The Smith Family

Graham is 9 months old!!

2011-08-10T07:26:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures of him on his actual nine month birthday:

Love those bright blue eyes!

He gets to play with his spoon after meals :)

All over the place and getting into things that he shouldn't!

Well, obviously a lot has happened in nine months, and I'm not about to try to catch up on it all. So, we are going to jump from Graham at 2 weeks to now nine months old. WOW, how time flies! Graham was definitely a surprise blessing, but God knows what we need more than we ever could. This little man has filled our hearts and blessed our lives beyond belief, and I am so grateful to be able to be his momma. Here's what Graham is up to at 9 months:

Crawling everywhere and pulling up to his knees and feet all the time!
Has two teeth on the bottom and working on more, I think.
Continues to be a great night time sleeper and pretty good napper. In the morning, he will get up and just chill in his bed until we come to get him...such a sweet boy!
Eating fruits and veggies along with his bottles.
Starting to introduce more finger foods. Not as good at self feeding as I would like, but gets better every day.
Making noise, but not a ton of babbling going on. As a speech therapist, I'm trying not to let this bother me, but we are working on it :)
Loves shoes. He has shoe radar, and can find shoes anywhere. He will do all he can to get to the shoe no matter what stands in his way (i.e. objects, couch).
Smiles and giggles frequently...LOVE it!
Wearing size 3 diapers and mostly nine month clothes.
Can clap his hands.
Responds to his name and momma and Addison saying "No, sir."
Enjoys being in the water at bath time and our little kiddie pool.
Tries to put anything and everything in his mouth!
He has what we refer to as "old man" hair. It likes to lay flat on his head and parted over. We will try to spike it up, but it's only a matter of time until it flat on his head and parted over :)

I think those are the highlights about our little man at nine months. Graham has been such a sweet, easy baby! Addison has adjusted well to having a little brother, and they are interacting more and more with each other with each passing month.

Graham, we love you more than words can express! You have filled our lives and hearts with so much joy!

Graham's first two weeks..

2010-11-25T10:03:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from Graham's first two weeks of life. He has been such a sweet boy, and we are hoping that continues :) I didn't intend for all these pictures to be him with his eyes closed...oops! Our friend, Jenn, took newborn pictures of him recently that have him awake, so I'll post those soon. We love this little man! We went to his 2 week check up this past week and here are his two week stats:
Weight: 7 lb., 14 oz - 25-50%
Height: 20.8 inches - >75%
Head: 14.8 - >75%

Introducing..

2010-11-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

Graham Caleb Smith
Born on November 9, 2010
At 7:43 a.m.
Weighing 7lbs., 10 oz.
19 inches long

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet baby boy! We fell instantly in love with our little man, and feel blessed beyond measure to have two of God's blessings to raise. Addison has handled the adjustment pretty well so far :) Here he is....

Pictures and what Addison's been up to...

2010-08-10T06:54:00.001-07:00

We had some pictures taken of Addison in July, and those were several of my favorites.

Here are some things that I want to remember that Addison has been doing from 15-17 months (Warning: May be boring but these are things I want to remember about her at this age, so feel free to stop reading):

Talking. She started with a good amount of single words at 15 months, but since then her vocabulary has really increased. She now uses 2 word phrases (i.e. see it, see ___, ___ please, hold it, sit down, come here) a good amount of the time and will throw in some 3 word phrases in, too.
Can say and identify about 10 body parts.
Knows a lot of different animals and can make the animal sound that goes with a good amont of them.
She's a good eater for the most part. Don't get me wrong, every now and again she'll have her picky times.
Still sucks her thumb when sleepy and some for comfort depending on the situation.
LOVES her blankets, babies, and stuffed animals!!! She has really started playing with her baby dolls by putting them on her shoulder, putting blankets around them, telling them to sit down, and telling us 'shhh' when she's holding them. Addison has also started becoming interested in purses and putting things in her little purse :)
When she sees a something on the floor or if she gets near the trash she says 'gross' or 'nasty.' She will also throw her trash away when I tell her to.
She still loves to be read to.
Can identify and say the names of a lot of family members and some friends.
Likes Elmo and Abbie on Sesame Street.
At the end of our prayers when we say 'in Jesus name', she will usually say 'Amen.'
Knows that the pantry holds some of her favorite snacks, and will go over to it and ask for the ones she wants. Of course, we don't just give them to her whenever she asks, even when that sweet face adds a 'please' with the request :)

Okay, I'm going to stop now!!!

Addison, you have brought such joy to our lives! We love you more than words can express, and we feel so blessed to be your parents!

Summer update

2010-08-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

Well, I've had the summer off and completely slacked on keeping up with the blog. During most of Addison's nap times this summer, I've done a lot of resting myself and not a lot of house work or blogging :) I'm using pregnancy (by the way we are officially have a BOY)and keeping up with a toddler as my excuse, because next summer will probably not be as restful with 2 little ones in the house. In June, we started out the summer with a trip to Jackson, MS to visit my oldest sister, and spent the rest of the month hanging out at home and doing some playing in the water. In July, we had the Smith family reunion in town, went to Heber Springs, AR with my whole family, and finished the month with a trip to St. Louis, MO (mostly kid free). Addison spent 6 days with my family in Tennessee, and from all accounts from my family was a good girl who just went with the flow. Here are some pictures from the summer in no certain order (excuse the random placement of pictures and caption...blogger was being difficult).

Splashing around at the sprinkler park when we went to Aunt Tiff's

Addison and daddy at the St. Louis zoo.

Stephen and I in one of our few pictures together from out St. Louis trip.

Addison loves to help me load the dryer and put the dry laundry in the basket :)

Snoozing on the way home from family reunion activities.

She loves for us to put daddy's hats on her head.

Relaxing with her cousin Dean when they were in town from FL for the family reunion.

Hanging out in Aunt Ashlee's play room.

Swimming with Aunt Tiff at her pool

Pictures from Heber Springs:

Father's Day

2010-06-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Father's Day. Of course, Stephen and I forgot to get pictures of him and Addison together until bed time, but we got some :) Stephen is in LOVE with his baby girl, and it warms my heart to see them interact together. Of course, she loves her daddy. One of the best parts of the day is to see her get excited, yell 'dada', and usually race to the back door when she hears the garage open when Stephen gets home....so sweet! He is such a great dad to our sweet girl. Most every night, he bathes her, gives her her milk before bed, brushes her teeth, and puts her to bed so he can get some special time in with her before bed time, since she goes to bed early. I can't count how many times he's said to me 'Did you know we would love her this much?, She is just so sweet, She is so precious.' There is no doubt in my mind that Addison will always feel treasured by her dad!

Happy Father's Day, Babe! We love you!

Here is Addison giving Stephen a kiss.

And she's off...

2010-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a little late posting about this....Addison started walking about three weeks ago! She has now gotten pretty steady on her feet. She's slowly but surely putting her arms down near her sides more often instead of having them up like she's riding a roller coaster :) It's so cute to see her little body walking around! She really enjoys walking around outside. Here is a video of her today. Please excuse the crazy hair! This was right after she got home from the sitter, and her momma didn't redo her hair for the video shoot :) Also, please forgive the video being sideways...my phone decided to have a mind of it's own today.

Addison is.....

2010-05-08T04:02:00.000-07:00

GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!
We found out about 6 weeks ago that we were pregnant again! This was not expected, so we were blown away! What can I say, God's timing isn't the same as ours :) The due date for this baby is November 18th. So, Addison will be 20 months, when this baby is born. It's slowly starting to sink in that we are having another baby. We went yesterday for a 12 week sonogram, and everything looked good. The doctor said it looked like we were going to be having a BOY, but we won't know for sure until our 20 week sonogram. Of course, we feel beyond blessed to be having another baby! A couple of verses from one of my favorite Psalms have been on my mind lately.
Psalm 139:13-14:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!

Here is a picture of our newest addition from our 12 week sonogram:

We are still here!!!

2010-05-01T06:38:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been about 2 months since I last posted! I've just been a little lazy with blogging as my friend, Becky, recently reminded me. I've been meaning to update for a while, but just haven't made time. A lot has changed with 'Miss' Addison since I blogged last. She is at such a fun age, and it seems like she is doing something new everyday. We are in love! Summer break is around the corner, and I'm excited about spending the summer having fun with my little girl, family, and friends! So, for those of you that care, here is what Addison Darby has been up to the last couple of months:

She has been eating only table food for almost 2 months. This milestone just happened in a matter of a week after she turned one. I was worried that it was going to take a lot longer for that transition to happen. As of right now, she's not a picky eater. She eats a good variety of fruits and vegetables, and will eat what we are eating most of the time.
She drinks whole milk mostly from a straw sippy cup, but we still give her a bottle at night. We will probably eliminate that shortly....I was going to stop when her bottle liners were all used up.
She is saying and mimicking a lot of different words. Some of the words are clear, but a lot of them are close approximations of the word. Some words that I can think of that she says on her owns are: mama, dada, bye, go, cracker, baby, bear, dog, ball, book, diaper, this, that. She will mimick a lot of words we say, but doesn't say them spontaneously. She can also sign 'more, all done' and is starting to sign 'milk.' Lately when she's been babbling while she plays, she'll put both hands up with palms facing up like she is asking a question...it's pretty cute!
She still loves bath time, being read to, songs with hand motions, playing peek a boo, and her stuffed animals and blankets.
She isn't walking yet, but is really close. This morning she took a step or two by herself. Of course, the steps were taken in pursuit of food items that her parents were eating.
If you have food in your hand, she will find you to get a bite or the whole thing :)
We don't have scales at our house, but we think she weighs between 18 and 19 pounds. She seems to have definitely put on weight after she started eating all table food.
Her hair is getting longer and seems to have gotten lighter.
She now has 6 teeth with more that seem to be coming soon by the look and feel of her gums
She is still an affectionate little girl. We love her laying her head on our shoulder and kisses!

Okay, I think those are the highlights from the last couple of months. She has been busy!

We don't have any real big plans for the summer. Hopefully, she will enjoy the pool this summer, so we can spend a lot of time with friends and family swimming. Stephen and I want to get away on a trip just the two of us somewhere in the states, but of course we haven't planned anything. If any of you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Here are some pictures. These are all taken with the camera on my phone. I haven't been good about getting our camera out and taking pictures :(

Addison had popcorn for snack yesterday for the first time and liked it.

She loves crawling into Layla's bed, and Layla is happy to oblige :)

Being silly!

Here she is on Easter.

This was taken yesterday. It is getting hard to get good pictures of her, because she is not really loving being still and cooperative for the camera.

Addison will be 14 months old tomorrow!!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Addison!!

2010-03-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Addison! I can't believe you are a year old, today. A year ago today our lives and hearts were forever changed in more ways than we could have imagined! We fell completely in love with you. It has been such a joy to watch you change and grow this past year. Your smiles, laughs, and cuddles make any day better :) We are honored that the Lord chose us to be your parents. Happy Birthday, Addison Darby! Our hearts are overflowing with love for you, our sweet baby girl!

Here are some pictures from the past year:

Her birth day: March 2, 2009

4 months

6 months

9 months

10 months

Today, on her first birthday!

Good to know...

2010-02-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

It's good to know that Addison is still capable of having a meltdown in the car at 11 months of age :) To her credit, it was naptime. We had just dropped my parents off at the airport and were heading home. But goodness grief, this girl was none too happy. She doesn't do this much at all anymore, so it made me a little sad hearing her all upset. We finally made it home, and her crying ceased the minute I got her out of the car seat. Love this little stinker!!

Christmas (Better late than never)

2010-02-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am finally posting pictures from Christmas. We had Addison's first Christmas with my family in Memphis. We had a great week. Here are some pictures from Addison's first Christmas and other activities we did that week:

Addison being held by her cousin, Sam.

Ethan, my nephew, cheesing it for the camera as always.

Getting some lovin' from her cousin, Carter.

Playing with her cousins, Presley and Coby.

Matthew, Ethan, and Wes at Carter's basketball game.

At her first basketball game sitting with her Aunt Lesle

"Playing" doll house with Presley.

Uncle Jason and Presley

Papaw and Sam

Getting a bottle from Uncle Wes

Unwrapping some of her gifts on Christmas Eve

Is she going to unwrap this or just put it in her mouth???

Playing with Carter

Playing with the gifts Santa brought her. She got this dog that looks similar to Layla, and she loves this animal!!!

11 months

2010-02-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

WOW!! Our sweet baby is almost a year old! I'll say it again....this year has flown by! She is such a joy to us, and we feel beyond blessed to be her parents. We can't get enough of her sweet snuggles, her smiles, her laughs.....do we sound in love or what?? As always, I have some things that I want to remember that she's doing right now:(just a warning, this may be long but this is basically her baby book....pictures are below)

Eating a little more table food. Wish this was a faster process with her, but it's not. Progress is being made, so I need to be okay with it.
She has 3 teeth now (one on the bottom, two on the top). I can feel the second bottom one (which will be tooth #4) just under the gums, so I assume it will be poking through anyday now.
She is finally pulling up a lot. Now that's she's pulling up, she has even tried to move to the sides a little bit while she's holding on to things. Still think we aren't too close to walking. I have learned that she does everything in her time. I didn't think she could really pull up without a lot of coersion and assistant until I saw her do it effortlessly one day like she had been doing it for weeks :)
She is jabbering/talking a lot, and it's so funny to listen to! It's like she is having a conversation with us or her toys, but we are just not sure what she's trying to say to us :)
She is still imitating/approximating some words. She can spontaneously say 'mama, dada, do (for dog).' We have frequently heard her imitate us when we say 'bye-bye, ah du (all done), aya (layla), dipu/bipu (diaper).'
She can find some of the toys we ask for, mostly just the ones that are her favorites.
Loves most all her stuffed animals, especially her chihuahau dog that looks like Layla.
She frequently will show us what she's playing with and/or bring it to us.

I think those are the main things I want to remember. Now, here are some pictures of her from the past few weeks :) The first four are of her on her official eleven month birthday.

We love you, Addison Darby!!!

10 months old

2010-01-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

Addison turned 10 months old on January 2, 2010. It's hard to believe her 1 year birthday is going to be here before we know it. It's been a busy and fun month with holiday travel. I wanted to post some things that we want to remember about Addison at 10 months. She is pulling up to her knees, but hasn't started pulling up to her feet without our assistance. So, I don't think she'll be walking anytime soon. She now has one of her front teeth, which now makes one on the top and one on the bottom. The only down side to these two teeth is that she will grind them together, and it's not a great sound to listen to. She is mimicking us a lot with her voice when we make sounds and say simple words, which warms this speech pathologist's heart :) She is really enjoying her new toys, and doing more with them than just putting them in her mouth. We got her a stuffed animal for Christmas that looks like Layla, and she loves that stuffed animal. We are still trying to introduce some more solid foods, and so far she really loves and goes back for more of the various crackers and breads.....big suprise! She has tried various meats, cheese, yogurt, and vegetables, but doesn't eat a lot of these. All in good time I guess. This past week, she has started taking only formula, which turned out to be a really easy transition. She is crawling everywhere and will find us wherever we are....so long, privacy! I think those are the highlights at 10 months. Stephen and I love this girl more than we ever imagined, and are loving how every month we see more and more of her personality coming through....we're thinking she might be a little firecracker! Thank you God for our sweet baby girl!

A picture of her on her actual 10 month birthday.

Who needs toys....

2009-12-31T12:50:00.001-08:00

Who needs toys to play with when you have..... (these pictures were all taken with my phone, so the quality of them isn't the best)

a suit case (I was trying to pack and she was taking everything out),

shoes,

laundry basket, clean/folded laundry,

mommy and daddy's jackets and shirts,

and bras.

Oh the joys of having a mobile baby! We definitely can't keep our eyes off her for too long :)

Holiday and 10 months (can't believe it) post to come!

9 months old

2009-12-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Addison turned 9 months old on Wednesday, December 2nd. We are completely in love with this little 'pumpkin'! We recently got a card in the mail from Stephen's oldest sister about 'Things you'll soon discover with your new baby girl,' and we both loved the words because they were so true. Here is what the card said:

"That raising your own princess beats any fairy tale. That a lot of great big people can be wrapped around one tiny finger. That a toothless smile can light up the world like instant sunshine. That watching her sleep is (sometimes) more satisfying than finding sleep yourself. And most of all...that there's no greater joy than having a little girl to love."

We went to the doctor today for her 9 month checkup, and here are her stats: weight- 16 lb. 15oz. (25%), height - 26.8 inches (25-50%), and head - 18.3 inches (>97%). She had not gained much weight in the past 3 months, so I was a little concerned since from birth to 6 months she hasn't had any trouble packing on the pounds. My doctor was not at all concerned. He said that her height and weight were average to above average up until now, but now her genetics have kicked in....meaning that she comes from small parents, so she's not going to be a big girl. He said her weight is just right for her size, so that eased my worries! You just worry so much about them gaining weight in the first 6 months, so now you have to get in the mind set that if they are healthy and developing normal then it's okay that they're not gaining a ton of weight. anyways, here are somethings i want to remember that she's doing at 9 months:

crawling
getting into everything. she loves shoes and will crawl to wherever she can spot a pair!
continues to love books and being read to
waves alot and will sometimes approximate 'bye-bye' when we say it
claps
starting to really mimic mom and dad when we babble with her. the other day at a restaurant, there was a kid throwing a fit across the room. everytime she'd hear him squeal, she'd squeal back...it was cute!
babbling various consonant-vowel combinations
still loves to be sung to
getting feisty when things don't go the way she would like (don't know where she gets this from). this is usually worse when she's tired
just got her first tooth
loves layla! will frequently crawl to wherever she is to get a grab of her tail, ears, foot, and/or fur, and layla let's her do it for a brief time before she scurries off.
we're starting to introduce some more finger foods, so this should be interesting!

Rocking on a little rocking chair outside of Cracker Barrel.

Addison with her cousins Maddie (left) and Karlie (right) on our Thanksgiving trip in Gulf Shores, AL. These girls gave Addison a lot of lovin' during the trip. Maddie had just given Addison her Hannah Montana blanket to 'play with'....so cute!

Here is a video of Addison on her 9 month birthday doing some of her new tricks:

Happy 9 months, Addison! We love you more than words can express!

Busy Couple of Weeks...

2009-11-20T12:00:00.001-08:00

Well, Miss Addison has been busy this last couple of weeks. She has hit some motor milestones in a matter of weeks. On the 6th of this month, she started being able to go from being on her belly or on all fours and into a sitting position. Then a week later, on the 13th, she started crawling. This week she has become a more efficient crawler. Right now, she's just crawling to get things she wants, but I think it's only a matter of time before she's crawling to explore every inch of the house :) Our little girl is growing up so fast!

Here is a video of her on the day she started sitting herself up:

Here is a video of her crawling to get her book this afternoon. She loves books!

Eight months old!

2009-11-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well, our little Addison is 8 months old today! I can't believe her first birthday is around the corner....it just doesn't seem possible! She is our gift from above, and we feel so blessed to be given her to raise. Her personality is coming through more and more everyday, and it's neat to see it happen :) Some things I want to remember that she's doing right now are:

She will vocally play back and forth with us. If I squeal, she'll squeal back.
I have heard her babble using the consonants /b, m, w/. She says 'mama' quite a bit. Even though I know it's not intentional when she does it, I still love it :) When she says it, I typically will say 'Do you want mama?' I can't help myself :)
She is getting up on all fours, but I don't think crawling is going to happen any day now. She isn't getting up on all fours all the time, but I noticed her doing it more today than I even saw her do it on Sunday.
She loves her dolly, and this has occured just within this past month.
Loves to be read books. When I open the book and start reading, she'll start 'talking' and her little legs go crazy.
Loves to be sung to, especially 'Twinkle, twinkle little star.'
Continues to love mouthing on toys and especially non toy items :)
Will drink a little from a sippy cup, but she really loves to chew on the spout.

These first two pictures were taken today:

Up on all fours and rocking back and forth.

Look at that face! Our sitter put her hair up like this today. I think I like it :)

Playing with her friends Cooper (left) and Ranger (middle).

I loved this picture because it showed just how blue her eyes can be sometimes. This picture is of her giving her daddy love before bed time.

Halloween

2009-11-02T17:52:00.001-08:00

Addison dressed up as a pretty pink butterfly for Halloween. She didn't mind being in her costume at all even with the hat part on. We didn't go trick or treating, but we did go to a friend's halloween party for an hour or so. This first picture is of her at the party laying on her side eating one of her antennas. That's about all the excitement that happened around here for Halloween :)

Saturday at home..

2009-10-24T18:01:00.001-07:00

We traveled last weekend, but this weekend we are at home. We got some things done around the house (emphasis on SOME), played with Addison, ran some errands, and watched football. It has been a good day! Here are some pictures I snapped throughout the day, because I've realized I haven't been taking enough this month :)

This is what I saw when I came into the living room. My two loves!

Giving me big smiles!

Layla enjoying some rest in the sunlight, which she loves.

I gave Addison her first meal with meat yesterday, and she finished it off today. She really enjoyed it! I have taken a taste of her veggies and fruit, but I couldn't bring myself to taste this...do you blame me!

Layla snuck in as I was getting this shot :)

I thought this was a silly picture.

My little toy hoarder. I counted five different toys she had snatched from all around her, which were now all in her lap :) She couldn't decide which one she wanted to play with more, so she just went from toy to toy every minute!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

7 months old

2009-10-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Addison turned 7 months old on October 2nd. Time just seems to be flying by! We are IN LOVE with this baby girl! Addison is loving eating her vegetables and fruit...as you can see she is a good eater :) She is great at sitting up, and has started going from the sitting position onto her belly in one quick movement. Can't tell if she's going to crawl anytime soon, but I know she will do it in her own time. She can roll both ways but doesn't roll all over the place by any means. She will work to get toys that are out of reach as best she can, since she can't crawl. She has the sweetest smiles that melt Stephen and I's hearts. Addison will grab for and try to put ANYTHING in her mouth....which makes me a little nervous when she does start crawling! As you can tell, we are just a little smitten with her. We had her 6 month pictures made towards the end of September, and were really pleased with how they turned out. I posted some of our favorites.

Addison on her 7 month birthday :)

These are some of the highlights from her 6 month photo session:

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Addison!

2009-09-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Addison turned six months old about a week ago. We can't believe she's already 6 months! She is doing more things day by day. We are totally smitten with this baby girl! I took her to the doctor on Friday for her 6 month check up, and here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 11 oz. (50%)

Height: 25 1/2 inches (50-75%)

Head: 97 %

Here she is at her check-up waiting for the doctor to come see her.

Some things I want to remember that she's doing right now:

Eating vegetables. So far, she's tried peas, green beans, carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. Green beans are her least favorite right now, but she will eat them. I recently started fruit with her. She's only had applesauce, and seems to like it.
Sitting up. She can sit up for several minutes straight without support. This is really nice, because we can put her in a high chair when we go eat, and she likes to be able to sit and not be crammed in her car seat. This skill has also come in handy when I take her to the store, because she can sit in the front of the cart and look all around or play with toys while I shop :)
Becoming more and more aware of her enviroment. I went into her room the other day with her on my hip to get something, and she started crying a little because she thought I was going to put her down for bed (she had just gotten up from a nap not long before this). As soon as I left the room, she was fine :) I did this twice to see if that was what had made her upset, and she did the same thing both times.
Giggling and laughing more everyday. For the longest time, you had to be hysterical to get good belly laughs out of her, but now she's letting loose with the good laughs more often.
Continues to squeal, yell, fake cough more and more.
Continues to put whatever she can get her hands on in her mouth, and she will wiggle or move to get that little something to put in her mouth.
Does not like having something taken from her that she is enjoying in her mouth, and will tell you about it...not that I blame her :)
Loves to be sung to, and really likes the songs that have motor movements to go with them.

Okay, that's enough. I just keep on thinking of different things she does now, but I don't need to go overboard :)

This is what happens when you cough with a spoonful of carrots in front of your mouth.

This was taken by Stephen. They were playing peek a boo together with the burp cloth. She loves her daddy!

Trying out her swing in the backyard. Some friends of ours were getting rid of their swing set, and were giving it away free of charge...we were happy to take it off their hands.

In her hippo towel after bath time. She still loves her bath time!

This picture was taken on her actual 6 month birthday, so I had to include it. Just sitting up on our bed playing with toys.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Addison! You have blessed our lives beyond belief these past 6 months!

40th anniversary bash!

2009-09-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we flew to Memphis to throw a suprise 40th anniversary party for my parents. My four siblings and I decided months ago that we wanted to do this for our parents, because we knew they would love it! Stephen, Addison, and I flew in Friday and stayed with one of my sisters, and the party was Saturday night. We were in town all day Saturday, and my parents had no idea. The party Saturday night was AWESOME! My parents were completely shocked!! They thought they were going to a dinner to honor a friend of theirs in the construction business, so we had them completely fooled. When they found out that this was a party to celebrate their 40 years of marriage, my parents went back and forth from laughing and shedding some tears. It was one of those moments that I will always remember and cherish, because they felt so honored by us and the family and friends that were there. We even had a slideshow of old and new pictures taken over the last 40 years....one of my sisters went over to there house one weekend when they were out of town and got the stash of pictures :) Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Stephen and Addison at the airport on Friday before we flew out.

Carter, my nephew, loves holding Addison.

Stephen playing poker with Sam, another one of my nephews.

A guys picture from the party: (from the left) Stephen, Will, Tommy, Jason, and Jeff

The happy couple. My mom had several pictures from the night where she was waving at the camera :)

Ashlee and I. Ashlee is the 3rd girl in the family and I'm the 4th.

Here's a family picture we took at the end of an evening of dancing: (from the left) Tiffany, Ashlee, Wes, Dad, Mom, Lesle, and I.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

this and that...

2009-08-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well, next week is the start of a new school year, and I will be back to work. I'm working four days a week, and have many different feelings about going back to work. I'm nervous, excited, sad....it's all bittersweet because I will miss Addison but I do enjoy my job! She's staying with an in home sitter that's 2 minutes from my school, so I can stop in and see her on my lunch break if it doesn't upset her when I have to leave again. So, keep Addison and I in your prayers during this transition time.

This last week, I had inservice. So, my mom and grandmother came to town to watch Addison for me this first week. I got spoiled with having them cook a couple of dinners, clean my house, and love on my baby girl!! I think having them watch her this first week definitely helped me prepare for next week. Here are a few pictures from the past week or two.

Four generations of women in the family.

Addison is teething, so she will put anything in her mouth and chomp down. Here is Addison chewing on the top of a baby Tylenol bottle that has the little chewy "bulb" on top. My mom gave her that to chew on in the car when she was getting a little fussy and she liked it. She doesn't need a toy to put in her mouth, she'll grab for watches, bracelets, necklaces, hair, her outfits, fingers, etc.

This is now how Addison likes to sit in her bumbo chair most of the time. This position allows her to get anything within her reach. The other morning she tried to grab 3 items within a minute, so I was trying to get to those items before her to keep her from getting them or knocking them down :) She's growing up so fast!

Below, is a short video of her sitting up by herself on our bed with a special guest appearance by Layla. Lately she likes sitting in a chair with a few of her toys. She'll go from toy to toy and put them in her mouth while she's sitting up in the chair. The back and the sides of the chair give her support if she needs it. Like I said, she is growing up so fast! It's amazing at the changes that occur in a matter of days!

I hope everyone has a great week!

New experiences...

2009-08-06T11:52:00.001-07:00

Lately, Addison has done or experienced some different things. Such as:

I mentioned in the last blog post that she has started rolling over. Since this has started, nap time may consist of me going into her room usually more than once and seeing this sweet, innocent face, and having to roll her back over. Doesn't she look so proud of herself??

Today, I caught her staring at herself in the mirror on her activity jumper. She did this for over a minute. I guess she's taking after her aunt Ashlee and I, because we are both known to look at ourselves in any surface with a reflection :)

We went to Target the other day, and I decided to see how Addison would do sitting up in the shopping cart. Someone made her this cute shopping cart cover as a gift, so I was eager to try it out even though I knew she wasn't 100% ready to do this without my support. She did need my support several times during the trip to keep her upright. She enjoyed it for the most part, but she did cry a couple of times. When she cried, I would get her out and carry her for a few minutes, then I would put her back in the shopping cart and she would be fine again. I'm always up for trying out new things :)

Addison loves to "pet" Layla when Layla is close to her. Layla is really a great dog, and will let Addison do anything to her. I guess it helps that Layla likes any kind of attention she can get :)

Today, I decided to put together Addison's space saver high chair. I put it together in her room, and then put Addison in it so she could watch me clean the guest bathroom. Who knows, I may even use it when I feed her!

* Sorry if the pictures aren't the best quality. I've been in the habit of using the camera on my phone more than using our real camera, because it's more accessible at that time.

5 months old!

2009-07-31T12:59:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2009-07-13T07:53:00.001-07:00

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!

Another trip to Memphis :)

2009-07-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-07-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

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?"

3 months old and more..

2009-06-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Addison just turned three months old about a week ago, and we are really loving life with our baby girl. She is the sweetest thing, and we couldn't love her more! God is good! Here are a few things she's doing at three months:

'talking' a lot. at stephen's softball game the other night, i think she jabbered for like thirty minutes straight. this may be a sign that when she starts talking she may never stop
consistently sleeping 10 hours at night, and has been doing this for about a month :) now if i could just sleep better, and not wake up numerous times during the night!
holding her head up pretty well
will sometimes scoot from one end of the bed to the other during the night
the girl loves to chew on her hands, which has also increased the amount of saliva that escapes from her mouth
she frequently has little spit bubbles on her lips
smiles alot

of course, the list could go on....we're pretty proud of her!

just hanging out on momma's lap. you see this a lot at our house.

she was sucking her hand and jabbering while watching her praise baby DVD

just hanging out on our bed, and once again sucking on her hands :)

this past weekend, family came in town for one of our cousins after wedding reception. so, we had some company over the weekend. it was great getting to see them and catch up...we don't get to see each other enough! here are some pictures from our weekend.

cameron, stacey, and hayden stayed with us sunday night. on monday, we just hung out, and played some wii during the day. here's cameron doing the hula hoop.

cousin cameron and addison

jordan, heather, and madelyn stayed with us friday and saturday night. little madelyn is such a cutie, and she was so sweet with addison. she's going to have a little brother in a couple of months, and i think she's going to be a great big sister! here she is playing with addison's feet :)

here she is giving addison a hug...too sweet!

this is my first time to post a video, so hopefully it works. this was addison just talking to me while sucking on her hand...this girl's got talent!

memphis trip and other pics..

2009-05-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

addison spending some time in her bumbo seat. i think she's going to be fair skinned like her momma :) i hope she won't mind spending time putting sunscreen on what seems like every inch of the body, so she doesn't burn.

stephen was being silly the other night, and put addison's hand near the peanut butter m & m bag like she was getting some for herself. hopefully stephen won't be upset with me for posting a picture of him shirtless....and people can't believe that addison has so much hair :)

and to our surprise...she actually got one in her hand :) she's doing more and more with her hands these days. i love these peanut butter m & m's....the only problem is that i can't seem to just stop at one!!

addison and i made our first trip to memphis last week. we flew there, and addison did great on the flight there and back. it definitely took a lot of work traveling by myself, so i will look forward to flying with someone who can help...whenever that may be. of course, we had a great time being with my family. there is nothing i love more than spending time with my family. we always have such a fun time together. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful, loving family! i am so bad about taking pictures when we are out of town, so these picture were all taken by my sisters. i wish i would have taken more pictures of addison and the rest of the family...maybe next time. here are few pictures from the week:

peyton, coby, and i at sam allen's 8th birthday part at pump it up. i even went down one of the slides, and challenged my oldest nephew, carter, in the obstacle course and lost.

presley (my niece), tiffany (my sister), and addison.

addison, ashlee (my sister), and coby (my nephew) hanging out at mom and dad's house.

addison, ashlee, and presley at carter's baseball game. it was addison's first sporting event.

presley and addison. these are the only two girl grandchildren on my side, and everyone has taken to calling them the two divas or the two princesses :) presley loved holding getting to hold addison.

next week, i have to go back to work for the last week of school, and then i'm out for the summer. stephen will be watching her while i'm at work, so i'm glad about that. i work at our neighborhood school, so i'll only be 2 minutes aways...you can't beat that! so, pray that next week goes as smoothly as possible :)

have a great weekend!

mother's day and some cute pics...

2009-05-14T14:41:00.001-07:00

stephen came home saturday night with these pretty roses. he said that addison had wanted him to pick some flowers up for me for mother's day :) addison is already talking, can ya'll believe it ? :)

here is me and my baby girl on mother's day. it's amazing how much i love this girl. so often i just hold her during the day whispering in her ear that i love her. she fills my heart. a friend wrote on her blog about how thankful she was that God gave her one of His children to raise, and i feel the exact same. no matter what is going on in stephen and i's life, i know God will take care of us. God blesses us everyday (and i know i don't deserve it), and he has a love for us that surpasses our understanding...and for that i'm thankful. so thank you God for your blessings, and i pray that i give addison a glimpse of that kind of love everyday!

i took these two pictures last night before addison's last meal of the day. stephen and i love the cuddle time we get with her when she dozes off in our arms :) the last picture is of her sucking that thumb. when it's time for sleep time, that thumb finds it's way to her mouth.

on a side note, i was driving into dallas (at least a 30 minute drive)to take a meal to some friends of ours who just had a baby. and guess who cried her eyes out (real tears and all) most of the way there and back??? no it wasn't stephen, it was my sweet little addison :) i know you are all jealous ya'll couldn't have been in the car with me, but i'm sure most of you have had similar experiences...what can ya do?!

hope everyone is having a great week!

guess who's 2 months old??

2009-05-05T16:13:00.001-07:00

addison is two months old, and is the light of our lives! we love this girl, and couldn't imagine life without her. i thank God everyday for our precious baby....we are so blessed!!

she had her 2 month doctor appointment on tuesday. it went well, except she had to get three shots in her little thighs. thank goodness for tylenol! when the tylenol wore off, she would cry in pain when she moved her legs a lot or if you touched her legs where she got the shots. she was better by the evening, but her painful little cries during the day got to me! here are her 2 month stats:
weight: 10 lb. 11 oz. (50%)
height: 22.5 in. (75%)
head: 15.5 (75 %)

here are some things she is doing at 2 months:

making different noises to let us know what she's liking and not liking :) she'll make cooing noises when she's happy about things, and will make these pitiful half cry sounds that last usually half of a second to let us know when she's had enough of a toy, holding position, play mat, etc..
smiles frequently when interacting with stephen and i...nothing better than that!
frequently uses her eyes to follow me when i'm doing things around her
still loves her bath time!
has been sleeping 6-9 hour stretches during the night :) i hope posting this does not jinx this wonderful thing!
sucks her hand or thumb. on the nights she's gone the long nine hour stretches, we'll go in and check on her, and she is sucking her thumb!
her head and neck control seems to be getting better and better. if you put her on your shoulder, she will frequently straighten her back and move her head from one side to the other to check out her surroundings.

i took this picture today. i've been wanting to try putting just a bow in her hair to see if it held, and it did. i thought it looked pretty cute!

when stephen's holding her on his shoulder, her little face looks so cute. so, we tried to capture this on my shoulder. not quite the face i was hoping for :)

addison (in the middle) having a playdate with her boys. ranger is on the left (born in january) and cooper is on the right (born in february).

of course, i have to post a picture of layla. she was hanging next to addison, while she was chillin' on her boppy.

addison and papaw. my parents came for a visit last week...love having them here! my mom helped me clean the house, and get closets and drawers cleaned out. she also went through all of addison's clothes, and put the ones she had grown out of away and organized the ones that she is wearing now. one thing debby can do is get things done! love you, mom!

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

wednesday...

2009-04-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

gotta love sonic happy hour. i was out just in time to stop and get myself a vanilla coke....a nice treat during the day!

i love target! i went with a friend today to pick up a few things. of course, i got a pair of cute sandals for $10....i really needed them :) they look like the gladiator shoe style that's popular right now. do i own anything sylish to wear along with these semi-stylish shoes? probably not...i guess we'll have to fix that on another trip to target. (sorry, the picture of this sandal turned out really small, and i don't know how to fix it)

whose boppy pillow is this? i think layla enjoys this pillow more than addison. it's the perfect spot for her to hole up in and sleep. oh this dog!!

addison enjoying some time in her bumbo seat. she's doing pretty well in this seat, and she seems to enjoy it. what a sweet face!

i usually don't post during the week. our computer at home isn't the best, so i usually use stephen's work lap-top to do my blogging. well, today i installed the CD that allows me to upload pictures from our camera to the computer, and so far my computer is doing okay. anyway, i hope everyone is having a great wednesday. just thought i should share some pictures from our day so far. now i need to go read for bible study tonight :) nothing like waiting till the last minute!

a week in pictures...

2009-04-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

the first smile we actually got a picture of. she definitely has some cheeks!

addison in her easter dress.

easter sunday. it was addison's first time to church.

you know you have some chubby cheeks when....you only have had a paci in your mouth for a couple of minutes, and your cheeks now have paci indentions all around them :)

addison during what should have been her nap time. can't get upset that she skipped the nap, when you see a face like that.

just got back from a walk. she did stay awake during half of it.

getting her first bottle from daddy. can't tell you how glad i am that she took a bottle. i love being able to feed her, but it's nice to know that she'll take a bottle as well.

layla nuzzled by addison's arm. she loves this baby girl.

a month old already!!

2009-04-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

addison had her one month check-up on friday. i can't believe she's a month old. here were her stats from her check-up: weight- 8 lb. 15 oz (50%) height - 21.3 (75%) head - 14.8 (75%) the doctor was happy with her growth. addison got her first shot on friday, and let me say that i've never heard her cry that hard before...it was a little heartbreaking. here are some pictures from the appointment.

we are loving our little girl. she's doing more and more new things by the week. here are a few things she's doing right now:
- moving her head from one side to the other when on her tummy. she seems to do this more when she's sleeping on her tummy than during tummy time
- vocalizing/cooing more and more during her wake time. it's the sweetest sound!
- smiling more and more when she's awake
- following objects or us with her eyes consistently

hanging out before the shot.

needing the passy to soothe her after the shot.

yes, our little girl is experiencing some baby acne right now. i know almost every baby gets it, but i'm ready for it to go away!

this is addison sleeping in her crib. right now, she spends the night in our room in a cradle. i've been putting in her crib to sleep at least once during the day while she naps to get her used to her future bedtime resting place. she does fine with it, so i think the transition will be easy once we decide to do it. and yes, we do put on her tummy to sleep sometimes, and we check on her frequently :)

all bundled up after bath time.

i helped host a baby shower this weekend, and i had to bring addison with me because stephen had to work. so, i had to make myself presentable, get the baby ready, and make sure i left the house with the things i needed to bring to the shower. so, this was a first for me since she's been born. thankfully stephen was there to help me out as i was getting ready, so we actually left the house on time. we'll see if we leave the house on time when we try to go to church next week. if you go to church with us, you know this is probably not likely, because we're habitually a few minutes late :)

3 weeks...

2009-03-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

spending some time with deedee (my mom).

having a playdate with cooper fitzgerald. he is about 2 weeks older than addison. at one point, his little hand was almost in her mouth and he almost got one of his legs across her (he's an agressive little boy) :)

these are some pictures of addison mohawk. we call it her "hawk." we like her hair like this more than we like it laying flat on her head. it gives her character...don't you think?

this is her after bath time. she loves her bath, and hardly ever cries during it. she's like her momma with loving the baths.

trying out some time on the boppy. she's still a little too small for it. at this point, she's not really liking it, but i'm sure that will change as she gets bigger. i think i can use that thing for tummy time, too.

and yes, our child seems to be naked in most of these pictures. i promise that we do have clothes to put on her, but we have to do this so she'll stay awake when feeding and stay awake after i feed her. i know as she gets bigger we will be able to keep her clothed more and more.

our dear friend aaron snow (aaronsnowphotography.com), came and did a photo shoot with addison when she was a week old. here is a little slide show (the link is located below) he put together of some of the highlights from the shoot. if you're interested in seeing his other work, i put his website by his name. enjoy!

Aaron Snow Check out Baby Addison's photos http://www.aaronsnowphoto.com/darkroom/share/?n=Baby_Addison

2 weeks

2009-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Addison had her 2 week appointment on monday, and her stats were:

weight: 7.7 (40%)

height: 20.3 (75%) - she's going to be tall like her parents :)

head: 14 3/4 (50%)

she is gaining weight well, so we don't have to wake her up in the middle of the night to feed her...yay!! these pictures are from the last couple of days. we've started with tummy time recently, and she got really worn out doing that. i put a headband on her the other day, and she looked so cute! she did get a little mad that day when she managed to pull the headband over here eyes, but i got a good laugh out of it. i almost got the camera out to take a picture of it before i fixed it, but figured i'd have plenty of chances in the future to take a picture of that scenario. addison has definitely been a good baby so far...she's such a sweetie i could kiss her all over (and do quite a bit).

OU photo shoot

2009-03-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

we decided to get some recent shots of addison, so here she is on the OU blanket after she finished eating. i love this face she's making in the bottom picture, and we finally got it on camera. she lost her umbilical cord yesterday, so that was an exciting event in the smith house :) we go to the doctor tomorrow for her 2 week checkup, so we'll see how well she's grown in the past couple of weeks.

Pics of the little girl!

2009-03-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

She is Here!

2009-03-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here is one right after she was born with her daddy.