Friday, July 31, 2009

5 months old!

Addison Darby turned five months old yesterday! The time has flown by! I've got to be home with her for five months before going back to work, and have so enjoyed getting to watch her grow and do more new things every day. This little girl has become such a huge part of our lives these last several months, and has filled our hearts with so much joy and love. Sometimes when I lay her down for nap or bedtime I sing the song "I love you with the love of the Lord, I love you with the love of the Lord. I see in you the glory of my King, and I love you with the love of the Lord." It brings tears to my eyes every time, because those words sum it all up for me! We love you baby girl!

Okay, here are some things I want to remember that Addison is doing right now:
  • playing with toys when she has her tummy time
  • doing more things with her little voice: screaming, squealing, fake coughing, cooing
  • laughing more often
  • watching, touching, trying to suck on our dog, layla. yes, she has attempted to try to put layla in her mouth like one of her toys.
  • plays or puts in her mouth a variety of toys. she will also suck or bite down on our fingers or arms...think she might be teething!
  • is doing well with eating oatmeal. she likes the oatmeal better than the rice cereal.
  • can really make herself bounce in her activity bouncer
  • can hold her body up on her legs when we hold her up, and has even started to make herself bounce up and down when we do this.
  • rolled over for the first time today! she has been close to this for a while, but finally did it this morning during tummy time! i've been waiting for this to happen, but she was going to do it when and only when SHE was ready :)
  • has days that she's fine in her carseat and days that she is horrible in the carseat :)
  • still loves to sit up, so we are working on doing this with as little assistance as possible
  • loves grabbing her right foot and hanging on, and has only gone for the left foot a couple of times.

I know there are some other things I'm leaving out, but I think that's the majority of them. I am not good about keeping up with the baby book, so this blog is my way of recording milestones that she's doing month to month :)



Playing with her toys while she's on her tummy.

This was this morning a few minutes before she rolled over for the first time :)
t
This was her in one of her precious outfits after church last Sunday.


Look at that body!



This is the face I usually get when she sees the camera on her.



I helped with VBS a couple of days last week, and we carpooled with the Fitzgerald's those days. I saw this when we opened the door to get them out, and thought it was too cute not to get a picture of. I think this was one of the few trips that Cooper didn't have to listen to Addison fuss the whole time :)


Here's a little video I took the other day when Addison woke up from her nap. Getting her from nap time or in the morning is one of Stephen and I's favorite times, because she's always so happy to see us.

Florida 2009

Addison and I went to Florida a little over a week ago with my parents, siblings, and all my sibling's kids. Of course, we had a great time! Addison got to spend some quality time with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, and got spoiled all week long! I slept in a room with Tiffany and Lesle (two of my sisters), and Addison slept in a closet in the bathroom connected to that room...we definitely pack as many people as we can into my sister's condo. In the morning, Tiffany would get Addison out of her crib when she started talking and stirring, and she loved getting to share in Addison's sweet smiles and excitement she gives in the morning. Every afternoon when it was time for Addison to have her oatmeal, she would sit in papaw's lap while I fed it to her (sad that I didn't get a picture of this)...you make due with a lap when you don't have all your baby accessories with you :) The weather was not hot like Texas' weather has been, so I would take her down in between naptimes to hang out at the beach or pool and she was so content being down there....got to love those ocean breezes! She usually goes to bed for the night between 7:30-8, so I got to stay up and spend time with my family. It was fun staying up late talking, laughing, watching movies!! Can't tell you how much I love my family, and feel so blessed to have them! Here are some pictures from the week. They're kind of showing up blurry on blogger, so hopefully they won't show up as blurry on the post.


Addison at the pool. It is no small feat to get this butterball into a swimsuit :)


Look at that bathing suit bod! she's just soaking the environment in.



My sisters and I lounging at the beach.



Dad and Presley entertaining Addison on the floor.


Coby holding Addison and letting her see his stuffed animal.



My brother, Wes, and his two boys, Aidan and Ethan

Most of the cousins hanging out in the hot tub. It was just the right temperature.


Here are my attempts at getting some beach shot of Addison. It was so bright, so she couldn't open her eyes up all the way and I couldn't tell how the pictures were turning out. I got very few good ones :(


Sam, Coby, and Ethan trying to look for and catch various creatures in the ocean.


Carter holding Addsion. He just got up in the morning...don't you love the morning mohawk!


From the left: Sam, Presley, Coby, Ethan, and Peyton. This was them hanging out and watching TV in our bed one morning.


Here is Same letting Addison play with his guinea pig that he named Fat with Stripes (creative, huh?) This 8 year old boy loves the stuffed animals and has quite the collection...surely he'll grow out of it someday :)

Addison did great on the flights there and back! She has been such a good little traveler thus far. She didn't have any problems sleeping well in a pack n play while we were there....Such a sweet girl! She is 5 months old on Sunday...can't believe how fast the time has gone by!

Monday, July 13, 2009

check-up, shots, and rice cereal...

I took Addison for her 4 month check up last Tuesday. She is doing great! She got her 4 month shots, and barely cried at all. She didn't even seem real affected by the shots that day, which was such a change from last time. Of course, I gave her Tylenol every several hours to help with any pain she might be having, but last time the Tylenol didn't seem to help her feel 100%. Anyways, the doctor was pleased with her progress, and he gave us the okay to start rice cereal and then move to vegetables in another month or so. Here were her stats from her appointment:
Weight: 13 pounds, 10 ounces (50%)
Height: 24.3 inches (50-75%)
Head: 16.8 (90-95%) she doesn't look like she has an abnormally large head for her body, but it is well rounded so maybe that's why it's measuring big :)

This is baby girl after her shots....doesn't really seemed phased by them. She's just chilling in her stroller and trying to eat the straps. She will put anything in her mouth that she gets in her grasp.

Here she is giving me big smiles that afternoon after her shots.


We tried rice cereal for the first time yesterday. She didn't seem to be a big fan of it. She gagged a couple of times, and would frequently purse her lips so I couldn't get the spoon in her month. I mean does a four month old really need to have already figured out that if she purses her lips then it will prevent her from having to eat the rice cereal??? Can we say stubborn? I think Stephen and I are in for quite a ride with this little girl :) I did mix the rice cereal with formula instead of my milk, so I don't know if it was too many new flavors at once. Today, I'm going to try mixing it with my milk to see if a familiar taste mixed with the ceral will get a better outcome. So, it's trial by error, but I'm determined to keep on trying. She may be stubborn but so am I !
I really don't think we could love this little girl anymore than we already do!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Another trip to Memphis :)

So, I'm a little behind in posting about our trip to memphis that we took in the middle of june, so here it goes. This was our first time driving to memphis with addison, so we were not knowing what to expect. It takes about 7 1/2 hours to get from our house to my parent's house, and it took about 8 1/2 hours with a baby....not too bad. Addison usually is a great napper during the day, but not so much in her car seat. She took a few 20-30 minute naps during an 8 1/2 hour car ride :) Despite not getting much sleep, she did really well being in her car seat that long. I sat in the back with her, so i know that helped. She didn't have any big crying fits (just some little ones), which we've experienced before in the city....so, we were so thankful for that.

didn't see much of this during the rides :)



got a little fussy from time to time. not a pretty crier like myself. my face gets all red and splotchy when i cry, too.


trying to get her to sleep in her car seat. paci-check, lovie-check, blanket-check, napping for over 30 minutes - not so much!


trying to keep her entertained in her car seat :)


we had a great trip once we got there. i LOVE going home! it's so nice to get to see all my family by just going to one place. i miss them so much! my mom and sisters watched addison some during the week, so we could got out and do stuff without a baby....don't get to do that a lot when we're in texas due to lack of family close by. here are a few pictures from our week. i was a little better with taking pictures this time.

Carter, Addison, and Presley enjoying some floor time.




Presley and Aidan.





Addison and Carter. Carter loves the babies, and he is always wanting to hold and love on Addison when she's around. He has such a sweet heart!




Addison's first time in the pool, and we decided to make it a family affair. Obviously, we don't spend a lot of time out in the sun :) The pool water was warm, and she seemed to really enjoy it. She had also bypassed her late afternoon nap, so she was in a daze the whole time.




Addison and her cousin Ethan.

4 months!

Man, I have been a bad blogger this month! I wish I had some great excuse as to why I haven't gotten on here and posted some pictures, but the only excuse is that I am lazy :)


Anyways, Addison Darby is four months old today! Time is just flying by, and I have loved getting to spend so much time with her in these first months of her life. Stephen and I's hearts are full of love for this baby girl! I'll say it again "God is good!" At four months, she is still sleeping great, jabbering, and loving her hands. She has gotten some really good back, head, and neck control, so she is starting to really enjoy her bumbo seat, activity jumper, and sitting up with support from her mom and dad. Sometimes, when she is reclined back on one of us, she'll almost do what looks like a crunch to try to sit up some more. She is able to prop herself up on her forearms, but this seems to only happen the most in her crib waking up from naps (she's a belly sleeper) and not during tummy time...oh well! Stephen saw her prop her self up using both arms extended the other day, but I've yet to see her do it for me. She is starting to laugh a little bit, but usually only does this with daddy...obviously she doesn't appreciate my sense of humor :) She loves grabbing for anything around her, and will usually try to put it in her mouth or around her mouth. She's really starting to put some toys in her mouth, especially the little toy rings. She isn't rolling over yet, and doesn't seem close to it. When she's laying on her back, she'll lift her legs up in the air, but doesn't really twist them to the side which would probably help with the rollingng over process.....all in due time I guess :) Here are a few pictures of her this past month. I'm planning on doing another post about our trip to Memphis, so more pictures are to come :)




The only picture I could get of her propping herself up on her forearms.


Playing in her activity jumper. The picture is a little blurry, because she was making herself bounce.




Picture taken today, she's so happy about her 4 month birthday!


Putting her rings in her mouth.


"Do you love me or what, mom?"