Friday, September 30, 2011

Laundry Room Redo

Last week we decided to add some more shelving to our laundry room for a little bit of extra storage.  Since we don't have a pantry, and we added a family member to our clan, we are running low on kitchen storage. 

When I looked at the laundry room, I decided that it needed much more than a few more shelves.  It was time to paint.  And boy are we glad we did.  That one small change made a HUGE difference in the eyesore that was our laundry area.  ("Area" is probably a way more appropriate word than "room", as that spot is most certainly not large enough to be classified as a room.)

Here are the before and afters.....and a little video too!

Before:




And After!:





I never thought it would make that big of a difference, but the area looks so much more put together and cohesive with the kitchen now.  A small DIY project yes, but we feel great about it!

And here is a little video too, so you can get your Addy fix :)  Happy Friday!



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

8 Months!

Dear Lin Bug,

Happy 8 Month Birthday little lady!  You are growing up so fast, I can hardly believe it.  I've already started thinking about your first birthday party!

We'll begin with your 8 Month photos and throw in some videos a little later.


We have to hold the sign to keep you from grabbing it off the floor and eating it.

Love this one :)


Clapping!


Daddy had to work all day, so Aunt Tina got to be in your monthly photo again!

Here is what's been new with you:

Your hair is really starting to grow in and we always laugh at the little "point" of hair that you have at the base of your skull.  Also you have some random longer strands of hair that go over your ears and we joke that they keep your ears warm.  I adore your sparse hair :)

Also, big news for this month is that miraculously you have been WAY better about napping.  Don't know how or why, but you suddenly decided that it's not worth the fight and you've stopped crying at nap time!  You take two naps a day, for one to two hours each.  You don't always fall asleep immediately, but you barely ever cry, and that has helped mommy's nerves immensely.  One of the most heart-wrenching sounds in the world to a mommy is the sound of her baby crying.  I hate it (and you know it!), so I do whatever I can to make it all better.  But that has lead to another problem.  Daddy laughs because now when I walk in the room and don't pick you up, you cry.  Uh oh.  But when I give you something to play with, you are usually able to amuse yourself for a while.

You are sitting up with no problem and we don't worry about you toppling over as much anymore.  You can also stand for a short time while holding onto something!  For those reasons, we finally lowered your crib this month.  We don't want you hurling yourself out of there!



You love to clap and imitate when other people clap.  It's fun because you know the word, so you'll do it on command!  I still need to get a good video of you clapping, because it's so fun to watch. 

We've discovered that blowing kisses gets you to laugh, and that continues to be Mommy and Daddy's favorite sound in the whole wide world.



You still love to babble and I swear I've heard you say "Mom Mom".  Maybe it's all in my head, but those are the syllables that you sometimes say when you are upset and want to be picked up.  Coincidence?  I think not. ;)  "Da da" is still your favorite word though :)

Your current favorite thing to do is hang out in your doorway jumper. You LOVE it, and it gives those little legs quite the workout!



You are eating more solid foods than last month, and we are up to 3 meals a day like a big girl!  I make all of your food at home and we've been trying something new every week.  In the morning you have a fruit (usually mashed banana) and rice cereal.  Lunch and dinner both consist of one fruit and one veggie with some rice cereal mixed into one of them.  Pretty soon we're going to start you on some meats too.  What fun, huh?! 

You are nursing 4 times a day, and I think we'll park it there for awhile.  Once in the morning, twice during the day, and once before bed.  You spit up so much less than you used to and I think it's a combination of spending more of your time upright and having more solid food in your belly.  You no longer need a bib at all times, although you still spend a lot of time in them because you are a drool factory.  But we do have the occasional days that we declare "bibless" to give you a break. 

You still sleep all night for anywhere from 12-13 hours straight!   Mommy and Daddy love that, so keep it up, OK?  I love putting you to bed and getting you up in the morning.  Those are my two favorite times with you. 

I look forward to seeing your little smiling face every morning.  I try to get up before you (between 6 and 7) so that I can have my coffee and breakfast before we start our day.  Then you usually get up between 7 and 8 (sometimes later, you lazy bones!).  I walk into your room and as soon as you see me, your face lights up like a firefly.  I love that more than you could ever imagine.  You make my face light up too, Addy Marie. 

At night after I feed you we turn off the lights and I stand next to your crib holding you for a minute or two.  And recently you've taken that time to suck your thumb and snuggle into my chest.  You are not much of a snuggler in general, so I love those precious moments with you at the end of the day. 

Addy, you can't even begin to imagine how much you are loved.  Your whole family looks forward to every minute they get to spend with you, and that fact fills my heart with joy.  You truly are the light of our lives.   I love you so much that it brings tears to my eyes for no reason sometimes!  I hope that every mother feels the intense love for their babies that I feel for you.  It's the best feeling in the world.  I thought I knew love before you, but I had no idea.  You are my precious baby, my bestest bud, my little girl. 

I love your forever and for always.

Love,
Mommy

Monday, September 26, 2011

33 and 34 Weeks

Time for me to get all caught up with my posting.  Here are Addy's weekly pics from the past two weeks, and then tomorrow she will be 8 months old!

I believe she is saying, "I'd prefer if you pick me up right now instead of taking these dumb pictures."


This is what happens with my sign every week within seconds of laying it down next to her.  I have to be very quick about obtaining my pictures, and I've given up on always getting a smile. ;)

Not the most lady like pose in the world, but it was the best I could get.  Ha ha!

This little blue tray is her favorite part of the elaborate step and play piano that Mike bought her.  It's the little things :)

A little cross eyed ;)


As of the past few weeks, I would definitely say that Addy's favorite activity is jumping around in her doorway jumper, especially in her PSU slippers! ......

It's so cute how she holds on to the handles!

I love this.  In the previous picture I was annoyed that the little toy on the tray blocked her smile , so I took it off.  Addy immediately went into scientist mode, exploring every crevice of that tray since I dismounted the toy.  Ha ha, our little explorer!

Happy girl!


Saturday, for the Penn State game, Addy decided to sport the shirt and headband to support her team.....
And the bib....momentarily...until she decided to try to eat it.

I adore that toothless, gummy grin :)

Notice how another one of her favorite toys made it into the background?  Yup, that red rubber bracelet still intrigues her.

When I first put the PSU outfit on Addy, Mike said that she looked like a boy, so out came the headband...which she immediately proceeded to pull off.  I've figured out that the trick is to put it on and then quickly distract her so that she forgets she's wearing it.  Of course, as any good PSU child, Addy has the cheerleader outfit too, but we decided to save that one for a game when we have people over, or if we go out to watch one.  If that ever happens.  If not, then she will wear it proudly for her parents to oooh and ahhh over.  And perhaps there will be a picture or two :)

So that's the scoop from the past two weeks.  It is 7:54 AM and Addy is still asleep.  I seriously have to wake her up almost every morning.  If she's not up by 8, I wake her.  Crazy, I know.  But I find that her day goes more smoothly if she's up around 8.  We put her in a disposable diaper last night with lots of diaper cream, so we'll see how that rash looks this morning.  Poor, poor Addy.  Although I honestly think I took it a lot worse than she did.  I felt so terrible all day and I cried about it again.  Addy spent a lot of the day in the nude with her mom fanning her fanny, so she was happy as a clam.  Ha ha!  The things we do for our children.






Sunday, September 25, 2011

Mom of the Year

Yup, I've done it again.  Won that Mom of the Year Award.  Sigh. 

Warning: Lots of mentions of poop in this post.....

So last night after we put Addy to bed she remained awake for quite awhile (maybe 20 minutes), chatting to herself in the crib.  That is quite unusual for her, as she usually falls asleep almost immediately after we lay her down.  We were sitting downstairs watching TV and the baby monitor was on so we could hear her little convos with herself. 

Then came the grunt.  I looked at Mike and asked "Do you think she's pooping?"  It would be very uncharacteristic, since she almost NEVER poops after we lay her down for the night.  But then again she's not usually awake for that long after we lay her down either. 

I was folding laundry and said "Maybe I should go and check her diaper.  After I'm done folding I'll go do that."  But by the time I was done, it was clear that she had fallen asleep.

So I thought, "Oh well, I'm sure she didn't poop."  And I didn't think about it again.  She slept for the rest of the night.

7:45 AM rolls around and Addy wakes up for the day.  Again, just chatting to herself in her crib.  Not crying or appearing upset in any way.  So I went to get her, took the diaper off, and OH. MY. GOSH!  Her poor little bottom was bright red with open areas and was weeping a little bit.  And, of course, there was poop in the diaper.

I instantly felt like the worst mother on the planet.  I literally had tears in my eyes.  I had a hunch that she might have pooped last night, but I talked myself out of it because she fell asleep.  Why, oh why, didn't I change her diaper?????  Instead I let her sit in it all night.  And that rash looks absolutely terrible.

So today, ever since she woke up, she has been rolling around naked on towels while I fan her bottom trying to dry out that weeping rash.

She has peed on four towels so far.  And pooped on one.  And played with it before I could catch her.   Good times.

But she has been so pleasant.  (Thank goodness her all time favorite thing is to be naked.)  She has only cried when she peed, because I'm sure it hurts like heck.  So I quickly wash off her bottom and then continue my job of fanning her.  I really want to dry that rash out, and then I will put some cream on to act as a barrier and help heal it.

So this morning has been filled with laundry, baths, fanning my baby's bottom, and scouring the internet for diaper rash cures. 

Poor Addy.  Like I said, Mom of the Year.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

PA Bound!

Man, I am really getting behind on my posts!  Mike has been working later shifts lately, so we've been doing a lot of house projects/errands during the day, and by the time he leaves for work I am too tired to blog.  For some reason, I prefer to write in the morning.  Once afternoon (or especially evening) hits, I have no blogging motivation.

Anyway, for a few months now our little family had been planning a trip to PA to visit my Dad and step mom at their cabin.  We were also gonna catch the PSU vs. Alabama game while we were at it ;)

But, once again, Mother Nature threw a wrench in our plans.  Our trip did not go as planned for several reasons, but most importantly, we weren't physically able to get to my Dad's cabin.  There was severe flooding in that area of PA and they were actually evacuating people by helicopter!  Crazy weather we've had lately!

So the night before we were supposed to leave my Dad called and said to just hang tight in NC for now.  Mike and I were in bed, and the car was packed and ready to go in the AM.  We looked at each other and knew we were thinking the same thing.  We're going....regardless.  Maybe not to the cabin, but we were going to PA to visit family one way or the other.  We didn't do all of that packing and planning for nothing.

So I called my sister, who said the roads were clear to get to her house, so if all else failed, we were heading to Philly.   At that point in time my Dad and step mom were en route to their cabin and couldn't make it there, so they had to turn around and attempt to get back home.  Which was no easy task.  Six hours, 2 dead animals, and one dented truck bumper later....they made it.

So, we decided to head to their house in Allentown instead.  Not a fun car trip with Miss Marie, but we made it... a little bit frazzled, but unscathed.  She slept for less than 2 of the 9 hours and cried for about half of the trip.  Yuck.  But once we got there and sorted some things out, we had a great time.

Here are her weekly photos we took the morning that we left.  Should've known by her face that it was gonna be a rough ride...

Ha ha, how grumpy does she look?



But, you know me, I wouldn't stop until I got some form of a smile, so here we are...

I remember that it took me a loooooong time to coax this out!


When we got there my Dad took Addy to the park to swing for the first time.  He said she was a little bit skeptical at first, but then she relaxed and enjoyed the ride.  We all wanted to see her in all of her swinging glory, so the whole fam headed back to the park the next day.

Just chillin'



Looking very serious


Love it!  It was a little bit sunny, so I ran (literally) back to the house to get her hat.


Playing with Grandpa


Mommy, Addy, and Grandpa


Ha ha, it seems as though I had the wrong bib on her that day.


She was very happy in her swing :) ....


So Mommy and Daddy decided to give it a whirl!


We all laughed because it looked like she was trying to pump her legs like us!


Daisy was happy to be included in a day at the park :)


Addy's great grandparents came up for a visit...




And Aunt Tina too....

Ha ha, one of Addy's favorite toys on that trip was an empty water bottle.  She would chew on it and play with it for a long time!


Playing at Grandpa's house!


Love this one!  Addy loves having so many playmates!

Grandpa and Grandma Beth getting ready to head to the PSU game!  Pap and Grandma Hetrick watched Addy for the day.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home again....

Addy followed us back to NC in her own car ;)

All in all, we had a great trip and loved hanging out with our family.  I know I say this a lot, but every time I come home from being with our extended family I think it... Addy has A LOT of people that love her!  And whether we live near or far that will never change.  And that's the most important thing.




Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Beach Baby

We just got back from our beach vacation a few days ago, and we are getting ready to head out to a mountain vacation tomorrow!  Busy bees lately!

Get ready, this post is gonna be really, really long!

So, it was Addy's first beach vacation, and Daisy's first and LAST beach vacation.  It was just too much having Daisy there too, especially with her bestest bud Holly.  They are both awesome dogs, but together it's nonstop action, and it's exhausting to be around.  And whenever we went to the beach, they spent their time crying for us to return.  Poor Grandma and Grandpa had to listen to crying dogs all week.  And then after one dog peeing on the rug, and the other dog vomiting on the rug and escaping from the porch (yup, that second dog was our gal Daisy), we made the decision to leave the pups at home next year.  Sorry girls.  It was too much...much, much too much.

But on the other hand, Addy was sooo fun at the beach!  (Good thing, because I don't think leaving her at home next year would be an option ;))  It took her a little bit of time to get used to it, but by the end of the week, she loved the beach.  Thank goodness, because you can't be a girl in this family and not be a beach bum!


These little wading pools that creep up with high tide are the perfect spot for little ones.  They can still play in the water, but it's warmer and not as scary as the big bad ocean.  Addy had her little pile of sand toys and she lasted a surprisingly long time there.

Hurricane Irene messed us up a little bit, and we didn't get to the beach until Sunday night, but it could've been soooo much worse.  There was no damage to our beach house, and the house had power, so we were very lucky.

Day one: Monday:


We didn't make it very far out of the house with Addy Marie.  She lasted maybe 15 minutes at the beach.  Here is one of the few pics from that day. 


She didn't tolerate being put down at all, and was only content to be carried around.  I guess I can't blame her.  I can only imagine how scary the ocean must look to a little baby.  So Grandma Hetrick was more than willing to tote Addy around and show her the ropes.  How cute are they in their beach hats? :) 


(Notice the giant log in the ocean?  Yup, its part of a pier that was destroyed in the hurricane.  One of the reasons we decided not to venture into the ocean until later in the week.  Who knows what other debris was floating around.)

Day two: Tuesday:

It was a little bit overcast that day, so we decided to take Addy to the aquarium.  It was a great time, and I can't wait to do more fun things like this with her!

Getting ready to head into the aquarium

Hanging with Pap and Grandma

Addy's favorite part of the aquarium was the tank with the Lion fish in it.  She was mesmerized by them.  So as we were leaving Mike secretly ducked into the gift shop and came out with this....Addy's own stuffed Lion fish.  It was the sweetest thing :)  (And he says he's not wrapped around her little finger... I beg to differ :))

Day 3: Wednesday:

Addy and her new pal Lionfish.  (Note Tina's monogrammed pillowcase in the background.  My sis is high class.)


Went to the beach, but stayed on the blanket under the umbrella to try to ease her in.  She loved that watering can.... not so much that bottle with water in it.  She has zero interest in drinking water.

Then at lunch time we decided to try carrots for the first time!
A little unsure at first, as always.



"Done, done, done, DONE!  No more carrots!"

That evening we headed into Beaufort for some dinner....

where Tina and Mom got the biggest dish of creme brulee ever!

Addy and Grandma at dinner.  It was nice having so many people help with Addy at the restaurant.  The girl has no patience when we are out to eat, and will only tolerate it if you walk around with her.  Which is why the frequency of our little family of three going out to eat is rapidly decreasing...which I suppose is a good thing anyway.  Time for me to get cookin'!

Not the greatest family photo in the world, but there we are.  Ha ha!



Day 4: Thursday:
We finally ventured into the water and it took her a minute, but she ended up loving it!  (As long as she had her watering can of course.)

About to fall over, but Grandma is right there to catch her!

How cute is that little hat that my mom bought Addy in Beaufort the day before?!

Mike and I with our little beach baby!  It was such a gorgeous day!


Day five: Friday:

Get ready for this....I forgot to take Addy's weekly pics on Thursday.  Huge news, I know.  Ha ha!  But it was the first week since she was born that I forgot to take her weekly pics on Thursday, and I'll admit I was slightly annoyed about it.  Yup, I'm that big of a dork.  Anyway, never fear... we took them on Friday.

"Yay for my Ariel bathing suit!"

A girl in motion!

This is seriously the happiest I have ever seen her in the weekly photos.  But why wouldn't she be happy?  It's vacation!

Ariel was a little big on her so we had to tie the straps together in the back with a strap from one of my bathing suits.  Ha ha!

Out to the beach for our last day!

I got a tip from one of my co-workers to buy a cheap shower curtain, dig a little hole for Addy, lay down the curtain, and fill it with ocean water.  It was a great idea, because she didn't get nearly as sandy, and her little pool of water didn't disappear down into the sand.  Brilliant, albeit a little ghetto looking...

The view from afar.  Daddy fishing while Pap and Grandma look on.  Addy played in her little "pool" for honestly about an hour!  I could not believe how content she was in there....


So much so that we decided to try out the ocean....

Bad call.  Ha ha!  But she did get kinda used to it after awhile.

And then all it took was a little bit of Aunt Tina and a break from the beach to make it all better :)


Whew, so that was our beach trip in pictures.  Ridiculously long, but you know I had to capture every moment of Addy's beach adventure.  And in case the pics weren't enough, here are some videos...




Ok, this post is long enough....hope everyone enjoyed watching Addy's first trip to the beach!  We had such an awesome time and we're already looking forward to taking her next year! 

Now it's time to get packing for our mountain trip!