Random Pictures over the Past Month

very serious thinking!

I've never seen such a tiny t-shirt! We donated Addie's cord blood when she was born, and LifeSouth sent her this "6-month" size t-shirt. It's already almost too small for her!

Statistics show that families tend to use their privately banked cord blood in less than 1% of the situations, and it's incredibly expensive to bank and keep. However, those 1% have potentially saved their child from a life threatening illness! Since the odds are so low and there is much research needed in this field, we decided to donate Addie's instead of discarding it in an effort to 1.) help another child or 2.) hope that it or a match is there if Addie needs it one day. You can learn more about this at www.lifesouth.org/lifecord.html

She's holding the rattle! Unfortunately, she actually hit herself in the head with it later on. So...we've opted for smaller (and softer) objects for the time being until she gains better control of her arms/movements. I still thought it was pretty amazing! We've found her grabbing the rings on the toys on her car seat also. She's growing up so fast!

(Neal, Jen, and Will...that would be the rings connected to Mr. Circle, Rectangle, and Triangle).

Fuzz is determined to sleep in either Addie's bed or in her pack-in-play. In an effort to keep her out of both, she's decided the changing table is just as suitable! It's working...for now at least.

Bath time is WAY more fun now...but it's still incredibly hard to put a nightgown on a slightly damp, lotion lathered baby! She's awfully good natured about it though.

getting sleepy but still time for a smile!

Abbey SO sweetly laid her head down on Addie's legs...but Mollie had to be part of the action (before i could snap the picture) and proceeded to almost kiss Addie on the lips! (we prevented that though...so no worries!)

Super Heroes

So I hear from our friends that those classic superheroes are back by popular demand! I never got into superheroes much...I knew about Superman & Superwoman, He-man & She-ra, Batman, Robin & of course the infamous Spiderman & Space Ghost. But...I’ve officially discovered the 1st ever real life superhero...& yes, despite the low probability given above, it’s a woman!

The Qualifications:

1. -remains calm under intense pressure,
2. -provides consistent responses to unpredictable expressions of free will,
3. -has the ability to do a minimum of 3-5 things at once, literally,
4. -strategically balances a minimum of 50 lbs unevenly distributed between arms & hips (with at least 20 lbs of that wiggling), and
5. -comes up with at least two options (one she wants and one that’s undesirable but can be followed through with) for every situation in an effort to persuade & direct a young mind to make a good choice.

Well…today I took Addie (2 months) to Birmingham to visit some college friends and their kids: Allison who has Abigail (3 and a half), Jack (18 months) and Izzy (4 months) and Lauren who has Ryan (14 months). We decided to meet at California Pizza Kitchen. So Allison called ahead and got us a table for 8…with 4 chairs, 2 highchairs, and 2 infant carrier holder things. (see picture below for visual)…and this is where the superhero emerged!

We had so much fun visiting! Abigail got to hold Addie (see below) and told me that when Addie got bigger, maybe she could come over and play with her kitchen and shop! What fun!!! Us girls got to catch up on old friends and share about our kids and things we’re learning (or wish we weren’t learning!). As Allison was taking Abby to the bathroom (with Izzy in tow), Lauren and I were commenting on how well we thought the lunch went. But, what I witnessed during this two hour period was phenomenal…I can’t say that I’ve ever seen any one person be able to maintain all composure while:

• -simultaneously carrying on one conversation with adults and another with a child,
• -cutting up pizza for one while another one cries,
• -keeping the unpredictable “wildcard” from launching his sippy cup across the table (not out of defiance but just a new found talent that only boys seem to find fascinating on a regular basis (I’m sure your son/husband "shoots" (or still shoots) things into the trashcan as if it’s expected...at least mine does)
• -but all the while feeding a baby!

No, there may not be eight kids like the Gosselins or eighteen like the Duggars are soon to have…but I think three under the age of four constitutes as an equivalent! Amazing!

so...with:

• -a minimum of 4 sweet tea refills each,
• -3 fabulous pastas,
• -2 infant feedings,
• -only 1 or so minor meltdowns, and
• -0 complaints of our presence...

we walked away:

• -in 1 piece,
• -leaving only 2 crayons on the floor,
• -with all the contents of 3 diaper bags,
• -maybe 4 or a few more grey hairs than we started with, and
• -all 5 children in tow

but …

with a "super" 50% off coupon, our $60 bill turned into

allowing 3 adults & 2 children to eat for a mere $30!

yes...i have found the new Super Woman!!!

Jack, Allison, Izzy, and Abby

Ryan, Lauren, and Addie

Abby and Jack (eating lemons...something they'd never done before! check out Jack's face!)
Allison knows which battles to pick!

Abigail holding Addie (she's kissing Addie!!!)

visiting at Lauren's house

Our 1st Mother's Day

the family: Paul, Anna, & Addie

sweet Addie

Anna's mom Marie (Rie Rie), Addie, and Anna

Beep Boop Bop

ok...this title deserves an explanation...there's a book we were given called "Belly Button Book!" by Sandra Boynton. Obviously the book focuses on little (and not so little) hippos' belly buttons. The sweet little baby hippo calls his/her belly button a "bee bo." After attempting to read to Addie (at 6 weeks of age), the book ended up on our table. I asked Paul to read it, and he thought the little hippo was so cute (he/she also calls a balloon a "boon.") Well...i'm not sure if Addie's faces or Paul's "game" were cuter...but they were both fun to watch! Paul was saying "beep boop bop" and tapping Addie's paci on her nose, mouth, and chin (etc). Her faces were priceless, and I attempted to capture a few of them below. Enjoy!

Napping in the Crib!

ok...so maybe we're creating bad habits, but everything we read says we can't really create those until after the two month mark. so...we're almost at 7weeks and think its probably about that time where Addie needs to be sleeping in her own room in her crib. she's been sleeping in the pack-in-play in our room at night (makes it much easier for us to get up with her) and for some naps and in our arms or on the move for the rest of them. So we're starting off with naps and it's working...three whole naps for over an hour each! (we've learned to appreciate the small things in life!) We'll get to that nighttime stuff later!

sweet sleep...but enough already...get me up!

mollie "guarding" Addie in her room

and everybody sleeps when Addie sleeps...(or should!)

fuzz and mollie

abbey and winston
(miles opted for going outside to get away from it all for a little while)

the flexibility is still there...for a while at least

a late night (sort of) books-a-million run with Diane and Tim

Addie loves her Di and Tim!