole crew arrived, but Addison and Noah did enjoy playing with Grandma and Grandpa's decades-old toys and some of their other cousins.

Baby in Belly

In honor of just having ended my 27th week of pregnancy, I thought I'd show you Addison's baby belly. She makes me tuck her baby into her pants and under her shirt almost daily. Then she rubs it and talks to it. The funny thing is, I don't rub or talk to my belly in her presence. I don't know where she gets it. She is SO meant to be a mother some day.

27 weeks

Yesterday marked 27 weeks of being pregnant with our baby boy. The last couple of weeks have been a little tense as I had to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) after failing the 1 hour. I was pretty confident that I would be fine, but then I make the silly mistake of getting on the internet (so typical) and start reading about symptoms of gestational diabetes and even worse, side effects and possible outcomes, and all confidence is shattered. Like I said before, being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes isn't the worse thing that could happen (not even close to it), but it is something I didn't necessarily want to have to deal with.

So, the good news is that I passed the 3 hour. WOOHOOOOOOOO! I think the call I received telling me the results ranks up there as one of the happiest single moments of my adult life (engagement, wedding, birth of Addison, Addison's homecoming, last cancer treatment, positive pregnancy test with baby boy, and negative for gestational diabetes). Yup, it definitely belongs with that group of happy moments. I was just plain giddy upon hearing the good news and seriously wanted to call everyone I knew. I know, I'm pathetic!

Anyway, my levels ranged from 66-84 during the 3 hour GTT (compared to 174, which is what I tested at my 1 hour screening). The nurse said these levels are pretty low and flat so I should be sure to eat every 2-3 hours so I don't get symptomatic for low blood sugar levels. Sure, I can do that!

Anyway, with that behind me, I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulder...though I've probably made up for that by putting on a few pounds elsewhere. This would be due to the fact that I have been celebrating this week with cake, cupcakes, cookies, chocolate and strawberry shortcake...to name a few. I suppose I made myself believe that I wouldn't be able to eat these things for the remainder of my pregnancy that once I found out I actually could (though I still probably shouldn't!), I went hog wild. I just crave sweets now.

Wait, who am I kidding? I've craved sweets this entire pregnancy!

That's pretty much the big news of the week. My ribs/back is manageable most of the time. It's only on my left side, which is weird. Though that is where his legs/feet are, so maybe it's not too weird. And, I have a pretty small rib cage so I imagine the pain is also coming from the ribs trying to expand. I have a new pain on the top of my foot, which is making it hard to walk and go up and down stairs, of which we have about a million in our house. I think it might be due to some trauma to my foot a few months back and could possibly be tendinitis or a stress fracture (based on my reliable internet research). I'm on day 5 of the pain and it's not getting better - worse actually - but I am going to give it a few more days before I have someone look at it.

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And here's a little info about the peanut.......

How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
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A LOT of people have recently been inquiring about a name. We do have one picked out...decided on it the day after we found out it was a boy...and maybe, just maybe I will announce it soon. Wait for it. Wait for it. :)

Who was in belly withdrawal last week? Thought you may have been. Haa!!

Here's your weekly fix.....

Playing Catch Up

I've gotten behind again. Thanksgiving and Addison's Birthday are to blame. I still have tons to report about those two special events (and will do so soon), so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the posts below!

Holiday and Addison's 2 year photo session

Our go-to photographer, Jenni, came over to take some holiday pictures, as well as Addison's 2 year photos. As usual, I am so pleased with the outcome. Thanks, Jenni! It was nearly impossible to sort through all 80 pictures and pick my favorites, so I just selected a few different ones to show a sample.

We put our tree up and decorated the mantle really early (the first weekend in November) this year for the occasion. After some indoor pictures, we headed outside to get some shots. It was already 64 degrees at 11am and reached 70 that day. In the middle of November. Amazing! We really lucked out.

Enjoy!

Addison's Birthday with my friends

I had some friends come in town for a few days - Jennie from her new town of Cincinnati and Emily from Chicago. It's always nice to have my girlfriends in town, especially because Addison loves them so much. She won't stop asking "Where did Jennie go? Where did Emily go?" Every brunette we see is one of the two.

One of the evenings, we went to dinner for one of my other friend's (Kate) birthday. Before our big night out (for Mexican...what else??), the girls spoiled my daughter with some early birthday gifts.

Emily of course got her a stylish outfit (which she wore like 3 times in a week) and a book.

Kate and Anfinny got her a beautiful sweater dress (Addison has a better wardrobe than I do - seriously), some books and stickers.


And Jennie got her a doctor kit, which she absolutely adores!

Addison says thank you for the wonderful gifts and Mommy says thank you for being such great friends. Love you all!