Then and Now: Day 24

Then and Now: Days 22-23

Daddy and Mommy

Then and Now: Day 21

All our babies...

Then and Now: Days 19 & 20

Then and Now: Days 17-18

What a day of opposites! From utter unhappiness to pure joy...it doesn't take much for the transformation to occur! The funniest scene was one morning when we were trying to get ready to leave the house. Paul sat Addie on the bed, and she was crying up a storm. I walked up and handed her her lamb that plays Jesus Loves Me. The minute it hit her lap, she was all smiles and giggles! Thankfully, what a quick transformation!

Then and Now: Days 14 & 15

Reading and sleeping go hand in hand at our house. Well...let me clarify that statement: Addie loves to read anytime of the day, but she especially loves to curl up in one of our laps and read a handful of books before she goes to bed! It's part of our "bedtime routine!"

Then and Now: Day 13 &14

Here are a few happy memories (unlike our last 48 hours!). I'm a little behind. Addie's top 2 teeth are breaking through, so she's been up several times a night.

Some fun news: Addie actually took several steps walking behind her walker this afternoon...all on our new carpet! She'll stand for a few seconds without holding onto anything...but she only "cruises" around holding onto us or furniture. I got a sweet video of it that I'll upload later.

For now though, here are TWO "then and nows!" Addie turns ONE a week from today!!!

Then and Now: Day 12

Although very similar in appearance to her many Faces, Addie's smiles completely melts our hearts! It is so much fun to try to make her laugh. I love getting her out of the car because as soon as I open the door she's all grins. I love going in to get her up from a nap (when she's rested and in a great mood) because as soon as I stick my head through the door it's a giggling, jumping on the bed baby girl! And when we pick up her Daddy from work, she sticks her little head up and around her car seat to watch him walk to the car...and she smiles the biggest grin ever!

Then and Now: Day 11

Then and Now: Day 10

Then and Now: Day 9

Of course everything goes in Addie's mouth right now, but she's definitely a fan of food! We feel so fortunate that she's such a good eater right now. It's amazing to me that she's moved from being so dependent on us to feed her a completely liquid diet to almost entirely feeding herself what we eat for dinner. She's even attempted to feed herself with a spoon! This 1st year is so full of growth and change!

Then and Now: Day 8

Addie loves to go for walks. She's literally walked miles and miles with my mom and me when we my mom was training for her Komen Walk! We'd They'd sometimes walk 6 miles plus straight, come home for a break, and go back out again for more!

I finally told my mom that she couldn't use our Graco stroller anymore for these walks because it was starting to squeak with all the use! I knew it'd never make it through another baby, let alone cousins too! So...I got on ebay and found a jogging stroller. One of the best purchases we've made, honestly! We've even used it at the beach to lug both baby and beach gear. It works great on the sand.

For everyday use, we now have a MacLaren umbrella stroller...a little more high tech than your typical umbrella stroller, but it has great storage space and the seat even leans back. (Thank you Grandpa and Gramma!) Another one of those baby gadgets that we really like!

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Then and Now: Day 7

Oh those faces! I don't think I'll ever be able to capture all of Addie's wonderful expressions...but it goes without saying that I sure do try! They come and go so quickly; and before we know it, she's on to another one! They are certainly a window to her vibrant personality! Here's a few of our favorites:

Then and Now: Day 6

Addie never just loved her swing. Then again, she didn't hate it either! I know babies who would only sleep in their swing or somebody's arms! Addie preferred the arms! But since the very 1st time she got to swing on a baby swing at the park when we were in Kentucky with Julie and Savannah...she's been hooked! There's a little park on base that we often stop at on pretty days when we're picking up Paul from work. Addie immediately starts squealing and kicking her legs with excitement. Now we have a our own swing hanging from a tree in our backyard. It, too, is quite a hit! What a dramatic difference 10 months makes!

Then and Now: Day 5

Grandfathers are so much fun! I remember my Paw Paw pulling me around their huge back yard in a red wooden wagon that he had informed my mother we had to have. Even though he had two girls of his own, I think I officially had my Paw Paw wrapped around my little finger from day one! He played school with me, pushed me on the swing outside, and even cried with me when my kitten died. When it came to his grandchildren, you couldn't find a softer heart anywhere!

Addie has two precious grandfathers...one who has a son and daughter and the other who has two sons. Whether Addie already has them wrapped around her little finger or not...I have no doubt that she will! There's just something about girls and their grandfathers!

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Then and Now: Day 4

When I was growing up, my Maw Maw was like another mother to me. I used to beg to spend the night with her! When I was little, she'd turn on the record player (yes, I'm fully aware that Addie will never know what a cassette tape is...let alone a record player!), and she'd be my audience as I'd dance around her little huge den! When I was older, we'd stay up watching movies and eating sausage biscuits. And before I'd go to bed, she'd tell me stories about my mom and aunt. She was such a kind, loving woman!

And I am so thankful that Addie has two wonderful grandmothers who love her so much! She's so fortunate to have these two beautiful women in her life! The Then and Now posts would not be complete without a grandparents post! So stay tuned to see the grandfathers tomorrow!

Then and Now: Day 3

We were so fortunate to have one of those fabulous travel systems given to us by Addie's Gramma and Grandpa. We loved using the infant car seat, being able to transport her in and out of the car without waking her up right into her stroller. But...we had a long, tall baby. Suddenly she had to literally fold up to fit in the car seat, and she outgrew it at 6 months of age! We're so excited her new little cousin will be using it now!

And we were on to the Britax Marathon. Again, love it! She had more room to move around. All of a sudden she could move her arms and shoulders again and stretch out her legs. The stretching out of the legs didn't last long though. We are thrilled that she'll be able to turn around and face forward when she turns one (or round about that time). Besides looking forward to her being able to stretch those legs out, she won't have to stretch her neck to hold her head up so she can see out the windows anymore either!

Durning Bible study today, I was watching a mom with her 3 month old. I'm certain Addie wasn't that small at 3 months, but never the less...she was that small at some point and it just amazed me! And as I was typing this...I looked up to see her holding the remote...with both hands...standing all by herself right in front of me. She loves her new found mobility, and even with it's added challenges, it's completely awesome to witness her grow and develop right before our eyes!

I've got to go pry her away from cruising around her Leap Frog music table so I can feed her and put her down for a nap. More Then and Nows to come!

Then and Now: Day 2

**Update: Of course Addie proved me totally wrong! She slept until 4:30am this morning! I'll write a post like this once a month if she'll go back to that predictable schedule!

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When Addie was little, we could lay her in her bed sideways, like below, without her feet or head even touching the sides...and she'd never move!!! Now when we lay her in her bed, she can manage to turn herself sideways...but in order to stay that way, she has to prop her feet up because she's too long, like below!

Sleep is such a finicky thing with babies. I know, I know...of course our baby girl sleeps through the night and has since she was 2 weeks old. Right? Not! Maybe a few times, of course; but I don't think that constitutes as being consistent! Now, I'm not saying that some babies don't in fact do that! I know many moms might not admit that their child doesn't sleep through the night! All of us want our babies to...right? In all honesty, Addie was sleeping through the night for a while. Then we started traveling over and over, she got sick, the teeth started coming in...and then all of that repeated itself! One night, we get a whole 10 hours. The next night, she's up 3 times? She is doing considerably better developing healthy sleep habits, especially with napping. So...like I said, sleep is such a finicky thing.

I can't say that I always love getting up with her...but I can honestly say that I am incredibly thankful that we have a baby who's 1.) healthy, 2.) a good eater, and 3.) attached to us! So even in a pure state of utter exhaustion, I cannot help but thank God for our baby girl as I lay her back in her bed at 3 a.m.

I suppose it's really all just good payback...my mom told me just the other day that I didn't sleep through the night until I was in kindergarten. ...it might be a long 5 years!

Then and Now: Day 1

Over the past few weeks, my friend Lauren started doing "Then and Now" posts for her little girl who will turn ONE next week!!! I think know we're both a little sentimental about out babies turning one! Well, I loved her idea and thought I'd attempt a few myself over the next month. I certainly have too many enough pictures! So here's my first Then and Now posts: