Thankful

There are so many things we have to be thankful for this year...so, I thought I'd do a countdown!

10-sleep...yes, sleep (but we're not getting much right now because Addie's sick!)

9-our home

8-our health!

7-my mom...not only that she's near but that she's healthy & cancer free!

6-our sweet friends!

5-that I can stay home with Addie

4-Paul's job (and boss/es)

3-our families (mothers, fathers, brothers, sister-in-laws, aunts, uncles, and cousins)

2-our sweet little miracle baby Addie!

1-our amazing God

Wordless Wednesday

Purrfectly Patient

...Fuzz is.

This cat was raised around our dogs...and has put up with a lot, especially from Abbey.

But now there's a new-kid-on-the-block who rules the house (and the cats)!

the good life: sleeping on the bed with little to no disruptions
(make sure not to notice that our bed isn't made)

and then she comes along

(notice that Winston has already moved out of the way...you can see his foot and tail)

but she doesn't seem to understand why Winston wouldn't want his tail pulled or ear pinched

and she pounces...but sweet Fuzz is purrfectly patient.

Stay tuned for the final picture in this "series" in tomorrow's Wordless Wednesday!

"Not me!" Monday

I did not forget to do a "Not me!" Monday post until my mom reminded me!

My child did not wake up in the worst of moods Saturday morning. That was certainly not the day we were getting her Christmas portraits done. She did not whine and cry right up until we got to DiAnna's house, only to walk through the door and end up in the best of moods. Nope...not my daughter!

My sweet friend Rachel did not accuse me of getting her addicted to reading blogs. And she certainly did not accuse me of getting her addicted to reading blogs of people she doesn't even know and will probably never meet! And I certainly don't read blogs of people I don't even know and will never meet! Nope, not me!

I did not leave my plate on the chair to go get Addie when she woke up. I'd never do that with two dogs in the house. Abbey was certainly not waiting patiently for me to let my guard down and she did not immediately eat the remainder of my sandwich as soon as I walked away even with my mom sitting right there! I'd never do something so stupid silly! Nope, not me!

Now what did you not do this week?!?!?

Make sure to visit MckMama's blog and read her conversation she recently had with her husband about their baby!

Have a happy Monday!!!

Christmas Portraits with DiAnna

Part of our 1st year photo package we are doing with DiAnna includes a Christmas portrait. So today, we went to her house for these. Addie's Rie Rie and I spent most of yesterday afternoon and night (and early this morning) finishing up her dresses. Thank goodness my mom, unlike me, is a quick "seamstress!"

all eyes! her winter dress...had to have something blue!

her little mice Christmas dress
all she wanted to do was play with these blocks! it's a miracle she wasn't trying to grab them here. her hand is posed and ready though!


my all time favorite!

Make sure to visit DiAnna's blog (click the logo below or above) to see more of her wonderful work! scroll down right below Addie's pictures (on DiAnna's blog) to see her darling grandson!

Anything but toys, Mama

We've started noticing a trend with Addie: She does enjoy her toys. She definitely has some favorites.

She reaches for things she wants...

but she loves things that are not her toys even more!!!

such as the simple things in life:

a coat hanger

a chip clip

her spoon

the red basket her Nana gave her to play with (and she still plays with it!)

paper! (a magazine)

and...electronics:

the batteryless remote control

a computer cable

Mommy's cell phone

and then there's those things that we really wish she wouldn't want to play with:

Mommy's shoe

Mollie's toy (ewwww)

oh, and then there's the pets:

Abbey

and Fuzz

who promptly ran away...

and her all time favorite (that I save for those end-of-a-round-of-errand-times when I'm desperate):

Mommy's keys!

Not to worry, we don't let her actually play with just anything and everything...but it sure is fun to see what she likes :)

Update on Prayer Request

We received an update from my friend Diane today on her stepbrother Charly. A quick recap: he is 20 years old, in the army, and developed a sore which rapidly developed into flesh eating bacteria. He has been in a hospital in Seoul, Korea for about 3 weeks now. You can read more about him here.

He is now at Walter Reed in the DC area where he will remain through the skin grafts (that start next week) through the end of December at least. Her mom and his dad are flying out tomorrow morning to be with him. Since the doctors requested their presence, all flight and hotel expenses are being paid (another answer to prayer!). Charly is more alert to the fact that he almost lost his leg and life, but this is allowing him to persevere through the pain even more knowing that he will again walk one day. Talks of a medical discharge and disability are being entertained but nothing has been decided yet.

Diane said, "Once again, thank you so much for all of your prayers and concern! We firmly believe that God heard your prayers and is healing Charly! The fact that he is here in the United States is also miraculous--anyone who knows how the Army works understands that you don't just request a place to be and then get there! We are so thankful, and so blessed! Please continue praying through the skin grafting process, which will be very painful, and also for safe trips to and from the hospital. We love you all!"

We certainly have much to be thankful for! Praise God for his indescribable gifts!

8 Months Old

Addie turned 8 months old today. I can't believe how fast it goes!

Faster each day.

Faster each week.

Faster each month.

------------------------------

I don't want an EASY button.

I

just

want

a

PAUSE

button!

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Here are a few of the highlights from Addie's first e.i.g.h.t. m.o.n.t.h.s.

...with a little explanation:
sleep-finally, naps without being held or even rocked to sleep (although we do sometimes just because we can), longer nights--10 hours average--and rare midnight wakings, oh...and a much more rested/sane Mommy and Daddy!

crawling-moving and grooving: scooting on her seat, rolling and army crawling; there is no keeping her in one location let alone out of things that are not toys!

giggles-oh the giggles! (post to come!)

Halloween-her 1st!

eating: cheerios, lima beans, avocado, and really anything we're comfortable enough or dare to let her taste

communicating: oh boy does she let us know what she wants (or doesn't); working on baby sign language (post to come) and almost mastered the sign for more

the 3-day Komen Walk-the video tells it all

talking-babbling on and on; and sometimes appears to being saying mama and dada at us

pumpkin patch-fun times!

cheerios-our new favorite; "we" always want more but love accidentally dropping them on the floor for the dogs (post to come)

fall trees-we had fun searching for trees with changing leaves, but that's really the extent of fall around here; it's straight from summer to winter!

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It's been amazing to see Addie's personality begin to evolve. She certainly seems to know what she wants when she wants it and how! :) I still think I could spend all day long watching her; watching her explore, laugh, talk, sleep, play...it's certainly never dull! I think my favorite thing is when Paul or I walk into a room: she stops what she's doing, those eyes light up, she crinkles her nose, and then there's the smile! Priceless.

enough of this sitting around...crawl, baby, crawl

um...seriously mom. how many pictures are you going to take?

this is hard work!

let me tell you a secret...

Addie thinks the dogs are hill-ar-wious!

I promise I won't rip my dress on a nail if you'll just let me crawl!

mwhaaa!

What a joy! What a blessing!

Happy 8 months Baby Girl!

Wordless Wednesday

Gramma Came to Visit

I am way, way behind on my posts! I think I have at least 5 backed up in my edit box and here's one of them!

Addie's Gramma (Paul's mom) came to visit a few weekends ago. I got a great video of them with Addie laughing hysterically that I'll be posting soon. Margaret (Addie's Gramma) brought us a great piece of furniture to hide our cat litter boxes! Although I was thrilled to have the litter boxes hidden, I was just as excited to have another place to put pictures! :)

Addie had great fun playing on the floor with her Gramma and scooting around (this was before she started crawling). We even went out to dinner, and Addie was quite the angel!

I love seeing those teeth!

Not Me! Monday

I did not put another Dr. Pepper in the frig again, only to forget about it. It didn't freeze solid. It didn't spew all over me. It didn't even fizz everywhere when I opened it. It didn't have the chance. It did however do all of the above in my freezer, all over the bags of baby food, bread, kashi sandwiches, and supper supers! Will I ever learn...nope, not me!

I am certainly not watching Hook while I type this. Never Land anyone?

My sweet mom (Addie's Rie Rie) did buy Addie a brand new Little People 1st Nativity and bring it over Saturday afternoon. They did have a wonderful time playing with it. But we did not lose track of one of the pieces...a sheep...when Abbey (or Mollie) grabbed it and chewed a hole in it. I was not relieved that it wasn't the "Mr. T donkey" because I certainly wouldn't care more about the donkey than the sheep! I have not now counted the exact number of Little People and Little Animals to ensure that each time we put it away that everyone is accounted for! Nope...not me!


I did not miss my best friend's little boy's birthday party yesterday. I did not almost start crying when I found out. Thank goodness it was just a huge miscommunication (it really was) between our husbands. We'd never rely on our husbands, who work together, to relay messages back to us. Never, not us!

We did not come home to this...

or walk into this...

Our dogs are much better behaved than that!

Now...what did you not do this week! Make sure to visit MckMama's blog! Sweet baby Stellan is already 2 and a half weeks old!

Happy Monday!

New Friends

Kelly and I happened to take a Beginner's Sewing Class together a few months ago. We just happened to start talking about our girls. And we just happened to figure out that our girls are only 2 days apart! Anna Beth was born March 21st and Addie March 19th. Kelly and I have enjoyed getting to know each other, and it was especially fun to see Addie and Anna Beth together.

They immediately traded toys, but there was no objecting from either of them! Of course, playing together won't come until they are a little older, but them playing alongside one another sure was fun to watch!

"well hello"
"you can have my toy if can have yours"

they definitely studied each other

and even reached for each other

too cute!