New Years Day 2010

Happy New Year! We have a lot to look forward to this year (namely, introducing a little brother to the family) and are so very blessed. Oh, and Addison has now lived in 2 different decades, which I think is cool. :)

We came home from Cleveland early on New Years Day to prepare for a small get-together we were having at our house with out-of-town friends and to watch the OSU in the Rose Bowl.

We were thrilled to have Stephen and Carrie in town from Maryland and Jonathan and Mandy from Cincinnati. (Dustin swam with the guys in college and they remain two of his best friends.) We were also to have David, Abby and Raegan over but Raegan came down with pink eye so only David made it (with some excellent Kielbasa and Sauerkraut, I must add!)

We were having a lot of fun, until the littlest one of the bunch suffered a bit of an accident. She and one of the other party-goers were having the best time playing when all of a sudden, Addison's squeals of laughter turned to screeches of horror! Daddy quickly scooped her up and she stopped crying, but then we noticed the bleeding.

I, not being one bit alarmed (because toddlers get hurt and then they get over it, especially my tough cookie of a daughter), remained in my comfy position on the couch. Then someone exclaimed that her foot was bleeding and when I looked over, I saw blood on Addison, Dustin and Jonathan. It was a lot of blood for one little sized 6 foot!

Someone brought her to me to assess the damage, but it turns out Mommy doesn't do so well when her daughter is injured, so other people had to look further into the situation (while Daddy ran to get me a glass of OJ before I passed out!)

Our little cookie hung in there and barely made a whimper. She was much stronger than myself!

Jonathan was definitely magical in making everything all better. I'm guessing Addison either sensed the paternal side of him (he has two girls 2 and under at home), knew he worked in an operating room, or thought he was just plain entertaining. Whatever it was, it did the trick and she was completely content sitting with him while I made some calls to the pediatrician and hospital trying to come up with a game plan. We even had our next door neighbor (who is an ER nurse) come over to give us her opinion!

Jon and Mandy (they clearly have plenty of experience handling an injured 2 year old!)

Another thing that definitely helped take her mind off the pain was a great gift from Stephen and Carrie. They brought her a matching game (because they couldn't just bring baby boy a gift and leave Addison out!) The game is a hit, especially since it incorporates two of her favorite books ever - "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" and "Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?". Thanks, guys!

Notice the bandaging changed from the previous pictures. She was bleeding through everything we tried! I knew it was then time to head to Urgent Care and have a professional look at it. Plus, it was nearing 6:30 and the Children's Urgent Care was only open until 7. If we missed them, we'd be stuck in the ER. No, thank you!

We were in and out of Urgent Care in 20 minutes. Addison came home with 3 stitches and an orange popsicle. She did great, except when they were giving her the shots to numb the area.

She was fine the rest of the evening, slept through the night, and though we do hear about her ouchie on a daily basis and she reminds us to "be careful" whenever putting on socks, pants, sleepers, shoes, etc., she isn't even fazed!

New Years Eve 2009

We spent a few days up in Cleveland with Julie, Josh, Noah and Bailey over the New Year. The adults went to a very exciting Cavs game on the 30th (while Noah's Aunt Heather babysat - thanks, Heather!) and to a party for a short while on the 31st (with the little ones). It was a fun way to ring in the New Year, with some of our most favorite people!

Addison loved cooking some meals in Noah's new kitchen.


One of the best parts of the trip was that Cleveland had snow - something we were without. Well, we had patches here and there, but not enough to play in. (That since has changed!)

The temps had reached the mid 30's, which is perfect for playing in the snow. Addison loved it this year, unlike her distaste for it last year.

Even the pups had a good time!

Cousin hugs are the best!

Wilson Christmas Gathering

The morning after the morning after Christmas we headed back down to Dayton. NOT KIDDING!!!!! Those 1.5 - 2 hours drives each way add up! Our destination this time was Dustin's Aunt and Uncle's house for another family gathering.

Addison was in a very merry mood.


She and Aaron had a great time playing.

Then Santa came!

Addison surprisingly went near him (though not alone). No doubt the shiny packages in his big red gift bag helped.

Addison opened her wonderful gifts.


She loves all her puzzles.

And was super giddy over the comforter and pillow that her Great Grandma Max made for her new doll bed.

Family Picture

Frazier Christmas Gathering

The morning after Christmas, we headed back up to Columbus for the Frazier Family Christmas Gathering. Addison opened more presents (I think she was starting to think this was our new daily routine) and had fun with her extended cousins. Again, I was bad about taking pictures. I was already exhausted! This is all I have to show of the 5 hour event:

Christmas at Gammy and Poppy's house

After we opened gifts at our house, we hopped in the car (Addison didn't even have time to get out of her PJ's) and headed down to Dayton. We had a nice lunch and put Addison down for a nap while I tried to re-energize for all the partying yet to be done!

After Addison's nap, some of Phil's (Poppy) siblings came by for a visit. Addison doesn't see this part of the family often but welcomed them with open arms, as usual. Her way of asking who someone is is so cute. She does it with an open question. She points and says, "This is....?" Love it! She re-learned their names quickly, sang for them and definitely put on a show.

She and Uncle Rob sported their Santa hats.

Her best buddy, Noah, arrived from Cleveland with Julie, Josh (and Bubba's best buddy, Bailey) and the party was officially ON!

We finally changed Addison out of her PJ's (at 3pm!) and more gifts were unwrapped.

Noah wanted to wear a red bow like Addies!

They could pass as twins, don't ya think?

Sadly, this is the only picture of Gammy and Addison together.

Being so busy and running from place to place, I took my photographer hat off for a while. But, we did manage to get a couple of Addison with her Grandpa S.

Christmas Morning

We woke up bright and early Christmas morning to see what Santa had left under the tree. Grandma and Grandpa F. were with us for the third year in a row. This is Addison's 3rd Christmas? Holy smokes, it's hard to believe!

Seeing for the first time all the presents Santa brought.

Our Christmas schedule is usually a little chaotic as there are a lot of people we want to celebrate with. But, now that we have a child (soon to be children) of our own, Dustin and I have decided that it was important to be at our house on Christmas morning. We haven't broken the tradition yet! It's been nice to have Dustin's parents with us in the morning before we head down to be with my family for the remainder of the day.

We spent a couple of hours opening gifts. Addison wanted to play with each one as she opened them and though it was tough to tell her that we would have to wait, she happily moved onto opening the next thing. She really enjoyed the gift opening this year!

Opening a big truck so she can be like all of her boy cousins.


Baby was the theme this year, which was good for a couple of reasons. 1) Anything baby related is her favorite thing to play with right now and 2) Everything she received should help her adjust when her baby brother arrives.

She didn't just get one bed for her babies, but two.


And a bathtub...

And her very own diaper bag and baby clothes!

And something more practical. She's ready for the slopes!


Someone at Daddy's work made us matching hats!

Jingle Bells

I mentioned earlier that Addison had practically mastered the song "Jingle Bells". Here is her rendition on Christmas morning. She sang to many audiences over the holiday weekend and it continues to be her favorite song to perform.

31 weeks (yesterday)

Happy New Year! Twenty Ten. Sounds so futuristic, doesn't it? I love saying it, though, knowing that 2010 is going to bring us great joy and lots of wonderful memories with the newest addition to our family. We are so lucky and can't wait to meet our little man.

Actually...we can wait....at least another few weeks (hopefully 8). We are not looking for this little one to come anytime soon.

This week is one I have been looking forward to since the beginning of my pregnancy. It's a huge milestone for me as I was 31 weeks, 2 days when Addison unexpectedly entered this world. Her prematurity led to many rough days, weeks and months. We are so fortunate that everything turned out so well for Addison, but we know it could have gone another way. I have been praying that we would not have a repeat this time around and so far it's looking good. I have been feeling great and most importantly, baby boy continues to be very active. Addison's sudden inactivity is what clued me in to something being wrong...which it was...which led to her emergency delivery. (Thank you, God, for giving me strong intuition at that time in my life.)

This is why I'm especially focused on the amount of activity from baby boy. As a matter of a fact, 2 days ago, I was on the verge of calling my doctor after not feeling any movement for several hours. I sat down to relax (something I hadn't done all day) and finally felt his sweet kicks and flips. I have a feeling these next few weeks are going to be a little worrisome, but I am going to try my best to stay stay calm.

So, after tomorrow, I will be in new territory. I will almost be like a first time pregnant woman since I have no idea what to expect past 31 weeks of pregnancy. I am excited (and nervous) for the weeks to follow and seriously can't believe that we are getting so close to meeting our son!

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A little about the baby at 31 weeks....

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

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Belly Picture!

P.S. My hip is 99% better!!!!!!!!!

P.P.S. I have so many posts that I have skipped in order to get this one up in a timely manner, so stay tuned for more Christmas posts and others!