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.