happy birthday addie

today you turned a month old.

i can't believe a month ago my life completely changed.

my favorite moments with you addie jane are when its the middle of the night - and its so quiet - except for your heavy breathing as you guzzle your bottle down. i also love you right after a bath - you smell so sweet - and your hair is so fuzzy and curly. i love when i hold your face close to mine and sing to you - your lips form an O as if you are trying to sing with me, and you make your cute little ooooh sound. i love taking pictures of you - you are a such a little ham. i love dancing to stevie wonder with you...now that we have the sling...i can really explore the room. you are such a motion-junkie - the faster the better, which is the coolest thing about you.

you have started doing more than smiling. you follow faces and voices, and love the crinkling of your toy butterfly. you really are a smart little girl, i can tell in your eyes. i can't wait to teach you things about life, about history, about places i have been.

i remember back to when i thought i wasn't going to get to have you. when i thought i couldn't have you. and it seems like so far away. and it seems crazy to have ever thought that. and it may be silly, but i think your G.G. sent you to me. which makes you more than just my little girl. it makes you the greatest gift i have ever been given.

happy birthday ladybug. now please, sleep in for mommy.

my little drama girl...

addie is definitely in charge around the house. her lungs are outstanding. i think there is a broadway star under all that fuss - so i sing to her now and make up songs because she responds (well - as in - stops screaming) when i sing and dance with her. i have started holding her really close to my face and exaggerating my lips as i sing. the picture above shows exactly what she does right back to me.

she makes this "oooh" sound when she does it, and it makes all the screaming worth it - she is probably however - saying "oh, man, my mom really cannot sing, but i will pretend to like it"

oh thanks, but she is only 3 weeks old...

sorry there is not a new picture to post...

its weird...now that she is here - its like i spend most of my days trying to get to know her.

she is a very interesting dramatic little girl..so i am occupied constantly by trying to gain this knowledge about life with my daughter.

so far what i have learned...

1. there is little time to update my blog.

2. i can do just about anything one handed, except get dressed - that is very tricky.

3. she is a motion junkie...when in doubt MOVE with her.

4. my daughter loves the car...hates red lights and wants to make sure that i am reminded at each one.

5. you can't run into ANYWHERE anymore. i don't even say "i have to run to..." anymore - which i think was in my daily vocab.

6. hiccups hurt me more than they hurt her.

7. my daughter can burp louder than i can.

8. at 3 weeks, she looks 6 weeks - or atleast that is what strangers think.

9. i can somehow function on almost NO sleep...outstanding!

10. slings are the greatest things since pre-pregnancy sleep.

11. formula poops smell really bad.... really really bad.

12. her favorite place to be is right up on my shoulder - ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT long.

and of course, i have learned not to take any moment for granted. and that i love her more than i can say. and that everytime she smiles (even if its just gas) i laugh too thinking of how much fun we are going to have together.

here she is boys...

so we are slowly introducing addie to all her cousins...

not that we are afraid they will smother her...but our doctor told us over and over to watch how many children we get her around seeing as its cold and flu season - and winter keeps germs in the house rather than out...

he was pretty clear about the wash hands - and no kid-hold policy...so we are sticking to it.

On Sunday she met her three boy cousins A.J., Bennett, and Ethan...and then Wednesday she briefly met another cousin threesome, Zach, Noah, and Josh.

The boys wanted very little to do with her...she isn't very exciting right now, oh but wait boys, just wait a few years.

(that is my sister's littlest boy Josh in the picture...he is soon to be 6 months old...and addie totally has him beat in the hair dept.)

addie's day out

so, it was in the 70's today...so greg and i took addie on a mile long trail and stopped every now and then so addie could catch her breath. then we all went to skyline to re-energize and refuel.

can i just say that no matter where i take her, she is a hit. people "awwwww"'d all along the trail, and then they "awwwwwww" 'd us all over skyline.

sometimes all i can do is just "awwwwww" at her too. she is too darn cute.

(and yes, those are 6-9 month pants she has on...next week she is walking the trail - no more stroller stuff for this chick)

yea...me too addie, me too

its funny to me that the first three months of pregnancy you are so tired all you do is sleep...then the second three months you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off...then the third three months you are so tired and you can't sleep...and then wham. baby.

and you are soo tired, you run around like a chicken with your head cut off, and you can't sleep.

is this some kind of cruel joke. is god still getting us back for that whole apple thing cause seriously...get over it already.

addie and i now yawn simultaneously. if only i could just lay there, smack my lips, and have greg fetch me a mountain dew from the fridge - and if he doesn't do it fast enough i could start screaming. im just saying. maybe that could be paybacks for taking the freaking apple in the first place.

shout out to my baby daddy

you never know when you fall in love that you have found a package deal.

i have to admit, like most women, i was nervous about what kind of mother i would make. and well to be honest... i also have to admit that i was nervous about what kind of father my husband would be...would he be hands on?
would he be ...loving?...patient?...helpful?...interested?



and somehow in a weeks time, my husband has shown me that he is all those things and more. i knew he was an emotional softy...but this little girl of ours has him wrapped around her finger, and i for one am so proud of her. he can't wait to hold her, talks to her like they have been old pals for years and years, he soothes her when she is screaming in his ear, he changed his first diaper...and MANY MANY more after that, he cleans bottles, does laundry, checks in on her while he is away, he brings home flowers for her, and has even thanked me for having her.

and i think addie knows it too...when he is near her, she calms down, she moves her face to find him, and made her first kissing noises at him. now, a hormonal mess of a new mom would be jealous, but i hope the bond between them just gets bigger and better - because a girl that looks up to her dad has a strong backbone and a solid heart...

i know from experience.

so thank you babe...addie is the best gift you could have given me...except for all that sleep you let me have last night...that was pretty awesome too.

addie the brave...mom the wimp

sooooo....i remember when greg and i finally got pregnant. one of the first things we said to each other is that we hoped our child would only ever have to go Children's Hospital because we were visiting greg at work.

which brings me to yesterday...when addie decided to once again, show us who's boss.

my sweet little girl came home weds with a level 12 jaundice...15 is bad so they told us to watch her color.

thank god my mom came over yesterday - maybe i didn't want to see it, maybe i thought having her sit in the light of the window was enough...but she was so yellow she was orange. and my very smart mom made me call the doctor.

we were immediately referred to Children's ER...and with every doctor or nurse we got the same reaction "wow, she has a terrific tan..." i have to say, it is WAY more traumatic to the mom than it is to the baby - but seeing her so helpless and pinned down and pricked with an needle was more than i could handle. her little arm, stretched out and taped up just made me lose it. i practically cried for the entire three hours we were there, especially when they said she could possibly be admitted for the night.

in the end, she had a level of 13.2 and we were sent home. poor little girl was all turned around for the night, but she survived. and i am thinking, she has another thing in common with her daddy...his tolerance for pain. thank god.

and thank god for all the nurses and doctors at Children's...they did such an incredible job comforting my daughter and attempting to comfort crazy mommy. one more reason to love cincinnati.